- Tech NewsSploid
Holy crap, watch this man narrowly escape getting hit by a train
This 77-year-old man from the Czech Republic has never been luckier. As he foolishly scurries across a train track, the man mis-times his walk and almost gets killed by a speeding train. The train comes so close to hitting him on the tracks that it actually does. His foot is clipped by the train and … Continued
By Casey Chan - io9
The Most Beautiful And Creative Cosplay of WonderCon: Final Batch!
No, we’re not done with WonderCon cosplay yet! We already posted loads of great costumes from Friday and Saturday — but the most dedicated and fantastic cosplayers were back on Sunday, with some super-clever and off-the-wall looks. See for yourself! First off, our very own Smeagol92055 posted a gallery of photos from the con: But … Continued
- Tech NewsSploid
Man, look how crazy close Blue Angels fighter jets fly together
Absurd. Like seriously. Look at this fleet of Blue Angels fighter jet planes fly in a perfect pattern in a practice session. The flight pattern they were practicing, I’m assuming here, is called “Let’s get these flying metal beasts as close as possible so that one inch of a mistake will kill us all”. I … Continued
By Casey Chan - Tech News
Here’s All The Crazy Biz From Adventure Time’s Season 6 Premiere
Holy Schram! Last night’s season premiere of Aventure Time was packed to the brim with major developments and general insanity. Don’t read on if you missed it or spoilers aren’t your thing, because there will be some big-time reveals below, plus pictures. You have been warned! The first part of the episode starts off with … Continued
By Jason Krell - Tech News
Experimental Music + Extraterrestrials + Earth Day
Tomorrow night, April 22, at 7pm I’m giving a guest talk at SETI, famously the acronym for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. It’s free if you’re in the neighborhood, by which I mean Mountain View, California, not our galaxy. April 22 happens to be Earth Day, and what better day than Earth Day to address … Continued
- io9Television
Once Upon A Time Brings Back A Ghost Because It Has 22 Episodes To Fill
There were two big reveals on Once Upon a Time — one was pretty great, and the other was kind of OK. It’s not that I mind seeing Cora and her lips once again, but I would rather continue to watch the Wicked Witch Rebecca Mader’s chew up an entire studio lot’s worth of scenery. … Continued
- Tech NewsSploid
What was inside the briefcase and other obscure Pulp Fiction facts
We all know that Quentin Tarantino is a petty whiny dickhead who steals all his plots from other movies, ripping off scene after scene, and recombining them into silver nitrate milkshakes. But I enjoyed Pulp Fiction anyway. If you did too, you’ll like these nine factoids—which include the real content of Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase. SPLOID … Continued
By Jesus Diaz - Tech NewsSploid
This creek divides the US connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
The Panama Canal is not the only water line connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. There’s a place in Wyoming—deep in the Teton Wilderness Area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest—in which a creek splits in two. Like the canal, this creek connects the two oceans dividing North America in two parts. Yes. You read that … Continued
By Jesus Diaz - Tech NewsSploid
Watch the first minutes of Joss Whedon’s new spooky movie In Your Eyes
And if you like what you see from the newest spooky supernatural flick from Joss Whedon’s brilliant brain, you can watch the entire movie on demand on Vimeo for 5 bucks. A great deal for those of you who want more Whedon in your life. The tagline talks about this being a story about a … Continued
By Casey Chan - Tech News
Trevor Cox Knows Who They Were and What They Were Doing
This isn’t new, but it’s worth a listen, especially if you’ve (1) never participated in a soundwalk or (2) not yet read Trevor Cox’s sonic travelogue, Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound. Cox visited the offices of the Guardian and proceeded to take the editors on a blindfolded guided tour — except he was … Continued
- Tech News
How the Teenage Stowaway Survived a Flight to Hawaii in a Wheel Well
By now, you’ve likely heard the insane story of a 16-year-old boy who survived a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii hidden in a wheel well. How the hell did his body make it through sub-zero temperatures with little oxygen? Probably by going into “suspended animation,” a strange, frozen state that’s about as close you … Continued
By Sarah Zhang - Tech News
Oops, Powdered Alcohol Was Actually Approved By Mistake?
You may have heard about a weird and wonderful new thing called Palcohol coming soon to a store near you. Except, psych! The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is now saying the powdered alcohol product was approved in error—all because of a labeling discrepancy. The whole situation seems a bit bizarre. A … Continued
By Sarah Zhang - Tech NewsSploid
10 animals that might become extinct in the next 10 years
Chances are you won’t see these rare animals at the local zoo because their population is down to the last hundreds. In some cases, it’s much worse than that with only a couple left. Some of these animals you’ve never heard of but others on the verge of extinction are related to animals you know … Continued
By Casey Chan - Tech News
Dark Sky Week
This is Dark Sky Week, an international effort to promote appreciation for dark skies and reduction in light pollution. Where are your favourite places to escape the city lights and stargaze? New York during a blackout. Photograph credit: Craig Ruttle/AP Most cities have skies so bright that except for catastrophic blackouts or coordinated lights-out during … Continued
- io9
Fungalescence Puts the “Fun” Back in Functional Geoengineering
The idea might have come from Von Neumann’s famous probes, but the execution is pure Fungalescence. Our company prides itself on creating worlds that aren’t just livable, but also beautiful. That’s why our terraforming spores will make your colony the envy of everyone in your local volume of space. This illustration is by Canadian concept … Continued
- Tech News
Watch a Parade of Trains Celebrate L.A. Union Station’s 1939 Opening
Built shortly before the dawn of the Jet Age, L.A.’s Union Station has been called the Last Great American Railway Station—one final monument to rail transportation’s heyday. Judging by a newly digitized color film, the city celebrated its grand opening on May 3, 1939, with appropriate fanfare. Nearly half a million Angelenos came out for … Continued
- io9Television
Salem‘s Witches Are Sexily Shocking, But Its Puritans Are Wicked, Too
When we learned that Brannon Braga was returning to television drama with a fantasy show about the Salem witch trials, we had high hopes. And Salem is off to a fun and demented start, imagining that the American colonial witch hysteria involved real witches, while keeping its questions about good and evil complicated. Although Salem … Continued
By Lauren Davis - io9
Everything You Need to Know to Catch This Week’s Lyrid Meteor Shower
This year’s Lyrid meteor shower is expected to peak between midnight and dawn on Tuesday, April 22 (and possibly Wednesday, April 23d). Here’s what you need to know to spot as many meteors as possible. Above: The 2012 Lyrid meteor shower, as seen from aboard the International Space Station. The flashes of white light are … Continued
- io9
Just What Does It Take To Captain The Starship Enterprise?
The Enterprise has been boldly sailing out into the unknown for almost 50 years now, under the watchful eye of a small group of commanders. But what is it that makes a captain a good fit to take charge of the Federation’s favorite vessel? In response to this post on the ins-and-outs of diplomatic workings, … Continued
By Ria Misra - io9Comics
Discover The Origin Of The X-Files In 1940s-Set Year Zero Comic
Mulder and Scully weren’t the first. A brand-new 5-issue comic miniseries will look at the creation of the FBI’s “X-Files” office back in the ’40s, and the beginnings of a mystery that stretches through the decades. Here’s the official description from IDW: In the 1940s, a shadowy informant known as “Mr. Xero” directed the FBI … Continued
By Rob Bricken