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AMC Is Bringing The Terror To TV Screens As An Anthology Show

AMC has greenlit Dan Simmons’ novel The Terror as a 10-episode anthology series, with plans to release the series in 2017. According to Deadline, the series is a joint project from Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, Alexandra Milchan’s Emjag Productions, Entertainment 360 and AMC Studios, and will be written by David Kajganich. The story is…

Television Andrew Liptak Mar 5 '16

Allen M. Steele On Arkwright, Science Fiction’s History And Space Travel

We really dug Allen M. Steele’s Arkwright, a novel that spans centuries, and talks exactly how science fiction can inspire scientists to change the world. After reading it, we spoke with Steele about just went into the novel. Arkwright is a sweeping story that spans centuries: tell us a little about what inspired it. I’d…

Books & Comics Andrew Liptak Mar 5 '16

This Video Essay Explores Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige As A Metacinematic Work

Christopher Nolan’s film The Prestige is one of my absolute favorites, and it’s one that I can reliably go to over and over and still be thrilled at the twists and turns. In this video essay, Nerdwriter takes a look at the film’s structure and how it plays into the plot. In particular, he takes…

io9 Andrew Liptak Mar 5 '16

Pluto Might Be Home To Methane-Covered Mountain Peaks

Even though New Horizons swept past Pluto last year, more than half the data that it gleaned from the planet during its flyby is still on the spacecraft, which means that there’s still much that we’ll be learning about the dwarf planet. Case in point: methane snow-covered peaks. That’s what NASA thinks exists in Pluto’s…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Liptak Mar 5 '16

This Meteorite Settles a Question About Which Elements Made Up the Early Universe

Scientists from the University of Chicago have taken a look at the Curious Marie, a bit of meteorite containing perhaps the most valuable ceramic in the world. These ceramic elements can tell us whether the early universe created heavy particles—without containing any of those elements. The journal Science Advances contains images of an unremarkable-looking rock.…

Tech News Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 4 '16

This New Blackest Black Material Is Even Blacker Than What We Thought Was the Blackest Black Material

Surrey NanoSystems is famous for creating Vantablack, a material so black that it absorbs all but 0.035 percent of visible light. That’s a lot. Things basically disappear when coated with the Vantablack carbon nanotubes. And yet, they’ve somehow made the material even blacker. Yes, the blackest black material has become even blacker. Surrey NanoSystems writes:…

Sploid Casey Chan Mar 4 '16

Spider-Man Movie Spinoff Venom Is Back in the Works

If the moviegoing public is willing to stand for yet another Spider-Man reboot, surely there’s also some room for one of Spidey’s greatest foes. But don’t get too excited, webslingers: Venom is moving ahead as its own stand-alone franchise, unrelated to the next Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland. The villainous Venom—who’s long been bandied about…

Movies Cheryl Eddy Mar 4 '16

This Visit to an Alien World Is the Most Soothing Thing in Ages

“Vessels-4 AM” by Chloe Hayward is like being on a tourist spaceship touring a volatile world. And, as it navigates water, ice, and lava, to music, it’s somehow perfectly lovely. [Vimeo Staff Picks] Contact the author at [email protected].

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Mar 4 '16

El Niño Might Deliver After All Thanks to ‘Miracle March’ Storms

If there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from El Niño, it’s that we should expect pretty much anything. After a dry, hot February convinced everyone that El Niño had left the building—or ditched California completely—a new set of storms have provided a glimmer of great wet hope. This is coming soon to a West…

Tech News Alissa Walker Mar 4 '16

Watch a Gun Safe Get Cracked Open with Just a Paper Clip

Hmm. That’s not supposed to happen like that. And yet this gun safe—a GunVault GVB1000 approved by the California Department of Justice that uses a biometric fingerprint sensor to unlock itself—can be easily opened with just a paperclip. It’s a method that simply involves tricking the bypass lock to open the latch. That is way…

Sploid Casey Chan Mar 4 '16

That 21 Jump Street–Men In Black Crossover Is Actually Happening

It sounds too crazy to be real, but it’s actually coming true. The crossover between 21 Jump Street and Men in Black, which was first revealed by the Sony hack in 2014, is now going forward as a possible film. And they found a perfect director. When this possible crossover was first leaked a couple…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Mar 4 '16

Which Amazing Book Series Just Went On Too Damn Long?

