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Take a stroll down Staten Island’s freeway to nowhere

In 1966, community activists successfully stopped the construction of the Richmond Parkway Interchange, a stretch of highway that urban planning titan Robert Moses wanted to run through the forested Staten Island Greenbelt. After construction ceased, this highway became cracked and crumbled by time. Photographer Nathan Kensinger has explored this one-mile stretch of highway, which has…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 14 '11

A soothing voice can change your hormones…but a text message won’t

It’s not always easy to distinguish between human social interactions and the complex chemical interactions that underpin them. Just hearing a calming, familiar voice can alter a person’s hormones in a beneficial way…and technology just gets in the way. That’s the finding of biological anthropologist Leslie Seltzer of the University of Wisconsin. She designed an…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 14 '11

Ultra-Rare MacBook Pro Prototype Sports Ugly 3G

Little is known about this 3G-enabled MacBook Pro prototype, but we imagine one of the many reasons it didn’t pass Apple’s notorious muster is Steve Jobs probably blew a gasket at the aesthetics alone. The laptop is a 2007 model complete with 3G hardware, bright red motherboard and a SIM card slot built in. Typically,…

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 14 '11

Astromech Tops Argyle as This Season’s Must-Have Holiday Sweater

Ironic holiday sweater parties can happen spontaneously at all periods of your life, except post-40, when your wardrobe necessitates they become “holiday parties.” Good thing this custom R2-D2 sweater would be at home with any generation. Created by Etsy member EricaKnit, the droid-gauge weave is made-to-order, so have a tape measure handy. Oh, and please…

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 14 '11

Just why do people get more attractive when you’re drunk?

It’s a fairly well-known idea that people start looking better and better the more one drinks alcohol. But is there actually a scientific reasoning behind this? It might all have to do with a little something called bilateral symmetry. Almost all multicellular organisms exhibit some degree of symmetry – sponges are the only known exception…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 14 '11

Remember when Superman turned into Satan?

During the Silver Age of Comics, Kryptonite had many bizarre mutational properties. In 1963’s Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #68, Jimmy — driven insane with rage by The Hate Helmet — exposes Superman to Red Kryptonite, morphing the hero into Old Scratch. This is but one twist in a fine comic with the narrative grace of…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 14 '11

Apple’s iPad Cinemax Softcore Porn Problem

Today Ryan Lawler over at GigaOM asks an easy question with an ill-defined answer: Does Cinemax’s iPad app violate Apple’s no-porn policy? If it does, shouldn’t HBO GO get the boot too? Unlike HBO GO, you see, the Cinemax app boasts an “after dark” tab that delivers the wonderful softcore porn experience “Skinamax” has been…

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 14 '11

The collision that created Earth’s Moon is reenacted around an alien star

NLTT 43806 is a white dwarf, the dying remnants of a star like our own. But there’s a problem. Its composition doesn’t make any sense…unless there was a cataclysm just like the one Earth experienced four billion years ago. Located about fifty light-years away, NLTT 43806 is unlike any other white dwarf we’ve seen before.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 14 '11

Anti-wave tech tricks ocean water into standing still, making ships efficient and invisible

We’ve already seen how future ships can be cloaked against sonar, and maybe someday even space and time. Now researchers say they can cloak the ships’ wakes, tricking water itself into acting as though nothing is there. A new metamaterial cloaking system can trick water into standing still as an object moves through it, by…

io9 Rebecca Boyle - Popular Science Aug 14 '11

Kickstarter Project Promises Menacing Desktop Jellyfish On-Demand

Fish tank? Pish posh. I desire a desktop tank full of jelly-like invertebrates, thank you very much, which is why I’m currently desiring this tank full of tiny Medusozoa something fierce. Yes, that’d be jellyfish to the layperson. The home-sized tank is very real, but it’s not quite at the commercial level. That’s where Kickstarter…

Biology Jack Loftus Aug 14 '11

Welcome to Protests in the Social Media Age, Where Governments Openly Mull Controversial Bans on Mobile Services

Today’s sticky, ill-defined civil rights-related debate involves government, its people and the rights of each when there’s a protest taking place in the middle of one of the most connected, social periods of human history. Let’s discuss! Updated. The real-world, this-just-happened example is this: If a government agency has credible evidence that anarchist groups are…

