Latest

Martian chemicals are great for microbes, possibly toxic to humans

Last year, NASA’s Curiosity Rover confirmed something discovered by multiple previous Martian landers: the surface of the red planet is full of reactive chlorinated hydrocarbons known as perchlorates. That’s great news for the search for life on Mars, but it could be a disaster for any new life hoping to travel there. As Leonard David…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jun 16 '13

A Self-Sustaining Hut For The Modern Hermit

If your world is feeling overwhelmingly and counter-productively materialistic it may be time to downsize and move into a hut. That’s normal, right? And for all your sacrifice your minimalist hut can be built by celebrity architect Renzo Piano. Intrigued? https://gizmodo.com/beautiful-glass-shard-spire-set-to-dominate-london-skyl-5345826 Adding to the list of bomb diggity buildings on the Vitra Campus in Germany,…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 16 '13

GPS maps reveal where cats go all day

The mysterious comings and goings of our feline friends just got a little less mysterious. Researchers at the Royal Veterinary College loaded a group of cats in Shamley Green, Surrey, with cameras and GPS trackers to figure out how roaming house cats spend their days. Professor Alan Wilson, a research scientist and veterinarian at the…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

See The Glass Half Full In This Underwater Mirror

Joe Doucet’s circular mirror isn’t water-logged for nothing. He designed it as a reminder of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in lower Manhattan (where his studio is) and generally on the east coast. The transition in the mirror from clear to blue is refracted slightly so part of whatever is being reflected repeats, mimicking…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 16 '13

What if Pixar remade Flash Gordon and other pulp classics?

We’ve seen Andrew Stanton’s vision for John Carter of Mars, but what if Pixar made CG animated versions of Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, and other pulp stories? Phil Postma has been making incredible images of imaginary Pixar movies by dressing up existing Pixar characters. We’ve fawned over his Pixar-style superheroes, but we’d love to see…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

These weird stories prove that extraterrestrials love Russia

Americans and Europeans like to imagine that aliens will land in London, New York, or Washington, DC, but Russian history is filled with mysterious events that many have claimed to be the work of extraterrestrials. Here are a few of the freaky tales that have left many Russians watching the skies. Tunguska Event, 1908 Russian…

io9 Vincze Miklós Jun 16 '13

The NSA Can Afford To Store Data From Years Of Phone Calls

There’s been a lot of talk about the NSA and its data-gathering policies. The news sounds kind of scary. But you might be thinking that the NSA can’t have literally every foreign and domestic call made in the U.S.. That would be a crazy amount of data right? Well, yes it would be, and it…

Privacy & Security Lily Hay Newman Jun 16 '13

How do you train a boxing robot? Very carefully.

This short-short film is a neat piece of eye candy that integrates its well-worn computer-generated boxing robot into a live action world. It’s also a handy lesson on the hazards of training robot boxers. The team behind How to Train Your Robot also posted a making-of video, showing the path from storyboards to post-production: [via…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

First Erotic Virtual Reality Game Will Get You Laid Almost for Real

Game company Wicked Paradise claims that their incoming erotic game will be so realistic and immersive that it will be the closest thing to an actual sex experience. Their game uses the Oculus Rift, a high definition VR headset that is capable of fooling the brain into thinking you’re in an alternative world.

Sploid Jesus Diaz Jun 16 '13

Crowdfund cyborg cockroaches and horror comics for sleepless nights

If you love great comics, there are tons of spectacular comics crowdfunding campaigns running now, including an anthology of horror comics and the omnibus edition of one of our favorite webcomic epics. Or you can play mad scientist with a cyborg cockroach that you can control from your phone. The RoboRoach: Control a living insect…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

These Beautiful Iridescent Clouds Are Actually Foreboding

It used to be that you could only see these shimmering cloud formations, called noctilucent clouds, if you were in the North or South Pole. But lately they’ve been on the move, and though they’re pretty to look at, their presence away from the Poles may be sign of climate change. The clouds are appearing…

Climate Change Lily Hay Newman Jun 16 '13

Gaze upon all of Mercury for the first time ever

The existence of our solar system’s innermost planet has been common knowledge since ancient times, but that doesn’t actually mean we’ve always know much about it. Mercury’s proximity to the Sun has allowed it to jealously guard its secrets, and so this NASA video offers an unprecedentedly detailed view of the planet’s surface. This video…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jun 16 '13

Which Of Your Gadgets Has The Most Impressive Battery Life?

