James Franco Will Try To Save JFK in Hulu’s 11/22/63

Time travel: it’s not just for films and TV anymore. Hulu’s adapting Stephen King’s 2011 story 11/23/63. And it’s just cast its star, who is also going to produce: James Franco. 11/23/63 will be an “event series” — which, seriously, is miniseries such a dirty word? Why have the last two years been inundated with…

The Thrilling Tale Of The Very First Heart Surgery

In 1893, as far as the world was concerned, surgery on the heart was unheard of and a stab in the heart was nearly always fatal. Today, eighty percent of people who have been stabbed in the heart wind up surviving. Here’s the story of how one doctor started the process of changing the odds.…

A Rare Look Inside Canada’s Notorious Maximum Security Prison, Kingston

Kingston Penitentiary closed its doors in September 2013, ending a legacy of 178 years of famously harsh treatment. “Canada’s Alcatraz” has inspired lots of stories, but there are few pictures of what life was there. Except that photographer Geoffrey James had a privileged look on the inside. James’ photos of life inside the prison are…

The Crew Portrait For ISS Expedition 45 Is Star Wars Themed

The official poster for the 45th expedition to the International Space Station is Star Wars themed, and features astronauts Scott Kelly, Mikhail Korniyenko, Oleg Kononenko, Kimiya Yui, Kjell N. Lindgren, and Sergey Volcov dressed in Jedi robes and weilding lightsabers. Previous posters have been set in the style of Firefly: The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The…

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Spidermother

Well, things are looking pretty creepy in this week’s writing prompt. But is the massive mother in this image going to care for that baby or feed the baby to her brood? “Spidermother” is by artist Markus Erdt. You can see more of Erdt’s work on his portfolio site, his blog, and his deviantART profile,…

Why short fiction is a good career move. Earlier today, we revealed why Tor.com thinks short novels are the future of publishing — but in a post on the SFWA site, John Joseph Adams and Daniel H. Wilson explain why short fiction may not pay much, but can still boost your career.

How Zoos Brought This Ancient Horse Back From The Edge Of Extinction

Until 1996, the ancient horse you see above was designated as extinct in the wild. By 2008, their condition had been upgraded to critically endangered, and today, the IUCN notes that Przewalski’s horse population continues to increase. Here’s how it happened — and the role zoos played in bringing them back. Today, we were joined…

Brief But Eye-Popping Video Shows Cuttlefish Getting Their Freak On

Giant cuttlefish have some unusual mating rituals. But once they find a suitable partner, the act of knocking boots (er, tentacles?) is kind of incredible to watch. https://gizmodo.com/watch-the-worlds-largest-cuttlefish-battle-for-mating-r-5919643 New Scientist reports: During mating, which takes place head-to-head, a male embraces a female then squirts sperm in her mouth with a specialized arm. To initiate sex,…

Smoking Is Even Deadlier Than We Thought

Smoking is bad for you. You know this! Now, a long-term study of close to a million people has broadened our understanding of the harmful side-effects of smoking, and the results suggest tobacco is even more dangerous than previously believed. Photo Credit: Ferran Jordà | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 “A substantial portion of the excess mortality…

A Paranoid Robotic Vacuum Deals With A Bug Infestation On A Spaceship

In the music video for Hundred Waters‘ “Innocent,” we watch through CC TV cameras as a robotic janitor travels through an empty spaceship, sucking up the bugs who have invaded the corridors. But gradually, we come to understand just what is going on in this strange animation. Jeremy Clapin directed and designed this creepy and…

The Best Drone’s-Eye-View Shots of The World’s Most Wonderful Cities

The world’s greatest cities look even more magical from the air — but until recently, only a few people got to have the nimble aerial viewpoint on cities that a drone gives us. Drones have reshaped aerial filming, and created a whole new way of looking at cities. Watch some stunning drone footage of the…

The Number of Asteroids We Could Visit and Explore Just Doubled

There’s a famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet that says “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” and the same now holds true for brave new worlds for humans to explore. Above: An artist’s conception of a mission to an asteroid. Credit: NASA. This result was published…

What’s The Most Ridiculous Way Someone Took Over The U.S.S. Enterprise?

There’s one thing that’s constant, across all of Star Trek: Starfleet vessels are ridiculously easy to take over. Especially if they’re named “Enterprise”. But what’s the absolute silliest way that someone once seized control over the Enterprise? (Including in TNG, Enterprise, comics, books, other media)? Please include a picture, clip, comics panel, book cover or…

“The Dragons Aren’t Cute Anymore”: Behind The VFX Of Game Of Thrones

Dany’s dragons are all big and eating babies! We’ve got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how Game of Thrones aged up Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons and made them appear to be bigger than they actually are (because they are not real). The behind-the-scenes look is from the DVD and Blu-ray release of the fourth season of…

What Caused These Men to Eat Cats and Candles?

Charles Domery was a Polish man whose eating habits astounded three armies. Tarrare was a Frenchman who went from carnival act to spy to suspected murderer. What made these men so desperately hungry? Top image via Fortean Times Charles Domery Charles Domery was born Charles Domerz, in Poland, in 1778. He was a voracious eater,…

On The 100, Mount Weather Pulls Out The Big Gun—Which Is A Missile

On this week’s The 100, we’ve got two children making big decisions without their formerly powerful parents — and there are bound to be grave consequences. As Mount Weather points a missile at the alliance leadership, Clarke must decide whether to protect them and risk exposing her spy. Things are getting chaotic beneath Mount Weather.…

The Greatest Spies In Pop Culture, Ranked

If you believe fiction, spies are everywhere. You cannot turn around without bumping into someone in a wig, armed with a gun masquerading as a tasteful pair of earrings, and carrying secret plans in microdot form. There are so many, we decided to rank them. We have fifty entries on this list, and we are…

Watch Bolivians Protest A Change In The Simpsons‘ Broadcast Time Slot

Protests aren’t always symbolic. Sometimes they bring about real change … like the recent outcry in Bolivia over network Unitel’s decision to change the time slot for its daily Simpsons broadcast. Nearly 2,000 protestors (mostly youthful, some in costume) convinced the channel to re-think its decision. The below video (from Unitel, as it happens) is…

How You Can Track Every Spy Satellite In Orbit

Nobody should be surprised that spy satellites are kept secret. But it’s actually more complicated. The launches are aired, but with scheduled media blackouts. We get mission patches, but no details on the nature of the payload. But the weirdest thing is how easy it is to track these satellites. https://gizmodo.com/decoding-hidden-messages-in-those-geeky-spy-satellite-m-1671164600 Top image: The National…

A Complete Primer On Every Kind Of Seal In The World

From the Antarctic Fur Seal all the way to the Weddell Seal, Kinja-user mythbri, so it goes has been exhaustively cataloguing the world’s species of currently living seals. The Observation Deck has the full rundown on everything you’ve ever wanted to know about pinnipeds after the jump. Image: Crabeater seal / Jerzystrzelecki https://observationdeck.kinja.com/pinnipednesday-the-complete-series-1685337016