Luke Skywalker Is a True Jedi Master in his First Photo from The Force Awakens (Updated)

I wish I had something clever or profound to say about the first photo of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker taken in 30 years, or about it being the first time we’ve ever seen Luke wearing traditional Jedi robes. But I don’t. My stomach is full of tiny Star Wars-obsessed butterflies and I’m just really,…

Hear What Famous Horror Movies’ Theme Music Sounds Like in a Major Key

Oh my god. What happens when you shift the theme music for The X-Files from its natural minor key into a major one? Well, you get what sounds like the opening theme to an adorable Japanese RPG videogame from the Super Nintendo era. Muted Vocal recorded it and four other classic horror movie themes in…

Here it comes! Researchers at NOAA just confirmed the first signs that this year’s predicted historic El Niño has already kicked off, just like they thought it would. But what does that mean for us? Here’s a breakdown of what we can expect to happen as El Niño unfurls.

Getting a Tiny Bit of This Element on Your Skin Will Make You Reek of Garlic for Weeks

Tellurium is usually found stuck to various metals in the ground. It forms ores with gold, silver, copper, and lead. When refining these metals, some unfortunate people have come into contact with purified tellurium—and exposure means you reek of garlic for weeks. Tellurium was a favorite among early alchemists, because it was often found hidden…

11 Years After It Was Announced, Batman: Europa Is Coming This November

Hell, it’s about time. In 2004, DC announced Batman: Europa, a miniseries from Brian Azzarello, Matteo Casali, Jim Lee and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Europa promptly disappeared from solicitations, before briefly re-emerging in 2011, only to vanish once more. That is, until now: Europa is finally hitting shelves! The series, which was originally announced back in 2004,…

Disney’s D23 Expo is This Weekend—Here Are 5 Things We’re Excited For

The D23 Expo, which takes place this weekend in Anaheim, California, is like Comic Con for Disney fans. But it’s more than a place to buy the latest Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Disney now uses the convention to break news on their big properties like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more. So what’s on tap this…

Seattle Neighbors Are Seriously Pissed About Those Crows That Bring Gifts to an 8-year-old Girl

Remember that 8-year-old girl who receives small objects from crows in return for feeding them? Well, her parents are now facing a $200,000 lawsuit accusing them of running a large-scale feeding operation out of their backyard. Earlier this year, the BBC’s Katy Sewall told the story of Gabi Mann, an 8-year-old Seattle girl who, since…

What’s Next for the Marvel Movies After Infinity War?

Greetings, my fantastic friends! (finger guns) Don’t worry, not all the questions in this week’s mailbag are about a certain fantastic flop, although there are a few; I guess that’s what I get for not doing a FAQ. But I also try to solve one of Star Wars’s weirdest, nerdiest mysteries—why the hell is C-3PO…

Mr. Robot Recap: Hackers Don’t Trust Other Hackers, and Here’s Why

Last night’s Mr. Robot was the best, most breathless and downright insane episode of the entire first season so far. Find out what happened, and why the best hackers are often the most paranoid humans on Earth. MASSIVE SPOILERS COMMENCE. Well kids, it’s time to put away all the Fight Club theories that Mr. Robot…

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur May Be Marvel’s Most Adorable New Comic Ever

Marvel has just announced its most adorable-looking comic since Rocket Raccoon met Groot: Moon-Girl and Devil Dinosaur, a new series based on Jack Kirby’s cult-favorite 1978 comic Devil Dinosaur. Back in the 1970s, the titular big red T-rex, palled around in prehistory with the hairy ape-kid Moon-Boy. This time around his companion is a modern-day…

Newly Discovered “Baby Jupiter” is the Lightest Planet Ever Imaged by Telescope

Behold the lightest planet ever imaged by a telescope: an extremely young, Jovian-like planet that’s twice the size of Jupiter. Astronomers detected it through visible light, which is an extraordinary feat for a planet of this nature. Normally, exoplanets are indirectly detected when they pass in front of their host star. The temporary dimming of…

The Victorian Hugos: 1894 Brings The First Great Female Mad Scientist In Literature

We’re now into the mid-1890s, and readers of science fiction at this time will be forgiven for thinking that they’re being rewarded for years of patience. The Age of the Storyteller, as Roger Lancelyn Green put it, has not yet reached science fiction—H.G. Wells is so far only publishing short stories—but the number of pure…

Now Star Wars News Is Coming From The Makeup Counter

Star Wars is obviously going to everywhere in the coming months as we gear up for The Force Awakens, but some of its promotional partners are more surprising than others. Take, for example, CoverGirl, who is not only doing a limited edition makeup line, some of it features new quotes from the film. Some of…

7 Reasons Horror Movie Sequels Can Only Get Less and Less Scary

People go to horror movie sequels for many reasons—genuine interest, idle curiosity, tradition, blind optimism—but they almost never go to be scared. Horror movie sequels don’t just negate the point of the previous movie, the negate the point of their entire genre. They can’t help being increasingly less scary than the originals, and here are…

This Is How Much America Is Willing to Pay to Have Little Designs Drawn into our Coffee

Hey, that’s a nice-looking picture you just drew in my latte there, barista! But what fair price could one charge for something priceless? A new study out in the Journal of Sensory Studies attempts to pin down the exact price—and comes away with a figure: Americans are willing to pay exactly 11-13% over the price…

All the New Craziness We Spotted in Doctor Who‘s Latest Trailer

Yesterday, the BBC unveiled a brand new look at the upcoming season of Doctor Who, and even though it’s only a minute long, it’s packed with a ton of new, delicious details to pore over. Let’s uncover them and delve into a bit of wild speculation, shall we? https://gizmodo.com/clara-oswald-is-armed-and-dangerous-in-the-new-doctor-w-1723674389 The trailer opens with The Doctor…

Investigators Can Get Your DNA From the Guts of Maggots That Have Fed On You

Some crime scenes don’t have bodies. What they have is a place where a body was, and a suspiciously large amount of maggots. Up until recently, the maggots could only have been a very bad sign. Now, it seems that maggots can help genetically identify their last meals. According to the case studies in this…

Arena of the Planeswalkers Board Game is Part Heroscape, Part Magic: the Gathering

As you stare at the box cover for Arena of the Planeswalkers (and Jace’s leering, vacant face), one question springs to mind: why does the world need a board game based on a card game? Is it for people who like Magic but want to play a game that isn’t Magic but includes some vague…

Can the United States Cope With a Resurgence of Tropical Disease?

Having stamped out a number of tropical diseases—including malaria—decades ago, is the United States today complacent about a rising wave of infectious disease? One rainy Friday morning in March 2015, Dr Laila Woc-Colburn saw two patients with neurocysticercosis (a parasitic infection of the brain) and one with Chagas disease, which is transmitted by insects nicknamed…

Watch the Most Pants-Wetting Moment From the Claustrophobic New Movie Air Right Now

Norman Reedus volunteers to test out a cryogenic suspension chamber—only to find out that it’s not just like going to sleep regularly—in this clip from the new movie Air. This is one of the most terrifying moments in this post-apocalyptic movie, and we’re presenting it exclusively at io9. This moment made me lose my shit…