The Thermians Are at Worldcon Looking For Their Next Space Hero. Is It You?

We’ve seen some pretty great costumes thus far at Worldcon 2015—but our favorite thing thus far was this group of Thermians from the movie Galaxy Quest. They were doing the voices and the mannerisms and everything. But what if they’re real and that movie is a documentary? What then? Contact the author at [email protected] and…

Acid Rain Was Discovered Way Earlier Than You Probably Think

When did people first know about the phenomenon now known as “acid rain”? Think of a date. Odds are, you’re off by at least a century. Robert Angus Smith was born in the early 1800s, and had two major interests: religion and chemistry. He spent his early school years studying to make a career as…

Meet Immortan Joanna. This gender-swapped Mad Max: Fury Road cosplay is another one of our favorite things we’ve seen at Worldcon so far!

Why Trekkies Is Still The Best Fan Documentary Ever Made

Bronies, Jedi Junkies, Turtle Power, Mudbloods, The People vs. George Lucas… as geekiness gets cool, we’ve been deluged in documentaries exploring fan subcultures, sub-subcultures, and sub-sub-subcultures. Docs about video gaming alone could fill a film festival, including Atari: Game Over, Indie Game: The Movie, Get Lamp, and the glorious King of Kong. A perusal of…

Mad Max Director George Miller Rumored to Be Up For Man Of Steel 2

“I want to see that again” was probably your first thought after watching Mad Max: Fury Road. The second may have been “I wonder what director George Miller is doing next.” He hasn’t decided yet, but he’s currently talking to DC movie people about potentially doing the second Man of Steel. This is a rumor…

Ah, the shoreline! The sand, the ocean air, the sun, the miles of concrete—wait, what? A new survey of the U.S. coastline determines that a full 14%, over 22,000 kilometers has been paved over in concrete. By 2100, that percentage is expected to have risen to 33%.

This Social Network Turns Your Personality Into an Immortal Artificial Intelligence

By learning everything there is to know about you and your online habits, social network ETER9 promises a kind of digital immortality wherein an artificially intelligent agent continues to post on your behalf long after you’re dead. The future is creepier than we ever imagined. ETER9, a startup launched by Portuguese developer Henrique Jorge, is…

All the Upcoming Live-Action Disney Adaptations That Could Ruin Your Childhood

Hardly a week goes by without Disney announcing a live-action adaptation of something. Some of them make a sort of sense, and the others are complete lunacy. As we have done before, it’s time to figure out just how many of these things are on the way—and how doomed we are. Yes, I know I…

Hexagon Cake Knife? Hexagon Cake Knife. Hexagon Cake Knife!

A hexagon cake knife is a knife that can cut cake into hexagonal pieces. Matthias Wandel, who is an engineer by trade but moonlights as a woodworking wizard (see his eminently watchable YouTube channel), was in need of such a knife, so he designed and crafted one himself. I’m not kidding about Wandel’s YouTube channel;…

The Government Plans to Stockpile a Vaccine That Doesn’t Even Exist Yet

The USDA announced this week that it’s launching a plan to stockpile a huge cache of vaccines against the avian flu which swept through bird populations this year. Sounds pretty reasonable! There’s only one problem: As of yet, there are no approved vaccines. The USDA request was pretty frank about the lack, noting early on…

io9 Newsstand: Read Some of the Creepiest, Darkest Horror Stories on the Internet

This week’s stories are about transformations born out of joy, fear, loneliness, pain, and the fierce fire of retribution. Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma | Tor.com Trigger Warnings: child abuse, incest, and rape “Eliza, tell me your secret.” Sometimes I’m cornered at parties by someone who’s been watching me from across the room as they…

Watch One Direction Go to Space in Their New Music Video, Then Seeth with Jealousy

UPDATE: Nasa has posted their own blog post about the video, including all of the different technologies used. https://www.tumblr.com/nasa/127258181149/tour-nasa-with-one-direction It’s a slow news Friday, but if you’re on Twitter, all “the kids” are taking about the new music video from boy band One Direction. 99.99% of the time, we wouldn’t care, but in this new…

Babies at a Banquet: The Longest and Most Influential Pediatric Food Experiment

In the 1920s, one pediatrician ran an “orphanage” like no other. It’s single purpose was a detailed, long-running, and bizarre experiment. Let babies figure out what they wanted to eat. Through much of the 1920s, Chicago was host to an experiment on children that is still being discussed today. At the time many women, especially…

7 Ways That World War I Could Have Started Before 1914

The First World War was instigated by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but it’s no small miracle that a general European war didn’t happen earlier. Here are 7 international crises in the years before 1914 that could have started a global-scale conflict. For most Europeans, the century leading up to the First World War…

Better Late Than Never: Netflix Is Getting Person of Interest Next Month!

Yes, you can finally watch the best science fiction show on network TV, on Netflix. Person of Interest has been mind-blowingly great for the past four seasons, but this show about artificial intelligence hasn’t found the geeky audience it deserves. But that’s all about to change. We’re excited to be the ones to break the…

The First Order and the Resistance Rule In New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Photos

Gone are the Rebellion and Empire. In a post-Return of the Jedi world, the good guys are the Resistance and the bad guys are the First Order. How and why? We don’t know yet, but two new images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens highlight both of these new groups. Those are the covers to…

Hitman: Agent 47 Will Give You The Joyous Sensation of Temporary Brain Damage

If you’re the sort of person who huffs paint and gives yourself mild concussions for fun, then you’ll enjoy the heck out of Hitman: Agent 47, in theaters today. Actually, anybody who enjoys incredibly dumb movies will get a kick out of this cinematic gem. Some spoilers ahead… Hitman: Agent 47 is the latest in…

Marvel’s September Comics Are Covered With Awesome Cosplayers

Cosplay is a huge part of fandom these days, and companies are embracing the ridiculous talent and creativity of their fans more than ever. Marvel are getting literal with said support, too: They’ve announced that their September variant cover theme will highlight fan cosplay with some amazing photos. Throughout September, over 20 of Marvel’s current…

This Party Is Coming for You, GIFs.

Move, GIFs, move! There’s a party coming—and it’s headed right for you! You know what to do: updates, digital mingling, stories about your week, plans for the week ahead, and the perfect GIF to shepherd it all through. This party begins now!

Why Certain Snakes Shimmer Like Rainbows

Of all the iridescent snakes in the world, the rainbow boa is the most famous, but the sunbeam snake, which we see above, is the most spectacular. The shimmer that they have comes from special structures called iridophores. Most of the time, you’ll see references to iridophores when reading about squids and other famous color-changers.…