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CBS has ordered a pilot for a new TV show based on the classic Nancy Drew mystery books—with some notable twists. Not only will the yet-to-be-cast lead be “diverse,” she will be in her 30s and be putting her kick-ass sleuthing skills to use as an NYPD detective.

How Does God Want You to Watch TV?

It’s one of the most important theological questions of our generation: How does God want us to watch TV? Does God approve of services like Hulu and Netflix? Certainly not, according to one executive at NBC. Alan Wurtzel, the president of research and development for NBCUniversal, recently made a bold declaration on the holiness of…

The US Military Wants a Chip to Translate Your Brain Activity Into Binary Code

It’s been a weird day for weird science. Not long after researchers claimed victory in performing a head transplant on a monkey, the US military’s blue-sky R&D agency announced a completely insane plan to build a chip that would enable the human brain to communicate directly with computers. What is this weird, surreal future? It’s…

11 Ways to Write a Character-Focused Story That Still Feels Action-Packed

Everyone loves a story that races forward. There’s a reason we love books that are “page-turners.” But does a fast-paced story full of thrills and excitement mean you can’t also make room for character? Hell no. Here are 11 ways to create a story about characters and emotion that’s also a seat-of-your-pants ride. One of…

We Know Exactly Where all the Heat From the ‘Global Warming Hiatus’ Went

You might remember hearing about the global warming “hiatus” a few years back—a pause in Earth’s inexorably rising temperature, which some used as evidence that climate change is a hoax. But scientists are now completely sure that the pause never happened. And we know exactly where the missing heat wound up. Over the summer, we…

Scientists Claim to Perform Head Transplant on Monkey, Experts Say Prove It

An international team of neuroscientists claims to have successfully carried out a head transplant on a monkey, along with other related experiments. But because the details haven’t been published, experts remain skeptical. Warning: Graphic image to follow. As New Scientist reports, the procedure was led by Sergio Canavero, a neuroscientist who works for the Turin…

Injecting an Egg Yolk with Ink Reveals the Embryo Hidden Inside

Here’s a neat video showing ink being injected into the “yolk sac artery of 72 hour-old chick embryo to visualize the beating heart and the vasculature.” It’s from Nikon’s Small World in Motion competition which is always a great source for videos that reveal the previously unseen. Watching the ink spread throughout the yolk in…

The Weird Way That Standing (Not Walking) on Escalators Helps Move People More Quickly

It’s the golden rule of crowded escalators: Stand on one side, walk on the other. But passengers taking the escalator in one of London’s busiest tube stations were recently confronted with a weird rule: Everyone must stand. Officials claim it will make stations run more efficiently. But how? The head-smacking logic was explained in detail…

A First Look At Micronauts‘ Return to Comics

Sure the Micronauts toys were cool, but what made the franchise a classic was the Bill Mantlo/Michael Golden ‘80s Marvel Comics series. Several publishers since, including Marvel themselves, have planned a return to the Microverse but now IDW is taking on the series—and io9 has an exclusive look! Penned by Cullen Bunn, and with art…

NYC’s New Public Wifi Is Obscenely Fast

Today, the first of New York City’s public, gigabit wifi hotspots opened to the public. I tried them, so take it from me: They’re insanely fast. How fast? Fast enough that Starbucks’ free internet is about to get killed. Earlier this month, we reported on LinkNYC, the Big Apple’s initiative to roll out breakneck internet…

Check Out This Boba Fett-Inspired Tactical Armor Before Disney Sues It Out of Existence

Behold the GalacTac Project, an armor prototype being designed by AR5000 that happens to look just a tad like everyone’s favorite Star Wars bounty hunter. But look fast. Because I can’t imagine that 1) armor maker AR5000 bothered to ask Lucasfilm for the rights to make functional tactical armor based on the famous Star Wars…

Safely Travel Deep Inside a Glacier Through the Eyes of a Drone

Given the shifting ice can suddenly close a massive crevasse that runs hundreds of feet deep into a glacier, safely exploring them is all but impossible. Unless you’ve got access to a flying drone that isn’t sent flying out of control the second it hits an obstacle. Many drones have protective housings around their propellers…

Jean Grey and Wolverine Smash Sentinels In the First Episode of X-Men: Danger Room Protocols

A few weeks ago, we got a first look at Joel Furtado’s awesomely retro web series, X-Men: Danger Room Protocols. The first episode has made its way online, and although it’s short—it’s very sweet, living up to the promise of some glorious classic X-Men action. https://gizmodo.com/this-fan-made-x-men-animated-series-is-deliciously-retr-1751177784 This is only the first part of three for…

It’s Not Just Millennials: Fewer Americans of All Ages Are Getting Their Drivers’ Licenses

And here we thought only the young folks were passing on their chance to operate a motor vehicle. Turns out that getting your drivers’ license has been steadily falling out of favor for all Americans since the 1980s. Using data from the Federal Highway Administration, a team from the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute…

Putting Exploding Expanding Foam Inside a House Is Totally Crazy

Here’s an easy way to both clean an entire house while totally destroying it in the process: release expanding foam that will cause a huge explosion and spray foam everywhere. It’s a fun little thing to see happen (especially if it’s not your home) because the foam monster grows and grows and shoots its guts…

Maybe ‘More Tech’ Isn’t The Answer to Every Problem

Have you ever been at a concert and thought, “Man, I wish I could listen to a podcast right now?” Well, you’re in luck. Because the Boston Symphony Orchestra is now handing out iPads to the audience in order to reach The Youths™. From the Associated Press: But as part of an effort to draw…

Supergirl Had the Best ‘Be My Girlfriend or I’ll Become a Supervillain’ Speech

Last night’s Supergirl was all about making the lovestruck nerd Winn into a sympathetic character, by showing us his psycho supervillain dad. And it worked… until Winn tried to use Supergirl’s sympathy to steal a kiss. And then he gave this weird speech. Seriously. WTF? The gist of Winn’s speech is, “My dad became a…

A Brief History of Stephen Hawking Being a Bummer

Stephen Hawking is at it again, saying it’s a “near certainty” that a self-inflicted disaster will befall humanity within the next thousand years or so. It’s not the first time the world’s most famous physicist has raised the alarm on the apocalypse, and he’s starting to become a real downer. Here are some of the…

Updated: Time Warner Cable’s Scheduled Price Hike Comes At an Awkward Time

Less than two weeks ago, New York approved the merger between customer service nightmare Time Warner Cable and not-quite-so-famously-bad Charter Communications. Almost immediately, Time Warner is raising its prices in New York. Updated: The numbers previously used in this post were incorrect and have been changed. Back in December, Time Warner announced that prices would…

When You Open a Wormhole to the Future, Be Prepared For Weirdness, In This Clip From Synchronicity

Everyone loves a good time travel movie, and there’s a solid one coming later this week. It’s called Synchronicity, and follows three scientists who create a wormhole—only to find out that maybe they’ve already done it, as suggested by the mysterious girl who just appeared. Written and directed by Jacob Gentry, Synchronicity hits theaters and…