Tech News

The First Cheap 3D Printed Food Is Delicious Nursing Home Mush

Go to the cafeteria of a nursing home and you’ll see elderly residents noshing on pureed food. It’s necessary for patients for whom chewing is difficult, but it’s not very palatable. A German company is seeking to change that by making 3D-printed, easy-to-chew food that actually tastes good. The company behind the project is called…

An Ode to the Decaying Playgrounds That Pepper America’s Lawns

Growing up in a city or suburb, the playground was an indispensable part of childhood recreation. But the slides, swings, and see-saws you remember from decades ago barely resemble modern playground equipment. The photography in Brenda Biondo’s Once Upon a Playground captures the faded glory of the 20th century relics. Biondo’s project grew out of…

Report: Oculus Is Helping Samsung With Its Own VR Headset

We’ve heard rumors that Samsung is working on a VR headset, which should really come as no surprise. What is a surprise is that, according to Engadget, Samsung has help from the big guys: Oculus VR. Engadget’s unnamed sources say that the project is a co-op job in which Samsung will handle the hardware, while…

iOS 8 Concept Shows Just How Useful Widgets and Live Tiles Would Be

Designer Jay Machalani just posted a concept that explores how iOS could be vastly improved if app icons weren’t just static blobs. Instead, they could be dynamic UI objects that behaved more like widgets in Android or Live Tiles in Windows Phone. Machalani’s concept is so slickly produced that it might leave you drooling. He…

These Glow-in-the-Dark Curtains Put the Northern Lights On Your Windows

As conference rooms go, you could do way, way worse than the one situated in Newfoundland’s Fogo Island Inn, what with windows that look straight out onto the rocky shores and far off foggy horizon line. Pull the printed curtains down and suddenly you’ve got a cool stormy night effect, but the real magic happens…

What’s the Most Expensive Thing You Can Find on Amazon?

This week, Amazon added (absurdly expensive) commemorative coins to the long list of things you can buy at from its sprawling online bazaar. And while none of us is going to go drop a couple mil on a coin—even with free shipping—it got us to thinking: what’s the most expensive item on Amazon? http://www.amazon.com/b/?tag=gizmodo08c-20 We…

Morgan Freeman’s unboxing video from Se7en is dark humor at its best

This video is an hilarious parody of the famous scene of Seven, where Morgan Freeman opens a box with Gwyneth Paltrow’s head inside, but told as if it was a conventional unboxing video. I know I probably should’t be laughing at this but as a dark humor fan I am indeed cracking up. Here is…

Adult women react to seeing their own vagina for the first time

A video maker put an ad in Craigslist looking for women who had never seen their own vaginas—astoundingly people responded and agreed to be filmed as they examined themselves for the first time. It may seem just like a bizarre situation but there are a variety of complex reasons and issues which they bravely confront…

The Galaxy Gear is getting a big update that replaces its entire operating system. The update, which started rolling out today, lets users switch their Galaxy Gear over to Tizen, offering a few new features and better battery life. It also makes the “Galaxy” part of the name a misnomer, but you can’t change that…

A Little Fancy Math Could Make Mobile Networks Five Times Faster

LTE might be fast, but it sure ain’t fast enough. Enter new research from MIT and Caltech, which suggests that a little fancy math could boost mobile data transmission rates—by as much as 400 percent. Network World reports that the collaboration has given rise to a new data transmission method which used something called Random…

9-year-old skater tries 75 times before landing an aerial trick

This 9-year old skater tried 75-times to land a 540—an aerial spin that involves one and a half midair rotations. Each time, the stubborn kid picked herself up and used the fail as motivation to get it right next time. Fun fact: She says she cannot yet ride a bike. Of course everything worthwhile does…

A New Wireless Router Lets You Trade Facebook Check-Ins For Free Wi-Fi

Offering free Wi-Fi to shoppers or diners is almost as essential to a business these days as having a public bathroom on site. But at the same time, you don’t want to give it away to just anyone walking by—at least without getting something in return. So D-Link’s new AC 1750 wireless router only doles…

​New Bill Threatens to Stop FCC Treating Broadband as a Utility

A new bill proposed by Republican Bob Latta could stop the Federal Communications Commission from reclassifying broadband as a common-carrier utility. Despite the FCC’s call for comment on whether to reclassify broadband as a utility or allow providers to engage in pay-for-play traffic management, the conversation could be rendered pointless if the mew legislation, proposed…

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains weather and climate change for dummies

Weather and climate change are not the same. While weather is unpredictable from one week to the next, climate follows a stable pattern that is developed over centuries. Neil deGrasse Tyson explains these seemingly obvious differences so even the dumbest people can understand them. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on…

Watch LeVar Burton Explain How Double Rainbows Form

Everyone knows how rainbows appear—they just need water, sunlight and you—but have you ever wondered how double rainbows form? In this video, LeVar Burton explains how they form. Yes, LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow. This couldn’t be any more wonderful if it tried. [SciShow] https://gizmodo.com/levar-burton-enlists-the-internet-to-help-resurrect-rea-1582583129

Science explains why fried bacon smells so freaking good

This video explains what it is that makes everyone rush to the kitchen every time bacon is being fried. It has to do with the 150 volatile organic compounds that contribute to its incredibly meaty aroma. Now science has to explain why bacon makes every dish better although I guess it’s for the same reason.…

Is This the Back of the iPhone 6?

Australian blog MacFixIt has gotten its hands on what it claims is the upcoming iPhone 6, leaked by “sources inside the supply chain”— and it seems to reaffirm the shape hinted at by earlier rumors. https://gizmodo.com/could-this-curvy-screen-be-the-front-of-the-iphone-6-1573512156 The leaked rear chassis purports to be from the 4.7-inch model—the smaller of two devices rumored to be planned…

This Prosthetic Is Designed Especially For Rock Climbers

The loss of a leg can stymie the pursuit of adventurous outdoor sports for many—but not if Brooklyn-based designer Kai Lin has anything to do with it His latest creation, Klippa, is a prosthetic leg designed especially for rock climbers. Specifically, Lin has American veterans who have lost legs, but would like to continue or…

Report: Microsoft Working on Smartwatch That Plays With iOS and Android

Everyone seems to be working on a smartwatch right now. Now, Forbes reports that Microsoft is working on a device too—which plays nicely with the mobile operating systems of its competitors. https://gizmodo.com/check-out-android-wear-in-action-on-lgs-new-smartwatch-1583461833 The report cites “multiple sources with knowledge of the company’s plans” who claim that Microsoft is working on a sensor-rich smartwatch which syncs…

Exactly How the NSA Violates International Human Rights

Even before Ed Snowden leaked his first document, human rights lawyers and activists were concerned about law enforcement and intelligence agencies spying on the digital world. One of the tools developed to tackle those concerns was the development of the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance (the “Necessary and Proportionate…