Alasdair Wilkins, Author at Gizmodo

Choose the 4 Worst Science Fiction Movies Ever: The Last Airbender Vs. Highlander II!

We’re down to the Elite Eight in our quest to find the worst science fiction movie ever made. Who will it be? Mac & Me or Catwoman? Battlefield Earth or Batman & Robin? The time to vote is now! You can find all the polls down below. As far as criteria for voting goes, we…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins and Meredith Woerner

Tons of New Black Widow Footage in a New Avengers Trailer. Plus the New Robocop Speaks!

Just as one Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles controversy dies down, another takes its place. Costar Jim Sturgess discusses the sprawling Cloud Atlas adaptation. Plus new Doctor Who hints and trailers for Snow White and the Huntsman, Wrath of the Titans, and Dark Shadows! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Doctor Who. The Avengers…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

And Now, the Sound of Farting Fish

How better to end the day than with some ichthyological flatulence? Thanks to an undersea robot, we’ve recorded some fish off the coast of Florida producing some previously unknown sounds. And the best explanation really is that the fish are farting. Specifically, fish such as menhaden and herring likely created the noise by releasing gas…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

High-energy radiation reveals a pair of secret Vincent Van Gogh paintings

This portrait of two half-naked wrestlers was painted by Vincent Van Gogh when he was an art student in Antwerp. It’s been hiding in plain sight for over 125 years, and its discovery also confirmed another disputed Van Gogh painting. These two wrestlers were painted around 1885, when Van Gogh was a 32-year-old art student…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Eating chocolate could actually help you lose weight

Chocolate, like any other candy, makes you fat. That’s such a basic and well-known fact that it’s easily taken for granted… but it could be wrong. New research reveals that people who regularly eat chocolate are thinner than those who don’t. Top image: Shutterstock.com That’s the finding of UC San Diego researchers Beatrice Golomb, Sabrina…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

A colossal “superwind” is blowing all across this galaxy

Galaxy M82 isn’t just having kind of a blustery day — thanks to a recent near-collision with another galaxy, all its massive stars and supernovas are combining to create a massive galaxy-wide superwind. The result is that huge haze of red gas. All star systems create what’s known as solar wind, which is the stream…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Which members of The Avengers will be back in Iron Man 3?

We know Tony Stark survives The Avengers — but who else can we be reasonably sure survives the Joss Whedon Death Touch? A list of major characters in Iron Man 3 gives us a major hint. Plus Chris Hemsworth discusses the dress sense of the Avengers, and Thor’s journey. Director Jonathan Liebesman explains more about…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

io9 Roundup: March 25, 2012

VICTORY IN THE ARENA (AND AT THE BOX OFFICE) | The Hunger Games had a huge opening weekend, breaking box office records like a tribute’s delicate bones. Katniss and Peeta art by Mike Maihack of the webcomic Cleopatra in Spaaace!! [via The Uniblog] Secret door inside this wardrobe leads to a Narnia-themed playroom https://gizmodo.com/secret-door-inside-this-wardrobe-leads-to-a-narnia-them-5896087 Some…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Evidence is piling up for water flowing on the surface Mars

Last August, NASA’s HiRISE orbiter spotted strange streaks on the Martian surface that most likely were the result of flowing water on the planet’s surface. Now, eight months later, scientists still haven’t come up with any better explanations. https://gizmodo.com/scientists-find-evidence-of-liquid-water-on-the-surface-5827462 That’s important because of the old scientific maxim that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” The existence…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Why cats can survive falls that would kill any other animal

Cats can famously fall from skyscrapers and only suffer the most minor of bruises, including the recent story of a cat surviving a 19-story fall in Boston with only a bruised chest. What’s the secret of this feline survival? There’s a great rundown of just how cats survive these falls over at BBC News, but…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

One little black hole really wouldn’t hurt Earth that much

Primordial black holes are theoretical mini black holes that were formed in the Big Bang. If they are around, they could pass right through our planet at tremendous speeds…and, as it turns out, that wouldn’t be that big a deal. These black holes would only be about the size of an atomic nucleus, but their…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The last mammoths died out just 3600 years ago…but they should have survived

We usually think of woolly mammoths as purely Ice Age creatures. But while most did indeed die out 10,000 years ago, one tiny population endured on isolated Wrangel Island until 1650 BCE. So why did they finally go extinct? Wrangel Island is an uninhabited scrap of land off the northern coast of far eastern Siberia.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The size of your brain can predict how many friends you have

We recently learned a bigger brain doesn’t necessarily mean a better brain, but here’s a potentially major exception. Your ability to make and maintain friendships appears to be linked to the size of one particular region of the brain. https://gizmodo.com/the-4-biggest-myths-about-the-human-brain-5890414 It’s sometimes said that you can know a person by looking in their eyes, but…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Last night’s Touch may just be the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever seen

When Touch premiered in January, I wondered how the pilot’s interlocking, coincidence- and contrivance-driven formula could possibly support a weekly series. Well, if last night’s big bag of ridiculousness is anything to go by, it can’t. It really, really can’t. As a general rule, I don’t think it’s fair to write off a TV series…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Stan Lee reveals the secrets of all his upcoming Marvel cameos. Plus more big clues for Fringe and Supernatural!

