If you are of a certain age, you’ll remember the story of how John DeLorean built his odd futuristic sports car in Northern Ireland and financed it with cocaine trafficking. For anyone younger, the car is synonymous with just one thing- the time machine in the Back to the Future movies. The process of turning a automotive failure into the coolest thing in cinema wasn’t an easy task.

Originally, three DeLorean cars were converted into time machines over the course of 10 weeks at a cost of around $150,000. Carried out by the same team responsible for another of our favorite fictional vehicles, Knight Rider’s K.I.T.T., the company created one hero car, one stunt car with added props for creating the distinctive fire trails, and a third DeLorean was cut into pieces for filming interior shots. Its first time on camera? December 14, 1984.

Urban Ghosts has details on each stage of preparing the DeLoreans for their star turn, including the roles they played in the sequels, and what ultimately happened to those vehicles. Oh yeah, and there’s lots of great pictures, too.  

(Image credit: Terabass)

The movie Total Recall was released nationwide 25 years ago today. It was based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” which went through quite a few changes on its way to the silver screen. For example, can you imagine Richard Dreyfuss as the lead instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger?

5. THE QUAID/HAUSER CHARACTER WENT THROUGH AN IMAGE OVERHAUL.

Producer De Laurentiis’ initial vision of the film’s hero Douglas Quaid (originally named “Quail”)/Carl Hauser was decidedly more in line with Dick’s short story: A schlubby office drone who dreams of a more exciting life. With this characterization in mind, his first choice for the part was Richard Dreyfuss. Over time, the desired machismo of the film’s leading man increased, prompting suggestions like William Hurt (courtesy of Cronenberg) and Patrick Swayze.

6. AT FIRST, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER WAS TURNED DOWN FOR BEING TOO MANLY.

Despite the gradual growth of Quaid’s imagined virility, there was a limit to how far De Laurentiis was willing to stray from the original character. He insisted that someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger was out of the question for the part and even turned down the Terminator star when Schwarzenegger expressed interest in the role.

But Schwarzenegger still wanted the role, and he took advantage of his growing clout in Hollywood to get it. Find out how that happened, and other trivia about Total Recall on its 25th anniversary, at mental_floss.  

Bill & Ted aren’t the smartest, or most well read, guys on the block, but at least they had the good sense not to get on Genghis Khan’s bad side!

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are often thought of as intelligent and intrepid, but they were total failures in their mission, and Lewis ended up killing himself due to a massive case of writer’s block.

(YouTube Link)

YouTube royalty Rhett and Link explore who would win in an Epic Rap Battle between the totally righteous Wyld Stallyns and the totally overrated Lewis & Clark, and even though the old timey guys are smarter the boys from San Dimas beat them out with a one two pun punch! (Contains NSFW language)

-Via Laughing Squid

Despite the popularity of Disney’s feature films the Looney Tunes beat Disney by a mile in the shorts department, because every self respecting toonhead grew up watching Looney Tunes shorts that were played on many different channels seemingly nonstop.

(YouTube Link)

Over the years Warner Bros. has taken many shorts out of circulation for various reasons, ranging from violence to (seemingly) racist themes to what WB perceived as a lack of public interest, thereby denying future generations of these wonderful shorts.

(YouTube Link)

This classic mental_floss article features 5 Obscure Looney Tunes Cartoons that weren't taken out of circulation because they're controversial, but rather because they're downright strange! Take a gander and see if they bring back any cartoon memories.

(Photo: unknown)

According to Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones, George Lucas offered Muppets creator Jim Henson the role of Yoda. Henson declined, suspecting that he wouldn't have enough time for a project as ambitious as Star Wars. Puppeteer Frank Oz got the job instead. But Henson still consulted with the Star Wars crew in building the Yoda puppet. You can see more photos of him working on The Empire Strikes Back at The Making of Star Wars.

-via Landa Calrissian

Tomorrowland is Disney’s latest amusement park attraction turned motion picture, and unlike that awful Haunted Mansion movie they released a few years back, they seem to have gotten the adaptation right this time.

The film combines dystopian sci-fi themes with a message of hope for the future, mixing in some of history’s most famous scientific minds for good measure and plenty of Disney magic, of course.

(YouTube Link)

Here's a deleted scene from the film that reveals the origins of the organization Plus Ultra, the group responsible for the creation of Tomorrowland. It's got that classic Disney short style, features the voice talent of Maurice LaMarche and it's enjoyable to watch whether you've seen Tomorrowland or not.

