As far as contraception innovation goes, for the past several years, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundationhas been leading the pack. Next on the list? Revolutionizing actual bodily implants. Say hello to wireless birth control. Of course, implantable birth control itself isn’t anything new, but most current models are only good for about three years. … Continued

In 1933, two doctors got together and decided to stack weights on one of their genitals. Precisely which one is never mentioned. What is mentioned is the little-known phenomenon as “referred pain.” We have, in the past, talked before about a little body quirk known as “referred itch.” Sometimes, when you scratch or pinch one … Continued

Even if you’re sick to death of vampires, you owe it to yourself to check out “The Food in the Basement” by Laura Davy, in the latest issue of Apex Magazine. It doesn’t just make vampires scary again — it makes them alien. In “The Food in the Basement,” a young girl named Sondra is … Continued

Sweden doesn’t readily spring to mind when discussing global military powerhouses, but the European nation is far from being a pushover. In fact, the Swedish military—working in conjunction with a cadre of marquee manufacturers and five other European nations—is nearing completion on the world’s first and only air-to-air missile that can strike targets on the … Continued

You’d think that a bunch of teenaged, mutated turtles who have been rigorously trained in the art of ninjutsu would have better things to do than break into a random Pizza Hut store and recreate the company’s “Cheesy Bites” pizza — like, say, fight Shredder — but apparently not. Even still, it’s nice to see … Continued

A petition with tens of thousands of signatures. Protestors in the streets. Fiery op-eds. All this public unrest in Tokyo isn’t over an election or divisive political issue. It’s about the design of the city’s 2020 Olympic Stadium. And the people are winning. After a year of public protests against the design for a new … Continued

Many of us can probably recite, “Pop! Goes The Weasel” by heart. Passed down across the centuries, the anachronisms in the lyrics sound like playful nonsense words. In truth, this and other rhymes were practical lessons for children, trying to survive amid death, plague, crime and poverty. The Londonist explores the origins of several popular … Continued

The 1980s saw psychologists discovering a lot of “repressed” memories in patients. As it turned out, they weren’t so much memories as inventions. Are all those patients stuck with false memories of Satanic abuse and alternate personalities forever? In 1973, the book Sybil took the world by storm. A pioneering psychiatrist took a very troubled … Continued

As soon as time travel is invented, people start abusing it by going back in time to fix their romantic relationships before they even begin. Naturally, it’s a train wreck, but a fun one to watch. Time Travel Lover was written by Elisha Yaffe (who also plays Matt) and directed by Bo Mirosseni, and it … Continued

Although they’re still designed with kids in mind, who among us doesn’t have a Nerf blaster tucked away in a desk drawer, or hidden inside a carved out phone book? Office warfare can flare up in a heartbeat, but with Nerf’s recently leaked N-Strike Elite Rhino-Fire blaster at your disposal, you’ve already won the battle … Continued

Kevin Whitney loved his iPhone. Or at least he loved the countless, priceless family photos stored on it. So when the phone slipped out of his pocket and into 140 tons of grain on his farm in Oklahoma, he was understandably distraught. Luckily, people are nice in Japan. Nine months after Whitney’s accident, he received … Continued

Making apps for Android can seem kind of messy because of the big scary F-word: Fragmentation. It’s part of why Tim Cook might call Android a “toxic hellstew” on stage. But the dirty little secret? It’s really not that bad, at least when it comes to screen size. You’ve probably seen scary graphics laying bar … Continued

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In June, we read The Memory Garden by Mary Rickert. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club post on io9 when … Continued

Sometimes the most effective advertising is just getting the consumer to try a free sample. But with this campaign, Nescafe managed to embrace best of both approaches with a clever print ad that turns into a couple of mugs full of coffee. There was some minor assembly required—just a bit of folding—and consumers needed to … Continued