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Earth is about to belch out laughing gas (and why that’s a bad thing)

Nitrous oxide is best known as the mild anesthetic laughing gas, but making people feel a bit loopy during dental surgery is the least of its effects. The gas can warm our planet 300 times faster than carbon dioxide. The good news is that the amount of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere is totally insignificant…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 22 '12

Beautifully Depressing Ice Bucket Constantly Reminds You Of the Consequences Of Global Warming

Kitchen accessories that do double-duty are the best way to maximize the space in your drawers and cabinets. But the only thing this lovely Polar Ice Bucket does—besides keeping your ice dry while it melts—is to remind you of the dwindling polar ice caps and rising sea levels thanks to global warming. As the ice…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jul 22 '12

Gibbon has lived for fifty years just by staying super relaxed

Granny Jane, a gibbon at England’s Twycross Zoo, is probably at least a decade older than any of her counterparts in the wild. What’s the secret to her longevity? According to her keepers, the secret is simply being chilled out. Gibbons are also known by the ever so slightly pejorative title “lesser apes”, which sets…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 22 '12

How Bars Use Music to Get You Drunk Faster

Do you drink your booze faster when you’re out at a bar or a restaurant than you do just sitting at home? You probably do, and apparently it’s because bars and restaurants have learned that loud, fast music makes you eat and drink more, at a faster rate. Here’s a quote from a New York…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jul 22 '12

What if the Black Widow starred in her own line of pulp novels?

With her irresistible charms and super-spy lifestyle, Natasha Romanov would be the perfect subject of her own line of pulpy novels. Cartoonist Jon Morris dreams up covers for Black Widow thrillers authored by spy novelist Donald Hamilton. Morris found himself intrigued by the idea of what the Marvel Universe might look like if its characters…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

If You Need a Dedicated Watch Safe, You Probably Won’t Mind This One’s $88,000 Price Tag

Designed to complement the design of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s famous Barcelona chair, Döttling’s new Liberty Barcelona Watch Safe is targeted at those who can afford the finer things in life. Like $5,000 chairs, and $88,000 safes designed to only hold timepieces. Before you spit-take on that price tag, keep in mind that this…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jul 22 '12

Stylized Game of Thrones maps make Westeros and Essos look like pleasant places to vacation

We’ve seen lots of maps attempting to capture the worlds of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, but Kitkat Pecson’s playful maps aren’t trying to define the geography. Instead, they offer a slightly cartoonish view of the continents of Westeros and Essos. There are several errors in Pecson’s fantasy geography (including that,…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

How All Those A-Little-Too-Cool Instagram Photos Really Happen

You know the type. Oh, I was just sitting here, reading some Dostoevsky, listening to this band I love but you probably haven’t heard them but oh we must go catch them live some time, when my cat did this amazing thing, and I happened to snap off an Instagram photo in time. Right. Andy…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jul 22 '12

Who Knew Getting Stitches in Your Eyeball Could Be So Beautiful?

Reddit user Philawesomeraptor‘s girlfriend recently received a cornea transplant for a condition called keratoconus, which causes structural changes to the cornea, and drastically distorts vision. These are her stitches. There are other images of cornea stitches out there, but this one is especially beautiful. Apparently she is doing well, and her vision is improving in…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jul 22 '12

A Look At the Awesome Camera Gear the Associated Press Will Use To Photograph the Olympics

If you don’t want to feel inadequate about the camera gear you tote around all day, you might want to skip this behind-the-scenes look at the gear the Associated Press will be using to capture the 2012 Olympic games. In addition to the remotely operated robotic camera rigs that will snap photos as close to…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Jul 22 '12

Neo hides from Lumbergh in this Matrix/Office Space mashup

The Matrix’s Neo and Office Space’s Peter Gibbons have a lot in common: They both work in depressing offices. They’ve both engaged in a little computerized crime. But while Neo had to deal with murderous AIs, Peter contended with Bill Lumbergh and Milton’s constant ramblings about his stapler. And as this mashup suggests, Neo might…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

Science Has Calculated the Perfect Basketball Shot

Shooting a basketball is one of those things we attribute to years of practice and some ineffable god-given talent. But what if you could become a great, or at least much better, shooter just by learning some mechanical science? Larry Silverberg, a mechanical engineer at North Carolina State University, analyzed “millions of trajectories based on…

