Live-Action Paddington Bear Is Actually Kind Of Terrifying

Who doesn’t love Paddington Bear? The ‘wittle bear with the toggle jacket and adorable hat has been turned into a real-life movie. And now he looks like a real bear who will probably really kill everyone for putting him in this coat. These new images of the live-action Paddington Bear make him look like he’s…

A Map Explaining What Happened To The Population Booms Of 10 Years Ago

Is your town growing or shrinking? This map gives you an answer for your area — both now and 10 years ago. Using data from the last census and a decade ago, the Census Bureau put together an interactive map showing the difference between where in the U.S. the population was booming 10 years ago…

​Why There’s No Goddamn Point In Ever Making An American Akira Movie

Greetings, letter-writers of the past! I’m doing pretty well, myself. I found this new village where they have some local lottery. I assume they don’t give out cash, since society has fallen and all, but I entered it,hoping for some good prizes. We all drew slips this morning, and mine had a black dot… I…

How Cuts in the Pentagon Science Budget Will Hurt Basic Research

Despite military downsizing, the White House has previously shielded science research at the Department of Defense from budget cuts. But this year, the administration requested a 6.9% reduction. That has universities worried since they receive 10% of their federal research funding from the Pentagon. In testimony before Congress this past March, Alan Shaffer, the Principal…

These Are The Most Depressing Jobs In America

Our jobs have a profound influence on our mental health. A new study shows the extent to which certain industries give rise to clinical depression. For the study, Cincinnati researchers Lawson Wulsin and colleagues analyzed care records from Highmark Ltd., a Blue Cross insurance provider for folks living primarily in western Pennsylvania. The data included…

That Live-Action Star Wars TV Series Was Also About Young Han Solo

New details have surfaced about the live-action Star Wars TV series that Lucasfilm had a mountain of scripts for, but was too expensive to produce. First off, it was going to be called Star Wars: Underworld, and, like the recently announced stand-alone movie, it was also going to follow the adventures of young Han Solo.…

How Long Could The Walking Dead Last? Plus Wild Rumors About Avengers 2

There’s a supposed breakdown of Age of Ultron’s opening battle, news about Jupiter Ascending’s “insane” stuntwork, and a new Insurgent cast member. Plus, the Game of Thrones showrunners promise the biggest season finale yet and major secrets will be revealed when Teen Wolf returns. Spoilers now! Top image: Avengers: Age of Ultron concept art Avengers:…

Will a New Report on China’s American Film Fatigue Change Hollywood?

A new report says that Chinese audiences are growing tired of the repetitive nature of imported films, which bodes poorly for Hollywood’s penchant for sequels, remakes, and special effects-driven blockbusters. While China’s box office is growing at a rapid rate — 2013 was up 27.5% from 2012 — the majority of that money is going…

Cat-Bird Graph Is the Only Optical Illusion We Need

It’s like the rabbit-duck illusion, but with directions. [via Qikipedia]

Aurora Borealis Stuns Over Minnesota

A powerful G2 class geomagnetic storm passed through Minnesota’s sky early Sunday morning and created the natural lightshow. It was captured on video, which you can see at the link. [NY Daily News]

And Now: A Talking Bear Wants Californians to Conserve Energy

You know what? It did its job. I did look up the site after I saw it. Mainly so I could double-check that I hadn’t hallucinated the ad, but still.

In Defense Of Typos

The Internet is a landscape filled with—some would say plagued by—typographical errors. But how much should we really worry about a misplaced apostrophe or a mistyped word? Top image by Jeremy Keith. Responding to the tut-tutting grammar tweet recently tweeted by actual Nazis, Author John Higgs defends the value of typos in an essay at…

Yes, Humans Are Animals — So Just Get Over Yourselves, Homo sapiens

Even though you are reading this on a sophisticated electronic device, you are an animal. That’s the most radical idea to come out of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking studies of evolution, and even today, it still freaks people out. Photo by Carleigh, via Humans Hugging Dogs I know this because last week I wrote an article…

Gargantuan Ghostbusters Infographic Fills Your Head With Old Ghosts

Fill up on all the Ghostbuster trivia that’s not only clever, but pleasing to the eye. We’re basically sluts for infographics here, and this one designed by Mike Seiders is pretty fantastic.

The Worldbuilding in Lockstep Is So Good It Will Make You Giddy

Every now and then I encounter a book that utterly thrills me, and Karl Schroeder’s new novel Lockstep is one of them. It’s about a young loner, battling an oppressive corporate regime that controls space by controlling how people experience time. And the lockstep is the key to it all. In the far future, people…

This Adventure Time Table Is Approximately An Episode’s Worth Of Fun

This Adventure Time-themed table gives a surprisingly complete look into the Land of Ooo. The table was made by commenter Will Heigh, who dubbed the project “Adventure Table”: The Adventure Table. Acrylic and ink on wood, 140×140. It’s been a real labor of love but finished at last. All the family’s favorite characters, including Jaaaaaames…

Violent crime is down in Denver since Colorado legalized marijuana. Data shows murders, assaults and burglaries declined during the first three months of the year, compared with the same period for 2013. Some opponents, however, say the criminal effect of decriminalizing marijuana won’t be felt for several years

Here’s NASA’s New Design for a Warp Drive Ship

In 2012, NASA physicist Harold White revealed that he and a team were working on a design for a faster-than-light ship. Now he’s collaborated with an artist to create a new, more realistic design of what such a ship might actually look like. Artist Mark Rademaker told io9 that he worked with White to create…

An armed robber caught by facial recognition software has been handed a 22 year jail sentence. His image was captured by Chicago Transit surveillance cameras, and compared to a database of 4.5 million criminal booking images. Biosignatures are increasingly being used by law enforcement. (RHIMAGE/Shutterstock)

Why Do We Use The Letter X To Represent The Unknown?

In algebra, we’re often asked to solve for x, and, in the English language, the letter x is often used to signify the unknown—X marks the spot, X-rays, and Mr. X, for example. But how did this particular letter become associated with so much mystery? In the 2012 TED Talk above, Terry Moore traces the…