True Blood: Now With Better Plots AND Weird Humping

The name of this True Blood episode is “Fuck The Pain Away.” HBO is preaching directly to the choir, and we are eating it up. Preach on you Kings and Queens of Bon Temps. That’s right True Blood is back to being awesome again. It’s time to remember why you started watching this series, Pro/Con…

Falling Skies finally gives us what we’ve been dying for

Last night’s episode of Falling Skies was way better than the melodramatic “Hal’s got an eyebug” showdown the previous week, although it still wasn’t a landmark in television history or anything. In particular, last night’s episode gave us what we’ve wanted from this show for ages: some development of the themes of government and the…

The Bizarrely Beautiful World of Relics in Religious History

One of the more controversial aspects of many religions is a history of preserving “relics,” or pieces taken from the bodies of saints. Here are some of the most unusual examples of these macabre objects of veneration. The hand of a 16th century Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier (Il Gesu, Rome) His right hand was…

Here’s what Elon Musk’s secret project might actually look like

For months, space entrepreneur Elon Musk has been teasing fans with hints about his next big project, a “hyperloop” super train that would get people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 30 minutes. Now, Musk says that this schematic is the “closest” anyone has gotten to guessing how the hyperloop would work. Via his…

Is PBS really bringing back Carmen Sandiego?

Looks like we’re all about to find out Where In The World Carmen Sandiego has been. AMIRITE? The PBS Tumblrdropped this little clue today, which is OBVIOUSLY a sign that international thief and world geography educator Carmen Sandiego will be returning from looting the Louvre, and is finally ready to return to television. The picture…

This frog sexbot can teach you about evolution

Sometimes you just have to build a sexbot for science. And when you’re studying the mating habits of frogs, well, that means you’re going to need some pretty specific moving parts. The best part? Something fascinating is revealed about evolution when you watch video of this frog sexbot in action. But first, some backstory on…

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can’t Afford to Miss in July

July is ablaze with great stories. There’s a ton of awesome books hitting the shelves this month, many of which make the greatest possible reads for your roadtrip to San Diego Comic-Con (or Worldcon.) Here are a dozen must-read books coming out this month! Top image: Evening’s Empires Evening’s Empiresby Paul McAuley (Gollancz) The author…

Soar through the largest canyon in the solar system

At 10 km deep and over 4000 km long, Valles Marineris is not only the largest canyon on Mars, its the biggest in our entire solar neighborhood. Here, thanks to data collected by ESA’s Mars Express, is your chance to get an up-close view of this craggy Martian scar. Via ESA: The movie focuses on…

Sound waves have brought us closer to a levitation machine

People have been able to levitate small objects using sound for years. But applications for the technique are severely limited because scientists hadn’t figured out how to control and manipulate the floating objects. Until now. The idea of acoustic levitation is certainly not new. Several levitation methods exist today, including using electrostatic forces, magnetism and…

This movie about an evolutionary explosion will haunt your dreams

In this evocative trailer for short film “Dust,” you’ll be sucked into a beautifully-designed, futuristic world. Nature is evolving at a breakneck pace, transforming Earth’s ecosystems while humans lock themselves up in walled cities. Director Mike Grier told io9, “Dust is a short film structured as a small piece of a much larger world. Hopefully…

Which formerly lovable hero became way too much of a jerk?

It never fails: When a hero has been around too long, or the writers run out of ideas, they start playing up the hero’s “dark side.” And often, that means your favorite champion becomes kind of a dick. Who’s your least favorite example of a hero who became so mean, or so antiheroic, that they…

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest calendar

We usually blame the ancient Mesopotamians for the invention of time-tracking devices. But as a recent discovery in Scotland has revealed, hunter-gatherers may have started using a rudimentary calendar over 10,000 years ago. Agriculture, tool use, and cooking are often touted as the most significant innovations in the development of human societies. But few give…

The real clone wars begin in This Week’s DVDs!

BBC America’s fantastic new scifi series Orphan Black leads off this week’s DVD and Blu-ray releases (and I’ll explain why it should be your must-buy in a sec). But there’s also gun-toting puritans, tons of cartoons, flying monkeys, and a very special sexual-assault tree, too. • Orphan Black So there have been more than a…

What does it mean when people say your story’s “tone” is wrong?

Writers and creative people talk about tone all the time. But what does it mean? Is it just the difference between a comedy and a drama? Is it just light versus dark? When you write a story, how do you figure out your “tone,” and keep it from lurching from one thing to another? Here…

Interactive map reveals the most common surnames in the U.S.

Via National Geographic comes this at-a-glance visualization of surnames across America. Unlike this interactive name-map of London, which is COVERED with Johnsons, Bennetts, Begums and Patels, Nat Geo’s applet reveals an American landscape heavily populated by Smiths, Sullivans and Browns. (And– to be fair – like London, plenty of Johnsons.) Like the London map, names…

How to make the perfect slime

HouseHacker has come up with a formula for creating an exceedingly simple — but highly effective — blob of oozy slime. All you need is 500 ml of polyvinyl alcohol and 50 ml of borax Solution. Pour the borax solution into the polyvinyl alcohol. Mix generously; the stirring will create chemical bonds that will break…

How one community brought these cute penguins back from extinction

On Australia’s Phillip Island, these Little Penguins have an adorable habit. Hundreds emerge from the ocean at sunset, shaking off water and waddling home to their burrows. But it was this very cuteness that endangered them — until the locals came up with an ingenious solution. As their name implies, Little Penguins (also known as…

The Guild parties down as an OSI mission goes bad in Venture Bros.

Holy shit. So that happened. And that, too. Tell you what: If you haven’t watched last night’s Venture Bros., and want to peruse this recap, or just look for the funny lines or something, don’t. Go watch the episode. I’m serious. Don’t screw this up. It’s a sad day for the Guild of Calamitous Intent’s…

Notorious anti-vaccination crusader Jenny McCarthy will have a new platform to air her destructive, unscientific opinions on The View, and the Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait is horrified.

Graphene ‘miracle material’ could be toxic to humans

Two-dimensional graphene may be poised to revolutionize much of materials science, but a recent study has shown that this one-atom-thick material could present some serious health risks inside the human body. The problem? It’s so thin that it can slice directly into our cells. Graphene was discovered about a decade ago. It’s incredibly strong, flexible,…