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The Way We Name Species Was Invented by a “Botanical Pornographer”

The Age of Exploration brought Europeans riches, a broader view of the world, and a hell of a lot of new plants and animals to describe. That was heaven for Carl Linnaeus, a young Swedish doctor with a passion for plants. Linnaeus was charming, arrogant, and absolutely certain that he could change the way naturalists…

Biology Diane Kelly Jun 25 '15

What Is Airplane Smell?

You know the smell. It’s hard to describe, but the second you step on an airplane, a flood of familiarity flies up your nostrils. Airplane smell is equal parts comforting and off-putting. And it’s actually a little bit dangerous. But what is it exactly? That unique odor inside of an aircraft is quite the cocktail…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 25 '15

Scientists Can Finally Tell This Bizarre Animal’s Head From Its Tail

The fossilized remains of Hallucigenia sparsa were so strange, that paleontologists originally mistook its tail for its head. Now, four decades after its discovery, a Cambridge University research team has corrected this error with an updated reconstruction (and for an ancient sea worm that featured a frightening row of spikes, it was surprisingly cute). The…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 25 '15

Video: Bad ass glowing wing suit flight over a city at night

Roberta Mancino—wingsuit flyer, base jumper, sky diver, and model—pulled off a sparkling stunt: she jumped out of a helicopter in an illuminated wing suit over Panama City at night. The backdrop of the city lights mixed with her glowing suit makes for some arresting visuals. Flying on a wing suit is already crazy during the…

Sploid Casey Chan Jun 25 '15

Hunger Games and Doctor Who Dominate Comic-Con’s Thursday Schedule

It has begun. The first piece of the schedule for San Diego Comic-Con 2015 is now online, covering preview night on Wednesday July 8 as well as Thursday July 9. (Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be revealed on those corresponding days this week.) Among the big highlights: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, which marks…

Movies Germain Lussier Jun 25 '15

Here’s the Next Feature Gmail Should Add

How many careers, friendships, and marriages will be saved by Gmail’s Undo Send feature? We’ll never know. It’s remarkable that it took six years for Google to bring it out of beta, and more remarkable that it still isn’t turned on by default. But before Google tackles that feature request, I’ve got another career-saving idea.…

Tech News Sean Hollister Jun 25 '15

Ello’s New “Fuck the Status Quo” Ads Are Hilariously Hypocritical

Remember ello? It’s the social network that advertised itself as the indie alternative to Facebook, but was then unmasked as VC funded by XOXO founder Andy Baio. Now they’re back, with more VC money, and their new ad campaign is just as cluelessly disingenuous as their last one. It’s not really clear what ello is…

Tech News Annalee Newitz Jun 25 '15

The CPU Card Game That Out-Nerded Magic: The Gathering Now Has a Sequel

If casting spells and magic elixirs just aren’t your thing, the original CPU Wars was a unique non-fantasy take on the trump style card game. Players dealt damage to their opponents based on the tech specs of real-life computer CPUs, and now there’s a sequel to the game featuring processors you’d only find in powerful…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 25 '15

Two Water Experts Are Here To Answer Your Questions About the Drought

The drought transforming the American West has people everywhere questioning their own water use. Why don’t we recycle more wastewater? What about desalination? Should we be #droughtshaming rich people to get them to conserve? And, most importantly—SHOULD I EAT ALMONDS? Get your water questions answered by our experts today. Joining us are Hadley and Peter…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jun 25 '15

Some People Can’t Conjure Mental Images. Are You One of Them?

Mentally count the windows in your home. Did you close your eyes? Visualize your house’s layout in your head? I did, when I tried this task. But some people, researchers have discovered, seem to be incapable of producing and holding such images in their mind’s eye. (They’re also perfectly capable of answering the window question.)…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 25 '15

Which Future Are We Heading Towards: Mad Max Or Star Trek?

