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Physicists Have A Simple Answer For How Egyptians Built The Pyramids

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last of the ancient world’s “seven wonders.” The 4,500-year-old structure was constructed from 2.4 million limestone blocks, most weighing around 2.5 tons. Today we’re still debating how the Egyptians managed to move these blocks from local quarries. Now scientists have a new hypothesis. [Image: Library of Congress] They…

io9 Mark Strauss Aug 27 '14

This is the coolest ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video, period.

Check out famous race and aerobatic pilot Bruce Bohannon taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge inside his plane. He placed the ice water in a little bucket between his seat harness and his shirt, took off, and then did a loop. The only thing cooler than this would be if an astronaut did it in…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Aug 27 '14

Scented Duct Tape For Half-Assed Repairs That At Least Smell Good

At one time duct tape only came in a single color: silver. It made the material seem like some kind of NASA-engineered, space-age, super tool, but eventually mankind demanded more. Colors and patterns were introduced, but that still wasn’t enough to satiate humanity’s desire for choice. So Duck Brand is now introducing scented duct tape…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 27 '14

There Are Bugs Dying in Your Pores and Leaking Poop On Your Face

Mites like the one pictured here are living, dying, and leaking poop on pretty much everyone’s faces. So at least you’re not alone. Photo Credit: Joel Mills | CC BY-SA 3.0 We first told you about the bugs that take up residence inside your pores a couple years back, when researchers proposed that the critters…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 27 '14

The Mystery of Death Valley’s “Sailing Stones” Is Finally Solved

On a dried-up lake bed in Death Valley are dozens of rocks that have puzzled us for decades. The rocks have each left a dusty trail, evidence of some unknown force propelling them forward. Scientists have now finally observed the rocks moving and settled on an explanation: Thin ice and a gentle breeze. Speculation about…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Aug 27 '14

Horns Trailer Shows Daniel Radcliffe Utilizing His New Demonic Powers

Finally, footage of Daniel Radcliffe demonstrating the power of his new demon hornsin the latest trailer for the movie adaptation of Joe Hill’s novel Horns. The new international trailer shows what happens when a poorly American-accented Radcliffe is framed for murdering his girlfriend and then grows horns! Horns that change the mood of those around…

Trailers Meredith Woerner Aug 27 '14

Vintage Shark Illustrations Are Jaw-Droppingly Gorgeous

The Biodiversity Heritage Library works to make biodiversity-related literature freely available to the world. They’ve got thousands of image libraries to peruse, but one of the richest is their collection of shark illustrations, with more than 370 pages. Here are a few of our favorites. We’re not quite certain just what species some of these…

Biology Jason G. Goldman Aug 27 '14

Will We Ever Have a “Star Wars Moment” in Pop Culture Again?

A “Star Wars Moment” is when a piece of pop culture manages to change storytelling all around the world, for at least a generation. Have we become too jaded to have a moment like this again? What do you think is a possible candidate for the next Star Wars Moment? Tell us! My opinion is…

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 27 '14

This Portable Hot Tub Makes Any Camping Trip a Luxurious Affair

Have you ever been in the woods and wondered, “Why isn’t this place more like a spa?” Well, wonder no more, my adventurous friend. The Nomad Collapsible Hot Tub is here to save the day. As the name implies, the Nomad is a portable hot tub. The heavy vinyl shell fits onto a sturdy frame…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Aug 27 '14

Scientists find water clouds outside the solar system for the first time

This beautiful purple jewel is an artist rendition of W0855—a Jupiter-sized brown dwarf 7.3 light years from Earth. If the scientists who just published a new paper on its composition are right, it’s the first object outside the solar system in which we have observed water clouds—an amazing discovery. Keep in mind that we have…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Aug 27 '14

Twitter Finally Lets You See Just How Few People Are Faving Your Tweets

After quietly testing out its handy new analytics dashboard just over a month ago, Twitter is officially opening the service up to the rest of the world. And the results can be—er, kinda depressing. The widespread release was confirmed earlier today by Ian Chan, a front-end engineer at Twitter: Now, any tweeter with an account…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg Aug 27 '14

Clever Chairs Stack Horizontally So You Don’t Need To Lift a Thing

Filling a venue with temporary seating is a time-consuming process—both during setup and take down—since it requires heavy chairs to be unstacked and then stacked again. But the designers at Seoul-based Centimeter Studio realized there was a better way. Their Sleeed chairs slide together and stack horizontally, so a whole row of them can be…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 27 '14

