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We Drank Beer Concentrate So You Don’t Have To

You’ve spent the entire day hiking in the backcountry. Filthy, sweaty, and tired, you want nothing more than to fall to the ground and fill your mouth with cold, life-restoring beer. Well, you kind of can; Pat’s Backcountry Beverages claims to have the answer to every camping ale addict’s prayers: a hyper-potent, concentrated beer gel…

The U.S. Navy says stealth drones could be used to attack enemy planes

Imagine a scenario where a human pilot is accompanied by a fleet of robotic wingmen, each of them ready to attack any wayward enemy aircraft that dares to get in their way. The U.S. Navy says it’s a distinct possibility — one that’s not beyond current technological capabilities. Top image: Lockheed Martin UCLASS. Now that…

How Primer’s lack of explanation inspired the crazy A Field in England

A Field in England is a 17th century mind-job that is relentless in its decision to force you to figure shit out for yourself. No hand-holding, just a couple of Englishmen stuck in the middle of a very dark mushroom trip. Or are they? We spoke with director Ben Wheatley all about his terrifying period-piece…

Mankind’s major struggle [in the future] will be against boredom, with the suicide rate zooming as people lose the race. — January 4, 1959 Parade magazine

Which TV show changed the most from its first episode to its last?

A new TV show is like a shiny toy, mint in the box: You can’t wait to start breaking it and rebuilding it. Any show that stays on the air a few years will have cast changes, but also mission creep and radical status-quo alterations. Which science fiction or fantasy show changed the most from…

Frank Gehry Is Still the World’s Worst Living Architect

While it’s been widely known for at least a decade that Frank Gehry is the world’s worst living architect, it’s not entirely clear why some people—mostly very rich clients—haven’t picked up on this yet. The utterly god awful Biomuseo in Panama, an eco-discovery center that cost at least $60 million and took a decade to…

Syfy’s new 2014 TV line up has some good news… and some bad news

The good news: Syfy is finally releasing Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge. This channel is rapidly becoming the Food Channel of props and special effects, and that’s a great thing when you get Henson’s company involved. The bad news: Syfy’s new show titled Carvers, which is about carving things. The Syfy channel just announced their…

The Mayor of Los Angeles Would Like to Introduce You to the New L.A.

“I want to set some ground rules for what I think we all should do in L.A., which is to really resist cliché,” stated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti last night during a future-focused public event at Occidental College. While “certain publications”—which the mayor did not name, but we all know who they are—like to…

This is hilarious, even if you disagree. People either seem to love or hate Mark Helprin’s novel Winter’s Tale (which just became a movie that almost nobody loves.) Tor.com’s Chris Lough hates the book, and writes a brilliantly funny and detailed take-down.

7 Places You Can Find a Last-Minute Valentines Day Date

It’s February 14 and you’re alone (again). Fret not, because there is still time to find a date. Don’t feel weird looking for love (or even just one night of it) on Valentine’s Day. It’s more than guaranteed other single souls are doing the same. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-place-to-get-a-last-minute-internet-valentines-5884771 Here are some places you can hunt that you…

The One Literary Reference You Must Know to Appreciate ​True Detective

Two episodes into the series, True Detective dropped a reference to one of the strangest, most compelling tales in the canon of weird fiction: Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow, a collection of short stories published in 1895. Knowing this book is key to understanding the dark mystery at the heart of this series.…

This Week in Time Capsules: Disappointed Students Boo Boring Capsule

Time capsuling is hard. Everybody wants to find that ancient capsule with the dozens of gold bricks or the mummy or whatever. But more often than not, they’re quite boring. Your average 20th century capsule generally has just a handful of old pennies and an American flag. But we keep searching. Because sometimes, we find…

Dr. Horrible 2 is still in the pipeline, with “many songs written”

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog was this perfect little burst of musical-theater supervillainy, which rocked the internet… and then there was no more. Are we going to have to summon the Evil League of Evil to get us a sequel? Apparently not. It’s still happening… just very, very slowly. Entertainment Weekly is doing a special issue…

Scientists now know why this mysterious rock suddenly appeared on Mars

When a rock suddenly appeared in front of the Opportunity rover on Mars last month, scientists were puzzled. Now, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab say they’ve solved the mystery. https://gizmodo.com/this-mysterious-rock-just-appeared-in-front-of-our-rove-1503489334 Back in January when the rock — which scientists helpfully described as “about the size of a jelly doughnut” — was first spotted, a…

Germany Is Relocating Entire Towns To Dig Up More Sweet, Sweet Coal

Most of us think of Germany as one of the most energy-progressive countries in the world. But in recent years, it’s also increased its dependence on a form of energy that’s anything but clean: coal. And it’s demolishing or relocating entire towns to get at it. While Germany has some of the largest brown coal…

The real reason that women in fantasy art wear such skimpy armor

It’s horribly impractical for ladies to wear bikini armor while leaving their midsections exposed…or is it? Artist Stjepan Sejic reveals the “truth” behind half-naked women warriors. Sejic says that this has been a long-simmering joke between him and his wife about fantasy illustration. Sejic draws plenty of lady armor himself, as an artist for the…

Watch a heroic father-son hovercraft crew rescue deer stranded on ice

Now this video should warm you up during those cold winter days. A father and son in Minnesota took out their (multiple) hovercrafts in order to save a few stranded, wobbly deer who couldn’t get their way back off the ice. James Nolastname saw a Facebook post about a few deer stuck out on the…

People Actually Watch Less Porn on Valentine’s Day

Today, those of us who have significant others are obligated to spend time with them. Logic says that the rest of us go straight home after work and spend the night enjoying the most romantic porn we can find. Right? Untrue! People across the country actually watch less porn on Valentine’s Day. We reached out…

Romance Fail: The Worst Fictional Pairings, and Why They Happen

Romance abounds in fiction — and science fiction and fantasy are full of epic romances too. But sometimes, it’s just a bad idea. We see so many fictional couples that the writers clearly thought were a great idea, but are actually disasters. Here are the main signs that a fictional romance is a terrible, awful,…

Mars is full of freaking hearts everywhere!

I was really surprised when I saw this collection of hearts on Mars posted by El Comanderino Chris Hadfield. How are there so many craters with the shape of hearts in Mars? Are heart shapes pervasive through the entire galaxy? The hell I know. Just forward this post and tell your favorite astronerd you love…