It’s Launch-Day (Update: and it didn’t go as planned.)

Soyuz TMA-12M launches today, carrying Expedition 39 to the International Space Station. Watch the live coverage on NASA TV. Update: Hooray for another successful launch, and a great rocket-photo to go with it! https://gizmodo.com/sunrise-on-the-soyuz-rollout-1550522610 Update 2 (Tuesday PM): The third Soyuz thruster burn did not take place as scheduled. As a result, the spacecraft will…

The Perfect Generic Commercial for a Tech/Science Company

Do you have a startup devoted to technology, agribusiness, or medicine? Then we have a great commercial to show the world your innovation, synergy, human touch, and environmental awareness. If you love sarcasm, this video will make your afternoon. All of this was created with stock footage, which you can license! From the filmmakers: This…

A Quick And Dirty Refresher Course On Game Of Thrones‘ First 3 Years

It’s been nearly a year since Game of Thrones was on our screens, and that’s a long time to keep the complexities of Westerosi politics straight in your head. And there’s less than two weeks left before the show returns. Don’t have time to marathon the first 30 episodes before April 6? We’ve got a…

How The “Open A Bottle Of Wine With Your Shoe” Trick Works

You may have spotted this video going around of a man opening a bottle of wine using just a shoe, a wall, and a willfully optimistic attitude about the integrity of glass. It’s a pretty slick kitchen-hack, but does it work? And if so, why? NPR’s The Salt put the trick to the test (with…

Huge ThinkGeek Sale, All Three Bioshocks, Twilight Zone [Deals]

Today’s a perfect opportunity to stock up on gear from all of your favorite movies, TV shows, and games. Just buy anything on ThinkGeek, and you can get any other item on their site (of equal or lesser value) for 50% off. Buy One Item, Get Another 50% Off | Promo Code LLAP Even if…

Are “Haters” Valuable Critics? The Debate Over Trolls and Art

What happens when cartoonists take on their critics in comic form? Recently, the webcomic Zen Pencils raged against online critics—and received a comic about the value of negative feedback in reply. Top image from Zen Pencils’ “The Artist-Troll War.” Zen Pencils is a webcomic known primarily for adapting inspirational quotes from famous people into, well,…

An Exclusive Clip From NatGeo’s All-New Rifftrax Special!

Yes, it’s official — Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftax’s Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett are returning to TV to make fun of some of the National Geopgraphic channel’s programming in Total Riff-Off. And we’re proud to debut this first-ever clip! There will be three hour-long Rifftrax specials, beginning at 8:00 pm EST…

No Headline Can Adequately Capture How Awful Lost Girl Was Last Night

It had to happen eventually. Every show has its worst episode. This was Lost Girl’s new low. A pointless, boring slog capped by…well, you’ll see. Spoilers ahead! Lost Girl is often bad, but a fun, campy sort of bad. This was just abject failure on every level. When they meant to be exciting, it was…

I Have No Idea What This Is, But I Love It So Much

This is the weirdest trailer I have ever seen. What is happening?! All I know is that there are Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger-esque figures, a tumor in the collective unconscious, a Hindu god, hip hop, and lots of talk about kinky sex (yes, it’s safe for work). The movie is called Struggled Reagans, and I…

​12 Of The Most Obnoxious Anime Theme Songs Of All Time

Any anime fan can tell you that music is an integral part of anime. Mostly because Japanese music studios use their theme songs to pimp new/hot bands and drive sales, but also partially because this music is often god-awful. While no means a complete list, here are a dozen of the most terrible opening themes…

Tom Cruise Dies Over And Over Again In New Edge Of Tomorrow Trailer

Tom Cruise doesn’t just live the same combat mission over and over again in Edge of Tomorrow—he also dies a whole lot. Watch a few of the many deaths of Cruise in the latest trailer, including one at the hands of Emily Blunt. Adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s light novel All You Need Is Kill, Edge…

The Rock Hints That He’s Still Playing DC’s Badass Bounty Hunter, Lobo

Earlier today, Dwayne Johnson tweeted that he and DC Comics have agreed on a character for him to play. But is this Lobo, the space bounty hunter that Johnson has been linked to for years? Or John Stewart, the Green Lantern? We had a chance to talk to the Rock about his superhero role, and…

Kory Stamper Is Here to Answer All Your Questions About Words

Kory Stamper is a lexicographer over at Merriam-Webster, publishers of dictionaries and thesauruses. She’s here today to answer all our questions about how we use language, from 11 – noon (Pacific time). Ask Stamper anything, whether it’s about the correct way to pluralize “octopus”, or just how she parses out the definitions for words, both…

Dwayne Johnson Goes Full Demigod In The First Hercules Trailer

Here’s your first look at the year’s second Hercules movie — and this time, Herc is played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and he’s bringing the full power of Greek myth to the story of the super-strong demigod. Based on the graphic novel Hercules by Steve Moore and directed by Brett Ratner, this movie takes…

These Absolutely Huge Pharaoh Statues Were Just Unveiled In Egypt

Two recently restored statues of Amenhotep III were recently unveiled in Luxor, Egypt, along with a carved alabaster head from another Amenhotep III statue. Chunks of these artifacts had lain about for centuries, but they’ve finally been restored to give us a sense of their former glory. The severely damaged statues, which were carved from…

Just what have the tornado patterns of the past 30 years looked like? An interactive map, over at Smithsonian answers that question, by showing the patterns and strength of how tornadoes have struck for every year since 1980.

The Greatest Rendition Of The Hobbit‘s “Misty Mountains Cold” Ever

I have no words to describe this amazing cover of this iconic Dwarven song by the Auralnauts. Just listen, and know that your quality of life is about to increase substantially. [Via Nerd Bastards]

How Reckless Golfing Almost Burned This City to the Ground

In August of 2010, a fire that burned 12 acres in Irvine, California was allegedly started by a golfer. His ball had strayed off the green and into the rough, and something dangerous happened when he hit the ball off some rocks. After a scientific investigation, we know what lit the fire. Somehow, his club…

These Close-Up Views Of Nature And Technology Are Simply Awe-Inspiring

Each year, the UK’s Wellcome Trust selects its favorite images captured by any number of technological devices — from scanning electron microscopes to CT scans. This year’s winning crop provide an intimate glimpse into these previously unseen worlds. Top image: Scanning electron micrograph of a four-day-old zebrafish embryo. To capture this image, the zebrafish was…

Transformers 4 Could Be The Michael Bay-iest Movie Of All Time

Transformers 4: Age of Extinction premiered a massive reel of brand new footage at CinemaCon, and what we saw was the Michael Bay-iest film ever made. It was seriously Michael Bay doing Michael Bay while exploding tiny jean shorts made out of an American Flag with indiscernible Transformers dancing around in the background. It was…