Investigative Journalist Uncovers the Fake Geek Boys of Comic-Con

Even though we are all so over the “fake geek girl” nonsense, this video that turns the tables on the menfolk is kind of awesome. Yes, it’s all tongue-in-cheek, and all the gentlemen here are excellent sports — but there’s something so awesome (and funny) about watching these guys field the annoying questions so many…

Evidence that wild orangutans are scary smart

Humans pride ourselves on our ability to make plans for the future. But it turns out that we’re not the only animals who think ahead. Scientists have observed wild orangutans planning their travel routes a day in advance, and communicating their itinerary to community members. In the last decade, research has begun to show that…

How the pseudoscience of Social Darwinism nearly destroyed humanity

Following the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1860, many political theorists and opportunistic politicians applied his findings to human society. In the 20th century, these ideas were put into practice — and it nearly destroyed us. Here’s why Social Darwinism was one of the worst ideas ever. Charles Darwin’s theory of…

The Swedish Prime Minister’s science fiction novel becomes a hit play

You can’t buy The Sleeping People by Fredrik Reinfeldt in a bookstore. The dystopian science fiction novel by Sweden’s current prime minister isn’t in libraries. But Reinfeldt’s novel about the welfare state gone amuck is available on the Internet, and now it’s been turned into a stage play that sells out every show. In Reinfeldt’s…

The strange poison that killed Chris McCandless

Made famous by the book and movie Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was a 24-year-old who hitchhiked out into the Alaskan wilderness, lived off the land, and died of starvation under extremely mysterious circumstances. Now, it seems the mystery of his death may have been solved. Jon Krakauer, who wrote Into the Wild after McCandless’…

Julianne Moore perfectly cast in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

Sometimes Hollywood gets it right, and this is one of those times: frequent Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore has been cast as Alma Coin, the leader of the rebellion against the Capitol, in the two-part Hunger Games finale. To say much more about the character of Coin would be to spoil things for you, but…

Peter Davison has confirmed he’s part of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary celebration. While this may well mean the Fifth Doctor will make an appearance in The Day of the Doctor special, unfortunately, that part isn’t confirmed — he could just be interviewed or something. On the plus side, though, that protest seems to have worked.…

10 Terrible Ideas for TV Spinoffs of Popular Movies

We all have ultra-high hopes for Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, the television spin-off of The Avengers. Will all the characters turn out to be Skrulls? We hope so. But if this show becomes a huge hit, the studios could decide to crank out more TV shows based on popular films. Here are the 10 worst…

Liquid N2 + ping pong balls + hi-speed cam = SLOMO boomhappy funtime

While it definitely lacks the low-budget charm of this nearly identical classroom presentation, this demonstration of liquid nitrogen’s explosive potential does have two major things going for it. One: more ping pong balls. Two: A high-speed camera, for slowmo playback goodness. https://gizmodo.com/scientist-liquid-nitrogen-1500-ping-pong-balls-bo-5944687 As hosts Mauricio and David explain in the video, a mole of nitrogen…

Is the Peak-End Rule responsible for overlong movies?

Most people think they judge a movie by its overall quality, but that might not be true. We might instead judge it by its best scene, and its spectacular ending. And this might explain a few things about movies. But first, let me tell you a tale. There once was an experiment! This experiment lived…

Penis reattachment, and other winners from the 2013 Ig Nobel Awards

Last night, scientists from around the world traveled (at their own expense!) to Harvard’s iconic Sanders Theatre for the “23rd First Annual” Ig Nobel Awards – a ceremony created to recognize those achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. Above: A dung beetle navigates via the Milky Way – image based…

Holy bantha poodoo, Disney is making more Star Wars prequels

In what might be the most bombad idea of the year, a Disney executive has revealed that those Star Wars stand-alone movies that have been discussed will be prequels — specifically, origin stories, potentially focused on characters like Han Solo, Yoda, or that guy on Cloud City with the ice cream maker. Here’s the money…

Insidious 2’s biggest crime isn’t failing to be scary

The only thing people really want to know about the sequel to James Wan’s Insidious is whether it’s as scary as the first movie. Insidious brought the scary, brought the horror and didn’t give a shit about being cheesy, wacky and just a little bit insane. While Insidious 2 is made in the spirit of…

This is what a lightning strike does to a lightning rod

This is what a lightning rod looks like after it’s done its duty. Why does a lightning bolt crush it like a fist crushes a beer can? Because of what’s known as a “pinch.” The phenomenon is like a much more prosaic sight — a stream of water from a sink breaking into beads. Gravity…

Last Days on Mars trailer spills some blood on the red planet

From the director who brought us the beloved short “Blinky TM” comes The Last Days on Mars, a film about the first manned mission to Mars, and what goes wrong on the big, red planet. Check out the new blood-splattered trailer. https://gizmodo.com/the-full-short-for-blinky-the-bloodthirsty-pet-robot-5783831 Last Days on Mars will premiere in the UK on September (no word…

James Cameron loves the hell out of the CG Captain Harlock movie

James Cameron knows movies in general, and he knows 3D CG movies in specific. So if James Cameron likes your 3D CG film, you’ve probably done something special. If he calls your movie “majestic” and “epic in every sense,” then you’re Shinji Aramaki, and the movie Cameron is praising is Captain Harlock. Yes, the acclaimed…

Relativity goes underwater with Supplee’s Paradox

Too often relativity is confined to space ships and interplanetary travel. It’s time to dive and see what weird ideas relativity can bring to us from beneath the sea. Jim Supplee first thought up a novel spin on the weirdness of relativity when he was a graduate student, and came back to it years later…

A map of our solar system that puts it into proper perspective

Now that the Voyager 1 space probe has officially left the solar system, it would be nice to know where it is, exactly, in the large scheme of things. This crafty map will help. https://observationdeck.kinja.com/this-time-its-official-voyager-1-has-left-the-solar-1302056512 Given the vast distances involved, it’s impossible to create a scale map of the solar system and the immediate interstellar…

Ben Affleck’s Batman will be “tired, and kind of weary and seasoned”

That’s what the Warner Bros. CEO says about the new Caped Crusader, at any rate. Hugh Jackman says Days of Future Past could be the end of the line for his Wolverine. Scarlett Johannson talks Captain America 2 while Kat Dennings talks up Thor 2. Ronald D. Moore’s new show Outlander casts two major roles.…

Those Standalone Star Wars Movies Will Be Origin Stories

Even if you’re unsure if you want more Star Wars movies, Disney is going to start shoving them down your eyeballs come 2015. Along with the upcoming trilogy, Disney had previously confirmed that there would be spin off Star Wars movies as well. Now Disney says those spin off films will be ‘origin stories’ for…