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What in the name of all that is holy is going on in this video?

The title of this YouTube video is “Wierdest [sic] Chemical Reaction I have Ever Freaking Seen!!” And while we’ve seen some pretty amazing reactions in our day, we’re inclined to agree with that description. Why? Because writhing, peduncled, apparating blahrf-fest, that’s why. Oh — and it’s also deadly. https://gizmodo.com/ten-amazing-and-occasionally-explosive-chemical-react-5886602 But let us not fear the…

Will one Iron Man 3 villain be cut out of the Chinese version?

Looper opens in the United States today, but Chinese audiences will be seeing a somewhat different cut of the film. Director Rian Johnson filmed a key sequence in Shanghai, because Looper is a U.S.-Chinese co-production — and Chinese audiences will see a lot more of that Shanghai footage than we will. (In a similar fashion,…

Scary New Malware Uses Your Smartphone To Map Your House for Robbers

If you aren’t careful, much of the tech you hold near and dear can be used against you. An app called PlaceRaider, for instance, can use your phone to build a full 3D map of your house, all without you suspecting a thing. Developed by Robert Templeman at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana…

Composite Fiber Pogo Stick Inspires a Whole New Generation to Break Their Necks

Like the hoop and stick or the ball and cup, the pogo stick is another children’s toy that just hasn’t been able to compete with video games and other electronic distractions. But you know what’s sure to get kids bouncing again? A pogo stick with a composite fiber bow spring capable of launching them up…

Posting erotic cartoons on your neighbors’ cars is not how you break into the comic industry

In today’s modern, hustle-and-bustle internet era, getting your comic book out there can be difficult. You must differentiate yourself from the legion of aspiring illustrators, and sometimes a rip-roaring marketing gimmick can do wonders for your career. This is not one of those rip-roaring marketing gimmicks. Starting last year in the Noda ward of the…

Apple Adds New Maps Section to App Store to Help You Replace the iOS 6 Horror Show

Buried within Tim Cook’s apology for the embarrassment that is Apple Maps was the candid suggestion that people go try the many other map applications and websites out there. Well, now Apple has gone one step further, adding a whole featured section to the App Store for maps from third party developers. That’s a big…

RHA SA950i Review: The Perfect Pair of Cheap Headphones

Life is better with great headphones, but some of us—especially those who tend to lose or break things—just need something that’s cheap and good enough. For those listeners, the RHA SA950i headphones deliver a level of quality, design and portability that’s way out of proportion to the product’s pricetag. What Is It? A $60 pair…

Is Bill and Ted the most realistic time travel movie of all time?

What are the dumbest tropes in time travel fiction? This week on the io9 show, we recount the temporal storylines that drive us nuts. And then we catch up with Caltech physicist Sean Carroll, who explains how time travel could happen in real life — and why Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure might be the…

Man Jailed for Accidentally Sexting His Whole Address Book (Including Some Tweens)

You know that episode of The Newsroom where the sassy British lady accidentally emails the whole staff from her BackBerry instead of her boss? A 24-year-old swimming coach did that, but with a fairly graphic sex message. And for extra credit, he had some underaged girls in his phone. That meant trouble. Craig Evans, a…

The NY Post reports that Apple’s music-streaming Pandora ripoff has hit a snag; Sony wants more cash. No rush, guys! https://gizmodo.com/apple-might-be-trying-to-launch-its-own-pandora-knock-o-5941217

Pee Pro Urinal Target Turns Your Toilet Into a Carnival Game

The easiest way to get anyone to do anything is to make the task fun and enjoyable. And while it’s sad that gents have to be coerced into properly using a urinal, the Pee Pro promises to promote accuracy by encouraging every user to be as on-target as possible. Priced at just $16 it’s exactly…

Top of the First Antarctic Explorers’ Packing List: Lots and Lots of Cocaine

Headed out to explore the frigid Arctic? Better pack some blow. Scottish author Gavin Francis details the medical supplies early 20th century expeditions took on their treks to the South Pole, and they read more like the inventory list of a heavily stocked drug den than a voyage to the coldest place on the planet.…

Snails form better memories thanks to chocolate, but do you?

Let’s say you wanted to analyze if the purported brain benefit of flavonoids in chocolate actually did anything. How would you go about it? By teaching snails, of course. Researchers from the University of Calgary set out to better understand the supposed memory benefits of flavonoids, specifically (−)epicatechin (epi), which is found in chocolate, red…

Iranian News Agency Copies the Onion, Says Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama

The semi-official Iranian news agency FNA has just published this news item: “Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama.” But of course they do! Here’s their complete text: Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama TEHRAN (FNA)- According to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday, the overwhelming majority of rural white…

Google finally made Gmail iPhone 5 look ungoofy on the iPhone 5. Next up: Maps? Maybe? Please?

And now, Princess Leia’s “coke nail” from Return of the Jedi

Sadly, Carrie Fisher battled drug addiction while filming the Star Wars movies, and (for the most part) evidence of her real-life struggles remained offscreen. But in Return of the Jedi, we fleetingly see Leia sporting a suspiciously long fingernail. One’s left wondering if this fashion statement will be clipped the next time the Original Trilogy…

Don’t cheat yourself out of seeing Looper in the theater

Looper is the sort of movie that doesn’t come along that often. Very few action movies bother to tell a real story. Very few indie “auteur” movies have a really compelling plot. And you won’t see too many high-concept science fiction films that turn their bells and whistles into a real premise. You’re going to…

How to Listen to Something Besides Local Radio on Your Never-Ending Road Trip

Fall is a great time for cross-country sojourns. Nothing is better than grabbing a gaggle of friends, loading up on individually-wrapped snack foods, and hitting the open road. Unfortunately, nothing is worse than being on said open road and being forced to listen to the Bible Belt-musings of Pastor Jim on WKOR. Fortunately, if you…

Yep, The TSA Is Definitely Stealing iPads

An ABC investigation has found what you might have suspected all along; if you leave your iPad with airport security, a TSA agent might just keep it for himself. The investigators went to 10 airports and put iPads through the screening machines in the little plastic containers, and then didn’t claim them just to see…

Why does this fish’s penis resemble a medieval weapon?

Biologists recently discovered a new species of freshwater fish called the llanos mosquitofish, or Gambusia quadruncus, in which the male members of the species have genitalia with four pronounced hooks on them, while the females feature a colorful anal spot. Now, it’s quite possible that these fish have some kind of S&M thing going on,…