New Poll Shows The U.S. Is Extremely Confused About The Future

A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that the majority of Americans are optimistic about the future. But when asked about specifics, they demonstrated a pronounced nervousness about some of the most plausible and beneficial advancements. Top image: Deus Ex: Human Revolution concept art by Jim Murray. According to the poll, 53%…

You Only Have Nine Minutes Until Your Brain Reboots. Make Them Count.

We had pretty high hopes for The Anomaly when we learned that Noel Clarke (Doctor Who) was directing and starring in a film about brain-hacking, co-starring The Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder. But the trailer looks seriously kick-ass, and there’s a neat spin on the “ticking clock” idea. In this film, it looks as though Somerhalder…

When Floating Hospitals Roamed The Seas

For nearly a hundred years, people have built hospital ships, the size of a city block, on the ocean. And these floating infirmaries have saved countless lives and helped heal travelers on the ocean. The U.S.S. Red Rover, the first U.S. Naval Hospital, converted from a Confederate paddle steamer (via U.S. National Library of Medicine…

The Brutal Moment That Changed The 100 Forever

What an insane episode of The 100. Last night’s episode contained everything I loathed and everything I love about this series. And man, oh man, The 100 certainly wasn’t afraid to go full gut punch — and that’s a good thing! Massive spoilers ahead. OK, let’s go ahead and get the silly stuff out of…

Iapetus is one of the weirdest moons in the solar system, and one of its weirdest features is its prominent, equatorial mountain range. Now, Popular Science reports on a new theory as to the origins of this peculiar ridge: The mountains, researchers posit in a study recently published in arXiv, fell from spaaaaaaaace.

George R.R. Martin Explains How The Game Of Thrones Got Started

We can’t know who will end up sitting on the Iron Throne at the end of George R.R. Martin’s book and television saga — but now, Martin is showing us more of how the first King got to sit on that pointy seat of power. Martin has released a samplefrom The World of Ice and…

11 Of The Smartest Cartoon Shows In Animation History

Animation is best when someone of any age can enjoy it, and the best way to achieve that is by mixing intelligence with humor (no, not like the Big Bang). Few things are better than getting to laugh and feel smart at the same time, or watching a character do something so unexpected even the…

What’s The Most Disastrous First Encounter Between Two Civilizations?

First contact can be a delicate business. When humans encounter aliens (or fairies, or other creatures) for the first time, it can easily go very, very wrong. Any first meeting between two peoples can turn bloody at a moment’s notice. But what’s the most horrific first contact scenario in science fiction and fantasy? Please include…

Fossils Give Us a Snapshot of Life Right After a Huge Meteorite Impact

About 14.6 million years ago, a meteorite over half a mile wide smashed into the Earth, creating a massive crater of melted rock. Although temperatures there were as high as 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers have found that life took hold there soon after. The discovery—made at the Nördlinger Ries crater, located in Bavaria, Germany—has important…

This Cross-Section of the Universe Magnifies the Night Sky by a Billion

This cross-section of the universe, snapped by the Hubble, takes us about halfway to the universe’s observable end — showing us things that you could only see with your eyes if your eyesight’s power was magnified by a billion. Part of this incredibly far view is due to the one of nature’s most delightful phenomenon,…

First Trailer For Robert Pattinson’s Post-Apocalypse Ordeal The Rover

David Michod, the director behind the very well received Animal Kingdom, has helmed a brutal post-apocalyptic moviecalled The Rover, starring Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce. The premise is simple: Pattinson’s brother steals Pearce’s car and leaves Pattinson for dead. He’s not — road trip! The brutal landscape is composed of dust, dirt and nothingness. It…

100 Years Of Solitude Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez Was Irreplaceable

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who died today aged 87, did not invent the genre of magical realism — but he helped to popularize it and advance it with novels like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Autumn of the Patriarch. Speculative fiction still hasn’t risen fully to the challenge of Marquez’s work. Marquez first rose to…

When Churchill And Hitler Fought Against Each Other In The Great War

During the Second World War, Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler were mortal enemies. Before that, however, the two future leaders fought a mere ten miles away from one another on the Great War’s Western Front. And along with their guns, they also brought their paint brushes. Though they found themselves at the Western Front during…

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin is becoming an e-book at last! Celebrate by reading an excerpt over at Slate.

Why True Detective Is A Supernatural Show After All

Despite its heavy references to a 19th century work of horror, True Detective does not appear on its surface to be supernatural show. But the show’s controversial ending is particularly brilliant if you read the entire season as a battle between two men and a powerful supernatural entity. Spoilers below. True Detective has been a…

It’s Batman vs. Terry In A Clip From Darwyn Cooke’s Batman Beyond Short

First Bruce Timm brought back The Animated Series’ version of Batman, and now Terry McGinnis is back in his cartoon Batsuit in this clip from Darwyn Cooke’s upcoming Batman Beyond animated short. In honor of Batman’s 75th anniversary, DC has declared this “Bat Month” and giving us all sorts of Bat-goodies. We can’t wait to…

Q Stops By J.J. Abrams’ New Star Trek Universe To Make Trouble

No, your eyes do not deceive you — that’s Picard’s fan favorite nemesis Q, holding the new crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in his omnipotent hands! Q takes a trip to visit the new movie-verse in IDW’s Star Trek’s comic’s next adventure, and we have the exclusive details! Besides the premiere of Star Trek #35’s…

Astronomers Have Found the First Earth-Sized, Habitable Zone Planet

Scientists today announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, a faraway planet that’s perhaps the most Earth-like yet discovered. It’s the same size as our home world, and at the right distance from its parent star to have liquid water. So, have we at last discovered Earth 2? Above: An artist’s conception of Kepler-186f Credit: NASA Ames/SETI…

Highlander, Stream Your Cable Anywhere, Planet Earth, PC Games

Wield Highlander: Director’s Cut on blu-ray for just $5 today. [Amazon] There are a whole lot of great PC deals today, from Titanfall to Tomb Raider. $20 Steam Gift Card ($18) | Target | In-Store Only Bioshock Triple Pack | $13 | Promo Code EMCPFWE84 Saints Row: The Third The Full Package ($6) | Amazon…

Is TV Ready For An Interdimensional, Corpse-Animating Worm?

George Lopez — yes, that George Lopez — thinks it is. That’s why he’s partnered with comic publisher IDW to make an animated series based on writer/artist Ben Templesmith’s humor-horror comic Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse. Here’s the official summary, courtesy of IDW: Meet Wormwood, the English-accented, beer-drinking, sentient corpse possessing a maggot expat from the Hell…