Electric guitars changed the game when it came to music. From Jimi Hendrix to Eddie Van Halen, they have all used the instrument to make incredible tunes. But the science behind guitars is much more complicated than you think.
Gadget or gimmick? The truth behind viral tech products
ChatGPT
Oh, it’s Friday. Let’s lighten our tech brains and hearts.
Every week, some new gadget promises to make your life easier. There’s a fine line though between “tech that improves your life” and “tech that ends up in a junk drawer next to the USB lava lamp.”
I ran them through the highly scientific Kim Scale™ so you don’t have to. Let me break down the viral tech everyone’s talking about.
👓 Blue Light Glasses
Claim: Reduce eyestrain and improve sleep by filtering blue light from screens.
Reality: Studies show these glasses might help with sleep, but most digital eyestrain comes from not blinking and staring too long, not blue light itself.
Kim Scale: ★★☆☆☆
Verdict: A little helpful if you’re doomscrolling at night, but don’t expect miracles. Honestly, blinking more often is free. Your move, capitalism.
📴 EMF Blockers
Claim: Shield your body from harmful electromagnetic radiation.
Reality: There’s no solid scientific proof that EMF-blocking stickers or necklaces actually do anything, but they’re big business.
Kim Scale: ☆☆☆☆☆
Verdict: Science and I both say skip it. It’s giving a “tinfoil hat, but make it on Etsy” vibe.
🖥️ Anti-Spy Screen Filters
Claim: Keep people from viewing your screen from side angles.
Reality: These actually work! If you’re checking email at a coffee shop or handling private info on a plane, they’re a smart choice.
Kim Scale: ★★★★☆
Verdict: Privacy win. Good for privacy, or for pretending you’re working when you’re definitely not.
🛏️ The Self-Making Smart Duvet
Claim: Makes your bed with the push of a button.
Reality: This thing literally inflates inside your duvet to straighten your sheets every morning. Cool? Yes. Practical? Depends how lazy you want to get.
Kim Scale: ★★☆☆☆
Verdict: Equal parts impressive and ridiculous. Coming soon: a Roomba that brushes your teeth and tells you you’re special.
🍌 The Banana Phone
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
📚 Turn “da-da” into data: Get your kiddo ready for the future (and AI) with these 30 free STEM resources. The list includes apps, games and classes to teach youngsters stuff like coding, aeronautics, mathematics and, yes, data science. You could have the next little Elon.
The Satanic space flight
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket launch with Katy Perry and Gayle King is under fire online. Not for science, but for satanic symbols and staged space drama.
🧠 OpenAI’s new models: The recently released o3 and o4-mini aren’t your typical chatbots. They’re trained to think deeply and come up with their own experiments. So, perfect for science, tech, engineering and math. The kicker? It might cost $20,000 a month!
1 hour
The weekly amount of weight training needed to gain muscle. One study found just two 30-minute sessions a week helped participants get noticeably stronger and more jacked (paywall link), no five-day grind or bro science required. One set per exercise. Nine moves. That’s it. I hear you: “Instead of calling my bathroom the John, I call it the Jim. That way I can tell people I go to the Jim every morning.”
AI upgrade: Hit this link to try Google’s new Gemini 2.5 free. All you need is a Google account. What’s different? Version 2.5 “thinks” before it replies for higher-quality answers, and it beats the other big AI bots in math and science.
The beautiful science of Iridescence
If you have ever seen a hummingbird, you may have noticed the bright colors on its stomach or how it appears to change shades in the light. This is called Iridescence, and many animals have it. The change of color comes from how light is reflected off their bodies. But why do animals have this ability, and what makes it an evolutionary benefit?
3,700 miles
How far a man’s body was flown from the UK to Michigan to be stored in a liquid nitrogen cryogenic chamber. The goal? Freeze now and hope science figures out how to bring him back to life later. Think advancements in AI, stem cell research and nanotechnology. Hey, it’s a long shot, but when you’re already dead, what have you got to lose?
❤️ Heartfelt science: Scientists have unveiled a pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice that can be injected and powered by light. Tailored for newborns with heart issues, this tiny tech marvel dissolves when its mission is complete. Talk about a disappearing act.
🧠 How every zombie movie starts: Scientists recently revived activity in a dead pig’s brain by pumping it full of a special chemical cocktail designed to mimic blood flow. The result? Brain cells started producing proteins and showing signs of life, but it wasn’t conscious. Now they want to try this on a human brain. Personally, I can think of a few better ways to spend science funding that don’t sound like a prequel to The Walking Dead.
Over $500,000
How much AI scientists can make per year because the skills are in such high demand. The kicker? You don’t even need a computer science degree. Everything you need to learn is available online (paywall link). Remember, If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.
🪑 Fidgeting at your desk? Science says that’s your body’s way of telling you to get off your butt. Even if you feel comfortable, sitting too long can cause pain and mess with your concentration. Every 30 minutes, stand up and stretch, or at least switch your seating positions. You’ll boost your blood flow, lower stress and even keep your brain sharp. And no more cankles!
🤖 It’s alive: OpenAI’s new o3 model can “think,” aka reason and check facts on its own. That’s a giant step toward artificial general intelligence (AGI), where bots can do tasks they were never specifically trained for. Rest easy, o3 is a total ace at math and science, but it’s not quite ready to take over the world.
Are scammers using infidelity to manipulate you?
“Your spouse is cheating on you.” That’s the shocking line behind a new sextortion scam. The message includes a link claiming to offer “proof,” but it’s a trap to get you to click. Plus, Gen Z is moving away from Google, and strange science wins big at the Ig Nobel awards.
The biggest heist in history
What’s the backbone of chatbots like Gemini or ChatGPT? It’s the art, science, and hard work of real humans — humans who may never get credit or compensation.
This mom goes screen-free
Most kids are glued to the computer. But Stacy Liberatore, Deputy Science and Technology Editor at DailyMail.com, takes a different approach — she says no to screens for her daughter. Plus, updates on ChatGPT-4o, Gmail AI features, and fast food freebies.
Scariest movies this Halloween, backed by science
Want a good fright? I list some great horror flicks that’ll get your heart racing. Plus, I answer one of your tech inquiries in a Q&A segment!
April 29th, 2023
AI spam flooding the web, 60-sec cybersecurity checks. Plus, ChatGPT generated cliches about every state. What’d it say about it? Listen to my chat with a voiceover artist fighting to keep her job as AI grows. Science reveals when aliens could come to Earth, why we’re addicted to selfies and a smart ring that lets you feel your partner’s heartbeat no matter where they are.
The science of love
Love is a complex and intricate emotion. We all yearn for love, but the pain can be overwhelming when it’s lost. While it’s true that it originates in the chemistry of our brains, can science honestly explain love? Does it involve more than just chemical reactions?