Warner Bros. CEO Says DC Superhero Movies Are “Steeped In Realism”

Warner Bros. chairman-CEO Kevin Tsujihara took a swing at the Marvel Cinematic Universe labeling their DC world as superior for a bunch of completely nonsensical reasons. Variety is reporting that Tsujihara made these fascinating statements at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media ad Telecom Conference this past Wednesday. Let’s start with the first: “The worlds of…

​Here’s How Charles Darwin’s Cousin Invented the Dog Whistle

Francis Galton would have been the famous eccentric scientist in any family except the one he was born into. The Darwin, Wedgewood, and Galton families were thick with scientists, and Francis wasn’t anywhere near the favorite. He did leave his mark in both large and small ways. The dog whistle is one of the smaller…

10 Gemstones Much Rarer Than Diamond 

Many people know that diamond is actually pretty common when it comes to gemstones (you can find millions of them in your typical candle flame), but who among us can actually name any that are rarer? Here, we present to you a collection of ten of the rarest gemstones on Earth. Above: Benitoite, number 7…

Looks Like One Major Villain Isn’t Coming Back For Gotham Season 2

And it’s not a minor character, either! We don’t quite know the details of how this villain will leave, but spoiler warning just the same. Apparently, Jada Pinkett-Smith will not be reprising her role as the crimelord/self- ophthalmologist Fish Mooney when Gotham returns next TV season. The actress confirmed her departure on Live with Kelly…

How bad was your winter? How you answer that question depends, of course, on where you’re answering it from. Climate Central has put together a calculator that shows you just where in the spectrum of your city’s wintry history this year falls in terms of temperatures over the last 120 years of winters.

DC Is Creating A Justice League In The Arrow Universe, And That’s Great

With the announcement that the CW is expanding its superhero show roster with an Atom/Firestorm/Black Canary team-up show, it looks like we might finally be getting something Smallville tried (and ultimately failed) to do: Create the Justice League on television. But this time, it might actually work. Aside from their connections having been born out…

Your Dog Isn’t Dumb, It Just Has A Very Selective Short-Term Memory

Dogs may be capable of human-like emotions and consciousness, but their short-term memories are pretty terrible, particularly when the event in question is something relatively trivial and not survival-oriented. A new study out of the Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution in Stockholm, Sweden, found that in a survey of 25 types of animals,…

Chappie Is The Cutest Robot Ever To Star In Such A Bad Movie

We wanted Chappie to be a good movie. We desperately wanted to get back on the Neill Blomkamp train. But sadly, Chappie gets lost in the very questions it marvels at itself for asking, with violence that’s so over-the-top it would be laughable… if it wasn’t so absurdly grotesque. However Chappie, the robot itself, is…

Why Does God Allow Terrible Shows Like Dig To Exist?

Dig is the latest TV series to try and spin Biblical prophecies into conspiracy-mongering. Basically, God has left a bunch of holy nukes laying around and some fanatics are getting their hands on them. Why would God do that? More to the point, why does God allow such awful television to exist in the first…

io9 Newsstand: Best Stories from the Week of March 1 – 7

This week’s stories are all about the passage of time, traveling in time, and things that occur when time happens all at once. Quiet Hour by Peni Griffin | Crossed Genres Magazine Mama looked gray and small, her face covered by the oxygen mask: an echo of the day Papacito died, but Mama, at least,…

Dredd Producer Explains What Has To Happen To Make A Sequel

Fans keep asking Dredd producer Adi Shankar about the possibility of a Dredd sequel, but there’s some harsh financial realities preventing it. Here, Shanker explains how Dredd 2 could possibly happen — or, as he so eloquently puts it, “The guy who dresses up like The Crow is going to you a lesson in film…

A Map Of The First Proposed U.S. Highway Network

Looking for good schools, good health, good morals, and good times? Well, then you’d need to find good roads first, according to the National Highway Association. Which is why the NHA drew up the first proposed highway plan in 1913. In 1911, the National Highways Association (NHA) was established to promote the development of a…

Sheriff Steve Rogers Will Lead 1872, Marvel’s New Wild West Comic

Secret Wars has already mashed up old Marvel stories, new tales and the return of a few favorites in its Battleworld saga— but now it’s heading to 19th century America with 1872, a new comic that re-imagines Marvel heroes as citizens of the Wild West. The new series, written by Gerry Duggan with art by…

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Is Finally In Orbit Around Ceres

At 4:39 (PST) this morning, after over seven years and three billion miles of travel, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft was pulled into Ceres’ orbit, becoming the first ever mission to orbit around a dwarf planet. An hour after the spacecraft slipped into the planet’s orbit from 35,000 miles away, NASA announced that they had received a…

Radiation Is Dangerous, But Awesome To Watch

Radon gas is a hazardous thing to have around the house. It hangs around a short time before shooting out alpha particles. With a cloud chamber, scientists show us exactly what that decay process looks like, and it’s stunning. A cloud chamber is not a difficult thing to set up. With a little alcohol, a…

This GIF Party Is Ready To Dance

Cue up your favorite playlists, GIFs! It’s time for a party. What did you do this week? Set your party GIFs to dancing in the comments, while you update us on any news, plans, and anything else you want to talk about right now.

Star Trek Gets The Ultimate Concert For Its 50th Anniversary

Next year marks half a century since Star Trek debuted on NBC. I imagine we’re in for a good deal of celebration and anniversary events, but the “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage” concert will likely be one of the biggest — a 100-stop tour of live music from the TV series and movies, performed by…

How Do You Stop A Murderous Elephant Gang?

Believe it or not, this was a question that South African officials in the early 2000s had to answer. Young elephant males had formed groups that attacked and killed rhinos for recreation. How could they stop it? The problem was first noticed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when workers at nature preserves in…

Steven Moffat Hints The Doctor Will Lighten Up In Doctor Who Season 9

The next Toy Story won’t continue the story of the first three. There’s another tease of Jared Leto’s version of the Joker. Jeph Loeb says Marvel’s Netflix shows won’t cross over with the films just yet. John Barrowman gets a new series. Plus, Flash set pictures tease the return of Reverse Flash. Spoilers Now! Top…

How much snow has the United States seen this year? The New York Timeshas a set of composite photos showing snow cover from 2013, 2014, and 2015. Two things stand out: one is the photos for the Northeast, which shows the thicker more snow this year. The other is the disappearance of snow from the…