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Inside the State-Run North Korean Factory That Manufactures Monuments

Inside Mansudae Art Studio, a 30-acre warehouse in Pyongyang, thousands of North Koreans work to sculpt, paint, and sew the often bombastic monuments that have become synonymous with the isolated country. But increasingly, Mansudae’s artists aren’t just making art for North Korea—they’re making it for foreign countries, which pay millions for their meticulously detailed monuments…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Exclusive Look at Kate Beaton’s Illustrations for a Brand New YA Novel

Meet Mia Kish, the hero of The Well’s End, a brand new young-adult novel from debut author Seth Fishman which comes out next February. We’ve got the exclusive cover reveal, plus one more illustration by Hark! A Vagrant creator Kate Beaton that shows the whole cast. Here’s the full version of the Kate Beaton artwork…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Astronaut Chris Hadfield Is Retiring

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is retiring, “making good on a promise [he] made to [his] wife.” Hadfield—commander of the International Space Station for three months—gave some of the joy of space exploration back to the world with his awesome photos, videos and Bowie in space. https://gizmodo.com/so-long-commander-hadfield-and-thanks-for-all-the-aw-504656863

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Coney Island Is Resurrecting a Legendary Coaster–With a New Twist

Next summer Coney Island is getting back a little bit of its former glory with a familiar roller coaster. Some 14 years after it was demolished, the once famous Thunderbolt coaster is roaring back onto the boardwalk at 65 miles per hour. The former Thunderbolt thrilled patrons from 1925 until 1982 before it was torn…

Tech News Peter ha

Google to Government: ‘Let Us Publish National Security Data Requests’

Google has asked Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of the FBI Robert Mueller to allow the company to publish data about the secret national security requests it has received from the government. Google says the data will help clear it of the reports which surfaced last week alleging the company has granted the government…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

The Most Pointless Rules for Young Epic Heroes in Training

When you sign up to become a Jedi or a Starfleet officer, you have to abide by certain rules. Like, “Don’t attempt a Kolvoord Starbust.” But often, these organizations seem to invent rules that have no reason, beyond creating dramatic tension. Here are the most counterproductive training rules in science fiction and fantasy. A lot…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta

A Notebook Perfectly Sized to Hug Your iPhone 5

You can have every last note-taking, scrapbooking, idea-saving app installed on your iPhone 5, but it still won’t replace the usefulness of always having a pen and paper handy. And ensuring that at least half of that duo is readily available, the Idealnotes are soft-covered Moleskine knock-offs designed to live with your iPhone 5 in…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

PlayStation 4 Vs. Xbox One: A Feature by Feature Showdown

Well, it’s finally time to have this discussion. What should you buy, the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One. It helps that we’ve finally got some facts to work with in the new console war, instead of just chasing rumors and misinformation. So here’s the definitive look at how the two new consoles stack up…

Tech News Kyle Wagner

A Brief History of Tomorrow’s High-Tech Living Room

Today companies like Microsoft and Sony aren’t just trying to sell you the video game console of the future, they’re trying to sell you the living room of the future, a central hub that connects you to your family and your family to the world. But our expectations for what tech should be included in…

Tech News Matt Novak

China launches three astronauts to its prototype space station

The six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are about to get some new orbital neighbors. Three Chinese astronauts have blasted off aboard a Chinese Long March rocket. Above: Astronauts Wang Yaping, Zhang Xiaoguang and Nie Haisheng wave before the launch of the Shenzhou-10 mission at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Tuesday, June 11,…

io9 Irene Klotz – Discovery News

First Real Trailer For The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

Picking up right where The Hobbit left off, this trailer gives a glimpse of the troubles that our band of dwarves and one little Hobbit must face. Lee Pace returns as Thranduil, Orlando Bloom has a few good white-hair-flipping moments as Legolas, and Evangeline Lilly makes her debut as Tauriel. Check it out! Already we…

Trailers Meredith Woerner

An Exhilarating Bird’s-Eye View Of a Falcon On the Hunt

As action cameras get smaller and smaller, we’re able to mount them almost anywhere to capture unique first-person footage of adventures we as humans have never experienced. And if you’ve ever stared at a bird in the sky—imagining what it would be like to fly without a machine—this amazing footage of a falcon stalking a…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

