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These Are the Songs That Define Your City, According to Spotify

Like every popular online service out there—from OkCupid to PornHub—Spotify keeps tabs on its users, and especially their listening trends. The popular streaming site’s already demonstrated its anthropological power to learn about people through music, and now it’s expanding that power to a global scale. Spotify calls this innocuous use of anonymized data gathering as…

Season Three of Masters of Sex Goes Full Soap Opera, Forgets Science

Last season’s finale saw William Masters and Virginia Johnson developing (with a lot of self-experimentation) a new treatment for sexual dysfunction. That was in 1961. The third season jumps us forward to 1965, when the pair are about to release Human Sexual Response, their first book on human sexual physiology. The very first scene makes…

Is the Ice on Pluto Slippery Enough for You to Fall On?

It’s been a good day for Pluto and its fans: Already, we’ve learned that we were underestimating its size (sorry, little friend!) and that those ice caps atop the almost-planet are made of methane and nitrogen ice. But what would stepping out on that ice be like? Perhaps not quite how we’re used to. In…

These Rings Were Discovered in 1855—But We’re Still Puzzling Over Them

These are called Liesegang rings. You’ve probably seen them on paper, in rocks and cliffs around you, and in test tubes. They were first discovered back in 1855, and we’re still working out the details. Learn (roughly) what makes these things happen. Liesegang rings are, in the grand tradition of science, not named after the…

The Biggest Winners And Losers Of Comic-Con 2015!

Once again, Comic-Con was a massive Thunderdome in which entertainment properties entered…and only some of them left. Studios and creators battled to create buzz for their projects, and some triumphed. Here are the biggest winners and losers of Comic-Con 2015. We spent the past few days debating this list—but opinions can differ. Go ahead and…

Fear the Walking Dead Stars Say The Apocalypse May Be Great For Junkies

We’re just getting to know the cast of The Walking Dead spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead, and two of the main characters are siblings Nick and Alicia Clark. He’s a drug addict and college dropout, she’s a high-achieving student headed for Berkeley. They told us why he’s better suited for the zombie apocalypse. We…

The first quadruple backflip on a bicycle shatters the laws of physics

This just doesn’t seem possible. Even after watching Jed Mildon nail the world’s first ever BMW quadruple backflip, it doesn’t seem like it could happen in real life here on Earth. And that’s pretty much true! The video below shows the bad falls and crashes and body slamming it took to get this stunt down…

Let’s Break Down All The Secrets In Batman v. Superman‘s New Trailer

DC dazzled Comic-Con with a humongous trailer for Batman v Superman, filled with superheroic action, our first look at Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor in action, and much more—but there were also plenty of little clues and hints about the movie woven in. Join us as we take a deep dive and break the trailer…

US Coastlines Will Change Dramatically When Earth Warms by 2°C

At a UNESCO climate conference last week, scientists declared (once again) that climate change is already happening. The evidence is our wacky weather—even Paris, where the conference was held, was broiling in a historic heatwave. But the biggest red flag is the rise in peak global mean temperatures: Which means rising sea levels will almost…

Archaeologists Baffled By 2,000 Tiny Gold Spirals Discovered In Denmark

Finding gold in Boeslunde, Denmark, is no huge surprise—it’s known as an area where Bronze Age gold offering are often uncovered, as curators there are explaining this month. But a recent discovery has surprised and baffled archaeologists: 2,000 tiny gold spirals. It’s a “golden enigma.” Boeslunde is in Zealand, the large island that sits between…

How To Turn Balloons Into Simple Fireworks That Only Go Boom

Looking for a faster way to call the cops to your neighborhood than 9-1-1? Just follow Grant Thompson, AKA the King of Random’s latest video that has him turning regular balloons into high-flying explosives that sound like a fireworks show but without all the eye candy. Instead of filling the balloons with helium, you’ll need…

This 105 million-year-old fly fed on nectar and pollinated gymnosperm plants during the Cretaceous period — an era before pollinating bees and butterflies existed. By studying fly fossils trapped in amber, researchers from the University of Barcelonadiscovered that these ancient insects took nectar from plants by approaching them like hummingbirds. Image: Illustration: J.A. Peñas

New Stoves, Sleeping Pads And Kids With 600lb Fish: What’s New Outside

Jet Boil’s got a new stove you can actually cook real food on. Therm-A-Rest has a new air mattress that inflates in just seconds. A 9-year-old kid caught a 600lb sturgeon. Mt Fuji got WiFi all the way up. VW’s got a new camper van. Here’s what’s new outside this week. More goes on outdoors…

The Great Comic-Con Panel Lots Of People Saw, But Very Few Talked About

Sometimes at Comic-Con, you sit through panels you normally wouldn’t, because you are waiting for something that happens later in the day. Friday afternoon, when 95% of the room was there for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, that panel was The 16th Annual Animation Show of Shows. Hosted by Ron Diamond, who also brings this…

You’re Using Neural Networks Every Day Online—Here’s How They Work

If you use Google’s new Photos app, Microsoft’s Cortana, or Skype’s new translation function, you’re using a form of AI on a daily basis. AI was first dreamed up in the 1950s, but has only recently become a practical reality — all thanks to software systems called neural networks. This is how they work. Making…

The Most Creative And Sensational Cosplay Of San Diego Comic Con 2015!

Forget Harrison Ford! We know who the real stars at Comic-Con are: the cosplayers. Every year, they show up and rock our worlds with their incredible creativity, design skills and deep appreciation for fan lore. Here’s a video roundup of the absolute best cosplay we saw at SDCC 2015. And, because we still never showed…

Too Many Clones! The Best Orphan Black Cosplay From San Diego Comic-Con

Fans of Orphan Black got a special treat at San Diego Comic-Con, a fan event celebrating all things cloning. And there were tons of folks in cosplay playing the clones (with the occasional Felix). They may not be identical, but they all look great. We snagged photos of Orphan Black fans waiting outside the House…

True Detective Goes Into Full Action Movie Mode … And Totally Nails It

In “Down Will Come,” each member of the detail battles his or her own personal demons as Frank continues his ungraceful lurch back into criminal life. Everyone is angry and frustrated, and the screws are further tightened by the episode’s devastating last act—which brings zero catharsis. Spoilers follow! Having bonded, sorta, last week, Ani and…

The life and death of an iPhone from an iPhone’s perspective

Imagine all the things that our phones get to see. I mean, they’re pretty much with us every step of the way. It can be a camera for concerts, a music player for parties, a distraction on dates, the only light source for the lonely nights at home, and everything in between. To see things…

Watch The Official Suicide Squad Footage From Comic-Con

Were you jealous of everyone at San Diego Comic-Con that got to see the early Suicide Squad trailer? Well you’re in luck. Warner Bros. has finally put the official video online. In it you’ll see the first look at what Jared Leto has in store for The Joker, and so much more. Suicide Squad, written…