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The Army’s Grenade Launchers Are About to Become Twice as Deadly

Soldier with a rifle-mounted M203 grenade launcher (as opposed to the M320) American forces in Afghanistan have long complained of a significant drawback in their M203 rifle-mounted grenade launchers: enemies positioned behind the low, mud brick walls ubiquitous to the region’s architecture could easily avoid incoming 40mm grenade rounds simply by ducking. You’d need a…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

The New Out of the Dark Trailer Is Bursting With Tropical Terror

“Move to Colombia,” they said. “Start a whole new life with your curious young daughter in this probably-haunted mansion,” they said. “Don’t worry toooo much when Stephen Rea starts spouting off about ancient legends and burning children alive,” they said. As the new, ultra-spooky international trailer for Out of the Dark — the debut film…

io9 Cheryl Eddy

10 Toys For Grown-ups Who Are Still Kids At Heart

There’s no shortage of gift ideas for kids when the holidays roll around, but what if you’ve got a couple of adults on your Christmas shopping list who still have an affinity for toys? They’ve probably outgrown a stocking full of Hot Wheels vehicles, so here are some more grown-up suggestions for adults who never…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

This Two-Headed Israeli Salamander Is Kind Of Freaking People Out

A University of Haifa ecology lab that collected wild specimens of an endangered salamander got more than it expected, when one of the salamanders gave birth to an offspring with two heads. The lab also got some unwelcome publicity, when the media began referring to it as the “radioactive” salamander. The Near Eastern fire salamander…

io9 Mark Strauss

The Exodus Mystery: How Can a Movie Be So Wrong in So Many Ways?

This is one of those moments when a movie comes along that is so repugnant, and so bland, and so pretentious, that it’s almost impossible to believe. And yet, like a voice from a burning bush, Exodus is an unbelievable event that will nevertheless lead thousands of people on a terrifying quest — to movie…

Movies Annalee Newitz

This Defective Nintendo Toy Just Sold For $25,000

It’s no surprise that rare toys can go for big money, but it’s all the more surprising when it’s a defective one that brings in the big bucks – especially from such a recently released toy like this Princess Peach Amiibo, which recently sold on eBay for just over twenty-five grand. For those unaware, Nintendo…

Tech News James Whitbrook

Everything You Need To Know To Catch Saturday’s Geminid Meteor Shower

The Geminid meteor shower is one of the most consistently impressive celestial light shows of the year. And this year’s display hits its peak this weekend. Here’s what you need to know to spot as many meteors as possible. Pictured above: A massive Geminid fireball from 2009’s shower, one of the brightest ever recorded. The…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Airport Shitstorm: Computer Error Stops All Flights From London

London’s Heathrow Airport is always a stressful place, but travelers today are having a shittier time than usual. London airspace is restricted after a power outage spurred what the BBC describes as a computer error at an air traffic control center, meaning there will be plenty of delays, re-routes, and cancellations. Update: It’s fixed now!…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

This Ball Machine Fakes Perpetual Motion As Long As the Sun Is Shining

Why is watching a marble snake its way around a twisty maze so mesmerizing? Maybe it’s an allegory on the human condition as we all try to make our way through the world? What’s for certain is that they make for great desk toys, and as long as your office gets a bit of sun…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

io9 Newsstand: Best Stories of the Week for December 8 – 14

This week’s stories are about characters that feel trapped — metaphorically, metaphysically, physically, and phorically. This week’s stories are also about ghosts — of the dead, and of the past. This week’s stories are intense and memorable enough, that there are only two of them. Image: detail of illustration, Shimmer Magazine A Whisper in the…

io9 K. Tempest Bradford

You Can Now Be Identified By Your Shaky Camera Footage

You might want to think twice before illegally filming the next concert you go to—at least using a body-worn GoPro or Google Glass. Even if we don’t realize it, we all move in our own unique way. It’s like a fingerprint based on motion, and now researchers at Cornell University have developed an algorithm that…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

The 14 Most Insane Fictional Versions Of Real Life Historical Figures

History isn’t boring, but that doesn’t mean it can’t stand to be spiced up a bit. That’s why historical fiction exists, and why some books, TV movies, and the like sometimes turn real people into heroes, villains, demons, giant robot pilots, and more. Here are some of the least historically accurate historical figures of all…

