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Disney Is Reportedly Building a Major Star Wars-Themed Attraction

Star Tours! You’re gonna have company! After hints last year of a potential Star Wars Land in the works, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced today that the theme park(s) would be getting new attraction(s) tied to everyone’s favorite space saga, and the elusive plans will be revealed next year. Variety‘s Marc Graser is reporting (via…

Tech News Jordan Kushins Aug 6 '14

Scientists Recover Speech From Silent Video Of A Vibrating Bag of Chips

So this is incredible. Researchers led by MIT computer scientist Abe Davis have developed an algorithm that can reconstruct intelligible music and speech from video footage of things like plants and potato chip bags by analyzing the patterns of their otherwise imperceptible vibrations. Via Wired: The secret to the science is that the researchers were…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 6 '14

The Greatest Friendships From Science Fiction And Fantasy Television

What keeps us coming back to television shows, week after week? It’s not the fantastic worlds, or the cool plots, or the mystery arcs. It’s the characters, and their relationships. A lot of the best TV shows feature characters who are friends, and you want to be part of it. But what are the best…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 6 '14

A Transforming USB Business Card That Shares More Than Just Your Name

Despite countless ways for us to share information online, business cards are somehow still a popular way to pass on contact info. So instead of trying to replace them, the creators of the swivelCard simply found a way to make business cards better with a built-in USB port that lets you share everything from your…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 6 '14

Is Saving The Whales Key To Mitigating Climate Change?

The great whales, once under the threat of death from most seafaring nations (and now only a scant few), are some of the largest creatures to ever grace our planet. The group includes all the aptly named Mysteceti, the whales who filter plankton and krill through the plates of baleen that line their jaws, and…

Climate Change Jason G. Goldman Aug 6 '14

See Young Stephen Hawking In Love In The Theory Of Everything Trailer

This biographical drama based on the life of brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking is amazing, heartbreaking, and beautiful. I too have a “theory of something” — I theorize that when you watch it, you may not cry, but you’ll find something in your eye. (Get it? GET IT?! Sorry.) By the way, the gent playing Hawking…

io9 Rob Bricken Aug 6 '14

This 3D-Printed Falcon Is a Flying Robot Scarecrow

Your usual scarecrow is a pretty low tech contraption: A vaguely humanoid shape draped in old clothes on a field. But what would a high-tech scarecrow look like? A Dutch company has created 3D-printed robot birds of prey that can soar and swoop like the real thing, scaring away pesky real birds away from airports…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Aug 6 '14

Color-Changing Stained Glass Makes It Easy For Cathedrals To Redecorate

A group of Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo, the Segawa Laboratory at RCAST, and Sony have created a prototype glass panel with intricate designs that’s able to change color based on the how much energy is supplied from an attached rechargeable battery. In other words, it’s stained glass for a generation who swaps…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 6 '14

This Giant Searchlight Once Scanned L.A. From the Mountains Above

As twilight faded over Pasadena on September 9, 1894, an artificial sun flickered to life for the first time. High above town in the San Gabriel Mountains stood a wonder of the new electric age: a 60-inch General Electric searchlight, by many accounts the largest in the world. This massive projector first dazzled audiences at…

Tech News Nathan Masters Aug 6 '14

Deals: Cheap Otterboxes, Kitchen Gear, 802.11ac Router, App Discounts

Clumsy and/or neurotic iPhone owners should take a look at these OtterBox Preserver cases for iPhone 5 and 5s. Amazon usually lists them for $80 or more, but today only, you can get one for $30. [Otterbox Preserver Series Case iPhone 5/5S, $30] Today’s Amazon bonus deal of the day is big discounts on a…

Tech News Shep McAllister Aug 6 '14

These Adorable Wolf Pups Could Be California’s First In 100 Years

OR7, the wolf who journeyed from northeast Oregon to California, found a mate and has just sired these three puppies. They’re the first born anywhere near California in at least 100 years and these are the first pictures of them. OR7 (pictured above) first garnered national headlines when he left his pack in northeast Oregon…

Tech News Wes Siler Aug 6 '14

What Do Extreme Ecosystems Tell Us About The Nature Of Life?

