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Posts Tagged “
triviagasm
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mega-sentients
The Largest Mega-Sentients In The Entire Universe
Are you ashamed of your size? You should be! Compared to Ego The Living Planet or Unicron the planet who turns into a giant robot, you're not only puny and tiny, you're kind of dumb as well. If there's one thing that science fiction teaches us, it's that you need a sun-sized brain to think truly cosmic thoughts. (And to eat other planets for lunch, too.) But which life form in scifi is the hugest (and therefore the smartest)? We've got the answer. More »
sidekicks
The Cutest Science Fiction Sidekicks, And Why They Fail
All sidekicks must have certain key lovable qualities, or else they lose that sparkle that makes them so endearing. But sometimes the cute-overload factor goes too far and a gag reflex kicks in, making people want to destroy that character. Compiled after the jump is a list of the most adorable sidekicks in science fiction TV and movies, some good, some too cute for their own good. More »
triviagasm
The Wacky Science Fiction Titles of LucasArts
LucasArts is best-known for its endless supply of Star Wars games, but the company really hit a peak in the adventure game genre from 1986 to 2002 when they combined elements of interactive fiction with graphics and a new interface. Check out LucasArts' colorful past with games like Day of the Tentacle and Maniac Mansion, in our tour of adventure games past. More »
triviagasm
Jules Verne Wants You To Shoot The Moon
Jules Verne first published From The Earth to the Moon, or De la Terre à la Lune, in 1865, pre-dating our first real visit to our lunar neighbor by over 100 years. It involves a post -American Civil War group called The Baltimore Gun Club firing a three-person capsule from an enormous gun. The goal: to get them to the Moon, although it would have been a one-way trip. Is trying to fire people into space crazy? Check out the some little known facts about the book, the real life efforts to do the same, and the impact it's had on science fiction, in the triviagasm below. More »
triviagasm
The Science Fiction Gadgets That Make You Go... Wha?!
We have a serious love affair with the cool gadgets of science fiction, but every now and then one will come along that will make you scratch your head and say "What!?" Yes, even in the world of scifi, you can sometimes go a bit too far. Check out our list of beyond-the-pale gadgets. More »
triviagasm
Forget Warp Speed, Try One Of These Alternative FTL Ideas
In Star Wars and Star Trek, the main way to get around the galaxy is to use warp speed or flip on your hyperdrive, which is a bit like hitting the gas pedal as hard as you can so you'll get there a bit quicker. There's more science to it than that, involving subspace fields and hyperspace and all that jazz, but the end result is that you're traveling very quickly. But besides speed, what other faster than light alternatives are there? Check out our list of other ways to get there in scifi. More »
triviagasm
Going Halfsies With the Best SciFi Half Breeds
Human-alien hybrids are everywhere in scifi. Whether they come from interplanetary love or mutant genes quietly sneaking into our DNA, we're all about hooking up the Human factor with anything else out there. Just ask Captain Kirk, who tried to dock with every alien woman he encountered. Check out our list below of some of the best science fiction halfsies. Hybrid vigor! More »
triviagasm
The Victorian-Era Supercomputer And The Genius Who Created It
The London Science Museum finally completed work on the Victorian era's greatest supercomputer, the Difference Engine No. 2, 120 years after the death of inventor Charles Babbage. This five-ton machine is currently traveling across the pond to San Francisco, and will go on display in America for the first time starting May 10th at the Computer History Museum. Find out everything you wanted to know about Charles Babbage and his wonderful engines in today's triviagasm. More »
triviagasm
The Most Badass Robot Army Dream Team
We've talked about the toughest scifi soldiers, but those were made out of blood, muscle and bone. What about their robotic counterparts? It's goes without saying that if the Bot Army met the Meat Popsicle Army, the robots would clean house. If you had access to unlimited funds and a lot of time-traveling doohickeys, then you'd want to put together a lineup like our dream team robot army. We've assembled them below for your pleasure. More »
triviagasm
It's 1980, And You're Commanding A Tank On Another Planet
Ever wanted to pilot a tank on an alien world while blasting enemies and flying saucers to bits? Well, once upon a time in 1980, that was possible. And when Battlezone comes out on Xbox Live tomorrow, you can do it all over again. The new game will include both the updated online multiplayer version, and the original vector graphic classic. Back in the day when a quarter could put you in command of a tank light-years from home, making change could turn you into a hero. Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the original Battlezone below. More »
time travel wars
Greatest Time-Travel Duels Of All Time(lines)
Some of the greatest battles in science fiction haven't involved dogfights or shoot-outs, but time-traveling smackdowns, with two different people trying to change history out from under each other. Like Marty and Biff, trying to wipe out each other's timelines in this clip from Back To The Future 2. As soon as you have more than one time machine, you can have timeline-altering sniper fights, and whoever can erase the other person's time line first wins. Start your paradox engines, and may the slipperiest time-trickster win! More »
triviagasm
The Large Hadron Collider Will Gobble Up The Earth (Or Maybe Just France)
The Large Hadron Collider at the CERN research facility near Geneva, Switzerland won't be going on a luau in Hawaii anytime soon, since the state is suing to stop the activation of the enormous research project. Yes, it's not just individual wackos who believe the LHC will unleash a cosmic ass-whooping on the planet. An actual state is suing the builders to keep them from activating it. They fear it'll let loose runaway miniature black holes, strangelets, or magnetic monopoles that will destroy the planet. The researchers at CERN have spent their precious time trying to assure people that won't happen, although it would be kind of cool if it did. We've got the strange and winding history of this project in today's Triviagasm. More »
triviagasm
The Scifi Sound Effects That Take Over Your Brain
Even if you just hear a science fiction movie or TV show playing in another room, you'll instantly recognize it thanks to the weird sounds of alien spaceships and laser weapons. No genre of entertainment has ever challenged sound-effects designers as much as SF. We've gone through some of scifi's most identifiable and iconic sounds and boiled them down into a list of the coolest and the most earwormy. More »
lame con-artists
Weakest Con Artists Of The Distant Future
In a few centuries, everybody will be a rube. Centuries of in-breeding in deep space will remove everyone's street smarts and turn people seriously gullible. That's the only explanation for why anybody would ever get taken in by some of the grifters you run into in science fiction, who practically have a sign around their neck that says "CON ARTIST!!!" With the three exclamation marks and everything. Here's our round-up of some of the most obvious and least crafty con-men and women in SF. More »
triviagasm
Scifi Clothing You Can Wear on the Street Without Fear of Reprisals
Sometimes it's not enough to wear your science fiction pride silently on the inside. Every now and then you want to let everyone know you've got an inner geek who loves particle physics, laser beams, clanking robots, and otherworldly exploration. So we've put together a geek ensemble, full of nice bits you can wear outside cosplay cons. You can mix and match, or if you're very brave you can try the whole thing at once. Check out our SF outfit below, which goes from the shoes on up. More »
triviagasm
Colonel Wilma Deering vs. Princess Ardala
Buck Rogers faced the same problem that vexed Gilligan, the Professor, and the Skipper. Except instead of "Mary Ann or Ginger?" it was "Wilma or Ardala?" You have to admit, that's a pretty tough choice. Especially since both women are tough, calculating, skilled, and in powerful positions. We all know Buck preferred Colonel Wilma Deering (who outranked him), but there were plenty of scenes where he looked ready to "biddi biddi biddi" with Princess Ardala. Which do you think he should have dated? Examine the evidence and sound off in today's thawed-out triviagasm. More »
jury-rigging
