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Fan Fiction Friday: Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy Really Have to Go in “Rain of Gold”

Greetings! After last week’s foray into honey-cured Iron Man, we go a step further into the depths of bad erotic fan fiction with this Harry Potter story. While Harry Potter has inspired scads of fan fic, good and bad, all-ages-appropriate and quite naughty, I have noticed that a great many Harry Potter fans are also…

io9 Rob Bricken Nov 30 '12

Bar10der Review: A Watered-Down Cocktail Multitool

Bar supplies take up a lot of space. They’re hard to keep together. It’s easy to forget something. What if there was just one thing you could grab, and it contained everything you need to whip up some serious cocktails? There is. It’s like a Leatherman for drunks. What Is It? A 10-in-1 multitool for…

Reviews Brent Rose Nov 30 '12

Amazing Video of a Crane Lifting a Car Using Two Phonebooks

You probably knew that it’s impossible to pull apart two phonebooks put together with interleaving pages. But did you know that the bond—caused by the mechanical friction of the interleaving pages—is so strong that it can lift an entire car? This video demonstrates exactly that. The best part, however, may be to watch the car…

Physics & Chemistry Jesus Diaz Nov 30 '12

Two whales swim alarmingly close to a canoe, and passenger promptly/understandably loses her shit

Ever wondered what a whirlwind of emotions looks like? Wonder no more. Watch this girl struggle to keep an even emotional keel as the whales around her slosh and bob ever-closer to her and her dad’s canoe. The combination of suppressed terror and full-bore wonderment is insanely fun to watch — not to mention the…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 30 '12

The Most Realistic Artificial Brain Has a Mind of Its Own

Computers can do practically anything these days, but they’re still a far cry from robotic brains that don’t just do what they’re told but actually think for themselves. The Semantic Pointer Architecture Unified Network, or Spaun, is one of those, and it’s creeping up on human intelligence. Developed by neuroscientists and software engineers at the…

Artificial Intelligence Eric Limer Nov 30 '12

One of Ben Edlund’s Finest Hours: The Secret History of Supernatural‘s Deadly Turducken Slammers

Supernatural has had a few really great ideas since original showrunner Eric Kripke left — but few of them have been more thrilling than the “Turducken Slammers” episode, “How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters,” last season. Writer Ben Edlund pulled out all the stops, and then built new stops so he could pull those…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Nov 30 '12

Watch Dan Harmon’s surprisingly inspirational keynote speech on the death of television

Above is the full video of Dan Harmon’s Keynote Speech From the XOXO Festival. Like all things Harmon, it starts out silly then swings back around, delivering some harsh truths and with a schmear of heart. “How can something so capable of freeing us be another cage? Money! The original people connector!” Harmon also goes…

Television Meredith Woerner Nov 30 '12

There’s a Major Grand Canyon Controversy Going On Right Now

Conventional Grand Canyon wisdom holds two things to be true: it is exceptionally deep, and about five million years old. A new study, though, has pegged the yawning chasm’s age as more than 10 times older than previously thought. So is the Grand Canyon really a 70 million-year-old dinosaur playground? Or is it the nubile…

Tech News Brian Barrett Nov 30 '12

Why we all secretly want the apocalypse to happen

Over at Vulture, Heather Havrilesky has a thoughtful essay about why we’re drawn to stories about the apocalypse — and especially the post-apocalypse. She focuses a lot on the new NBC show Revolution, which is about what happens after all forms of electrical power stop working. She explains that Revolution, far from being a dystopia,…

Television Annalee Newitz Nov 30 '12

North Korean Archeologists Discover Ancient Unicorn Lair (Seriously)

Archeologists of the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences in North Korea claim they have found the “lair of the unicorn rode by King Tongmyong.” Yes, folks. A unicorn. The unicorn that their good old King used to ride back in the day.* According to the official Korean News, King Tongmyong was…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Nov 30 '12

Nerdy Gifts for Comic Book Fans

It’s been a long time since being a comic fan was a shameful thing. Comics are cool now! Kind of. But buying for a comic fan can be tough, since you never know what they’ve read, and what’s any good. Here are some good bets for the comic fanboys and fangirls in your life. Hey…

Gadgets Kyle Wagner Nov 30 '12

Stephen King’s Under The Dome series will be on your TV next summer

CBS is moving forward with lightning speed with its TV adaption of Stephen King’s novel Under The Dome, with a fast-track order of 13 episodes to air next summer. The story is centered around a little town that is suddenly isolated by the government by a giant dome —nd now the townsfolk will have to…

Television Meredith Woerner Nov 30 '12

Is every living thing on Earth related?

