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The United States has long been recognized as one of the most scientifically productive countries on Earth. But when you're discussing progress, where you've been is not nearly as important as More »
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A recent Pew Research Center report shows that Americans really do believe in individualism and freewill. Only 36 percent of Americans polled said that they thought their economic fortunes were determined by forces beyond their control. Compare this number to the over 70 percent of Germans who believe their financial fates are beyond their personal control. The irony, writes Catherine Rampell in the New York Times, is that Americans actually have far less control over their economic destinies than their European counterparts. She explains: More »
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Neil couldn't survive life in small-town Americus without his favorite fantasy series. But when a fundamentalist group threatens to censor the books, Neil finds himself on the frontlines of a social war – and may just find his own strength. More »
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If information is power, then there's no hero mightier than a librarian. Librarians are superheroes, adventurers, explorers and invaluable guides to other heroes. Here are 20 amazing librarians who save the world every day! More »
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In 1856, seabird guano was an in-demand fertilizer, so the the United States Congress passed The Guano Islands Act. This legislation was a precursor to American imperialism, as it allowed citizens to claim bird-crap-covered islands in the USA's name. More »
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This 1935 map from Fortune magazine depicts "The Great Invasion of 19??," a three-pronged invasion from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Note the 25,000 Japanese saboteurs in California and the distinction of an Anglo-Japanese alliance as the most dangerous. More »
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The New York Times posted a detailed infographic last year visualizing data gathered from the American Time Use Survey. Apparently, as you age, you spend less time working and more time watching TV and movies. More »
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It's finally here — the biggest alternate timeline of all alternate timelines, the alternate history trope to top all alternate history tropes. Today we look at some alternate histories of the Second World War. More »
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Superman can fly around the world so fast he can reverse time. But in Superman comics this year, Kal-El will be hoofing it from sea to shining sea to reconnect with Americans. And he might stop by your hometown! More »
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In his book Lost States, Michael Trinklein maps out the never-was states of Transylvania, Nickajack, and Jefferson. Check out his bizarro imaginary cartography. More »
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Today in Florida, President Obama will announce his new goals for the NASA space program. Robots will go to space instead of humans. And Americans may never walk on the Moon again. But is that a bad thing? More »
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I've just returned from Texas, a state that blends old-school American values and high tech industries into a strange hybrid culture of digital cowboys. Is Texas the most futuristic state? More »
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In 1910, the New York Tribune published this photo composite of what a "future American" might look like. Time magazine repeated the experiment in 1993 with a computer-generated blend of faces. Could either be right? More »
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io9 is taking the day off to explode things in the name of national liberty. Also, to kick back on this moon beach, captured here in the dappled earthlight by NASA's newly-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. More »
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Countless science fiction stories have asked the same question: What will America turn into next? The answers fall into three major categories, some more plausible than others. Take our poll to choose your favorite option. More »
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Lefty types have been predicting the demise of America for the last century, but in 2008 even the most conservative elements of the US government are predicting it too. Every four years, the US National Intelligence Council issues a future-looking report about global trends, and this year one of those trends is the decline of American power in the world. More »
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We all know that Leif Ericson beat Christopher Columbus to the New World, but Chris gets his own holiday because his voyage marks the beginning of Europe's influence in the New World. But what if someone had beaten the Europeans to the punch? What if no culture ever developed the technology or drive to find the continent? What if the Americas’ indigenous peoples formed a federation and dealt with Europe on an equal footing? Fortunately, alternate historians have cooked up plenty of speculative American discovery narratives to keep you busy for Columbus Day. More »
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You can watch the American presidential debates and allow Barack Obama and John McCain to move you emotionally, or you can convert what they say into easily-analyzed data structures. C-SPAN's awesomely wonky graphic designers have created several easy ways for you to analyze as objectively as possible which candidate spoke the longest, interrupted the most, and used the word "taxes" more often. At left, you can see their word frequency chart, looking at which words were used most and when. We also have part of an elaborate chart showing which candidate grandstanded the most on various topics. More »
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The latest Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs, found Richard Nixon’s head still president of an increasingly crappy Earth, and Nixon will again take the highest office in next year’s Watchmen. In fact, if there’s a vaguely dystopian alternate history or future, chances are there’s a Nixon to run it. But as our nation gets more presidents under its belt, another politician may challenge Nixon’s supremacy as head of unhappy states. But our 37th president will not relinquish his title so easily. After the jump, read Nixon’s track record and see why you should reelect him president of your dystopian America. More »
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All of a sudden, I'm desperate to read Junot Diaz's new science fiction novel — just as soon as he can finish it. Diaz, who just won the Pulitzer Prize for The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, a book littered with nerdy references to Star Wars and comics, shared a brief excerpt from his new novel-in-progress, Dark America, during an Amazon.com interview. And's a dazzling passage, set aboard a robot truck in a desolate future world. More »
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