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The Case for Calling All Vampires Draculas

Myths about vampiric creatures that rise from the dead to feed on the blood of the living predate Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the modern concept of extravagant, seductive vampires by hundreds of years. But stories about aristocratic, sometimes campy vampires who vanish into puffs of smoke and must be invited into human homes have arguably…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore Oct 25 '19

Twitter Is Flooded With Weird Ads Now—and I Love It

If you, too, are suddenly seeing amazing offers for John Deere tractors all over Twitter, you’re not alone. This week, a number of users noticed an influx of strange ads on the site, posting screenshots of spots for everything from dairy cow wellness to ministry insurance. This is no rogue algorithm. Yesterday, the company confirmed…

Tech News Whitney Kimball Oct 25 '19

Spider-Man Noir Lives, and Is Heading to London, for His Brand New Comic Series

Back when the moviegoing world was introduced to a Nic Cage-voiced, Nazi-punchin’, Rubik’s-cube-enchanted Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Marvel Comics had the grand idea to kill the character off as part of Spidergeddon. Well, good news! The Peter Parker of Earth-90214 is coming back, and getting his own series to boot. Announced today…

Movies James Whitbrook Oct 25 '19

iPhone Users Are Accidentally Deleting Their Emails Thanks to Apple’s Boneheaded UI Update

It’s honestly impressive how much a small change can derail our routine, especially when we’re used to muscle memory taking the wheel for those million and one itty bitty tasks each day no one has time to think about. Like, say, replying to an email. It’s important, sure, but practically second nature at this point.…

Tech News Alyse Stanley Oct 25 '19

What’s a Halloween Costume Idea You’ve Always Had, But Could Never Pull Off?

Cosplayers amaze me. Truly. Every time I walk through a comic book convention or pop culture event and see people dressed head to toe like their favorite characters, I’m stunned. I could never achieve that that level of skill when it comes to creating costumes. I assume some of you out there are like me.…

io9 Germain Lussier Oct 25 '19

Facebook’s Pretty Sure It Won’t Fuck Up the News This Time

On Friday, Facebook started tests of what seems like its umpteenth attempt at handling journalism on the platform—a dedicated Facebook News section for users that lives separately from the standard News Feed on its mobile app and licenses content from the outlets writing it. This is far from Facebook’s first foray into the news business.…

Social Media Tom McKay Oct 25 '19

New Evidence Suggests Neanderthals Were Capable of Starting Fires

Neanderthals were regular users of fire, but archaeologists aren’t certain if these extinct hominins were capable of starting their own fires or if they sourced their flames from natural sources. New geochemical evidence suggests Neanderthals did in fact possess the cultural capacity to spark their own Paleolithic barbecues. It pains me to admit, but if…

Human History George Dvorsky Oct 25 '19

Comcast Slides Reveal It’s Lobbying Against Plans to Encrypt Browser Data: Report

Comcast, one of the largest and most reviled internet service providers in the country, has reportedly been lobbying against efforts by companies like Mozilla and Google to switch on or test, respectively, a tool for encrypting your browser history, thereby making it trickier for ISPs to snoop on it. Motherboard obtained a presentation that was…

Tech News Catie Keck Oct 25 '19

How a ‘Neutral’ Health Algorithm Ended Up Hurting Black Patients

A health care algorithm used in hospitals across the U.S. has been discriminating against black patients, according to new research. The study found that the algorithm consistently prioritized less-sick white patients and screened out black patients from a program meant to help people who need more intensive care. Predictive algorithms have found their way into…

Health Ed Cara Oct 25 '19

This Fake Green New Deal Ad Perfectly Illustrates Facebook’s Bullshit Political Ad Policy [Updated]

Folks, I never thought I’d see the day any Republican, let alone Lindsey Graham, said they believed in the Green New Deal. But on Friday, I heard his voice utter those exact words in a Facebook ad. “Simply put, we believe in the Green New Deal,” Graham intoned as string music swelled. There’s just one…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Oct 25 '19

The Cutest Little Space Marine Is the Smallest (and Most Adorable) Toy of the Week

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular roundup of all things good and (mostly) plastic on the internet we’ve seen lately. This week: The most adorable nightmare of a Star Wars lounger! Barry Allen dashes into the world of Hot Toys! And in the grim dark future of the 41st millennium, there is only…cuteness? Sounds…

Toys & Collectibles Andrew Liszewski Oct 25 '19

7.5 Million Adobe Accounts Exposed by Security Blunder

The customer records of nearly 7.5 million Adobe Creative Cloud users were discovered by a security researcher this month in an inadvertently exposed database which has now been secured. The records exposed in the security mishap did not contain any passwords or payment information, but instead offered accurate information about millions of customers’ accounts, including…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron Oct 25 '19

