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During World War I, France began building a fake Paris to confuse German bombers

Just prior to the end of World War I, French officials began constructing a Potemkin Paris outside of the real city to throw off German bombing raids. This tactic may seem unusual, but aerial bombing technology was still a bit of a novelty in 1917. Planes couldn’t support massive payloads, and pilots didn’t have the…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Sep 25

Carnotaurus had the most ridiculously weak dinosaur arms ever

The image of the hulking T. rex and its comically undersized arms is deeply ingrained in pop culture, but it isn’t really fair. They were muscular little appendages well-suited to their evolutionary purpose. The wimpy-armed Carnotaurus is another story entirely. As you can see in the skeleton up top, Carnotaurus had arms that even T.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 25

Lobby-Sized Nintendo Game & Watch While You Wait

You know what that wall needs, Darryl? A giant, playable Game & Watch based on Arduino. This is how I imagined the discussion about a “hobby project” for the front lobby at 21tanks went down right before they got to work on this life-size playable Game&Watch display. Looks fun! Beyond the games themselves even the…

Tech News Jack Loftus Sep 25

Is this a disco ball or a spacecraft part?

This beauty may look like the love child of a flying saucer and a disco ball, but is actually a key component of Europe’s most powerful rocket launcher. The image was taken in Les Mureaux, near Paris, France, where the Ariane 5 rocket is built by the company EADS for Arianespace, a launch service provider.…

io9 Roger Highfield - New Scientist Sep 25

Admiral Ackbar and Nien Nunb discuss hamburgers, the metric system

There are about a zillion Star Wars redubs out there — The Vader Sessions being the gold standard — but this lost scene from the Battle of Endor by David Wilm speaks to me. Does this mean Xenu lives on Mon Calamari? Thanks to Rob!

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Sep 25

Radishes May Prove to Be Acne’s Worst Nightmare

Confession: I positively hate acne. While my face only bears the most subtle of scars, in my mind the red pimply warzone that covered it back in high school is still fresh, clear and just begging to be popped. Clearasil. Face washes. Acidic astringents. Creams. Prescription antibiotics. I tried them all in my teenage years,…

Tech News Jack Loftus Sep 25

A Gifted Man is basically Ghost Dad (but without Bill Cosby or anything remotely interesting)

So Friday’s premiere of CBS’ supernatural medical romance A Gifted Man left me speechless. Well, not entirely speechless. I did have one thing to say — “This is easily some of the most aggressively boring shit I’ve ever seen on the tee-vee” — but you really can’t spin an entire television recap out of one…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Sep 25

Apple’s October Event to Be Intimate Cupertino Affair

Apple’s secrecy means speculation runs rampant about pretty much anything it does. So, in that light, there’s this: The mystery event scheduled for October will be at their HQ, not downtown San Francisco. That’s atypical! Now, speculate. [All Things D]

Tech News Jack Loftus Sep 25

It’s three galaxies in one for Arp 272

Colliding galaxies may be common, but cosmic cacophony on this scale is still unusual. What we have here are two galaxies merging together in your standard collision…and then a third galaxy sidling in, just to complete the intergalactic chaos. To get the full effect, you’re going to want to click and expand the image to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 25

Lies, damned lies, and honey badgers

I recently wrote a piece about a bird called the greater honeyguide, whose chicks brutally murder those of other birds. But honeyguides are better known for a more helpful behaviour – leading humans to bee hives. The people break open the hives and leave behind an otherwise inaccessible piece of honey for the bird. In…

io9 Ed Yong - Discover Sep 25

Bendy Rubber Bookshelves Literally Accommodate Whatever Literary Tastes You Have On Hand

Where does one put the massive tomes of knowledge with which the brain, a metaphorical elastic sponge, soaks up and expands to accomodate more knowledge? I dunno, how about a malleable rubber bookshelf? [Behance via Bookshelf via Boing Boing] You can keep up with Jack Loftus, the author of this post, on Twitter and Facebook.

