This Concept Sub Means That You Could Visit the Deep Ocean

Check out Manatee — a concept personal submersible vehicle designed by Eduardo Galvani. Designed for safe and comfortable subaquatic explorations, the sub can be controlled by anyone who knows how to operate a joystick and a touch screen control panel. Jacques Cousteau — eat your heart out. The joystick commands the thrusters and helms for…

An Urban Vigilante Goes To The Scariest Place Of All… Another Planet

Here’s a genre mash-up you might not have seen before. My story “Palm Strike’s Last Case” is the cover story in the July/August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It’s the story of a dark avenging superhero… who decides to colonize another planet. Top image: Detail of cover art by Maurizio Manzieri.…

A Hilariously Ghastly Webcomic About A Guy Who Just Can’t Kill Himself

Jimmy Yee, the protagonist of Jason Shiga’s webcomic Demon, just wants to die, but he’s stuck in a supernatural logic puzzle. Every time he tries to kill himself, he wakes up in his motel room unharmed with everything not quite how he left it. What’s going on? And what will Jimmy do when he figures…

And Now, The Jurassic Park Theme Performed By Goats

Nothing recaptures the majesty of Jurassic Park’s main theme better than a pack of screaming goats. Welcome to Jurassic Goat. [via Uproxx]

Nadia Drake Reflects On The Impact of Her Father’s Famed Equation

In 1961, Frank Drake formulated an equation that would change the way we see ourselves in the Universe, and inspire in an unprecedented way the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Now, more than fifty years later, his daughter, science writer Nadia Drake, looks back on the impact of her father’s eponymous equation. Drake the Younger’s take…

The Concept Art That George R.R. Martin Is A Fan Of

This version of the Iron Throne is dark and looming and unsettlingly ominous — and it’s exactly the way George R.R. Martin wanted it to look. When Martin posted this picture by Marc Simonetti of the Iron Throne last year and pointed to it as the image that most closely captured his own vision of…

Read In the Rain With this Inflatable, Waterproof Life Jacket For Books

There are many reasons to abandon printed books for an electronic reader like the Kindle—not the least of which being an option to completely waterproof it. But paper books can now boast the same ability to shrug off a soaking with this inflatable floating life jacket that lets you keep reading wherever it’s wet. The…

Reminder: Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes Was Very, Very Bad

Let’s celebrate the soon-to-be-released Dawn of the Planet of the Apes by reminding ourselves of the movie that could have killed the franchise forever: Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes. So stare gape-jawed at its horror with one “Honest Trailer” and another video listing everything wrong with the film. It really is terrible.

Did You Know Kangaroos Have 5 Limbs?

Kangaroos are famous for their hopping, but a slow-moving roo relies more on its tail to get around than either of its feet. The result is a what biologists call a five-limbed, i.e. “pentapedal,” gait. Yes, you read that correctly. The kangaroo is a pentaped – perhaps the only one on Earth. Researchers led by…

Why Are These Wasps Stockpiling Ant Corpses in Their Nests?

A group of researchers made a macabre discovery when they discovered a new species of wasp in China’s Gutianshan National Nature Reserve. These wasps lay their eggs in nests that are stuffed with the corpses of freshly-killed ants. As if wasps weren’t creepy enough. The new species is a type of spider wasp, described this…

These Train Cars Converted Into Churches Are Literal Holy Rollers

While priests and ministers hope that their churches will move people spiritually, these churches have also moved people physically—from derelict cars turned into churches to pew-filled trains that let people worship on the go. A custom-built church car, built in the Putilov Company, commemorating the birth of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, consecrated in…

Ghibli’s Ghost Story When Marnie Was There Gets A Haunting Trailer

Miyazaki Hayao may have retired from filmmaking, but Studio Ghibli is still bringing us beautiful fare. The trailer for their upcoming supernatural story When Marnie Was There is packed with lovely landscapes and hints at the friendship at the heart of the film. From Wikipedia, here is the synopsis for the film, directed by The…

Archaeologists have found stunning evidence of a previously-unknown, ancient farming civilization in Peru, from the 4th-7th century CE. It predates the Inca Empire by many centuries. The find could change how we understand the way civilization developed in the area.

Stunning Aerial Images of Hill Forts from Britain’s Iron Age

Some 3,000 “hill forts” or “defended enclosures” are scattered across Britain. The elevated land provided a defensive advantage, with lines of fortifications—such as walls and ditches—erected around the hills’ contours. Seen from the ground, they must have been imposing; seen from the sky, they’re exquisite. The site, Heritage Daily, has compiled several images of the…

A Tricorder That Automatically Counts All The Calories In Your Food

It’s impossible to know how many calories we’re about to consume just by glancing at the food on our plate. That’s why the researchers at GE are trying to build a universal calorie counter. Here’s how it would work. The quest to build a machine that can automatically count calories in any food was spearheaded…

The Year The Army Stopped Niagara Falls

In 1969, the Army Corps of Engineers accomplished an awesome feat: They turned off Niagara Falls. They did it to clean up the area, and check for structural integrity. Here are pictures of this bizarre episode in structural engineering history. These pictures were taken by tourists who visited the dry falls in 1969. Environmental design…

Should SFWA Allow Self-Published Authors To Join?

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has long had certain requirements for membership: You have to publish a few short stories or one novel, with a publisher paying “professional” rates. But what about self-published authors, who are making a decent living off their writing? SFWA has invited comment on how to include self-published…

Warner Bros. is planning a big-budget adaptation of The Odyssey. Titled Odysseus, the film will be directed by Fedor Bondarchuk, who made the Russian historical epic Stalingrad, and written by Jeremy Doner, of The Killing semi-fame. Only the gods know how this thing will turn out. [Via The Dissolve]

Which Horror Or Dark Fantasy Movie Has The Most Powerful Ending?

Most horror and dark fantasy movies can’t quite stick the landing, when it comes to endings. People survive, or they die. But a few great horror movies actually manage to serve up endings with real weight, and catharsis to them. Which horror or dark fantasy movie has the absolute best ending? Please include a picture…

If Medical Marijuana Is Legalized, You Can Thank The Tea Party

Politics makes strange bedfellows—except for the Tea Party, which doesn’t sleep with anyone. The Conservative movement has defined itself by its “no compromise” approach toward politics. So, why did Tea Party members of Congress support Democrats on a key vote on medical marijuana? A total of 49 Republicans joined Democrats in supporting legislation, co-sponsored by…