tech

The Week

8 Drivers Who Blindly Followed their GPS into Disaster

Take note: The machine does not always know where it's going... READ ON

Science

New Study Shows Humans Feel Empathy for Robots

On the TV show Battlestar Galactica, the humans experience conflicting feelings when dealing with the humanoid Cylons. While some find it easy to torture the robots, even though they resemble humans, many cringe at the thought of terrorizing the Cylons. It turns out the writers got this right—humans empathize with robots as much as people.... READ ON

Big Question

How Do Noise-Canceling Headphones Work?

Noise-canceling headphones seem like an oxymoron: a piece of audio technology that creates silence, rather than noise. They’re useful on planes, in crowded offices, and for light sleepers trying to catch some shut-eye in a thin-walled apartment, but how can a pair of headphones make sound disappear?... READ ON

The Week

WATCH: The World's Smallest Movie, Starring ... Atoms

The Week

Why CERN is Recreating the First Web Page

The European science organization wants to remind the world that, 20 years ago, it gave us the World Wide Web for free... READ ON

Big Question

How Does a Plastic Bag Fix a Buggy Credit Card?

Reader Amanda writes, “I was a cashier for a few years and when the register wouldn’t read a credit card, we would wrap the card in a plastic bag and run it through again and it would work. What makes the register read the card when it’s wrapped with a plastic bag?"... READ ON

History

100 History-Making Cameras on One Poster

To celebrate photography or, more accurately, the devices that make it possible, Pop Chart Lab has designed a stunning new poster that tracks the history of the camera from 1888 to today. ... READ ON

The Presidents

Presidential Flight Before Air Force One

They’ve been called “flying Oval Offices,” presently contain some of the world’s most high-tech missile defense systems, and even starred in an action movie alongside Harrison Ford. Yet, contrary to popular belief, Presidential airplanes have been around since 1933—26 years before the phrase “Air Force One” was first uttered.... READ ON

The Week

The Cell Phone Turns 40

On April 3, 1973, a Motorola employee named Martin Cooper strolled out onto New York's Sixth Avenue with an oddly-shaped plastic brick in his hand. He pressed a few buttons, puzzled onlookers by holding the device to his ear, and placed the world's first ever cell phone call to Joel Engel, the head of research at Bell Labs. Cooper told his chief rival that, yes, Motorola had successfully engineered the world's first cell phone. History: Made.... READ ON