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How Tortoiseshell Cats Show the Limits of Cloning

When we first discovered the structure of DNA, it looked like all of life’s mysteries were at our fingertips. We could control life and death! But soon enough, we started to run up against the limits of our awesome power over genetics — and one of the harshest taunts comes from the simple tortoiseshell cat.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Gun Shaped USB Flash Drive Is Your Leave-This-Peripheral-At-Home Deal of the Day

Hey, mom? I need to talk to you for a minute. Well, it’s my computer, sort of. No no, I know you’re the wrong person to ask. I—ok mom, yes. I promise to call Aunt Clara after we’re done. But look, I’m at the airport. No, no troub—well, actually. I don’t think I’m going to…

Tech News Gizmodo Deals

Behold the craziest skyscrapers of 2012, such as the wheeled apartment complex

Every year, eVolo Magazine holds their Skyscraper Competition, which prompts designers from around the globe to redefine the aesthetics and function of your run-of-the-mill tall building. Of the 714 designs submitted for this year’s competition, eVolo selected three winners and twenty-two runners-up. Among those picked were giant Himalayan water towers, mountain arcologies, and a vertical…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

First fantastic look at The Avengers’ new S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Maria Hill

We’ve seen Captain American, Iron Man and even the big motion-capture Hulk from The Avengers. But where is the bad-ass S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill? Here she is! Take a good high-resolution look at the latest addition to the cinematic Marvel universe, played by How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders. Both images taken from Marvel.

Movies Meredith Woerner

How To Extract Your Own DNA Using Household Items

You can extract your own DNA with drinking water, salt, dish soap, alcohol, food coloring, and your own spit! This NOVA/PBS-made video shows you how. I’ve been writing about DNA for more than a decade, and I just realized that until this video, I’ve never actually seen DNA. And there it is, in the form…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski

The Thorium Lantern: Your Opportunity for Retail Radiation Exposure

Radioactive elements in your local Super Wal-Mart or camping store! It sounds like a bad five o’clock news headline, but gas lamps containing the radioactive element Thorium are extremely common, with millions sold annually. Why would a companies intentionally use a radioactive element in a consumer product? Let’s find out. Why use Thorium in lanterns?…

io9 Keith Veronese

Do Apple Employees Already Have iPads with iOS 6?

Everyone’s been digging through their web analytics looking for clues about the next iPad. But the rush to sift out details about new bits of hardware may have turned up Apple’s next mobile operating system. Ars Technica claims that iPads running iOS 6 have been visiting its page, and the IP addresses locate them in…

Tech News Kyle Wagner

Lost superfan gets “Not Penny’s Boat” tattooed on his hand

We’ve seen Charlie Pace’s infamous last words scribbled on hundreds of hands (including our own) but we have never seen anything like this. Lost superfan Tom Moretti got “Not Penny’s Boat” tattooed on his hand. Take a look. Taken from Moretti’s twitter here’s a picture of the ink. And if you don’t believe him, he…

Television Meredith Woerner

The Man Who Stole Pinterest

Karl Jo Seilern is the CEO of Pinspire (right), a 99% ripoff of mysteriously super-popular Pinterest (left). They look the same, sound the same, are the same Only one of them is a German clone! So we talked to Karl. Mr. Seilern, whose colleagues have made a pretty penny copying American sites and then selling…

Tech News Sam Biddle

That One Time Dr. Seuss Published A Book Full Of Naked Ladies

Today is both Dr. Seuss’ birthday (he would’ve been 108) and the release date of a rather lamentable adaptation of The Lorax (which is subliminally brainwashing your children). But did you know that in 1939, Dr. Seuss published a book that would’ve spurred an equally dunderheaded moral panic if it came out today? That book…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

What are these mysterious black splotches on the surface of Mars?

