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Build Your Own Gaussian Gun

Remember those Newton’s Cradle executive desk toys? They might be fun to play with, but you can’t use them to send a piece of metal careening into someone’s face. The Gaussian Gun uses the same principle — but it actually lets you shoot a projectile. To set up a Gaussian gun, you don’t need a…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

This Terrifying Glass Deck Lets You Walk Off a Cliff

This is the Glacier Skywalk, a newly-finished observation deck in Canada’s Jasper National Park, smack dab in the middle of the Rockies of the Great White North. It makes you feel almost like you’re walking on air. The Glacier Skywalk is the brainchild of Brewster Travel Canada, Sturgess Architecture, and Read Jones Christofferson Engineering. It…

Tech News Leslie Horn

The Moon Is Way Bigger Than You Probably Think

The Moon looks pretty cute and small in the night sky, and even kind of cozy and twee in the Apollo landing images. But in reality, it’s way bigger than you probably think. Placed on Earth, its diameter would be able to hide Europe, and its surface area is larger than that of Europe, China,…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Behind the Scenes of the First Crewed American Spaceflight

On this day in 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. muttered to himself, “Don’t fuck up, Shepard…”, huddled into the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule, and lifted off to become the first American to reach space. These are the photographs from the historic suborbital flight. Shepard reported observing the outlines of the west coast of Florida, the…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

How big the Moon is explained in one simple video

Here’s a neat, simple video that clearly explains the dimensions of the Moon in relation to other things. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Are Kurt Vonnegut’s Drawings Quirky Or Just Horrifying?

Kurt Vonnegut was a compulsive doodler — and at least some of his books contain the author’s weird illustrations. Including, famously, his anus. But now, a new book collects many of his doodles — some of which are kind of unnervingly weird. The Guardian has a complete collection of Vonnegut art — head over there…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

A Cat’s Eye in the Stellar Dragon

Thousands of light years away in the constellation Draco shines the Cat’s Eye planetary nebula. Formed when a star transitions into a red giant and sheds its outer layers, the planetary nebula will shed gas until only a hot, dense core of a white dwarf is left behind. The Cat’s Eye nebula is 3,000 light…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

Why Are Smartphone Makers So Obsessed With Materials?

As the playing field for smartphone specs has leveled out recently, companies are increasingly turning to materials to distinguish their models. Metal, plastic, glass—which of these is the best? And which is just a gimmick? Over at Anandtech, Joshua Ho explains in a deep dive on the stuff your phone is made out of: It’s…

Tech News Leslie Horn

And Now, Let’s All Watch This Spider Do Some Cartwheels

Scientists have identified a new — and exceptionally agile — cartwheeling-spider. Oh, and did we mention that they’ve also built it a robotic companion? Top image: The Moroccan Flic-Flac Spider salutes the judges, before gearing up for a tumbling run /Ingo Rechenberg The spider, Cebrennus rechenbergi or the Moroccan Flic-Flac spider, was first found by…

io9 Ria Misra

The NSA’s Drunk Again

Or, you know, they’re hiring code-breakers. One of the two.

Tech News Ashley Feinberg

10 Great Authors Who Disowned Their Own Books

Science fiction and fantasy publishing is a tough game. Even the best novels get rejected by publishers who don’t understand their brave new worlds. But some authors wind up rejecting their own books. Here are 10 great authors who disowned their own creations after they’d already seen the light of day. Top image: The Spy…

io9 Madeleine Monson-Rosen and Charlie Jane Anders

The Norwegian Army is Using the Oculus Rift to See Through Its Tanks

When it comes to protection, a hulking vehicle made of armor is probably one of the safer places you can be. The downside of hanging out in a metallic womb, though, is that it’s kind of tough to see out. That is, until you strap on an Oculus Rift and turn the tank invisible. With…

