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This is history’s most important news story about Swiss psychics and urination

When you read a certain kind of news, the words smash you point blank in the face like a projectile fired from a flaming trebuchet. And when you regain consciousness and examine said projectile, you realize it is actually a matryoshka doll…filled with live grenades. That, dear readers, is this kind of news. According to…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jul 27 '11

The Easiest Way to Tie a Water Balloon

Tying a water balloon is infinitely less fun than throwing a water ballon. Turns out slippery wet latex doesn’t make for good grip! Enter Tie Not. It’s an impossibly crafty nozzle that practically does the tying for you. Watch. It’s been around for a while now but if you’re getting serious about water fights, equipping…

Tech News Casey Chan Jul 27 '11

Why Joss Whedon almost didn’t take on The Avengers

Rumor has it, some folks have claimed that Joss Whedon isn’t macho enough to direct The Avengers. Whedon has a few words for these naysayers, which we captured on camera — along with Whedon’s reasons for taking on this project. One of the things we love about you is that you know how to capture…

Movies Meredith Woerner Jul 27 '11

The White House Just Rickrolled Someone on Twitter

Nero YouTubes while Rome burns! The White House, probably realizing the entire country is mega-financially-screwed anyway, just rickolled a Twitter critic who complained about the “entertainment value” of an Obama briefing. Retaliation? Watch this annoying video, you jerk! You might think the official mouthpiece of the United States of America indulging in well-worn meme prankery…

Tech News Sam Biddle Jul 27 '11

A Look at the Most Insane Restaurant in the World

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress is a documentary about the most insane—and one of the most influential—restaurants in the world, El Bulli, which is closing this month. El Bulli’s the epicenter of where weird science met delicious food and postmodern art under the guidance of wizard-chef-mad scientist Ferran Adrià. If the movie’s able to convey…

Tech News Matt Buchanan Jul 27 '11

Earth’s first known Trojan asteroid follows our orbit like a second Earth

Trojan asteroids are objects that share a planet’s orbit around the Sun but reside in what are basically gravitational dead zones. We’ve discovered Earth’s first Trojan asteroid…but how did it get there, and why have we only just found it? In any system where a smaller object orbits a larger one – say the Moon…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 27 '11

Farmers Seriously Need Diamond-Covered Plows

How else will they keep their swag up? Well, no. Rather, covering plowshares with diamond-hard carbon would actually do a number of cool things for farmers. It’s even better on the environment. Researchers at the German Fraunhofer Institute have been looking into how to reduce fuel costs for german plowshares, and the solution seems to…

Tech News Kwame Opam Jul 27 '11

Shooting Challenge: Fireflies

What kid didn’t capture fireflies in a jar, hopelessly attempting to keep them alive by tossing in a few torn blades of grass? For this week’s Shooting Challenge, you’ll capture fireflies again, but this time, on camera. The Challenge Take a photo of a firefly. You may call them lightning bugs. (A hat tip to…

Tech News Mark Wilson Jul 27 '11

Freaky Algorithm Can Look at Your Twitter and Tell If You’re a Dude or a Lady

Though a bit odd, it’s not unheard of for a guy to pretend to be a girl—or vice versa—on the internet. But researchersdeveloped a new algorithm which analyzes the content of tweets and predicts a user’s gender. According to Fast Company, Researchers at the Mitre Corporation found a sample base of users whose gender they…

Tech News Adrian Covert Jul 27 '11

Possible iPhone 5 Case Suggests That the Next iPhone Will Have a Big Honking Screen, Big Honking Home Button and a Curved Back

It’s about damn time for some more iPhone 5 speculation! The latest? An iPhone case model that shows the next iPhone having an edge-to-edge screen, a wider home screen button (for possible gestures!) and an iPad 2-esque curved back. 9to5Mac says these case designs are being shopped around to Asian case manufacturers for production and…

Tech News Casey Chan Jul 27 '11

10 Pixar theme songs, in 10 minutes, all performed by 1 man

The title says it all, one video compilation of all the Pixar theme songs played with out interruption. Wait until they hit Wall-E it will make your heart melt. Officially titled, “Chaz Dela Cruz’s Multi-Instrument Pixar Medley.”

io9 Meredith Woerner Jul 27 '11

The Best Deal of the Day

Have you ever tried watching TV for 24 hours straight? And I’m not talking about sleeping with the TV on. I mean WATCHING for an entire day. Let me tell you, it’s not pretty. Sometime around the 12th hour, your attention span evaporates. Then when the 18th hour hits and you’re frantically drinking Red Bull…

Tech News Gizmodo Deals Jul 27 '11

Coastal And Mid-Atlantic States Have Way Faster Internet

Congratulations, Pocatello Idaho. You have American’s slowest Internet. That’s according to a new study by Pando Networks that tracked Internet download speeds and completion rates across the country for five months this year. Pando Networks found some pretty stunning differences nationwide. The coastal and Mid-Atlantic states had the fastest and most reliable Internet (with Rhode…

Tech News Mat Honan Jul 27 '11

Will The Secret Circle be your new guilty pleasure in fall?

