The 13 Biggest Assholes in Greek Mythology

It’s a mystery why ancient Greeks worshipped their gods, because their gods were all complete dickheads. They could — and did! — steal, rape, torture, or kill pretty much anyone at any time. Of course, the kings and heroes of ancient Greece was also often terrible people, so maybe the gods were just par for…

Why does science fiction portray extended human lifespans negatively?

So many of our big media stories about living to be over 120 are negative or take place in a dystopia — from Dorian Gray to In Time. Why is that? Sonia Arrison, author of 100+, tries to explain — and predicts that this could soon change. https://gizmodo.com/three-new-books-that-will-prepare-you-for-the-future-of-480167228 Arrison talked to Slate as part of…

The Ultimate Spooky Song List: 50 Jams for Your Halloween

One of the greatest things about Halloween is the ridiculously large amount of music that provides the soundtrack for the holiday. From novelty songs, to television and movie themes, to just songs inspired by the season, here’s a playlist of the 50 best. Just so everyone knows: this playlist could have easily been twice as…

When will the universe end?

Robert Frost famously noted that,”Some say the world will end in fire / Some say in ice.” Lucky us! We’re pretty sure we know the answer: it’s ice. But how long do we have until the end of time, and what will it look like? In this week’s “Ask a Physicist,” we’ll find out. Reader…

The Most Inaccurate Headline in the History of the Universe

Whoa, did The World newspaper ever get it catastrophically wrong on the morning after the sinking of the Titanic. Shockingly, they weren’t the only ones. These stunningly inaccurate newspaper scans were dug-up by Retronaut. Below are headlines from The World, The Vancouver Sun, and the Vancouver Daily Province. Many British papers got it wrong, including…

Ben Kingsley’s secret Marvel Project revealed?

Last week, Sir Ben Kingsley spilled the beans that his time with Marvel was definitely not over. And now everyone is speculating on where his character, The Mandarin, will appear next, and this particular theory makes the most sense. According to Latino Review, the secret project Kingsley was talking about was the next Marvel One-Shot…

NASA Releases Eight Stunning Never-Before-Seen Images of the Cosmos

In honor of American Archive Month, NASA has selected eight images from a group of unique celestial objects taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. It’s the first time these images have ever been seen by the public — and they’re as freaky as they are gorgeous. All images and captions NASA/CSC/SAO. The Chandra Data Archive…

Big, 100-Million-Year-Old Bird Tracks Discovered in Australia

The oldest bird footprints ever discovered in Australia suggest there were birds – big ones – soaring over the continent as long ago as the Early Cretaceous Period. How do researchers know these birds were flying, and not just walking? Science! Above: Drawing of bird and prints by researcher Anthony Martin. The prints were found…

What On-Screen Characters Are Secretly Terrible at Their Jobs?

Sorry, movie paleontologist brushing aside a light layer of dust to reveal a fully articulated Velocirapter fossil, we’re on to you. Today, we want to know your picks for the most egregious examples of bad on-screen work habits. Is it a research scientist with terrible lab protocols, a doctor who doesn’t ever crack a medical…

Beloved Halloween horror story Trick ‘R Treat (by director Mike Dougherty) is getting a long-awaited sequel! Finally! [Via Badass Digest]

The X-Men fight history itself in the first Days of Future Past trailer

Professor X sends Wolverine to the past to enlist the help of the young, bitter, hippie Professor X to stop Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels (presumably) in this first trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past. I’m afraid young Xavier is going to get even more upset when he learns he’s going to go bald,…

Take a trip over the surface of Mars in this breathtaking new video

Since 2004, Europe’s Mars Express has orbited the Red Planet nearly 12,500 times, taking countless hi-res photos along the way. The data from these images have now been stitched together to create a stunning topographic model of the Martian surface. In the video, you’ll soar over mountains, craters, ancient river beds, and lava flows —…

Is Harrison Ford holding Han Solo hostage in exchange for Indy 5?

Director Gavin Hood explains why he sent the stars of Ender’s Game to Space Camp. A ton of Christopher Eccleston material was left on Thor 2’s cutting room floor. And Sigourney Weaver takes on another sci-fi role in Niell Blomkamp’s Chappie. Plus, new X-Men photos featuring Peter Dinklage’s awesome 70s ‘stache. Spoilers now! Star Wars…

Netflix Is Thinking of Making Original Movies Now, Too

Netflix is no stranger to making original TV anymore, but it seems it has bigger plans than that: it’s floating the idea that it’ll foot the bill for a “big” movie, which would appear in theaters and on Netflix at the same time. All Things D reports that Netflix’s content boss Ted Sarandos is interested…

Is this the kiss you’ve been waiting for from Once Upon A Time?

Ahh… now this is more like it. While I don’t agree with the a lot of the things happening on this show, “Good Form” was a jolly good episode. Mostly because it spent all of its time centered around the best characters. Plus there was kissing! Spoilers ahead… This week’s flashback was all about Hook,…

Home never looks better than after a long day of dragon training

After flying all day on dragonback, you just want a hot dish of nasi goreng and some beer. That’s exactly what I was thinking as my mount glided above the lights of our little town, its golden windows matching the color of the lava ponds that power it. Feng Zhu is a concept artist who…

Comment of the Day: The Pre-CGI Secrets of Star Wars

In today’s comments, we talked up the new season of the Walking Dead, reminisced over the best candy with the worst marketing schemes, and identified some of the pre-CGI secrets of the Star Wars special effects team. In response to this post revealing a previously un-aired, original Star Wars blooper reel (if you haven’t seen…

Biologists Discover Tiny Neural Computers in the Brain

Neuroscientists have learned that dendrites do more than just provide passive wiring in the brain. These nerve cell connectors also process information, essentially functioning as tiny computers. Our brains, it would appear, pack more computing power than we assumed. Dendrites are those branch-like extensions at the beginning of neurons that increase the surface area of…

The World’s Strangest and Most Magnificent Gardens

Landscape architects can be just as weird as building architects when it comes to their creations. Which is why these gardens are the living, growing embodiments of some pretty twisted imaginations. Lowarth Helygen (The Lost Gardens of Heligan), near Mevagissey in Cornwall, UK, with two mud sculptures, a small “jungle”, the last remaining pineapple pit…

This manual of psychological disorders is actually a dystopian novel

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the premiere reference book for psychiatrists and mental health workers. But critics have often called it monstrous, wrong-headed and unscientific. Now, at last, one writer has discovered that it’s actually a dystopian scifi novel. https://gizmodo.com/the-future-of-nymphomania-5468365 https://gizmodo.com/traditional-psychological-diagnoses-are-going-out-of-st-493966169 The latest edition of the manual, DSM-V, was published…