“As the 21st century unfolds, science fiction increasingly comes to seem like a realist rather than a speculative genre,” says one essay/book review in the L.A. Review of Books. It’s just one of a few great pieces up at the LARB site right now, about the choice of futures we face: Mad Max versus Star…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jun 25 '15

Apple Is Wrong to Pull Historical Games Featuring the Confederate Flag

The Confederate flag is a garbage flag that represents garbage ideas. But in an effort to purge the world of those garbage ideas, some companies are too quick to pull out the banhammer. Here’s one recent example: Apple has begun banning some games that feature the Confederate flag–even if that game is about the Civil…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 25 '15

Roger Ebert’s Poignant Thoughts On Film Are Even Better When Animated

PBS Digital Studios’ Blank on Blank series, which takes interviews with interesting people and then animates them, is just a delight, and this interview with Roger Ebert is no exception. Ebert talks about his issues with film school, who has the biggest ego, and why his favorite love scenes aren’t about passion. This comes from…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 25 '15

Watch How Alligators Make Water Boil with Their Infrasound Mating Calls

This is amazing. During the breeding season, American alligators call for mates with a deep loud roar. It’s preceded by a pulse of infrasound that sets the water dancing. The phenomenon might create waves that help potential mates find the gators they like best. Or it could just be an accident, a side effect of…

Biology Diane Kelly Jun 25 '15

Here’s a Highly Rational, Totally Plausible Fix For Drought In Cities

One big myth about Los Angeles that keeps resurfacing during the drought is that LA is a desert. But that’s wrong—it gets quite a bit of rain every year. The key to preventing scarcity is rethinking how to use the water that gets delivered there naturally. And one simple idea around this concept might work…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jun 25 '15

Use Filta to Search the People You Follow on Twitter

If you’re looking for people with a specific set of skills or in a particular location then the list of folks you’re following on Twitter is a good place to start. Filta makes it easy for you to scour this list with a couple of clicks. It’s the kind of useful feature Twitter should have…

Gadgets David Nield Jun 25 '15

The 7 Stages of Falling Out of Love With Your Fandom

What happens when you stop loving a piece of entertainment that once could do no wrong? It’s one of the nastiest kinds of break-ups there is. Your love was pure and true. And then it was gone, and you were a wreck of yourself. How did it come to this? Here are the seven stages…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Jun 25 '15

This giant hole water vortex will probably flush the world away

This is a crazy overhead view of a giant intake vortex at Denison Dam in Lake Texoma, one of the largest reservoirs in the US on the border of Texas and Oklahoma. The water in the reservoir got a little bit too high, so it was drained like a bathtub. A giant bathtub, that is.…

Sploid Casey Chan Jun 25 '15

The Disturbing Case of Cannibalistic Serial Killer Albert Fish

Remember those dark nights from your childhood when you were afraid of the boogeyman? He never did leap out of your closet, but that doesn’t mean all monsters are make-believe. Meet Albert Fish: a real-life nightmare, who preyed upon children as if they were food. This turn-of-the-century cannibal was born in Washington D.C. on May…

Tech News Steven Casale - The Lineup Jun 25 '15

Dinosaurs Chomping on Play-Doh People Sounds Like a Really Great Game

In Jurassic Park, its sequels, and Jurassic World, there are plenty of people being eaten by dinosaurs. But the toys released alongside those Jurassic movies usually tip-toe around that ugly reality. Except for Play-Doh, who wholeheartedly encourages kids to make tiny plasticine people destined to be dino dinner. Awesome. That’s not exactly how Hasbro is…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 25 '15

The Way We Name Species Was Invented by a “Botanical Pornographer”

What Is Airplane Smell?

Scientists Can Finally Tell This Bizarre Animal’s Head From Its Tail

Video: Bad ass glowing wing suit flight over a city at night

Hunger Games and Doctor Who Dominate Comic-Con’s Thursday Schedule

Here’s the Next Feature Gmail Should Add

Ello’s New “Fuck the Status Quo” Ads Are Hilariously Hypocritical

The CPU Card Game That Out-Nerded Magic: The Gathering Now Has a Sequel

Two Water Experts Are Here To Answer Your Questions About the Drought

Some People Can’t Conjure Mental Images. Are You One of Them?

Which Future Are We Heading Towards: Mad Max Or Star Trek?

Apple Is Wrong to Pull Historical Games Featuring the Confederate Flag

Roger Ebert’s Poignant Thoughts On Film Are Even Better When Animated

Watch How Alligators Make Water Boil with Their Infrasound Mating Calls

Here’s a Highly Rational, Totally Plausible Fix For Drought In Cities

Use Filta to Search the People You Follow on Twitter

The 7 Stages of Falling Out of Love With Your Fandom

This giant hole water vortex will probably flush the world away

The Disturbing Case of Cannibalistic Serial Killer Albert Fish

Dinosaurs Chomping on Play-Doh People Sounds Like a Really Great Game

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