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There’s some great news for watch aficionados who haven’t already found a friend in Europe to buy and ship them Swatch’s new Sistem51 timepiece. The watch features a genuine Swiss mechanical movement that’s assembled through an automated process that means it can be mass produced on the cheap, but not cheaply made. https://gizmodo.com/how-much-longer-do-i-have-to-wait-for-my-wonderful-self-1549905036 The case…
DARPA just announced the details of the final round of its years-long Robotics Challenge, and boy, do they sound difficult. Not only will all the robots have to work wirelessly and without human intervention, the course must be completed all at once. If a robot falls and can’t get it up, it’s done. If you…
Everyone knows you should drink plenty of fluids when playing sports, but hydration actually becomes an exact science when the pride of your nation is at stake during something like the World Cup. That’s why at this year’s tournament, Brazil’s soccer team is using specially-designed Gatorade bottles that track how much the players are drinking.…
Imagine this: A towering 70-foot diesel-powered robot, equipped with a haptic control interface that lets a human operate the machine, as it uses hydraulic cylinders to juggle three 1800 lb. cars (specifically, Volkswagen Beetles) in the air before a rapt audience. A robot capable of juggling three full-sized Bugs sounds like something from a (weird)…
I’ve been showing friends something I picked up at Google’s developers conference yesterday, and it’s been inspiring ooohs, and wows, and squeals of joy and delight. No, it isn’t a smartwatch. It isn’t even a gadget. It’s a cheap piece of cardboard, and it’s getting even the tech-jaded people here excited. https://gizmodo.com/turn-your-android-into-a-virtual-reality-headset-with-g-1596026538 The premise is…
If you thought Antarctica was a shell of frozen white and blue, that a look at these surprisingly colorful pictures by photographer Gaston Lacombe. Taken over a two-month visit to the continent, the white is painted by brushes of algae, penguin poo and krill. He told us how this hue magic happens. When I was…
No scientist has dedicated their time to the cause yet, but one day research will confirm that most outlets in an empty room will inevitably end up trapped and inaccessible behind heavy furniture. It’s a common problem that the new MOS Reach doesn’t necessarily solve, but does make less of a concern by letting you…
I do not need a smartwatch (no one does). I do not think smartwatches are anywhere near fully functional yet, or if they’ll ever be. But after seeing the Moto 360 yesterday, I know one truth that supersedes those others: I am going to buy one as soon as they let me. For as long…
There was a great disturbance in the Force this week as George Lucas announced he’s locating his new art museum in Chicago instead of San Francisco. But Lucas’s art isn’t all Millennium Falcon models: There are some seriously fascinating pieces in his collection, all themed around the concept of storytelling. The Lucas Museum of Narrative…
Google made a lot of exciting announcements at its 93-hour long I/O keynote presentation yesterday. But nothing garnered quite as much excitement as the stunningly minimal Google Cardboard. Don’t worry about having to make it yourself, though, because as with everything else in life, you can now buy one of your very own online. After…
By now you’ve probably seen those Metal Earth foldable models in toy stores and at checkout stands all over the place. They’re this generation’s flat-packed foam gliders, but as you can see from this incredibly intricate Apollo Lunar Lander model, they require far more patience and skill to assemble. At just $13 on Amazon you…
You have to love the internet. A year ago, Hunter Sanders made this 1990s remake of the Game of Thrones’ intro, using Queen’s I Want It All for the soundtrack. Then, three days ago, Steve Buzz uploaded an 80’s inspired cover of the Game of Thrones main theme. And today, Mikolaj Birek mixed them both.…
There’s a new update to the Google Search app that’s starting to roll out that lets you say “OK Google” to trigger voice search from anywhere instead of just the homescreen. That is awesome. We heard some rumors that Google would be trying to bring the yell-at-your-phone-from-anywhere superpowers the Moto X has to all phones,…
I won’t try to argue that anyone needs the Philips Hue lighting system, but it’s undoubtedly appealing to anyone with a penchant for WeMo switches, Nest products, IFTTT recipes, and the like. Today’s $30 discount is the best Amazon has ever offered on the starter pack. [Philips Hue Wireless Lighting Starter Kit, $171] Update: Ugh,…
Everything made by man has been designed in some way. You’ve got your big ticket, big name stuff, and then there are the countless items—the utilitarian, the unsung, the so-mundane-you-wouldn’t-give-them-a-second-thought—that haven’t always received the same creative fanfare. One man has been collecting and classifying these bits and bobs for decades; the time has come to…
The stone fish is the most poisonous fish in the sea and one of the most dangerous in the world. It can easily kill you if you step on it, injecting its venom deep inside your foot. If not treated promptly, the poison will kill you. This video by SmarterEveryDay shows how this simple killing…
They’ve been a popular option for pet owners taking road trips with their dogs in Sweden for the past decade, but these wonderfully over-engineered Variocages are finally available in North America. Like your car, the cages are designed with crumble zones to absorb impacts during a crash, providing extra protection for your dog inside. More…
You can literally breathe easier now; new imagery from NASA’s Aura satellite shows that over the past 10 years, air quality in the U.S. has improved. It’s not to say that the environment isn’t still generally screwed, but that’s great news, especially if you live in or near a city. The satellite, which has spent…
During the Cold War, the US leaned heavily on the insane multi-mach speeds its SR-71 spy plane could achieve. This speed allowed it to outrun virtually every plane, anti-aircraft battery, and guided missile that the Soviets could throw at it. That is, until Moscow rolled out one of the fastest and most far-seeing planes in…
Netflix is launching its first original anime series on July 4: the futuristic Knights of Sidonia. The first season, already broadcasted in Japan, is 12 episodes of space opera epic drama that apparently is full of cool spaceships and mechas. Here’s the synopsis: The first Netflix original anime series, Knights of Sidonia, based on the…
