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A Power Outage Made South Park Miss an Episode for the First Time

South Park was unable to meet its deadline for the first time in its 240+ episode history because of a power outage. That’s 17 straight seasons of somehow making things work on a short deadline until now. What a bummer! Comedy Central said: “On Tuesday night, South Park Studios lost power. From animation to rendering…

Tech News Casey Chan Oct 16 '13

Agents of SHIELD is feeling more like Alias… thank goodness

Last night’s episode of Agents of SHIELD was the first time this show really felt like it was “clicking,” in terms of the characters and the storytelling. And I think it’s a matter of this show finding its proper genre: It’s not a superhero show, it’s a spy show. Spoilers ahead… There was a lot…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Oct 16 '13

Comment of the Day: If Carrie Were Written Today

In today’s comments, we waxed nostalgic about times outside of our own, marveled at the destructive power of an unattended rusty nail, and looked at the genre-defying and defining powers of Carrie. In response to this interview with Carrie director Kimberly Peirce on her movie remake, commenter falseprophet speculates on just what the book remake…

io9 Ria Misra Oct 16 '13

These newly discovered bats are using furled leaves as acoustic horns

New research shows that tiny bats in Central America use rolled-up leaves as acoustic horns to amplify incoming bat signals. Excluding human activities, it’s the first time this technique has ever been observed in nature. This species, called Spix’s disc-winged bat (Thyroptera tricolor), likes to roost inside tapered tubes that form when new leaves of…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 16 '13

Yeasayer: Glass of the Microscope

There’s an unknown pandemic threatening mankind. Our only hope lies in Yeasayer’s laboratory-grade emulsion of science and synthesizer psychedelia. Dystopia never sounded so good. The newest video spawned from Yeasayer’s 2012 album Fragrant World sets the innate creepiness of an ominous laboratory to the song’s moderately-unsettling pop macabre. That’s no movie set; as director Ruben…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Oct 16 '13

When Super Dingo takes on Tomb Raider, always bet on the mummy

In this newest Super Dingo adventure, the ultimate guardian of “The Bush” battles a Tomb Raider, an angry mummy’s curse, and a lack of government funds. Timely! Also, we get a brief and very confusing hint into Super Dingo’s origins! And don’t spoil the incredible twist ending!

io9 Rob Bricken Oct 16 '13

In An Artificial Cave 200′ Beneath Central Park with Michael Bloomberg

At 5pm today, the complete Manhattan section of City Water Tunnel No. 3 became operational, sending drinking water through this colossal piece of subterranean infrastructure—under construction since 1970—for the very first time. To mark the occasion—an historic event for the city—mayor Michael Bloomberg hosted a press conference two hundred feet below the surface of Central…

Tech News Geoff Manaugh Oct 16 '13

All the Evidence that Time Travel is Happening All Around Us

This iconic footage of a person apparently talking on a cellphone in a Charlie Chaplin film is just one clue that time travel is happening all around us. People have seen the past, and the future — and there are tons of telltale photographs and films. Here are the clearest signs of real-life time travel.…

io9 Vincze Miklós Oct 16 '13

New Facebook Privacy Settings Let Teens Embarrass Themselves in Public

Facebook announced a pair of changes to the privacy settings for teen users on Wednesday. On the plus side, teens’ post will now be shared with a smaller group of people by default. On the potentially problematic side, they’ll also be able to share things with the public for the first time. In a way,…

Social Media Adam Clark Estes Oct 16 '13

Big Ass Spider claims it’s a Tremors style monsterpiece. Oh, really?

That is a pretty big claim. Can Big Ass Spider live up to the legend of Tremors,along with the now ridiculously popular Sharknado? Only you can decide. Greg Grunberg stars in the schlocky monster movie Big Ass Spider — and from the looks of the trailer, this monster movie is delivering all the great giant…

io9 Meredith Woerner Oct 16 '13

Thorin Oakenshield is still a babe, even in puppet form

Our love for Thorin Oakenshield has no limit. We just want to braid his hair and talk about dragons. So it’s no wonder that we still love the mighty warrior, even in puppet form. Rosemary Travale has been working on a Thorin muppet for sometime — and honestly, for her first attempt at a “muppet”…

io9 Meredith Woerner Oct 16 '13

This costume wins the Game of Thrones cosplay contest forever

And I am not referring to the lady dressed as Margaery, as excellent as her costume is. Watch until the end of the video taken at last weekend’s New York Comic-Con, and be awed. In fact, you should probably be sitting down… Oh, and while we’re catching up on excellent NYCC cosplay: How does his…

io9 Rob Bricken Oct 16 '13

The Army’s Cybersecurity Training Videos Are Embarrassing and Sad

For the past few years, the government’s been relentless about making the American people respect the importance of cybersecurity. Obama’s given speeches, written newspaper columns, and issued executive orders to drive that point home. This is serious business! So why are the Army’s own instructional videos so silly? As Buzzfeed recently unearthed, the Army’s Chief…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Oct 16 '13

What Science Fiction or Fantasy Show Should Come With a Warning Label?

