There May Be an Evolutionary Reason for Masturbation, After All

Most people think of masturbation as a poor substitute for sex. The question is, why is it a substitute for sex? For most species, it doesn’t seem to achieve any kind of evolutionary purpose. Or does it? Historically, masturbation was considered sinful because it did not—it could not—produce any offspring. That’s not a socially progressive…

Fans and Cast Members Join All Right-Thinking People In Calling For a Revival of The 4400

Remember The 4400, the show about a group of 4,400 people who mysteriously reappeared at the same time after vanishing at various points since 1946? Remember how the show itself vanished, in 2007, after a cliff-hanger ended its fourth season? Nearly 10 years later, devoted fans are hoping to see the show make a return,…

The 5 Scariest Cults in Modern History

Some terrifying cults are so well-known they can be described with a single word: Manson, Waco, Jeffs, Jonestown. Others may not be as iconic—at least in America—but still provide plenty of nightmare material. Here are five examples, all of which made made screaming headlines during their flashes of notoriety, but have seldom been heard from…

In This Week’s Comics, There’s a High-Fantasy Series We’ve Waited All Year To Read

It’s a quiet week for new comics—as indicated by a bevy of annuals. But in the midst of this quiet, we’ve got From Under Mountains, one of our must-read comics of the season. On top of that? Agents of SHIELD’s Melinda May gets her own one-off comic! Let’s check out all the new series of…

You’re looking at the smallest snail ever discovered. Measuring just 0.86mm in height, ten of these extreme “microsnails” could fit within the eye of a single needle, though it’s not immediately obvious why they evolved to be so small. Called Angustopila dominikae, the new species of snail was discovered in China’s Guangxi province. Photograph: Dr…

Continuum and the Biggest Pitfalls That TV Shows About Time Travel Fall Into

Check out the coolest moment from last Friday’s brand new episode of Continuum. We’re halfway through the final season of this time-warping cop show, and it still has the power to deliver some really neat character moments. But Continuum is also falling prey to television’s worst habits when it comes to time travel. First off,…

Scully Can’t Trust Mulder In Even More New Footage From The X-Files Revival!

Last night, Fox premiered two short TV ads giving us our first proper look at the triumphant return of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in The X-Files. But now they’ve released an extended cut of the trailer with new footage—and damn, Scully just doesn’t want to believe in Mulder any more. https://gizmodo.com/mulder-and-scully-re-open-the-x-files-in-this-first-new-1733536670 The trailer is…

The Fujiwhara Effect Makes Cyclones Dance Around Each Other

In the early 1920s a researcher spent his days watching vortexes in water circle around each other. A hundred years later, we do the same thing—but we do it from space as we wonder which way a tropical storm is going to go. Sakuhei Fujiwhara was a Japanese meteorologist who ended up being on the…

On Blindspot, You Can’t Hide From The Secret Murder Drones

Another week, another decrypted Jane Doe tattoo about a crazy pending crime. This time around, Jane and the FBI team—holy crap, is that a military-grade rogue drone overhead? RUN! RUN!!! Whew, that was close. Allow me to use my sublimated field medicine skills to stanch your bleeding. In case you knocked your head and forgot…

An Official New Back to the Future Short Finally Brings Doc Brown Back to 2015 

As if you didn’t already know, next month finally marks the day from Back to the Future Part II when Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrived in 2015. There’s a lot going on to celebrate the occasion (click here for proof) but this may be the best thing yet. Above you see Doc Brown himself,…

The Inside Story on Lightless, One of the Year’s Most Exciting New Space Operas!

The brand new space opera novel Lightless is a fast-paced, gripping read, and like all good science fiction, explores the human side of cutting-edge scientific concepts. We talked to debut author C.A. Higgins about using real physics in her story. In Lightless, a prototype spaceship on its maiden voyage on behalf of a totalitarian regime…

What Caused This Gaping Hole to Appear On an Australian Beach?

This past weekend, a large portion of an Australian beach suddenly collapsed into the ocean. Initial reports indicated it was a sinkhole, but geologists say it’s more likely to be the result of a unique near-shore landslide. The Inskip Sinkhole, as it was first described, appeared on Saturday September 26 at the Inskip Peninsular at…

A Brand New Kids’ Space Opera Series From Some of Your Favorite YA Authors

Voyagers aims to be a brand new Star Wars for the young generation, right while everybody is getting excited about the upcoming Force Awakens. There are six books coming out in the next year, written by people like City of Ember author Jeanne DuPrau and Skinned author Robin Wasserman. Check out an excerpt! In the…

This Element Could Have Made an Atom Bomb If Not for One Thing

Uranium and plutonium have gotten famous, or infamous, because they are used in atom bombs. We could have been saying that about another material—one that few actually know. Learn about the material that didn’t quite make it into The Bomb. Neptunium is squashed between uranium and plutonium on the periodic table of elements. This gives…

The Best Worst Batman Comic Ever Might Not Be Over

As we’ve discussed on several occasions, Frank Miller’s insane All-Star Batman and Robin comic is one of the worst interpretations of Batman ever, but it is also massively entertaining anyways. And now, it turns out Miller might return to finish the epic where Batman so memorably called Robin “retarded.” Here’s the deal: Miller has returned…

New Clues Point to Hidden Chambers at King Tut’s Tomb

There may be treasures still waiting to be discovered at the site of King Tut’s tomb, nearly a century after it was first discovered in 1922. After inspecting the site yesterday, a team of archaeologists say they’ve found evidence of two previously undiscovered rooms—rooms that may hold the remains of Queen Nefertiti. The inspection occurred…

The Four Doctors Is a Comic Reunion the Twelfth Doctor Never Knew He Needed

Peter Capaldi's Doctor gets his team-up in the Titan Comics miniseries.

Parents Are Suing Welch’s Fruit Snacks for Confusing Kids About What Fruit Is

Parents who were shocked (shocked!) to find that Welch’s fruit snacks—despite being compressed into the shape of tiny, tiny fruits—were not actually fruit-like at all but something closer to fruity candy, have brought a lawsuit. To be fair to the parents, Welch’s fruit snacks do, indeed, bill themselves as a “fruit” snack. To be fair…

See Thor and Vision Make Out in the New Avengers: Age of Ultron Gag Reel

The first Avengers: Age of Ultron gag reel was funny, but there’s a new one out and it’s better. Why? Well, there’s a lot of passionate kissing between odd characters, such as Vision and Thor, and we even get some blooper CGI that likely cost more than most other movies. Seriously, how much did it…

Gotham Is the Wackiest Show About Setting a Bus Full of Cheerleaders on Fire Ever Made

Last week, I called Gotham “still bizarre, still silly, and a lot better.” I would like to add something to my assessment of season two: Gotham is also horrifically, ludicrously violent. Arguably far more violent than a show where the criminals wear matching theme outfits has any right to be. Gotham has always been simultaneously…