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The Weirdest Questions People Asked Librarians Before The Internet

Before we had Google for all of our embarrassing questions, Pinterest for craft inspiration, and Craigslist for all of the odds and ends of life, more people relied on public librarians to field all manner of questions. And the New York Public Library still has records of some pretty odd ones. If you’re not already…

Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings has been banned in Egypt and Morocco, “after the country’s head of censorship objected to a number of ‘historical inaccuracies’ in the epic Biblical tale,” Deadline reports. Egypt also banned Darren Aronofsky’s Noah earlier this year, at the behest of religious authorities.

How a Portuguese City Turned Its Buses and Taxis Into Wi-Fi Hotspots 

In Porto, Portugal, picking up a free Wi-Fi signal is as simple as hopping into a bus or taxi. The city recently launched a Wi-Fi program that serves 70,000 people a month by offering free internet connections in more than 600 buses and taxis. The program helps people keep their data usage down, and it…

Get a new iPhone? Camera? Tips to Master Your Brand New Gadget

There are a couple things that can go through your head upon unwrapping a shiny new electronic device: hell yesss is closely followed by: uhhh, so how do I use this thing? You could read the instructional manual cover to cover, but c’mon F that. So, we’ve compiled some tips for how to master your…

It’s Hard To Believe This “Ancient Rome Vs. China” Movie Is Real

Here we have it: a strong early contender for 2015’s guiltiest pleasure. Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody and Peng Lin star in Dragon Blade, an alt-history in which Rome fights Han Dynasty China for control over the Silk Road. You’ve never seen Brody chewing scenery like this before. According to Slashfilm, this is the…

What Amazing Gift Do You Wish You’d Gotten for Christmas?

My three younger sisters are in the other room playing with Gear VR right now and having a blast. It’s a unit I bought to review, and ultimately plan to return, but if they could have their way it would never leave the house. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-gear-vr-review-hell-yes-i-will-strap-this-phon-1670312012 If your wildest dreams had come true this Christmas, what…

How Do Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Characters Compare To Tolkien’s?

When it comes to personality traits, how does J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf compare to Peter Jackson’s movie version? An IBM researcher used the company’s artificially intelligent Watson computer system to crunch the data and find out. Watson is probably best known for wiping the floor with former Jeopardy! champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings during a…

This Latte Art Stop-Motion Film Was Made With 1,000 Cups Of Coffee

This adorable short film may be a commercial for a food product, but it’s also a rather cleverly executed piece of animation. The characters were carefully placed on 1,000 individual cups of coffee, turning food and beverage into a love story. The commercial is for Ajinomoto General Foods’ Maxim Stick drink flavoring. And there’s a…

Stop What You’re Doing And Watch This Insane Fireworks Display

The 2014 Bamboo Rocket Festival in Thailand (one of many such traditional events held annually prior to the rainy season) yielded the absolutely jaw-dropping fireworks display below. No more words even necessary, really … watch and prepare to have your face melted clean off by sheer force of awesome. Image via 9news.

How To Start Your Own Micronation

Have you ever wanted to be king of your own nation? Do you want to test out a political experiment with a few dozen of your closest friends? Consider setting up your own micronation for fun, social experiments, and profit. Photograph: His Excellency President Kevin Baugh of the Republic of Molossia. Photo by J. Stephen…

A Guide To The Most Nutritious Post-Apocalypse Cuisine

If a global catastrophe strikes, chances are that efforts to store food will keep most people fed for only a year. But, before everyone loses their heads and begins reenacting the Donner Party, here are some tips from two researchers who have come up with ways to live off what’s left of the land. Image:…

io9 Newsstand: What Are Your 5 Favorite Stories of 2014?

Every week since the beginning of July I’ve highlighted my favorite stories and authors, and here at the end of the year I have some solid contenders for Best of the Year. And since it’s time to start thinking about what should go on award ballots and in anthologies. So what are your favorite stories…

These “Christmas Trees” Sit on the Bottom of the Ocean

There’s a veritable gold rush going on beneath the world’s oceans as nations and multinational corporations alike vie to discover and exploit a wealth of minerals and energy trapped within. Off the coast of Western Australia, for example, General Electric has tapped into a massive reserve of oil and natural gas, pumping the valuable resources…

The Very Best Toys And Collectibles Released In 2014

They used to say that whoever dies with the most toys win — but that was before we had a toy industry cranking out so much insane quantity that you could fill several buildings with crap in one lifetime. Now, it’s all about quality, not quantity. And here are the most brilliant toys and collectibles…

This Rare Bird Is Half-Male And Half-Female

This bi-colored northern cardinal has female plumage on its right, and male plumage on its left. Called a “gynandromorph,” these animals are rare in nature. Rarer still is the chance to study one for extended periods of time — but researchers recently had such a chance with the bird you see here. Photo Credit: Brian…

Hackers Who Shut Down PSN and Xbox Live Now Attacking Tor 

Uh oh. Lizard Patrol, the hacking group claiming responsibility for the Christmas attacks on PlayStation and Xbox Live, has announced a new target: Tor, the anonymous internet service. The hacker group appears to be attempting to dominate Tor’s relays to the point where it can comprise anonymity. Tor keeps you anonymous by bouncing your communications…

The Eternal Champion rises again: Titan Books has created sometotally gorgeous reissues of Michael Moorcock’s Corum book series, with some striking cover images. [via SFSignal]

The Most Amazing Toys And Collectibles Of 2014

2014 has been an amazing year for Pop Culture – and equally great for fans of all things merchandise. Whether it be vinyl toys, action figures or high end figures and statues, there’s been a lot of lovely toys to buy, much to the chagrin of our wallets! Here’s some of our favourite Toys of…

Samurai Star Wars is 12 parsecs worth of neat

Now that Disney bought Star Wars, I hope they get a little bit riskier and produce new stuff loosely based on the classic trilogy. A Japanese version would look amazing, as these cool action figures demonstrate. It’s only a natural step—as George Lucas’ original saga was directly influenced by Kurosawa’s work. SPLOID is delicious brain…

How To Take Care of Your Smartphone Battery the Right Way

Your smartphone is a minor miracle, a pocket-sized computer that can fulfill almost every whim. But none of its superpowers matter a bit if it runs out of juice. With removable batteries becoming more and more rare, you’ve got to take good care of the one you got. Fortunately, it’s not to hard keep the…