io9

Best of the Week: February 11-February 17, 2012 [Best Of Week]

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:16:09 PST

THE OATH OF BLOODY VENGEANCE | Awesome barbarian art by Toasty, just one of the barbarian artworks in our gallery here.

Start your weekend with an expertly crafted mashup of the internet's most gorgeous time-lapse videos [Video]

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:00:00 PST

There's a good chance you'll recognize a few of the clips featured in Welcome to Earth — a beautifully composed "universal time-lapse" made up of 179 of the internet's most stunning videos — but we're guessing you haven't seen them all, and you definitely haven't seen them like this. More »

A veteran monster-hunter faces one last challenge, in an excerpt from Saladin Ahmed's fantasy debut [Book Excerpt]

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:40:00 PST

Saladin Ahmed has been a finalist for the Nebula and Campbell Awards, and now at last his debut fantasy novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon, is here. Check out the prologue and first chapter of the book, in which the last great Ghul-hunter faces the fact that he might just be getting too old for this life. More »

Disney Princess Torture Porn makes us really uncomfortable [Holy Crap Wtf]

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:30:41 PST

Has the trend of weird, messed-up Disney Princess art finally gone too far? A new exhibition of Disney Princesses by photographer Thomas Czarnecki depicts them dying and getting injured, in "hilariously" clever fashions. The exhibition's been making a splash the past week or so, with mentions on HuffPo and Design Boom, but is it too much? More »

Why Mass Effect is the Most Important Science Fiction Universe of Our Generation [Mass Effect]

Kyle Munkittrick - Pop Bioethics — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:20:15 PST

Mass Effect is epic. It's the product of the best parts of Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and more with a protagonist who could be the love-child of Picard, Skywalker, and Starbuck. It's one of the most important pieces of science fiction narrative of our generation. Mass Effect goes so far beyond other fictional universes in ways that you may not have yet realized. It is cosmic in scope and scale. More »

Unique mid-sized black hole is the lonely survivor of a shredded galaxy [Space Porn]

Alasdair Wilkins — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:20:00 PST

This is the Hubble Telescope's latest and clearest yet image of the galaxy ESO 243-49. We've been watching this galaxy for a while now, because it's likely home to the only known medium-sized black hole. And now we might know why that is. More »

I Am Legend Sequel (Or Maybe Prequel) Really Moving Forward? [Please God No]

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:08:47 PST

Will Smith's I Am Legend movie had a terrible, tacked-on ending that would make it difficult to continue the story — but Warner Bros. is determined to try. The Wrap reports that Warners is moving forward with an I Am Legend sequel — or, if Will Smith is willing to come back, a prequel, since his character met a sticky end in the first movie. (And maybe they can bring back the poor dog, too.) Sigh. Let's hope they call it, I Am Really Legend This Time. More »

The Physics of Magnetic Nail Polish [Physics]

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

Being of the Hack 'em Off or Chew 'em Up school of nail design, I was unaware that there was such a thing as magnetic nail polish. Now that I've learned about it, let's take a look at the physics of a nail polish that forms fascinating patterns when exposed to a magnet! More »

Little girl's cyclops cosplay is adorable and/or horrifying [Cosplay]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:50:00 PST

Kids can do no wrong when it comes to cosplay, but this moppet went far beyond the call of duty with this jarring cyclops costume. Photographer Danny Choo snapped this bizarre cyclopean attire at Tokyo's Wonder Festival recently. I wouldn't know whether to call children's services, prefectural police, or a yōkai extraction team. More »

The Artificial Sweetener Splenda Could Prevent Your Birth Control Pill from Working [Birth Control]

Keith Veronese — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:39:14 PST

Birth control is probably the last item in your pharmaceutical arsenal that you would want to fail. Which is why some recent research on artificial sweeteners could be major cause for concern. More »

The Beautiful, Deadly Vortex That Tears Huge Buildings Apart [Video]

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:17:20 PST

The Karman Vortex Street isn't someplace you'd want to take up residence — it's literally the path of destruction, where buildings collapse and destruction reigns. Unfortunately, under the right conditions, a Karman Vortex can follow you. More »

An exclusive sneak peek at Dark Horse's upcoming Dragon Age comic [Concept Art]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:15:00 PST

Starting next Wednesday, Dark Horse Comics will release a six-part miniseries based on Bioware's Dragon Age roleplaying game. Here's an exclusive first look at the full collage of the miniseries' cover art. The first issue hits February 22 on Dark Horse Digital, and here's the plot synopsis: More »