-Via GeekTyrant

Good news everyone! We're operating a contest with our friends at Today I Found Out and you can win a Fitbit Surge Fitness Super Watch or a NeatoShop tee. We'll be choosing five winners -one grand prize winner to receive the FitBit and four runners up who will have their choice of a sweet NeatoShop tee. So how can you win? Just check out the entry form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cosplay has become extremely popular thanks to fandom conventions, where people can see and take pics of cosplayers in person, but there’s nothing cooler than seeing cosplayers in the wild.

Their costumes are made to be worn in an environment that suits their character, so many cosplayers team up with photographers and take their shoots to the great outdoors.

A group of intrepid cosplayers and bold photographers decided to combine their efforts for an ultimate destination photo shoot- in Iceland.

Their efforts were rewarded with some of the most amazing cosplay photos I’ve ever seen, a cosplay experience sure to reinforce their love of the craft, and a life experience they’ll never forget.

See more from this amazing cosplay excursion over at Kotaku Cosplay

(Video Link)

If the actors for Episode VII get injured or walk off the job, these kids are ready to step in. Mashable asked Arwen (10), Leia (8), and Neo (5) to dub over the dialogue and sound effects for the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They're completely convincing. Hire them for every movie!

-via Uproxx

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Writer Tom Gardiner at Gizmodo breaks down systems of technology and advancement of both Star Wars and Star Trek, setting categories alongside each other, in order to come to a conclusion about which is more technologically advanced. Categories considered include transportation, energy generation, communication, manufacturing, construction, military, medical technology, robotics and computing, field manipulation and social technology. As you can imagine, once the writer gives his opinion, the debate continues from readers in the comment section. Check out the comparison here.  

In the world of fandom related infographics there are the crappy advertising type infographics that don’t contain well researched information, or any real info at all, and then there are the awesome visual info charts that tell you lots of good stuff quickly and please the eyes to boot.

(Image Link)

The more popular a fandom franchise becomes the more infographics seem to pop up online, and since everyone in the world seems to be suffering from Westeros flu at the moment it makes sense that Game of Thrones themed infographics are as popular as a rain poncho at a red wedding.

(Image Link)

But how can you find a bunch of infographics that will tell you what you want to know about the show and won’t make your eyeballs bleed?

You check out this collection of 15 Incredibly Important Game Of Thrones Infographics and watch your geeky world become a paradise of visual information!

(EDIT: As I looked closer at this collection I noticed that a few of the infographics included are indeed used to advertise stuff like cable TV and internet ad software. But they're all posted in a very viewer friendly size on Dorkly so you can enjoy looking through them there without clicking on advertiser links!)

(Photo: David Ngo)

Cosplayer Jessica--the internet's Maid of Might--has made a niche by altering Princess Leia's iconic slave outfit from Return of the Jedi with Disney characters. In the past, she's done Rapunzel, Elsa, and Ariel. Now she's working with Tinker Bell from Peter Pan. Cosplay builders Mantinum Industries made components of this outfit for Jessica, which she wore last week to FanimeCon in San Jose, California.

Suggestion: let's see a slave Leia version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.

Cosmo Kramer may not be the best employee, or the best neighbor, but he’s aces when it comes to doling out bad advice, dressing like a hipster dufus and spouting super quotable sayings.

You probably shouldn’t live by Kramer’s words or follow his example in terms of lifestyle, but ever Seinfeld fan knows it’s easy for quotes coined by Kramer to come up in conversation.

(YouTube Link)

From the ever popular"These pretzels are making me thirsty!" to the lesser known "If I had a kid I'd name him Isosceles. Isosceles Kramer", they're (not quite) all here for your viewing pleasure!

See 10 Quotable Kramer Moments at Uproxx

Can't get enough Marvel movie merch to satiate your obsession? Then head over to Homes and Hues, where we rounded up 12 awesome pieces of home decor inspired by The Avengers. 

From light switch covers to cutting boards, there are pieces to enhance every room of your home with geektastic Marvel goodies. We're particularly enamored with this desk loaded with movie props by Tom Spina Designs.

So if your home could use a little more heroism, visit Homes and Hues for the full list: 12 Awesome Decor Pieces Inspired by The Avengers

I've just completed my latest crafting project: an acrylic edge LED light inspired by the anime series One Week Friends.

One Week Friends is an endearing 12-episode romance. It's about Yūki Hase, an anxious high school student who befriends a lonely girl named Kaori Fujimiya. With a compelling story, charming characters, and great music, it's easily one of my favorite animes.

Yūki in particular is a well-told character. He's truly realistic in that although he's heroic, he's also a teenager. Yūki is immature with tendencies toward jealousy and insecurity, so he's remarkably human. I decided to make him the subject of my latest project.