If you find the argument for adding insects to your dietcompelling, but the fact of it still leaves you a little queasy, there’s hope yet.NPR took a look at one of the solutions that’s being bandied about: A cricket “flour”, which may not be suitable for baking substitutions, but is suitable as a protein powder.

​This Season Of Defiance Just Paid Off Big

Huzzah! The Defiance recap is back, and just in time — the show possibly delivers it most well-plotted episode yet, right as season two kicks into high gear for the presumably explosive finale. Plus: Datak is being awesome again! What’s not to love? First, let me apologize for the incredible lack of recaps over the…

Do Different Kinds Of Alcohol Get You Different Kinds Of Drunk?

When your friend gets tipsy and starts rambling about how tequila turns her into a savage party monster, and then your other friend vehemently calls bullshit, calmly put your hands up and say this: “Friends. Please. I got this.” And then explain to them what I’m about to explain to you. First off: alcohol is…

Why Science Fiction Is A Natural Home For Ambiguity (Or Is It?)

Some of the greatest works of science fiction and fantasy leave some stuff open to interpretation. And today at the World Science Fiction Convention in London, we saw a great panel discussion about the role of ambiguity in SF — and why it makes stories better. Good and bad ambiguity First off, not all ambiguity…

There’s A Spelling Error In One Of White House’s Most Famous Paintings

In the largest room in the White House hangs an iconic full-body portrait of George Washington renouncing a third term as president of the United States. There is a small but obvious spelling error contained within the portrait—and it’s actually there for a very specific reason. Top image via Wikimedia Commons. The portrait of Washington…

Warlords of Draenor Collector’s Edition, The Winter Soldier [Deals]

Warlords of Draenor hits November 13. Preorder the Collector’s Edition today, which includes soundtrack, artbook, and “epic” in-game content. [Warlords of Draenor CE] Get these deals and more, and earlier on Deals.Kinja. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook to never miss a deal, check out our Gaming and Movie/TV release calendars to plan your…

​All 13 Vampire Clans From Vampire: The Masquerade RPG, Ranked

Vampires fall into more categories than sparkly or non=sparkly. As the iconic Vampire: The Masquerade RPG taught us, there are 13 vastly different clans of vampires for players to choose from, some good, some weird, and some so terrible they might as well sparkle. Here are all of Vampire’s various clans, ranked from best to…

The White Stag From Shadow And Bone Gets A Loteria Card Tribute

Grisha Trilogy author Leigh Bardugo and artist John Picacio have collaborated on bringing a little bit of Shadow and Bone-inspired art into the world. And we’re going to exclusively reveal the collaborative project… now! Author Bardugo (and official member of the io9 2012 power list ) is best known for the fantasy Grisha series. And…

Quick: How many legs does a lobster have? Don’t know? That’s okay, most people don’t. Even Red Lobster doesn’t. In fact, many of the images of lobsters that you encounter in your daily life are anatomically incorrect. (Here’s a rare exception.)

Is The Walking Dead‘s Daryl Dixon Gay?

The crossbow-toting Daryl Dixon has had a lot of intimate relationship over the last few seasons of The Walking Dead, but none of them so far have been romantic or sexual. One fan wrote in to Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and asked if Daryl might be gay. Kirkman’s response: it’s been considered. ComicBook.com points…

What Went Wrong With The Giver Movie?

The Giver by Lois Lowry isn’t just a ground-breaking YA novel. It’s a powerful fable about the relationship between an old man and a child, who struggle with the memories their “perfect” society has chosen to forget. And now it’s been turned into an okay movie that’s missing the magic of the book. What happened?…

Comments Are a Little Different Today

If you’ve been reading io9 for more than a year, our new comment setup may look a lot like something you’ve seen before. To fix our spam and abuse problem, we’ve brought back the “pending comments” system. That means you guys have more control over what you see. https://product.kinja.com/re-introducing-pending-replies-1621601466

Why Do Creationists Place So Much Importance On A Prehistoric Mollusk?

Along the Grand Canyon section of the Colorado River sits a canyon that was carved out of redwall limestone by flowing water. There, the rocks contain fossils of the orthocone nautioloid, which lived 500-200 million years ago. But a prominent young-Earth creationist says they’re solid proof of Noah’s flood. [Image: British Geological Survey.] The redwall…

Ask An Expert About The History Of Our Fascination With Robots!

What is it about robots that gives them such a hold on our imaginations and such a perennially prominent place in pop culture? Despina Kakoudaki is here to answer our questions about robots in fiction and why we can’t seem to get enough of those stories. Kakoudaki is the author of the new book Anatomy…

The Schiller Effect Makes Stone Seem to Light Up Internally

This rock isn’t being lit from behind and it’s not see-through. It, like others, seems to light up internally. This internal glow baffled people for centuries, until a combination of physics and geology gave us a clue as to cause of the Schiller Effect. The Stones That Glow From the Inside The stone above is…

Cat owners may claim that their pets love ice cream and doughnuts, but it’s the fat they enjoy. The taste receptor for sweet is encoded in two genes. In cats, a chance mutation appears to have broken one of these genes. That’s why tigers, lions, and your kitty will never have a sweet tooth.

How VFX Made the Guardians of the Galaxy Characters Come to Life

The vigilantes in Guardians of the Galaxy are a multi-species motley crew, and naturally it took a lot of computer-based magic to come to life. FX Guide has the scoop on how a vast team of VFX artists made a mouthy raccoon, a teenage tree, and the rest of the gang look like aliens you…

io9 Newsstand: Best Stories for the Week of August 11 – 16

One of my favorite ways to consume short stories (besides toasting them lightly in the oven) is via podcast. I can listen to a story when reading is impossible or not advisable. I’m not brave enough to bring my Nook into the bath, but I love to hear a great voice talent spin the story…

While The GIF Party Is Away, The Trivia Party Will Play

No GIF Party this week, folks. Instead we’re having a different kind of party — a Trivia Party! How do you play? It’s easy. Just tell us a fact or tidbit you’ve collected from somewhere in the annals of science, history, art, or any other field. You choose — it’s your Trivia Party, you can…

Warner Bros. Finally Thinks Of A Better Title For Edge Of Tomorrow

Tom Cruise’s scifi movie Edge of Tomorrow was great, but it was doomed by terrible marketing. It was a box office bomb, not least because Warner Bros. changed its title from All You Need Is Kill to the ultra-generic Edge of Tomorrow — and now WB has apparently changed the title again. Check out its…