This May, Wolverine and Deadpool go up against a spanking new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants [X-men]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:30:00 PST

Out of all the X-Men titles on the stands, writer Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force has consistently been one of the best. This is thanks to intricate story arcs, the morally muddled politics of Wolverine running an assassination squad, and the comic's willingness to delve into byzantine corners of X-Men lore. More »

Why You Should Never Eat Acid Snow [Chemistry]

Keith Veronese — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:20:00 PST

We grow up hearing about acid rain, but what about other forms of acidic precipitation — do they even exist? More »

Earth's orbit is swarming with debris — meet the satellite designed to clean it up [Video]

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:50:12 PST

At any given time, NASA is keeping track of about 16,000 pieces of space junk in Earth's orbit — and those are just the big chunks. This debris poses a serious safety hazard, primarily to operational satellites in the planet's orbit, but also to astronauts like those on board the ISS. In fact, according to some NASA models, the amount of crap orbiting our planet may be reaching a dangerous tipping point — one that could make space travel prohibitively risky. More »

The Short, Strange History of Decimal Time [Secret History]

Alasdair Wilkins — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:43:27 PST

For thousands of years, we've divided days into 24 hours, hours into 60 minutes, and minutes into 60 seconds. But why do we have to do that? Here's the story of the one gloriously failed attempt to decimalize time. More »

Incredibly NSFW, anatomically correct Hobbit doll will crush your very soul [Holy Crap Wtf]

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:40:00 PST

One unique entrepreneur is peddling naked Hobbit toys, for a whopping $89.99. But when you have first hand knowledge for what a Hobbit's penis looks like, you can set your price anywhere. More »

On Vampire Diaries, being the bad guy is an act of self-sacrifice [Tv Recap]

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:38:17 PST

Last night's episode of Vampire Diaries was all bout people choosing to embrace evil — in many cases, for noble and unselfish reasons. But more than just another story about people doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, this was a great look at the ways in which "villain" is just another role that people play, which is often totally cosmetic. More »

Behold, Inception: The Theme Park [Video]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:55:00 PST

Christopher Nolan's dream heist flick Inception avoided the obnoxious amusement park tie-in, but that hasn't stopped Black Sheep Films from creating their own Inception Park in Buenos Aires. But the real question is, "Do you have to kill yourself to find the exit?" More »

The Lost Art of Detecting Incoming Aircraft Using Your Ears [Secret History]

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:40:00 PST

We didn't always have radar to detect incoming aircraft. During the First and Second World Wars, there were multiple attempts, and multiple apparatuses, used to detect incoming planes based on the sounds they made. Check out how people spotted enemy planes, using tubas — and modern art. More »

Frozen fruit fly larva brings us one step closer to cryogenics [Mad Science]

Tim Barribeau — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:20:00 PST

It's been a dream for years — freezing your body at the moment of death, so that you can be revived later, when medical science has advanced enough to cure you, and possibly rejuvenate you as well. More »

Meet the youngest person on Earth to achieve nuclear fusion [Afternoon Reading]

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:15:00 PST

Taylor Wilson built his first bomb when he was 10 years old. Four years later, he became the thirty-second person on Earth to ever build a working nuclear fusion reactor. More »

The Year Without a Summer, and How It Spawned Frankenstein [Secret History]

Keith Veronese — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:00:00 PST

The summer of 1816 brought unseasonably cold temperatures to the Northeastern United States, Canada, and Europe. Damaged crops and impeded trade caused widespread famine, leading to skyrocketing food prices, and the deaths of thousands. More »

This little boy and his drivable R2-D2 robot will make you misty-eyed [Video]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:35:26 PST

Seven-year-old Matthew Grammer, who is undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia had a simple request to the Make-A-Wish Foundation — he wanted to become R2-D2. More »

Watch the entire pilot for Awake right now [Video]

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:20:00 PST

Tired of waiting for Lucius Malfoy's new alternate reality drama, Awake? Wait no more! The entire pilot has been released to the internet masses. Sit back and watch a very sad tale about a detective (Jason Isaacs) stuck between two crappy realities: one where his wife is alive and his son is dead, and another where his son is alive and his wife is dead. Tell us what you thought in the comments.

