Astronaut Chris Hadfield says Gravity was good but needed more diapers

The amazing Chris Hadfield saw Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity movie and he thought it was extremely well done… except for a certain lack of adult diapers, as he told Conan O’Brien on Conan last night. I’m afraid I’m with Conan on this one; I appreciate any movie’s attempt at accuracy, but I also appreciate not seeing…

When will The Walking Dead show us what the Governor’s been up to?

Elizabeth Olson comments on her role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Jennifer Lawrence explains why Katniss is a frustrating character to play. Check out new footage from The Hobbit and Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary. The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman has a brand new apocalyptic TV show. Spoilers now! Top image: The Hunger Games: Catching…

It’s official: Once Upon Time is way more fun in the real world

IT’S ONLY BEEN FIVE DAYS ON NEVERLAND ISLAND. FIVE DAYS. YOU GUYS. ENOUGH. Anyone else feel like we’ve already spent five YEARS in Neverland, on Once Upon a Time? Peter Pan is great and all — but just a mere glimpse into Storybrooke brought me down to my knees with gratitude. Please, please, please let’s…

The falcon who came folded into your bank statements

Normally you wait weeks to open your bank statements. But for some reason, this time, you tore into it. The pages with their spreadsheets felt heavy in your fingers. And somehow, when you unfolded them, this bird also unfolded. This is just one of the many incredible portraits of birds that Paula Swisher has drawn…

Comment of the Day: Radioactive Bones Edition

Today, we tracked the very best explosions in space, watched Skynet choose its very first target (The International Space Station? Noooo!), and harkened back to a simpler time in medicine, one marked by house calls, personalized care, and, uh, lead-lined coffins. In response to this post looking at ten famous people whose medical treatments were…

Now you can understand Fourier transforms — like a boss

If you’ve spent any time on the Internet, at some point you’ve heard the phrase “Fourier transform.” It’s it’s a mathematical discovery that’s baked into everything from MP3s to quantum physics. Once you understand it, the world is your oyster. Luckily, Aatish Bhatia has a terrific article in Nautilus that will explain it all to…

Toys “R” Us creates the most anti-science ad ever

Wrong, wrong, wrong, Toys “R” Us. Wrong. An inane commercial like this — in which children are taught that science and the environment are boring — sends the exact wrong message. In the ad, a group of school children are loaded onto a bus labeled, “Meet the Trees Foundation.” A ranger shows them pictures of…

The “Naked Miley Cyrus in Space” Music Video You Didn’t Know You Wanted

Miley Cyrus is some sort of naked alien in the glittery, emo music video for Future’s new song “Real and True.” I’m not sure what’s supposed to be happening here, but it looks like Miley’s sheer levels of body glitter are too much for the space crew that finds her on a planet, and their…

​All your Questions about Thor 2‘s Multiple Endings — Answered!

As with all the previous Marvel movies, Thor: The Dark World’s final moments were full of surprises — including two scenes during the end credit. So we asked Marvel’s Kevin Feige and director Alan Taylor all about the end credit scenes and the big twist before the credits. Major spoilers ahead… We organized their answers…

Feminist cyborgs unite! The “feminist science fiction” issue of the open-source academic journal Ada is out now, and it includes essays on Cabin in the Woods, Octavia Butler, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Lois McMaster Bujold.

This Week’s DVDs are just more collateral damage to the Man of Steel

There’s not much going on this week, home video-wise, but that’s okay. If there were, they’d just be obliterated by Man of Steel as it focuses on its deadly battle to get all the sales this week. But look among the rubble and you find a swell new edition of Akira, tee-totaling tentacle monsters and…

How the Paris World’s Fair brought Art Nouveau to the Masses in 1900

The Paris World’s Fair of 1900 (also known as The Exposition Universelle) was held in Paris between 15 April and 12 November. On display were many new inventions: matryoshka dolls, Diesel engines, talking film, and the telegraphone. But more importantly, the architecture and design of this World’s Fair brought the wonderful Art Nouveau style into…

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Overture comic has already been delayed

Looking forward to issue #2 of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Overture prequel series? Well, good news — you’re going to be looking forward to it for the next four months! DC announced the much-anticipated second issue has been pushed back from a December release to February 2014, for unknown reasons. If it makes you feel…

Maybe the most d’awww-worthy photo of an astronaut ever taken

Pictured here: Leland Melvin (NASA Astronaut and the Agency’s Associate Administrator for Education) with his two dogs, Jake and Scout (Adorable Assistants to NASA’s Associate Administrator for Education). Another shot of Jake (left) and Scout (right): More info on all three here. ht Courtney O’Conner

What’s the greatest spaceship explosion of all time?

Sometimes, a gallant space explorer has no choice but to make a massive sacrifice, and blow up the spaceship. And sometimes, a ship just blows up whether you want it to or not. But what’s the coolest, or most dramatic, spaceship explosion of all? Please include a picture, book cover or clip of the detonation…

Disney wants to adapt Princess Bride for the stage

Disney is toying with the idea of a Princess Bride “stage adaptation.” Please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck. EW says Disney aims to adapt Princess Bride as a stage production, but no clue whether or not this…

Stuxnet has infected a Russian nuclear plant and the space station [Updated]

The problem with creating Stuxnet, the world’s most sophisticated malware worm, is that it could eventually go rogue. Which is precisely what has happened. The US- and Israeli-built virus has spread to a Russian nuclear plant — and even the International Space Station. Update (2013.11.13): I received this email today from Kaspersky Lab’s Corporate Communications…

A Celebration of Superheroes Staring at Costumes in Fancy Display Cases

Superheroes don’t just wear costumes to disguise themselves — they take on a whole heroic identity by slapping on the spandex. So it’s no wonder that supers like to keep their suits in elaborate glass cases, so they can stare at them and brood. Here are our favorite scenes of superheroes staring at costumes in…

First Frozen song showcases songwriting talent from Book of Mormon

Little known Frozen fact: Josh Gad (who voices the part of Olaf, the talking Snowman) re-teamed up with the musical talent from Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon to create all the musical numbers in Disney’s Snow Queen movie. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez both worked on the score and lyrics for the song…

Evolution is steered by aggressive competition between females

One of the classic images from evolutionary theory is of two males smashing each other up to compete for the chance to fertilize a female. Scientists have spent over a century studying this kind of male competition, but new discoveries reveal that competition between females is just as important. The problem is that female competition…