io9

A Dental Hygiene Cartoon from the Bacteria's Point of View

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:30:00 GMT

Next time you go to the dentist, consider the terror that you're inflicting on the microorganisms that have made a home in your filthy teeth.

Learn the Periodic Table of Elements with this handy song

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Whether you need to brush up on your chemistry, or just love it when someone sets the Periodic Table to music, AsapSCIENCE's The NEW Periodic Table Song is for you.

The Best Sci-Fi Cars Of All Time

Michael Ballaban — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:32:00 GMT

I’m really excited for the new Star Trek movie this weekend. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here- I don’t plan on seeing it until tonight. It got me thinking, though, about the last Star Trek movie, and sci-fi movies in general.

Adding a hairy coat to a building to capture wind power

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:30:00 GMT

Looking for an alternative to turbines for capturing wind energy, Belatchew Arkitekter has proposed adding a hairy addition to Stockholm's Söder Torn. It would serve as more than an architectural toupee, capturing energy through the movement of all those tiny straws.

Justice League members walk their young sidekicks to school

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Andry Rajoelina's Justice Families series casts DC superheroes as the parents of their own little families, grabbing the hands of their now pint-sized sidekicks. It's a mostly sweet series, although Hal Jordan has to improvise.

A warrior's daughter and a shop keeper's son are switched at birth

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:30:00 GMT

In a land where demons roam the Earth, Guardians have always protected the villages. The role has always been passed from father to son—until one Guardian's wife gives birth to a daughter. So the doctor and his assistant decide to quietly switch her with another baby, the newborn son of a local shop keeper.

Kirk and the Gorn duet in Star Trek: The Middle School Musical

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Looking for an antidote to J.J. Abrams' slick, lens-flared vision of Star Trek? The Mythical Show with Rhett and Link gives us a Star Trek that doesn't even begin to take itself seriously, right down to its singing all-child cast.

The records for the greatest distances driven on Mars and the Moon

Lauren Davis — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:30:00 GMT

Yesterday's 263-foot drive by the NASA's Opportunity put Mars Rover's total distance driven at 35.76 km, breaking the 40-year-old record for the greatest distance driven by a NASA vehicle on another celestial body. But Opportunity still hasn't quite beaten the record set by the USSR's Lunokhod 2.

Shockwave re-animates prehistoric Decepticon armies on Transformers

Keith Veronese — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

This week in the world of cartoons, the Decepticons take a cue from the Galactic Empire and begin cloning armies to fight the Autobots, Finn and Jake give up on their vocal cords, one of the regulars on Regular Show is in health trouble, and we take an advanced look at a new Disney/Marvel release.

The Vampire Diaries and the Pitfalls of the Season-Ending Twist

Charlie Jane Anders — Sat, 18 May 2013 02:06:33 GMT

We're familiar with the phenomenon where a show is in the final moments of its season finale, and all of a sudden there's a wacky twist that the writers thought would make people freak out over the summer. Often, viewers are left wondering more "What were they thinking?" than "What's next?" As in the case of Vampire Diaries.

RIP Frank Kendig, original editor of Omni Magazine

Charlie Jane Anders — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:49:04 GMT

Omni Magazine was a huge inspiration to all of us at io9. And its original editor, Frank Kendig, just passed away yesterday. Here's a great tribute to his legacy, including helping to form the unique mix of stories that Omni boasted.

Red Waves Are Breaking Across the Land

Vincze Miklós — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:15:00 GMT

There is nothing that embodies the idea of "terrible beauty" more than an approaching sandstorm. Here is what these awe-inspiring forces of nature look like, right before they consume the ocean or landscape in blinding clouds.

An experiment shows how people deliberately sabotage themselves

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

If you got a great score on a test, you'd like to continue your winning streak, wouldn't you? One experiment proves you wouldn't. You'd self-sabotage. Not unintentionally and not subconsciously. You'd knowingly and deliberately screw up.

