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The Secret U.S. Government Program to Hook Spy Photos From Space

The early space age is marked by Soviet accomplishments — the first satellites, the first living being launched into orbit, and the first human in space to name just a few. But there was one very important technological first secured by the United States in 1960. America was the first nation to safely recover a…

io9 Amy Shira Teitel - Discovery News Aug 13 '13

The U.S. Once Tried to Wrap a Ring of Copper Wire Around the Earth

The Cold War was a crazy time. With the space race happening on one front and an arms race happening on another, the United States was constantly looking for ways to gain an advantage over the Soviets and were limited only by our creativity. And boy did we get creative. In the early 1960s, a…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes Aug 13 '13

How the Xbox One Console Was Designed to Be an Everything Machine

As the dust settled over the new Xbox One this summer, one point that kept coming up—maybe predictably—was size: The console is surprisingly chunky. Just chunky enough to make you wonder whether its wide berth isn’t a hint at what Microsoft’s engineers were hiding in there—and what it could reveal about their intentions for future…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Aug 13 '13

Watching Toys Get Made Is Even More Fun Than Playing With Them

If you’re truly lucky in life you end up with a job that doesn’t actually feel like work. For example, most of us give up our toys sometime before we’re sent off to high school. But as this short video by Anthony Ladesich called The Secret Story of TOYS shows, a lucky few never have…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 13 '13

Atlanta sport fans keep dying from stadium falls: three in five years

A baseball fan died after falling 65-feet from a concourse at the Braves’ Turner Field stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Another one died when he fell from a stairwell in the same stadium in 2008. And a student was killed in another fall at the Georgia Dome in 2012. There was a common element in these…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Aug 13 '13

Early Humans May Have Ripped Off Neanderthal Technology

By the time modern humans arrived in Europe, Neanderthals had already made the continent their home. What’s more, they were already adopting behaviors that would later be characteristic of humans — including the development of a specialized tool still used by leather craftspeople today. It’s called the lissoir — and it’s the oldest specialized bone…

io9 George Dvorsky Aug 13 '13

Snowden: Any Unencrypted Message Goes to Every Intelligence Service

The New York Times Magazine has a quick Q&A with Edward Snowden, conducted through intermediary Laura Poitras, the documentary filmmaker who’s been filming Snowden since earlier this year. It’s mostly straightforward, except for one potentially significant reveal. The nuts and bolts of the interview are pretty standard, though still interesting given the subject: Snowden went…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Aug 13 '13

Test How Old Your Ears Are (And How Much Damage You’ve Done to Them)

Deep down we all know we shouldn’t crank our music or listen to headphones with the volume really high, but we still do. And if you’ve ever wondered if years of hard rock has done any serious damage, here’s an easy way to find out. Over time what’s known as hair cells in your ears…

Health Andrew Liszewski Aug 13 '13

How to walk on water

John W.M. Bush is an applied mathematician at MIT, where he studies how insects stand, paddle, jump and jitter along the surface of water, via what he calls “interfacial biolocomotion.” As this video compilation illustrates, the movements and mechanisms at work are surprisingly complex, and captivating to watch. FYFD explains some of what we’re seeing:…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 13 '13

Watch These Graffiti Masters Turn a Boeing 737 Into Airborne Art

Any Boeing 737 is a marvel of industrial achievement, but this one in particular is also a work of art. UK creative group HangFire recently completely transformed one of the giant flying machines with some amazing graffiti. The plane was painted up by two prominent street artists called Sat One and Roids. Apparently the project…

Tech News Leslie Horn Aug 13 '13

Scientists Can Now 3D Print Transplantable, Living Kidneys

For the first time ever, scientists are successfully 3D printing actual, living human kidneys. Like the human livers printed in the past, the kidney are currently miniature in size, but with about 90% of the printed cells being alive, the potential for human use looks immensely positive. https://gizmodo.com/scientists-have-3d-printed-mini-human-livers-for-the-fi-5995271 To produce mass amounts of the living…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg Aug 13 '13

Is Emperor Palpatine alive?

