Latest

The Fitness Wearable So Dangerous It Was Supposed to Be Destroyed

One of the first-ever fitness wearables was so dangerous it was banned by the US government for causing miscarriages and hernias. The line between “convenient exercise device” and “ornate torture tool” was thinner back in the 1950s. Before it was outed as medically horrifying, the Relax-A-Cizor was marketed as an easy way to get thin…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Tuesday Game Room: King of Kaiju Edition

The summer lull continues, but Godzilla waits for NO SEASON. While the big gaming releases die down , that just means there’s plenty of time to play catch up or return to old favorites. What have you been playing this week? Come tell us in this week’s Tuesday Game Room! What have you been playing…

Tech News James Whitbrook

Which Brilliant Creator Could Have Saved a Terrible Idea?

NBC has hired the acclaimed, uber-talented Tarsem Singh to direct its grim, gritty, Game of Thrones-esque retelling of The Wizard of Oz miniseries, and I’ve gone from disinterested to eagerly awaiting it. The news got me thinking: Who else could have saved a terrible project and turned it into something great? Obviously, just putting someone…

Television Rob Bricken

The first alien sounds of Mars are so damn spooky

This is a great video that shows the entire trip of the Mars Opportunity Rover on one side while tracking the trip on the red planet on the other. It’s cool to know where Curiosity has gone and what it has seen but perhaps the craziest thing of the video is hearing the noise of…

Sploid Casey Chan

Walk Around the Enterprise in Star Trek Beyond Charity Video

Several months ago, our first look at the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a charity video by Omaze. Now, the same can be said about the third new Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond. Major members of the cast – Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba, John Cho,…

Movies Germain Lussier

Meanwhile in the Future: What Happens When All Airplanes Are Grounded

Need to get from New York to Paris? Or San Diego? Chances are, you’re hopping on a plane. But commercial flights aren’t just annoying and expensive — they also input a ton of carbon into the environment, contributing to climate change. So what if we stopped flights to save the planet? What would happen next?…

Climate Change Rose Eveleth

On “Mouth Breathing,” and Other Rare Causes of Death in America

Among the rarest causes of death listed in the CDC’s national mortality registry are such ailments as “mouth breathing,” “pathological fire setting,” “flatulence and related conditions,” and “sexual aversion and loss of sexual enjoyment.” Stuart Buck provides an even longer list, and links to his data analysis, in a recent article for Scientific American. It’s…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Despite Daughters’ Accusations, Tests Prove B.B. King Was Not Poisoned

No crime here, except for the one that (thankfully) didn’t happen, and some unnecessary badmouthing. Blues musician B.B. King, who had Alzheimer’s disease, was found to have died of natural causes, refuting murder accusations made against King’s manager and personal assistant. As the BBC reports, two of the 89-year-old musical legend’s daughters (he had 15…

Tech News Cheryl Eddy

The Worst Badvertising and Best Radvertising of Comic-Con 2015

The panels and events at San Diego Comic-Con are only part of the story. Every year, companies spend millions of dollars to market to this captive audience of fans. Some of it is pretty clever. Some of it… is horrible. Here’s the worst badvertising, and the best radvertising, of Comic-Con 2015. Badvertising Insurgent Toilets Fans…

Movies Katharine Trendacosta

A New Horizons Update: What We Know While We Wait for it to Phone Home

New Horizons is past its closest approach and we’re awaiting its first call home. While we wait, NASA hosted a question-and-answer on what new data is being collected, when it will arrive at Earth, expected image resolutions, and initial impressions on what we’ve seen so far. Top image: Mission scientists, press, and Pluto enthusiasts celebrate…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

How graphic designers photoshopped images before Photoshop existed

Life was basically impossible without Photoshop. The process and tools it took to get images and type set just the way you wanted took an eternity. There were no shortcuts! You needed a rapidograph pens, T-squares, rubber cement, exacto knifes and so much more just to do things Photoshop now does in one or two…

Sploid Casey Chan

Coal No Longer US’s Most Popular Electricity Source For First Time Ever

For the first time ever, coal has been unseated as America’s largest source of fuel to generate electricity. As of April 2015, natural gas is now number 1. A report from SNL Energy shows that 31 percent of America’s electricity was now coming from natural gas. That’s up from just 22 percent in 2010. But…

Tech News Matt Novak

Someone Finally Resurrected the Commodore Brand for Something Useful

Various entrepreneurs have tried to bring back the legendary Commodore computer brand for years, all of them inevitably ending up bankrupt. Now a couple of Italian designers think they’ve got the silver bullet solution to tapping into 80s nostalgia: a smartphone. It’s too bad they decided to make it look so boring. The soon-to-be-released Commodore…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Stand Out in the Corporate World With This Geeky Tetris Watch

