Chris Pratt Explains Why Rocket Raccoon Is A Tragic Character

We had the extreme fortune of visiting the set of Marvel’s new space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy. And today we’re allowed to give you a little taste of what we learned straight from Star Lord himself, Chris Pratt. On the set of the London Pinewood Studios, we met Pratt, hair blond and cheeks covered…

Russian Rocket Carrying Hi-Tech Satellite Crashes Minutes After Launch

A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying the country’s most advanced satellite to date, the Express-AM4R, crashed near Kazakhstan about nine minutes after lift-off. The reason for the catastrophic malfunction is still not known. An early theory is that the rocket experienced a failure in one of the third stage’s steering engines. “The exact cause is hard…

Read The Pentagon’s Official Guide To Fighting The Zombie Apocalypse

The Pentagon isn’t letting a little thing like zombies not existing get in the way of their emergency preparedness. The US military has cooked up a plan that would come in handy if the dead happened to rise from their graves to attack the living. “This plan was not actually designed as a joke,” reads…

These Are The Surprising Jobs You’ll Be Doing By The 2030s

As our technological and sociological realities change, so too do our jobs. But just what, exactly, will we be doing 15 years from now? Here are some completely unexpected jobs you’ve almost certainly never heard of—but likely will soon. Indeed, the landscape of careers is changing. But knowing which vocations are around the corner is…

Inventor Creates Retractible Wolverine Claws, Has The Best Day Ever

Colin Furze created a pair of retractible, sparking Wolverine claws. Keep watching this video to the end, because the sheer delight on his face will give you the warm and tinglies. Quick, to the garage, everyone!

We’re Having A GIF Party!

It’s the end of the week! Welcome to your party, GIFs. What’s on your mind this week? Tell us about what you’ve been up to and what you’re looking forward to all through our preferred medium: the GIF.

Bad things would happen if a hobbyist’s drone were to fly into a jet engine. Though an unlikely occurrence, experts say it could cause a catastrophic failure similar to a BASH (aviation parlance for a Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard). But with drones there could be an added danger of combustion is they’re gas-powered.

Tragic Hunger Games Set Photos, Plus Is Zac Efron A Major Marvel Hero?

Harrison Ford really could play Deckard in Blade Runner 2. Jason Momoa pokes fun at those Aquaman casting rumors. Story of Your Life gets major distribution. Doctor Who snags the director of Tank Girl. Plus tons of new footage from Extant, the supernatural medical show Proof, The Flash and Maleficent. Spoilers right now! Top image:…

The Gray Whale Could Not Be Contained

Despite the museum’s best efforts, the gray whale kept jumping out of the paper on which it had been drawn. It wanted nothing more than to do battle with the shark painted beside it, and every day it strained against the bounds of credulity to do just that. Fiona Tang is a Canadian art student…

​America, Why Is Your National Anthem So Goddamn Hard To Sing?

As virtually every American citizen knows all too well, belting out the National Anthem can be a rather precarious proposition. Here’s what the experts have to say about “The Star Spangled Banner” and why it’s such a challenging piece, even for professionals. Over at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Blog, program producer M.K.…

This Animated Film About Elephant Seals Could Have Been Made By Pixar

With Pixar’s attention to the natural world, this short film would be a great fit for them. Someone hire this fellow to make a whole series of animated animal shorts. Pinnipèdes is Victor Caire’s first 3D animated film, made at Supinfocom Arles, and it is darling. Under all those folds of flesh, his animated elephant…

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Great Rock Hand

A great hand of stone and moss looms over this canal. Is it stationary or in motion? And to whom does it belong? “Hand Rock” is by concept artist YONG, who has tons of amazing pieces on his website if you’re ever looking for inspiration (via r/ImaginaryLandscapes). If this particular painting inspires you, write a…

Tough time for Orbit authors. First Orbit Books’ parent company Hachette clashed with Amazon, causing the online retailer to delay sending books and raise prices. Then Orbit announced it won’t send free copies of books to Hugo voters, putting authors at a distinct disadvantage.

How Comics Can Save Your Life

Webcomics can entertain, educate, and enlighten, but can they also save a life? After looking at this list of webcomics that offered a look at some real experiences with mental illness, one commenter told us the story of the time when a comic did exactly that. The comic in question came from Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole…

Popular New Baby Names Of 2013: Vanellope, Kaptain, Tuf, And Kyndle

The Social Security Administration just released its 2013 list of baby names in the United States. And once again, Game of Thrones rules. There were 1135 Aryas, 241 Khaleesis and 67 Daeneryses born in 2013. And 15 Theons and five Robbs. But some new names also came on the scene. For one thing, there were…

Everyone On The 100 Makes Terrible Decisions, But It Makes For Good TV

Where does the Grounding Leader get her hair ombre done? Asking for a friend… Last night, The 100 made a lot of bad decisions—a lot. But they were HIGHLY watchable bad decisions. So that’s good. Spoilers ahead! The 100 is still continuing its very aggressive decision to KILL EVERYONE ALL THE TIME. For example: Take…

Turkmenistan’s Astonishing Attempt To Build A City Of The Future

Turkmenistan was once an important stop on the Silk Road, and the country still has 2,000 years of architectural masterpieces. But since the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan’s capital city Ashgabat has become a futuristic wonderland, with free internet and some astonishing architecture. The last First Secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party named Saparmurat…

First Look At Hunger Games: Mockingjay Reveals The Secret District

Here it is: your first look at Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin, along with a collection of stills from Hunger Games: Mockingjay. This is your first-ever look at the beginning of the end of Katniss and friends. The website The Hunger Games Exclusive just launched a whole set of new images from the first…

Earth’s Lightning Ramps Up With The Solar Wind

What causes thunderstorms? Previous research showed that one cause is cosmic rays from space, generated by supernovas. But a new paper shows that something much closer and powerful is also responsible: solar wind from our own Sun. Above: Time-lapse photo of several lightning strikes at night. Credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe…

In an effort to find and train promising science communicators—perhaps even find the “Carl Sagan of chemistry”—the American Chemical Society is launching the Chemistry Champions contest. The first round of the contest asks scientists to explain their research to the general public in a fun, two- to three-minute video.