Tech News

A Light Installation That Feels Like the Sky, Designed By a Pilot

When a stranger demands that you take off your shoes in public, it usually means you’re about to get on a plane. But at David Zwirner Gallery—known for its blockbuster installations and huge lines of fans who come to Instagram them—you’re about to experience an otherworldly installation. https://gizmodo.com/inside-nycs-new-mirrored-infinity-rooms-1468350893 The airport comparison is actually pretty apt.…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Researchers Create Re-Usable Tape Inspired By Geckos

If there’s one animal that’s inspired endless scientific research—it’s the gecko. The lizard’s ability to seemingly defy gravity and walk on walls has resulted in robots that can repair spaceships in flight, and now maybe even self-cleaning reusable sticky tape. https://gizmodo.com/this-gecko-inspired-wall-crawling-robot-will-someday-re-1493213804 It turns out that in addition to being naturally sticky thanks to microscopic hairs…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Badass guy does a front-flip over a 50-foot gap in a wheelchair

Here is a heaping helping of uncut badassery, courtesy of a dude in a wheelchair doing an epic front-flip over a 50-foot gap—FIFTY FEET!—while goddamn fireballs flame up in the background. And he nails the landing. The dude in question is Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, a moto-cross athelete born with Spina Bifida. He’s never had use…

Sploid Jordan Kushins

I Could Stare All Day at These Beautiful Studio Portraits of Cameras

It’s true that photographers have a way of fetishizing their gear. But it’s fun to appreciate the craft and aesthetic of cameras, just like in these amazing studio portraits by photographer Julian Calverley. The series is called Treasured Cameras, and they are nothing more than gracefully lit and composed shots of some of Calverley’s own…

Tech News Michael Hession

This 1960s Jet Train Is Still America’s Fastest Locomotive

In the mid-1960’s, New York Central Railroad engineer Don Wetzel was exploring ways to make trains run safer, cheaper, but most importantly: faster. And, clearly, the most logical means of accomplishing all three of these objectives was to strap a pair of Air Force surplus jet engines to the roof of a prototype high-speed locomotive,…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Incredible drone video shows Ukraine’s riot battlefield from above

A drone films protesters clashing with police forces as tires and Molotov cocktails burn in Kiev’s Independence Square. The battle has started again, after yesterday’s failed truce. At least 75 have been killed on since last Tuesday, according to Ukraine’s government officials. https://gizmodo.com/photoshops-show-the-dramatic-difference-between-peace-a-1528024358 SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid Jesus Diaz

New Maps Show Forests Disappearing in Real Time

The world is vast and travel budgets finite, so looking for deforestation as it’s happening all over the world is nigh impossible. That is, of course, unless you have an all seeing eye in the sky—and, hey, you know what, there are satellites orbiting over all of our heads right now. Global Forest Watch is…

Tech News Sarah Zhang

The Multi-Billion-Dollar Deals Transforming Tech, Visualized

Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp was very, very, very, (very) large. But it’s also just the latest in a string of mega-buyouts that’s been reshaping the tech landscape over the last three years or so. We thought we’d try to put all these billion-dollar acquisitions into perspective. https://gizmodo.com/why-facebook-spent-16-billion-on-whatsapp-1526383997 There are obviously some nuances at…

Tech News Brian Barrett and Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Video: Man defies gravity by running upside down in a 360-degree loop

You’d think it’d be impossible to upside down in a full 360-degree loop, but it’s not, and Damien Walters can prove it. Insane. When you break down the physics, all you have to be able to do is run fast enough when your feet are on the ceiling. The result if you can? Human super…

Sploid Eric Limer

This Robot Arm Can 3D-Print Molten Metal in Midair

The only thing cooler than using a huge robot arm to sculpt? Using a huge robot arm to sculpt with liquid hot metal. Joris Laarman Studio‘s prototype software instructs a robotic arm to recreate 3D models in midair, using molten metals of all kinds. It looks as cool as it sounds. Laarman’s studio, you might…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Shooting Challenge: Panoramas

