Tech News

Watch How American Cities Grew Through Thousands of Historic Maps

Good thing it’s almost the holiday weekend and you don’t need to be productive because the USGS just launched a heck of a time-wasting website. Now you can explore cities through beautiful old maps, some dating all the way back to 1884. But here’s the best part: You can mix and match many maps to…

Pepsi was originally called “Brad’s Drink”

Some of the soft drinks we know today originally started as patent medicines in the late 19th century — including Coca-Cola, which infamously contained cocaine. But when Caleb Bradham invented a drink in 1893 he set out to make it free of stimulants. It didn’t even contain caffeine. He originally called it Brad’s Drink, but…

Google’s Response to the “Right to Be Forgotten” Is Just Perfect

In May, the EU Court of Justice ruled that because people have the “right to be forgotten,” Google must remove links from European versions of search, just because people ask them to. But you can’t hide from the past on the internet. The requirement that Google take down links for the right to be forgotten…

The DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter Is Now a Real Autonomous Drone

One of the most popular consumer quadcopters on the market is now a true drone. DJI recently pushed an update to the apps that help control its flagship Phantom 2 Vision, and now, the $1000 aircraft can fly missions autonomously. Seriously, you just tell it where to go, and it goes—all by itself. The new…

L.A.’s nickname used to be Los Diablos because it was so violent

Back in the 1850s, Los Angeles wasn’t exactly the safest place to rest your head. It was just a tiny town of about 3,000-4,000 people, but it was filled with more than its share of criminals, killers, and low-lifes. Thanks to its reputation, Los Angeles was often called Los Diablos (The Devils) and by some…

Duvets and Sheets that Snap Together Mean Your Bed Stays Made Forever

Remember how putting an ‘i’ in front of everything was en vogue after the iPod became popular? That trend continues today with the term ‘smart’. We’ve got smartphones, smartcars, smartwatches, and now even Smart Bedding, which uses a clever trick to ensure your sheets don’t end up in a twisted knot by morning. The top…

Quirky Wants To Win the Smart Home Wars With This $50 Hub

Smart homes sound awesome. The idea sounded awesome 15 years ago, when Microsoft teased some of their ideas in a concept video, and it sounded awesome when Apple announced HomeKit last month. But do you know anybody that actually lives in a smart home and reaps all that awesomeness? Probably not. And Quirky wants to…

This Clever App Turns Your Chromecast Into a Bootleg Wii

Chromecast’s new mirroring feature lets users pull up an Android phone screen onto a TV. And why would you want to put your little screen on your bigger screen? If game maker Rolocule has its way, to play Nintendo Wii-like games without bothering with a console. Rolocule has introduced its Motion Tennis to the Googlesphere.…

Ikea’s Most Iconic Bookcase Just Got a Whole Lot Better

If moving away to college involved finding a cheap apartment and filling it with even cheaper furniture, there’s a strong chance you had at least one of Ikea’s Billy bookcases filled with textbooks. The Billy has been one of Ikea’s most iconic—and cheapest—pieces for over 30 years, and it’s now getting some upgrades to help…

This Artist Sculpts Panes of Glass Into 3D Oceans

Ben Young taught himself everything he knows about sculpture. Over the course of the past decade, he’s perfected a method of cutting panes of glass into unusual shapes and fusing them together to make beautiful sculptures. They’re beautifully intriguing. Some look like oceans. Some look like objects. Some just look impossible. But all of the…

​How To Poop In The Woods

Does a person poop in the woods? Not if they don’t have to. Get it wrong and it can be messy, painful, unhealthy and embarrassing. Here’s how to get outdoor bowel movements right. Poop’s Problem: According to the Outdoor Foundation, around 7.9 million people go backpacking every year in the US. That’s a lot of…

I wish they made an animation series out of these sci-fi illustrations

These are the cool monstrous creations of Brian Miller. He recently completed them for The Robot Workshop activity book. Someone should turn his work into a sci-fi animation series a la Samurai Jack. Giant Moster Smash!: I actually had a few different options for the spread which included a more pulled out view of the…

The second person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls later died after slipping on an orange peel

In 1911, Bobby Leach became the second person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a large steel barrel. Despite his incredible feat of bravery/stupidity, his death years later was from something rather mundane: The former daredevil slipped on an orange peel. The New Zealand newspapers seemed to think Leach’s injury wasn’t such a big…

Why Your iPhone Needs a “Good Samaritan” Button

Smartphones have become a necessary appendage in our digital lives. They’re our cameras, GPS navigation, alarm clocks, wallets, personal assistants, trainers, and favorite time killers. But if someone suddenly finds themselves without one, a cloud of worry and confusion overtakes them. “How do I check my email?” “Is it going to rain?” “That would have…

This Getty photo from March 13, 1957 shows caricatures of Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson printed by a Universal Automatic Computer, commonly called a UNIVAC. We often think of ASCII-style art as a modern thing, but the art form has a long history, dating back to the typewriter era. Factually is Gizmodo’s new blog of…

A Rechargeable Tower Fan That Lets You Take a Breeze Wherever You Need

A fan is only a useful way to beat the summer heat if you’re in range of its blast. So to ensure the use of this GreenFan isn’t limited by the location of your outlets or the length of its cord, it features an optional rechargeable battery so you can place it exactly where you…

Shooting Challenge: Fireworks GIFs

It’s the 4th of July this Friday. So grab your cameras and some fireworks. Let’s make some sparkly GIFs. The Challenge Make a GIF of fireworks—the big kind or the small kind. Good old snakes and sparklers are encouraged. Please don’t hurt yourselves. Save the file as 640 pixels wide. 3.5MB file max (but even…

This Is Still the Most Beautiful Way to Learn How to Code

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the “code or die ” sentiment that’s been floating around the internet, if you have decided to teach yourself to code, the sheer number of learn-to-code sites alone is overwhelming. So do yourself (and your eyes) a favor and pick up Jon Duckett’s JavaScript and jQuery book…

It’s a myth that lightning never strikes the same place twice

You’ve probably heard the saying, “lightning never strikes the same place twice.” But it’s actually a myth. From NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center: NASA-funded scientists have recently learned that cloud-to-ground lightning frequently strikes the ground in two or more places and that the chances of being struck are about 45 percent higher than what people…

A Massive New Levee Could Add Two New City Blocks To Manhattan

The footprint of Manhattan’s been expanding since the 17th century, when early New Yorkers began their first project to infill its shoreline. A huge part of the island we know today is built on artificial pilings. Now, it might get its biggest expansion in years. Next City reports on a new feasibility study released by…