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EartherArchaeologists Uncover Disturbing Amount of Plastic Waste at Iron Age Site
One by one, the archaeologists stumbled upon pieces of junk. Using techniques typically reserved for documenting stone tools and bones, the team recorded such items as plastic spoons, eye glasses, bottle caps, straws, mobile phone batteries, paint can lids, candy wrappers, and plastic wrap. By the time the experiment was over, the archaeologists had uncovered … Continued
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Tech NewsWhy Did I Hoard This Shit?
If you’re anything at all like me—and God, I hope you’re not—you never throw anything that uses electricity out, and have developed an elaborate series of dubious justifications to explain why it is actually perfectly rational. Maybe, after all, you’ll need that USB-A to RCA converter cable in the future, or you’ll use that five … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsWorld’s Biggest Landlord Buys World’s Biggest Genealogy Website
The Blackstone Group will buy a majority stake in the genealogy website Ancestry.com in a deal worth $4.7 billion, according to a press release published Wednesday. Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, is the world’s largest landlord and Ancestry is the world’s largest genealogy website, with over 6 billion records on family history in the … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGiant Sloths, Medieval Dancing, and Too Many Cords: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
Congratulations on making it through another week—especially now that each week feels about 2 billion years long. 2019 might as well be a myth at this point. Oh, speaking of losing all sense of time, next Sunday is Mother’s Day just FYI. So consider this your official warning siren for any gift-getting that you might … Continued
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ScienceBiologyWe Regret to Inform You Elon Musk Has Released a Rap Single About Harambe
If there’s something absolutely no one other than Elon Musk woke up this weekend thinking, it is “Elon Musk should release a rap single about Harambe, the tragically slain gorilla that became a meme nearly three years ago, after which said meme subsequently got treaded into the ground, and more than a few people began … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsThe Clothes of the Future Were Supposed to Be Set on Fire
You wear it once and throw it away. At least that was the idea. During the 1950s and 60s an idea emerged that was decidedly sci-fi. The future was supposed to be filled with disposable clothes that could literally just be thrown in a fire after you were done with them. Disposable clothes were supposed … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ReviewsOur Favorite Gizmodo Videos of 2018
For years, tech and media companies big and small have been trying to pivot to video. In 2018, a lot of those pivots are turning into trips and falls. But not here at Gizmodo. We’re making videos about tripping and falling. Other stuff, too! No, seriously. While Facebook is offering D-List celebrities series on Watch … Continued
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Tech News
Most Commercial Graphene Is Just Expensive Pencil Lead, New Study Finds
You might wonder why, given all the hype, there isn’t graphene in every product you own yet. Well, a new study has found that 60 companies that sell the Nobel prize-winning ultra-thin carbon sheets produce utter trash. Graphene was supposed to have revolutionary impacts on technology as a whole. But the new study’s analysis finds … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightWe Don’t Even Live There Yet, But Humans Have Already Left Over 400,000 Pounds of Trash on the Moon
It’s inevitable that one day humanity is going to need to live somewhere other than Earth, and our first step towards intergalactic colonization will probably be the moon. The only problem? We’ve only visited it 12 times, and already there’s over 400,000 pounds of garbage up there. How did our nearest celestial neighbor already become a … Continued
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Tech News
Garbage-Fed Seagulls Are Spoiling Our Lakes and Reservoirs With Their Poop
Where there are landfills there are seagulls. An estimated 1.4 million of these opportunistic feathered critters feed on these vast tracts of waste across North America. And as a new study from Duke University shows, the voluminous amounts of poop from these gulls is compromising the water-quality of nearby lakes and reservoirs. Landfills provide sustenance … Continued
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Tech News
We All Live On Trash Island
You might think you were born in Duluth, or Detroit, or some sleepy suburb on Long Island—but let me tell you, friend, you’re wrong. In a sense, we were all spawned on a tiny island full of trash, floating miserably far, far out there. Only now are we beginning to understand the horrifying gravity of … Continued
By Rae Paoletta -
Tech NewsGadgetsBrilliant Trash Stomping Robot Takes Care of Your Nastiest Chore
Like most of Colin Furze’s creations, the Stomp O Matic trash compactor almost ends up self-destructing in a ball of flames. But not before it successfully takes care of one of the grossest chores on anyone’s to-do list: stomping down the garbage in your trashcan can so you can squeeze even more garbage into it. … Continued
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Tech News
Eating Garbage Makes Bears Lazy as Hell, Just Like You and Me
Turns out brown bears are trash monsters whose habit of noshing on garbage leads them to develop a more sedentary lifestyle. Wow, same! According to a new study published in the Journal of Zoology, migratory brown bears in northeast Turkey who often visited a garbage dump to find food—researchers termed them, fantastically, “dump bears”—tended to … Continued
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Tech News
Hong Kong’s Beaches Are Suddenly Covered in Trash and No One Knows Why
Visitors to Hong Kong’s beaches have taken to various social media channels to voice their outrage about the current state of the region’s beaches. Judging by the accompanying photos, they look more like trash oases than relaxing paradises. “I have never in my 20 years here seen consistently this much rubbish on our [South Lantau] … Continued
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Tech News
Everyone Is Lying About Not Watching TV
Saying “I don’t own a TV” is a good way to let people know that you’re a pretentious asshole. But even though more and more people are eager to tell you they don’t “have TV,” don’t be fooled! You better believe that they are still “watching TV.” According to a new Nielsen report out today, … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Ultra-Thin Dongles Make It Easy To Add Biometric Security To Your Old Laptop
Using your fingerprint to verify your identity is not only more secure than a password, there’s also no complex string of characters for you to forget or repeatedly mistype. But if you’re also determined to use your ancient laptop until the day it dies, Synaptics’ will soon have an easy and unobtrusive way to upgrade … Continued
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Tech News
Someone Is Finally Trying to Stop This Underground Garbage Fire That’s Burned for Six Years
For six years, an underground garbage fire has been steadily burning outside of Saint Louis, Missouri, right next to a landfill filled with nuclear waste buried in the mid-70s. So why hasn’t anyone managed to extinguish it yet? TheAP reports that the EPA handed down a series of measures designed to stem the fire, including … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech News
Don’t Waste Your Time on VR Marketing Ploys
If you haven’t heard, virtual reality is finally happening. Like, for real this time. And everyone wants a piece of the action: CNN, NBA, Sports Illustrated, Showtime Boxing, and TED to name a few. All of these companies have recently used VR as a marketing ploy, and quite frankly, the “experiences” they’ve created are all … Continued
