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Decomposing the Old-Fashioned Way is the Latest Funeral Trend

Welcome to this week’s Reading List, a collection of the most interesting science and technology stories on the Internet. This week, we’ll stroll through the cemeteries of the future, take a pivotal road trip with Dwight D. Eisenhower, and dive into the dying oceans of 2100. The funeral industry is adapting as more people choose…

Finally, We’re Getting Some Answers On Killjoys – And Some More Questions

On this week’s episode of Killjoys, Enemy Khylen, we finally get some of the show’s long-simmering questions answered – only to get even more questions added to the pile. Spoilers for this week’s episode! We opened this week with D’avin and a bit of humor. After all that’s transpired in the last couple of weeks,…

Computer Programs Can Be as Biased as Humans

Computer programs might not be as objective and unbiased as they seem, according to new research. The software that process job applications, housing loan decisions, and other data that impacts people’s lives might be picking up biases along the way. It’s common practice for companies to use software to sort through job applications and score…

As the American west continues to dry out, science fiction about climate change is beginning take hold. Books from authors such as J.G. Ballard, Margaret Atwood and Paolo Bacigalupi are creating a new subgenre: Climate Fiction, stories about Earth and how its changes are impacting humanity.

Apollo Astronaut Says UFOs Came to Prevent Nuclear War

The sixth man to walk on the Moon says that pacifist alien visitors tried to create world peace by disabling missiles during Cold War weapons tests. Edgar Mitchell, who walked on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, told Mirror Online in a recent interview that he believes the UFOs reported around military…

There’s a Star Hiding in This Image. Can You Find It?

This brain teaser is a little different from the ones I usually feature on Sunday Puzzle. There’s no logic. No math. No tricky wording. Just an illustration and a hidden object. Some of you will spot it quickly. Others of you will not. I’ve actually done both. The first time I saw this image, nearly…

Anti-Science Trolls are Starting Edit Wars on Wikipedia [Updated]

It’s no surprise that people tamper with Wikipedia entries on a regular basis, but it turns out that especially dedicated trolls have been sabotaging entries on politically controversial science topics like evolution and global warming. Researchers Gene Likens of the University of Connecticut and Adam Wilson of the University of Buffalo found that hot-button science…

So You Want To Join The Empire: Movie-Accurate Troopers

We skipped a week with this column, but this week, I want to talk about the variations in the stormtrooper costume. Not all stormtroopers are the same, and between each film, there’s minor differences that need to be taken into consideration when building your costume. I’m just thinking about Stormtroopers this week, but there’s other…

“We’re Creating A Jaw-Dropping New World”: More Details About Disney’s Star Wars Land

Yesterday, we learned that Disney is adding some absolutely massive Star Wars expansions to their Florida and California parks. Now here’s a video showing the highlights of Bob Iger’s keynote speech—along with more concept art that wasn’t officially released. According to Iger, the entire experience will be deeply immersive, with shops run by various species,…

Get Shrunk to Toy Size and Ride A Slinky At New Toy Story Land Theme Park

Disney is known for two things: animated movies and theme parks, both of which are coming together in a major way in the near future. While the Star Wars park news was the big headline at the D23 Expo Saturday, the second one is Disney opening a full, Toy Story Land section at Disney’s Hollywood…

Fox Is Considering A Female-Centric Reboot Of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Collider is reporting that a planned reboot of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is in the works, and that this one will be “female-centric”. According to the site, at the Television Critic Association upfronts, Producer John Davis indicated that they’re still working on it: JOHN DAVIS: Just by going back to the roots and making it…

This is How Sewer Rats Climb Into Your Toilet

City dwellers, check your toilet before you sit down. It sounds like an urban legend, but rats actually do manage to crawl up from the sewers and into unsuspecting residential toilets. In Portland, Oregon, one pest control company says it gets ten to 15 calls a year for rats in toilets, and it’s easy to…

The Crab Nebula Is a Gorgeous Mystery

In 1054 CE, a new light blazed in the night sky, four times brighter than Venus. Chinese astronomers called it a “guest star,” but today we call it a supernova: the dying explosion of a massive star. The star that created the supernova of 1054 had been dead for 6500 years by the time the…

We Just Saw The First Amazing Footage From Dr. Strange and Captain America: Civil War

How will Marvel’s Phase Three movies manage to top the spectacle of Phase Two? We just got our first glimpse at D23. Marvel just showed us the first footage from Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange—the latter of which hasn’t even started filming yet. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige came on stage and started…

See How Sharlto Copley Was Transformed Into Chappie In This VFX Breakdown Reel

Image Engine, the Vancouver-based special effects company that worked on Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie, has posted up a VFX breakdown reel that shows just how they transformed Sharlto Copley into the film’s titular robot. The reel shows off just how intensive the CGI for the film was: Copley had to be taken out of each frame…

The One Change That Could Get True Detective Back On Track For Season 3

Season 2 of True Detective wrapped up last Sunday with a less-than-stellar finale: the various story lines mostly came together, but this season lacked much of the impact and focus of the HBO show’s first season. Allow me to suggest one change that should help the show get back on track: Take the story out…

Rainbow Lightning is a Rare and Dazzling Sight

A stunning photo of a rainbow arcing over a lightning strike in Tucson, Arizona took the Internet by storm last week, garnering nearly 4,000 retweets on Twitter. And there’s a good reason the image went viral: Rainbow lightning is a spectacular— and spectacularly rare —phenomenon. Lightning forms when negatively charged electrons in cloud water are…

WHO Declares Africa Free Of ‘Wild’ Cases Of Polio 

Chalk up a major win for global health: according to the World Health Organization, Africa has been free of wild cases of Polio since July. This comes down to a dedicated vaccination campaign that has advanced the continent towards zero cases. This news doesn’t mean that the continent is completely free if the disease. Africa…

Disney Is Adding A Massive 14 Acres of Star Wars To Its Theme Parks (Updated)

Years of rumors have finally be made official. Disney CEO Bob Iger just announced at the D23 Expo that they are making not one, but two, full-on Star Wars-themed lands at their theme parks. One at Hollywood Studios in Orlando and one at Disneyland in Anaheim, marking their largest single land park expansions ever. At…

Occupy Wall Street may be long over, but the lawsuits are still very much alive and kicking. Just this week, New York City agreed to shell out $25,000 to one Isaac Wilder, founder of the Free Network Foundation, as recompense for the “Freedom Tower,” a tall, thin pole loaded with routers that beamed Wi Fi…