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Amazing photo shows lightning striking an airliner flying in a rainbow

Stunning photo of a lightning striking an Boeing 777 that seems to be in the middle of a perfect rainbow, taken by German photographer Birk Möbius. The image was captured yesterday from an aerodrome in Taucha, Germany. Check out the zoomed image to see the plane being hit by the lightning. SPLOID is a new…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Why This Bestselling Author Decided To Start Self-Publishing

Author Karen Traviss has published a slew of successful books, from her own Wess’har Wars series to a number of Star Wars, Halo and Gears of War novels. But for her new techno-thriller Going Grey, she decided to walk away from a mainstream publishing contract and self-publish. She explains why. “Nobody else is going to…

Books & Comics Karen Traviss

Girl dancing with 30 hula hoops looks like she’s about to get teleported

Coral Jade is a street performer that’s pretty much mastered the art of hula hooping. She can twirl them on every part of her body, use them to create mind bending warps and dance with 30 to make it look like she’s being teleported in a JJ Abrams-era Star Trek Transporter. And hey, there’s even…

Sploid Casey Chan

People in the U.S. Fear War More Than Economic Downturn

In a national survey, U.S. residents said that the biggest global threat to the country today will come from extremist militant groups or nations. But they nevertheless said that other big threats include pandemics and global climate change. This survey reflects a change from last year. War and violence are rated as a bigger threats…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Barry Allen Feels Under The Weather (Wizard) In New Flash Trailer

Yeah, I’m not proud of writing “feels under the Weather Wizard,” but I’m too excited about the premiere of The Flash to really care. Every new bit of footage looks great, and you know Barry is going to have to dissipate a tornado by running around it in the opposite direction. That’s classic Flash, my…

Television Rob Bricken

Heads Up: Falling Skies Has Gotten Pretty Watchable Again

Falling Skies’ latest (and penultimate) season got off to a rocky start, with Nazi reeducation camps, Tom Mason as a masked superhero, and Tom’s daughter Lexi as a creepy cult-leader. But over the past few weeks, this show has seemed to find its groove again. At least somewhat. Spoilers again… The actual plot, the past…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

New Evidence Suggests The Arctic’s First Settlers Died In Isolation

An unprecedented genetic study of more than 150 ancient human remains has turned up new clues about the sudden extinction of Paleo-Eskimos, the earliest-known settlers of the Canadian Arctic. Above: An Inuit man works on a model kayak with his daughter in Cape Dorset, an Inuit hamlet in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavat, Canada named…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Medieval Mech

The past and the future seem to collide in this week’s writing prompt. Why is this giant mechanical creation outfitted like a medieval knight? Medieval Sci-fi is by artist Phill Berry, found via r/ImaginaryTechnology. You can see the full image below and, as always, we invite you to write your own story inspired by this…

io9 Lauren Davis

This Hilarious, Brilliantly Edited Tribute To Film Noir Is a Classic

In 1982, irrepressibly goofy comedian Steve Martin starred in Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, a film noir with a whole cast of cinematic heavy hitters. Humphrey Bogart! Cary Grant! Bette Davis! Veronica Lake! All these stars helped popularize the dark genre, but this black-and-white was a affectionately silly spoof, with a twist; each of those…

Tech News Jordan Kushins

What’s the Real Difference Between Brown and White Eggs?

Chickens tend to produce eggs in one of two colors, white and brown. But is there any nutritional difference between them? And what accounts for the difference in shell color in the first place? These questions were recently posed to C. Claiborne Ray in the New York Times, who spoke to Cornell University scientist Tro…

io9 George Dvorsky

Tripping Senior Citizens—for Science

In a study that even Sum 41 could get behind, scientists at the University of Illinois in Chicago are tripping senior citizens over, and over, and over again—all to save lives. The researchers are hoping their experiment—which involves a series of computerized, moving treadmills—could end up developing a preventative sort of balance training, stopping falls…

Health Ashley Feinberg

Should Superhero Movies Just Skip The Origin Stories?

