io9 Roundup: May 13, 2012

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY | An Alien Empress runs afoul of a foolhardy Predator, in this illustration by Justin Currie.

How our predictions for the Year 2000 changed throughout the 20th Century

Our vision of the future is always changing. In the year 1910, we imagined that the year 2000 would be filled with airships and multi-armed robotic helpers. More »

The Nine Circles Of Hell, As Depicted In LEGO

Here's a series of play sets that won't be debuting in the toy aisle anytime soon. Sculptor Mihai Mihu has built this fantastic and creepy nine-part collection of LEGO dioramas based on Dante Alighieri's Inferno. More »

Engineer thinks we could build a real Starship Enterprise in 20 years

In Star Trek lore, the first Starship Enterprise will be built by the year 2245. But today, an engineer has proposed - and outlined in meticulous detail – building a full-sized, ion-powered version of the Enterprise complete with 1G of gravity on board, More »

Watch the first trailer for Revolution, the new post-apocalyptic show from J.J. Abrams and Supernatural's Eric Kripke

Here are the first scenes from Revolution, NBC's new Monday night drama created by J.J. Abrams (Lost) and Eric Kripke (Supernatural). In this footage, a mysterious blackout knocks out the world's power grid and renders all of civilization's car batteries completely kaput. More »

This student film carries more of an emotional punch than most movies

This animation, Crayon Dragon, was made by California Institute of the Arts student Toniko Pantoja as a second-year project. Along with an absolutely lovely soundtrack and a fluid style that comes across as "Impressionist Don Bluth," Pantoja weaves a poignant wordless narrative in all of three minutes. More »

The entire first episode of Tron: Uprising is online

In anticipation of the upcoming Tron: Legacy prequel cartoon Tron: Uprising, Disney has released the whole 30-minute first episode - "Beck's Beginning." More »

The birth of Scantrons, the bane of standardized testing

A series of one thousand ovals oriented on a delicate sheet of paper, often coming along with a 25-30 page test booklet full of multiple choice and devilish K-Type questions. More »

Webcomics go retro-pulp in I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space

"Everyone knows those things are only found in pulp novels," alien abductee Susie says in the first chapter of I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space. More »

Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. Here's how we know that.

Minute Physics' Henry Reich takes a break from physics to drop some maths knowledge. Using some basic tenets of set theory, Reich explains how we know that one infinity can be bigger than another. More »

What if The Avengers and X-Men had a cartoon in the style of Ren & Stimpy?

Then chances are it would bear a resemblance to Junaid Chundriga's short animation Disassembled, wherein the superheroes of the Marvel Universe all have tremendously lousy days. More »

Can peeing in a lake really kill fish?

There's been a story kicking around in the news recently about a fight in Hamburg, Germany, where recreational swimmers have supposedly killed fish by peeing in Eichbaum Lake, making fishermen really (get ready) pissed off. More »

Fringe: The Final Word on Mad Science

Fringe has spent four seasons dealing with the consequences of "playing God." We've learned all about Walter Bishop's past mistakes, and we've seen him placed alongside dozens of other misguided scientists, whose experiments have threatened people's lives. More »

Innocent people may have been framed for murder…by bugs?

A couple of years ago, a 28-year-old man ran into trouble in the scenic Brenta River near Padova, Italy. Witnesses saw him struggling in the water; soon after, he drowned. More »

Adorable webcomic illustrates the Avengers' difficulties with carrying Hawkeye into battle

Clint Barton is a spry guy, but without a magical levitating hammer or jet thrusters, he's pretty much outclassed by his teammates. Comic artist Noelle Stevenson. More »