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Final Guardians of the Galaxy trailer sets eye candy level to overload

A new and final extended trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy is out in the UK, full of Rocket Raccoon, new scene peeks, and new characters in this seemingly-ever-expanding space opera. The soundtrack—full of classics including David Bowie’s Moonage Dream—is also available for stream in Spotify. Check it out. People, these trailers keep increasing in…

Cities Are Finally Fighting Back Against Insane Olympic Costs

A petition with tens of thousands of signatures. Protestors in the streets. Fiery op-eds. All this public unrest in Tokyo isn’t over an election or divisive political issue. It’s about the design of the city’s 2020 Olympic Stadium. And the people are winning. After a year of public protests against the design for a new…

​The Morbid Messages Hidden in Beloved Nursery Rhymes

Many of us can probably recite, “Pop! Goes The Weasel” by heart. Passed down across the centuries, the anachronisms in the lyrics sound like playful nonsense words. In truth, this and other rhymes were practical lessons for children, trying to survive amid death, plague, crime and poverty. The Londonist explores the origins of several popular…

“I Was Terrified:” The World’s Tallest Waterslide’s Engineer Fesses Up

The world’s tallest water slide is located at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, and also in my nightmares. It’s called Verrückt—which means “insane” in German—with good reason: At 168 feet and 7 inches, it’s taller than the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, and 23 Shaquille O’Neals stacked on top of each other. We…

The Guardians of the Galaxy Set Got Us Excited For Space Movies Again

Last year, we headed to Shepperton Studios to watch James Gunn film Marvel’s first real space adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy. And we did not expect to get quite as excited as we did. Here’s what we saw, and why it’s good for our new batch of space scoundrels. It’s Still Going To Be A…

Are Implanted False Memories Permanent?

The 1980s saw psychologists discovering a lot of “repressed” memories in patients. As it turned out, they weren’t so much memories as inventions. Are all those patients stuck with false memories of Satanic abuse and alternate personalities forever? In 1973, the book Sybil took the world by storm. A pioneering psychiatrist took a very troubled…

Short Romantic Comedy Reveals How Time Travel Will Screw Your Love Life

As soon as time travel is invented, people start abusing it by going back in time to fix their romantic relationships before they even begin. Naturally, it’s a train wreck, but a fun one to watch. Time Travel Lover was written by Elisha Yaffe (who also plays Matt) and directed by Bo Mirosseni, and it…

Nerf’s Double-Barreled Rhino-Fire Blaster Guarantees Office Supremacy

Although they’re still designed with kids in mind, who among us doesn’t have a Nerf blaster tucked away in a desk drawer, or hidden inside a carved out phone book? Office warfare can flare up in a heartbeat, but with Nerf’s recently leaked N-Strike Elite Rhino-Fire blaster at your disposal, you’ve already won the battle…

iPhone Lost by Oklahoma Farmer Resurfaces Nine Months Later in Japan

Kevin Whitney loved his iPhone. Or at least he loved the countless, priceless family photos stored on it. So when the phone slipped out of his pocket and into 140 tons of grain on his farm in Oklahoma, he was understandably distraught. Luckily, people are nice in Japan. Nine months after Whitney’s accident, he received…

Top 10 Greatest Motion-Capture Characters Of All Time

This weekend, we’ll witness the evolution of Caesar, the ape revolutionary played by Andy Serkis in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. And next month, we meet Vin Diesel’s Groot. But motion-capture has a proud history of innovation and great performances. Here are the 10 greatest mocap characters of all time. Runner Up: Snow…

One Way Android Fragmentation Isn’t As Bad As You Think

Making apps for Android can seem kind of messy because of the big scary F-word: Fragmentation. It’s part of why Tim Cook might call Android a “toxic hellstew” on stage. But the dirty little secret? It’s really not that bad, at least when it comes to screen size. You’ve probably seen scary graphics laying bar…

The io9 Book Club Is In Session! Let’s Talk About The Memory Garden

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In June, we read The Memory Garden by Mary Rickert. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club post on io9 when…

President Harding called his penis “Jerry”

President Warren Harding was one of the least popular presidents of all time. He was corrupt, inept, and just a generally poor leader during his short tenure from 1921 until 1923. He couldn’t even come up with an interesting nickname for his penis. He called it Jerry. When Harding wrote to his mistress of about…

A Clever Newspaper Ad That Transforms Into Two Mugs of Coffee

Sometimes the most effective advertising is just getting the consumer to try a free sample. But with this campaign, Nescafe managed to embrace best of both approaches with a clever print ad that turns into a couple of mugs full of coffee. There was some minor assembly required—just a bit of folding—and consumers needed to…

Pine nuts are key to a delicious pesto, but some people claim that they also sometimes leave behind a lingering metallic taste. Why? Over at Wired they’re taking a look at the phenomenon of “pine mouth” and the neurochemistry of just how tastes can be transformed in our minds.

Mynd Calendar Premium: This App Knows Your Schedule Better Than You Do

Mynd’s smart calendar app for iOS just got a hefty new update today. The free version adds some smart features like integration with your Contact list and LinkedIn, but it’s the paid Premium upgrade that gets a major boost: it acts like a digital assistant, learning how you spend your day to predict what your…

8 Legendary Rock Concerts You Can Watch on YouTube Right Now

YouTube’s live music selection just got a massive shot in the arm: Music Vault has added over 12,000 clips from classic rock gigs, many of them full concerts, that you can watch for free. Here are eight of the best that you should watch as soon as you can. In excess of 2,000 hours of…

Android Wear Smartwatch Teardowns: Good Guts, Small Packages

Android Wear devices are finally out in the wild, and while we’re all still waiting on the Moto 360, the Samsung and the LG ain’t bad. The folks at iFixit tore them apart to see what’s underneath the surface, and what they found was mostly what you’d expect. With one exception. Both the LG G…

Republicans Believe Uber Will Help Them Win Back America’s Cities

With each passing year, the population of urban areas is growing — and most of those cities are run by Democrats. But a key Republican believes the ride-sharing service Uber is the killer app that can create a future wedge between labor unions and Democratic politicians, driving them from power. The theory comes from the…

These Posters For Every World Cup Since 1930 Were Made By One Designer

The semi-finals of the World Cup begin today, and soccer, er, football fever—though slightly dimmer now Stateside—is ramping back up for the rest of the world. Which makes it a perfect time to check in with one superfan-slash-designer, who redesigned each official World Cup poster for fun. James Campbell Taylor, a NYC-based graphic designer, took…