Latest

Quantum tunneling allows “impossible” molecules to form in space

The extreme cold of space should make chemical reactions next to impossible, particularly those involving the formation of complex molecules. And yet the rate of one such chemical reaction is 50 times greater in the cold of space that it is in room temperature. What gives? The answer, according to researchers at the UK’s University…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Finally A Chance To Bend The Weather To Your Will

It always rains the day you’re moving or gets really icy when you have a lot of driving ahead of you. Murphy’s Law definitely applies. If you could control the weather things would be much easier, and Design I/O wants you to feel like you can. Their installation allows participants to make it rain, produce…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

The Weirdest Urban Ecosystems On Earth

Cities are havens for weirdness. From communities built around garbage to dogs that ride the subway, urban environments have fostered all manner of weird patterns. Here are the 10 freakiest urban ecosystems on the planet. A while ago, we showed you the Kowloon Walled City — a bizarre, super-dense development that arose as an accident…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Wendy Davis Says Perry’s Only Goal for Abortion Bill Is US Presidency

Talking today to CBS’ Face the Nation, Texas Senator Wendy Davis said Governor Perry is using abortion to boost his 2016 presidential aspirations: “Gov. Perry and Lt. Gov. Dewhurst are willing to put women in harm’s way in order to step up on the political ladder.” But it may backfire, she says. Photos by Getty…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

How throwing evolved into humanity’s greatest weapon

Most human athletic abilities have some equivalent in the animal kingdom. For example, the fastest humans can reach top speeds that aren’t even half those of cheetahs, antelopes, and countless other animals, and that’s hardly the only area where animals can crush our greatest athletes. But there’s one major exception: throwing. Most species lack the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Panoramas From The Early 1900s Let You Gaze Far And Wide At The Past

When the iPhone got native panorama function in iOS 6, people started sharing tons of sprawling views. 360s of stadiums, the whole visible coastline at sunset. Laudable Facebook wallpapers all. But the urge to capture really wide shots didn’t start a few years ago, it began in the 1800s when photographers like George R. Lawrence…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

Crowdfund drinking glasses shaped like lab equipment and more

Wish your kitchen looked more like a laboratory? Well you’ll be able to pour the perfect portion of wine with the Periodic TableWare. Or maybe you’d prefer a video game where combat is optional, a speculative look at New York’s layout, or a handbook on making and publishing webcomics. Continuous City Artist Brian Foo engages…

io9 Lauren Davis

Universal Orlando is building a recreation of the Cabin in the Woods

Do you dare enter the trippy horrors of The Cabin in the Woods? Universal Orlando has announced that it is recreating the cabin—and all of its twists and turns—as a maze attraction in time for Halloween. Talking to Zap2it, Universal Orlando’s Michael Aiello explains that the amusement park is building the cabin for Halloween Horror…

io9 Lauren Davis

What’s The Biggest Repair Your Computer Has Ever Needed?

The other day I went to the Apple Store to pick up my computer and I felt like a celebrity. The person assigned to help me ran over and asked enthusiastically if I was Lily Newman. I nodded and immediately assumed that he recognized my name from Gizmodo and was about to tell me how…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

Wireframe Furniture Looks Great But Is Almost Certainly Uncomfortable

It would be so convenient if all the clutter in life could just disappear. Only the essentials. Clean lines. If you replaced everything in your house with pieces from this series by Japanese architecture group NOIZ you would never need to worry about loose change under the couch cushions or crumbs on the table again.…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

Custom painted Gromit statues unleashed all over Bristol

July 1st marks the start of the Gromit Unleashed charity art exhibition in Bristol. Eighty statues of Wallace & Gromit’s beloved stop-motion pooch are appearing all over the city, each custom designed by a different artist. Top image by Matt Cardy/Getty Images. For ten weeks, the Gromit statues will be on public display, letting passersby…

io9 Lauren Davis

1954 film claims a well-kept house could survive a nuclear attack

Is good housekeeping important for civil defense? It is according to this 1954 film, produced by with the cooperation of the Federal Civil Defense Administration, which claims that a clean, nicely painted house is more likely to survive a nuclear attack than its dirty, run-down neighbors. The House in the Middle uses footage from the…

io9 Lauren Davis

PSA: The Price Goes Up On Google Play Music All Access At Midnight

There are a ton of great monthly services out there, but if you’re signed up for a bunch of them the little costs may be starting to add up. And if a subscription music service is on your list, pay attention because Google Play Music All Access, Google’s fancy-shmancy new streaming service, is getting a…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

Bacterial communities swarm into gorgeous works of art

This is a picture of a bacterial community, taken by Eshel Ben-Jacob, who thinks bacteria are both the key to understanding complex biological systems and a source of incredible art. These bacteria, discovered by Ben-Jacob’s research team, self-organize into intricate and beautiful systems. Bacteria are generally pictures swimming around by themselves, but they’re not as…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Alcoholic Beverage Control Cops Jail Underage Sparkling Water Buyer

University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly got jailed after trying to escape from undercover Alcoholic Beverage Control agents. They thought the sparkling water she bought was a 12-pack of beer. Daly and her terrified classmates thought they were being assaulted by thugs. Alas, absurd drama ensued.

