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Deals: Travel Router Learns New Tricks, Chromebook with Lifetime 4G

We love travel routers, wireless storage, and external chargers; now you can get all three in one convenient package for just $30. [LOFTEK Wireless Travel Router with Wireless Storage and 5200mAh External USB Charger, $30 with code QZTNT4IX] USB 3.0 hubs for under $10 are always notable. You can get this one for $9 today,…

Tech News Shep McAllister Aug 12 '14

Deals: Fringe, Legend of Korra Book 2, Apollo 13, Healthier Popcorn

The Legend of Korra: Book 2 – Spirits is just $20 today. [Korra Book 2] Now that we know what Fringe was really about all this time, you can own the whole series for $80. [Fringe] https://gizmodo.com/so-now-we-know-what-fringe-was-really-about-all-this-t-5977342 The Smash Bros. Wii U Controller/Adapter Bundle is up for preorder. We don’t have any information about whether…

io9 Shane Roberts Aug 12 '14

CIA Analysis Of The War Of 1812 Finds Same Failures That Led To 9/11

This month is the 200th anniversary of the British capture of Washington, DC, and the torching of the White House. How did this disaster happen, despite ample warnings? A CIA analyst who pored through historical documents blames the same types of intelligence failures that preceded Pearl Harbor and September 11th. The British invasion of Washington,…

io9 Mark Strauss Aug 12 '14

Berlin’s Creepiest Abandoned Amusement Park Burned Down Over the Weekend

Sorry, fans of ruin porn, creators of would-be Saw-sequels, and demented Walt Disney wannabes: The famous abandoned amusement park in Berlin named Spreepark wasdestroyed by two separate fires over the weekend. Arson is suspected. Over a decade after it was closed, the dilapidated park was put up for sale this spring and then taken over…

Tech News Alissa Walker Aug 12 '14

The World’s First Fully Robotic Telescope Is Hunting for New Earths

Tracking down Earth-like exoplanets with a terrestrial telescope is no easy feat because our planet’s atmosphere makes distant solar systems even harder to see. Adaptive optic technology can help make things go a little faster, but it does so at a snail’s pace—requiring up to 10 minutes per target. The fully autonomous Robo-AO system, however,…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola Aug 12 '14

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Spoiler FAQ

Confused by the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie? No, probably not. It was pretty dumb, wasn’t it? But that doesn’t mean you don’t still have some questions, and luckily we still have answers. Spoilers ahead! What is the new TMNT movie about? It’s about how everything in the goddamn universe revolves around April O’Neil.…

io9 Rob Bricken Aug 12 '14

Dancing Groot Is Real! And He Dances!

Ever since the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy, we’ve been yearning to buy a dancing Groot figure. Now we’re one (very small) step closer to having a little Groot of our own. embed Patrick Delehantymade this Groot toy and debuted it at Stockton-Con. We think it’s just great. Also maybe Groot is the new…

io9 Meredith Woerner Aug 12 '14

X-Ray Reveals Real Human Teeth in 300-Year-Old Jesus Statue

During an otherwise routine restoration, researchers at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (NIAH) made an unprecedented discovery. As it turns out, the 18th century statue of Christ they’d been X-raying was fitted with actual, 100% human pearly whites—totally intact all the way to the roots. Historians will often X-ray old works of art…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg Aug 12 '14

Americans Have Taken 23 Million Bike Share Rides and No One Has Died

With 36 cities across the country now hosting their own systems, bike share is almost becoming an American institution. According to a new report, it’s estimated that Americans have taken 23 million rides since 2007 (wow!), but here’s the most amazing part: Not a single death has been attributed to a bike share system in…

Tech News Alissa Walker Aug 12 '14

This cyborg arm is the first step to a badass Lego mech suit

At some point in your nerdy childhood, you surely imagined what it would be like to build an entire exoskeleton out of Lego. How much fun would that be to have a Lego creation you could actually climb inside and drive around?! Well, award-winning Lego enthusiast Diavo Voltaggio is well on his way to that…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Aug 12 '14

