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HBO Making Shutter Island Series With Martin Scorsese Back To Direct

HBO and Paramount TV are teaming up to bring Martin Scorsese’s creepy horror flick Shutter Island to the small screen. Deadline is reporting that the new series, possibly titled Ashecliffe, is centered around the creation of the island-located mental institution. So this would predate the 1954-set film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Rumor has it Scorsese will…

How Much Innuendo Do Kids Understand?

Almost all of us have, as adults, gone back to the stuff we watched as a kid and realized it contained some “dirty” stuff that went over our heads. Innuendo in kids comedies is pretty common. But how much innuendo do kids understand? Above is an infamous scene from Animaniacs, a popular kids show in…

The Movie and TV Release Calendar, August 25 Update

The Walking Dead Season 4 Limited Edition preorder is down to $80 today, its lowest price so far. The season comes out tomorrow, and there’s a good chance the price will shoot back up after release. [Walking Dead Season 4 LE, $80] We’ve also got the Best Buy exclusive Walking Dead Season 4 with limited…

The Somber History Behind These Wild-Looking Cube Houses

In villages all over Hungary you’ll find cube houses—more or less identical in shape but painted in fantastical colors by their residents. While these houses may look utterly delightful and whimsical to our eyes, they’re less welcomed in their own communities. In her book Hungarian Cubes, photographer Katharina Roters tells the story of standardized housing…

The Future of Telescopes Is Looking Bigger and Brighter Than Ever

Astronomy has come a long way in the 405 years since Galileo’s historic first survey of the night sky over Florence in 1609. The next generation of terrestrial telescopes are set to peer deeper into the cosmos and further back in time than ever before. We sat down with Dr. Patrick McCarthy, Director of the…

Why Does Your Food Cost So Much?

You know how much money you spend on buying food, but just where does that money go? This graphic shows you exactly where your dollar ends up. The USDA has put together a series of “Food dollars” showing how the costs of your food breakdown. More than half of the average dollar that you spend…

Google launched iOS app Slidestoday, along with updates to its Docs and Sheets apps. Slides lets you collaborate on presentations from your mobile devices, including PowerPoint files. The whole push is geared to make sure people who create stuff using Google products don’t get frustrated when they can’t pull them up on different devices. If…

Walking Dead Showrunner Writing “Romantic” Omen Sequel Series

Get ready to fantasize about the Anti-Christ! Lifetime is making an Omen sequel penned by former Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara. Only one question will remain: will you be on Team Damien or Team Jesus? Deadline is reporting that Lifetime has ordered 6 episodes of an Omen sequel series titled Damien. Honestly, we’re shocked this…

Secrets of the Manhattan Project Leaked 1500 Times During World War II

The World War II program to develop an atomic bomb was the largest secret project ever undertaken by the U.S. government. But newly-declassified documents reveal how it hard it was to keep things secret as the weapon neared completion. Information leaks were everywhere, even in church sermons. Trinity Test plutonium bomb image courtesy of Truman…

Did these earthquake scientists deserve to go to prison for six years? David Wolman has a fascinating article in Matter today about the Italian geologists who were imprisoned for manslaughter after residents of a city sued them for not warning them strongly enough about quake risks.

Insane Video Takes You Inside the Cockpit of a Blue Angels Jet

The Blue Angels are the stunt pilots of the US Navy and Marines, showing off the very best aviation tricks every year at airshows. They soar, swoop, and turn upside down — all in formation. It’s incredible to watch from the ground, and it’s just blisteringly insane from inside the cockpit. I love watching the…

​The Strain Finally Had A WTF Moment And It Was Worth The Wait

I don’t know that it makes up for the interminably slow and lackluster season so far, but I do know for the first time ever I can genuinely say I’m excited to see what the hell happens next week. Before the ending — and I’ll get to that in a bit, if you’re one of…

​You Can Take This Tiny Crane With You Anywhere

The ParaPull is an ingenious block and tackle pulley system scaled down to work with common 550 paracord. It fits in your pocket and gives you a 6:1 mechanical advantage over any heavy object. Correction: I state in the video that the ParaPull provides a 7:1 mechanical advantage; in actual fact it’s a 6:1. Sorry.…

It’s Ridiculous To Say Science Fiction Books Aren’t Based On Real Life

One of the most annoying fallacies about science fiction and fantasy books is that they’re less connected to reality than “realistic” fiction. In fact, SF and fantasy authors draw on real experiences and facts all the time, as some of the top authors told Jeff VanderMeer. Writing in the L.A. Times, VanderMeer talks to Ann…

Facebook Is Finally Cracking Down on Upworthy-Style Clickbait

You’ve spent months seeing your News Feed littered with headlines promising you that you won’t believe what happens next, but now Facebook is finally taking steps to cut down on spammy, obnoxious clickbait. While headlines like the one above—which generally pique your curiosity without actually giving you any real information whatsoever—tend to get a lot…

Report: Amazon’s Trying to Buy Twitch Out From Under Google

According to The Information (paywall), Amazon is in “late-stage talks” with Twitch over a possible acquisition. This is particularly shocking since it’s been previously reported that a YouTube and Twitch team-up for $1 billion was pretty much a done deal. But now it seems Amazon is making a play to steal Google’s live stream dreams.…

Royal Caribbean’s New Cruise Ship Is One Gigantic Floating Gadget

You know what makes every vacation cruise better? Gimmicks! Lots and lots of expensive, high-tech gimmicks. And the newest ship from Royal Caribbean, the Quantum of the Sea, apparently has all of them. All of the gimmicks, right there on a single ship. Ignoring the fact that Royal Caribbean clearly has no idea what “quantum”…

​7 Reasons Batman Needs to Shut Arkham Asylum Down Forever

If you’re a lunatic in the DC universe, then you know all about Arkham Asylum. Ostensibly a place to cure the world’s worst and craziest supervillains, it’s never successfully accomplished anything other than giving Batman more work to do — here are the reasons why. 1) First of all, it’s terrible at its job. No…

Motorola’s Phone-Unlocking Keyfob Might Be Getting Way More Useful

Released in tandem with the Moto X last year, the Motorola Skip was a handy, if slightly silly little NFC fob that you could use to unlock your phone. According to documents posted by Droid Life, the new version will be Bluetooth enabled, making it way more useful. According to the supposed user manual for…

New Pots and Pans, Rock Out While You Work Out, Free Lastpass [Deals]

You can outfit an entire kitchen for $100 today with this 15 piece cooking set. These pots and pans have a unique heat spot indicator to let you know when they’re fully preheated, and they command a 4.5 star review average. I’m not the biggest fan of non-stick, but even if these only last a…