Elephants Were Once Used As Executioners

Here’s a horrifying fact. Trained elephants were once used to torture an execute people. Some of the earliest references come from the Bible. The latest came in the 1800s. In The Surgeon’s Daughter, a novel by Sir Walter Scott, the villain seduces a pure young Scottish girl, gets her to elope with him to India,…

Artists Draw Celebrities As Gender-Swapped Versions Of DC Characters

Sigourney Weaver as Bruce Wayne? Jennifer Connelly as Clark Kent? David Bowie as Poison Ivy? Several artists have been having fun the past few weeks by imagining famous folks as superheroes — but with male celebs as female characters and vice versa. Here’s what they came up with. These artists, many of them professional cartoonists…

Volunteers Are Making 3D-Printed Aerial Drones For The Ukrainian Army

Troops fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are being equipped with 3D-printed aerial drones. The AEVs, which are being paid for by volunteers, are currently being used at the front. Mercifully, a ceasefire is scheduled to take effect at midnight tomorrow (14 February). It’s not known, however, if and how long it will last. Last…

Why Jurassic World Should Just Give Us The Feathered Dinosaurs We Want

Jurassic Park and its sequels have never been what you’d call scientifically accurate. (Sorry, Dr. Malcolm, standing still isn’t camouflage.) And, yet, somehow, the lack of feathers is the inaccuracy that most rankles. Does it really matter that the new dinos will be scaly instead of soft? You bet it does. Here’s why. A Kinja-conversation…

Providence of Fire Is The Perfect Blend of Politics, Magic and Action

Last year, we really dug Brian Staveley’s debut fantasy epic, The Emperor’s Blades. The trilogy’s second volume picks up from the first, and Staveley delivers a solid and suitably epic adventure that ratchets up the action and muddies the waters, all while completely throwing all expectations out the window. https://gizmodo.com/the-emperors-blades-may-be-the-years-breakout-epic-wa-1500335590 Staveley’s Chronicles of the Unhewn…

Phèdre From Kushiel’s Dart Is The Greatest Courtesan-Spy In Epic Fantasy

Fantasy has lots of sex workers or courtesans who also work as spies — but for our money, the best is Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève, the hero of the first Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. She thwarts a major conspiracy, stops an invasion, saves her country and avenges her master… with kinky sex. Top…

Webcomic Explains How Pythons Invaded Florida—And Why They’re A Problem

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia, but in the last 40 years, they’ve invaded the Florida Everglades, where their population has exploded. This short comic explains how Burmese pythons got there in the first place — and how it’s wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Cartoonist journalist Andy Warner‘s latest piece at Medium’s The Nib…

Droughts in the latter half of the 21st Century could be even more severe than previously predicted, according to a study published in this week’s issue ofScience Advances. Analyses suggest the drying could be the worst in nearly 1,000 years. Scientific American has more.

Here’s That Weird Genetically Modified New Dinosaur From Jurassic World

We’re starting to worry about Jurassic World. Spoilers. Today, Entertainment Weekly had the pleasure of introducing the world to Jurassic World’s new genetically enhanced villain. And here it is the Indominus (REAL NAME) Rex in toy form. The Hasbro toy will be prominently displayed at this year’s Toy Fair, and we’ll have more looks at…

Here’s How An Isotope Can Let People Track You By Your Hair

Deuterium is a rare variation of hydrogen. For such a small object, it’s incredibly informative. Here’s how deuterium can let people track your your diet, your area, and your season. Add a neutron to a hydrogen molecule and you get deuterium, a rare, heavy isotope. Deuterium makes up only one hundredth of a percent of…

City’s Owl Problem Got So Bad, It Had To Make This Awesome Sign

A spate of owl attacks in Salem Oregon’s Bush’s State Park has spurred park officials to install twenty signs that depict an owl with outstretched talons descending upon a hapless, terror-stricken stick figure. Photo Credit: Danielle Peterson, via The Statesman Journal The Associated Press reports that the signs were inspired in large part by MSNBC…

The FDA Is Hiding Scientific Fraud, And You Should Be Pissed

When the FDA encounters instances of scientific misconduct, it buries the evidence. A recent investigation sheds light on the extent of the problem. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration – the agency tasked with protecting public health via regulation of everything from food safety to prescription drugs – occasionally encounters serious instances of misconduct in…

The Exact Moment When Torchwood Finally Came Into Its Own

Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood had a decidedly shaky first season. Its place as an ‘adult’ side of the Doctor Who universe left it in a weird place of trying too hard to be edgy while, at the same time, being wildly immature. But it quickly grew up in its second outing — and this is…

The Avengers‘ Battle Of New York Recut To Include Spider-Man

Spider-Man is finally going to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but where was he while the Avengers were fighting the Battle of New York? This video inserts Peter Parker into the action, letting him fight alongside Earth’s Mightiest heroes. The folks at Screen Crush mashed up Spider-Man’s movie footage with footage from The Avengers,…

Sobering Photos Compare Dresden After The Firestorms To Now

It’s the 70th anniversary of one of the darkest days of the Second World War, when Allied planes bombed the medieval German of city of Dresden into oblivion. To commemorate this tragic event, a photographer has revisited the sites to compare archived historical photos with present day scenes. Top image: William Vandevert/The LIFE Picture Collection/Sean…

1980s Science Fiction Where The Cold War Never Ends

The 1980s were the final decade of the Cold War — but nobody knew that at the time. The Soviet Union looked unstoppable, and few outside observers saw its collapse coming. So it’s not surprising that lots of 1980s science fiction included Cold War futures. Here are 1980s visions of a future where the Cold…

In 1900, Two Inventors Audition For A Stage Show About The Year 2000

The year is 1900 and Georges and Madeleine are trying to get a gig showing off the wonders of life in the year 2000, complete with gadget that we would think of today as retrofuturistic. But it’s when they debut their time machine on the stage that things start getting goofy. 1900-2000 was directed by…

What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Too Much Water?

The question How much water do I need to drink? is often followed with the related question Can I drink too much of it? We’re here to tell you that, while difficult to do accidentally, it is in fact possible to drink too much water – and the repercussions can be deadly. Photo Credit: Lora…

The Northeastern U.S. Was Ravaged By “Monstrous” Hurricanes Just Centuries Ago

A new analysis shows that the northeast corner of what is now the United States was slammed by at least 23 severe hurricanes from the years 250 to 1150, many of them reaching category 3 and 4 status. Researchers say these hurricanes, which formed in relatively warm seas, could be a harbinger of things to…

Russell Crowe’s Magical Realist Water Diviner Looks Gorgeous, Strange

The Water Diviner, Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, has already won a ton of awards in Australia. And now this movie about a man with the magical power to find water — who’s searching for his sons in World War I — is coming to the States in April. Here’s a trailer that showcases the sad,…