io9Television

120-year-old legal papers could shed light on Lizzie Borden murders

Though she was found innocent, and preferred to go by the name Lizbeth, the world will always remember her as Lizzie Borden, the woman who gave her father and stepmother “forty whacks” with an axe. Now, the Fall River Historical Society in Massachusetts has acquired papers from an attorney who worked for the Borden family, … Continued

Tech News

Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic’s Sinking by Reliving it Through Twitter

The Titanic sank on April 15th, 1912, and we’ve been asking questions ever since. Although we now know more or less why she went down, @RealTimeTitanic seeks to show us how it happened from the standpoint of its crew. Starting today, the new Twitter handle will be tweeting about everything Titanic-related from the last stages … Continued

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During the World Wars, people modified their cars to run on gas — literally

This guy isn’t carrying heavy furniture or a partially-deflated hot air balloon. You’re looking at a converted car with a bag full of gas set to push it down the street. In the fuel shortages ahead, this might be the way to go. During wars, everything is scarce. An army needs a massive amount of … Continued

io9Books & Comics

An eReader from 1935

1935: The world’s first parking meters appear. T.E. Lawrence dies in a motorcycle accident. The nation of Libya is formed. In other news, “Everyday Science and Mechanics” magazine published their vision of the future of reading. Hello, iPad grandpa. Smithsonian’s Paleofuture blog brings us this wonderful little concept, which, unlike the iPad to be released … Continued

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The 1935 plan to use rocket airplanes to deliver US mail

In 1935, a wealthy, enterprising stamp dealer, 32-year-old Frido W. Kessler, came up with what seemed like a brilliant idea. He would commission a mail-carrying rocket plane, fill it with a bag of mail bearing special stamps of his own design and creation. He could then sell these unique collectibles for a premium. The scheme … Continued

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10 Science and Technology Breakthroughs That Caused Widespread Panic

New ideas can be scary — and that includes new scientific and technological discoveries. When inventors create a brand new device, the futureshock can drive people insane with fear. Over the years, people have been sure that everything from Halley’s Comet to cellphones would bring the world to an end. Take a look at the … Continued

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How the Quest for the Perfect Calendar Accidentally Created February 30

A year is almost exactly 365 days…almost, but not quite. For millennia, people have tried to create calendars that account for that “not quite” bit. It’s why we have leap days and why, just once, there was a February 30. The Moon’s Calendar It’s only relatively recently – say, the last 2,500 years or so … Continued

Tech News

This 1960s Skater Looks Like a Time Traveler From 2012

As I was sifting through this excellent LIFE photograph archive of skateboarding in the 1960’s, I noticed something a little off. Amidst the flooded dress pants, sweater jackets and generally well dressed people of the 1960’s, was this guy. Jeans. Shirt. Shades. Devil may care attitude. He looks like a dude who just shot a … Continued

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What really destroyed the Maya civilization?

One of the biggest debates in archaeology is what destroyed the extensive, highly-advanced Maya civilization 1,000 years ago. It’s known that the empire went through a long collapse from roughly 800 to 1,000, leaving behind a network of pyramids and monumental architecture in the Yucatán jungles. But why? We have only educated guesses, and one … Continued

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Is the Ark of the Covenant Really Buried on a Small Canadian Island?

For two hundred years, rumors have swirled that hidden treasure lies buried on Oak Island, a 140-acre plot of land off the coast of Nova Scotia. Over the centuries, thousands of people have devoted ridiculous amounts of time and money to finding it. Their adventures are a litany of awesomely catastrophic failures as they chased … Continued

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How an 1870s marine expedition changed oceanography and drove eight sailors insane

When was the first voyage of the Challenger? No, not the Space Shuttle — the original Challenger, a sea ship that sailed in 1872. The HMS Challenger traversed the world’s oceans for four years, drove some of its sailors completely insane, caused about a quarter of the crew to jump ship, and forever changed the … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Anthropodermic Bibliopegy, or The Truth About Books Bound In Human Skin

Rare old books are occasionally bound in human skin, including nipples, and even the face of a Guy Fawkes conspirator. Antiquarians have discovered these grisly leather covers on prayer books, astronomy treatises, court cases, and anatomy texts — all written in the past three to four hundred years. Let’s take a look at a how … Continued

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The Weirdest Unsolved Mysteries of World War II

World War II was a period of dramatic change across the globe. But along with all the political machinations and military strategies, some seriously bizarre stuff happened. Here are five of the most mysterious incidents from World War II. The Baffling Battle of Los Angeles A few months after Pearl Harbor, America was pretty on-edge, … Continued

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Babies in incubators were once an attraction at Coney Island

Incubators, while standard in any hospital nowadays, were once untested technology. Their developers needed a way to prove their worth and get the word out. And that is how premature babies were put on display at Coney Island. When it comes to medicine, people can’t always afford dignity. Certainly they couldn’t in the first few … Continued

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Japanese fart scrolls prove that human art peaked centuries ago

Approximately 200-400 years ago during Japan’s Edo period, an unknown artist created what is easily the most profound demonstration of human aesthetics ever committed to parchment. I am referring to He-Gassen a.k.a. 屁合戦 a.k.a. “the fart war.” In this centuries-old scroll, women and men blow each other off the page with typhoon-like flatulence. Toss this … Continued

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From Apron Hunters to Matricide: Idioms from Around the World

Anyone who grew up speaking English knows the phrase, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” isn’t about botany. Although idioms are particular to each language, most languages have them. Find out about strange idioms from all around the world, and what they say about the cultures that create them. … Continued

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The Lost Art of Detecting Incoming Aircraft Using Your Ears

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. Radar seems like a natural way to locate … Continued

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Why Helium was the Dark Matter of its Day

We know it’s out there. It makes up a sizable chunk of the universe. We see evidence of it in stellar objects through modern scientific tests. And yet we can’t find it anywhere. What is this mysterious substance? It’s helium, circa the mid-nineteenth century. Find out how the riddle of helium consumed scientists 150 years … Continued

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The bouncy science of toy superballs

We all annoyed our parents with these and broke vases with these and chased these down the street into traffic and, on rainy days when we were bored, melted these in the microwave. But what actually makes superballs work? Some portion of your childhood was spent seeing exactly how much damage could be done with … Continued

Tech NewsFacebook

The 19th Century Version of Facebook

Looks like Mr. Zuckerberg has some explaining to do—he clearly stole the entire idea for Facebook from this 19th century girl’s “friend urn”—or, if you will, Vasebook. The eBay seller says the vase is likely “a graduation present for the young lady in the center.” Yeah, you see her? That’s her profile picture, with a … Continued