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Charlie Day and Ron Perlman talk kaiju anatomy in new Pacific Rim clip

We get a bit of Jaegers vs. kaiju action in the latest clips from Pacific Rim, but we also get Ron Perlman and Charlie Day teaching us about kaiju brains and skulls. A more action-packed clip shows us what the Jaegers have up their sleeves, or more accurately, in their elbows: And here is how…

io9 Lauren Davis

How to Make Rainbow Pasta and Show Pride

This post originally ran 3/18/2013. We’re re-running it in celebration of DOMA’s demise, the overturning of Prop 8, and in solidarity with our LGBT brother and sisters. Plow through a couple of bowls of rainbow pasta today to be ready for whatever the SF Pride Parade throws at you. It’s been a brutal day at…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Fleshy piranha plant sculpture casts Mario Bros. in a horrifying light

Artist Karen, a.k.a. dogzillalives, puts an extra creepy spin on the already freaky carnivorous plants. Her sculpture looks like someone spliced human DNA with one of the piranha plants from Super Mario Bros. Dogzillalives does a lot of body horror in polymer clay. She’s especially partial to light switch plates and jewelry covered in boils,…

io9 Lauren Davis

Absurd Stock Photos Made The First Silicon Alley Billionaire

Photos of garbage or (fully clothed) people posing with fruit are big business. Stock photo sites, which provide images for news organizations, blogs, corporate campaigns and all manner of low-budget advertising, have been growing for years. And Shutterstock, founded in 2003 by Jonathan Oringer, has expanded from hosting 30,000 of Oringer’s own photos to distributing…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

Orlando Bloom sings “Taking the Hobbits to Isengard” on the Hobbit set

This week, Ian McKellen wrapped his Gandalf scenes for the Hobbit films, ending a 14-year journey with the character. Orlando Bloom also wrapped Legolas, and gave a wonderfully silly goodbye. https://gizmodo.com/ian-mckellen-has-filmed-his-final-scene-as-gandalf-615980351 Peter Jackson posted the above video to his Facebook page, with Bloom gamely singing along to the “They’re Taking the Hobbits to Isengard” remix.…

io9 Lauren Davis

Quantum tunneling allows “impossible” molecules to form in space

Finally A Chance To Bend The Weather To Your Will

The Weirdest Urban Ecosystems On Earth

Wendy Davis Says Perry’s Only Goal for Abortion Bill Is US Presidency

How throwing evolved into humanity’s greatest weapon

Panoramas From The Early 1900s Let You Gaze Far And Wide At The Past

Crowdfund drinking glasses shaped like lab equipment and more

Universal Orlando is building a recreation of the Cabin in the Woods

What’s The Biggest Repair Your Computer Has Ever Needed?

Wireframe Furniture Looks Great But Is Almost Certainly Uncomfortable

Custom painted Gromit statues unleashed all over Bristol

1954 film claims a well-kept house could survive a nuclear attack

PSA: The Price Goes Up On Google Play Music All Access At Midnight

Bacterial communities swarm into gorgeous works of art

Alcoholic Beverage Control Cops Jail Underage Sparkling Water Buyer

Charlie Day and Ron Perlman talk kaiju anatomy in new Pacific Rim clip

How to Make Rainbow Pasta and Show Pride

Fleshy piranha plant sculpture casts Mario Bros. in a horrifying light

Absurd Stock Photos Made The First Silicon Alley Billionaire

Orlando Bloom sings “Taking the Hobbits to Isengard” on the Hobbit set

Latest news

Whatever Just Happened with ‘Fruit Love Island,’ Nobody Won

AMC Puts a Stake in ‘Talamasca’ After One Season

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

2027 Is Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Big Sci-Fi RPGs

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, xAI Has Now Shed All 11 of Its Non-Elon Musk Founders

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

How to Watch the F1 Japanese GP 2026 on a Free Channel

Latest Reviews

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Let us help find what you are looking for...