At Long Last, You Can Watch Spider-Man‘s ‘Lost’ First Teaser Restored in HD
The very first glimpse at what would become one of the most beloved superhero movies of all time is also a very weird one—because for years, it was actually impossible to see it. While in the two decades since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man first hit theaters it has re-emerged online, it’s suddenly hit the web (sorry … Continued
Congressman to Facebook: Your Digital Currency Could Be Worse Than 9-11
Facebook’s new digital currency, Libra, has the potential to be worse than the September 11th attacks. At least that’s what Democratic Congressman Dril (sorry, Congressman Brad Sherman) of California said today at a House Committee on Financial Services Hearing in Washington, D.C. Sherman tore into Facebook executive David Marcus and didn’t even bother asking him … Continued
Why 9/11 Truthers Are Obsessed With the Plasco High-Rise Fire in Tehran
On January 19th, 2017, the Plasco building, a 17-story steel high-rise in Tehran, caught fire. The blaze began on one of the building’s upper floors and then spread quickly through the tower’s sprinkler-less garment workshops. As the Tehran fire department battled the nearly unreachable fire, the steel skyscraper collapsed in full view of Iranian state … Continued
Store Is Very Sorry for Exploiting 9/11 With Its ‘Twin Tower Sale’ Commercial
In a deeply regrettable attempt to cash in on human tragedy using viral video magic, a company called Miracle Mattress decided to film and post a bizarre commercial promoting its “Twin Tower sale.” Welp! The 21-second spot was originally posted to Facebook, but it’s since been taken down. Nevertheless, a copy was captured and uploaded … Continued
The Last Pieces of the Destroyed Twin Towers Are Leaving New York City
The memorial is finished, the tower replacing it is occupied, and the museum is open—for better or for worse. Today, several of the largest remaining pieces of World Trade Center infrastructure from the 9/11 terrorist attacks were pulled out of storage to leave New York City. Hundreds of pieces from the site were placed in … Continued
This Week’s io9 Newsstand Is Not Just About 9/11
This morning, The New Yorker heralded the arrival of Speculative 9/11 Fiction with trepidation, calling the trend “unsettling.” The article is partly a commentary on how fiction of any kind deals with traumatic, culture-shaping events, and partly a review of the new anthology In the Shadow of the Towers: Speculative Fiction in a Post-9/11 World … Continued
Larry Ellison’s Oracle Started As a CIA Project
Yesterday, Vox somehow managed to write an entire article about the history of Oracle and its founder Larry Ellison without mentioning the CIA even once. Which is pretty astounding, given the fact that Oracle takes its name from a 1977 CIA project codename. And that the CIA was Oracle’s first customer. Vox simply says that … Continued
Photos of Tourists Staring at the WTC Are Weirdly Riveting
If you’ve ever taken a lunchtime stroll in Lower Manhattan, you’ve seen them: Sightseers (and locals, too) with their eyes raised skyward, watching the construction of One World Trade Center. Annoying to some, but revealing to photographer Keith Goldstein—whose photo essay Looking On captures the craning. Goldstein is a professional photographer who has worked in … Continued
There’s a 50-50 chance of another 9/11-sized attack within a decade
As we approach the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, we can be grateful that nothing like it has happened since. But that doesn’t mean that something very much like 9/11 — or even worse — couldn’t happen again. In fact, new research suggests that we may be seriously underestimating the risk of another … Continued
10 Ways 9/11 Changed the Way We Build
Ten years ago today, Chicago developer J. Paul Beitler — who once aspired to build the world’s tallest building — told The Chicago Tribune that governments would cease to approve plans for skyscrapers, for fear that they would become “magnets for future terrorism.” The events of September 11th forever changed the way we approach architecture … Continued
Military Jets Escorted Flights on 9/11 Because People Were Pooping Too Much
On an LA-to-NY flight yesterday, a few people used the bathroom repeatedly. On a flight from Denver to Detroit, a few more people used the bathroom for a really long time. In both cases, the military intervened. Wait, huh? Well it was the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, after all, and it’s better to be safe … Continued
A seismological recording of 9/11
On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, sound artist Mark Bain has released the full audio file of the sound of the Twin Towers collapsing, a melancholic howl terrestrially amplified by the region’s geology. What you’re hearing is the “audification of the seismological data record,” as Bain explains it, “which occurred in the area … Continued
Debris from the World Trade Center Is Exploring Mars
Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of one of the worst tragedies in America’s history. We remember and we mourn, but it’s a pleasant thought to know that the memories of those who perished are part of the machinery that is exploring the Martian surface even now. Honeybee Robotics, collaborating with NASA, were working on the … Continued
How NYC Is Protecting Itself from the Terror Threat This Weekend
Federal officials are currently investigating a potential car bomb plot that Al Qaeda has planned for this weekend, the anniversary of 9/11. The car bomb plot is “credible” but not confirmed and is supposed to target bridges and tunnels. According to information gathered by intelligence, the FBI are looking for a handful of men (one … Continued
How to Terror-Proof the New World Trade Center
Developers of the new World Trade Center learned a slew of lessons from the numerous attacks and eventual collapse of the original buildings—reexamining every aspect of the security and safety systems. Here’s what they’ve figured out. A Befitting Pedestal The September 11th attacks were not the first successful assault on the complex. In 1993, a … Continued