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Starck’s Dog Desk Will Actually Help Kids Do Their Homework

In a surprising turn of events, students around the world might soon be crediting their dog for actually helping them complete their homework, instead of using man’s best friend as a scapegoat. But that assumes that every student has access to this adorable dog desk designed by Philippe Starck. Made from moulded polyethylene plastic and…

This is how they load nuclear cruise missiles on a B-52 Stratofortress

When I first saw this photo I immediately thought “what the hell is thing?” Then Attila Nagy told me about it: It’s a nuclear armed AGM-86B cruise missile. Three of them, in fact, being loaded on a B-52 Stratofortress. It’s hard to tell because you are looking at the butt of this 1.4-ton nuclear shark,…

A spectacular ring of green flame rolls backward from a rocket launcher being test-fired by Sgt. Scott Hulsizer at the U.S.-run Kaneohe Bay Range Training Facility. [U.S. Marine Corps Flickr]

Take a Tour Through the Mother of All Airports

In a city of controversial historic buildings, Berlin’s massive Tempelhof Airport is one of the most embattled. This aging, elegant behemoth served as a hub for the Nazis and, later, for the Berlin Air Lift. Now, it’s the focus of major development plans—and PBS just got a look inside. In a new video we get…

Would you remember a pretty face?

There’s a good chance that even if you picked a pretty face out of a lineup, you wouldn’t remember it seconds later. Even if you thought it was the most memorable face in the world. We are almost never paying as much attention to things as we think we are. This comes up time and…

Twitter appears to be down (along with its various clients such as Tweetdeck). We’ve reached out to Twitter to see what’s going up and will update as soon as we hear back. Update 2:28 PM: A representative from Twitter just let us know that they’re “looking into it.” Still no word on what the actual…

Man on fire jumps off a 3,900-foot cliff in craziest basejump stunt yet

The whole base jumping thing is getting out of hand. The Awesomerer found this video of Tom Erik Heimen setting himself on fire and jumping off a 3,900-foot cliff in Norway. The biggest risk, they say, was that the small parachute—called pilot chute—that it’s used to deploy the actual parachute might catch on fire. Fortunately,…

How Much Coffee Is Too Much?

Whether it’s served in a demitasse mug or a venti mochachino bucket, coffee is an essential, eye-opening morning ritual for many of us. But at what point does throwing back another vente doing you more harm than good? As you probably know, coffee’s main health concern—its caffeine content—is also why you drink so much of…

My novel about a mad scientist and a witch is becoming a real book!

When a young mad scientist meets a witch in junior high school, they form an unusual bond — even though he’s building a supercomputer and she’s talking to animals. That’s what happens in my novel All the Birds in the Sky, which Tor Books has just agreed to publish next year.I am way over the…

Mohu Leaf For $26, Nighthawk AC Router, Canon Cameras Galore [Deals]

Your cable company hates you, so give them the boot with an indoor TV antenna. The Mohu Leaf is unobtrusive and performs extremely well, especially for city dwellers. In fact, the Leaf blew away the competition in Lifehacker’s Hive Five voting for best TV antenna. Today on Amazon, pick up a refurbished model for just…

A Rain-Detecting Automatic Pet Door That Keeps Them Inside and Dry

On one hand, having a pet door installed means you don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to let your dog or cat out. But on the other hand, it also gives your pet access to a possibly wet and muddy yard whenever they want. Which is why the Petwalk automatic pet…

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Dead Witch Walking.

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In February, we read Kim Harrison’s Dead Witch Walking. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! Photo by chameequa 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…

This 1920s Shockwatch Was Like a Taser For Your Wrist

While those of us here in the early 21st century argue over the future of smartwatches and smart rings, inventors of the 1920s would probably think we’re all a bunch of babies. Sure, your Pebble might have caller ID. But can it incapacitate a potential mugger with a 10,000 volt high frequency shock? I didn’t…

Words of Radiance puts the “epic” back in epic fantasy

Maybe you read Brandon Sanderson’s first entry in The Stormlight Archives, The Way of Kings. Maybe you’re just familiar with his work from finishing up Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Whether you’ve been hyped for Words of Radiance or not, you are not prepared for how fantastic it is. Indeed, The Way of Kings…

Los Angeles To Launch Nation’s Largest Interactive Urban Trail Network

Los Angeles is a big place—over 400 square miles. Even though it’s home to the country’s largest urban park, many of its residents don’t have easy access to public green space—or they might not know where the nearest one is. A new “interactive interpretive” urban trail system hopes to close that distance, while connecting Angelenos…

Watch a Pro Table Tennis Player Take Down a Robot Opponent

After an anxious month’s wait, we finally get to see the ultimate showdown of man vs. machine on the only battleground that matters—table tennis. The results? Humans: 1, KUKA robot: 0. Our future mechanical overlords still have quite a ways go. Put on by KUKA Robot Group to show off what its flagship machine can…

Why gluten-free foods aren’t necessarily healthier

Now that many of us are trying to avoid gluten like the plague, a slew of gluten-free products have started appearing in our stores. Unfortunately, many of these foods are advertised or understood as healthy alternatives, which is often far from the truth. Before we get into this, it needs to be pointed out that…

Lost Girl‘s love triangles become polygons when the Wanderer is revealed

It was a grab bag of folklore on this week’s Lost Girl — some of it brilliant, some of it laughably terrible. Odin’s crows, Japanese puzzle boxes, Chinese fae, and even a biblical serpent/demon. Bo has made up her mind once and for all to find out who the Wanderer is, and the writers have…

10am-11am PST: Brian Greene Q&A on string theory

New pasta with tomato popsicle may be yummiest or yuckiest thing yet

Japanese people claim that ice cream company Gari-Gari Kun makes the best popsicles in the world. They’re about to introduce a new popsicle flavor: Pasta with tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is inside the popsicle in gelatin form. It sounds terrible but something tells me that it must taste good. Yummy or yucky, I really…