- io9
These stunning nebula images are actually created with lamp light
At first glance, these brilliant photos might appear to be shaky images of a distant nebula, but that’s just a clever illusion. Photographer Fabian Oefner actually created these images using fiberglass lamps, Photoshop, and a bit of ingenuity. Just last week, we featured Oefner’s trippy photos of ferrofluids, portraying a scientific phenomenon as abstract art. … Continued
By Lauren Davis - io9
Meet the Karate master who trained by fighting bulls with his bare hands
Yesterday we briefly examined the strange history of contemporary bear wrestling. But in the 1950s, Kyokushinkai Karate pioneer — and trainer of such luminaries as actor Sonny Chiba — Masutatsu Oyama took his training to insane man-versus-wild levels. How absurd did it get? Two words: bare-knuckle bullfights. When he wasn’t training by living as a … Continued
- Reviews
Google Nexus Q Review: Who Is This Orb For?
Google unveiled its media-streaming glowing orb to many oohs and ahhs, followed by head-scratches. The thing looks cool. And it sounds good, both in concept and fidelity. But two major questions remain: Who is it for, and how well does it work? Why It Matters It matters because this is the first product like this … Continued
By Brent Rose - Tech News
12 Big City Scenes, Eerily Devoid of Human Life
What if we all disappeared tomorrow, leaving behind nothing but our stuff? That’s what we asked in this week’s Shooting Challenge. The results? Funny, clever, serene and often eery. WINNER: Busiest Pool In NYC I wish I had a private pool this large. This image is a combination of 20 or so images taken over … Continued
By Mark Wilson - io9
Learn odd and obscure words with this illustrated alphabet
From Acersecomic (a person whose hair has never been cut) to Zugzwang (a position in which any decision or move will result in problems), Project Twins’ A-Z of Unusual Words illustrates the English language’s forgotten vocabulary. These words probably won’t show up on the SAT, but they’re fun to learn nonetheless. You can buy a … Continued
By Lauren Davis - Tech NewsGadgets
This Complicated Deskcessory Does Everything You Don’t Need It To
If any product ever truly deserved the title of ‘jack of all trades but master of none’ it’s Thanko’s new iTable desk accessory. It preys on those who hate chaos on their desk, but at the cost of gobbling up a good chunk of your workspace. The iTable connects to your desktop or laptop and … Continued
- Tech NewsGoogle
Why Music Apps Will Sound Better Than Ever in Android Jelly Bean
Android devices may, at last, get the kind of sound performance that makes music and audio apps satisfying to use. We’ve suffered through generations of the OS and hardware that were quite the opposite. But material, measurable changes to software, combined with more rigorous standards for hardware makers, could change all of that soon. And … Continued
Peter Kirn - Create Digital Music - io9
In this week’s comics, it’s Batmen and Battlepugs
What first issues are in stores on the Fourth of July? Another Before Watchmen miniseries — Ozymandias, this time by Len Wein and Jae Lee. Other debuts tomorrow include DC Comics’ new He-Man series, Zak Penn’s superhero book Hero Worship, Joe Hill’s The Cape: 1969, and Steve Gerber’s final Man-Thing story in the Infernal Man-Thing … Continued
- io9
The Amazingly Disgusting Science of Cheese
Yes, The makers of probiotic yogurts have convinced people to love eating germs, for the health benefits. But what about cheese? Most cheeses are a bacteria ranch that keeps growing and evolving, right until the moment it dissolves in your stomach. How disgusting is cheese-making? Very. People always say that you don’t want to see … Continued
- Reviews
MacBook Air 2012 Review: Still the Best Laptop for Regular People
Like last year’s update, the 2012 MacBook Air is entirely in the guts. The 2011 bump into present-day usability was enough to make it your Most Important Gadget of the Year. This year’s update is more of the same—which is a actually good thing. What Is It? A super-thin, super-fast laptop with the guts to … Continued
By Kyle Wagner - io9
Two men using metal detectors discover hoard of 50,000 Iron Age Celtic coins
Great news for all you hopeful amateur metal detectorists: Two men, who’d been searching the same field for nearly 30 years, have stumbled upon the largest hoard of Iron Age coins ever discovered in northern Europe. Inspired by legends that a local farmer once discovered silver coins on his land, the men unearthed the congealed … Continued
- io9Movies
Does this Iron Man 3 concept art spoil Tony Stark’s new secret weapon?
Marvel is paving the way for some big Iron Man 3 announcements at Comic-Con — starting with this piece of concept art, which seems to hint at the popular Extremis storyline from the comics (which has been rumored for some time now). Take a look at this new art, posted over at the Avengers Facebook … Continued
- Tech News
Scientists Have Finally Made Stretchable Circuitry
Bendable electronics are nothing new. But if you’re after an electronic party trick, you’re going to want to get your hands on a new breed of stretchable circuitry. Elastic electronics are something engineers have been lusting over for a long ol’ time. It’s not hard to understand why: current constraints mean that most circuits are … Continued
- Tech NewsGadgets
Watches Crafted from 10,000 Year Old Wooly Mammoth Ivory Will Make Your Savings Extinct
If you thought it was hard to get your hands on ivory from animals that still roam the earth, you can imagine the difficulty in sourcing the material from creatures that died thousands of years ago. And why these unique mammoth watches cost upwards of $44,000. Crafted by Lang & Heyne in a limited edition … Continued
- io9
Will we ever learn to speak dolphin?
Dolphins are highly intelligent mammals, with an amazing ability to learn to understand our language. But as we gain more insights into their behaviour, we’re also coming to suspect that they might have their very own language — or at the very least a complex system for communicating with one another. A big question facing … Continued
- ScienceSpace
Scientist Finds Hidden Portals in Earth’s Magnetic Field
According to NASA, Jack Scudder—a researcher at the University of Iowa—has found “hidden portals on Earth’s magnetic field [that] open and close dozens of times each day.” Some of them are open for long periods of time. Scudder says that these portals “create an uninterrupted path leading from our own planet to the sun’s atmosphere … Continued
By Jesus Diaz - Tech News
Make Communication Gone Wrong Go Right
Traveling for work can be fun — you can put a dent in your expense account, check out the St. Louis nightlife, and wander freely throughout the day with no fear of reprisal. But communicating properly with those you’ve left behind can sometimes go awry. Over there on the right, you’ll find examples of some … Continued
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The Fireworks Laws of Every State
If you’re looking to blow some stuff up tomorrow, it’s probably a good idea to know what sort of fireworks you’re “legally” allowed to use according to state law. This map will give you all the information you need to know on whether fireworks are legal, illegal or incredibly lame in your state. American Pyro … Continued
By Casey Chan - io9
Hufflepuffs show their house pride to the tune of Lady Gaga
Hufflepuff House doesn’t get nearly the respect it deserves, but these hardworking, loyal, and true Hogwarts students show their Badger Pride with a little help from the folks at Not Literally. Watch them show off the yellow and black to their Lady Gaga-parodying tune “Sorted This Way.” [via The Mary Sue]
By Lauren Davis - io9Movies
Ghostbusters 3 refuses to die, gets whole new writing staff
Not content with just calling the forever-in-limbo Ghostbusters 3 movie a wash, Dan Aykroyd is spreading more rumors about this doomed project while he peddles his crystal head vodka wares. First Bill Murray has publicly attached himself and detached himself from the project (he didn’t like the script penned by the Year One writers Lee … Continued