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ScienceHuman HistoryThe Ouroboros, From Antiquity to AI
The Ouroboros—which symbolizes the cyclical nature of life and death and the divine essence that lives on forever—was first recorded in the Egyptian Book of the Netherworld. Alchemists then adopted the symbol into their mystical work of physical and spiritual transformation. After chemistry supplanted its more mystical forebear, alchemy, the Ouroboros was largely forgotten. That … Continued
Sarah Durn -
io9Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan Talks About Going From Recreating History to Making It
The Master is back and he’s feeling inspired. Doctor Who is getting ready for its season finale, which pits Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor against the Cybermen, and co-star Sacha Dhawan is sharing new details on what it’s like going from playing a real-world Doctor Who director to one of the show’s most-significant characters, while noting how … Continued
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ScienceHealthHelmets From WWI Just as Protective Against Overhead Blasts as Modern Helmets
New research suggests helmets used in World War I protected soldiers against overhead artillery blasts just as well as modern helmets—and one, the French Adrian helmet, actually performed better. When the First World War started, soldiers didn’t wear helmets. Military planners hadn’t fully anticipated the horrific extent of modern warfare until it stared them back … Continued
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io9GamesYou’ll Never Guess Who Has One of the Top Bids on That Rare Nintendo Playstation
An incredibly rare piece of gaming history is up for auction right now and guess who is trying to buy it for their ridiculous-sounding attempt at game conservation? Oculus founder Palmer Luckey tweeted last night that he was the top bidder for an incredibly rare Nintendo Playstation that is currently being auctioned by Heritage Auctions. … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
Tech NewsThe Agony and the Ecstasy of the Concord Grape
In 1849, Ephraim Wales Bull strolled through rows of wild grapes in his Concord, Massachusetts yard, each plant’s bare limbs spread out as if shrugging. After more than a decade experimenting with Isabella grapes that wouldn’t ripen outdoors and musty-tasting wild grapes that ripened too late, most people would’ve given up. Bull refused to. On … Continued
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ScienceHuman HistoryVictims of Ancient Vesuvius Eruption Were Baked, Not Vaporized, According to New Research
A novel analysis of the skeletal remains of Vesuvius victims who sought shelter during the catastrophic eruption 2,000 years ago suggests they endured a slower death than is typically appreciated. Like the nearby settlements of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Oplontis, the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum was devastated when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. The … Continued
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io9Doctor Who’s Latest Champions Invention With a Collection of Old Ideas
Four episodes in, and so far this season of Doctor Who feels like a major pitch back to its past. Old faces, more monsters, stark messages. It’s all good and proper Doctor Who. But a commitment to bringing back the vibe of Doctor Who also brings with it a familiar problem: episodes that feel like … Continued
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io9Books & ComicsThe Anti-War, Pro-Animal Rights, Colonialist History of Doctor Dolittle’s Creation
Doctor Dolittle usually conjures up memories of Eddie Murphy being stuck in a bathroom with a bear taking a dump, or that time a squirrel was imbibed with gin so it would sit still for a scene with Rex Harrison. Now, with Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle featuring a fire-breathing dragon, it’s hard to picture who … Continued
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ScienceHealthAmericans’ Body Temperature Has Been Dropping Since the 19th Century, Study Finds
A new study has found evidence that the average blood temperature of people in the U.S. has lowered over the past century and a half—probably because we’re in better health. The authors of the new study, published in the journal eLife, looked at the medical records of Americans, including Civil War veterans, from three periods … Continued
By Ed Cara -
io9Last Week’s Doctor Who Cut a Death Scene That Could’ve Been Real Rough
Last week’s Doctor Who episode provided a tantalizing new arc and a darker path for the 13th Doctor to go on. It also had some…let’s say interesting moments set in World War II Paris, moments that could’ve been even more interesting if a planned death scene apparently cut from the episode had made it in. “Spyfall, … Continued
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Tech NewsDefense Department, Army Units Post Glossy Photo of Nazi War Criminal to Facebook
Today in extremely bad decisions: The Department of Defense as well as the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and XVIII Airborne Corps uploaded the same glossy, artificially colorized headshot of reviled war criminal and Waffen-SS officer Joachim Peiper to Facebook on Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported. The posts were ostensibly part of a series commemorating … Continued
By Tom McKay -
ScienceHuman HistoryDiscovery of Bronze Age Warrior’s Kit Sheds New Light on an Epic Prehistoric Battle
A knife, chisel, arrowheads, and other gear belonging to a Bronze Age warrior have been uncovered on a 3,300-year-old battlefield in Germany. New research published today in Antiquity highlights some of the military equipment that was in use during the Nordic Bronze Age (2000 to 1200 BCE). Over 30 items belonging to a single warrior … Continued
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io9A Fan-Made Recreation of a Lost Doctor Who Episode Is Being Officially Premiered by the BBC
In recent years, the BBC has made great strides in attempting to either recover or recreate the missing history of Doctor Who’s lost episodes. Whether that’s the incredible rarity of actual recovery or animated reconstructions, for one of the most intriguing lost tales they’ve now turned to an alternative medium: fan films. This morning the … Continued
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ScienceHuman HistoryBefore Cranes, Ancient Greeks May Have Used This Ingenious Lifting Machine to Move Heavy Stones
Cranes first appeared in ancient Greece over 2,500 years ago, but new research suggests a primitive lifting machine—a kind of forerunner to the crane—was in use around 150 years earlier. The ancient Greeks are renowned for their monumental stone architecture, which they managed to build without the aid of modern equipment. That said, the ancient … Continued
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Tech NewsThe History Channel is Digging Up John Dillinger’s Body But Nobody Really Knows Why
The History Channel has received a permit to dig up the body of 1930s gangster John Dillinger from his grave at a cemetery in Indiana. Why? Nobody really knows yet. Dillinger became a folk hero for robbing banks as a kind of Robin Hood figure during the Great Depression. And by all accounts, Dillinger was … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightEuropean Space Agency Chief Urges Humanity to Protect Apollo 11, Lunokhod 1 Landing Sites
July 20, 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the date when Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface, and the chief of the European Space Agency (ESA) wants to give their landing site, Tranquility Base, special heritage status. Per the Guardian, ESA director general … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsThis 1960s Comic Strip Claimed Nuclear Explosions Were the Future of Road Construction
Nuclear weapons can wipe out an entire city in the blink of an eye, but what about all the good they can do? That was the pitch from this 1965 comic strip that extolled the virtues of nuclear bombs to build everything from highways to a “second Panama canal.” Americans of the 1950s and ‘60s … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsCBS News is Livestreaming the Original Apollo 11 Launch Broadcast in Real Time Right Now
CBS News is currently livestreaming its original broadcast from fifty years ago, when the original Apollo 11 crew launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to put the first humans on the Moon. The event is being livestreamed in real time, and while the launch won’t occur until 9:32 am ET today, you can watch … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsCommerceHere’s What People Thought of Amazon When It First Launched in the Mid-1990s
Amazon was founded on July 5, 1994, and launched its online store in 1995, letting people buy books from the comfort of their homes. Twenty-five years after its inception, Amazon now sells everything from taco holders shaped like dinosaurs to tongue brushes that humans can use to lick their cats. And you’d have to be … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsMetallic Hydrogen, Toxic Fandom, and the Fifth Dimension: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
Lying, tech tricks, and snares, oh my: This week at Gizmodo, our team of reporters and editors hit three different ways consumers are being ripped off, manipulated, or tracked in secret in their everyday doings on the web. Those include “surveillance scores” e-commerce companies use to charge different customers different prices for the same products, … Continued
By Tom McKay