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 14 '11

A video tour of China’s dilapidated fantasy park

Remember Wonderland, that unfinished medieval amusement park outside Beijing that looks like a post-apocalyptic Magic Kingdom? Catherine Hyland recently visited Wonderland and toured its many abandoned nooks and crannies. Remember, if you’re going to build an amusement park, you must finish it before the ghosts and drifters move in. https://gizmodo.com/scenes-from-a-weird-abandoned-amusement-park-outside-be-5797376 [Via Coilhouse]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 14 '11

Terrifying Video of the Deadly Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse

Absolutely gut-wrenching video of the Indiana State Fair concert stage collapse from last night. Reports indicate a freak wind burst and sudden weather may be partially to blame, and that the concert was delayed at the time. It goes without saying that our hearts go out to the victims of this awful, awful incident. Update:…

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 14 '11

The Ultimate Symbiosis: Mealybugs have bacteria living inside their bacteria

Lots of organisms rely on symbiotic relationships, in which two species rely on each other for survival and one lives inside the other. But citrus mealybugs enjoy a triply symbiotic relationship unlike any we’ve ever seen…with one absolutely crucial exception. Microbiologist John McCutcheon of the University of Montana and biologist Carol von Dohlen of Utah…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 14 '11

A Cast That Lets You Keep Track of Your Broken Bones

If you’ve ever had a broken bone, it’s not just about dealing with the pain. It’s about dealing with how confusing the whole healing process can be. This is a cast that could take some of the mystery out of what your body’s doing. Designed by Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design graduate Pedro Nakazato Andrade,…

Health Kwame Opam Aug 13 '11

Seeing Chicago Like This Makes Me Want to Go Even More

I’ve always wanted to see Chicago. I just haven’t had the chance yet. This gorgeous tilt-shift time-lapse of the city, taken by WGN TV, is more proof that I need to go. I will have your deep dish pizza. [PetaPixel]

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 13 '11

io9 Roundup: August 13, 2011

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: 8/7 -8/13 | “The Belly’s Ocean” by Matt Rota (via Laughing Squid). What happened to Boba Fett after the sarlacc pit? The original Fett actor tells all! https://gizmodo.com/what-happened-to-boba-fett-after-the-sarlacc-pit-the-o-5830464 The original Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, has a few wild ideas on what really happened to Fett after his dance with the mighty sarlacc. Just…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 13 '11

Who Would Wear Jewelry Made From Dismembered Barbie Dolls? (Slightly NSFW)

I’ll say this of Margaux Lange’s jewelry. They’re provocative. And I feel like the fact that they’re just a tad… grisly is softened by how cute they wind up looking. I feel funny… These upcycled pieces are part of Lange’s Plastic Body Series, wherein she explores Barbie’s relationship with pop culture. Here, she breaks down…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 13 '11

Bat on a plane, snake in an MRI tube

Reminiscent, in a general way, of the film Snakes on a Plane, here are two recent (or fairly recent) instances of scary (if you find them scary) animals interacting with humans inside a machine. Bat on a plane: Bat stows away on Delta flight, CDC fears rabies risk to passengers The CDC said the flight…

io9 Marc Abrahams - Improbable Research Aug 13 '11

Take a stroll down Staten Island’s freeway to nowhere

A soothing voice can change your hormones…but a text message won’t

Ultra-Rare MacBook Pro Prototype Sports Ugly 3G

Astromech Tops Argyle as This Season’s Must-Have Holiday Sweater

Just why do people get more attractive when you’re drunk?

Remember when Superman turned into Satan?

Apple’s iPad Cinemax Softcore Porn Problem

The collision that created Earth’s Moon is reenacted around an alien star

Anti-wave tech tricks ocean water into standing still, making ships efficient and invisible

Kickstarter Project Promises Menacing Desktop Jellyfish On-Demand

More Ghanaian movie posters that will melt your brain into porridge

Welcome to Protests in the Social Media Age, Where Governments Openly Mull Controversial Bans on Mobile Services

A video tour of China’s dilapidated fantasy park

Terrifying Video of the Deadly Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse

The Ultimate Symbiosis: Mealybugs have bacteria living inside their bacteria

A Cast That Lets You Keep Track of Your Broken Bones

Seeing Chicago Like This Makes Me Want to Go Even More

io9 Roundup: August 13, 2011

Who Would Wear Jewelry Made From Dismembered Barbie Dolls? (Slightly NSFW)

Bat on a plane, snake in an MRI tube

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