Danai Gurira discusses playing Michonne on The Walking Dead. Rupert Sanders reveals an intriguing dwarf-related hint about Snow White and the Huntsman. Seth Grahame-Smith talks Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Dark Shadows. Plus Battleship and Wrath of the Titans videos! It’s spoilers all the way down! Top image from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The Avengers…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Why did we evolve to experience “runner’s high”?

We recently learned that women can have orgasms from exercising, and now it seems the pleasures of exercise are even more deeply woven into our evolution. The “runner’s high” experienced after strenuous exertion was actually key to our species’ success. https://gizmodo.com/women-can-have-orgasms-from-exercising-say-scientists-5894406 The runners high is something most athletes experience at one point or another. It’s…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Everything you need to know about the season’s final episodes of Fringe!

Fringe returns from its hiatus tomorrow with the eight final episodes of the show’s fourth – and hopefully not last – season. The cast and creative team recently told us all about the crazy twists and revelations that lie ahead. While at WonderCon, we got the chance to chat with executive producers Jeff Pinkner and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Hypervelocity planets are zooming out of our galaxy at warp speed

The wildest ride in the galaxy is found on hypervelocity planets. These worlds got too close to the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, and have been flung away at a twentieth of the speed of light. While rogue planets are common enough, these hypervelocity planets represent a much rarer case and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

More Big Clues About What to Expect Next From Doctor Who. Plus the Final Secrets of The Hunger Games!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt isn’t worried about audiences understanding Looper. Rachel Weisz talks about playing one of the witches in Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful. Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe are all but official for Noah. Plus new Prometheus images! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games Director…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Inside the 50-year battle over what to call the Higgs boson

All the latest data suggests we’re at last on the verge of finding the elusive Higgs boson…and that will likely reignite one of physics’s longest-running controversies. Let’s gear up for the surprisingly fierce debate over what to call this particle. This issue is all about who really deserves the credit for theorizing the existence of…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Alasdair Wilkins

Choose the 4 Worst Science Fiction Movies Ever: The Last Airbender Vs. Highlander II!

Tons of New Black Widow Footage in a New Avengers Trailer. Plus the New Robocop Speaks!

And Now, the Sound of Farting Fish

High-energy radiation reveals a pair of secret Vincent Van Gogh paintings

Eating chocolate could actually help you lose weight

A colossal “superwind” is blowing all across this galaxy

Which members of The Avengers will be back in Iron Man 3?

io9 Roundup: March 25, 2012

Evidence is piling up for water flowing on the surface Mars

Why cats can survive falls that would kill any other animal

One little black hole really wouldn’t hurt Earth that much

The last mammoths died out just 3600 years ago…but they should have survived

The size of your brain can predict how many friends you have

Last night’s Touch may just be the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever seen

Stan Lee reveals the secrets of all his upcoming Marvel cameos. Plus more big clues for Fringe and Supernatural!

Why did we evolve to experience “runner’s high”?

Everything you need to know about the season’s final episodes of Fringe!

Hypervelocity planets are zooming out of our galaxy at warp speed

More Big Clues About What to Expect Next From Doctor Who. Plus the Final Secrets of The Hunger Games!

Inside the 50-year battle over what to call the Higgs boson

Study Challenges Popular Theory on Why Primordial Bugs Were So Darn Huge

Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway’s Mystery’s Sci-Fi Film Has Its First Trailer

Scientists Just Found the Salt Limit That Pushes Your Heart to the Breaking Point

White House Social Media Just Had Its Covfefe Moment

Roborock F25 Ultra Steam Wet Dry Vacuum Is Now at Its Lowest Price, but Only During the Spring Sale Window

This $450 Semi-Dumb Phone Is Barely Even a Phone

Startup Successfully Ignites World’s First Fusion Rocket

Shokz OpenDots One Earbuds Hit Their Lowest Price Yet Across All Color Options, Including the New Ones

INIU Portable Power Bank Is Small in Size and Smaller in Price for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (45W, 10,000mAh)

Humans Were Already Dog People 16,000 Years Ago, DNA Suggests

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees