After three decades on the market, Autodesk’s software has radically transformed modern architecture, science, and art. In downtown San Francisco, Autodesk exhibits a rotating gallery showing off twenty of its most impressive design feats. On a recent tour, Gizmodo saw the stunning range of the program’s capabilities. Engineers use it to plan the most the … Continued

Most people think that Indiana Jones’ fear of snakes stemmed from a traumatic childhood experience. Wrong. In truth, his ophidiophobia came about after failing repeatedly to defend his Ph.D. thesis. Jones may have known his archaeology backwards and forwards, but all his hours of academic research did basically nothing to prepare him for one of … Continued

Check out a brand new promo for the final five episodes of Continuum season one, airing Sundays at 9 on Canada’s Showcase channel. Now that Edouard Kagame is back in charge of the Liber8 gang, it looks like he’s wasting no time starting a mass movement that will Occupy some people into the hospital. There … Continued

Smartphones are incredible social tools. They give us the power to ignore other people like never before. In fact, not having to ever speak to humans might just be the best part. Here’s how to block everyone, every time, without ever facing any consequences. This best part of this pocket power to push people into … Continued

Everyone from NASA pilots to MMA fighters goes through oxygen deprivation testing and training. There are websites devoted to helping you train under conditions of reduced oxygen, in order to boost your athletic prowess. But does it work? And how could oxygen starvation possibly make you stronger? As part of its training facility, NASA has … Continued

Ah, the board game party. One of life’s most fulfilling evenings. Gathering together with your friends to really liven up your night with a little Trivia Pursuit and SceneIt! Maybe some Dungeons and Dragons or Magic: The Gathering for the geekier among you. Maybe that’s not your kinda party, though. Maybe you need a little … Continued

Remember the scene in Amazing Spider-Man where the Lizard says to Peter Parker, “You want to know the truth about your parents? Come and get it”? Us neither. That bit was in a bunch of the trailers for the film — but got cut out before the movie hit theaters, joining many other instances of … Continued

Steampunk superheroes are not an unfamiliar concept, but this particular batch was drafted by Italian artist Denis Medri — who was responsible for those delightful greaser Batman designs — so we’ll give them a pass. Behold such villains as Kraven, the Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus, who I presume is named “Professor Cephalopod” in this … Continued

Growing up, the summer tennis season was always my favorite. Beginning with the French Open, and culminating with the U.S. Open, I spent many a lazy summer day watching the likes of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer demolish opponent after opponent. As as “adult,” being in the office every day makes that less of a … Continued

A recent article published by Kelly Brownell in PLos Medicine arguing for the regulation of the food industry has gone off like a hand grenade. Health, diet, and wellness websites are all abuzz this week over his contention that “Big Food” will always be a self-serving, socially irresponsible force — a problem that Brownell believes … Continued

Beyond the rock stars like Neil DeGrasse Tyson and multi-billion dollar, cutting-edge facilities like CERN, a lot of physics (especially the theoretical sort) is still done the same way it was at the turn of the last century—by hand, on blackboards. Our friends at Oobject have assembled a gallery of history’s brightest minds leveraging old-school … Continued

How do babies learn to walk? And how to victims of spinal cord injuries regain the ability to do so? We might soon have a bit more insight into these phenomena, because researchers at the University of Arizona have created the first pair of legs that can walk in in a biologically accurate way. So … Continued

It’s unlikely LEGO will ever produce an H.P. Lovecraft-themed line of LEGO sets — what with the cosmic abominations and the creeping madness and unholy geometry and all that jazz —but that hasn’t stopped several intrepid builders from constructing their own eldritch play sets. Here are a dozen scenes inspired by the Cthulhu mythos. Unfathomable … Continued

You’re looking at the latest work of John Nelson, who is becoming well known for combining natural-disaster data with brilliant visualizations. The Michigan-based designer first captured our attention with a series of fantastic maps of U.S. tornado data. Now, he’s used his talents to chart a century’s worth of earthquakes (a staggering 203,186 of them) … Continued

Basically the coolest and most futuristic app for iOS is finally on Android. Word Lens—the augmented reality app that translates signs, newspapers, menus, and anything else from one language to another in real time—is finally out on Android. After a few minutes of testing the Android version, this initial build is decent, but very jumpy. … Continued

In a horrible July 4th accident, a paraplegic man’s leg was blown off while he was trying to light fireworks while still in his wheelchair. The fiery explosion blew the man’s leg 50 feet across the street where it smacked a neighbor’s house. That is not fun. The accident, which occurred at Hazel Park, Michigan, … Continued

Hello there, shopper! You seem like the type who would be interested in some breasts tablets. Can we interest you in our latest Windows 8 breasts tablet, with the revolutionary Breasto Metro UI? It feels great in a sultry paid actress’s crotch the hand, and we think the message that women, yoga, anything to do … Continued

Over the past few months, we’ve featured Hugo-nominated artist John Picacio’s fascinating tutorials on the process behind the artwork in his 2012 calendar for George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Now, at last, here’s the sixth and final process post — which might be the most exciting yet. For it features Arya … Continued

The Amazon phone rumor mill is in full force right now, and regardless of whether they’re true or not, the idea of Amazon making phones is an intriguing prospect. But without an operating system of its own, Amazon would need to imbue such a device with features that make it stand out. If you were … Continued

Truels are things guaranteed to make any Western fifty percent better — by adding a third person to a duel. Each person can choose his or her target, and the worst person might very well be the winner — provided they play it smart. Learn how to win yourself a truel, gunslinger-style. Game theorists have … Continued