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Fire Fighters of the Future Race to Save Their City

Even in a technologically-advanced future, we’ll still need to put out fires. Bastien Grivet is a concept artist in Castelnau-le-Lez, France. You can see more of his amazing work in his ArtStation gallery.

Step Inside Your Isolation Pod, Worker Drone, and Be Free

This is the Orrb. The futuristic pod is just large enough for one human to sit and stare at a screen in total isolation for the sake of “wellness and learning.” It’s like one of those nap pods you might find at Google, only more private and, somehow, more alien-looking. You know you want one.…

Get to the chopper! Geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory rush to board a helicopter as fountains of lava erupt in the background, in the 1984 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. This picture was recently featured in the U.S. Geological Survey‘s #ThrowbackThursday series. (Photo: R.B. Moore.)

“A scorpion’s anus is at the end of its tail. If the tail breaks off, the scorpion can never poo again.” – Ed Yong, describing a newly documented case of autotomy (i.e. self-amputation) in scorpions. If talk of collateral anus amputation doesn’t make you want to read about scorpion tails, what the hell are you…

Watch a super hydrophobic knife cut through a water droplet

Black magic and sorcery and deals with the devil and breaks in The Matrix and possibly other dimensions. That’s what super hydrophobic material is made out of. Like this super hydrophobic knife that just slices through a water droplet and cuts it in two. Are we really sure science can explain what my eyes are…

More Comcast Customers Report Name Changes to “Whore” and “Dummy” 

Remember a couple days ago, when the world learned Comcast had changed a customer’s name from “Ricardo Brown” to “Asshole Brown?” Looks like our Ricardo might not have been the only one. More Comcast customers have reported similar incidents to Elliott.org. The name changes range from “dummy” to “whore” to the slightly confusing “Fakoe Bez”…

Why English Changes More Slowly Today Than It Did A Thousand Years Ago

As languages acquire new speakers, spread to new geographic areas, and mingle with other languages, they change. But is that change happening as quickly as it once did? Top image: A 15th century edition of Recuyell of the Histories of Troy from Brandeis University’s Special Collections Linguist John McWhorter joined us today to answer questions…

On This Week’s Archer, It’s A Bloody Great Sterling And Pam Road Trip

This week’s episode, “Edie’s Wedding,” is all about relationships. It’s also the most brutally violent ep yet in season six. Coincidence? NOPE. Some spoilers ahead! In our pre-season interview with Archer executive producer Matt Thompson, he dropped some serious hints about this particular episode: https://gizmodo.com/whos-back-and-whats-new-in-archer-season-six-the-insid-1669383651 One of the things I missed most in season five…

This Alien Comedy Is India’s Biggest Movie Of All Time

In PK, an alien (played by Aamir Khan) shows up naked, except that he’s carrying a kind of futuristic boombox. Then he meets a cute girl and… well, you can probably guess the rest. This goofy comedy from the director of 3 Idiots has just become the most successful Indian film of all time. Judging…

There’s Actually a Legitimate Reason Why L.A.’s Skyline Is So Ugly

Los Angeles’ skyline has none of the soaring spires that grace the Burj Khalifa or the Chrysler Building. Instead, it’s uniformly flat, like someone took an axe to downtown and left only stumps of buildings. And it’s all because of a piece of misguided regulation. L.A.’s architecture has long been stunted by a clause in…

A Jacket With Its Own Laugh Track Makes You Terrifying

A blazer and jeans is just about the official uniform for stand-up comics with a modicum of success, and to guarantee you keep bringing down the house once you’ve made it, the folks at Adafruit have put together a tutorial showing you how to make a jacket with a built-in laugh track (and other useful…

These Light Painting Videos Look Like Classic Video Games On Speed

We’ve seen some amazing light paintings that make the real world look magical and surreal. But what’s even cooler than a static light painting? A whole video, where beings made of pure light burst into existence and run around. Here are the most eye-popping and dazzling light-painting videos on the internet. https://gizmodo.com/light-paintings-that-make-the-real-world-look-like-tron-1524262774 A music video…

What Piece of Technology Has Literally Saved Your Life? 

Me, I rely on my glasses every waking moment of the day. I can barely read a book six inches from my face. Without two simple circles of glass set in plastic on my head, I almost certainly would have stumbled blindly in front of a car or a train or godknowwhats and met my…

Game Of Thrones Season 5 Photos Reveal New Characters And Storylines

On the heels of the season five trailer for Game of Thrones comes a batch of new photos, ripe for the analyzing. Where’s Sansa Stark now? Also behold Doran Martell and the High Sparrow! Can it please just be April already? Above image: Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark and Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger – photo…

io9 Newsstand: Best stories for the Week of January 25 – 31

This week’s stories are about identity and rage, fire and ice… and the threat and consequences of death. To Fall, and Pause, and Fall by Lisa Nohealani Morton | Fireside Magazine On each screen, a woman comes out from behind the camera and around the table to sit down. It’s the same woman on every…

When You Lose Weight, Where Does The Fat Actually Go?

The answer to this question may surprise you. And in fact, according to a recent British Medical Journal article discussing this issue, few health professionals — including doctors, dieticians, and personal trainers — know the correct answer. First, let’s back up for a minute. When you consume calories beyond what your body needs, you will…

It’s Official: That Much-Hyped Big Bang Discovery Was Literally All Dust

There will be no Nobel prizes after all. Last March, scientists announced they had discovered our first direct evidence of the Big Bang, but that evidence has been slowly crumbling away. The results of a joint analysis released today make it official: It was all just cosmic dust. What the original team of physicists using…

Martin Starr Is Trapped In Slow-Motion In This Great Short Film

Martin Starr, of Freaks and Geeks and Party Down fame, stars as a man who is forced to live his life at half-speed in this fun short titled Leonard in Slow-Motion. It’s not his ideal situation, obviously, but it does have its perks, as you’ll see. In related news, Martin Starr needs way more work.…

Modern Conveniences Make This Retro Flashlight New Again

Whether you’re mining for gold deep in the heart of Alaska, or trying to find your way downstairs to replace a blown fuse, this retro-styled lantern from Barebones will light the way without needing a single drop of kerosene. Because instead of a flame, it uses a three Cree LED bulbs powered by a rechargeable…

After Billions in Subsidies, The Final Verizon FiOS Map Is Bleak as Hell

As Verizon inches towards the end of its long-promised FiOS expansion, we can finally get a look at all the places these heavily trumpeted fiber cables have actually ended up. Behold the final(ish) Verizon FiOS Fiber map. It’s bleak as hell. The map itself comes from Fiber For All (you can see the full interactive…