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A Steelworker Explains Why Your Car Is Made Of Aluminum (For Now)

What’s your car made of? There was a time that the answer to that question was pretty simple, at least for most parts of it: iron. But, today, the answer is just as likely to be something else. Here, a steelworker explains how that transition happened — and why it might swing back. Commenter amp0730…

Meet the Twisted YouTube Geniuses Who Destroyed the Apple Watch

I called Richard Ryan late on a Thursday evening. His voice through the phone was scratchy and you could hear these faint “pops” every so often. This wasn’t the fault of some piss-poor cell reception. This was something else. “Sorry about the explosives going off in the background,” he said. Yes, explosives. Ryan is in…

Black Widow: This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

The arguments over Black Widow have gotten ugly. Last night, Joss Whedon quit Twitter, with an image that pointed the blame at Twitter haters. But there’s a real issue with Black Widow, and her role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and it’s worth talking about. It’s worth talking about it like adults. After Whedon abandoned…

Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer in 16-bit video game style is fun

I don’t know what I want to do more, watch the new Star Wars movie or play this awesome 16-bit retro video game version of the new Star Wars movie. Actually, that’s a lie. I still want to watch the movie more. But there’s a kid in me that would love this video game so…

Fan Remakes Batman V. Superman Trailer In Style Of DC Animated Universe

Animator James Strecker imagined what the upcoming superhero film Batman V. Superman might look if the movie was made in the style of the DC Animated Universe. So he played with the visual style and audio of DCAU TV shows and movies to remake the trailer. [via Geeks are Sexy]

Secret Wars Ends The Marvel Universe As We Know It In This Week’s Comics

Marvel’s big summer event kicks off with a bang, as the Main and Ultimate universes crash together to deadly effect. But it’s not all there is to this week’s new comics. DC’s digital Lynda-Carter-inspired Wonder Woman comic comes to print, and the Matrix vs. Apocalypse showdown Arcadia begins. So many comics! Dark Horse Single Issues…

Researchers Discover Fracking Fluids in Pennsylvania Well Water

Researchers using a sensitive chemical analysis say they have found evidence of fracking fluids in well water near a shale gas drilling site in Pennsylvania. It’s one of the first scientifically documented cases of fracking fluids seeping into drinking water. Groundwater contamination has been a contentious issue surrounding fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. And now researchers…

The Strange Second Life of America’s Only Rare Earth Mine

Rare earth elements are hard-to-find metals that we need for batteries, solar cells and electronics. These days, they’re mostly mined and processed in China. But it wasn’t always so. The history of rare earth elements is surprising, and some of it even takes place in America’s backyard. In fact, there is still a rare earth…

17 Photos Of Breakfasts Around The World

Breakfast. The most important meal of the day. And you’ve been eating well. Here are 17 delicious breakfasts you ate this week. Winner: Bagel & Lox Bagel with Lox & Iced Coffee for sunday brunch. Canon 5D Mark II, F4.0 / ISO 250 / 1/125. Hannah Ross Yummy Copenhagen Shot while standing on a chair…

Here’s One Brilliant Recipe For A Story That Will Kick Anyone’s Ass

There’s no one secret formula for a great story, even if Pixar has its rules and other people have their own ideas. There are as many great shapes for a story to take as there are stories. But Chuck Wendig, author of the Blackbirds series, has a pretty great example of how to structure a…

Behold Mophie’s Mil-Spec Waterproof Battery Case For the iPhone

Mophie has long made some of the best backup batteries and battery cases you can get. The company’s upgrading its line of Juice Pack cases for the iPhone with a new model that’s waterproof. Not even a toilet can conquer your iPhone now. The new Juice Pack H2PRO provides 2750mAh of backup power for your…

Martin Freeman Joins the Already Huge Captain America: Civil War Cast

Captain America: Civil War just got even more crowded. Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock) has just joined the Marvel universe in an unnamed role. Could he be Spider-Man? Of course not, although that would be hilarious. Freeman will debut his character in Civil War, which is slated for May 6, 2016 — and the next…

Big Whales Have Nerves Like Bungee Cords

This nerve can stretch to twice its resting length. Did you just squirm? If you did, you probably know that the nerves of vertebrates are notoriously inelastic things, and that stretching them even a little bit can result in painful injury. But the nerve in this image is special. In fact, it’s evolved to stretch…

Chemistry Is Easier To Learn When It’s Disguised As a Card Game

Putting “I won three games in a row” on your resume probably isn’t going to get you in the door at Dow Chemical, but a new card game called Ion that has players attempting to make compounds using the element cards they’ve been dealt could certainly be a solid first step towards getting your PhD…

Tuesday Game Room: Out With The New Order, In With The Old Blood Edition

It’s time to return to Castle Wolfenstein (no, not that Return to Castle Wolfenstein) this week as the surprisingly good Wolfenstein: The New Order gets some more DLC. But that’s not all for this week’s gaming — come tell us what you’ve been playing in this week’s edition of Tuesday Game Room! What have you…

Microsoft Surface 3 Review: The Tablet I Want At The Price I Don’t

I’m dancing on the grave of Microsoft’s original Surface tablet, and I feel no remorse. It’s hard to feel sad—it was a beautifully crafted ten-inch tablet that ran a crippled version of Windows. It was awful. Now it’s dead, and I’ve got a way better tablet. I’m so happy. What Is It? It’s a cheaper,…

Microsoft’s Surface 3 tablet goes on sale today, and you can trade in an old, busted Surface RT for $150 off. Read our review first? [Microsoft]

Watch dogs shake colorful paint off themselves in slow motion

Pour a dog some paint and it might just give you a Jackson Pollock painting in return. This slow motion video that’s supposed to help awareness for dog adoption shows dogs splattering paint onto the walls by shaking themselves dry. It’s kind of funny to see the colors leap off the dog. SPLOID is delicious…

A Total Solar Eclipse Makes the Arctic Look Like an Alien World 

The solar eclipse in March has been photographed to death—from every which angle and even from space. But here’s a late contender for what may be the evocative photos of the eclipse yet: a glowing black dot over a barren snowscape, as captured by astronomers observing the sun’s magnetic field. Back in March, the Solar…

io9 Book Club Is In Session: Let’s Talk About The Mechanical!

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. This month, we’ve read The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! What is this io9 Book Club all about? We meet once a month to discuss a book we’ve all read together, and then we have an online…