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An Astronaut Tells Us The Hardest Part About Coping With Gravity Again

When you leave the bounds of Earth behind, you’re also saying goodbye to gravity. So just what is it like to return from space and get gravity back all of sudden? Today, Astronaut Butch Wilmore, who until last week was stationed up on the International Space Station, stopped by to tell us all about it.…

There’s an Incredibly Complex Clock Inside This Miniature Mechanical Man

In the world of watchmaking, MB&F has always had a soft spot for creating the occasional mechanical marvel that can’t be strapped to a wrist. Such as the company’s latest creation, a robot named Melchior that can’t vacuum floors, clean windows, or open doors, but can keep track of the time while serving as an…

Satanic Temple Seeks To Balance Out Message Of “In God We Trust” Sign

The media-savvy Satanic Temple — noted for its campaigns on behalf of equal religious representation in Florida, Michigan, and Oklahoma — has a new target: an “In God We Trust” sign hanging in a public-hearing room in Clark County, Washington. https://gizmodo.com/florida-agrees-that-satanists-must-have-equal-represent-1666410117 https://gizmodo.com/all-hail-this-majestically-satanic-holiday-display-1673355695 https://gizmodo.com/so-whats-satan-been-up-to-lately-1670504757 The sign was donated by a non-profit, according to a report by…

NYPD Officer Hacks NYPD in Ballsy Side-Hustle Scam

An NYPD officer has been arrested for hacking NYPD and FBI databases so he could pose as a lawyer and profit off tricking traffic victims. Yehuda Katz, an NYPD Auxiliary Deputy Inspector based in Brooklyn, allegedly hacked into restricted databases and ran thousands of queries to find out enough information to start hardcore conning people:…

A Must-Read Visual Essay On Ethnicity, Color, And Colorism In Comics

If you read one comic today, make it “Lighten Up,” Ronald Wimberly’s short essay about an interaction with an editor who asked Wimberly to lighten the skin tone of a comic book character, which left him with a single, frustrating question: Why? Wimberly delivers a powerful message in “Lighten Up,” that we should consider how…

Could The Death Star Destroy A Planet?

And how much energy would it actually need? So there’s this classic scene (maybe you’ve seen it) where the “Death Star” sidles up to Alderaan, and it is all like “Hey Planetoid, you lookin’ fine tonight” and then it fires up the superlaser and destroys the entire orb in a single blast. “BOOM”. Shortly followed…

The Government Is Testing Myriad Invasive Biometric Surveillance Methods

Government agencies are currently in the process of secretly testing new surveillance and monitoring at points of entry into the United States, according to leaked documents obtained by Motherboard. You’re going to want to hear about this. The leaks detail three programs that use different parts of your body to identify you. One of the…

Stunning Timelapses Show The World’s Largest Cities From The Air

The greatest cities on Earth are always in motion. Their bustling activity forms a great collective organism, whose shape changes over time. So there’s a good reason why we’re all fascinated by timelapses of cities — and there’s nothing cooler than timelapses of aerial footage. See the world’s biggest cities in a whole new way.…

Why Does The International Space Station Have Such A Weird Shape?

I feel like a parent that was just told their child is ugly. As an engineer, I look at the ISS and think “of course it looks that way, why would it look different?” Where a fictional spacecraft has the luxury of having its design dictated by style, real spacecraft are constrained by budget, tradeoffs,…

The Worst Taboo In Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy often seems more open-minded than other fantasy subgenres. You can have more sex, more swearing, loads of blasphemy, and tons of gonzo violence. So what can’t you have in urban fantasy books? Apparently, an older female protagonist, as author Harry Connolly found out. Writing in Black Gate, Connolly describes why he wanted to…

The FAA Will Let Amazon Drones Fly After All—But Only for Testing

Just one short month ago, it looks like Amazon’s drone delivery dreams were dashed. But today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted the company an “experimental airworthiness certificate.” Does this mean your Amazon Prime will come from the sky now? Not even close. https://gizmodo.com/all-the-dreamy-drone-businesses-the-faas-proposed-rules-1686127921 Basically, all the FAA is letting Amazon do is research and…

HBO and Friends Want Their Own Pipes for Internet TV

Just when you thought the net neutrality debate had died down, a band of content providers now want special treatment. The Wall Street Journal reports that HBO, Sony, and Showtime are asking internet service providers to be treated as “managed” services. In other words, they want dedicated bandwidth for their video content. Now’s a good…

Get Your Wood And Sheep Ready For A Whole New Settlers Of Catan

Yes, the beloved strategy board game is finally getting a new edition, thanks its its makers at Mayfair Games. Debuting at this year’s GAMA Trade Show and due out this year, there aren’t many details on the game’s new 5th edition, but here’s what we know so far. From the press release: Coming in 2015,…

Pride And Prejudice And Dragons? Naomi Novik won’t ever have Jane Austen show up as a character in the Temeraire books — but she is working on a story about “the adventures of Captain Elizabeth Bennet and her dragon Wollstonecraft.” HECK YEAH. Contact the author at [email protected].

Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Rabies

So far as awful ways to die go, being attacked by a rabid animal then dying a slow, painful death must rank near the top. And exactly that happens to 55,000 people every year. Here’s how you (or your dog) can get rabies, what it does to your body as it kills you and what…

Suck It, Haters: Why We’re Proud To Love Twister

Twister has it all: growling tornadoes, a battle of good vs. evil in the competitive world of meteorology, a young Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a megameta scene in which a funnel cloud decimates a drive-in just as Jack Nicholson hacks up a door at the Overlook. It’s corny, it’s scientifically iffy, and WE LOVE IT.…

Coming Soon: Beer Brewed With Space Yeast

Beginning April 13, you’ll have a chance to try Ninkasi Brewing Company’s “Ground Control,” an imperial stout brewed with yeast that, last year, traveled to space. Here are the details, via Eugene Oregon based Ninkasi Brewing Co.: In 2014, the brewery’s co-founders embarked on a new kind of mission – the Ninkasi Space Program (NSP),…

On CSI: Cyber, Uber Is the Perfect Vehicle for Dad Sadness Murder 

It only took three episodes for CSI:Cyber to tackle The Way We Ride-Share Now and it does NOT disappoint. The basic plot of “Killer En Route” is actually well within the realm of possibility, considering that Uber rapists and Uber kidnappers are objectively real things. I haven’t seen a headline rip this ***fresh*** since I…

Subterranean Lava Tubes Should Be Stable Enough For Future Moon Bases

Scientists speculate that massive underground cavities may exist under the lunar surface. And it turns out these so-called “lava tubes” should also be safe enough for a future moon base, according researchers presenting at this week’s 46th Lunary and Planetary Conference in Texas. It’s going to be tough to keep a colony on the moon,…

Every Scientific Discipline Needs Its Own “Bare-Fronted Hoodwink”

In 1950, Maury Meiklejohn was an ornithologist, and he knew his profession was in need of something that didn’t yet exist. He heroically stepped up, and the bare-fronted hoodwink was unleashed on the world. Every discipline has its frustrations. Disciplines that deal with wild animals have more than their share. Throw in the fact that…