Sometimes, knowing the origin of where a character comes and how he or she got there forms an essential backdrop for a story to take place against. And sometimes, it just gets in the way. After getting a first look at what may be Doctor Doom’s new costume, a discussion began about just how much…

Movies Ria Misra

I’m Ashamed I Forgot How Freaking Great Tenacious D Is

Remember when Tenacious D came back and dropped Rize of the Fenix back in 2012? Maybe you’re like me and you forgot. Well we’re both terrible because god damn is its first song good. Earlier today I was listening to an episode of the (excellent) Comedy Bang Bang podcast featuring Jack Black and Kyle Gass…

Tech News Eric Limer

The Strangest Hot-Air Balloons To Ever Grace The Skies

Hot-air balloons went from mode of transportation to relative novelty, but throughout their history, these floating vehicles have been very odd. From a balloon built for lifting a person on horseback to the hot-air balloon replica of Christ the Redeemer, here are some of the weirdest balloons ever. https://gizmodo.com/the-most-astounding-airships-dirigibles-and-zeppelins-1515616128 The balloon that crossed the English…

io9 Vincze Miklós

A single clothing company consumes 1% of the world’s cotton

The largest companies consume a shockingly huge amount of the world’s natural resources. Ikea, for instance, uses 17.8 million cubic yards of wood a year. When it comes to cotton, there’s VF Corp., a relatively unknown corporation that owns some of the best-known clothing brands in the world. In a fascinating NPR report about the…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Which Science Fiction Or Fantasy Book Do You Wish Went On Forever?

We’ve all experienced the sense of impending loss that comes when you realize a book is almost over — and you’re not ready for it to end. But which science fiction or fantasy novel do you wish would just never end? So you could keep reading it for the rest of your life? Please include…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Nod TV Show Is Set In World Where Humanity Loses The Ability To Sleep

What if the world suddenly lost the ability to go to sleep? What if the population was no longer tired? How long can the people of this hypothetical future function without sleeping? This is the premise of the new Fox series based on the novel Nod. Deadline is reporting that Fox is adapting Adrian Barnes’…

Television Meredith Woerner

Meet The Man Who Grows Eyes

Growing nerve tissue and organs is a sci-fi dream — but one that’s poised to become a reality. Here’s the remarkable story of a pioneering researcher who has actually figured out how to grow eyes and brain cells. The train line from mainland Kobe is a marvel of urban transportation. Opened in 1981, Japan’s first…

io9 Moheb Costandi — Mosaic

Project Wing: Google’s Secret Delivery Drone Program (Update: Video)

The Atlantic reports that Google’s skunkworks Google X team has spent the last two years working on a secret program. More than a loosely sketched concept like the teaser Amazon pushed out earlier this year, Google appears to be serious about delivery in the air—getting products from the warehouse to their destination in about two…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

A Map of Every Device in the World That’s Connected to the Internet

Where is the internet? This map might explain it better than any statistics could ever hope to: The red hot spots show where the most devices that can access the internet are located. This map was made on August 2 by John Matherly, the founder of Shodan, a search engine for internet-connected devices. Matherly, who…

Tech News Alissa Walker

Amazing photo shows lightning striking an airliner flying in a rainbow

Why This Bestselling Author Decided To Start Self-Publishing

Girl dancing with 30 hula hoops looks like she’s about to get teleported

People in the U.S. Fear War More Than Economic Downturn

Barry Allen Feels Under The Weather (Wizard) In New Flash Trailer

Heads Up: Falling Skies Has Gotten Pretty Watchable Again

New Evidence Suggests The Arctic’s First Settlers Died In Isolation

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Medieval Mech

This Hilarious, Brilliantly Edited Tribute To Film Noir Is a Classic

What’s the Real Difference Between Brown and White Eggs?

Tripping Senior Citizens—for Science

Should Superhero Movies Just Skip The Origin Stories?

I’m Ashamed I Forgot How Freaking Great Tenacious D Is

The Strangest Hot-Air Balloons To Ever Grace The Skies

A single clothing company consumes 1% of the world’s cotton

Which Science Fiction Or Fantasy Book Do You Wish Went On Forever?

Nod TV Show Is Set In World Where Humanity Loses The Ability To Sleep

Meet The Man Who Grows Eyes

Project Wing: Google’s Secret Delivery Drone Program (Update: Video)

A Map of Every Device in the World That’s Connected to the Internet

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