February 2012: The Future of Fun

February 2012 Cover

Features

Did Global Warming Destroy My Hometown?

Last May, a massive tornado leveled Joplin, Missouri. Was it chance, or a warning of things to come? by Seth Fletcher

The Future of Fun

Game of Life

Will keeping score of absolutely everything make you a better person? An experiment in self-improvement by Matthew Shaer

Gravity Has Always Been a Major Part of My Life

An oral history of extreme sports by Paul Kvinta

Engineering the Ultimate Toy

What six inventors would build--if money, safety and the laws of physics were no object

Zero-Gravity Roller Coaster

A $50-million plan to make riders weightless, for eight long seconds by Ben Austen

State of Play

The world's most amazing playgrounds by Geoff Manaugh

What's New

• The Goods: February 2012's Hottest Gadgets
• Robotics Kit Makes Building Robots as Easy as Stacking Blocks
• Siri's Capabilities Go Way Beyond the Phone
• Everything Necessary for a House-Shaking, Multi-Room Stereo System
• The Seventh-Generation Porsche 911 is Lighter, Faster and More Efficient
• Big Batteries Give Electric Yard Tools the Power to Compete with Gas-Guzzlers

Headlines

• How Disposable, Networked Satellites Will Democratize Space
• The Best Way to Unbuild a Dam
• Growing Snow to Help Predict Avalanches
• Making the Blackest of Black Materials
• How D-Dalus Flies Like Nothing Else
• Should Scientists Be Held Legally Responsible for Their Results?

How 2.0

• You Built What?! A Drivable, Augmented-Reality OutRun Arcade Cabinet
• Gray Matter: The Highly Hazardous Toys of the Past
• Do-It-Yourself Projects That Deliver Hours of Play
• How to Get Yesterday's Games on Today's Mobile Devices

FYI

• FYI: Do Animals Dream?
• FYI: Will Listening to Mozart Really Make Me Smarter?
• FYI: How Long Is the Longest-Running Lab Experiment?
• FYI: What Is the Oldest Toy in the World?

Megapixels

• German Physicist Flies First Manned Electric Multicopter