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EartherEarth ScienceThe Polar Vortex Just Set a Flurry of Low-Temperature Records
The polar vortex has shown no mercy this week. Heaters are on full blast. Ski masks have surfaced from that drawer of random gear. Fingers and noses are in pain. It sucks here in New York City, but that’s nothing compared to the Midwest, where temperatures have been shattering records across the board. Pittsburgh slumped … Continued
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Tech NewsTransportation
A Mysterious Force is Blocking Car Key Fobs In This Small Canadian Town
For weeks, customers of a grocery store in the small town of Carstairs, Alberta, have been plagued by a mysterious something that has hindered them from driving their cars. CBC News reports that several people who have used the parking lot of the town’s Westview Co-op have reported their key fobs stopped working or their … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Scientists Reveal Nature of Martian Mountain Using Ingenious Technique With Curiosity Rover
Scientists working with the Curiosity rover used a piece of its navigation equipment—an accelerometer like the one in your cellphone—in order to make an important measurement about Mars’ mysterious geology. Curiosity is currently roving around Mount Sharp, a 5-kilometer-high (3-mile) mountain in the center of Gale crater. But it’s unclear whether the mountain is the … Continued
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ScienceHealth
E-Cigarettes Really Can Help You Quit Smoking, Large New Study Finds
The debate over the potential harms and benefits of vaping has raged on for years. But the results of a large trial in the UK have provided the pro-vaping side its biggest win yet. It found that people trying to quit smoking were almost twice as likely to succeed over a year’s time if they … Continued
By Ed Cara - io9Movies
Watch How the Ultimate Virus Evolved While Making Ralph Breaks The Internet
How do you make a disgusting, destructive, digital virus into a character, but still make it okay for a Disney film? It was a tough task, but eventually, the team behind Ralph Breaks the Internet created Double Dan. Voiced by Alfred Molina, Double Dan is a weird slug-thing with a living mini-version of himself on…himself, … Continued
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Tech NewsI Cut Microsoft Out of My Life—or So I Thought
Week 4: Microsoft When I initially planned to block all the tech giants from my life, I hadn’t thought to include Microsoft, mostly because Microsoft is—these days, at least—rarely on the receiving end of criticism for destroying civilization as we know it. Microsoft’s days as a tech supervillain are a distant memory, dating back to … Continued
By Kashmir Hill -
EartherClimate Change
There’s a Huge Cavity Under Antarctica’s Most Endangered Glacier
Antarctica is the font of bad news that just keeps on giving. Thwaites Glacier, among the most threatened hunks of ice on the continent, is in even more dire straits than previously reported. Its melt from above and below is being aided by newly discovered cavities below the ice, as chronicled in Science Advances on … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
io9Books & Comics
Black Lightning‘s Metahuman World Just Got Bigger in the Most Unexpected Way
One of the interesting things about Black Lightning’s second season is the growing presence of new metahumans in Freeland whose abilities don’t seem to be dependent on them using the green light drug. Like Jefferson Pierce, these new metas’ powers come from within, which begs the question—where did they come from? Black Lightning spent a … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Viral Photo of a Homeless Person Freezing on the Street Is Actually From 2013… in Canada
It’s a heartbreaking photo. But it doesn’t show what you think it does. The viral photo, which shows a person sleeping on the sidewalk and covered in snow, has been making the rounds on politically conservative social media this week in an attempt at commentary on immigration. It’s been tweeted by actor James Woods, retweeted … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Hulu Is Experimenting With a Charmin Bear Chilling on Your Pause Screen
If there’s one thing consistent in this world, it’s how companies are always finding new and creative ways to shove ads in your face. Hulu’s latest experiment involves a less abrasive strategy than the usual video ad break—it’s going to place static banner ads on the screen when you pause your video starting in the … Continued
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ScienceBiology
Rare Fossil of Triassic Reptile Discovered in Antarctica
