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The United States’ weird January weather, summarized in a single map

January was a month of extremes for the continental United States. Pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies endured unusually cold conditions, while most regions west of the range experienced record-breaking warmth (most notably in California, where a devastating drought recently extended into its 13th month). https://gizmodo.com/theres-a-polar-vortex-sweeping-across-america-and-i-1494961441 https://gizmodo.com/californias-terrifying-drought-summed-up-in-two-satel-1506989095 According to Mashable, The divide between East…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

This small Netherlands town has streets named after Tolkien characters

In the little Dutch town of Geldrop there is a neighborhood with streets named after characters from the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien. You’ll find the names of hobbits, dwarves, wizards and elves – but there’s at least one name that’s conspicuously absent. https://gizmodo.com/what-would-middle-earth-look-like-from-space-1519194883 https://gizmodo.com/a-map-of-the-united-states-drawn-in-the-style-of-lord-5892354 Photo Credit: Manuel Pangaruy Jr. That name is “Bilbo.” There’s no…

Books & Comics Robbie Gonzalez

How Comcast-TWC Will End Your All-You-Can Internet Buffet

There are broad, sweeping implications for the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. This is not one of them. This is a very specific, fine print change. But for TWC customers—and, eventually, the rest of us—it’s going to be the single worst part of the deal. Welcome to broadband data caps! They’re here…

Tech News Brian Barrett

Massive collection of new Star Wars Rebels characters revealed!

Turns out the vast, new world of Star Wars Rebels isn’t populated solely by Jedi with meticulously manicured facial hair. Nope, there’s a whole universe of new aliens and Jedi fighters to get excited about. Here are the new Star Wars faces we met at Hasbro’s big Toy Fair reveal. https://gizmodo.com/new-jedi-kind-of-looks-like-a-guy-we-bought-weed-from-i-1520977916 The first new Rebels…

Television Meredith Woerner

This New School of Architecture is a Crazy Canyon of Concrete and Wood

What an amazing building this turned out to be, the new Abedian School of Architecture at Bond University in Queensland, Australia. Designed by London’s CRAB studio—led by Gavin Robotham and Sir Peter Cook, whose work you might know from Archigram—the 27,000 square-foot structure has just been completed and now faces the hard test of everyday…

Tech News Geoff Manaugh

Remote Control Nerf-Firing Robots Are the Answer To Every Kid’s Dream

Robots and Nerf, two toys that are the staple of every child’s messy bedroom floor, are finally coming together in what could be one of the best (and safest) ways to harass your siblings, parents, and even co-workers. Because Hasbro’s new Combat Creatures let you remotely unleash a barrage of foam darts from a safe…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Scrabble’s New Electronic Score Tracker Will Save Competitive Families

Realizing the toll that Scrabble has taken on families when it comes to accurately keeping track of the score, Hasbro is introducing an updated version of the game that among other improvements, now includes an electronic score tracker. So no longer will your mom or dad’s questionable math affect the outcome of a game. Available…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Geometric sand sculptures put your bucket-and-trowel creations to shame

The cubist creations of sandcastle artist Calvin Seibert will blow you away. The New York–based artist, who works professionally as a sculptor’s assistant, recently returned from a 10-day trip to Hawaii, which he spent crafting a wide range of his ephemeral angular monuments. Seibert writes about his practice and surprisingly poignant building philosophy over on…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Simon Now Caters To the Swipe Generation

Before Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, and other electronic obsessions occupied our free time, there was Simon. The simple game had players trying to perfectly recreate an ever-growing sequence of flashing colors by pressing a set of four buttons. It was simple, it was frustrating, and now it’s gotten even harder as Hasbro is adding swipe…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

Every Baby Bottle Needs a Grippy Rollcage

If you don’t have kids, you might find it hard to believe that baby bottles don’t come standard with this springy shock-absorbing and easy-to-grip silicone rollcage. The Ba Baby Bottle Holder is actually a $15 aftermarket accessory for bottles that makes them easier for babies to grip, and better suited to surviving being thrown across…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

These Glowing Dogs Are Made From Trash Pulled From the Ocean

Alaska has a trash problem. As you probably noticed in the aftermath of the Japanese Earthquake, America’s northernmost state happens to be the dumping grounds for all the garbage the Pacific Ocean doesn’t want. Now, an industrious artist is drawing attention to the problem. Cynthia Minet’s latest project, Pack Dogs, goes on display this week…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

This Week’s Top Comedy Video: Comparing RoboCop With its Inspiration

Can a remake of a legendary classic ever live up to its inspiration? That’s the challenge set before José Padilha’s RoboCop, and film critic Peter Rosenthal takes us through the key differences between the 2014 remake and its inspiration, a classic from the bygone era of silent film. For the rest of this week’s top…

Tech News splitsider

Guardians of the Galaxy toys reveal Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser!