Following up on its Pac-Man and Space Invaders watches, Romain Jerome has just revealed a stylish new timepiece that manages to incorporate Tetris elements without looking like something you got for free with a video game pre-order. But with just 84 pieces being produced, the Tetris-DNA watch is simply not something you’re going to find…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Here’s What We Just Learned About Pluto

At a NASA briefing this afternoon, Alan Stern, New Horizon’s principal investigator, answered questions from the media and the public on today’s historic flyby, discussing the team’s latest impressions of Pluto’s surface, how the data is being transmitted back to Earth, and much, much more! Here are all the key answers we got. How fast…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Emily Bett Rickards Is Sad That Felicity’s Been Crying So Much On Arrow

Felicity Smoak is our favorite character on Arrow—but she had a rough year last year. She was basically in tears for a lot of season three. We missed the funny, capable Felicity from the first two seasons. And during interviews at San Diego Comic Con, actor Emily Bett Rickards said she felt the same way.…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

A Motorized Automatic Umbrella Is the Best Kind of Overkill

Your umbrella might pop open at the push of a button, but does it close all the way too? You probably need to grab its soaking wet canopy to retract it all the way, which is why the completely automatic HAZ smart umbrella doesn’t actually seem that ridiculous, does it? But wet hands isn’t the…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

The Science so far on Pluto’s Broken Heart in Latest Enhanced-Color Pics

This is Pluto in Charon in real color, but exaggerated to emphasize the compositional differences. The image was taken by the New Horizons probe early in the morning of July 13, 2015 before its historic flyby. At 3:38 am ET on July 13, 2015, the New Horizons probe used three color filters on its Ralph…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

Author Ken Liu Is Here to Talk About The Grace of Kings

This month, io9 read Ken Liu’s novel The Grace of Kings. Today, from noon – 1 p.m. (Pacific time) he’ll be joining us to answer our questions about writing epic stories, tales of war and rebellion, and whatever else we want to know. In addition to his new novel, Liu was also the translator for…

Books & Comics Ria Misra

Armada Will Make a Great Movie, But the Book Is Disappointing

Ernie Cline’s Ready Player One is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it multiple times and the first time I devoured it in a single sitting. So it goes without saying I was very excited about his follow-up, Armada. Unfortunately, while I think it’ll make a great movie, I was ultimately left disappointed. In…

Books & Comics Germain Lussier

The Fitness Wearable So Dangerous It Was Supposed to Be Destroyed

Tuesday Game Room: King of Kaiju Edition

Which Brilliant Creator Could Have Saved a Terrible Idea?

The first alien sounds of Mars are so damn spooky

Walk Around the Enterprise in Star Trek Beyond Charity Video

Meanwhile in the Future: What Happens When All Airplanes Are Grounded

On “Mouth Breathing,” and Other Rare Causes of Death in America

Despite Daughters’ Accusations, Tests Prove B.B. King Was Not Poisoned

The Worst Badvertising and Best Radvertising of Comic-Con 2015

A New Horizons Update: What We Know While We Wait for it to Phone Home

How graphic designers photoshopped images before Photoshop existed

Coal No Longer US’s Most Popular Electricity Source For First Time Ever

Someone Finally Resurrected the Commodore Brand for Something Useful

Stand Out in the Corporate World With This Geeky Tetris Watch

Here’s What We Just Learned About Pluto

Emily Bett Rickards Is Sad That Felicity’s Been Crying So Much On Arrow

A Motorized Automatic Umbrella Is the Best Kind of Overkill

The Science so far on Pluto’s Broken Heart in Latest Enhanced-Color Pics

Author Ken Liu Is Here to Talk About The Grace of Kings

Armada Will Make a Great Movie, But the Book Is Disappointing

Latest news

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, Cut Your Daily Coffee Costs at Home

Amazon Clears Out Govee LED Smart Light Bulbs (2-Pack) at a Record Low, Each Bulb Costs Just a Few Dollars

The First Proper ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Trailer Is a ’90s Anime Fever Dream

JBL PartyBox Club 120 Speaker Drops Back to Black Friday Pricing for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale Only

YouTuber Resolves Fraternal Disagreement With Excavator and Hilariously Large Sword

Should We Be Hyped—or Freaked Out—About Nuclear Microreactors?

Latest Reviews

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Let us help find what you are looking for...