The only thing better than one awesome book is ten awesome books set in the same world… right? Well, not always. Sometimes, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, and the tenth book in a series isn’t quite as good as the first. Which book series did you love—until it overstayed its welcome? Please include…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Mar 4 '16

Flint Just Replaced Its First Lead Pipe (Only About 8,000 More to Go)

The long journey to restore safe water to the city of Flint, Michigan has finally begun: The first lead service line was swapped with copper pipe today. Following a press conference at the residential site, a lead pipe was excavated and replaced by workers, who were easily outnumbered three-to-one by members of the media. Assisting…

Tech News Alissa Walker Mar 4 '16

The Frosting on This Dessert Is Almost Too Beautiful to Eat

The decoration on these desserts are so perfect that it almost, almost makes you not want to eat them. But then you realize that the art is just delicious frosting and that both will eventually be destroyed so you make a sacrifice and begin to stuff your mouth with as many intricately designed pieces as…

Sploid Casey Chan Mar 4 '16

Watch SpaceX’s Fifth Attempt to Launch Its Falcon 9 Rocket Live, Which Will Make You Question the Very Nature of Reality [Updated]

For the fifth time in just over a week, SpaceX is trying to launch its Falcon 9 Rocket. Am I stuck in a timeloop? Is any of this real? Am I here? Are you? SpaceX attributed the first four scrubbed launches to problems with their liquid oxygen system, heavy winds, and a boat straying too…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra Mar 4 '16

Why Self-Fertilizing Worms Have Shorter Lifespans

Self-fertilization isn’t uncommon in the animal world. Nematode worms have made the switch from sex to self-fertilization several times. A new study found that switching to self-fertilization shaves time off lifespans in a population, and researchers have a few ideas as to why. Multiple species have managed to get along without males. Many are anomalous,…

Biology Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 4 '16

Italy Wants the United Nations to Recognize Its Pizza as a Protected Landmark

Along with the Pyramids in Giza and the Colosseum, Italy has asked the United Nations to add another item to UNESCO’s list of protected landmarks: Pizza. The Guardian reports that Italy is submitting a new application to UNESCO that would add Neapolitan pizza to its list of recognized cultural landmarks. Although UNESCO’s world heritage list…

Tech News Ria Misra Mar 4 '16

Data Conclusively Proves That The Force Awakens Is Just A Newer Hope

In other news, a bear shits in the woods and the Pope is Catholic. Okay, that’s a bit dismissive of a fair amount of actual data analysis. McGill University computer science professor Derek Ruths mapped the similarities between the two movies by figuring out how many scenes each character had and how often they interacted…

Movies Katharine Trendacosta Mar 4 '16

The Beautiful Bureaucrat Is an Utterly Nightmarish Literary Masterpiece

There’s been something of a Kafka resurgence in American literary fiction the past 15 years or so, led by people like George Saunders. Oppressively surreal worlds, with strange, totalizing institutions and mind-numbing bureaucracies. But few books make this motif as straight-up nightmarish as Helen Phillips’ The Beautiful Bureaucrat. Seriously, everything in this book feels like…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Mar 4 '16

15 Things I Would Like to Smash With Baseball’s Stupid Selfie Bat

Here is a thing that exists in the world: The SnapBat, a baseball bat that is also a selfie stick. Goddammit. Though it’s apparently been around since this summer, the SnapBat landed in the spotlight once again today after Snapchat announced it would be partnering with Major League Baseball to give fans an “inside look”at…

Tech News Sophie Kleeman Mar 4 '16

AMC Is Bringing The Terror To TV Screens As An Anthology Show

Allen M. Steele On Arkwright, Science Fiction’s History And Space Travel

This Video Essay Explores Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige As A Metacinematic Work

Pluto Might Be Home To Methane-Covered Mountain Peaks

This Meteorite Settles a Question About Which Elements Made Up the Early Universe

This New Blackest Black Material Is Even Blacker Than What We Thought Was the Blackest Black Material

Spider-Man Movie Spinoff Venom Is Back in the Works

This Visit to an Alien World Is the Most Soothing Thing in Ages

El Niño Might Deliver After All Thanks to ‘Miracle March’ Storms

Watch a Gun Safe Get Cracked Open with Just a Paper Clip

That 21 Jump Street–Men In Black Crossover Is Actually Happening

Which Amazing Book Series Just Went On Too Damn Long?

Flint Just Replaced Its First Lead Pipe (Only About 8,000 More to Go)

The Frosting on This Dessert Is Almost Too Beautiful to Eat

Watch SpaceX’s Fifth Attempt to Launch Its Falcon 9 Rocket Live, Which Will Make You Question the Very Nature of Reality [Updated]

Why Self-Fertilizing Worms Have Shorter Lifespans

Italy Wants the United Nations to Recognize Its Pizza as a Protected Landmark

Data Conclusively Proves That The Force Awakens Is Just A Newer Hope

The Beautiful Bureaucrat Is an Utterly Nightmarish Literary Masterpiece

15 Things I Would Like to Smash With Baseball’s Stupid Selfie Bat

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