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io9 Newsstand: What would you say if you could speak to the Dead?

This week’s stories are about walking around in dead bodies, speaking to the dead, taking care of birds that emerge from the dead, and aliens. On Post-Mortem Birds by Natalia Theodoridou | Interfictions Online 1 Extraction Place a body block under the back of the cadaver so that the chest protrudes and the neck and…

State Dept. Stops Issuing New Overseas Passports, Possibly Due to Hack

The State Department is having some technical difficulties with its overseas passports and visa systems, and while it’s working to figure out the problem, it stopped giving out most new travel documents. People who applied for overseas passports after May 26 and people who applied for visas to the U.S. after June 9 will have…

Seeing plants naturally explode like bombs is pretty freaking gross

Imagine you’re taking a walk and trying to enjoy Mother Nature for all her beauty when you brush up against a squirting cucumber and have it explode like a bomb and spew its seed and guts all over you like a blown up, shooting fire hydrant. These things are like a ticking time bomb, when…

The Matrix Reloaded Is A Fun Movie. Stop Pretending It Doesn’t Exist.

It seems to be a law of the Internet that, whenever someone mentions the Wachowskis’ 1999 film The Matrix, someone must inevitably snarks, “It’s a shame they never made any sequels.” Sure, the first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, never reaches the heights of its predecessor, but it also isn’t worth tossing aside. Welcome back to…

Let’s Talk About Whatever You Want Right Now

Hey, Gizmodo, it’s Friday! We did it! We made it! Oh no, what’s that behind you? RUN!!! What’re you up to this weekend? Plans to see dinosaurs chasing and chompin’ on humans? Clinging to your air conditioner for dear life, like me? I’m going to try and get to Jurassic World. Friends saw it opening…

Matt McMullen’s RealDoll proved some people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a fully customized sex doll. His new project, Realbotix, will try to integrate robotics and artificial intelligence to enhance the experience (and make it far more expensive). Check out the video at the New York Times’ Bits site. Contact the author…

See The Studio Ghibli Character Who Snuck Into Avengers: Age Of Ultron

When Tony Stark tried to create Ultron in the second Avengers movie, his plan was to create a a series of robots that could police the entire world. But apparently he also had a secret agenda — to pay homage to a classic Studio Ghibli anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Yes, the iconic robot…

AP: Hackers Stole Documents About Spies Taking Drugs and Going Bankrupt

This is a bad week to be a federal employee, and it just got worse. The AP is reporting on a second brutal cyberattack on the federal government revealed this week, carried out by the same hackers who reported accessed the records of every single federal employee. This second hack focused on grabbing extremely personal…

Here’s What Happened When Psychologists Tested Babe Ruth

In 1921, a sports writer took Babe Ruth to the Columbia University Psychology Lab to get him to take a series of tests. The results? The world’s most famous athlete was “superior.” Find out how he proved his superior skills. Hugh Fullerton made a name for himself as a sports writer by analyzing the games…

How to Yell at the FCC About Your Cable Company Violating Net Neutrality

Hell yes: The new open internet rules that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a few months ago take effect today. The downside is that the internet’s future is hardly secure, as the rules will be stuck in litigation limbo for years. Nevertheless, you can now officially complain that your cable company is screwing up…

Meet The Ships Helmed By Dark Matter‘s Biggest Antagonists

In Syfy’s new series, Dark Matter, a crew of six wake up from hibernation with no memory of who they are or what their mission is. But they’re not alone in space, which is run by competing multi-planet conglomerates. One of those conglomerates is Ferrous Corp, and we’ve got an exclusive look at how their…

People like to watch other people streaming their video games. It’s kind of a thing. So YouTube is launching a new website and app dedicated specifically to that. It’ll compete with Twitch, of course, which is owned by Amazon. [YouTube]

Two Sex Tracking Wearables That Might Actually Make It to Market

Given the explosion of sex advice and tracking apps for smartphones and the popularity of wearable fitness trackers, it was only a matter of time before they were combined into devices for more intimate activities. Perhaps it’s an idea whose time has come: two companies have announced plans to release “sex trackers”. Other companies have…

Scientists Discover A New Link Between The Brain And The Immune System

Last week, researchers announced they had discovered a physical connection between the immune system and the brain’s blood supply. The finding gives researchers a novel approach to understanding diseases ranging from autism to multiple sclerosis, and strengthens the bridge between neuroscience and immunology. Maps of the lymphatic system: old (left) and updated to reflect the…

Making a knife from a chunk of concrete and an old shovel

Fashioning beautiful weapons from found objects is always so fascinating to see. How does a person look at a chunk of concrete and see an elaborately detailed knife handle? How can we turn a piece of a shovel into a really sharp knife? Watch John Heisz work his magic below. There are a lot of…

Are Limited Lifespans An Evolutionary Adaptation?

Since the time of Darwin, evolutionary biologists have wondered why the lifespans of different species vary so significantly. A new model now suggests that the life expectancy of any given species is a function of evolutionary pressures — a conclusion that hints at the potential for powerful anti-aging interventions in humans. The new paper, which…

Weird Art Brings Plastic Shopping Bags Closer to Nature

Plastic bags might be the most annoying and harmful byproducts of our consumer society. There are few more sorrowful views in nature than a tree covered with polyethylene. Unless, of course, you’re talking about the work of Endre Koronczi. Hungarian artist Endre Koronczi had a strange vision of plastic bags becoming a living, breathing part…

Re-enact Epic Star Wars Battles In Your Bedroom With These Tiny RC Toys

The same company responsible for those incredibly tiny RC pico helicopter toys, Bandai Namco’s CCP, has created a line of Star Wars-themed flying toys that are small enough to recreate the films’ most epic space battles in your bedroom. Available August 1st for just shy of $50 each, the remote control X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and…

Extremely Bad Reasons Why Waterless Urinals Were Illegal

We take it for granted that urinals flush. With each pull of the lever, gallons of clean water come to whisk away a few ounces of pee. If you think about it, it’s actually pretty wasteful, and the current drought is convincing facilities to consider waterless urinals. But these waterless bathroom contraptions have had to…

Electricity Can Make You See Hovering Shapes—And Drugs Can Help

There is a term for the little glowing shapes that temporarily appear when you rub your eyes or bang your head – phosphenes. In the 1930s, a German scientist found ways to make them appear via the use of electricity, and later the use of drugs. Phosphenes can be caused by all kinds of things.…