Our planet has some pretty intense environments, ranging from dense ice to molten rock — and they all play host to some form of life. What do extremophiles —creatures that live in unimaginable conditions — tell us about the very nature, and limits, of life? Extremophiles allow us to quantify what evolution is capable of…

io9 Rachel Mitchell Aug 6 '14

The Secret Ways Airports Tell Us Where to Go

As humans have developed cities and built environments, we have also needed to develop ways to find our way through them. Signage goes back at least as far as the Roman Empire where they constructed “milestones” along their roadways. A Roman milestone in modern-day Portugal. Credit: Julia Reis. Today, signage and other cues to help…

Tech News Roman Mars - 99% Invisible Aug 6 '14

Can You Explain The Science Behind These Physical Phenomena?

Here’s Veritasium’s Derek Muller with 5 Fun Physics Phenomena to bend your brain. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on all of these, with the exception of the plastic cup/water demo (which I’ve always heard explained like this) and the teabag rocket, which – be right back, setting all my tea bags…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 6 '14

The surface of a comet seen up close for the first time ever

The spacecraft Rosetta is now orbiting the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It’s taking some amazingly clear imagesincluding the one above,the first ever close up of a the surface of a comet in history. Soon we will be landing there. According to NASA: The image was taken by Rosetta’s Onboard Scientific Imaging System (OSIRIS) on August 6, 2014.…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Aug 6 '14

The New Branding For Rio 2016 Looks Like a Very Friendly Amoeba

Hundreds of thousands of people attend the Olympics, and millions more watch them. So there’s a lot riding on the way a city presents them, from advertising to stadiums. Rio just revealed what its 2016 Games will look like, and they’ve done a great job—not just because no enterprising internet perv has compared it to…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Aug 6 '14

Gmail Just Made Unsubscribing From Bulk Emails Easier Than Ever

You probably still get a bunch of bulk emails, simply because it’s a pain scrolling around to find the elusive “Unsubscribe” link. Gmail just solved that: now, an unsubscribe option pops up right next to the sender’s address in certain types of mail. Scroll no more. Added just today, the feature floats that magical link…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Aug 6 '14

How Big Is Rosetta’s Comet?

Last night, Rosetta made the first of three burns to settle into orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. But, just how big is that lump of dirty snow? It is taller than Mount Fuji, big enough to hide a Borg Cube, and it would make a cozy home for a space slug. It’s taken ten years, five…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Aug 6 '14

James Spader On Playing The Avengers‘ 8-Foot Tall Robot Villain Ultron

Robert Downey Jr. called James Spader’s Avengers 2 storyline“the best bad guy plot I’ve ever read.” But what does Ultron himself think? We got a brief interview with James Spader at Comic-Con, and here’s what the actor had to say about his debut as a Marvel’s next Big Bad. How did you get involved with…

Books & Comics Meredith Woerner Aug 6 '14

What Do Sex Dolls And Cell Phones Have In Common?

Julie Beck’s latest feature for The Atlantic is chock-full of all the salacious factoids one expects from an article titled “A (Straight, Male) History of Sex Dolls.” Above: “Sandy sex doll or poseable mannequin” | Photo Credit: Dollist | CC BY-SA 3.0 For instance: There is an urban legend that Hitler had sex dolls designed…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 6 '14

Disney Is Reportedly Building a Major Star Wars-Themed Attraction

Scientists Recover Speech From Silent Video Of A Vibrating Bag of Chips

The Greatest Friendships From Science Fiction And Fantasy Television

A Transforming USB Business Card That Shares More Than Just Your Name

Is Saving The Whales Key To Mitigating Climate Change?