Tech News Eric Limer

This Site Broadcasts Radio From Wherever the Sun Is Rising

There’s something about the sound of the morning news that seems eminently hopeful. For some of us it’s NPR, but of course every place has its own variation—which is why Global Breakfast Radio, which lets you listen to the radio wherever the sun is rising, is so cool. All you have to do is head…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Two Suns Could Raise The Chances Of A Moon Supporting Life

Moons in close binary solar systems have a better chance of hosting life than those in single-star systems, new research has shown. Top image: Avatar Binary stars dampen each other’s solar radiation and stellar winds, thereby creating a more hospitable environment for life and increasing the habitable zone around such solar systems, according to research…

io9 Nola Taylor Redd — Discovery News

Google Same-Day Delivery Hits the Streets in New York and Los Angeles

Google’ same-day delivery service, Shopping Express, is expanding from San Francisco to New York and Los Angeles. It’s never been easier to be lazy. The service isn’t coming to the entirety of the country’s two biggest cities right away. In the short term, Google is offering free six-month trial memberships to Shopping Express. If you…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

The Syndrome That Explains Why You Spent Too Much Money This Weekend

Why do you come out of the weekends wondering why your wallet is so unaccountably empty? There are a lot of reasons, but the most telling is evocatively called the “what-the-hell” effect. Most of you are taking some time today to curse your weekend self for spending all your money on . . . what?…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Cosmos Shows How Life Will Always Find A Way… To Screw Everything Up

“Nothing is permanent,” said the great philosopher Heraclitus, “except change.” Tonight’s episode of Cosmos was about the changes the Earth has undergone over the eons and the contribution life has made to those changes. The story starts about three hundred million years ago, on December 23rd of the Cosmic Year, when trees first appeared on…

io9 Jason Shankel

4 Totally Fake Currencies That Changed the Course of Real Wars

At the tail end of his time as Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, General David Petraeus commented that “money is my most important ammunition in this war.” It was far from an original thought. In fact, you could argue that currency is the most important and least acknowledged wartime weapon. Banknotes, in a way, make…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

LED Tubes Will Make Fluorescents Seem Old-Fashioned

Cree, front-runners in the scramble to replace traditional forms of illumination with greener LED sources, has just announced the release of a new type of tube light designed to tackle one of the biggest energy hogs in Corporate America: fluorescent overhead lights. The new Cree T8 bulb looks very much like the traditional T-8 fluorescent…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

This Week’s TV: Which New Horror Series Will Bring The Biggest Chills?

Two new spooky TV shows premiere this week as The Tomorrow People and Once Upon a Time wrap up their seasons. Plus, zombie drama In the Flesh returns and a powerful Arrow character is back in Starling City. See all the details below! Top image from In the Flesh. Season Two hits BBC America on…

io9 Lauren Davis

Build Your Own Gaussian Gun

This Terrifying Glass Deck Lets You Walk Off a Cliff

The Moon Is Way Bigger Than You Probably Think

Behind the Scenes of the First Crewed American Spaceflight

How big the Moon is explained in one simple video

Are Kurt Vonnegut’s Drawings Quirky Or Just Horrifying?

A Cat’s Eye in the Stellar Dragon

Why Are Smartphone Makers So Obsessed With Materials?

And Now, Let’s All Watch This Spider Do Some Cartwheels

The NSA’s Drunk Again

10 Great Authors Who Disowned Their Own Books

The Norwegian Army is Using the Oculus Rift to See Through Its Tanks

This Site Broadcasts Radio From Wherever the Sun Is Rising

Two Suns Could Raise The Chances Of A Moon Supporting Life

Google Same-Day Delivery Hits the Streets in New York and Los Angeles

The Syndrome That Explains Why You Spent Too Much Money This Weekend

Cosmos Shows How Life Will Always Find A Way… To Screw Everything Up

4 Totally Fake Currencies That Changed the Course of Real Wars

LED Tubes Will Make Fluorescents Seem Old-Fashioned

This Week’s TV: Which New Horror Series Will Bring The Biggest Chills?

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