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The truth about why things smell bad: Vibrating molecules

For over a century, our sense of smell has been explained with the “lock and key” hypothesis, which holds that each odor molecule has a particular shape that allows it to fit into particular smell receptors in the nose. But now a controversial study involving fruit flies suggests that hypothesis might miss the truth entirely…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Feb 15

Why You Shouldn’t Be Scared Of the Dark

Carl Sagan. Listening to his voice reading through the Yellow Pages would be enough for me. Listening him read his own writing about humans, why life searches for life, and why we are bound to explore space is even better. These are the first two videos of a—I hope—a long series. The second one—on the…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz Feb 15

Coca-Cola’s Secret Recipe Finally Revealed (Updated)

The secret recipe of Coke has been hidden and locked down for 125 years. But apparently, not anymore. This American Life says they’ve found the ingredients that make up the delicious bubbly cola and have revealed it to our delight. Updated The story starts with John Pemberton, a Civil War veteran who’s credited with inventing…

Tech News Casey Chan Feb 15

Why Fritz Leiber is the least-known science fiction author you need to know

I’ll admit it: I’m obsessed with Fritz Leiber’s novel Our Lady of Darkness. It’s pretty much the best book I’ve ever read about my hometown, San Francisco – but it’s also just a great work of urban fantasy that seamlessly blends sexually liberated 1970s California with ancient forces of darkness drawn from pulp fiction. Lieber’s…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 15

You wish you had this Castle Grayskull snow fort when you were a kid

Sculptor Kilroy III built this insane Masters of the Universe igloo in Brooklyn after one of the Northeast’s many snowstorms. It took two days of construction and was designed with a Korean soup spoon and bowl. You can check out more photos and information about this project here. [Spotted on Geekologie]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Feb 15

New York City’s Apocalypse Manual

New York City just published a 75-page document outlining some legal guidelines to be observed in the event of a major terrorist attack, chemical contamination, or zombie outbreak. Basically, when the government declares a state of emergency, they can legally do all sorts of things to keep shit under control. Curfews, quarantines, warrantless searches, and…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Feb 15

All-Star Superman’s Christina Hendricks reveals the comics she craves… and her Wonder Woman future

We spoke to Mrs. Mal Reynolds herself — Christina Hendricks, about comics and other-worldly heroes. What sort of comics has the Mad Men star picked up since taking on the role of Lois Lane in the animated version of All-Star Superman? We also chatted with Hendricks and her husband Geoffrey Arend (Devil, Super Troopers) about…

io9 Meredith Woerner Feb 15

Will Zune Be Reborn As a Handheld Xbox?

Microsoft’s Zune media player never really caught fire, or generated much heat at all. And while Microsoft appears committed to Zune’s services and features, ZDNet speculates that Zune as we know it isn’t long for this world. Since most people are familiar with—or at least exposed to—Zune primarily through their Xbox, writes Mary Jo Foley,…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 15

69 Daring Double Exposures

Two photos in a single frame. The double exposure is a fantastic manipulation of photography, and these 69 entries to this week’s Shooting Challenge prove it. WINNER and Lead Shot – X-Ray I thought double exposure would be a good way to get an x-ray type effect. I tried taking photos of the inside and…

Tech News Mark Wilson Feb 15

The Best Deal of the Day

Get a 16GB Patriot Signature Micro Class 4 SDHC Memory Card for $20 (after mail-in rebate, with free shipping). That’s 20% off! Many more deals below. Sort by: CategoryPrice (Low to High)Price (High to Low)Free Only Top Deals • 2TB Seagate Expansion ST320005EXA101 External USB Hard Drive for $75 with free shipping (normally $90 {Savings…

Tech News Gizmodo Deals Feb 15

The Unsung Hero Who Discovered The Double Helix

It’s commonly believed that James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix shape of DNA. But in fact, they based their work on one of their colleagues at King’s College in London – Rosalind Franklin, an x-ray diffraction expert whose images of DNA proteins in the early 1950s revealed a helix shape. It wasn’t…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 15

The Science Of A Kiss

Quick after-VDay science helper: This quick video explains why you felt the way you did yesterday after smooching her/him/it/them. Whether or not your kissing will blossom into love is up to you and your partner(s). Love != Science.