We’re distantly related, you and I. Somewhere deep in the past, the two of us share a common ancestor. The same can be said for us and chimps. Or chimps and alligators. But what about alligators and sycamore trees? Or humans and Tyrannosaurus rex? Are you and I, as paleontology expert Brian Switek puts it,…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 30 '12

Yes, You’re Allowed to Check Your Phone During Sex

Humans are never going to stop touching each other naked, and we’re almost certainly never going to stop touching our phones. If anything, the latter is eclipsing the former. But can you do both at once? Forget what you’ve heard. Yes you can. Mid-coitus, even looking in the direction of your phone is presumed to…

Tech News Sam Biddle Nov 30 '12

Bizarre study suggests men care more about their sisters’ children than their own

Are men hard-wired to put the needs of their nieces and nephews over the needs of their own children? A University of Utah anthropologist conducted a mathematical analysis that could explain why some men go out of the way to care for the offspring of a sister. Children sired from a number of partners A…

io9 Keith Veronese Nov 30 '12

Wonderful Geeky Toys You’ve Always Wanted Is Your Thinkgeek-Special Deal of the Day

You don’t actually need anything that Thinkgeek sells. But it’s really easy to feel like there’s a novelty-size hole in your life that can only be filled by Thinkgeek swag. Stuff like this impossibly clever Lightsaber Popsicle Maker, or the iCade cabinet that turns your iPad into an arcade machine, that’s the kind of gadget…

Tech News Kif Leswing Nov 30 '12

How George R.R. Martin’s Writing Advice Led To One Of Star Trek‘s Greatest Episodes

Few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are more thought-provoking, or emblematic, than “Measure of a Man,” the episode where Data is put on trial to determine whether he’s a person or just Starfleet’s property. And it turns out that the existence of this episode is partly thanks to George R.R. Martin — as…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Nov 30 '12

Self-Updating LCD Grocery Shelf Labels Are Pure Genius

It seems the rumors of e-ink based displays’ imminent death at the hands of tablets were greatly exaggerated. Despite a glut of portable color screen devices now on the market, e-book readers are more popular than ever, and a company called ZBD Solutions now wants to use the e-ink technology as easily updateable store signage.…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Nov 30 '12

The Complete Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in December

What does December’s science fiction and fantasy offer you? There’s Terry Pratchett’s complete guide to Ankh-Morpork. And your chance to see Neil Gaiman and Neil DeGrasse Tyson together on stage! Plus tons of DVDs, books, and conventions — plus The Hobbit! Here’s the ultimate io9 guide to everything fantastical the month of December. Top image:…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Nov 30 '12

Panasonic ST50 Plasma Television Review: Good Picture, Great Value

Dropping two grandon a high-end television simply isn’t possible for most households. Does that mean you should suffer with some $100 off-brand Fony set. No way. As Panasonic’s second-best option in plasma reminds us that even if you can’t get the VT50 you want, you can still go for the ST50 you need. What Is…

Reviews Andrew Tarantola Nov 30 '12

Fan Fiction Friday: Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy Really Have to Go in “Rain of Gold”

Bar10der Review: A Watered-Down Cocktail Multitool

Amazing Video of a Crane Lifting a Car Using Two Phonebooks

Two whales swim alarmingly close to a canoe, and passenger promptly/understandably loses her shit

The Most Realistic Artificial Brain Has a Mind of Its Own

One of Ben Edlund’s Finest Hours: The Secret History of Supernatural‘s Deadly Turducken Slammers

Watch Dan Harmon’s surprisingly inspirational keynote speech on the death of television

There’s a Major Grand Canyon Controversy Going On Right Now

Why we all secretly want the apocalypse to happen

North Korean Archeologists Discover Ancient Unicorn Lair (Seriously)

Nerdy Gifts for Comic Book Fans

Stephen King’s Under The Dome series will be on your TV next summer

Is every living thing on Earth related?

Yes, You’re Allowed to Check Your Phone During Sex

Bizarre study suggests men care more about their sisters’ children than their own

Wonderful Geeky Toys You’ve Always Wanted Is Your Thinkgeek-Special Deal of the Day

How George R.R. Martin’s Writing Advice Led To One Of Star Trek‘s Greatest Episodes

Self-Updating LCD Grocery Shelf Labels Are Pure Genius

The Complete Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in December

Panasonic ST50 Plasma Television Review: Good Picture, Great Value

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