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What in the monster hell is this scary bright green and pink gooey worm

It’s just not right. Adult humans should not have to fear monsters. But how in the world will the world ever sleep again after knowing that this terrifying radiator fluid-looking worm goo thing exists? Can humanity survive after seeing this? Just look at the sludge bug shoots out its pink dart and you’ll only dream…

The 7 Most Unbelievable Jailhouse Weddings Of All Time

Earlier this year, Charles Manson called off his engagement to a 27-year-old woman named “Star” when her cunning plot to display his corpse after his death was revealed. (Hey, even Manson has standards.) But a surprising number of other famous criminals have made it to the altar while behind bars. There’s a term to describe…

Sentinel Shows Off A Whole Legion Of Awesome Iron Man Figures

Ah, Sentinel. The company’s line of “Re:Edit” toys based on the Iron Avenger are beautiful enough that even seeing one new one is a treat. Getting a look at 3 in action, even in various states of completeness? Yes please. These things look great! Although we’ve seen two of them before, the War Machine and…

Oh Crap, Fungus Can Grow In Your Brain

Here’s a good reason not to get out of bed. A common fungus can sometimes get snorted up into your nose, contaminate your blood vessels, and grow in your eyes and your brain. Feel like going outside? I didn’t think so. Above is a picture of the spore of a group of fungi called Mucoromycotina.…

This Captain America-Style Shield Makes Wind Turbines More Powerful

The larger you can build a wind turbine, the more power it can generate. But you can only build them so large before they’re impossible to transport across the country. So GE’s engineers have found a better way to improve their efficiency: a giant 20,000 pound dome strapped to the front of the blades. It’s…

Lard Lad Donuts should be the next Lego Simpsons set

The Kwik-E-Mart and the Simpsons’ house are two of the most detailed sets Lego has ever produced. But which Springfield locale should the company consider next? Moe’s Tavern? The nuclear plant? Neither. It should definitely be Lard Lad Donuts, as recreated by Matt De Lanoy here. That Lego donut doesn’t just look edible, it looks…

Scientists Use AI To Solve A Long-standing Genetics Mystery

For years, biologists have sought to understand how the genes of planarians, a group of free-living flatworms, direct growth in specific body parts. An artificial intelligence tasked with the problem appears to have cracked the code, a breakthrough that demonstrates the incredible potential for “robot science.” An artificial intelligence system devised by Daniel Lobo and…

Something Apple This Way Comes: Everything We’re Expecting at WWDC

Hello Apple fanboys and fangirls. Gather round once again, and join us as we take a speculative spelunk into the dark chasm of Cupertino’s software recesses to see what the future holds for Apple. New music streaming service! A new and improved Siri! An Apple Watch that sucks significantly less! And hopefully a few other…

Doughnut or donut? The debate over the difference (and just what it might be and where it came from) is settled handily in this look from Fusion at the tangled American history of the two words and where they split.

This Sturdy Drone Takes Aerial Shots of Your Outdoor Conquests

There’s nothing like gazing upon the Rockies or looking out into a sunkissed desert to remind you that nature is beautiful—or that you’re a puny speck of carbon aimlessly drifting through the universe. Now, there’s a Kickstarted drone specially-designed to help capture those landscapes. Called Sprite, it’s an unmanned aerial vehicle you can throw in…

Create a YouTube Playlist as a Modern-Day Mixtape

The art of mixtape making has sadly been lost in our transition to a digital era of on-demand music, but there are still places where you can practice this lost skill, and one of them is YouTube. Here are the steps to assemble your group of songs and share them with a special someone or…

Scores of Marvel Fans Cosplay For Better Black Widow Representation

If you’ve been following the long saga that is Black Widow’s place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll know that everyone’s favourite assassin has been getting a short shrift, both on the big screen and on toy shelves. Fans have been angry for a while, but now they’re taking their grievances to the streets. Over…

On Game Of Thrones, Remaining True To Yourself Is The Worst Lie Of All

A few characters face terrible choices in this week’s Game of Thrones. They pretty much all choose expediency over principle. In the midst of all this, one character says these choices should be easy as long as you remain true to yourself. But that’s the most insidious lie of all. Spoilers ahead… The character who…

This Unbelievable Coincidence Is Responsible For Life In The Universe

Life is dependent upon a lot of coincidences, but there’s only one that was so improbable that physicists laughed at the very idea of it. Here’s why something known as the “beryllium bottleneck” should have choked out all life before it even got started. When a star ignites, it does so due to the fusion…

Write Some Six Word Science Fiction For Us!

Tell me a story, io9! And do it in just six words. I want to hear your very shortest fiction tales — whether you want to flesh out the classified ads of the future like commenter Ridureyu (For Sale: One Jetpack, Slightly Used) or contemplate a videogame that’s gotten a little too real, like commenter…

Where Are All The Aliens? This Short Video Offers Some Solutions

In Part I of Kurz Gesagt’s animated explainer of the Fermi Paradox we learned about the vexing problem that is the Great Silence. This follow-up video presents some intriguing solutions that may explain the disturbing absence of intelligent alien life.

In The Martian Trailer, Matt Damon “Sciences the Shit” Out of Everything

The first trailer for Ridley Scott’s movie adaptation of The Martian was just released, and things look both very dire and pretty funny. Not that we were worried about him, but Matt Damon appears more than able to carry all those scenes by himself. “In your face, Neil Armstrong,” indeed. We got a little teaser…

James Gunn Wants To Make Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 More Personal

There’s yet another teaser for Spider-Man’s presence in Civil War. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 has a surprising nod to another Michael Bay franchise. Another Thick of It star joins Doctor Who. Plus, an update on the Power Rangers film, more Ant-Man footage, and a new look at The Strain season 2. Behold, Spoilers! Star…

Typo for iPad Review: Ryan Seacrest’s Tablet Keyboard Isn’t Half Bad

Oh god here we go again. I’m typing on a Typo again. No, that’s not a typo—it’s the name of a keyboard. A keyboard attached to an iPad. I’m writing this whole review on an iPad keyboard case because I don’t have any damn sense. Except, uh, it’s actually not half-bad? My brain is exploding.…

This 40W Homemade Laser Shotgun Is Pure Insanity

Just because you can make something at home, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Today’s example? A laser ‘shotgun’ that uses a lens to combine eight 5W lasers into something that should definitely spice up your next PowerPoint. The terrifying death machine was built by YouTuber styropyro, who has a long and detailed history of messing…