- Tech News
With a Kevlar-Lined Shirt, You’re Not Completely Screwed in a Crash
Pay attention as the weather gets warmer: you’re gonna see a lot of motorcyclists riding around in regular street clothes, nothing but hopes and dreams protecting them from nasty road rash should things get tumbly. Well, maybe not all of them—hopefully, some will be wearing Crave’s kevlar-lined Axe shirt, which looks like a normal work … Continued
- io9Television
What’s Your Favorite Comedy Episode Of A Dramatic TV Show?
Just about every dramatic series has its funny moments. But every so often, the writers decide to lighten up a bit, and write an entire comedic episode. Usually, this works best when the show has been on for a while, and we’re comfortable enough with the characters that we can fully appreciate seeing them in … Continued
By Mark Strauss - ScienceAnimals
Sleep Disorders in Disney Cartoons Were Surprisingly Accurate
“Sometimes,” said Walt Disney, “we can recognize ourselves in animals. That’s what makes them so interesting.” He was more right than he knew. One group of people may have had particular insight into human sleep behavior and its disorders: Disney animators. It wasn’t until the 1980s that “REM Sleep Behavior Disorder,” or RBD, became formally … Continued
- Tech News
Nanoparticle Panels Will Bring Blue Skies Indoors
Skylights are so 1986. Now it doesn’t matter if the weather outside is dark and dreary, or even if it’s midnight, for that matter: Thanks to this LED panel which replicates cloudless skies, you’ll feel like you’re bathed in warm sunshine. What the panel is actually imitating is the Earth’s atmosphere, a special cocktail of … Continued
- io9Television
The Supernatural Spin-Off Bloodlines Looks Ridiculous
And it’s obviously a Supernatural spin-off, so that’s really saying something. Three words: Organized monster crime. Yes, Bloodlines is about a bunch of different monsters mobs — e.g. the werewolf mafia, the shapeshifter mafia, etc. — ruling Chicago, and a young cop-in-training whose fiancée gets killed in the middle of the monster war. This obviously … Continued
By Rob Bricken - Tech News
Do Frozen And Other Disney Movies All Have Pro-Gay Messages?
The Atlantic recently ran an article that shows how, with the right perspective, almost every major Disney movie seems to have pro-gay themes. And given the company’s support of its LGBTQ employees, the Atlantic speculates that Disney is eager to support the gay community. But is the subtext really, there or are people grasping at … Continued
By Jason Krell - Tech NewsGadgets
Gibson’s New Audio Cable Automatically Records Everything You Play
Ensuring that no spontaneous but memorable riff ever gets forgotten, Gibson has teamed up with Tascam to create the next-generation of audio cables that actually records everything being played on an instrument, for up to eight solid hours on a single AA battery. It’s like a dashcam for catching musical accidents you definitely want to … Continued
- io9Movies
Chew Is Getting An Animated Movie—With Steven Yeun And Felicia Day
An animated feature adaptation of John Layman and Rob Guillory’s uproariously funny cannibal cop comic Chew has been in the works for a while, and it looks like the project is truly moving forward. The Chew movie has a script by Layman and has cast its Tony Chu and Amelia. The Hollywood Reporter has announced … Continued
By Lauren Davis - Tech News
WSJ: The FCC’s New Net Neutrality Rules Will OK Pay-to-Play
Initial reports about the FCC’s hotly anticipated net neutrality rules are out, and they are foreboding. While they’ll prevent broadband providers from blocking legal content on the internet, it does not explicitly ban companies from paying for better service. While that’s bad for net neutrality, it’s not entirely a surprise. Net neutrality advocates have long … Continued
- Tech News
Detroit’s Airport Just Installed a $75,000 Indoor Dog Bathroom
If you thought there was nothing worse than flying with little kids, just think about the complications of traveling with a dog. Most dogs fly in crates, but service animals are allowed in terminals and plane cabins. And so that their owners don’t have to navigate the maze of airport security for an outside break, … Continued
- Tech News
Sorry, Chicago—Los Angeles Was Home to the First Wrigley Field
Baseball fans will always associate the name of Wrigley Field, which celebrates its centennial today, with the Windy City. But it wasn’t the first stadium to bear the name. Instead, that honor belongs to a long-lost ballpark in South Los Angeles. Though it had been open since 1914, Chicago’s historic stadium was still known as … Continued
- io9
What did last week’s blood moon eclipse look like from the moon’s perspective? University of Pennsylvania astronomy professor Mark Devlin explains what someone standing on the lunar surface would have seen while looking at Earth. And, if you missed seeing it here on Earth, you might also enjoy this timelapse:
By Lauren Davis - io9
“Going with the Crowd” Causes Us to Make the Wrong Choices
Going with the herd makes us feel safe, but herd behavior can go very wrong. It’s not just crowds panicking and trampling. Enough of a crowd, and enough familiarity, will let smart people make exactly the wrong choice. We don’t herd together accidentally. In dangerous situations, we group together for safety. In uncertain situations we … Continued
- Tech News
Lytro’s Light Field Tech Is Amazing, But Is It Already Obsolete?
Lytro wants to bring photography into the future by creating cameras that do the seemingly impossible—allowing anyone viewing the image to choose which part is in focus. It’s called light field technology, and it might already be completely obsolete. Over the past couple of years, camera technology has plateaued. Smartphones have gobbled up the need … Continued
- io9
Use Google Maps To Look Backwards In Time
We’ve gotten so used to seeing our maps loaded with satellite imagery, that it doesn’t seem so remarkable. But what if you could see not just a mapped area in its present, but also look back through the years, at what it used to be? Google Street View has been building up a caché of … Continued
By Ria Misra - Tech NewsDesign
What 650 Miles With Ford’s Top Designer Taught Me About Tomorrow’s Cars
On day two of my classic Mustang road trip with Ford Motor Co.’s top two designers, Moray Callum and I were concerning ourselves with the future. Not just the future of cars, cities, and design; but our own imminent futures. Because we were driving a half-century-old car, with antiquated brakes, insufficient tires, and zero safety … Continued
- io9Movies
The Plot To The Peeps Movie Has Nothing To Do With Actual Peeps
In the new world, all consumer goods will have a shot at starring in a million dollar feature film. Next up The Good, The Bad and the Pepsi. This sounds terrible. Deadline is reporting that director Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City) has optioned film and TV rights to Peeps. Here’s the pitch, “[it’s] a Lego … Continued
- io9
A radical new theory by a well-respected scientist suggests that consciousness is a state of matter, like a liquid or gas. According to MIT’s Max Tegmark, “perceptronium” gives rise to various types of consciousness when certain mathematical and physical conditions are met. Conceivably, the theory could be formulated as a set of problems that can … Continued
- Tech News
A Pirate-Friendly Map of the Pieces of Ocean That No Country Owns
Cool map alert: Donut Holes in International Waters is an interactive map that shows which countries have sovereignty over the high seas. It shows how we’ve diced up the waters with international law—and what all the left-over bits and pieces look like. For the most part, you know what the borders of different countries look … Continued
By Leslie Horn - io9Movies
Summer Movie Preview: 33 Movies To Watch Out For!
Are you ready for one wild summer? This year brings legendary superheroes, famous monsters, and fantasy icons. There are two Michael Bay films, but also the ultra-weird Guardians of the Galaxy. Plus the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer. Here are 33 science fiction and fantasy movies you need to know about this summer. MAY Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May … Continued