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Why the Movie Myth of Injecting Medication Into the Heart Is Garbage

Myth: Injecting medicine straight into your heart can be beneficial in some way. Ah, the dramatic scene that ends with an actor stabbing a needle straight into their heart, narrowly escaping death and magically curing whatever ailment just befell them. While very dramatic, it’s also very untrue and an exceptionally bad idea if your goal…

Did Homer Simpson Defeat Fermat’s Last Theorem?

In an episode of The Simpson’s called The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace, Homer appears to write a valid solution to defeat Fermat’s Last Theorem on a blackboard. But given that Fermat’s last theorem is proven, is it real? Well, obviously not—but in this video mathematician and author Simon Singh explains why he wasn’t actually too…

Just How Smart Is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is the Holy Grail of computer science—and, for that matter, science fiction. But just how far have we come? In this video, Luciano Floridi—Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford—explores the current state of AI. The nub of his argument boils down to one big question: have we…

iPad 5 to Mimic the Mini’s Looks, Suggests Latest Parts Leak

The iPad 5 looks as though it’ll be taking its design cues from the little tablet that could, the iPad Mini, if the latest supply chain leak is to be believed. SW-Box has gotten its hands on what it claims is the latest Apple tablet shell, and it’s looking decidedly Mini-like. Snuggling up next to…

Apple Is Now a More Valuable Brand Than Coca-Cola

In what could be seen as a defining moment for tech, Apple has surpassed Coca-Cola to become the most valuable brand on the planet. An annual report published by Interbrand has listed the biggest global brands each year, since 2000. Coca-Cola has consistently taken the top spot since the survey’s inception—but this year sees Cook…

Don’t Worry, It’s Not Just You Who Highlights Text For Fun

In fact everybody’s at it. And, as Randall Munroe points out in today’s XKCD, we all know that it’s more fun when it looks pretty, too. It’s all about symmetry, plane or rotational. But as for any website that disables text highlighting: pur-lease. Get over yourself. [XKCD]

A look under the hood of the latest Android Gmail app seems to suggest that ads might be coming your mobile inbox. Google, say it ain’t so?

Duck Sauce: Barbra Streisand

I understand that this song is polarizing. You either love it or you hate it. I realized that I loved it when I was backstage with some friends before a classical clarinet concert. I know, just stay with me for a second. We were backstage and I had Barbra Streisand stuck in my head. I…

Discuss the final episode of Breaking Bad here!

Well, it has finally arrived. As you tune in to the final chapter in Walter White’s story, chat about Breaking Bad with your fellow io9ers right here. The image above is from Marko Manev’s “Heisenberg,” the latest installment in his noir poster series. If you’re interested in buying a print, it will be on sale…

Get Back Into The Habit Of Winding Your Clocks

Okay so most of us have probably never had a clock we had to wind, but it seems like an appealing ritual. Calm and quiet. A connection to the passage of time. Or maybe it would be totally automatic like brushing your teeth. Whelp there’s only one way to find out. Designer Pauline Saglio created…

The unknown and surprising origin of the flesh-eating drug Krokodil

Back in the 1930s, American scientists were searching for a morphine substitute when they stumbled upon a new drug called desomorphine. Little did they know that they had invented a substance that would be used to turn people into near zombies in Russia—and Arizona—nine decades later. https://gizmodo.com/russias-flesh-eating-drug-krokodil-actually-has-origin-1411641798

This cosmic dust is basically a gargantuan, radiation-spewing fairy

That’s how the good people at NASA’s Astronomy Photo of the Day describe this dust pillar, at any rate, and I know better than to argue with a bunch of astronomers armed with a flair for figurative language. And this gorgeous gas is just one small part of the generally just ridiculously impressive Eagle Nebula.…

Our world had oxygen 700 million years earlier than we thought

About 2.3 billion years ago, Earth underwent what is known as the Great Oxidation Event, as early lifeforms photosynthesized enough oxygen that the gas took hold as a dominant part of our atmosphere. This massive shift allowed for the evolution of pretty much all complex life… but its roots go back far earlier than scientists…

Size Matters If You’re Fishing

Apparently the size of the fish you fish matters if you’re fishing on a large scale. You may not have thought about this, but it makes sense given broad overfishing concerns plus our knowledge of selective breeding. As MinuteEarth explains, there are laws that establish a minimum size for catching fish so young fish have…

The Eagle Nebula Couldn’t Look Cooler

That top image is pretty, but the only way to see this incredible combination of dust and gas is to take in the whole image below. Holy crap, right? This picture, which was created in 2005 using Hubble data and digitally assigned colors, shows the Eagle Nebula surrounded by and intertwined with dust pillars that…

Energetic Oil Paintings of Our Solar System’s Planets

Most of the space porn we come across is constructed from recorded images of objects in space. But painter Erik Olson prefers to interpret our solar system through his own lens, rendering our celestial neighbors with oil on canvas. Olson’s painting also step outside our solar system, with quasars, nebulae, and more. It’s interesting to…

New Gadgets Are Fun But Why Not Love the One You’re With?

As a tech reporter a lot of gadgets pass through my hands, but I’m a lousy early adopter in my personal life. I think the reason is readily understandable: it’s money. I don’t like to spend a lot on gadgets when I can make smart decisions and then just enjoy what I’ve bought. And by…

Why I’m tired of seeing Nikola Tesla in science fiction

There is no doubt that Nikola Tesla was a brilliant inventor, but he has also become the go-to historical mad scientist for science fiction writers. I worry that he—and his name–are popping up in fiction a bit too much. Top image from Jeff Smith’s RASL. Before I launch into this rant, I just want to…

Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na’vi real languages?

Well, not real in that they’re fictional languages spoken by fictional peoples. But what makes a fictional language an actual language and not merely a convincing combination of sounds? Linguist John McWhorter gave this TED-Ed talk, which focuses largely on J.R.R. Tolkien’s quest to make his Elvish languages operate as natural languages would. One thing…

Some Sites Will Go Offline If the Government Shuts Down On Tuesday

Though powering .gov websites isn’t at the core of the U.S. government’s financial woes, certain agencies will take their websites offline if there is a shutdown on Tuesday. Ars is reporting that the Library of Congress, the National Parks Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission would shut their websites off…