The Moon smells like spent gunpowder

Exploring the lunar surface is now a quick click away for desk-bound normals, but there are still some moon mysteries that only those special folks from Apollo missions will ever really experience. Like how it smells. The consensus: Spent gunpowder. In his book Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon, Buzz Aldrin described…

Tech News Jordan Kushins Aug 27 '14

Whoa, This Guy 3D-Printed His Very Own Concrete Castle

It may not be quite fit for a king yet, but this playhouse-sized castle was entirely 3D printed using a custom-built printer and loads of concrete. And it means we could see an attempt at a livable, entirely 3D-printed home in the near future. Andrey Rudenko spent two years from conception to final product created…

io9 Lauren Davis Aug 27 '14

Now We Know What Makes White Dwarf Stars Go Supernova

What makes a dead star explode? Scientists have long suspected a mechanism for making a white dwarf go supernova, but they weren’t able to confirm it — until now. ESA recently trained its INTEGRAL observatory on an exploding supernova in the M82 galaxy, and were able to catch it in the act as it threw…

io9 Ria Misra Aug 27 '14

An Early Look at XKCD’s Upcoming What If? Book

XKCD’s What If—that extra-special corner of the internet that answers all of our nerdiest, most absurd questions in delightfully extensive detail—is finally being made into a book. And fortunately for all those who just can’t wait, Nerdist has the very first look inside. In his new book, the brilliant mind (and ex-NASA roboticist) behind XKCD,…

Books & Comics Ashley Feinberg Aug 27 '14

This Street Performer Has Mastered One of the Greatest Illusions

These Prague street performers have pulled off one of the finest executions of the levitating man illusion you will ever see. For those of you who hate fun and wonder, we’ve got the secret — and the physics — behind this ancient trick. For centuries, Indian yogis have claimed to have mastered the powers of…

io9 George Dvorsky Aug 27 '14

The Ingenious Way the Ancient Egyptians Should Have Built the Pyramids

Thousands of years ago, a minority of ancient Egyptians set a majority to work building some of the oldest human-made structures in the world. It seems like we’ve been debating about how they did it ever since: Water? Animal labor? Magic? A team of researchers thinks they’ve found the best explanation yet. In a paper…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Aug 27 '14

With Question Bedtime, MC Frontalot Gives Us a Concept Album

Damian Hess, AKA nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, is about to turn your afternoon into a fairy tale with his new album, Question Bedtime. It’s a hilarious and gloriously weird cycle of songs (available online now!) retelling the fairy tales you heard before bedtime as a child. Actually, maybe you didn’t hear these folk tales. Strained…

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 27 '14

Facebook Really Wants You to Stop Being Pissed About Messenger

Facebook wants you to know Messenger isn’t spying on you. After people got mad about the company’s decision to make downloading Facebook Messenger necessary to use Facebook Chat on mobile, the backlash got so bad Facebook’s Peter Martinazzi issued an official “calm the eff down” announcement. You might have heard the rumors going around about…

Social Media Kate Knibbs Aug 27 '14

Physicists Have A Simple Answer For How Egyptians Built The Pyramids

This is the coolest ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video, period.

Scented Duct Tape For Half-Assed Repairs That At Least Smell Good

There Are Bugs Dying in Your Pores and Leaking Poop On Your Face

The Mystery of Death Valley’s “Sailing Stones” Is Finally Solved

Horns Trailer Shows Daniel Radcliffe Utilizing His New Demonic Powers

Vintage Shark Illustrations Are Jaw-Droppingly Gorgeous

Will We Ever Have a “Star Wars Moment” in Pop Culture Again?

This Portable Hot Tub Makes Any Camping Trip a Luxurious Affair

Scientists find water clouds outside the solar system for the first time

Twitter Finally Lets You See Just How Few People Are Faving Your Tweets

Clever Chairs Stack Horizontally So You Don’t Need To Lift a Thing

The Moon smells like spent gunpowder

Whoa, This Guy 3D-Printed His Very Own Concrete Castle

Now We Know What Makes White Dwarf Stars Go Supernova

An Early Look at XKCD’s Upcoming What If? Book

This Street Performer Has Mastered One of the Greatest Illusions

The Ingenious Way the Ancient Egyptians Should Have Built the Pyramids

With Question Bedtime, MC Frontalot Gives Us a Concept Album

Facebook Really Wants You to Stop Being Pissed About Messenger

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