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‘Best Film’ trophies from around the world

Although we don’t normally hear about it, most countries celebrate their own versions of the Oscars every year. And their trophies are crazier and more distinctive than the naked man Oscar. Illustrator Robert Shaw made this neat infographic showing the ‘Best Film’ awards from around the world. He also included at the bottom his own…

A Retro Batman Toy With A Japanese Twist

Whenever you see a new “Retro” toy coming out, it’s usually always a riff on the classic Kenner-esque action figure of the 70’s and 80’s: Big head, 5 joints of articulation, and so on. These DC toys are a little different though, opting for the retro look of Japanese toys, rather than US ones. Made…

A Chart Of The Most Common Colors In Paintings Over The Last 200 Years

Next time you’re strolling through a museum, pay attention to just the colors of the paintings and the years. Notice anything? Paintings have been getting progressively bluer. Or, to put it another way, blue is becoming “the new orange,” says Martin Bellander, who put together this chart analyzing color usage in over 120,000 paintings. To…

An Oddly Shaped Spherical Fan Blows More Air Than It Sucks

The new Q fan looks more like a basketball than a fan, but using an internal turbofan it can actually blow about seven times more air than it sucks. Presumably inspired by the futuristic-looking bladeless fans that Dyson has developed, Panasonic has decided to show the world that its product designers are just as capable…

A Musical Prank Card That Drives Someone Mad Is the Perfect Gift

The older someone gets the harder it is to find them the perfect birthday present. So why not just throw in the towel and go the gag gift route instead? This amazing musical card plays Happy Birthday to help someone celebrate their big day, except once started the only way to silence the card is…

The Justice League’s A Lot Darker In Bruce Timm’s New DC Animated Movie

We’ve known for a while that the legendary Bruce Timm was returning to the DC Animated Universe with Justice League: Gods And Monsters, but although we knew it was a going to be “darker take“, I don’t think anyone was expecting these radical redesigns of DC’s heroic Trinity. Nerds on the Rocks recently posted a…

This Week’s TV: Clear Your Weekend Schedule To Binge-Watch Daredevil

The Man Without Fear is about to make his Netflix debut, and judging from what we’ve already seen, a lot of you will be up late this weekend watching all 13 episodes of Daredevil. Plus, Game of Thrones is back — and the current seasons of 12 Monkeys and Helix are coming to an end.…

Welcome Back LHC, and Everything Else You Missed This Weekend

Apple Watch pre-orders, a whole new look for OnePlus, and the return of the LHC. This is all the news and rumors you missed this weekend, and it’s all on BitStream. After a two-year hiatus (I wish I got that kind of vacation package), the Large Hadron Collider is ready for work. The European Organization…

In The Honey Bee Game Of Thrones, You Also Win Or You Die

The world of Westeros has nothing on a honey bee hive. It turns out in order to gain the monarchy, a queen bee has to murder quite a lot of family members — all while waiting for a younger queen bee to inevitably murder her and usurp the throne. Queen bees start out life by…

SNL Begs Michael Keaton To Play Batman (And Beetlejuice) With Us All 

Watch Saturday Night Live ask Michael Keaton to play Batman and Beetlejuce because, let’s be honest, every time you see Keaton all you can think is, “I’m Batman” and/or “It’s Showtime!” So this whole opening monologue song makes perfect sense.

Black Holes May Bleed Meaningful Information About What’s Inside

Information can escape the clutches of a black hole, say researchers from Buffalo University. And incredibly, they say this information is not just gobbledygook — it can actually be deciphered to show what lies beneath. This could have a major impact on the ongoing debate among physicists as to whether black holes destroy information or…

This dog is an extraordinary ping pong player

If there was a canine table tenis championship I’m sure this border collie would be the winner. Watch how he successfully returns one ball after another holding the ping pong racket with his mouth. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Read The New Times’ tour of Bill Nye (the Science Guy’s) east coast abode here. His biggest issue? Finding something to hold his bow ties.

Black Widow Gets Extra-Badass In This Final Avengers 2 Trailer

This final Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer is basically an extended version of that blisteringly awesome TV spot from last month, but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the new footage. Unless, you know, you don’t like watching Black Widow face down the Hulk, wielding Cap’s shield, and basically being the awesomest. Age of Ultron…

The story of Tyrion Lannister in one neat supercut

I would gladly watch a show that tells the story of the seven kingdoms only from Tyrion Lannister’s perspective. Polish editor Grzegorz Grabowiec seems to agree with that thought and put together this neat supercut taking his best bits from the show and summing up his story. [Spoilers ahead, obviously] SPLOID is delicious brain candy.…

What Are You Working On?

Round up the very best of the side (and central) projects that you’ve been working on! Because it’s io9 show and tell time, and we’re waiting for you. What have you been working on? Is it a cross-stitched compilation of viral structures? A Curiosity rover videogame? A complete, illustrated timeline of every time travel movie,…

Are You Commuting Through A Physics Experiment?

If you are using the Holborn Tube Station in England, you are getting to work via the site of an important part of physics history. It was home to an experiment that moved physics literally underground for the first time, all in the search for the elusive neutrino. In 1934, people knew that the neutrino…

We Know The Name Of That Mystery Character In The Age of Ultron Trailer!

Read a detailed description of some footage from Mad Max: Fury Road, and glimpse a huge action sequence from the new James Bond movie. Even more Batman villains are slated for Gotham season two. Steven Moffat talks about the odds of a Doctor Who/Sherlock crossover. Plus, what’s next on Outlander and iZombie. All the spoilers!…

Celebrate Your Love of Space With This Solar System Necklace

Eclectic Eccentricity is a great resource for the space-minded who want jewelry to tastefully broadcast that fact. Provided they can get something from the Cosmos Collection before it sells out. The necklace above is the “Perfect Alignment Solar System Necklace.” Among other pieces, check out the “Lost In Space Bracelet,” “Comet What May Earth Locket,”…

A Cosmic Ring That Appeared Out of Nowhere

The Herschel Space Observatory managed to get a picture of a cosmic ring in the huge cloud of gas and dust called NGC 7538. Normally, rings like this are caused by the winds of O-type stars or by their supernovae. But there’s no O-type star remnant at the center of this ring. Did a star…