When forests glow green in the night

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:30:00 GMT

There are certain times when the woods begin to glow. Sometimes they glow so much that people call the Park Service and ask them to send a hazmat team. What they're actually seeing is foxfire. And although we know how it happens, we don't know exactly why.

The Shining Girls is one of the best serial killer tales ever written

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:58:00 GMT

Lauren Beukes won critical acclaim for her first two novels, Zoo City and Moxieland, both of which were urban fantasies set in her native South Africa. Now she's set her imagination loose on a different continent, to explore the inner life of a serial killer in Chicago who figures out how to travel through time. The Shining Girls is a must-read.

Malaria Makes Mosquitoes Meaner

George Dvorsky — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:40:00 GMT

Without mosquitoes, malaria wouldn't be able to infect humans. But in addition to hitching a ride, it now appears that the parasite also alters insect behavior — making infected mosquitoes thirstier for human blood. Like, a lot thirstier.

What's your favorite massive object in space?

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:36:00 GMT

The "Big Dumb Object," as christened by Roz Kaveney, has been a staple of science fiction for decades. But what's your favorite massive freakin space object? Share your most beloved Dyson Sphere, ringworld or mega-space station below!

UFO sightings in Canada rose alarmingly in 2012

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:32:00 GMT

Have aliens finally discovered the joys of poutine and the Arrogant Worms? UFO sightings in Canada doubled in 2012, which raises troubling questions about whether the U.S. is falling behind as a favored destination for extraterrestrials.

Deadspin How To Give A Best Man Toast That Doesn't Suck | io9 Game of Thrones will end with season 7

Lauren Bertolini — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:38:00 GMT

Deadspin How To Give A Best Man Toast That Doesn't Suck | io9 Game of Thrones will end with season 7: Producer | Kotaku How To Turn Your Android Phone Into A Gaming Powerhouse | Jezebel How to Wear A&F While Fat, as Demonstrated by Jerry From 'Parks & Rec' | Valleywag Tumblr: Still Full of Porn and Self-Mutilation

What will really happen when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts?

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:32:00 GMT

Lurking beneath Yellowstone National Park is a massive underground reservoir of magma, capped by the park's famous caldera. 640,000 years ago, a super eruption rocked the region. What would happen if another such event blasted the park today? We asked USGS geologist Jake Lowenstern, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Andre Norton has a spiffy new website

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:29:00 GMT

The official Andre Norton website, staffed by volunteers, has been around since 2004 — but it's just gotten a major facelift. The new version is way easier to navigate and more searchable. And packed with videos of interviews as well as her appearances on convention panels. Definitely worth checking out!

Wizard Cops: They cast spells first, and ask questions later

Rob Bricken — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:20:00 GMT

If the stars of an '80s cop show started playing D&D, I imagine the result would be a lot like "Wizard Cops," this wonderful short from Light Forge Studios. Loose-wand McDunna is a tough cop who doesn't play by the rules. But can he stop an evil Warlock's magic bean-running operation before he's kicked off the force?!

Astounding Concept Art of Cities Being Demolished

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:59:00 GMT

We love watching cities being crushed, blown up and swept away — it happens in a lot of this summer's biggest movies. There's just something so viscerally thriling about structures coming down in flames. Here's some of our favorite concept art of cites getting totally smashed.

Game of Thrones will end with season 7, according to producer

Rob Bricken — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:25:00 GMT

We've all been wondering how the Game of Thrones TV show will end. Will George R.R. Martin finish the book series in time? Will HBO try to pad it out? Will it be canceled? Now we have an answer — assuming all goes well. the show will last seven seasons, according to producer Frank Doelger.

Unglamorous Space Catastrophes That You'll Never See in a Movie

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:46:00 GMT

We were all impressed with the dramatic trailer for Gravity, with George Clooney weathering an explosion on an orbiting space station and Sandra Bullock spinning off into the void of space. Things like that make good cinema. There are other space crises, though, that will never get their own movies. Here are some space disasters that are just too awkward for the cinema.