For 4.5 years I used a 15″ macbook pro from mid-2008. It had changeable batteries so twice I went to Apple and convinced them to give me a new one for free. The three batteries I used in that machine were very different. The first one was a champ. It would last for six hours…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 16 '13

Why Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany deserves an Emmy nomination

We can now add “award-winning” to Tatiana Maslany’s name. This week, the Orphan Black star won a Critics’ Choice TV Award, generating buzz that she could receive an Emmy nod, which, if there is any justice in the entertainment world, she will. Very mild spoilers for Orphan Black ahead. The Critics’ Choice isn’t actually Maslany’s…

Television Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

Crocheted Plants vs. Zombies dolls are ready to battle over your lawn

If you want to act out the ages old battle of violent plants and cartoon zombies in your own yard, Komang Darmiani is here to help. Darmiani crochets dolls of Plants vs. Zombies’ goofy game creatures. Darmiani sells individual characters as well as sets, and perfectly captures the silliness of those zombie attackers. I imagine…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

Do you have a favorite scifi memory of your dad?

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers and father figures in the galaxy! Is your dad a science fiction fan? Did he take you to your first science fiction movie? Do you argue over the greatest franchise? Have you ever undertaken a geeky project together? Share your favorite scifi father memories. We heard tons of…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

A GIF Is Being Transmitted Into Space For The First Time

Humans haven’t even been off-planet for a century and we’re already leaving trash everywhere. The moon. Mars. Our atmosphere. It’s gross. And honestly it was only a matter of time before a similar digital barrage began. Lone Signal is a project that will allow people to transmit any message they want into space. METI (Messaging…

Space & Spaceflight Lily Hay Newman Jun 16 '13

Winter Soldier set photos show off Captain America’s new costume

Earlier this week, we got a glimpse of Captain America’s new duds for The Winter Soldier, and now Cleveland’s Plain Dealer has snagged photos of Cap’s new suit in action. Looking good, sir. https://gizmodo.com/check-out-captain-americas-new-uniform-from-em-the-wi-512620404 The Plain Dealer has launched a full series of liveblog posts from the set of The Winter Soldier in Cleveland, complete…

Movies Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

This is a real photo of a fake sunrise

Here’s a reason to turn around when looking at the sunrise or sunset. At the far side of the sky might be another fake sunrise (or sunset), made from anticrepuscular rays. Ever stood on a long, straight stretch of highway? Turn one way, and the sides of the road seem to flare out from a…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Jun 16 '13

Watch the world’s longest domino chain made of books

To kick off its 2013 Summer Reading Program, the Seattle Public Library set a world record with a library-appropriate domino chain. Twenty-seven volunteers lined up 2,131 books and knocked them all down. It took the volunteers seven hours and five failed attempts to create this record-setting chain. The books aren’t part of the library’s current…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis Jun 16 '13

Martian chemicals are great for microbes, possibly toxic to humans

A Self-Sustaining Hut For The Modern Hermit

GPS maps reveal where cats go all day

See The Glass Half Full In This Underwater Mirror

What if Pixar remade Flash Gordon and other pulp classics?

These weird stories prove that extraterrestrials love Russia

The NSA Can Afford To Store Data From Years Of Phone Calls

How do you train a boxing robot? Very carefully.

First Erotic Virtual Reality Game Will Get You Laid Almost for Real

Crowdfund cyborg cockroaches and horror comics for sleepless nights

These Beautiful Iridescent Clouds Are Actually Foreboding

Gaze upon all of Mercury for the first time ever

Which Of Your Gadgets Has The Most Impressive Battery Life?

Why Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany deserves an Emmy nomination

Crocheted Plants vs. Zombies dolls are ready to battle over your lawn

Do you have a favorite scifi memory of your dad?

A GIF Is Being Transmitted Into Space For The First Time

Winter Soldier set photos show off Captain America’s new costume

This is a real photo of a fake sunrise

Watch the world’s longest domino chain made of books

Latest news

Wild New Study Claims We Can Nudge Hurricanes Away From Land

‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Season 2 Trailer Reveals Riddler and Joker

This is a post DRAFT

Beats Studio Pro at a Record Low, 40-Hour ANC Headphones From Apple for Less Than Most No-Name Alternatives

AI Super PAC’s First Major Target Loses New York Congressional Primary

Popular Fake Meat Products Recalled Over Plastic Pieces

LG C5 65-inch OLED at a Near Record Low, 144Hz and Dolby Vision for What Basic TVs Used to Cost

Most Runners Don’t Need More Than This, Garmin Forerunner 165 at a Near Record Low

Latest Reviews

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Review: The Best Handheld PC, but You’ll Have to Pay for It

HP OmniBook Ultra Review: Perfect, if Not for the Little Things

Fender Elie 6 Review: So Close to Being Great

Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights Review: A Colorful Way to (Kind of) Light Your Patio

Logitech’s Folding Travel Mouse Fails at the One Thing That Matters Most

Maingear MG-1 (2026) Review: A Clean, Serene Gaming Machine for a Premium Price

Segway Navimow X430 Review: A Featureful Mow-Bot

GoPro Mission 1 Pro Review: The Best GoPro, Just Not the Best Camera

Let us help you find what you’re looking for...