What is best in life? Epic Barbarian Art! [Friday Gallery]

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:00:00 PST

It's Friday — which means it's time to party, sword and sandal-style. To help you get into the right mindset for a properly barbaric weekend, we've painstakingly assembled some of the most glorious barbarian art on the internet. Including lots of Conan and Red Sonja, but also tons of other great sword-wielding heroes. More »

Was stonehenge based on a "magical" auditory illusion? [Mad Science]

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:40:00 PST

So this is pretty wild. We've heard our fair share of radical explanations for the mysterious layout of Stonehenge's iconic boulders, but we've never heard one quite like this. A new theory maintains that the prehistoric architects of Stonehenge were inspired by patterns of acoustic interference, which the builders would have regarded as "magical auditory illusions." More »

Albert Einstein's 10 Biggest Scientific Mistakes [Daily 10]

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:30:00 PST

"Einstein" has literally become a synonym for "genius" at this point in history. And rightly so. Einstein was so smart, he probably would have won a few more Nobel Prizes if he hadn't gotten sick of traveling to Norway all the time. But "genius" isn't a synonym for "perfect" — and Einstein proved that. More »

In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Nicolas Cage will eat your damn soul [Video]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:00:00 PST

Before you see Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, consider the following question: "Does the mantra 'Put the bunny back in the box?' make the tiny follicles on the nape of my neck stand up?" More »

There are still glaciers right in the middle of Africa...for now [Environment]

Alasdair Wilkins — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:45:00 PST

It's fair to say that Africa isn't really known for its snow and ice. Indeed, that sentence could probably win several understatement of the year contests. But a few tropical glaciers can be found there. But for how much longer? More »

To save their species, fish hybridized themselves into extinction [Biology]

Alasdair Wilkins — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PST

The whitefish of Europe's Alpine lakes were once a single species, but after the Ice Age they split into separate species, adapting their look and lifestyle to their particular watery home. But this amazing biodiversity would have to be sacrificed. More »

How To Build A DNA Nanorobot [Video]

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:45:00 PST

Researchers today unveiled a DNA nanorobot that can track down leukemia cells and kill them on sight, unleashing a therapeutic payload that causes the cancerous cells to self-destruct. Incredibly, this molecular assassin can accomplish this assignment while leaving healthy cells unharmed. More »

Hunger Games spoof explains why fighting to the death makes everyone so horny [Video]

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:25:00 PST

The folks from The Second City have turned their attention to Hunger Games and have skewered the teens' super-sexy deathmatches. Go behind the mind of District 12's Gale as he encourages Katniss to "practice" her survival techniques on him. More »

Can't get enough sleep? You could be at risk for Alzheimer's [Biology]

Tim Barribeau — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:20:00 PST

We already know that not getting enough sleep can be bad for you. And now there's another reason to worry if you're getting sleep-deprived: People who have trouble sleeping may be at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's Disease later on. More »

Octopus Wrestling, A Sport That Amounted To Cephalopod Home Invasion [Holy Crap Wtf]

Keith Veronese — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:05:00 PST

Dive into murky water, thrust your hand into a hole, and return to the surface with with an octopus. Octopus wrestling sounds like a horribly rude form of aquatic home invasion. But let's time travel back to the Pacific Northwest circa 1960, when this was a popular spectator sport. More »

Twig the Enhancer, Stanley Kubrick's never-made Lord of The Rings knock-off [Stanley Kubrick]

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:40:00 PST

Throughout his directorial career, Stanley Kubrick maintained a list of meritorious movie titles that deserved to have entire films built around them. More »

The Avengers will kick off with an epic pre-credits sequence. Plus what to expect in the next X-Men movie! [Video]

Alasdair Wilkins — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:00:00 PST

Andrew Lincoln promises The Walking Dead will reveal its big secret soon. The Rock previews the epic fights in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Hugh Grant talks playing multiple roles in Cloud Atlas, while Wes Bentley pays homage to the awesome power of his Hunger Games beard! More »

Picture of the Day: Feb. 16, 2012 [Picture Of The Day]

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:27:19 PST

HISTORIC LAUNCH | John Glenn's Friendship 7 spacecraft takes off on Feb. 20, 1962, on its way to make Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth.

This is why you never piss off a gibbon [Video]

Cyriaque Lamar — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:15:00 PST

At the Memphis Zoo's cafe's gibbon enclosure, this tourist became the target of a feisty male's aggression. At the staff's suggestion, the man turned his back to the animal. The ape then let off some steam by swinging around — or at least it appeared that way. More »

Phonemes probably can't reveal the ancient origins of language after all [Debunkery]

Alasdair Wilkins — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:00:00 PST

Last April, a linguistic study likened the spread of the sounds of language to the human gene pool, and used this information to suggest language arose once in Africa 10000 years ago. If only it were that simple. More »