Sometimes when you’re trying to get your friends into a show for the first time, you have to pass along some wisdom. Like, which episodes to skip, or what stuff is worth sitting through. But which TV show do you wish you could add a warning label to, for everybody who watches it for the…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 16 '13

This Camp Stove Collapses Thinner Than the Bark Used as Kindling

When you’re heading out into nature with nothing but a backpack, the long hike ahead of you is going to be far more enjoyable if you pack as light and minimally as possible. But that doesn’t mean you have to completely rough it. A hot meal at the end of the day can keep a…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Oct 16 '13

A Salad Spinner For Cocktails Makes Martinis Stirred, Not Shaken

Concocting the perfect cocktail can take years of practice, but everything in life has a shortcut, and for amateur mixologists it’s called the Cocktail Spinner. Imagine smashing a Magic Bullet into a salad spinner at the speed of light. This is what the resulting supernova would leave behind. Using the Cocktail Spinner is as dead…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Oct 16 '13

The year’s best wildlife photography will make you roar

After poring over thousands of images, the Natural History Museum has selected its favorite wildlife photographs of 2013. Prepare to see animals at their most spectacular. All images and captions Natural History Museum. Top image: The Spat by Joe McDonald. From NHM: For several hours, the noisy sounds of courtship and mating were all Joe…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 16 '13

Fascinating map shows the strange pilgrimage and death of New Yorkers

Data visualization expert John Nelson has made a fascinating map of New York City. It portraits the gender flow of the city, showing where men (blue) and women (pink) live from birth to death. I had no idea that gender density changed so much as the population ages. Some of the reasons for these inner…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Oct 16 '13

Terry Gilliam almost made a sequel to Dr. Strangelove

The acclaimed director of Brazil was very close to making a sequel to Stanley Kurbick’s apocalyptic comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove, but with Kubrick’s approval. According to Gilliam, Kubrick had worked on a sequel called Son of Strangelove — just think about that for a second — and wanted Gilliam to direct it. The story, which…

io9 Rob Bricken Oct 16 '13

Fire-Breathing Human Is Even Crazier in GoPro Bullet Time

Here we have 24 GoPros recording at high speed, strategically arranged around a fire-breathing daredevil. When the footage is slowed down and spliced together, you get a sweet bullet-time effect—without using a bunch of crazy professional cameras. Sure, this is some $7000 worth of GoPro Hero 3s, but it’s pretty slick considering sometimes these rigs…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Oct 16 '13

A Power Outage Made South Park Miss an Episode for the First Time

Agents of SHIELD is feeling more like Alias… thank goodness

Comment of the Day: If Carrie Were Written Today

These newly discovered bats are using furled leaves as acoustic horns

Yeasayer: Glass of the Microscope

When Super Dingo takes on Tomb Raider, always bet on the mummy

In An Artificial Cave 200′ Beneath Central Park with Michael Bloomberg

All the Evidence that Time Travel is Happening All Around Us

New Facebook Privacy Settings Let Teens Embarrass Themselves in Public

Big Ass Spider claims it’s a Tremors style monsterpiece. Oh, really?

Thorin Oakenshield is still a babe, even in puppet form

This costume wins the Game of Thrones cosplay contest forever

The Army’s Cybersecurity Training Videos Are Embarrassing and Sad

What Science Fiction or Fantasy Show Should Come With a Warning Label?

This Camp Stove Collapses Thinner Than the Bark Used as Kindling

A Salad Spinner For Cocktails Makes Martinis Stirred, Not Shaken

The year’s best wildlife photography will make you roar

Fascinating map shows the strange pilgrimage and death of New Yorkers

Terry Gilliam almost made a sequel to Dr. Strangelove

Fire-Breathing Human Is Even Crazier in GoPro Bullet Time

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