The First Noah Trailer Is Full of Biblical Disaster Porn

God is PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSED. We are really not sure what to think about Darren Aronofsky’s Ye Olde Day After Tomorrow, er Noah. There’s just so much going on. The CG animals and massive rain storm and geyser attack we understand because it’s about God flooding the Earth. However, there’s a lot of other fantasy trappings in…

A sobering reminder of the limits of science in the war on vampires

Although science can achieve great things, it can only do so after a lot of thought and effort. Nowhere do we see that more clearly than in the strange tales of two real-life scientific institutions’ brave attempts to guard the population from vampire attacks. In 1994, a Norwegian group of scientists were so concerned with…

The surface of Pluto like you’ve never seen it before

Using a powerful new software program called the Scientific Exoplanets Renderer (SER), astronomer Abel Méndez has produced a stunning set of new images — including a global map — showing the distant dwarf planet of Pluto in unprecedented detail. Normally, SER is used to generate photorealistic images of planets outside our solar system, including the…

The Walking Dead Monopoly has the best playing pieces ever

I want to be the broken telephone Rick calls his dead wife on! The Walking Dead edition of Monopoly is actually kind of brilliant. Available over at ThinkGeek, the undead twist on the classic board game has you buying up land, batteries and other end-of-the-world supplies. Then, after you’ve bartered, killed and grabbed any property…

The scientific way to make alcohol disappear

No, not that way. That’ll come later. For now, you can get some (purified) ethanol and some water, and do a quick experiment that involves one of those thing disappearing into the other. All you need is some water, and some ethanol, a cup measure and a glass or two to mix them in. First…

Jennifer Lawrence Debunks the Craziest Star Wars Rumor of All!

There are a ton of Doctor Who photos, and the Jessica Jones TV series has a showrunner. Independence Day 2 gets a new release date, and next year will see two Hercules films. New versions of Ghost and Tales from the Darkside are coming to TV. Plus, a toy line gives a glimpse of Captain…

In the shade of the Möbius strip bridge

Soon, the planned community of the Meixi Lake District in Changsha, China will be graced by a bridge modeled after the legendary mathematical concept of the Möbius strip. The Mobius strip is a surface with only one side, often modeled by twisting a long, rectangular piece of paper and attaching both its ends. Image by…

Comment of the Day: Peak Geek Edition

Today, we whispered our secret hatreds of beloved films into the unknowing winds, assembled a super-team of the worst mentors ever to hand down a piece of terrible advice, and predicted when the geek-bubble would come crashing down on all of our heads (wait for it, wait for it, and…) In Morning Spoilers, commenter Daniel…

Hear Castiel crooning the Greatest American Hero theme on Supernatural

Supernatural often features brilliant musical moments — but few as hilarious, or as clever, as this one. Castiel, the fallen angel who’s lost his powers, sings the Greatest American Hero theme tune, all about miraculously gaining superpowers. Amazing stuff. This was a really neat episode of Supernatural in general, because it capitalized brilliantly on the…

Bizarre Replicas of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower

Copycat architecture isn’t just popular in China, but everywhere around the world. Here are some of the weirdest replicas of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower. https://gizmodo.com/the-bizarre-copycat-architecture-of-china-455672655 Tianducheng (also known as Little Paris), a weird copycat town near Shanghai, China It was built by a Chinese real estate developer company built the perfect copies…

New life found on plastic waste gives rise to the ‘plastisphere’

Tons of plastic floats in the oceans, and it’s covered in microscopic life. But a new study reveals plastic-loving species that have never been seen before, and ecosystems entirely new to science. Say hello to life in the ‘plastisphere.’ For the study, which now appears in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers Tracy Mincer from the…

Nightwing joins the growing DC TV universe of Arrow

Not content with Black Canary, Arsenal, the Huntress, Deathstroke, Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, China White, Doctor Ivo, or upcoming characters like The Flash and Amanda Waller, Arrow has just added Batman’s protégé Nightwing to its ever-increasing cast, to be played by Steve McQueen of The Vampire Diaries fame. Apparently McQueen is pretty excited about the role,…

Full Length Divergent trailer shows the future ruins of Chicago

The new dystopian teen movie Divergent could be upping the ante for post-apocalyptic devastation, judging from this brand new trailer. What’s happened to Lake Michigan? Find out, in the movie’s first full-length trailer. Divergent, based on Veronica Roth’s YA book series, is set in a future Chicago, that’s surrounded by a dried-out Lake Michigan and…

Viral Journalism and the Valley of Ambiguity

Once you’ve worked as a writer and editor in the world of social media for a decade, the way I have, you start to notice patterns. For example, there are some stories that will never go viral, even if they are brilliant in every measurable way. That’s because they lie in the “valley of ambiguity,”…

Who’s the most irresponsible mentor of all time?

We all need a little guidance sometimes. So it’s a good thing there are mentors, who can teach us and shelter us and… generally screw everything up. Because that’s what mentors do. But who’s the most irresponsible or just plain evil mentor in science fiction or fantasy? https://gizmodo.com/what-scifi-teaches-us-about-lying-deceitful-mentors-5020640 Please include a picture or clip (or…

Watch the storyboards for the Stretch Armstrong Movie that Never Was

Remember when Stretch Armstrong was supposed to be a live action feature film starring Twilight werewolf Taylor Lautner? But then Lautner’s spy movie tanked, as did the other toy-to-film production (Battleship). Now all we have left of Armstrong, the toy movie that never was, is this animatic storyboard. Thanks to the keen eye over at…

The Game of Thrones season 3 set is the ultimate (red) wedding present

Game of Thrones season 3 hits DVD and Blu-ray this February, but the extras for the sets have finally been released. For those hoping to get an inside look at one of the most shocking, violent and incredibly traumatic scenes in television history, boy, have I got good news for you! (Warning: Auto-playing video after…

Here’s a little-known fact: You know the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the first moonwalk? Turns out that suit was made by a bra manufacturer in Dover, Deleware. As Andrew Chaikin explains at Smithsonian, the seamstresses who hand-stitched NASA’s spacesuits were used to devoting their needlework to an entirely different kind of rubber garment. Top…

Great Unintended Scientific Discoveries

In the latest episode of Mental Floss, Derek Muller is on loan from Veritasium to dish out two dozen unintended scientific discoveries, including a few you’ve probably heard of (like penicillin*) and a bunch you probably haven’t (like Viagra). https://gizmodo.com/meet-the-scientific-accident-that-could-change-the-worl-5987086 https://gizmodo.com/7-scientific-accidents-that-led-to-world-changing-disco-5739235 *While we’re on the subject of penicillin, there’s more to its discovery than you’ve…

Science Fiction Book Cover Redesigns We Wish We Could Put on the Shelf

Over at Artsy Musings, there’s a great roundup of science fiction book cover reimaginings that ought to be actual book covers. Including this beautiful design by Luke James. Check out a few more of our favorites below. Left: Hannes Beer. Right: Wayne Dorrington. Left: Kevin Tong. Right: Paul Murray. Both images by Kevin Tong. Check…