Tech News Jack Loftus Sep 25

Björk’s latest music video turns her into a lunar wig goddess

Björk science-tinged new album Biophilia has inspired some delightfully cosmic music videos. Her recent video for the track “Moon” is no different. Watch as Iceland’s de facto cultural ambassador prances about serenading (what looks like) a sponge. Also, is that a zither suit? I need to get myself one of those. Biophilia will be out…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Sep 25

Why the perfect language has to be both orderly and random

If you try to figure out the connection between how words sound and what they mean, you’ll be working for a long, long time. While patterns do exist, most language sounds are random…and there’s a very good reason for that. Languages don’t really make much sense, at least not from a strictly logical sense. Let’s…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 25

Like Throwing Astronauts Into a Flaming Barrel

Astronaut Ron Goran may sound like he’s being creative when he describes what returning from the ISS feels like for today’s space-faring souls, but really, no he isn’t. [Fragile Oasis via Boing Boing, Image]

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus Sep 25

Behold the new(er) Catwoman costume from The Dark Knight Rises!

At a shooting of The Dark Knight Rises in Los Angeles yesterday, Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman costume got an upgrade: ears! Spoilers, and so on. https://gizmodo.com/meow-the-first-official-photo-of-anne-hathaway-as-catw-5828059 Holy shades of Eartha Kitt! Side note: those are some imposing crime-fighting heels. In addition to her newfangled ears, footage from the L.A. shoot shows Batman and Catwoman sharing an…

Movies Cyriaque Lamar Sep 25

Doctor Who: the Godfather of Soul

So is Doctor Who all about a vain old time-traveler who goes around dragging people into horrible danger just to stoke his ego? Does the Doctor create a vast dark legend about himself as a mighty warrior and then draft ordinary people to be bit-players in his huge saga? We’ve gotten some pretty dark views…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Sep 25

Nirvana: Drain You

It happened 20 years ago today. An album that eventually pushed Michael Jackson off the charts and put a bullet in the head of the schlock rock that had taken over the radio, hit record stores. And while you’re probably being bombarded with facts about Smells like Teen Spirit today, I’m pretty sure that’s the…

Tech News Roberto Baldwin Sep 24

This Vegas-Style Water Gun Ballet Makes Me Really Miss Summer

As much as I love autumn… I’m just not ready yet! I wanna be able to do this. Throw in some alcohol and you have yourself a grand old time. [Neatorama]

Tech News Kwame Opam Sep 24

Is Motorola Making Two Xoom 2s?

All the leaks and new images coming out about the new Xoom 2 seem to indicate that there’s going to be two models released side-by-side. One could be the true successor to the Xoom. This, according to This Is My Next, will be the smaller Xoom 2 Media edition. https://gizmodo.com/is-this-really-the-motorola-xoom-2-updated-5843492 Engadget got the screens you…

Tech News Kwame Opam Sep 24

“Is My Son Gay?” Is One Aggressively Sad Android App

If you think your son’s sexuality can be determined through any means other than actually having a meaningful, face-to-face conversation, then you need to waste your money on the “Is My Son Gay” French Android App. The app costs 99 Euro cents € 1.99, which if you think about it, is a great deal considering…

Tech News Michael Zhao Sep 24

During World War I, France began building a fake Paris to confuse German bombers

Carnotaurus had the most ridiculously weak dinosaur arms ever

Lobby-Sized Nintendo Game & Watch While You Wait

Is this a disco ball or a spacecraft part?

Admiral Ackbar and Nien Nunb discuss hamburgers, the metric system

Radishes May Prove to Be Acne’s Worst Nightmare

A Gifted Man is basically Ghost Dad (but without Bill Cosby or anything remotely interesting)

Apple’s October Event to Be Intimate Cupertino Affair

It’s three galaxies in one for Arp 272

Lies, damned lies, and honey badgers

Bendy Rubber Bookshelves Literally Accommodate Whatever Literary Tastes You Have On Hand

Björk’s latest music video turns her into a lunar wig goddess

Why the perfect language has to be both orderly and random

Like Throwing Astronauts Into a Flaming Barrel

Behold the new(er) Catwoman costume from The Dark Knight Rises!

Doctor Who: the Godfather of Soul

Nirvana: Drain You

This Vegas-Style Water Gun Ballet Makes Me Really Miss Summer

Is Motorola Making Two Xoom 2s?

“Is My Son Gay?” Is One Aggressively Sad Android App

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