Why I’m tired of seeing Nikola Tesla in science fiction

There is no doubt that Nikola Tesla was a brilliant inventor, but he has also become the go-to historical mad scientist for science fiction writers. I worry that he—and his name–are popping up in fiction a bit too much. Top image from Jeff Smith’s RASL. Before I launch into this rant, I just want to…

Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na’vi real languages?

Well, not real in that they’re fictional languages spoken by fictional peoples. But what makes a fictional language an actual language and not merely a convincing combination of sounds? Linguist John McWhorter gave this TED-Ed talk, which focuses largely on J.R.R. Tolkien’s quest to make his Elvish languages operate as natural languages would. One thing…

Crowdfund an effort to rescue out-of-print adventure books

One publisher is trying to save forgotten adventure books by releasing them as ebooks, and you can help! Also, check out crowdfunding campaigns for an open source robotic hand, a $100 3D printer, and more. Top image from Le Gouffre. Singularity&Co – Save the Adventure! Last year, Singularity & Co. successfully ran their Save the…

Webcomic biography of Ayn Rand puts her works in context

Ayn Rand is a divisive figure in literature and political thought, and her life story helps us understand a great deal about her philosophy. Cartoonist Darryl Cunningham delivers a brief biography of Rand, from her childhood on. The author of Psychiatric Tales and How to Fake a Moon Landing, Cunningham is adept at creating fascinating…

How the Thermos corporation cheated the inventor of the thermos

For all you aspiring inventors out there, here’s a reason to keep up on your patent law. Have you heard of thermoses? They’re the subject of not one, but two major patent disputes. Only one will engage your sympathy. On the Thermos brand website, there’s a little history of the invention. It starts with the…

The Lannister family, illustrated in the style of The Lion King

Lannister lions Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion get made over as actual lions in Disney style. They just can’t wait to be the power behind the Iron Throne. Mariana Moreno is responsible for this pitch-perfect coupling of Game of Thrones and The Lion King. Somehow, I think Tywin would have Scar declawed and would terrorize…

10 Characters Who Were One Step Away from Being the Chosen One

Sometimes it’s clear who in a story will be the Chosen One—the character who gets to wield some awesome power or save the world from certain destruction. But sometimes destiny cheats or gets sidetracked along the way. Here are character who were alternative candidates of prophesies, had their birthrights taken Jacob-and-Esau-style, or just didn’t make…

A “floating” table made of magnetic cubes

The individual cubes in the Float Table appear to be suspended in the air. The effect is created by a combination of embedded magnets and steel cables, creating furniture that appears stable when still, but moves when touched. The Float Table was created by Rock Paper Robot, a furniture and lighting boutique that employs engineering…

Flirty anatomical illustrations of people stripping their skin

These macabre illustrations add a bit of winking humor to anatomical art. Never shy, the subjects of these images perform a grim striptease, peeling off their skin instead of their clothes. Michael Sappol has collected numerous whimsical anatomical illustrations, made from 1500 on, for his National Library of Medicine exhibition “Dream Anatomy.” The piece up…

How Star Trek Into Darkness‘s space jump scene was filmed

The ship-to-ship space jump in Star Trek Into Darkness is a fun sequence, with Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch flying through a field of debris—and trying not to hit too much of it along the way. This making-of video shows us the CG planning and green screen filming behind the scene. Minor spoilers below. It’s…

Breaking Bad‘s episodes as stark, minimalist posters

As we prepare to bid farewell to Breaking Bad, let’s revisit the key images of episodes from long ago—and not so long ago—with these episode posters by Francesco Francavilla. Francavilla is a favorite artist here at io9, and these posters are a perfect example of why that is. He doesn’t just explore capture a specific…

This stuffed dinosaur may be the first toy made in space

Astronaut Karen Nyberg’s son is getting a special gift when she gets home from her latest mission: a toy Tyrannosaurus she made from scraps while aboard the International Space Station. Nyberg posted this photo of the toy to her Pinterest board: Made in space!! I made this dinosaur for my son last Sunday, September 22.…

Are the Crockers vampires for Haven‘s Troubled folk?

The Crocker curse has long put Duke in an awkward situation in the world of Haven; he sits beneath the weight of the Troubles, but is seen as a hunter of the Troubled. But does his Trouble also put him at risk of becoming Haven’s resident vampire? This week’s Haven wasn’t particularly gory, but it…

Watch the fireball that exploded over Ohio last night

Last night, a meteoroid hit Earth’s atmosphere over Ohio, exploding in a fiery flash of light. Space Weather reports that the meteor was traveling at 114,000 mph when it hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 11:33 pm EDT. The explosion was captured by a NASA all-sky camera in Hiram, Ohio, and was reportedly visible from at…

A haunting Russian stop-motion animated fairy tale from 1968

Nikolai Serebryakov made his short film Klubok (Ball of Yarn) in 1968, but it remains an evocative piece of animated folklore. A poor old woman discovers a magical ball of yarn, but she gets too greedy with her gift. Incidentally, the score for Klubok was written by famed Russian composer Eduard Artemiev, who also wrote…

Korra invites us to an adorable Flying Bison breakfast party

After a rocky few opening episodes, Book 2 of The Legend of Korra has delivered a warm and funny half hour that makes good use of our Avatar and her friends. Plus, Ikki holds the most important event of the season: a breakfast with flying bison who all have My Little Pony names. All gifs…

Concept Art Writing Prompt: A Funeral on the Ocean Floor

In this week’s Concept Art Writing Prompt, we ask you to write about a rather unusual burial at sea. What kind of stories can you spin about this underwater funeral? This image, by Vitaliy Shushko (via The Art of Animation) is itself inspired by a moment from Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.…

Disaster strikes in the tense first clip from Gravity

This clip from from Gravity is just a minute long, but it gives us an excellent taste of the movie’s spacefaring tension. Give it a watch, and don’t forget to breathe. Gravity comes to theaters on October 4th. We can’t wait. [via Comic Book Movie]

You can now visit CERN—including the LHC—on Google Street View

Google Street View is truly becoming our virtual tour guide to some of the coolest and most unusual places in the world, and now they are taking us inside the facilities of CERN. The Google Street View Trike traveled to Geneva, where it was able to take photographs of the inside of the particle physics…

Hugh Jackman joins the cast of Neill Blomkamp’s robot crime film Chappie. According to Bleeding Cool, Jackman will play a resourceful CEO who ends up on the wrong side of the movie’s gangsters.