The latest rumor on the next episode in the Star Wars saga seems crazier than Princess Leia running away with Chewbacca: Emperor Palpatine may have not died thrown by Darth Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi. Ooooh-Kay! https://gizmodo.com/reports-of-emperor-palpatines-death-may-have-been-exag-1118232106

Sploid Jesus Diaz Aug 13 '13

FYI: It’s Illegal To Build a Castle On a High Rise Without Permission

In case you had dreams of one day building a giant stone fortress atop a towering apartment building without asking anybody’s permission or attempting to get the proper permits, let this be a warning to you: eventually, someone’s going to ask you to tear it down. That’s what’s happening to Zhang Lin, a wealthy professor…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 13 '13

Someone’s making Big Wheels for adults. Everything is awesome now.

I don’t know if it was God or Satan or some other cosmic entity, but someone finally heard my prayers because High roller USA is finally, finally bringing back the joy of Big Wheels to those who can appreciate it most — adults. I have to assume that everyone who knows what a Big Wheel…

io9 Rob Bricken Aug 13 '13

This timelapse-supercut of European landmarks will leave you speechless

You’ve never seen Europe like this. For the full effect, you want to watch this one in full screen, HD, rocking some nice headphones if you can swing it. Oh, and turn off the lights. This is “Nightvision,” a fantastic supercut of some of the most iconic architectural landmarks in all of Europe, shot entirely…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 13 '13

You Can Get All 8 Harry Potter Movies For Just $10 on iTunes (Update: Not Anymore)

iTunes is having a firesale on movie bundles right now, with some serious movie collections available at crazy low prices. What movie collections, you ask? How about the entire Harry Potter series, normally over $120, for just ten freakin’ bucks? And that’s just for starters. Update: Turns out it really was too good to be…

Movies Bob Sorokanich Aug 13 '13

Chinese doctor builds illegal rock villa atop Beijing apartment tower

Eccentric Beijing resident Zhang Biqing has just spent the last six years constructing this $2.4 million faux-mountaintop villa on top a 26-story hi-rise — just in time for the Chinese authorities to finally declare it illegal. The 10,000 square foot complex is now slated for demolition. Residents have been complaining about the penthouse mansion for…

io9 George Dvorsky Aug 13 '13

Vibrating Pants Checker Lets You Know When You’re Unzipped

You might think you’re being discrete when you check your pants to ensure your fly is zipped up, but unless you’re alone, it can look a little awkward. Instead of waiting for the embarrassment of just being told you need to zip up, check out this brilliant hack that makes it easy to subtly check…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 13 '13

Three Amazing Audio Artworks From MoMA’s First Show Devoted to Sound

Sound art doesn’t get much attention in major museums—which is surprising, given how often modern art deals with intangible subjects. But this weekend, MoMA opened up its first exhibition devoted solely to audio art, Soundings, and it was definitely worth the wait. Soundings is surprisingly simple, as exhibitions go. It’s ensconced in a lesser wing…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Aug 13 '13

Reports of Emperor Palpatine’s death may have been exaggerated…

At least, that’s what the latest Star Wars: Episode VII casting rumor might have us believe. Could Jim Carrey have an unexpected, villainous cameo in The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Judy Greer reveals what it’s like going ape for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Plus another DC Comics character comes to Arrow. Spoilers right…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 13 '13

The Secret U.S. Government Program to Hook Spy Photos From Space

The U.S. Once Tried to Wrap a Ring of Copper Wire Around the Earth

How the Xbox One Console Was Designed to Be an Everything Machine

Watching Toys Get Made Is Even More Fun Than Playing With Them

Atlanta sport fans keep dying from stadium falls: three in five years

Early Humans May Have Ripped Off Neanderthal Technology

Snowden: Any Unencrypted Message Goes to Every Intelligence Service

Test How Old Your Ears Are (And How Much Damage You’ve Done to Them)

How to walk on water

Watch These Graffiti Masters Turn a Boeing 737 Into Airborne Art

Scientists Can Now 3D Print Transplantable, Living Kidneys

Is Emperor Palpatine alive?

FYI: It’s Illegal To Build a Castle On a High Rise Without Permission

Someone’s making Big Wheels for adults. Everything is awesome now.

This timelapse-supercut of European landmarks will leave you speechless

You Can Get All 8 Harry Potter Movies For Just $10 on iTunes (Update: Not Anymore)

Chinese doctor builds illegal rock villa atop Beijing apartment tower

Vibrating Pants Checker Lets You Know When You’re Unzipped

Three Amazing Audio Artworks From MoMA’s First Show Devoted to Sound

Reports of Emperor Palpatine’s death may have been exaggerated…

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