- io9Movies
5 Shopping-Mall Horror Tales That Are Almost as Terrifying as Black Friday
Sometime in recent history, Black Friday morphed from a day of markdowns that kicked off the Christmas-shopping season to a contact sport. But horror movies have long since viewed the mall as a breeding ground for terror. What’s scarier than being trampled by frenzied bargain hunters? Read on. 1) Dawn of the Dead George A. … Continued
By Cheryl Eddy - Tech News
Houseflies Are More Capable of Spreading Disease Than We Realized
It’s never a nice feeling to watch a fly land on your next bite of food, but as new research shows, you may be justified in wanting to toss that delicious morsel in the garbage. New research published in Scientific Reports shows that two common flies—houseflies and blowflies—are capable of carrying hundreds of different bacteria—a … Continued
- io9Toys and Collectibles
The Most Absurd Transformers Crossover Ever, and More Toys We’re Thankful for This Week
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s weekly roundup of the coolest toys we’ll inevitably be spending all our hard earned money on by next Black Friday. We’ve got adorable Lego Justice League members, swanky Star Wars guards, and the most ridiculous four-wheeler any kid could want. Come take a look! Takara Tomy Street Fighter Transformers … Continued
- Earther
Farming May Have Caused These Birds to Become Darker
The horned larks of inland Southern California’s Imperial Valley don’t look like their forebears. The birds found in the region today have distinctly darker plumage on the tops of their heads, their backs, and the napes of their necks. But we’re not talking about a shift that occurred over millions of years: New research shows … Continued
By Jake Buehler - io9
Doctor Who‘s Resurrection of ‘Shada’ Works So Much Better Than It Should
Thirty-eight years after it should’ve first aired, Douglas Adams’ last Doctor Who story, “Shada,” is finally complete. Was it worth a nearly four-decade wait? It’s hard to say. Because without that legacy of mystery to propel it, “Shada” would never really have become more than the sum of its otherwise rather average parts. The thing … Continued
- Tech NewsSploid
Can You Find the Perfectly Camouflaged Snow Leopard Hidden on This Mountainside?
There’s a good reason it’s so difficult for photographers and film crews to capture the elusive snow leopard in the wild. The animal’s not only a master of stealth, it also sports a patterned fur coat that turns it nearly invisible in its natural habitat. Can you find the big cat sneaking up on its … Continued
- Tech News
Uber’s New CEO Was Told About the Company’s Massive Data Breach Months Ago
Earlier this week, Uber dropped a bombshell by disclosing details of a data breach involving some 57 million user accounts—and then admitting to paying the hackers $100,000 to destroy the stolen data and keep their mouths shut. Disturbingly, this all happened over a year ago, and as it now turns out, Uber’s new CEO, Dara … Continued
- io9Television
Sesame Street‘s Parody of Stranger Things Is Better Than the Original
Sesame Street’s parodies have always been delightful, but the show’s riff on Stranger Things is honestly some next-level awesomeness. It’s damn near impossible to describe all of the ways the parody absolutely nails the original—those wigs, those teeth, those slightly differently-colored Ghostbusters costumes, but Sesame Street’s send-up of Winona Ryder’s performance as Joyce Byers is … Continued
- Tech NewsSploid
Watching This Exterminator Remove a Gigantic Hornet’s Nest Sent My Heart Racing
If the sound of a single mosquito buzzing near your ear is enough to send you running, you might want to skip this video of a Louisiana exterminator battling what is easily the largest hornet’s nest I’ve ever seen in my life, hiding inside someone’s backyard shed. Jude Verret, the brave, brave soul in the … Continued
- Earther
Two Months After Maria, Life on Puerto Rico’s Southeast Coast Is Far From Normal
Just two weeks have passed since power returned to some communities in the Salinas-Guayama region of Puerto Rico. The Southeast was one of the first places to feel Hurricane Maria’s wrath, and it’s been one of the last to feel a sense of relief. Ruth Santiago has been there for it all. Santiago works as … Continued
- io9Toys and Collectibles
Gifts for Kids Who Are Just Starting to Love Superheroes
Nowadays, there’s only one group of kids that aren’t into superheroes: kids who aren’t into superheroes yet. There’s a tender age right before they realize that Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and the rest are completely dominating pop culture… so why wait on them? These fun gift ideas will help (super-)speed up the process. Sphero Spider-Man Sphero’s … Continued
The io9 Staff - Tech News
NASA’s New Titanium Airless Tires Are Nearly Indestructible
Stretch a Slinky toy too far, and eventually the metal coil will be warped so much it won’t be able to return to its original spring shape. That’s a problem also faced by the metal spring tires designed to roll across our Moon, and other planets our rovers are exploring. But NASA has created an … Continued
- ReviewsCamerasAction
GoPro’s Hero6 Is Still the King of Action Cameras
GoPro has been the leader on action cameras from the very beginning, and its brand has attained a kind of Xerox-like omnipotence—despite the company’s ongoing struggles in recent years. Amongst GoPro’s problems is the difficulty in making the improvements to its line look like anything more than iterations. With its new Hero6, GoPro has juiced … Continued
By Brent Rose - io9Television
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return Is Coming Back For a Second Season
Netflix’s rebooted Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return kept in tradition this year with a Thanksgiving marathon that just so happened to include a bit of good news for fans. Felicia Day, Jonah Ray, and Joel Hodgson nonchalantly announced that Netflix had renewed The Return for a second season during their Thanksgiving marathon, with a … Continued
- Tech News
Gifts Your Parents Would Never Buy the Ten-Year-Old You
Every kid knows the best way to get almost every item on your Christmas list is to include one outlandish, obscenely-expensive item your parents will never go for. Out of guilt, they’ll happily deliver everything else on your list. But you’re an adult now, with a job and disposable income, so why not finally treat … Continued
- Tech NewsSploid
Hundreds of Perfectly-Choreographed Printers Are the Real Stars of This Fun Music Video
By now the band OK Go is better known for its over-the-top, impossibly choreographed music videos than its actual music. So much so that you can enjoy the music video for its new song, “Obsession,” without actually having to turn your speakers up. It’s a visual treat starring a wall of 540 printers used to … Continued
- How To
4 Simple Rules for Giving Your New Gadget a Long Life
If you’ve just put down hundreds of dollars in exchange for a polished new gadget, than you want that money to go as far as possible—which means making sure that your device of choice enjoys a long and healthy existence before it heads off for recycling many years down the line. If you follow the … Continued
By David Nield - io9TelevisionMorning Spoilers
You Shouldn’t Believe Those Joss Whedon Batgirl Rumors
James Gunn discusses the possibility of Adam Warlock’s arrival in Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3. Even more flashbacks are being hinted at for Avengers 4. Rian Johnson teases where he’s at for his new Star Wars trilogy. Plus, new pictures from Agents of SHIELD’s return, and a Flash episode gets a delightfully revealing title. Behold, … Continued
- Earther
A Forgotten Underwater Sound Experiment Almost Changed How We Measure Global Warming
In 1991, scientists lowered 10 speakers into the water off of a remote Australian island in order to blast a monotonous 57 hertz tone from them for 10 days. Other researchers listened for the distant sound at 15 monitoring stations in ocean basins around the world. This was all being done in the name of … Continued
By Brian Kahn - ScienceHealth
If You Transplant a Human Head, Where Do You Get the Body?
Two years ago, the controversial Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero made a brazen announcement: In December 2017, for the first time in history, he would transplant a human head. The prospect of a head transplant raises all kinds of questions, both technical and ethical. There may be no bigger question, though, than the one that also … Continued