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All The Most Essential Science Fiction And Fantasy Books In July

July is bursting with science fiction and fantasy greatness. Including new books from Hannu Rajaniemi, Joe Abercrombie, Nick Harkaway and Charles Stross. Here are the 29 science fiction and fantasy books that absolutely everybody’s going to be talking about this month. Top image: The Apex Book of World SF 3. Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by…

Why Countdown Clocks for Pedestrians Actually Cause More Car Crashes

As a frequent traveler by foot, I love countdowns at crosswalks. They tell me whether I should wait out 2 seconds or leisurely walk across in 15. And indeed, these countdowns do make pedestrians safer. But it turns out that countdowns actually cause more crashes between cars. Here’s why. The answer is, weirdly enough, too…

Divers Discover Vanished WWI-Era Russian ‘Shark’ Submarine

Estonian divers working in the Baltic Sea have identified a wreck as being the legendary Tsarist-era Russian submarine known as The Shark, which disappeared without a trace during the First World War. Commissioned in 1911, the 400-ton vessel, called Akula (Russian for shark), was the biggest in the pre-Revolutionary Imperial Russian Navy. Able to cruise…

Google just announced that it’s buying Songza, no doubt in a bid to beef up its music streaming offerings. For the time being, there are no plans to change Songza and no word on the price of the deal, but you can bet that its functionality will be popping up in a Google service sometime…

The End Of Avengers: Age Of Ultron May Have A Major Surprise For Hulk

Hitflix says they know what happens to the Hulk in the final act of Avengers: Age of Ultron. This could be a rumor, or it could be a spoiler, but if it’s true, it has some major ramifications for Phase 3 of the Marvel cinematic universe. Supposedly, the Hulk will become trapped in a quinjet…

The 50 Most Amazing Images From a Decade of Orbiting Saturn

Cassini entered Saturn’s orbit on July 1st, 2004. And ever since, this NASA-ESA-ASI collaboration has delivered stunning images of the crown jewel of our solar system. The following 50 images were chosen from thousands of similarly great photographs from a full decade of exploring the sixth planet and its iconic ring system and moons. Read…

About 42% of Americans think astrology is scientific. It is not.

Every two years, the National Science Foundation asks Americans their thoughts on astrology. We don’t have the numbers for 2014 yet, but back in 2012, 42 percent of Americans said that astrology was scientific — which is a bit depressing, since astrology is in no way scientific. About 10 percent said they believed astrology was…

NASA’s New Satellite Could Unravel the Mystery of Our Changing Climate

Right now, io9’s Mika McKinnon is at the launch for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a satellite which will track where the Earth draws carbon out of the atmosphere. It could give us hints about why the climate is changing — and how we can intervene more quickly. Here’s how the OCO works. https://gizmodo.com/nasas-new-satellite-could-unravel-the-mystery-of-our-ch-1598348848

How Japanese Woodblock Prints Will Commemorate The Apocalypse

World-shattering meteorites, future famines, and rising sea levels get the Japanese ukiyo-e treatment in this series of apocalyptic illustrations styled after woodblock prints. Collaborating with art director Michi Toki, illustrator Andrew Archer made these images and more for a California Magazine story about how the world might end. You can see the rest of the…

The World’s Greatest Water Gun Has 6 Spinning, Soaking Barrels

Step aside, Super Soaker. The one-time king of summer fun has officially been usurped by this custom creation from the folks behind Sugru. It looks like something Schwarzenegger used in an action film, but it’s instead designed for mowing down people with a harmless soaking. For those not in the know, Sugru is a soft,…

Five Ways To Sleep Outside Without A Tent

Tents are wonderfully effective, but also large, heavy and fragile. Can you really go camping without one? Turns out, you really don’t have to sacrifice that much. Roughing It: This is my preferred outdoor sleeping solution, but only when I can say with reasonable certainty that it’s not going to rain. Here in Southern California,…

Audi Turned 28 Cars Into a Giant World Cup Scoreboard For Manhattan

In what could turn out to be yet another vain attempt to get most Americans to like—or even mildly appreciate—soccer, Audi created a giant World Cup scoreboard made from something the country definitely loves: Cars. Assembled on the shores of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the scoreboard was built using 42 shipping containers stacked to form a giant…

Lord Of The Rings‘ Elves Are Totally Lying About Their Awesome Eyesight

That’s right; Legolas and his pointy-eared kin are goddamned liars. As this video proves, they can’t possibly see over the distance and with the clarity they claim. Man, it’s like Tolkien didn’t do any scientific research before writing his fantasy opus. [Via Geeks Are Sexy]

7 Humanoid Toy Robots from the Original Space Age

Last week, we learned the rules for the final round of DARPA’s Robotics Challenge. It was immediately apparent that we’re teetering on the precipice of a futuristic future, where robots can walk around on two legs doing work without human aid. The reality is not unlike the Space Age fantasies from 50 years ago. The…

The Confederate Army wanted to build this helicopter during the Civil War.

It was an idea so crazy it just might work. Or not. During the Civil War an engineer in Alabama wanted to counter against Union blockades by building helicopters. The idea never got off the ground, as it were, but he did build this incredible model. From the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: In…

Why Crickets Make Such Excellent Thermometers

Unlike renegade mammals that live fast and play by their own thermal rules, cold-blooded reptiles and insects march to the beat of a more universal drum—ambient air temperature. You can see it in the speed at which ants walk and fireflies flash, or hear it in the cadence of a cricket’s love song. Their melodies…

That ISIS “Caliphate Map” Is Bogus, So Stop Freaking Out

Judging from the comments on Twitter, a lot of people are panicking over the map that’s appeared on ABC News, purporting to show ISIS’ “five-year expansion plan” for conquering vast territory. Let’s stop this meme right now, shall we? ISIS didn’t even make the map—and a neofascist group is circulating it. This is one of…

7 Trippy Kaleidoscopes Made From Plain Photos

Photos are great. But you know what’s better than photos? Kaleidoscopes—the LSD of second graders everywhere. Here are 7 fantastic kaleidoscopic images, made by you. https://gizmodo.com/shooting-challenge-kaleidoscopes-1596377361 Each begins with the original photo, followed by the edited version (in case that wasn’t clear!). Winner: Patio Party My patio at night has lots of contrast with the…

Could We Really Terraform An Asteroid?

In Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel 2312, people hollow out the insides of asteroids and terraform them. They use these “terrariums” as massive spaceship habitats. Here’s the science that could make this possible. https://maddiestone.kinja.com/life-inside-an-asteroid-the-plausibility-of-2312-1597777714

The Real-Life Baby Animals That Inspired Earth To Echo‘s Alien

The latest addition to the family-friendly boy-meets-alien genre is Earth to Echo, which features characters that are much more realistic than anything you’ll see on the Disney Channel. We spoke with the director about channeling authentic kid dialogue and the creation of the cutest little alien robot to ever meep. Earth to Echo felt very…