Could NASA Build A Holodeck? Ask NASA Ops Expert Jeff Norris!

How can videogame technologies be used to explore space? Jeff Norris, from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, is here to answer our questions about space teleexploration, the best way to control a robotic arm in realtime, and just how close we are to our dream of a holodeck. Norris founded and leads JPL’s Ops Lab, which…

If I Stay Actually About A Girl Stuck In A Really Crappy Purgatory

If you’ve seen the ads for If I Stay, you may have written it off as some tween heartstring yanker (and you wouldn’t be wrong). However, it is also a story about a ghost who is attached to her comatose body, stuck forever in some horrible hospital until she decides what to do—which just made…

12 Classic Lines of Dialogue That You Probably Didn’t Know Were Improv

The best movies are insanely quotable. The classic dialogue sticks with you and becomes your new catch-phrase, even if you sometimes misquote it. But some of the best dialogue wasn’t in the script at all. Here are 12 famous lines you probably didn’t know were improvised on the set. 1) Blade Runner The line: “All…

​This Scientific Paper On Mermaids Is Absolutely Brilliant

Karl Banse, an oceanographer and biologist, is one of the most esteemed scientists in the world. He’s written on everything from the use of satellites to detect phytoplankton concentrations to the transport of carbon into the deep oceans. But, perhaps his most overlooked research is his seminal paper on mermaids. Craig McClain, the Assistant Director…

Really? Are We Still Genre Shaming People For The Books They Like?

Yesterday, Slate caused a bit of a stir with an editorial reprimanding adults for reading books marketed to young adults. This song-and-dance — saying that we should be ashamed of what we like to read — is a familiar one for fans of genre fiction. And frankly, it’s getting old. Top image by Rory MacLeod.…

Critics of the EPA’s emissions reduction plan say it lets many big polluting states off easy. For instance, coal-burning states like West Virginia and Kentucky will have to cut carbon pollution by 19.8% and 18.3%, while Washington state, one of the lowest carbon emitters, is supposed to cut its pollution output by 72%.

Intruders Clip Brings Back John Simm To Scifi TV

We’re really creeped out by the latest couple of teasers for BBC America’s Intruders. Centered around a secret society searching for immortality by possessing the bodies of others, we’re not sure what to expect from this series. But we are happy it’s got Life on Mars and Doctor Who’s John Simm! From writer & executive…

Massive Fossilized Pterosaur Colony ‘Most Important Ever Found’

Well-preserved fossils of pterosaurs are extremely hard to come by, which makes this recent find of 40 male and female individuals all the more incredible. Along with the discovery of a spectacular new crested species, paleontologists have also found the first 3-dimensional fossilized pterosaur eggs. Say hello to Hamipterus tianshanensis, a newly documented species of…

American Hippopotamus, Or How The US Tried To Import Hippos For Food

Back in 1910, in the midst of the American meat crisis, the US government came up with the idea to import hippos for food. This is how the “American Hippo Bill” was introduced. And now Bret Ratner and Edward Norton are turning this strange hippo story into a movie. Louisiana Congressman Robert Broussard wanted to…

It’s Time For A GIF Party, People!

Deal with it, GIFs! This party is happening. What’s on your mind this week? Tell us about what you’ve been up to, your projects, and your plans, all through the art of the GIF. The party starts now!

Edge Of Tomorrow Is The Movie Other Action Movies Wish They Could Be

We’ve been reliving the same events over and over again. We keep getting excited for an original science fiction movie, like Elyisum. Or Oblivion. Only to be disappointed. Which is why Edge of Tomorrow is such a thrill. At last, Tom Cruise has broken the cycle of drek. This is the first movie in ages…

Try This Experiment the Next Time You Eat!

A simple illusion might let you have a new kind of eating experience. I do love an experiment that allows me to combine gluttony and curiosity. So you like to eat. Good for you! But there’s no reason to be boring about it. There are some pretty interesting experiments you can do with food. One…

Did Ant-Man Lose Another Director? Plus Bleak Hunger Games Set Photos!

One Original Trilogy star won’t be in the new Star Wars movies. Famke Janssen wants more of the Wolverine/Cyclops/Jean Grey love triangle. And it looks like we’ll be seeing another major deviation from the books on Game of Thrones. Plus new Doctor Who set photos show Clara using the sonic screwdriver. Spoilers now! Top image:…

Thanks Textbooks Is the Cure For Anyone Nostalgic for Their Schooldays

Sometimes, going back to being a student feels like it would be a great idea. Life was so easy then. Or, if you had the textbooks featured on Thanks Textbooks, it was a bewildering time of being required to read and answer the strangest questions. A few favorites:

The Best/Worst Moments From Fall Out Boy’s B-Horror Music Videos

There are almost no words for just how strange an experience watching the eleven videos Fall Out Boy did for their last album is. They basically took the money for music videos and made a horror film instead. It’s a thing of utter weirdness even before Elton John shows up as God. Look, I realize…

The Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership Is Landing at the Smithsonian

A replica of the 1970s Mothership will be displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. It’ll be located at museum’s Musical Crossroads gallery and displayed with music and concert footage of the Mothership on stage. As if we needed more of a reason to go to D.C.’s museums. The replica…

This “Aviator Cat” Scene Will Cure Whatever Ails You

Jake, the alien cat in The Cat From Outer Space, doesn’t just help gambling addicts to cheat at horse races, football games and pool games, in his quest to return to his home galaxy. He also flies an antique plane, chasing a helicopter. And this cat-aviator sequence will make all your troubles disappear. The Cat…

Nocturnal Transmissions: What Are You Listening To?

Got an album or band you want to evangelize? A guilty pleasure you’re not actually that guilty about? Podcasts you recommend? Audiobooks? Just some random noises? If it’s audio, let’s talk about it. This is Nocturnal Transmissions, your nightly open thread. Image: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

No, that’s not the Eye of Sauron — it’s a planetary system being born. It’s one of the first images captured by SPHERE, a new planet-finder installed in Chile last month. The image shows the protoplanetary disc surrounding star HR4796A — just one of many astounding discoveries SPHERE is sure to make. (Image: ESO/J.-L. Beuzit…

Why Do We Laugh?

In this short documentary for The Atlantic, longtime laughter researcher Robert Provine tells filmmaker Sam-Price Waldman about some of his most notable observations and conclusions. Photo Credit: Trey Ratcliff via flickr | CC BY 2.0 It also features one of the more convincing fake laughs I’ve heard in some time (like smiling, it’s hard to…