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Another Game of Thrones Character May Be Coming Back From The Dead

A new, Spider-Man related Marvel character may have joined the Civil War cast. An outlandish Doctor Who rumor claims two past Doctors are making a return. A Rogue One actor accidentally teases some new helmets from the film. Plus Valerian casts its star, and previews of Flash and Gotham. Spoilers get! Suicide Squad Henry Cavill…

This is a Single, Endless Day on Pluto

The New Horizons spacecraft photographed the day side of the dwarf planet Pluto during its flyby this July. Here’s a full rotation from the iconic heart to the squibbly backside that will taunt us with mysteries until the next time we visit the far reaches of the solar system. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past…

The Most Adorable Mirrorless Camera Gets a Boost

A while back, I reviewed the Olympus OM-D EM-10 and came away damn near head over heels with the small, charming camera. The new Mark II version enhances nearly every aspect of the camera, but it’s still the little friend we know and love. If you’ve never heard of an OM-D EM-10, here’s what you…

You Can Now Dim Philips’ Hue Bulbs From a Wireless Remote

Popping open an app (and ensuring your mobile device is connected to your home’s wifi network) isn’t always the most convenient way to control Philips’ wireless lighting system. So the company is introducing another physical remote that lets you dim up to 10 of its bulbs at once. Unlike the Hue Tap, Philips’ first physical…

How movies break the fourth wall and why they do it

When movies break the fourth wall it’s always a little jarring. Like when you see someone you don’t know try to talk to you and you look behind your shoulder to see if it’s really you they want. But when characters express that awareness of being in their world to you, it can get pretty…

This dual cannon machine gun that shoots fireworks is so much bad ass fun

You probably thought you had a nice summer. Maybe you got a little bit of color, maybe you sunk your toes into some sand, maybe you had a drink with an umbrella in it. But no, your summer was not that fun. Because when you see this crazy guy shoot Roman Candle fireworks with dual…

The Secret Confessions of the Most Famous Monsters

From artist Teo Zirinis (Hands Off My Dinosaur) comes a series of wonderfully simple works depicting the problems of monsters such as Cthulhu, Godzilla, and King Kong. Life for the supernatural is harder than we think it is. Below are more from the series. You can see more of Zirinis’ art on Facebook and Instagram.…

Stop Drooling and Check Out This Crazy Collection of Back to the Future Props

With Marty McFly’s arrival in 2015 fast approaching, things are sure to get very Back to the Future everywhere you look. That includes the Internet, where franchise co-creator, co-writer and producer Bob Gale has revealed has jaw-dropping and jealousy-inducing collection of props. In the above video, Gale takes fans through a wet dream full of…

Obama’s Big Plan to Make Solar Energy More Efficient and Affordable

Earlier this month President Obama launched an ambitious plan to move states away from coal-based power and towards more renewable energy generation. Now he’s focusing on the consumer side with a suite of initiatives to help Americans collect energy at home, encourage manufacturers to make more efficient appliances, and—perhaps most critically—boost research to innovate the…

Cooper Tire wants to make tires out of guayule, a flowering shrub native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. The NYT reports the company “is expected to demonstrate tires this week with components” made from guayule-derived rubber, and expects “to make a complete tire… by early 2017.” [NYT via PopSci] Contact the author at…

Power Outages Are Getting Longer And Catastrophic Weather Plays a Role 

Has your electricity gone out this summer? Did it feel like it was out for a long time? You may not be imagining things: A huge data analysis by a team of Berkeley scientists gives us a glimpse at the future of our drought-addled, storm-riddled electrical system. The analysis (PDF here) looked at 13 years’…

Wilson’s Bird of Paradise: Weird-Looking Bird or Weirdest-Looking Bird?

This is photograph is underselling how colorful Wilson’s Bird of Paradise is. This bird goes all out on the pigmentation, but pigment isn’t the only thing that’s producing color. What else is? Just as a hint, those aren’t blue feathers on its head. The only feathers on the head of Wilson’s Bird of Paradise are…

Astronauts Spot Another “Rare” Red Sprite Already! 

After years of describing red sprites as “rare” and “elusive,” astronauts on the International Space Station are out to prove me wrong. They photographed two entirely unrelated sprites above thunderstorms in the Midwest and Mexico within minutes. What’s going on?! Red sprite over Missouri or Illinois as seen from 2,200 kilometers away over Mexico. Image…

Skynet Wins After All: Terminator Genisys Is a Monster Hit in China!

Terminator Genisys was a flop in the United States, making just $89 million here. But now Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the franchise has scored a monster opening day in China, which means it will probably wind up being considered a hit overall. And a sequel just got much more likely. Genisys made $27.4 million on…

I Kayaked the Part of the Los Angeles River That Actually Looks Like a River

It was 90 degrees at 10:00 a.m. when I stepped off the Orange Line in the LA neighborhood of Van Nuys. A perfect day for the beach, or for the pool, or for positioning yourself directly beneath those little misters you can find at finer restaurants in the Valley. But I was about to embark…

Science Fiction Writers Explain How to Write Videogames That Never Feel Dated 

An imagined future is supposed to tell us something about the world to come, but how we imagine it usually ends up telling us a lot more about our present than our future. Here, several different science fiction writers explain how to create videogame worlds that feel timeless. Some of the authors behind the new…

Watch Sony’s Drone Prototype Take Flight 

Aerosense, Sony’s new drone business, just released video of its drone prototype flying, and it’s so cool I kind of wish I had the ability to Honey I Shrunk the Kids myself so I could fit inside it. Now, obviously, this isn’t the most original drone design in the world. Sony partnered with an autopilot…

It Looks Like Ashley Madison Execs Hacked a Competing Dating Site in 2012

Karma’s a bitch. Hackers recently leaked the inbox of Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman (pictured above). Turns out Noel and his cronies have done some hacking of their own. The emails reveal that the company’s CTO hacked into a competing dating site back in November 2012. Biderman even asked him to steal emails. The revelation…

Thanks to advances in marine technology, police are better-equipped than ever to discover submerged evidence, according to dive-safety periodical Alert Diver. Among the evocative examples: the sticky search for a murder weapon within Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits, and a cannibal’s river-tossed trove of hacksaws. Top image by Betsy Weber

Lois Lane Is Getting a Second Thrilling Young-Adult Novel!

Despite getting to reveal one of the biggest secrets in comics, Lois Lane isn’t getting that much exposure in DC Comics lately—it’s been ages since she had her own title. So it’s great news that the acclaimed prose novel, Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond, is getting a sequel. Lois Lane: Fallout got a starred…