Artist Paints On Old Photographs And Turns Victorians Into Monsters

Old-fashioned cabinet cards get a second life in the hands of artist Colin Batty. He paints onto the old photographs, turning their unsmiling subjects into vampires, aliens, sharkmen, and all other manner of bizarre monster. Vampire Girl Blazin’ Groom Bug Ladies Hooded Killer Mr. Dorsal The Root of Evil Snake Boy I’m Your Puppet CentiPatty…

This Chart Shows The Worst Diseases That Don’t Get Enough Research Money

Do the diseases that claim the most years of our lives really get the most research funding? This chart takes on that question — and reveals which diseases we may need to focus more on. The chart is the work of Catherine Richards a staff scientist at the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research on…

On This Week’s Archer, Sterling Meets An Old Foe, Becomes A Verb

The second Archer episode of its sixth season is even better than the first, and it hints at what’s to come in its title: “Three to Tango.” A trip to Argentina perhaps? Spoilers ahead! https://gizmodo.com/archer-is-back-and-were-cautiously-optimistic-about-it-1678561812 At the behest of the CIA and Christian Slater (playing a version of himself that enjoys sports metaphors and insists…

io9 Newsstand: Favorite Podcasts for January 1 – 16

Happy New Year! A little belatedly, I know. The first of the year is busy busy busy, and not just for me. I hear tell of changes in editorial staff at at least two major SFF magazines. And award season is upon us! More on that next week. This week it’s all about the podcasts.…

This 3D-Printed Vase Shows Different People’s Faces As You Turn It

You may be familiar with the “vase or two faces” images (known as Rubin’s vase), where a single image looks like both a vase and two faces in profile. This oddly shaped vase goes much farther than that. It shows two profiles at a time, but those profiles change as the vase spins around. Gif…

What did we do to deserve this? Whatever it is, we’re really, really sorry. We swear we won’t do it again. But our remorse is as naught, for lo — they are making a sequelto the shittastic Ouija movie.

The Most Common Misconceptions About Getting Sick, Debunked

In the latest installment of Mental Floss’ debunk-tastic series Misconceptions, Elliott Morgan serves up factual counterpoints to ten of the most common misconceptions about getting sick. It’s all in here – from food poisoning myths to false notions about the common cold. For my money, the most interesting myth on this list is the one…

Ernie Cline Is Writing Another Ready Player One Novel

We still don’t know when Armada, Ernie Cline’s next book, is coming out. But now we have something else to look forward to — he’s writing a followup to his novel about people in a dark future who are obsessed with 80s video games, Ready Player One. Top image: Ready Player One movie promo artwork…

Chuck‘s Zach Levi Joins Heroes Reborn In Attempt To Make It Watchable

Zachary Levi is returning to NBC, but not as the super-spy Chuck. This time he’ll be the lead of the upcoming Heroes sequel series, which is possibly the only casting announcement the show could have made that makes me slightly less apprehensive about this probably trainwreck. Levi is an intensely likable lead, which is not…

The Most Ingeniously Cheapskate Props And Sets From Classic Movies

Some of the best TV shows were made for a song — but did you know that some of your favorite movies have featured ridiculously cheap scenery and props, as well? We’re not just talking 1950s “B” movies, but more recent stuff. Here are some of the most wonderfully cheap sets and props from classic…

Everything You Need To Know About Cyberterrorism In One Chart

I don’t know how we missed this chart on its first go-around (it was created by Eli Dourado in May 2014, using data extrapolated from a 2013 op-ed by Jon Mooallem, who spent the summer of that year keeping track of power outages caused by squirrels), but it is everything, and you deserve to know…

Seth Rogen Shares The Films That Inspired His Preacher Series 

In case you didn’t know, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are making the Preacher comics into a television series for AMC. And yesterday, Rogen revealed a giant stack of “inspirational” DVDs. We like what we see. We don’t know a lot about the Preacher TV series, because it’s still got a long ways to go.…

What Blackhat Gets Right: A Chat With Former Hacker Kevin Poulsen  

Back in Kevin Poulsen’s hacker days, before he became writer and Wired editor, he pulled stunts like taking over the phone lines in a radio contest to win himself a Porsche, or breaking into the FBI’s computer system when he ended up on the agency’s Most Wanted list to change his physical description. He served…

What If Justice League Meetings Operated Like A Dilbert Comic?

On this week’s installment of the comics illustration challenge The Line It Is Drawn, artists mashed superhero comics up with different newspaper comics. Starfire became Luann, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. went Peanuts, and we got this perfect blend of Dilbert and the Justice League of America. Cartoonist and illustrator Rob Peters (creator of the webcomic…

Vice Is The Least Subtle Dystopia Ever, And That’s Saying Something

There’s nothing subtle about Vice, an astonishingly unoriginal thriller that plays off familiar fears that violent video games will turn players into real-world trigger-happy sociopaths. The movie is now viewable on demand; some spoilers ahead. Top-billed Bruce Willis smirks his way through what’s decidedly more of a supporting role, playing Julian Michaels (not to be…

Zero Stroke Was A Mental Illness That Affected An Entire Country

Have you spent a day busily procrastinating by playing tetris, gone to bed and dreamed of playing tetris? If so you might just have the faint echo of a mental affliction that German people suffered just after World War I. It’s called “zero stroke.” Imagine that you’re compelled to engage in a certain repetitive mental…

This Ancient Pigment Could Soon Be Used to See Through Your Skin

Egyptian blue was one of the famous pigments of the ancient world. Not only was it a scientific achievement, it has become an important historical signifier because it only came from contact with Egypt. It’s now being used in advanced technology that see right through your skin. Egyptian Blue in the Ancient World What do…

10 Great Novels That Aren’t About What You Heard They Were About

Science fiction and fantasy novels become famous for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they catch the zeitgeist, or maybe they have one idea that everybody falls in love with. But sometimes, we all fixate on something that’s not the actual point of the book. Here are 10 great novels that aren’t about what everybody thinks.…

Don’t Miss The Magical Animated Oscar Nominee Song Of The Sea

Yesterday’s Oscar nominations brought a lot of chatter about the Best Animated Film selections, but now that we’ve all agreed The Lego Movie was robbed, it’s the perfect time to spotlight a lovely, dark-horse candidate that did make the list: Song of the Sea. https://gizmodo.com/the-biggest-oscar-snubs-of-2015-1679721226 Song of the Sea is the latest from director Tomm…

Lord of the Rings in Your Pocket, Inside Game of Thrones, More Deals

One does not simply carry around the Rings saga in their pocket. Wait… The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Pocket Boxed Set ($30) | Amazon The hardcover collector’s edition of Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones has hit a new price low. Inside Game of Thrones Hardcover Collector’s Edition ($25) | Amazon Smash Bros. 3DS…