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Devon Aoki will join season 3 of Arrow as the sword-wielding superheroine Katana. Deadline says the Sin City star “will be one of Oliver’s mentors in the [Hong Kong] flashbacks and a critical influence on his journey to eventually become The Arrow of present day.”

When the City Rose Up and Challenged Dragons

Cities outlast empires, but not for the reasons you might think. Some of these old places aren’t just made of stone and vines. They’ve got bones hidden beneath their streets, and will rise up to meet a battalion head on, their arms made from towers, and faces armored by the spires of city walls. Kekai…

Bryan Fuller Is Developing The American Gods TV Series For Starz

Holy hell—Bryan Fuller is going to bring Neil Gaiman’s American Gods to television. We are freaking out. After American Gods got stuck in development hell at HBO it bounced around until finally finding a place to land today. Starz just announced in a press release that not only will they be providing a home for…

Pics of X-Rayed Toys Give Everyone Superpowered Sight

X-ray vision is, sadly, a superpower most of lack (boo). But photographer Brendan Fitzpatrick lets us play pretend with this neat photo series of see-through toys. He’s perfected the technique by capturing the inner workings of flowers and all kinds of creatures, but this latest batch in his Invisible Light collection appeals to every kid…

You Can Measure, Mix, Knead, and Bake Bread In this One Silicone Bowl

The best way to think of Lékué’s flexible silicone bowl is as a bread machine that won’t waste valuable kitchen counter space when not in use. Because it’s soft and flexible it can be easily stored in a cupboard or even a drawer, and because it’s all silicone it can go straight from the counter…

Yikes, Christian Bale’s Moses Is Super Intense

Here it is the first-ever look at Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings, which looks absolutely bonkers. Christian Bale is Moses; Sigourney Weaver is his fake mom and Joel Edgerton is Rameses, which is good because as we all know Rameses was Australian. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we now have our first glimpse into the…

Here’s One Early Proposal For Obama’s Presidential Library In Chicago

Obama’s nearing the end of his second term, which means talk is turning towards where he’ll be setting up camp post-presidency. The location of his presidential library is being hotly contested, with Chicago, New York City, and Honolulu all vying for the prize. Here’s one proposal for locating it in Bronzeville, Chicago’s first African-American neighborhood.…

All The Most Essential Science Fiction And Fantasy Books In July

July is bursting with science fiction and fantasy greatness. Including new books from Hannu Rajaniemi, Joe Abercrombie, Nick Harkaway and Charles Stross. Here are the 29 science fiction and fantasy books that absolutely everybody’s going to be talking about this month. Top image: The Apex Book of World SF 3. Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by…

Why Countdown Clocks for Pedestrians Actually Cause More Car Crashes

As a frequent traveler by foot, I love countdowns at crosswalks. They tell me whether I should wait out 2 seconds or leisurely walk across in 15. And indeed, these countdowns do make pedestrians safer. But it turns out that countdowns actually cause more crashes between cars. Here’s why. The answer is, weirdly enough, too…

Divers Discover Vanished WWI-Era Russian ‘Shark’ Submarine

Estonian divers working in the Baltic Sea have identified a wreck as being the legendary Tsarist-era Russian submarine known as The Shark, which disappeared without a trace during the First World War. Commissioned in 1911, the 400-ton vessel, called Akula (Russian for shark), was the biggest in the pre-Revolutionary Imperial Russian Navy. Able to cruise…

Google just announced that it’s buying Songza, no doubt in a bid to beef up its music streaming offerings. For the time being, there are no plans to change Songza and no word on the price of the deal, but you can bet that its functionality will be popping up in a Google service sometime…

The End Of Avengers: Age Of Ultron May Have A Major Surprise For Hulk

Hitflix says they know what happens to the Hulk in the final act of Avengers: Age of Ultron. This could be a rumor, or it could be a spoiler, but if it’s true, it has some major ramifications for Phase 3 of the Marvel cinematic universe. Supposedly, the Hulk will become trapped in a quinjet…

The 50 Most Amazing Images From a Decade of Orbiting Saturn

Cassini entered Saturn’s orbit on July 1st, 2004. And ever since, this NASA-ESA-ASI collaboration has delivered stunning images of the crown jewel of our solar system. The following 50 images were chosen from thousands of similarly great photographs from a full decade of exploring the sixth planet and its iconic ring system and moons. Read…

About 42% of Americans think astrology is scientific. It is not.

Every two years, the National Science Foundation asks Americans their thoughts on astrology. We don’t have the numbers for 2014 yet, but back in 2012, 42 percent of Americans said that astrology was scientific — which is a bit depressing, since astrology is in no way scientific. About 10 percent said they believed astrology was…

NASA’s New Satellite Could Unravel the Mystery of Our Changing Climate

Right now, io9’s Mika McKinnon is at the launch for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a satellite which will track where the Earth draws carbon out of the atmosphere. It could give us hints about why the climate is changing — and how we can intervene more quickly. Here’s how the OCO works. https://gizmodo.com/nasas-new-satellite-could-unravel-the-mystery-of-our-ch-1598348848

How Japanese Woodblock Prints Will Commemorate The Apocalypse

World-shattering meteorites, future famines, and rising sea levels get the Japanese ukiyo-e treatment in this series of apocalyptic illustrations styled after woodblock prints. Collaborating with art director Michi Toki, illustrator Andrew Archer made these images and more for a California Magazine story about how the world might end. You can see the rest of the…

The World’s Greatest Water Gun Has 6 Spinning, Soaking Barrels

Step aside, Super Soaker. The one-time king of summer fun has officially been usurped by this custom creation from the folks behind Sugru. It looks like something Schwarzenegger used in an action film, but it’s instead designed for mowing down people with a harmless soaking. For those not in the know, Sugru is a soft,…

Five Ways To Sleep Outside Without A Tent

Tents are wonderfully effective, but also large, heavy and fragile. Can you really go camping without one? Turns out, you really don’t have to sacrifice that much. Roughing It: This is my preferred outdoor sleeping solution, but only when I can say with reasonable certainty that it’s not going to rain. Here in Southern California,…

Audi Turned 28 Cars Into a Giant World Cup Scoreboard For Manhattan

In what could turn out to be yet another vain attempt to get most Americans to like—or even mildly appreciate—soccer, Audi created a giant World Cup scoreboard made from something the country definitely loves: Cars. Assembled on the shores of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the scoreboard was built using 42 shipping containers stacked to form a giant…

Lord Of The Rings‘ Elves Are Totally Lying About Their Awesome Eyesight

That’s right; Legolas and his pointy-eared kin are goddamned liars. As this video proves, they can’t possibly see over the distance and with the clarity they claim. Man, it’s like Tolkien didn’t do any scientific research before writing his fantasy opus. [Via Geeks Are Sexy]