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I’d lose contact with reality if I watched this sky in real life

This incredible photo by Stéphane Vetter—featured as NASA’s astronomy picture of the day—makes my head spin a little bit. The weirdly shaped clouds—a glowing tentacle! a spaceship!—combined with the curved aurora that seems to be coming from the mountain and the sun near the horizon makes the entire shot seem completely unreal. It was taken…

Which “sexy” uniform sticks out the most like a sore thumb?

Uniforms (and costumes generally) tell us lots of stuff about a character. Where they come from, what organization they belong to, their rank, their skillset… and sometimes, how sexy they are. Which randomly sexy costume or uniform seems the most out-of-place in a science fiction or fantasy series? Please include a (tasteful) picture or clip…

An Earthly Messenger Bag That Looks Ready For a Space Walk

It’s all but impossible to leave your house with just your phone and wallet these days. You also need charging cables, maybe a back-up battery, and a host of other accessories you probably can’t survive the day without. In fact, most of us leave the house better equipped than astronaut’s taking a spacewalk—which is why…

Christmas Is Cancelled: It’s A Wonderful Life Sequel in Development

Hollywood wants to make sequel to the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. FUCK THIS SHIT. George Bailey is apparently great at giving angels their wings but shit at teaching his family life lessons, because Hollywood has a crackerjack idea for a sequel to the 1946 classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Variety is…

50,000 generations of bacteria prove that evolution never stops

In a remarkable experiment that’s been going on for nearly a quarter century, biologists have shown that lab-grown bacteria — even in a stable, unchanging world — will continue to evolve in a way that makes it increasingly good at reproducing. Above: On left is a petri dish with equal numbers of colonies of two…

Holy crap! Look at this giant demon squid from hell

Deep Sea News has this incredible composite image of a Magnapinna squid, made from a freaky video taken 1.5 miles underwater by a Shell’s remote operated vehicle. This is the video, which I remember seeing a few years ago: According to Wikipedia, these beasts are harmless, dragging their long flexible tentacles to grab their prey.…

New Plan: Let’s All Move to Iceland

Green aurorae unfurl above Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest glacier, in this spellbinding photo by French photographer Stéphane Vetter. Photo featured by kind permission of Stéphane Vetter Via NASA APOD points out a few more of the phenomena visible in this photo: On the far right is a long and unusual lenticular cloud tinged with green light…

Guy lost his house in a tornado but he’s happy because his PS4 survived

Redditor HepatitisC posted this photo taken from his Facebook feed: “He lost his house in the tornado yesterday but there’s some light at the end of the tunnel…the PS4 survived!” Obviously, he can only be so happy if he has full home insurance.

Why The Hunger Games: Mockingjay is a Better Book than Catching Fire

Pretty much everybody loves The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins’ masterful dystopian novel. But the two novels that follow are divisive: Some people love Catching Fire, others love Mockingjay. Very few people seem to love both. And for me, personally, Mockingjay is the superior novel. Here’s why. Top image: Seia5018/Deviant Art Spoilers for both books below……

A recent paper published in Nature Geoscience claims that we’re overprotecting Mars from biological contamination. Authors Alberto Fairén and Dirk Schulze-Makuch argue that planetary protection policies should be reevaluated because they’re actually preventing more ambitious plans to help us find signs of life on Mars and other planets. Image: NASA/JPL.

The Ace Hotel’s Founder Left Behind a Legacy of Building Neighborhoods

Last Friday, Ace Hotel founder Alex Calderwood was found dead in London, where the chain had just opened its fifth location. He’s being remembered today as a design visionary, the leader of a cultural phenomenon. But his role was also that of a city-builder, reaching far outside hotel walls to build community and instill a…

This is what a high speed turn in a US Navy destroyer looks like

I love this photo by U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Shane A. Jackson: sailors standing aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley during a turn at full speed. It’s crazy to think that a 509-foot-long beast that displaces 9,200 tons can make such high-speed maneuvers. For reference: And here’s a video:

Butterfly Knife Utensils For Badass Brunchers

The next time someone scoffs at your suggestion of going to brunch, you can whip out this pair of unbelievably awesome butterfly knife utensils, perform a few flashy tricks, and remind them it’s a meal to be taken as seriously as breakfast and lunch. Made from almost half a pound of stainless steel each, this…

Google only has to pay $17 million for tracking people without their knowledge. The search giant just agreed to the sum to settle allegations from 37 states (and DC) that it added cookies to users’ computers without consent. Google stopped short of admitting to wrong-doing, though.

This week: Why we need real neighborhoods! Keeping L.A.’s transit momentum alive! Americans may have reached “peak car”! Daylighting rivers! And a ghost town you can call your very own! What’s the role of the neighborhood in today’s globalized city? Tom Vanderbilt explores why we still need a sense of belonging somewhere local [Wilson Quarterly…

The most inspiring nature photography of the year

‘Tis the season to be sorting through the most stunning images of the year. And as always, National Geographic’s yearly contest offers some of the best that nature photography has to offer. Take a look at our favorites. Top: Fight: Praying mantises in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. By Mehmet Karaca. Last year’s contest produced some incredible photos,…

My Breathtaking Ride From Earth to the International Space Station

The rumble of power just got stronger and more insistent as we heard the countdown in Russian through our headsets and then, “Pusk.” Liftoff. It was a very different sensation than my two Shuttle launches, much more gradual and linear as the vehicle burned off enough fuel to lighten for liftoff. The initial acceleration didn’t…

What’s the Ink in a Standard Rollerball Pen Made Of?

You probably have no idea where the ink in your pen comes from, much less whether it’s a simple factory process or demanding of more expertise. Josh Velson, a chemical engineering consultant for bio and petrochemicals, has your answer. Standard rollerball ink is made from particles of carbon black, a pigment substance. These particles are…

Nolan mounted a camera to the nose of a Lear jet for Interstellar

Chris Nolan affixed a massive IMAX camera to the nose of a Learjet for his next movie Interstellar. This is going to look like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Interstellar was written by Nolan’s brother Jonathan, and was originally planned to be directed by Steven Spielberg. It stars Matthew McConaughey, John Lithgow, and Jessica Chastain…

The Grim Secret Behind Qatar’s Lavish New Stadiums: Human Rights Abuse

Don’t hate Zaha Hadid’s new World Cup stadium because it looks like a vagina. Hate it because it’ll likely be built with “modern-day slavery,” according to a new Amnesty International report. https://jezebel.com/qatars-new-world-cup-stadium-will-look-like-a-giant-va-1466640033 The internet was aflame this weekend over new renderings of Al Wakrah Stadium, a 45,000-seat venue destined for the desert outside of Doha.…