ASAP Science Runs Through How Many Cherry Pits and Tablespoons of Spice Will Kill You

This is the ultimate video to illustrate that “the dose makes the poison.” ASAP Science explains how much seasoning, how many cherry pits, and how much loud music will murder you. Was anyone really surprised to learn that only a few cherry pits will kill someone? This video makes marijuana look surprisingly safe by comparison.…

Nielsen Is Tracking What We Like to Watch on Netflix

Global information company Nielsen is months into a program that allows it to track the performance of shows on streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, the Wall Street Journal reports. This sort of data could offer major studios the ammo they desperately want in order to negotiate higher licensing fees. Studios like Twentieth…

How to Recreate One of Aliens‘ Most Iconic Props For Under $30 

Many of you now know about one of the many things I collect. Another thing on that list is prop replicas of weapons from movies. I’ve got lightsabers and samurai swords, but one thing I always wanted and never got was the Pulse Rifle from Aliens. Now I can build one for under $30. The…

Check Out “Noticing,” a New Project From Robert Krulwich and Aatish Bhatia

Two of our favorite science writers, Robert Krulwich and Aatish Bhatia, just launched a new science blog about “noticing small things and exploring big ideas.” They call their project “Noticing.” [Noticing is] for folks who like to look around. Who can’t not. Who find it hard to get anywhere on time because there’s always something…

So, Every Science Fiction and Fantasy Character Ever Walk Into a Bar … 

Artist Noah Stacey (Zen-Master on DeviantArt) created this piece of art for the menus at Storm Crow Tavern in Vancouver, which imagines a galactic way station where Lando absolutely destroys Link at holographic monster chess. See the full art below. Contact the author at [email protected].

What’s the Most Enjoyably Terrifying Animal-Attack Movie Ever Made?

Last week, Zoo was the second-most watched show in America. Yep, the silliest show on TV is a huge hit. Clearly, the people have spoken, and what they’re saying is: We can’t get enough of ANIMALS ATTACKING! But this genre is hardly new, with some of its finest examples hitting (drive-in) theaters decades ago. So…

Scandinavian Children’s Books Get Away With Way More Sex and Violence

Scandinavians are just a lot more relaxed about certain things. Like, one popular Norwegian book for eight-year-olds includes lessons on how to masturbate. Author Ingelin Røssland, writing in the Guardian, explains just how far children’s and young-adult titles can go in Scandinavia. Røssland writes: Traditionally, Scandinavian authors take a child’s world very seriously. Think of…

Beach Stink Smells Bad Because It Went Through Two Different Animals

As much as we like to marvel at the power and majesty of the ocean, we have to admit that as beautiful as it is, it also stinks. It stinks because it’s shot through with sulfur. And that sulfur has seen the insides of two different creatues before it got to your nose. Our story…

Nextwave Is A Bloody Brilliant Comic Book That Everyone Should Read

While researching my article on Monica Rambeau’s unfortunate history, I naturally re-read one of her standout series: Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s Nextwave: Agents of HATE. It’s a comic I already held dear to my heart, but it re-affirmed what I previously thought: It’s the most joyful comic Marvel have ever released. https://gizmodo.com/the-unfortunate-and-obscure-history-of-monica-rambeau-1726108988 Warren Ellis’…

How did H.P. Lovecraft conquer popular culture? In The Atlantic, writer Philip Eil examines the posthumous history of Lovecraft’s works and the current mania for all things Cthulhu. At the same time, he asks: How can fans reconcile their affection for Lovecraft’s fiction with the author’s virulent racism? [via Boing Boing]

Guillermo Del Toro Wants Pacific Rim 3 to Have Godzilla as a Guest Star

Guillermo Del Toro wants to move Pacific Rim from kaiju homage to straight-up kaiju canon. Good luck with that. Speaking with Movie Pilot, Del Toro said: So far with the sequel, what we’re writing, what we’re creating, is very different, so there are no plans. Hypothetically, I would love the fuck out of it. I…

Judge Dredd Explodes out of This Brand New, Exclusive Poster

Few non-superhero comic book characters are as iconic as Judge Dredd. I mean, the guy has had two movies made about him along with decades of great comics. Part of that is because, when John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra created the character in the late Seventies, his look was so unique and striking. That look…

Will the Game of Thrones TV Series Actually Stand the Test of Time?

Greetings, folks! I’m in the desolate ruins of New York City, visiting the former Gawker offices for the first time (honestly, it’s hard to tell what was destroyed in the apocalypse and what is just unfinished construction). But there’s always time for mail, including why toy collectors are so bitter, whether movie Wolverine will ever…

This Urban Fantasy Story Will Make You Realize Just How Creepy Psychic Gifts Can Be

The Apex Book of World SF 4, available now as an ebook for just $4.49, contains 28 stories from all over the world. We’re proud to feature one of them, “The Good Matter” by Swedish author Nene Ormes, as an exclusive excerpt here at io9. Learn just how twisted someone with a psychic ability can…

Neil deGrasse Tyson Describes NASA’s Mission in Latest Peek at The Martian

We’ve gotten a few looks at Ares 3, the mission at the heart of the upcoming film The Martian, and this one comes courtesy of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Coming to us from the year 2035, Tyson explains the challenges that the crew of the Martian mission will face. It’s fun to see an actual…

Watch Gas-Guzzling Androids Battle in a Mad Max-Style Dystopian Future

The music video for The Chemical Brothers’ “Sometimes I Feel So Deserted” takes us to a literal desert, one that looks straight out of an Australian post-apolyptic movie. And when a woman finds herself on the run from some rather nefarious figures, it quickly becomes clear that it’s not just the cars that run on…

Ray Bradbury’s FBI File Shows That He Was a Threat To Our Emotional Security

Ray Bradbury’s FBI file is not newly uncovered—it first appeared online in 2012 at Muckrock—but it’s been making the rounds this week. And as Slate’s Future Tense points out, it seems particularly timely given all of the debates over politics in science fiction. The FBI actually investigated Bradbury twice, with more than a decade between…

What is Earth’s Average Temperature?

Earth is the only planet in our Solar System where life is known to exist. Note the use of the word “known,” which indicates that our knowledge of the Solar System is still in its infancy, and the search for life continues. However, from all observable indications, Earth is the only place in our Solar…

The Weirdest Crime in History: “Looking Good While Poor”

Sumptuary laws are the quaint old laws which made it illegal for peasants to look, eat, or travel in more style than the upper classes. They make for very interesting reading. They’d probably be even more interesting if they were introduced today. A History of Forbidden Indulgence Sumptuary laws are fun because they tell you…

This Cover Art Game Invites You To Literally Judge a Book By Its Cover

We’ve all heard the idiom, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” But a new site called PlayJudgey.com encourages users to do just that—and its creators, Nate Gagnon and Dean Casalena, seem to have a moral of their own in mind: buy more books. The site displays a book cover, which you then rate on…