Tech News Jason Chen Feb 15

This Room Is Entirely White

What’s the fastest way to reupholster a couch, paint the walls, and otherwise totally change the look of a living room? Some 3D mapping, two projectors, and a garish color scheme were all it took to give this totally blank canvas an infinite variety of interior designs. If creators Mr. Beam are taking requests, maybe…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 15

Local news report claims the government is controlling weather using airplanes

For some strange reason, CBS News Atlanta decided to do some hard-hitting investigative reporting on that old hat conspiracy notion of chemtrails, a.k.a. the sinister version of contrails, or those jet trails that can be seen following your average airliner. The best parts are when the reporter meets the chemtrail conspiracy theorists in a local…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Feb 15

Apple Breaking iBooks on Some Jailbroken iPhones

Over at Social Apples, a recent 4.2.1 jailbreaker noticed something disconcerting after firing up iBooks on his newly-liberated device. Many of his ebooks didn’t work. Since using the greenpois0n jailbreak, I have been unable to open some of my iBooks that I rightfully purchased from the iBook Store. I thought it was a problem with…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Feb 15

Verizon CTO Doesn’t Need No Stinkin WP7

In a surprisingly blunt interview with CNET, Verizon CTO Tony Melone made it clear that the only operating system his company cares about are Apple, Android, and RIM. Maybe even webOS. But Windows Phone 7? Not for him: “I do want a strong third OS out there,” Melone said. “It gives the carriers more flexibility…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 15

Xperia Play Hands On: The PlayStation Phone Is a Button Masher’s Dream

From March, you’ll be able to pick up the latest PSP. Sorry, did I say PSP? I meant Xperia Play phone—but really, it’s hard to tell the difference. True, it’s running Android, but at the very core of the phone is a gaming titan begging you to play it. And play I did. In the…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Feb 15

Shooting Challenge: Double Exposure, Gallery

Hello fellow geeks! My name is Agustin Perez Debarbieri and I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I can say I’m a huge fan of your blog since I visit your site like 3 or 4 times a day and this is the first time I would like to participate in one of your photo contests.…

Tech News G. Jesse Martinez Feb 15

Shooting Challenge: Double Exposure, Gallery 2

Shot with a Canon 5dII, 24-105 f4/L, and 50mm f1.4. Both shots were significantly underexposed. I immediately had the idea of putting my keyboard in coffee when I saw this challenge. The white cup will hide details around the unexposed black coffee, and I happen to be thinking about coffee through the majority of the…

Tech News G. Jesse Martinez Feb 15

The Next Android Will Reconcile Honeycomb and Gingerbread

Honeycomb’s not even out of the oven yet, but Google honcho Erik Schmidt is already dropping hints about the Android version that comes after the tablet-friendly OS (Ice Cream? Icing? Does icing by itself constitute a dessert?). Here’s what we can expect: a platform that’s optimized for both smartphones and tablets, instead of the current…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 15

The truth about why things smell bad: Vibrating molecules

Why You Shouldn’t Be Scared Of the Dark

Coca-Cola’s Secret Recipe Finally Revealed (Updated)

Why Fritz Leiber is the least-known science fiction author you need to know

You wish you had this Castle Grayskull snow fort when you were a kid

New York City’s Apocalypse Manual

All-Star Superman’s Christina Hendricks reveals the comics she craves… and her Wonder Woman future

Will Zune Be Reborn As a Handheld Xbox?

69 Daring Double Exposures

The Best Deal of the Day

The Unsung Hero Who Discovered The Double Helix

The Science Of A Kiss

This Room Is Entirely White

Local news report claims the government is controlling weather using airplanes

Apple Breaking iBooks on Some Jailbroken iPhones

Verizon CTO Doesn’t Need No Stinkin WP7

Xperia Play Hands On: The PlayStation Phone Is a Button Masher’s Dream

Shooting Challenge: Double Exposure, Gallery

Shooting Challenge: Double Exposure, Gallery 2

The Next Android Will Reconcile Honeycomb and Gingerbread

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