The fossilized remains of an early reptile dating back some 250 million years have been uncovered in the unlikeliest of places: Antarctica. The discovery shows how wildlife recovered after the worst mass extinction in our planet’s history, and how Antarctica once hosted an ecosystem unlike any other. Needless to say, paleontological work in Antarctica is … Continued
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io9Movies
These Are the Major Sci-fi and Fantasy Movie Milestones Coming in 2019
There are a lot of amazing new movies coming in 2019, but there’s also a long list of classic, iconic films that will be celebrating significant anniversaries this year. We already took a good look at some significant horror anniversaries happening this year. Read all about them here: https://gizmodo.com/the-biggest-horror-movie-milestones-coming-in-2019-1831551496 There is, of course, some overlap … Continued
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EartherConservation
These Elephant Seals Are the Only Winners of the Government Shutdown
A northern California beach has been invaded by strange creatures. They awkwardly waddle with their long, slinky noses hung high. About 60 of them have been lounging on the sandy shores of the Point Reyes National Seashore near San Francisco with their mini-mes. These aren’t any ordinary beasts—they’re elephant seals. These marine mammals, whose males … Continued
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Tech NewsHarassment, Transphobia, and Racism: A Look Inside Blind’s Anonymous Chatting Forum for Google Employees
In early January, Google systems reliability engineer Liz Fong-Jones announced she was leaving the company after 11 years, leaving behind, by her account, a half million dollars in stock, to work at the startup Honeycomb.io. An outspoken advocate for inclusion and diversity, Fong-Jones quit citing dissatisfaction with leadership around ethics of products and working conditions. … Continued
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io9Books & Comics
Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys Gets a Gorgeous New Collectors Edition
Mr. Nancy is, without a doubt, one of the standout characters from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Played by Orlando Jones in the Starz series, which is entering its second season, Mr. Nancy (better known as the West African trickster god Anansi) is a complex and dynamic god whose story simply begged for its own saga. … Continued
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io9Movies
Legendary’s Latest Remake Plans Dive Deep and Uncover The Quatermass Experiment
As we reach ever further back for franchises to reboot and re-imagine for the modern age, Hollywood was bound to start diving deep into the realms of cult sci-fi. Now, it’s turning to a nearly 70-year-old British classic for inspiration. Legendary—who are on a tear lately when it comes to confirming a bunch of adaptations … Continued
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io9TelevisionMore Wild Rumors About a Batman Beyond Movie
Tom Hanks has recorded his last lines for Toy Story 4. Doctor Sleep and The Witches have been given release dates. Get a new look at Amazon’s take on Hanna. Plus, The Flash dredges up some turmoil for Sherloque, new Star Trek: Discovery pictures, and another clip from Alita: Battle Angel. Spoilers now! Batman Beyond … Continued
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Tech News
Trump Regime Secretly Shipped Weapons-Grade Plutonium From South Carolina to Nevada in 2018
The Department of Energy shipped half a ton of weapons-grade plutonium across the country from South Carolina to Nevada, despite concerns raised by state officials in Nevada about safety and worries that the state would become a dumping ground for nuclear waste. News of the shipment, first reported by the Nevada Independent, was revealed on … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsSocial Media
Turns Out Destroying Society Is Immensely Profitable
In a somewhat unbelievable feat considering Facebook’s absolute shitshow of a year in 2018, the social media company—freshly off of a new scandal involving a teen-targeting “research” app—reported record profit in its Wednesday earnings call. CNBC reported that Facebook surpassed estimates by analysts on earnings and revenue, with the company reporting a net income of … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsSocial Media
Sheryl Sandberg: The Teens ‘Consented’ to Putting Facebook Spyware on Their Phones
On Tuesday, news broke via TechCrunch that Facebook ran a sketchy “Research” program involving paid participants who downloaded an app onto their phones that was capable of monitoring virtually everything that they did—including in some cases teens as young as 13, who were recruited via social media ads that appeared designed to keep Facebook’s involvement … Continued
By Tom McKay