Want to see what kind of insane makeup Lee Pace will be donning as the big bad in Marvel’s new Guardians of the Galaxy movie? Hasbro has revealed their Ronan the Accuser, along with a full lineup of GOTG characters! First up, here is a look at the Peter Quill / Star-Lord action figure, who…

Movies Meredith Woerner

What the hell is this eldritch horror from beneath the sea?

It’s got a giant blob foot full of what I can only assume are tapioca balls from a bubble drink, plus some pretty insane tentacles. Even marine biologist David Shiffman was perplexed, which is why he sent out a tweet earlier today asking for somebody to identify it. Luckily, the internet had a ready answer.…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Turn Your Mouse Into a Weird Noise Factory With This Theremin Webpage

Theremins are super fun production lines of weird squeeps and bloops, the de rigueur sound of kitschy black-and-white sci-fi movies and DJ rave parties alike. Anyone with an appreciation of music, or just noise, should play with one given the chance—and now you can do so from the comfort of your computer, thanks to Femur…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich

Google Glass Marriage Proposals Show Why Glass Makes Everything Awful

The folks at Google Glass put together a Valentine’s Day video showing the Glass-eye view of five couples’ marriage proposals. It’s cute. It’s heartwarming. It’s the worst. I know what you’re thinking. “Oh yawn, another angry anti-romance blog post from some nasty internet misanthrope who’s still stewing over another Valentine’s Day spent watching House of…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich

The New Zealand Prime Minister publicly denies being a lizard person

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was recently asked to provide “any evidence to disprove the theory that [he] is in fact a David Icke style shapeshifting reptilian alien ushering humanity towards enslavement.” Key, in a congenial manner atypical of shapeshifting reptilian aliens, responded. https://gizmodo.com/six-of-the-most-widely-believed-alien-conspiracy-theori-5692584 Said Key: To the best of my knowledge, no. I’ve…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

How NASA’s plan to capture an asteroid is crucial to human survival

NASA is committed to grab an asteroid and put it into lunar orbit in the next decade, using a robotic system to put a 40-foot (12-meter) rock into a space shopping bag, and then tow it to the Moon. This apparently useless mission is actually crucial to the survival of humankind. The space agency calls…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Does sex affect your athletic performance?

It’s no mystery at this point that the Olympic Village is the epicenter of world-caliber hard-body-on-hard-body action – but does all that next-level sex have a negative (or positive) impact on athletic performance? http://valleywag.gawker.com/tinder-use-at-the-olympic-village-in-sochi-is-next-lev-1521411077 http://valleywag.gawker.com/this-is-the-next-level-tinder-the-olympic-athletes-ar-1523101233 Mohammed Ali, for his part, would abstain from sex starting as much as six weeks out from a big fight,…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

How Netflix Braces For the House of Cards Binge

Marketplace’s Queena Kim was in Netflix’s war room at the moment season 2 of House of Cards went live, getting a peek at how Netflix pulls off dropping an entire season of phenomenal television into our addled, impatient laps. Just thinking about that sudden rush of millions of fans clicking on the new season of…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich

The United States’ weird January weather, summarized in a single map

This small Netherlands town has streets named after Tolkien characters

How Comcast-TWC Will End Your All-You-Can Internet Buffet

Massive collection of new Star Wars Rebels characters revealed!

This New School of Architecture is a Crazy Canyon of Concrete and Wood

Remote Control Nerf-Firing Robots Are the Answer To Every Kid’s Dream

Scrabble’s New Electronic Score Tracker Will Save Competitive Families

Geometric sand sculptures put your bucket-and-trowel creations to shame

Simon Now Caters To the Swipe Generation

Every Baby Bottle Needs a Grippy Rollcage

These Glowing Dogs Are Made From Trash Pulled From the Ocean

This Week’s Top Comedy Video: Comparing RoboCop With its Inspiration

Guardians of the Galaxy toys reveal Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser!

What the hell is this eldritch horror from beneath the sea?

Turn Your Mouse Into a Weird Noise Factory With This Theremin Webpage

Google Glass Marriage Proposals Show Why Glass Makes Everything Awful

The New Zealand Prime Minister publicly denies being a lizard person

How NASA’s plan to capture an asteroid is crucial to human survival

Does sex affect your athletic performance?

How Netflix Braces For the House of Cards Binge

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