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Philippe Starck’s Open Source Furniture Lets You Try Your Hand at Design

In somewhat of a departure for the lofty French designer, Philipe Starck’s new range of furniture is produced in collaboration with a company called TOG—which prides itself on making all of its designs open source. In total, TOG is launching 21 families of products—from bar tables to stackable chairs—designed by some big names: among them…

7 Terrifying Cursed Objects That Actually Exist

We recently told you about the many cursed jewels of the world, but you don’t have to have a shiny rock to have your life destroyed by an otherworldly evil. Plenty of items have terrible curses on them, which can hurt, harass or outright murder people. Here are seven items that you never want to…

How Much Better Is House of Cards in 4K?

Netflix announced at CES that it would begin shooting original series in ultra high-def 4K, and now British site HDTVtest has caught the first glimpse of the streaming giant’s 4K content in the wild. How much more evil does Kevin Spacey look? Here’s what HDTVtest had to say: The opening shot of Frank Underwood (Kevin…

The Best New Windows 8.1 Features in 8 GIFs

Windows 8.1 just got an update. It’s rolling out automatically starting today, but you can also grab it in the Windows Store. The changes are mostly tiny but also great. In fact they’re so small and intuitive that you might even miss a few, so we’ve wrangled our favorites into this series of handy GIFs.…

Sesame Workshop has launched Sesame GO, which is basically an all-you-can-Elmo web-based Netflix for Sesame Street for $4/month or $30/year. This message has been brought to you by the letter A for adorable.

The io9 Book Club is in Session! Let’s Talk About Annihilation.

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In March, we read Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. 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 the meeting is…

What’s Your Most Disappointing Amazon Purchase?

Amazon is such an enabler; that site has everything, right there in front of your face. But sometimes what arrives is not what you thought you were buying. What’s your most disappointing Amazon purchase? Amazon has a charming way of making a crap-ton of neon temporary face tattoos or a bulk order of 60 watt…

See io9 editor Annalee Newitz in Boston 4/10, or on Reddit Today!

Today you can finally get the paperback version of my book on the future of humanity, Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction. Plus, I’ll be at Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, MA this Thursday — and in my first-ever Reddit AMA this afternoon! If you want to ask me anything on…

Watching Movies Together Might Synchronize Brain Activity

We may not all have the same taste in movies, but at the most basic level, we may at least have the same response. A new study looking at the brains of people as they watch movies found a striking similarity among their brain patterns. Researchers at Aalto University in Finland conducted the study by…

The Hal 9000 of Grills Tells You When It’s Time to Flip the Meat

No one likes a backseat griller, especially if you’ve spent years perfecting your bbq craft. But for those starting out, a little coaching can help avoid turning steak into charcoal. And Lynx’s voice-activated Smart Grill will actually ask you what’s going on the barbie so it can then recommend the perfect setting, placement, and grill…

Myths Illuminated In Shadow Boxes Make Believers Of Us All

Deepti Nair and Harikrishnan Panicker, collectively known as Hari & Deepti, are an artist couple who create stunning storybook scenes with light and shadow. Check out this collection of their most stunning work! To make these pieces, Hari & Deepti cut out designs from stiff watercolor paper, placing layer upon layer in a box that…

10 Distinctive American Libraries That Give Books A Good Home

Hey, let’s all take a quick minute right now to acknowledge those brilliant beacons of books—free books, for goodness sake!—that dot towns across the country. The Public Library, a new hardback by photographer Robert Dawson, offers a poignant look at the incredible architectural range of these community hubs. Flipping through shows just how many incarnations…

Athlete Struck By Potentially Hacked Aerial Drone

An athlete competing at an Australian triathlon was sent to hospital after an aerial camera drone suddenly swooped down and smashed into her. The operator of the UAV claims someone nearby “channel hopped” the device — wresting control away from him. The camera drone was hovering above athletes competing in Geraldton’s Endure Batavia Triathlon when…

The Sinister Six Spider-Man Spin-Off Movie Already Has Its Director

And hey, it just happens to be the movie’s screenwriter! The Hollywood Reporter says Sony has hired The Cabin in the Woods’ Drew Goddard to also direct the movie. But here’s my question: If Sinister Six is truly a spin-off, does that mean we won’t see them fight Spidey himself? That would be a bummer…

Twitter’s Facebook-Lite Look Kicks In Today, With New Profile Powers

That major redesign Twitter was teasing earlier this year? It’s here. And it’s got a few features we hadn’t heard about thrown in for good measure. Welcome to Facewitter, or Twitbook. It’s actually pretty nice! The overhaul isn’t quite as dramatic as what circulated in February, although it’s still a fairly stark change from what…

Amazing New Spinal Cord Implant Revives Paralyzed Man’s Legs

A pioneering new technique which uses electrical implants in the spines of paralyzed patients can help them move their legs again—and could soon allow them to walk once more, too. The new research, part of a study by scientists at the University of Louisville’s Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, saw four wheelchair-bound men—who were…

AMD’s New Radeon Is a Preposterous Powerhouse You’ll Wish You Needed

If you buy video cards, chances are you have a lust for power. No respectable PC builder doesn’t at least covet insane high-end cards, even without ever really considering them. Well here’s a new sucker to salivate at, the 11.5 teraflop, water-cooled AMD Radeon R9 295X2. The new coolest card you have no reason to…

Show Your Love For DC Comics Heroines With These Dreamy 1940s Pin-Ups!

The iconic women of the DC Universe have seldom looked bolder or more beautiful than they do in these pin-up illustrations by Ant Lucia, which have been making the rounds online recently. And now, Quantum Mechanix is releasing 10 of them as art prints. We’ve got an exclusive first look, including a few you’ve never…

A Game That Lets You Build — Or Destroy — Your Own Solar System

If you’ve ever wondered just how skillful you might be at designing a solar system, here’s your chance to try your hand at it. A new game lets you build a solar system — and then see it in action. The game is the work of Stefano Meschiari, a postdoctoral fellow at The University of…

Our National Security Is Threatened By Computers That Can’t Spell

A report published two weeks ago by the House Homeland Security Committee revealed that Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev could have been detained before the attack — if he had spelled his name differently. Tsarnaev had been on a terrorist watch list, but no action was taken when he returned to the United States from…