7 Totally Unexpected Outcomes That Could Follow the Singularity

By definition, the Technological Singularity is a blind spot in our predictive thinking. Futurists have a hard time imagining what life will be like after we create greater-than-human artificial intelligences. Here are seven outcomes of the Singularity that nobody thinks about — and which could leave us completely blindsided. Top image: Ridwan Chandra. For the…

io9 George Dvorsky

Quite possibly the creepiest fashion statement ever made

Do you spend all day spying and “rendering” people for cash? Then you might want to consider sporting an item from this amazing new Blue Force Gear tie collection, made from “tactical nylon” — so perhaps they can double as an on-the-fly garrote? Normally Blue Force Gear just makes tactical nylon for law enforcement and…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Check out Captain America’s new uniform from The Winter Soldier!

Captain America has a new foe in The Winter Soldier, and he also has a new costume, too. Get the first clear shot of Cap’s new duds here! Hmm. It’s clearly based on the uniform Steve wore while Bucky was busy being Captain America in the comics. On one hand, it’s definitely better-looking than his…

Movies Rob Bricken

Why Google Buying Waze Will Keep You Out of Gridlock Hell

As anticipated, Google expanded its burgeoning global empire on Tuesday by buying the Israeli social traffic and mapping service Waze. You might recognize Waze as the GPS app with a soul. Pretty soon you’re going to know it as the thing that made your commute bearable once and for all. Waze’s entire ethos revolves around…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

What About Apple TV?

Yesterday, Apple put on one heck of a show. We got a snazzy new version of iOS 7, one big wave of an OS X update, and even a preview of the next Mac Pros. But where was all the news about Apple TV? Apple is seemingly ignoring the enormous potential of its set-top-box. https://gizmodo.com/wwdc-2013-roundup-all-the-new-toys-apple-announced-tod-512401795…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

Insanely detailed Ghostbusters documentary gives Slimer ADD

Did you know that Slimer is really a metaphor for ADD? The exceptionally detailed (and a little nutty) documentary Spook Central takes a page from The Shining’s ridiculously detailed movie dissection Room 237 and just analyzes the crap out of Ghostbusters. It’s kind of hilarious. https://gizmodo.com/the-unsettling-theories-about-the-shining-that-you-have-459487146 Directed by Ivo Shandor (we see what you did…

Trailers Meredith Woerner

The Privacy Dangers of a Cashless Society Were Clear Over 40 Years Ago

Your bank and credit card companies have quite a file on you. They know how often you go out to eat, how often you drink, how often you fill up your gas tank, along with the time and location of all these activities. Cash is all but dead, and with that comes a digital trail…

Privacy & Security Matt Novak

You Can Finally 3D Print Your Own Computer (Kind Of)

Tired of paying the ridiculous markup for brand-name computers, even ones you build yourself? Thanks to the miracle of 3D printing (miracle still being perfected) you can now print yourself an entire computer on the cheap—assuming you’ve got free access to a 3D printer, and don’t need anything more than a basic calculator. The plans…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Inside the State-Run North Korean Factory That Manufactures Monuments

Exclusive Look at Kate Beaton’s Illustrations for a Brand New YA Novel

Astronaut Chris Hadfield Is Retiring

Coney Island Is Resurrecting a Legendary Coaster–With a New Twist

Google to Government: ‘Let Us Publish National Security Data Requests’

The Most Pointless Rules for Young Epic Heroes in Training

A Notebook Perfectly Sized to Hug Your iPhone 5

PlayStation 4 Vs. Xbox One: A Feature by Feature Showdown

A Brief History of Tomorrow’s High-Tech Living Room

China launches three astronauts to its prototype space station

First Real Trailer For The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

An Exhilarating Bird’s-Eye View Of a Falcon On the Hunt

7 Totally Unexpected Outcomes That Could Follow the Singularity

Quite possibly the creepiest fashion statement ever made

Check out Captain America’s new uniform from The Winter Soldier!

Why Google Buying Waze Will Keep You Out of Gridlock Hell

What About Apple TV?

Insanely detailed Ghostbusters documentary gives Slimer ADD

The Privacy Dangers of a Cashless Society Were Clear Over 40 Years Ago

You Can Finally 3D Print Your Own Computer (Kind Of)

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