It’s hard to take an enchanting photo. But it’s even harder to take an enchanting photo that’s 3x or more the normal length. So for this week’s Shooting Challenge, we’re going wide. We’re going panoramic. The Challenge Take a panoramic photo. Feel free to use an app, like the iPhone’s, to do so. You can…

Tech News Mark Wilson

The Scientifically Best Time to Drink Coffee, in One Simple Graphic

You wake up, tired and groggy, and you can think of only one thing: coffee. But in reality, first thing in the morning isn’t the best time to hit hit the caffeine—and it’s science that says so. In fact, we’ve covered this in some detail before—and you can read all about it below. But for…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

The Samson of Toy Trucks Can Push and Pull Up To 150 Pounds

Jakks Pacific’s new Max Tow Truck may not look particularly special on the outside, but it’s always what’s on the inside that counts. And in this case the insides are hiding a super-strong geared-down electric motor that lets this little tow truck push or pull up to 150 pounds. That’s more than strong enough to…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Watch Conan Explain The Comcast-Time Warner Merger

Given all the financial and legal technicalities involved, how do two of the largest cable companies in the U.S. go about forming a gigantic conglomerate in practice? Conan knows the answer. https://gizmodo.com/comcast-confirms-its-45-billion-merger-with-time-warne-1522012027 It just requires a little something to… grease the wheels, smooth the negotiations and, um, lubricate the process. [Team Coco]

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Rumor: Amazon Is Readying a Web TV Box (Again)

Re/code is reporting that Amazon is getting ready to launch an Android-powered web TV box to compete with Roku and and Apple. Sources tell Peter Kafka that Amazon “is aiming for a March rollout” of the set-top box, which was rumored to arrive last year in time for the holidays. Which it didn’t. Certainly a…

Commerce Jamie Condliffe

Dyson’s Vision of the Future of Curling

Because in these days of endless technological progress, who really wants to use a broom anyway? [YouTube]

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

How an Arm Wrestle Resolved a Major Airline Dispute

David vs. Goliath. Burr vs. Hamilton. Ali vs. Frazier. These fights have captured the public’s imagination like few others. On March 20, 1992, another battle entered this conversation. Herwald vs. Kelleher. Okay, so most likely, you probably don’t have any clue who Kurt Herwald and Herb Kelleher are and why they decided to match up…

Tech News Matt Blitz - TodayIFoundOut.com

Your Sperm Are Ticking, Mutating Time Bombs

Everyone knows that as men age so do their sperm, slowing a little and becoming less… potent. But research suggests that sperm actually mutate with age—which in turn could increase the chances of fathering a child with a genetic disorder. New Scientist reports on research by Anne Goriely from the University of Oxford, writing that…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

How Does Your Memory Work?

Badly, perhaps. But even if you struggle to recall information on a daily basis, all our brains are wired in much the same way—and it requires quite a few steps to remember anything at all. Each and every memory is registered in the brain, but they’re not all encoded—that’s why you forget names as soon…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Report: Steve Jobs Will Appear on a US Postage Stamp

He might have favored email over physical post, but a document obtained by The Washington Post suggests that Steve Jobs’ face is set to appear on a US Postal Service stamp in 2015. The document suggests that Jobs is one in a list of U.S. icons to appear on stamps that year, including Elvis Presley…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

A Light Installation That Feels Like the Sky, Designed By a Pilot

Researchers Create Re-Usable Tape Inspired By Geckos

Badass guy does a front-flip over a 50-foot gap in a wheelchair

I Could Stare All Day at These Beautiful Studio Portraits of Cameras

This 1960s Jet Train Is Still America’s Fastest Locomotive

Incredible drone video shows Ukraine’s riot battlefield from above

New Maps Show Forests Disappearing in Real Time

The Multi-Billion-Dollar Deals Transforming Tech, Visualized

Video: Man defies gravity by running upside down in a 360-degree loop