Star Wars cosplayers of the world take note: Joerg Sprave, the internet’s favorite slingshot-designing mad scientist, has come up with a clever way to simulate blaster fire in real life. Instead of employing dangerously powerful lasers that will get you kicked out of a convention faster than you can reload, his…
Up until the 20th century, the use of bone daggers among the Papuan males of New Guinea was commonplace. Many of these daggers were forged from the femurs of large birds, but some were made from the bones of humans. New research shows which of the two materials provided for a superior dagger, demonstrating that, for…
China’s defunct space station Tiangong-1 will soon plummet toward Earth, likely this weekend. You will almost certainly not be harmed in any way by it—the odds of it striking an individual person are worse than winning the lottery or being struck by lightning. You should not worry about it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual address to the country’s Federal Assembly today, showing off some impressive new weapons in the process. One of the concept videos even showed a nuclear strike using multiple warheads against the United States. The video depicts Florida, to be exact—the site of…
In New York next month the toymakers of the world will be showing off everything the kids in your life will be begging you for later this year. But ahead of Toy Fair 2018, Nerf has given us a sneak peek at a couple of new blasters it’s introducing, including one that helps solve the most annoying part of waging a dart…
There may be at least half a million pieces of man-made junk orbiting this planet. Tiny pieces can travel around 10 kilometers per second, far faster than a bullet. The International Space Station has had to adjust its orbit just to avoid the stuff. People are rightfully concerned about what to do with all this…
A million Russian artillery shells helped scientists discover the Higgs boson. And all over the world, remnants of World War II weapons are built into the most mysterious experiments in physics.
In the mid-1990s, physicists needed tons of a metal strong enough to withstand the massive magnetic fields of the house-sized…
Archer Lars Andersen doesn’t post a lot of videos to his YouTube channel. But when he does, it’s to show off a mind-melting new trick he’s mastered, like getting arrows to change direction mid-flight so that he can hit targets hidden behind obstacles that he can’t actually see.
Amateur life-risker Joerg Sprave has successfully built custom slingshots capable of firing everything from bowling balls, to Christmas trees, to lethal Lego bricks. His latest creation, a slingshot that can launch full-size swords, is as ludicrous-sounding as it is awesome to see in action.
When people fantasize about being ninjas, they’re not day-dreaming about sneaking up on their enemies; it’s all about the sword play. The Slow Mo Guys are no exception, and realized that playing around with a katana sword would result in some spectacular slo-mo footage.
In preparation for this week’s UN Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, Switzerland, the Future of Life Institute has released a disturbing sci-fi short that shows what might happen if we fail to place an international moratorium on autonomous killing machines.
The US Air Force’s scientific research wing is giving Lockheed Martin $26.3 million “for the design, development, and production of a high power fiber laser,” which it expects to start testing on a tactical fighter jet in four years. Sounds cool and certainly futuristic, but the jury’s still out on whether these…
Some of our favorite science fiction and fantasy franchises are defined by the weapons in them. Star Wars has its lightsabers. Zelda’s Link has his Master Sword. These are the touchstones of each property, and artist Matt Ritchie is reimagining them all in a beautiful, colorful new way.
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular weekly roundup of all the toys you’ll want to blow your paycheck on, instead of buying groceries, paying rent, or other more responsible purchases. This week we’ve got an Imperial entry in Sphero’s line of interactive droids, a cartoon version of Boba Fett, and a bunch of New…
In the United States, it’s illegal to interfere with any aircraft soaring over your property. So if your neighbor’s drone is caught spying on you, you can’t just shoot it out of the air. But apparently the laws are different in Sweden, where you can take down drones using impossibly dangerous weapons; like a…
They’re fun, but Nerf’s blasters, even the most powerful ones, aren’t known for their impeccable accuracy. So if you find yourself in the heat of battle surrounded by opponents, you’d be much better off with this Nerf grenade in your arsenal, which blasts foam darts in all directions.
Last week, an amateur drone pilot landed his DJI quadcopter on the deck of Britain’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier. The incident was accidental, but highlights the irony of how difficult it is to neutralize threats from smaller aircraft like drones that are slowly filling the skies. But perhaps modifying a…
With the Cold War a fading memory, some nuclear powers have adopted strategies allowing for limited nuclear strikes. But a disturbing new study shows that even small batches of nukes can have disastrous environmental consequences on a global scale.
YouTube’s Giaco Whatever, who previously terrified us with a custom Nerf blaster capable of firing foam darts faster than the speed of sound, has now designed and built an automatic BB gun powered by a 4,000 PSI air tank that’s easily one of the most dangerous creations you’ll find online—so of course you want to see…
Just in time for the Fourth of July, North Korea says it has successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The country voted most likely to start WWIII says it can now strike targets anywhere in the world, but military experts believe the missile, which flew for 40 minutes, is a medium range…