Physics & Chemistry Kyle Wagner Jul 22 '12

Pop paintings recast modern superheroes as Greek gods

Does Hulk have the strength to take down the Nemean lion? Is Spider-Man clever and fleet-footed enough to don the mantle (and sandals) of Hermes? Artist Tim Maclean paints today’s spandex-clad heroes as figures from ancient myths. If you happened into San Diego’s Subtext gallery over Comic-Con weekend, you might have seen Maclean’s paintings, as…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

American Psycho with Android Phones Is Totally Perfect

If American Psycho is a pitch-perfect satirization of 80s yuppyism and excess, then this parody video from Tech Radar is a spot-on representation of what it’s like buying a smartphone right now. Here’s the original, if you’ve never seen it: Recessed lettering. Tasteful thickness. White. Yeah, throw in a Tegra 3 and there’s basically zero…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jul 22 '12

The Most Spectacular Night View of Earth Ever Captured by NASA

I’ve seen plenty of time lapse videos from the International Space Station. None of them were even near the amazing beauty of this one. Play it at full screen and high definition—just the opening Star Wars-like shot will leave you in awe. https://gizmodo.com/this-incredible-time-lapse-from-the-iss-is-straight-up-5895430 It was created by Knate Myers using photographs taken from the International…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz Jul 22 '12

Free university course will have you searching for aliens at a college level

Want to find life on other planets but don’t know where to begin? Starting in January, the University of Edinburgh will be offering a course on the search for extraterrestrial life. Best of all? You can take the course online for free. Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and director of…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

Crowdfund a children’s time travel novella, student projects launched into space, and more

We’re dreaming of the time-traveling, space-faring future with this week’s crowdfundable projects. We have a novel about a young girl who wants to invent time travel, as well as a quest to send 1000 ping pong ball-sized projects into space. On top of that, there’s a brand new comic book store seeking funding, as well…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

Nothing Tells Your Guests They’re Not Welcome Like Making Them Sleep In a Pod

Do you deal with visiting family members during the holidays that more than overstay their welcome? This year try putting them up in one of these Podtime tubes, they’ll quickly get the message that maybe they should have booked a hotel instead. They’re not exactly ideal for those who suffer from claustrophobia, but as a…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jul 22 '12

Google’s Stopped Selling 16GB Nexus 7 Tablets Because They’re Too Popular

Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is so popular that sales had to be suspended to try to catch up with demand. Units that were ordered up until last week will be delivered on time. The shortage comes because Google was taken totally off guard by how popular the 16GB model would be. It had expected the…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jul 22 '12

3D printing technology could let you print your pharmaceuticals at home

3D printers have made incredible promises about the future manufacture and distribution of goods. Already we can print out toys, mechanical components, and even foodstuffs. One team, though, has set it sights on something with even more incredible potential: 3D printed pharmaceuticals that can be manufactured anywhere in the world. The Guardian recently interviewed Professor…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 22 '12

Earth is about to belch out laughing gas (and why that’s a bad thing)

Beautifully Depressing Ice Bucket Constantly Reminds You Of the Consequences Of Global Warming

Gibbon has lived for fifty years just by staying super relaxed

How Bars Use Music to Get You Drunk Faster

What if the Black Widow starred in her own line of pulp novels?

If You Need a Dedicated Watch Safe, You Probably Won’t Mind This One’s $88,000 Price Tag

Stylized Game of Thrones maps make Westeros and Essos look like pleasant places to vacation

How All Those A-Little-Too-Cool Instagram Photos Really Happen

Who Knew Getting Stitches in Your Eyeball Could Be So Beautiful?

A Look At the Awesome Camera Gear the Associated Press Will Use To Photograph the Olympics

Neo hides from Lumbergh in this Matrix/Office Space mashup

Science Has Calculated the Perfect Basketball Shot

Pop paintings recast modern superheroes as Greek gods

American Psycho with Android Phones Is Totally Perfect

The Most Spectacular Night View of Earth Ever Captured by NASA

Free university course will have you searching for aliens at a college level

Crowdfund a children’s time travel novella, student projects launched into space, and more

Nothing Tells Your Guests They’re Not Welcome Like Making Them Sleep In a Pod

Google’s Stopped Selling 16GB Nexus 7 Tablets Because They’re Too Popular

3D printing technology could let you print your pharmaceuticals at home

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