Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Before you head out to fire up the grill, be sure to peruse this list of all the best Memorial Day sales from around the web. Naturally, a ton of clothing outlets are offering huge sitewide sales, but there’s a bucketload of gadgets, games, and household goods to be had as well. We’ll keep our…
If there is something that transports us directly to the world of Mad Men it is its award winning set design. I can’t believe some of these aren’t real places. The attention to every detail and the wonderful selection of furniture from the 50s and 60s is something that will without a doubt stick in…
For 60 years, the Piscine Molitor—tucked away in the leafy outskirts of Paris—was the height of French sophistication: an Art Deco destination for chic sunbathers and sophisticated celebrities to swim. Twenty five years ago it was closed and left to ruin—but now it’s been faithfully restored to its former glory. The pool was closed in…
Remember that time Japan had the crazy idea to build a giant ice wall to contain the plant’s radioactive water leaks? Well, it got funded and now it’s about to be built. Really. https://gizmodo.com/japan-wants-to-build-an-ice-wall-to-contain-fukushimas-1135305503 Following examination of the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) plans to build the gigantic ice wall, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has…
If you think small is beautiful, this is the perfect London home for you: thought to be the narrowest house in the entire capital, the Denmark Hill residence is on sale for a cool $750,000. At its widest point the house measures just 99 inches across—but not all of the house offers such generous proportions.…
I’m used to seeing portraits of dogs that look like their owners, but donuts that look like the people that eat them (ish), man, that’s something I’ve never seen in my entire life. The video was made by Brandon Voges for the National Restaurant Association’s annual food show. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome…
It’s never been easier to quickly post a screenshot of your phone online for all to see but… wait, why the hell is this person posting screenshots when they only have 4 percent battery? Why aren’t they madly scrambling for a charger? Why? The low battery icon in the corner of a screenshot really is…
Mac or PC? Over the past decade, that’s become an increasingly divisive question, with camps on either side insisting they know best. But, fundamentally, what’s the difference between a Mac and PC? Surprisingly, it’s nothing to do with cost, or the necessity of dressing like a hipster to use one. In this video, computer scientists…
These swallows learned how to fly in and out a parking garage—where they made their nests—by triggering the detectors on the automatic doors. Watching them flying in and out is simply amazing. I imagine the swallows probably liked the garage’s environmental conditions, safe from the elements and with a more stable temperature, and somehow quickly…
A bespeckled bishoujo falls into a psychedelic world of dreams and must face a difficult choice: escape back to reality or assimilate into a mind-bending band of merrymakers. “Fake! Fake!” is the first single off of J-Pop superstars A Crow Is White’s second mini album, which drops June 4th. Check out the rest of their…
The Carnival of Space is a roving showcase of astronomy articles from space blogs around the web. It’s a chance for us to share neat stories, meet new authors, and reach new audiences. This is the 355th week of delicious links for your browsing pleasure. This is io9’s first time hosting, with stories from Simostronomy,…
Exactly 35 years ago today, Alien hit the theaters. It’s a sad truth that we’re supposed to celebrate the spawn of this spine-rattling franchise less than two weeks after the death of H.R. Giger, the surrealist artist who helped develop the film’s horrific, biomechanical aesthetic. That said, there’s no better way to celebrate the work…
Most of us will never go to Yemen. But Nick Mulvey’s new music video, “Meet Me There,” will make you want to. Shot by James Morgan with Red’s 6K Epic Dragon camera, these three-and-a-half-minutes of dark deserts, savannah sunsets, and sand mountains are just gorgeous. The song’s not too bad, either! Watch the director’s cut…
In this hyper-modern, satellite-powered wireless age, it’s easy to forget how not too long ago our main connection to Europe was a single cable: the TAT-1. This, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable was finally completed in 1956, just in time for operators to realize they needed a second. Guess what they named that one.…
It’s hard to know which specific emotion this video of kids reacting to old computers from the late 1970s and early 1980s evokes. The feeling is somewhere between sheer delight (how cute are they?!) and utter horror (how old am I?!) Either way, it’s worth it. As we pointed out when the last video in…
As kids, we all wondered what it would be like if you could climb on top of a paper airplane and coast into the sunset. Well, if you watch the latest video from GoPro—shot atop the world’s largest paper plane—you’ll know. It’s about sixty seconds of bliss, followed by an awesome crash. [GoPro]
What happens when you boil a can of Coke with a lava flow? Or leave tall can of an energy drink to be engulfed in molten rock? Now that your drink is steaming hot, what does it look like to try cooking ravioli with an encroaching flow? Bryan Lowry takes a lot of footage of…
A couple weeks ago, the internet lit up with the news of the European Court of Justice ruling that would require Google to delete irrelevant or outdated information from their search results. “Finally!” you might’ve thought. “I can get those frat party pics out of my results!” But, as a new Associated Press story makes…
The Spitzer Space Telescope explores the skies in a wavelength we’re blind to, sensing the heat of infrared. After 3,925 days of service, it’s had plenty of time to built up an impressive gallery. Now continued funding is in jeopardy, it’s a good time to look back on the gorgeous images of science. Top image:…
The New York Times Magazine offers up a healthy dose of inspiration this weekend with the story of David Walmer, a renegade doctor who’s been saving lives in Haiti. When he realized a few years ago how cervical cancer was killing many of his patients, Walmer decided to get creative about solving the problem. Oddly…