It’s a-Goodbye, Mario

After working with Mario for almost three years, I can say without a doubt that he’s one of the smartest editors I’ve ever encountered. But there are also lots of smart people in the world. Mario is a rare combination of brilliant, hardworking, and kind, and you usually don’t get all three of those characteristics…

Tech News Kelly Bourdet Oct 25 '19

Image: Captain Janeway Bloomington Collective

Captain Janeway’s Hometown Could Get a Star Trek Memorial, With Your Help

Certainly would beat a Millennium Gate, wouldn’t it? Although the esteemed captain of the U.S.S. Voyager, tireless scientist and lover of dramatic off-camera stares, won’t actually be born for a few centuries yet in the Star Trek timeline, CBS has announced a new collaboration that hopes to honor Kathryn Janeway with her very own monument…

io9 James Whitbrook Oct 25 '19

Scream & Stream: 10 Spooky Halloween Horror Selections

Assuming you’ve already watched the 1978 Halloween and the other spooky staples in your library (Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.), it’s time to paddle out into the streams—streaming services, that is!—for some macabre movies. This year we tried to go for some less-obvious titles—but a few old faves did make it into the…

Movies Cheryl Eddy Oct 25 '19

Tagged Russian Eagles Rack up Enormous Cell Phone Bill From Visits to Iran

A Russian research group ran out of money after the eagles they tagged flew out of range of cell service and then to Iran, resulting in tons of expensive text messages, according to a post on the Russian social media service VK. The trackers sent text messages back to the researchers, allowing them to determine…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum Oct 25 '19

Former Apple Lawyer Tasked With Blocking Insider Trading Indicted on Charges of Insider Trading

A former top lawyer at Apple, who was responsible for ensuring that employees weren’t involved in insider trading, has been indicted on charges of insider trading, reports a press release from the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. According to the indictment, the former director of corporate law at Apple, Gene Levoff, allegedly…

Tech News Jennings Brown Oct 25 '19

The Jim Henson Company Is Bringing an Alien Talk Show Called Earth to Ned to Disney+

It’s about time for talk shows, coast to coast, to get another dose of outer space. The Jim Henson Company has announced a new series it’s developing for Disney+ called Earth to Ned, a 30-minute talk show where an alien interviews celebrities to learn more about humanity. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney+ has given…

io9 Beth Elderkin Oct 25 '19

Republican SCIF-Stormers Who Demanded Open Government Won’t Say If They Support Secret FISA Courts

On Wednesday, a group of Republican members of the House barged into a closed-door meeting held in a Capitol sensitive compartmentalized information facility (SCIF) used by legislators to assess sensitive or classified information, possibly compromising the facility’s security. Those in attendance insisted that their purpose was to shed light on secret impeachment hearings being conducted…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 25 '19

Chuck Schumer Proposes Electric-Only Cars by 2040, But That Won’t Solve Climate Change

On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a $454 billion plan to remove gas-guzzling vehicles from U.S. roads by 2040. In doing so, the plan would start to address the largest chunk of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Sounds pretty dope, right? Sure, except his plan doesn’t include any mention of revolutionizing the archaic public…

Climate Change Yessenia Funes Oct 25 '19

The Case for Calling All Vampires Draculas

Twitter Is Flooded With Weird Ads Now—and I Love It

Spider-Man Noir Lives, and Is Heading to London, for His Brand New Comic Series

iPhone Users Are Accidentally Deleting Their Emails Thanks to Apple’s Boneheaded UI Update

What’s a Halloween Costume Idea You’ve Always Had, But Could Never Pull Off?

Facebook’s Pretty Sure It Won’t Fuck Up the News This Time

New Evidence Suggests Neanderthals Were Capable of Starting Fires

Comcast Slides Reveal It’s Lobbying Against Plans to Encrypt Browser Data: Report

How a ‘Neutral’ Health Algorithm Ended Up Hurting Black Patients

This Fake Green New Deal Ad Perfectly Illustrates Facebook’s Bullshit Political Ad Policy [Updated]

The Cutest Little Space Marine Is the Smallest (and Most Adorable) Toy of the Week

7.5 Million Adobe Accounts Exposed by Security Blunder

It’s a-Goodbye, Mario

Captain Janeway’s Hometown Could Get a Star Trek Memorial, With Your Help

Scream & Stream: 10 Spooky Halloween Horror Selections

Tagged Russian Eagles Rack up Enormous Cell Phone Bill From Visits to Iran

Former Apple Lawyer Tasked With Blocking Insider Trading Indicted on Charges of Insider Trading

The Jim Henson Company Is Bringing an Alien Talk Show Called Earth to Ned to Disney+

Republican SCIF-Stormers Who Demanded Open Government Won’t Say If They Support Secret FISA Courts

Chuck Schumer Proposes Electric-Only Cars by 2040, But That Won’t Solve Climate Change

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