Books & Comics Rob Bricken

Scientists Used Sonar to Find San Francisco’s Notorious Lost Shipwreck

In 1901, steamer ship City of Rio de Janeiro sank on its way into the San Francisco Bay, killing 128 passengers and disappearing into the ocean. The famous lost ship stayed disappeared for over 100 years, its location suspected but never confirmed. Now, thanks to a sonar technology called “Echoscope,” scientistshave pinpointed the wreck’s location,…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Daredevil skier rides an avalanche, flies off a cliff

Watch this spectacular video of speedrider David Bozon skiing near the edge of a cliff in Charmonix, France, and then taking a leap off to ride the avalanche he just provoked. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sploid Omar Kardoudi

How Do Chemical Handwarmers Work?

What is this magic, which allows heat to be made in a small packet, without flame or electricity? Surely it is made by wizards! Ah, but no. It’s science! Handwarmers work their magic through the power of rust. Yes, the same thing that destroys your car in the winter heats your hands up as you…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Country’s Few Remaining Vinyl Record Factories Are Crumbling

A fascinating story in the Wall Street Journal this morning takes a look at the unexpected resurgence of the vinyl record industry—with sales up 49 percent this year—and the sorry state of the few remaining factories that are struggling to press all those records. Factories are struggling with outdated machinery that’s no longer even manufactured,…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

America Has A Prescription Painkiller Problem, And It’s Not Going Away

A newly published study of opioid use in the U.S. finds patients prescribed potentially addictive painkillers are taking more of them for longer – usually in the form of dangerous cocktail combinations. The increase is so stark that the number of prescriptions has risen, even as the total number of Americans filling these prescriptions has…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Why Are Tolkien’s Elves So Damn Welsh?

The BBC has a fascinating, exhaustive report on why the Elves of Middle-Earth sound as if they might have come from Wales. Given that Tolkien was one of the most English English professors who ever lived, the answer is not quite as random as you might think. Cellar doors are involved. [Via TheOneRing.net]

Movies Rob Bricken

Pope Francis Says Dogs (Probably) Go To Heaven

Recently, when consoling a boy whose dog had died, Pope Francis publicly stated that “paradise is open to all of God’s creatures.” Despite the ambiguousness of the statement, many animal lovers and rights groups have interpreted it as a repudiation of Catholic theology stating animals don’t have souls. Well now, the Pope is certainly endearing…

io9 George Dvorsky

Watch Hayao Miyazaki animate the last shot of his career

This excerpt from The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness—a new documentary about the legendary Studio Ghibli—shows anime master Hayao Miyazaki drawing the last shot of the last film of his career, The Wind Rises. It was precisely during the shooting of this documentary that Miyazaki decided to retire from filmmaking. You can watch The Kingdom…

Sploid Omar Kardoudi

The Army’s Grenade Launchers Are About to Become Twice as Deadly

The New Out of the Dark Trailer Is Bursting With Tropical Terror

10 Toys For Grown-ups Who Are Still Kids At Heart

This Two-Headed Israeli Salamander Is Kind Of Freaking People Out

The Exodus Mystery: How Can a Movie Be So Wrong in So Many Ways?

This Defective Nintendo Toy Just Sold For $25,000

Everything You Need To Know To Catch Saturday’s Geminid Meteor Shower

Airport Shitstorm: Computer Error Stops All Flights From London

This Ball Machine Fakes Perpetual Motion As Long As the Sun Is Shining

io9 Newsstand: Best Stories of the Week for December 8 – 14

You Can Now Be Identified By Your Shaky Camera Footage

The 14 Most Insane Fictional Versions Of Real Life Historical Figures

Scientists Used Sonar to Find San Francisco’s Notorious Lost Shipwreck

Daredevil skier rides an avalanche, flies off a cliff

How Do Chemical Handwarmers Work?

The Country’s Few Remaining Vinyl Record Factories Are Crumbling

America Has A Prescription Painkiller Problem, And It’s Not Going Away

Why Are Tolkien’s Elves So Damn Welsh?

Pope Francis Says Dogs (Probably) Go To Heaven

Watch Hayao Miyazaki animate the last shot of his career

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