The View Doesn’t Make Up for a 20-hour Shift in the Orbital Refinery

When you’re forging new molecules, there’s nothing better than working in space. That’s why MesoMaxx built this factory out here, at Lagrange 1, locked into a gravitational web spun by Earth and the Sun. It sounds fancy, but mostly we just work double shifts to knit carbon nanotube ribbons for new space elevators. This fantastic…

What the Biggest Pop Culture Experts Can’t Wait to See at Comic-Con

It’s just one week until San Diego Comic-Con, where fans of all the greatest movie, book, television — and, oh yeah, comic-book — series gather to pay homage and discover what’s new and shiny. We checked in with the biggest entertainment gurus on the net and found out what they’re most excited about seeing. Top…

Crazy French triangle UFO hovers over a building

A few weeks ago, Seb Nové-Josserand shot this video of a “triangle UFO” in Lyon. What do you think? Could it be . . . aliens? Spotted on Real UFOs

First RIPD clips show how Jeff Bridges uses sex appeal to get ahead

One of the central gimmicks of R.I.P.D., out next week, is that people don’t recognize the ghost cops played by Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds — instead, they see Bridges as a hot blonde babe and Reynolds as an elderly Asian man. Now at last, this clip shows how it works. And here’s another clip,…

Maps of Vast Empires That No Longer Exist

Every imperial project, no matter how great, eventually meets its downfall. In fact, you may be reading this in a country that was once part of a now-vanished international superpower. Here are maps that reveal the rise and fall of the world’s most ambitious empires. The British Empire (between the late 15th century and 2007)…

Could these be the most futuristic shoes ever made?

Rem D. Koolhaas, nephew of superstar architect Rem Koolhaas, has co-founded a futuristic shoe company called United Nude. According to MediaBistro, they’re known for their “Möbius strip-inspired heels, angular wedges, and carbon-fiber construction,” and these latest shoes are probably the craziest yet. No “Möbius stripper shoes” jokes, please. These shoes, called the Novas, are a…

The alloy in Wolverine’s bones could become a reality, say scientists

New developments in materials science mean that Wolverine’s super-strong, super-light claws could soon be a reality. Over at North Carolina State University, one researcher is developing new metals with Adamantium in mind. On the NC State research site, Matt Shipman has the story: Adamantium was the product of failed attempts to re-create the material in…

An Ominous Cloud That Literally Rolls In

This unique meteorological phenomenon is called a roll cloud, and it’s seen here making its away over the city of Calgary, Alberta. Though it looks like a tornado that has fallen down, it’s actually a type of arcus cloud — a dense and horizontal cylindrical structure that often appears ragged and turbulent. This photo was…

Why does it matter that Legendary Pictures is changing partners from Warner Bros. to Universal? It means Legendary won’t be involved in any more DC Comics films. And maybe some stalled Universal properties will get the Legendary touch. (BSG?)

This movie would have been perfect, if not for that awful ending!

Endings aren’t always the most important part of a movie, but there is almost nothing worse than the bad taste of a crappy ending. It can transform the entire movie experience from win to fail in just a few fateful minutes. What movies were ruined for you by their terrible finales? Be sure to post…

What the hell is going on with these balls?

Two glass spheres are dropped into a pool of resting water. The sphere on the left causes almost no splash at all, while the one on the right looks like it’s doing an impression of your cousin Joey pulling a cannonball at the community pool. The balls are the same size, shape and material. What…

Uh, did Geoff Johns just spoil the end of DC’s Trinity War?

Justice League #22 comes out today, featuring the very beginning of DC’s summer mega-event “Trinity War” (not to be confused with all those previously released “Prelude to Trinity War” issues). To celebrate it, DC released this Johns-narrated video which explains what “Trinity War” is… and then how it ends. The hell? See for yourself, if…

These fish are evidence that humans aren’t the only evil animals

It’s a common (but evil) survival strategy in zombie movies: Injure somebody else and run like hell while they get eaten. But humans aren’t the only bastards who do this. Some shoaling fish also use this selfish tactic when they’re being chased by predators, according to new research. Across the globe, numerous animals live in…

First trailer for Seventh Son has dragons, witches and Jeff Bridges!

This trailer for Jeff Bridges’ new movie Seventh Son is relentless with the monster action. This movie adaptation of Joseph Delaney’s The Spook’s Apprentice looks like a less inspired Willow mixed with the new Hansel And Gretel movie. Which… could be a good thing? All of the monsters in this trailer do look CG fantastic…

Sharknado is so much more amazing than you could have possibly guessed

We already knew Syfy’s Sharknado movie was going to be fun, but did we know it was going to be an artistic triumph? Well, thanks to this brand-new trailer, we do now. I mean, did Citizen Kane feature a scene where Beverly Hills 90210’s Ian Ziering cuts a flying shark in half with a chainsaw?…

Is human super-intelligence a bad idea?

Advocates of human enhancement often say that we ought to increase our intelligence as a species. But the consequences of actually doing this have never fully been explored. An excessive amount of intelligence might actually prove to be a bad thing — and a distraction from what really matters. Top image: The supremely intelligent Ozymandias…

How will biotechnology change human evolution?

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek article in The Guardian is proposing some rather interesting predictions for the future of humanity — changes to human form and function that would even make some of the X-Men jealous. To make his predictions, Dean Burnett worked under the assumption that biotechnology will be used to address ongoing selectional pressures. “Evolution…

NASA is getting ready to search for signs of life on Mars

The goal of NASA’s Curiosity rover is to determine if Mars was ever capable of supporting life. But the Agency’s next rover, set to launch in 2020, could take things one giant step further. Given recent findings, says Jack Mustard, chairman of the Agency’s Science Definition Team, “past Martian life seems possible, and we should…

Holy crap Jamie Foxx looks insane as Electro in Amazing Spider-Man 2

There’s a lightning bolt on his sleeve! Get it? You get it. Behold the first official picture of Jamie Foxx as Spider-Man’s new nemesis in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In other news, Andrew Garfield is open to making Peter Parker gay by swapping Mary Jane out for a boy, Mark Johnson. Entertainment Weekly has just…

The 10 Greatest Giant Monster Movies of All Time

The giant monster, known as kaiju in Japanese, is a very different beast from the human-sized nasties you find in movies from Alien to World War Z. Giant monsters can eat you whole. They can wreck cities just by stomping. And the movies they star in are some of the most important in the genre.…