The Bizarre Game of Thrones Tribute From Last Night’s Supernatural

The opening shot of last night’s Supernatural episode was the funniest part, as we discovered that a taxidermist has created a whole Game of Thrones tribute, out of woodland creatures. This was the second time in a row the show has made a Thrones joke — insecure much? As for the rest of the episode……

Illustrations of Petra Pan, the Genderswapped Girl Who Wouldn’t Grow Up

Artist Marion, also known as Galaxyspeaking, does a puckish genderflip of Peter Pan, reimagining the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up as a girl named Petra, who traipses through Neverland with her crew of Lost Girls and her male fairy companion, Tinkerbell. Galaxyspeaking explains that she is currently working on a comic with her genderswapped Peter…

How I Turned My Problem Pet into a ‘Cadaver Dog’

Author Cat Warren trained her dog to sniff out human remains as a “cadaver dog.” In this exclusive excerpt from her book What The Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs, she explains how this experience taught her about the longstanding connection between dogs and death. Top image: Son of Groucho Excerpted from…

Comment of the Day: Lonely Superman Edition

Today, we spun some possible endings for The Walking Dead, composed an epitaph for the humble video store, and learned once and for all why Superman is the loneliest fellow in Metropolis. In response to this post naming and shaming the worst friends in fiction, commenter Angrier Geek gave us a peek into a very…

Denny’s new Hobbit 2-themed menu is sure to desolate your stomach

Obesity rates among the denizens of Middle-Earth are on the rise. Hobbits, dwarves, orcs and even men are getting fatter, because instead of a sensible diet based on fruits, vegetables and Lembas bread, they’re eating at Denny’s, thanks to their new The Hobbit: The Desolation of Your Arteries Smaug-themed menu. You may remember last year’s…

This is what 1.6-tons of space station garbage looks like on re-entry

Four days ago, the Albert Einstein ATV re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was destroyed as planned. The ESA managed to snap this spectacular pic as the carrier — filled with human waste, dirty clothes, and other detritus — went aflame over the Pacific Ocean. The mission ended on October 28 after the successful transfer of…

Turns out The Originals is about America’s original sin: slavery

The Originals is a weird show. The four characters who came over from The Vampire Diaries to form the bedrock of the show’s cast were among the least sympathetic on the parent show, and all the new characters seemed either forgettable or sort of horrible. But slowly but surely, The Originals is finding a story…

These Abandoned Toy Factories and Shops Will Haunt Your Nightmares

Once these stores and factories sold the stuff of children’s dreams, but now that they lie abandoned—filled with decaying displays and disembodied doll heads—they are more likely to inspire nightmares. Top image: Doll factory – The last production, via Bousure. Kanga Wooden Toy Factory, O’Connor, Perth, Australia (via Nate Robert) The Toastmaster factory in Algonquin,…

Ian McKellen showed off his cheeky Gandalf underpants on stage

What does Sir Ian McKellen wear beneath his wizard’s robes—or his gold shorts? During a performance this week, he revealed his tighty-Gandalf-the-whities. McKellen bared his Gandalf underwear—featuring the words “You Shall Not Pass”—during a performance at Only Make Believe’s 14th Annual Gala, “Make Believe On Broadway.” He decided to enact a quick costume change onstage,…

Blockbuster In Memoriam: What’s your favorite video store memory?

The movie rental giant is dead. Blockbuster is closing its 300 remaining US stores and shuttering its DVD mail business. Thus ends the era of publicly flaunting your movie musings under the nose of some 16-year-old store clerk. So let’s raise a glass, and toast goodbye to Blockbuster—and the smaller video stores it killed years…

Just try not to get your heart warmed by this adorable Lego commercial

Sniff… no, I’m not crying. I just have something in my eye. It’s a Lego brick, and it really hurts. But this family-oriented Lego commercial is wonderful, too. [Via Geeks Are Sexy]

This experiment changed our understanding of parasite resistance

It’s common scientific wisdom that parasite resistance comes from repeated exposure to a parasite. But a new study has turned this idea on its head. Guppies who were removed from rivers swarming with parasites actually evolved an improved parasite tolerance in just a few generations. Here’s how it happened. https://gizmodo.com/why-the-cuckoo-finch-is-called-a-brood-parasite-1374279193 https://gizmodo.com/12-real-parasites-that-control-the-lives-of-their-hosts-461313366 In 2008, the National…

Did life on Earth emerge from clay?

There’s a longstanding theory that life first emerged in pools of water. But if scientists from Cornell are correct, it may have first taken root inside of clay. Clay doesn’t seem like a likely place for the genesis of life. Deposits of the stuff are primarily composed of infertile phyllosilicate minerals and water. But as…

Watch this man fly around Mt. Fuji in a homemade jetpack

Looking to reclaim a little sense of wonder? Check out this breathtaking new footage of Swiss pilot Yves “Jetman” Rossy zooming around Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji with an eight-foot-wide, rocket-powered, carbon-fiber wing of his own invention strapped to his back. “It’s really impressive,” said Rossy of Japan’s highest mountain, though, let’s face it, he really…

American Horror Story renewed for a 4th season

But what will the new creepshow focus on? We can only guess. It was announced today that Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy’s horror show will soldier on, smoking cigarettes and having questionable sex. The fourth season will get 13 episodes, once again proving that just because you’re offered 22 episodes *cough Once Upon A Time…

Are we in the midst of an anxiety epidemic?

Some people have called anxiety the Disease of the 21st Century; and on an anecdotal level, it’s easy to understand how someone might think anxiety worthy of the title. We’ve all experienced it at one time or another – that horrible feeling when the whole world seems to be crashing down on us. But is…

More Star Wars: Episode VII characters revealed in new casting call

Yesterday we mentioned that you have a chance to get a role in Star Wars: Episode VII, but today we have the actual details on two of the upcoming movie’s newest characters. Meet Rachel and Thomas (almost assuredly not their real names): https://gizmodo.com/do-you-want-to-be-in-the-new-star-wars-movie-1459101644 RACHEL — Was quite young when she lost her parents. With no…

How did China move the epic boulders used to build its Forbidden City?

By what means did rocks weighing hundreds of tons find their way to the site of China’s formidable, 600-year-old Forbidden City? Scientists specializing in friction have proposed a new hypothesis. Above: The Northwest Corner Tower of the Forbidden City,as photographed by Dermot Roantree While visiting and enjoying the architecture of the Forbidden City in China,…

The newly named Lythronax argestes (aka “the king of gore”) walked the Earth 12-million years before Tyrannosaurus rex, and at much lower latitudes – yet the two bear a striking resemblance. In his latest for NatGeo, Brian Switek explores how Lythronax adds a new twist to the origin story of the famed tyrant king. Above:…

10 Reasons Why Le Guin’s Earthsea Books Can Still Change Your Life

We live in a time of riches, as far as fantasy book series go — tons of sprawling sagas are being told, by authors with a huge diversity of styles. But if you want a life-changing visit to a fantasy world, you can’t do any better than Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea. Here are ten…