Over the weekend, we had a chance to see the pilot for Secret Circle, a teen sorcery show coming this fall from Kevin Williamson, creator of Vampire Diaries and Dawson’s Creek. It’s hard to deny the lure of a show whose pilot features teenage girls magically lighting cars on fire. But is it just too…

Television Katharine Trendacosta and Annalee Newitz Jul 27 '11

Translating Ancient Egyptian Texts Just Went Social

You know you wanna be like Indiana Jones, unlocking the secrets of ancient manuscripts. Well, that shit is hard. But the Egypt Exploration Society and Oxford University are giving you the chance by uploading their ancient papyrus to the web. By visiting Oxford’s Ancient Lives website, you and your fellow archaeologists can sit down and…

Tech News Kwame Opam Jul 27 '11

10 scifi and fantasy characters who believe that two heads are better than one

Plenty of fictional folks have an extra sentient cranium lying around — just not all of them have said heads attached to their auxiliary necks. Here are 10 fellows who require multiple nacho hats at tailgating parties. 10.) Two Badd from Masters of the Universe Two Badd was one of Skeletor’s less lauded henchmen. I’m…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jul 27 '11

The Battleship Trailer is Ridiculous…ly Watchable

It doesn’t have Samuel L. Jackson, but it’s got Brooklyn Decker and explosions. Well played! And Liam Neeson is pretty much always bad ass, even in bad movies.

Movies Kwame Opam Jul 27 '11

The Biggest Lie the Internet Ever Told: Free Everything, All the Time

Since you clicked your first link, you were promised one thing about the internet: you may have to pay a cover charge, but once you’re in, everything’s free. Except that suddenly doesn’t seem as true anymore. You know what? Good. Hulu Plus. The NY Times paywall. Ditto Time magazine. Fox’s decision to delay new episodes…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jul 27 '11

Buck Flashpoint Knife: It’ll Do Way More Than Cut You

If you are one of the 11 percent of Americans with a dominant left hand, you can stop reading—this knife is of no use to you. For the other 89 percent, the Buck Flashpoint is surprisingly versatile. Like The aluminum handle and 2 7/8-inch 420HC stainless steel blade together weigh a scant 4oz. The integrated…

Reviews Andrew Tarantola Jul 27 '11

Bill Gates Spent the Best Money of His Life 30 Years Ago Today

Break out the beer, MS-DOS turns 30 today. On July 27, 1981, Microsoft purchased QDOS from Seattle Computer Products. It was kind of a good deal. When IBM came to Microsoft asking for a 16-bit operating system, the company had to scramble to get one together. Rather than writing a new one from the ground…

Tech News Mat Honan Jul 27 '11

This is history’s most important news story about Swiss psychics and urination

The Easiest Way to Tie a Water Balloon

Why Joss Whedon almost didn’t take on The Avengers

The White House Just Rickrolled Someone on Twitter

A Look at the Most Insane Restaurant in the World

Earth’s first known Trojan asteroid follows our orbit like a second Earth

Farmers Seriously Need Diamond-Covered Plows

Shooting Challenge: Fireflies

Freaky Algorithm Can Look at Your Twitter and Tell If You’re a Dude or a Lady

Possible iPhone 5 Case Suggests That the Next iPhone Will Have a Big Honking Screen, Big Honking Home Button and a Curved Back

10 Pixar theme songs, in 10 minutes, all performed by 1 man

The Best Deal of the Day

Coastal And Mid-Atlantic States Have Way Faster Internet

Will The Secret Circle be your new guilty pleasure in fall?

Translating Ancient Egyptian Texts Just Went Social

10 scifi and fantasy characters who believe that two heads are better than one

The Battleship Trailer is Ridiculous…ly Watchable

The Biggest Lie the Internet Ever Told: Free Everything, All the Time

Buck Flashpoint Knife: It’ll Do Way More Than Cut You

Bill Gates Spent the Best Money of His Life 30 Years Ago Today

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