See Young Stephen Hawking In Love In The Theory Of Everything Trailer

This 3D-Printed Falcon Is a Flying Robot Scarecrow

Color-Changing Stained Glass Makes It Easy For Cathedrals To Redecorate

This Giant Searchlight Once Scanned L.A. From the Mountains Above

Deals: Cheap Otterboxes, Kitchen Gear, 802.11ac Router, App Discounts

These Adorable Wolf Pups Could Be California’s First In 100 Years

What Do Extreme Ecosystems Tell Us About The Nature Of Life?

The Secret Ways Airports Tell Us Where to Go

Can You Explain The Science Behind These Physical Phenomena?

The surface of a comet seen up close for the first time ever

The New Branding For Rio 2016 Looks Like a Very Friendly Amoeba

Gmail Just Made Unsubscribing From Bulk Emails Easier Than Ever

How Big Is Rosetta’s Comet?

James Spader On Playing The Avengers‘ 8-Foot Tall Robot Villain Ultron

What Do Sex Dolls And Cell Phones Have In Common?

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Latest

Disney Is Reportedly Building a Major Star Wars-Themed Attraction

Scientists Recover Speech From Silent Video Of A Vibrating Bag of Chips

The Greatest Friendships From Science Fiction And Fantasy Television

A Transforming USB Business Card That Shares More Than Just Your Name

Is Saving The Whales Key To Mitigating Climate Change?

See Young Stephen Hawking In Love In The Theory Of Everything Trailer

This 3D-Printed Falcon Is a Flying Robot Scarecrow

Color-Changing Stained Glass Makes It Easy For Cathedrals To Redecorate

This Giant Searchlight Once Scanned L.A. From the Mountains Above

Deals: Cheap Otterboxes, Kitchen Gear, 802.11ac Router, App Discounts

​These Adorable Wolf Pups Could Be California’s First In 100 Years

What Do Extreme Ecosystems Tell Us About The Nature Of Life?

The Secret Ways Airports Tell Us Where to Go

Can You Explain The Science Behind These Physical Phenomena?

The surface of a comet seen up close for the first time ever

The New Branding For Rio 2016 Looks Like a Very Friendly Amoeba

Gmail Just Made Unsubscribing From Bulk Emails Easier Than Ever

How Big Is Rosetta’s Comet?

James Spader On Playing The Avengers‘ 8-Foot Tall Robot Villain Ultron

What Do Sex Dolls And Cell Phones Have In Common?

Flock Reportedly Tried to Turn Uber Drivers Into Mobile Snitches

‘The Odyssey’ Will Soon Be Christopher Nolan’s Highest-Grossing Film

Take Your Streaming Abroad: NordVPN Is Up to 75% Off With 3 Free Months

Data Center Reps Face the Guillotine, Flee Public Hearing

This Super El Niño Could Trigger the Highest Sea Levels Ever Recorded on the California Coast

‘Lynx’ Is a Sapphic Neo-Noir Thriller About a Damaged Detective and Her Snarky Cat Battling Angels [Exclusive]

RFK Jr. Is Too Rich to Know the Price of Groceries, Not Rich Enough to Stop Grifting

Upcoming Hack to Keep NASA’s Voyager 1 Alive Exploits a Quirk in Its 1970s Hardware

Lenovo Pro 9i 16 G11 Aura Edition Review: A Pretty Screen Stuffed Into an Ugly Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Review: The Most Fun Phone in Ages

CMF Clip Pro Review: An Affordable Challenger in the Clip-Style Earbuds Craze

Back to School: The 8 Best Smart Home Devices for Your Dorm Room

You Don’t Want Smart Glasses That Record Everything You Say—Trust Me

SwitchBot Kata Friends AI Pet Review: Useless if You Don’t Pay Up

Insta360 Luna Ultra Review: This Is the Only Gimbal Camera You Need

The Best Gadgets of July 2026

Let us help you find what you’re looking for...

These Adorable Wolf Pups Could Be California’s First In 100 Years