Now This Is The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Movie We Deserve

Forget the unnecessary addition of Tom Sawyer and the other departures from Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s comics. Florian Liedtke imagines a title sequence for a different League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie taken straight from the comics, with a revamped cast. Liedtke made his dream League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen title sequence for a university project,…

io9 Lauren Davis Aug 12 '14

Forensic Meteorologists Solve Crimes You’ve Never Thought About

Meteorologists offer forecasts on what the weather will be. Forensic meteorologists use data to reconstruct weather of the past. But why? They do it to weigh in on insurance claims, determine an accident’s environmental conditions, or even break alibis.

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 12 '14

Forensic Meteorologists Solve Crimes You’ve Never Thought About

Forensic meteorology is the science of using historic weather records, atmospheric data, eyewitness accounts, and reenactment simulations to determine the weather conditions at a specific time and location. A forensic meteorologists’s analysis might be to corroborate or invalidate an alibi, provide context for an accident, or even to determine if the conditions could have been…

Physics & Chemistry Mika McKinnon Aug 12 '14

The Creators of Siri Are Building a New AI That Programs Itself

Siri was a forward-thinking addition to iOS when it was introduced in 2011. Then Google and Microsoft implemented their own (better) contextually aware virtual assistants to help navigate you through your day. But there was always room for improvement, and the original creators of Siri think they take it even further. Today’s Wired profile is…

Artificial Intelligence Darren Orf Aug 12 '14

Jeff Bridges Explains Why It Took Him 20 Years To Make The Giver

Jeff Bridges has been trying to turn Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver into a feature film for twenty years. So what took so long? We asked him, and we also asked “The Receiver” how they developed the actual art of giving and taking in The Giver. Jeff Bridges (The Giver) What is it about this…

io9 Meredith Woerner Aug 12 '14

“Fair Trade” Cocaine Is A Thing Now

The rapid growth of online drug vendors has transformed the way illegal narcotics are sold and marketed. How do dealers compete in a virtual world where violence and intimidation are no longer options? As with any other product, through customer service, promotional campaigns and pledges of social responsibility. Indeed, ten months after the FBI shut…

io9 Mark Strauss Aug 12 '14

Watch an Ice Cube Crack In Liquid Nitrogen

We’ve all heard ice crack in water, because the water is warmer than the ice. What if ice cubes were dropped in something colder than they are? Take a look at a slow-motion video of an ice cube being dropped in liquid nitrogen. Ice cracks up in water because its rigidity goes head-to-head with its…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Aug 12 '14

A Spirograph Pancake Machine Makes Breakfast Beautiful

Believe it or not, pancake art has become a trendy way to spice up breakfast, with talented chefs showing off their golden brown creations online. But none can match the intricacy of Nathan Shields’ batter-spewing spirograph machine known as the Pangraph. It’s a work of engineering art unto itself, but the pancakes it produces are…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 12 '14

Confessions of a Colorblind Photographer

I’m colorblind. There it is, I said it. I’ve been holding it back for years, before I even knew I wanted to be a photographer and it feels good to put it out there. I’ve told exactly two photographers about my handicap before tonight but I feel like its time to put it out there…

Tech News Aaron Lavinksy Aug 12 '14

10 Classic Young Adult Novels That Would Make Amazing Movies

Fans have been waiting over 20 years for a movie version of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, and we’re finally getting one this weekend. But this isn’t the only classic novel that’s overdue for a movie adaptation. Here are 10 beloved YA novels that would make for incredible movies… and why they probably won’t get adapted.…

Books & Comics Esther Inglis-Arkell Aug 12 '14

Deals: Travel Router Learns New Tricks, Chromebook with Lifetime 4G

Deals: Fringe, Legend of Korra Book 2, Apollo 13, Healthier Popcorn

CIA Analysis Of The War Of 1812 Finds Same Failures That Led To 9/11

Berlin’s Creepiest Abandoned Amusement Park Burned Down Over the Weekend

The World’s First Fully Robotic Telescope Is Hunting for New Earths