Mars may look red from here on Earth, but up close, the surface of the “Red Planet” is actually a variety of colors. In fact, many of them aren’t very red-looking at all. Case in point: the dunes in Mars’ northernmost latitudes, like the ones pictured here. But wait a minute, you may be thinking.…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

How to Make Siri Curse Like a Sailor

Getting bored with Siri? Us too. Finding out what the weather is, setting reminders and asking question gets old. You know what never gets old? Hearing a robot voice curse. I mean, we’re all teenage boys at heart, right? Here’s how to make Siri curse like a motherfucking sailor. If you’re easily offended by salty…

Tech News Casey Chan

The Drastic Plan to Save the Spotted Owl By Massacring Other Owls and Trees

As efforts to save the spotted owl seem to be failing, the government is getting ready to try some experimental forestry to keep the species alive. Apparently the scientific approach is to hunt down the owl’s competition and let the loggers in. In other words: There are some hard times ahead for the barred owl.…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

Scientists prove once and for all that there’s life on Earth

A hotly-debated subject is at last put to rest as scientists announce that they have conclusively confirmed that there is, in fact, life on Earth. They discovered this by looking at the Moon. It may seem like a pointless exercise — but this discover could help us find life on exoplanets. It has long been…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Rare Star Trek photos show green Orion slavegirls like you’ve never seen them

The original Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” included a lot more of the scenes where Vina is turned into a green Orion slavegirl who dances for Captain Pike — but they were cut because they were too saucy for prime time television. Now, some rare Trek behind-the-scenes pictures include a brand new look at the…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

What is the Spear of Destiny, and where can you get it?

A spear with a mystical background gives the one wielding it powers to bend the destiny of the world to his or her will. It sounds like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but truth is far more bizarre in this case, as the legend of the Spear of Destiny contains a poison pill clause —…

io9 Keith Veronese

The Ugliest Sandals in the World Are Actually Based on Foot Science

Look how ugly these sandals are. They look like a radioactive gummy bear pooped on a milk crate. But these Sazzi sports sandals are actually biomimeticly designed to keep your feet safe from uneven terrain, if not deeply judgmental eyes. Barefoot running has been popular for a few years now. The five-fingered shoes you see…

Tech News Kyle Wagner

Interactive 360° aerial panorama of world’s tallest waterfall is absolutely breathtaking

I’ve always found it amusing that Angel Falls — the highest waterfall on Earth, and, consequently, a lifelong destination for tourists everywhere — is so difficult to visit. It’s located in Canaima National Park, which can only be accessed by air. Once you’ve reached the main Canaima camp, your only shot at seeing the falls…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The All-Weather Radar That Keeps Your Plane from Landing on Luggage Trolleys

The ASDE-3/AMASS radar system that spotted an errant Jeep on Philadelphia International’s runways has one fatal flaw—it thinks raindrops are incoming jets and goes nuts during downpours. The ASDE Model X, however, monitors runways rain or shine. Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE) and its add-on, the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS) are designed to…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Why can’t we get down to absolute zero?

What is Absolute Zero, and does it really exist anywhere in the universe? Could we ever reach Absolute Zero in real life? There are all sorts of reasons to be curious about the limits of cold. Maybe you’re an incredibly lame supervillain who uses the power of freezing, and you want to understand the extent…

io9 Dr. Dave Goldberg

How Tortoiseshell Cats Show the Limits of Cloning

The Gun Shaped USB Flash Drive Is Your Leave-This-Peripheral-At-Home Deal of the Day

Behold the craziest skyscrapers of 2012, such as the wheeled apartment complex

First fantastic look at The Avengers’ new S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Maria Hill

How To Extract Your Own DNA Using Household Items

The Thorium Lantern: Your Opportunity for Retail Radiation Exposure

Do Apple Employees Already Have iPads with iOS 6?

Lost superfan gets “Not Penny’s Boat” tattooed on his hand

The Man Who Stole Pinterest

That One Time Dr. Seuss Published A Book Full Of Naked Ladies

What are these mysterious black splotches on the surface of Mars?

How to Make Siri Curse Like a Sailor

The Drastic Plan to Save the Spotted Owl By Massacring Other Owls and Trees

Scientists prove once and for all that there’s life on Earth

Rare Star Trek photos show green Orion slavegirls like you’ve never seen them

What is the Spear of Destiny, and where can you get it?

The Ugliest Sandals in the World Are Actually Based on Foot Science

Interactive 360° aerial panorama of world’s tallest waterfall is absolutely breathtaking

The All-Weather Radar That Keeps Your Plane from Landing on Luggage Trolleys

Why can’t we get down to absolute zero?

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