The Chemistry Behind The Brilliant Colors Of Autumn Leaves

With fall coming to the Northern Hemisphere, some parts of the world can look forward to dazzling reds, oranges, and yellows in their foliage. But do you know what chemicals are responsible for these varied colors? Compound Interest made this handy guide explaining how leaves go from green to the colors we associate with autumn.…

Witness The Epic Battle Between A Tarantula And A Spider-Hunting Wasp

While we typically think of spiders as the ones eating insects, spider wasps (members of the family Pompilidae) prey on spiders. This video captures a showdown between a tarantula and one of these spider-hunting wasps. Who will survive? Tarantula hawks are members of the family Pompilidae that, as their name suggests, prey on tarantulas. A…

Fox News Clip Is A Master Class On How Not To Discuss Sexism In Comics

This past week, we listed off some of the ridiculous arguments that people make to defend sexism in superhero comics, but it looks like we may have to add a few more to that list. This conversation between three Fox News hosts brings up some baffling points about female superheroes. https://gizmodo.com/10-stupid-arguments-people-use-to-defend-comic-book-sex-1636381824 Tucker Carlson, Anna Kooiman,…

Alternate Versions Of The Collector’s Lair From Guardians Of The Galaxy

One of the most fascinating places we visit in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie is the museum where the Collector keeps all of his goodies. Concept artist Richard Anderson shares some of the different designs he came up with for the movie version of the Collector’s museum. Over at his website, Anderson has other…

This Cartoon About A Venus Flytrap With Legs Will Brighten Your Day

It’s a fly’s worst nightmare: a Venus flytrap sprouts legs so that it can chase down its prey. But that’s not all that happens in this short and charming animated film. Seth Boyden made Carnivorous Plants as for an assignment at CalArts. The star is Dionaea muscipula, the Venus flytrap. The plant at the end…

Don’t Look At These GIFs Unless You Want Nightmares About Mutant Babies

Seriously, the GIFs made by freelance animator Hayden Zezula are the stuff of pure nightmares, filled with loops of vacant-eyed baby heads and mutant limbs. They look like some mad science experiment gone horrifically awry. Zezula blogs as Zolloc on Tumblr and posts new monstrous animations on Twitter as well. Follow him for a regular…

These Clever Cartoons Interact With The Real World—And It’s Hilarious

Illustrator and art director Troqman plays with the relationship between the two-dimensional and three dimensional by staging his drawings and sketchpads in real-world environments. He calls it cartoon bombing. We call it delightful. You can see a handful of Troqman’s cartoon bombing photos below, but you can see more and follow his latest work on…

Before Wasps Enslaved Caterpillars, They Enslaved a Virus

Every day we get more proof that wasps are the most terrifying creatures on the planet. Not only do they mind-control caterpillars and inject them with their wasp babies, they also managed to enslave a virus to do their dirty work for them. Just when you get used to wasps, they spring some new diabolical…

Instead Of George Washington, Captain America Crosses The Delaware

Captain America and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. take the place of George Washington and his troops in this reinterpretation of the classic painting. Cosplayers, ahoy! From the design, costuming, videography, and marketing service Contagious Media. Original photo by Pat Loika. Rogers Crossing the Delaware [Contagious Media via BuzzFeed Geeky]

Doctor Who Reveals The Only Thing Really Worth Stealing

Thus far, the loose theme of this season of Doctor Who seems to be “identity crises” and “deconstructing heroism.” These themes manifest this week in another story where the Doctor isn’t entirely calling the shots, and the main McGuffin that everybody is trying to steal is “selfhood.” Spoilers ahead… The central mystery at the heart…

2001: A Space Odyssey Retold In One Weird-Ass Animated Minute

The folks at 1A4STUDIO occasionally release speedruns, one-minute animated tours through classic films. In this one, they condense all two-and-a-half hours of 2001: A Space Odyssey and make the ending even more opaque. The dialogue is more or less irrelevant in these speedruns, which is a shame, because we don’t get a sped-up version of…

Storm And Wolverine Kiss In An Outtake From X-Men: Days Of Future Past

While Logan and Storm don’t actually kiss in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman do share a peck in costume in this slightly goofy outtake from the film. It looks like this may have been a moment that the actors did for the blooper reel. It’ll be fun to see more…

This Aquaman-related Batman v. Superman rumour sounds totally Insane

Now this is weird. We’ve known for ages that Jason Momoa will be playing Aquaman in Batman v. Superman (even that’s something we’re not sure on still) – but this new rumour circulating might tell us how he fits into the larger picture of DC’s plans. And it’s honestly pretty damn ludicrous. http://io9.com/jason-momoa-will-officially-be-aquaman-in-batman-v-sup-1620111374/all Before we…

A PSA: Don’t Trust Strange Woodland Creatures, Even If They Mean Well

During World War II, an injured English paratrooper comes across a strange and curious creature. The creature wants to help the soldier, but his brand of help may be the worst thing that ever happened to the young man. Murphy was made by students at ISART Digital. If you’re curious as to how the short…

Since Superman Absorbs Solar Rays, Here’s A Skimpier, Sun-Friendly Look

One of the arguments behind Starfire’s barely-there outfit is that her powers are fed by solar energy. Since Superman also gets his powers from our yellow sun, cartoonist J.Bone designed a new, less UV-blocking costume for the Man of Steel. J.Bone, who has worked on the Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Super Friends…

The Inspiration For Disney’s Robin Hood Wasn’t Actually Robin Hood

Andrew E. Larsen is an historian who specializes in Medieval England and blogs about pop culture and history at An Historian Goes to the Movies. In “Disney’s Robin Hood: A Bit More Medieval Than You Might Think,” Larsen explores the film’s true inspiration, which wasn’t Robin Hood but a different medieval tale. A couple weeks…

In Collier’s Magazine, World War III Already Happened…In 1952

In 1951 Collier’s magazine devoted an entire issue to reporting an imagined version of World War III. The magazine followed every detail of the conflict from the first attack to the eventual occupation of Russia by the United Nations. Collier’s recruited some of the nation’s best-known writers and journalists to provide articles. These included Edward…

According to Variety, End of Watch director and Training Day writer David Ayer is Warner Bros. first choice to direct the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, based on the DC comic series. Word is that the studio thinks Ayer is “a good fit for the dark and edgy film.”

Man Trying To Rescue A Baby Swan Gets Smacked By Its Angry Swan Dad

Simon Cowell, founder of the Wildlife Aid Foundation, got a call to rescue a cygnet that found itself trapped in a fence. Adding to the challenge was a very protective adult male swan, or cob, who gave Cowell a few bruises during the rescue. Fortunately, Cowell was unfazed by the hissing, swatting adult swan, understanding…

How Long Will It Take To Read That Book? This Chart Gives An Estimate

If you were able to read straight through without any breaks, how long would it take the average person to read all of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones? This infographic estimates how long it will take at average reading speed to get from beginning to end. Personal Creations based this…