Malcolm & Marie, Inception, and Everything Else New to Netflix in February

It may be the shortest month of the year, but Netflix is still dropping plenty of new films and TV shows to its lineup for February 2021. To get things started, Netflix is releasing Malcolm & Marie on February 5, starring Tenet's John David Washington and Spider-Man: Far From Home's Zendaya. The film is a romantic drama where "filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success. The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love," according to the synopsis. The streamer is also dropping a bonkers new sci-film, called Space Sweepers on February 5, which follows the crew of the spaceship Victory, who discover a potentially dangerous (and highly valuable) humanlike robot wanted by the authorities. And on the TV front, Netflix is debuting Firefly Lane on February 3, starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke. The series is based on the best-selling book of the same name, which tells the story of two friends and their complicated bond. Check out the slideshow gallery below for the highlights of Netflix's February offerings, followed by the full list (U.S. Netflix only): [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflix-spotlight-february-2021&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"]

February 1

  • The Bank Job (2008)
  • Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
  • Eat Pray Love (2010)
  • Inception (2010)
  • Love Daily: Season 1
  • My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
  • My Dead Ex: Season 1
  • National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
  • The Patriot (2000)
  • Rocks (2019)
  • Shutter Island (2010)
  • The Unsetting: Season 1
  • Zac and Mia: Seasons 1-2
  • Zathura (2005)

February 2

  • Kid Cosmic -- NETFLIX FAMILY
  • Mighty Express: Season 2 -- NETFLIX FAMILY
  • Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready: Season 2 -- NETFLIX COMEDY SERIES

February 3

  • All My Friends Are Dead -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Black Beach -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Firefly Lane -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

February 5

  • Invisible City -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • The Last Paradiso -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Little Big Women -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Malcolm & Marie -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Space Sweepers -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Strip Down, Rise Up -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
  • The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity -- NETFLIX FILM

February 6

  • The Sinner: Jamie

February 8

  • iCarly: Seasons 1-2
  • War Dogs (2016)

February 10

  • Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
  • The Misadventures of Hedi and Cokeman -- NETFLIX FILM
  • The World We Make (2019)

February 11

  • Capitani -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • Layla Majnun -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Middle of Nowhere (2012)
  • Red Dot -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Squared Love -- NETFLIX FILM

February 12

  • Buried by the Bernards -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • Nadiya Bakes -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • Hate by Dani Rovira -- NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL
  • To All The Boys: Always And Forever -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Xico's Journey -- NETFLIX FAMILY

February 13

  • Monsoon (2019)

February 15

  • The Crew -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

February 16

  • Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie -- NETFLIX FAMILY
  • Good Girls: Season 3

February 17

  • Behind Her Eyes -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • Hello, Me! -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • MeatEater: Season 9 Part 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

February 18

  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan -- NETFLIX ANIME

February 19

  • I Care A Lot -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Tribes of Europa -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

February 20

  • Classmates Minus -- NETFLIX FILM

February 21

  • The Conjuring (2013)
  • The Conjuring 2 (2016)

February 23

  • Brian Regan: On The Rocks -- NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL
  • Pelé -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

February 24

  • Canine Intervention -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • Ginny & Georgia -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
  • Two Sentence Horror Stories: Season 2

February 25

  • Geez & Ann -- NETFLIX FILM
  • High-Rise Invasion -- NETFLIX ANIME

February 26

  • Bigfoot Family -- NETFLIX FAMILY
  • Captain Fantastic (2016)
  • Caught by a Wave -- NETFLIX FILM
  • Crazy About Her -- NETFLIX FILM
  • No Escape (2015)
  • Our Idiot Brother (2011)
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/13/anime-coming-to-netflix-in-2021"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Naked Gun: Liam Neeson Says Seth McFarlane Has Approached Him to Star in Reboot

Liam Neeson says Seth McFarlane has approached him to star in a reboot of The Naked Gun, which would mark the first time the two have worked together since 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West. This news comes by way of an interview between Neeson and People, in which Neeson discussed how he plans to retire from action movies soon, opening up the door for other types of movie genres like comedy. His venture out of action could begin with a reboot of The Naked Gun series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-action-movies-on-netflix-right-now&captions=true"] "I've been approached by Seth McFarlane and Paramount Studios to maybe resurrect the Naked Gun films," Neeson told People. "It'll either finish my career or bring it in another direction. I honestly don't know." The Naked Gun is a movie series consisting of three movies, From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), The Smell of Fear (1991), and The Final Insult (1994), based on a television series called Police Squad! that lasted just six episodes before it was cancelled. The original films were comedy crime movies that starred Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin who stops assassinations, kidnappings, and more. It's unclear if this reboot would feature Neeson in the role of Detective Frank Drebin or if he would play an entirely new character. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/29/top-10-action-movies-of-all-time-part-2-cinefix"] Neeson has quite the career behind him stretching as far back as the 1970s. His filmography covers many genres but after starring in 2008's Taken, where he played a very skilled agent tasked with rescuing his own daughter from kidnappers, Neeson found himself the star of many action movies like The A-Team, The Commuter, Non-Stop, and of course, Taken 2 and Taken 3. He told Entertainment Tonight in a different interview that he's nearing the end of his run as an action actor. "I'm 68 and a half," he told Entertainment Tonight. "Sixty-nine this year. There's a couple more I'm going to do this year — hopefully, COVID allowing us — there's a couple in the pipeline and then I think that will probably be it." One of those final action movies for the actor is The Marksman, which hits theaters on January 21. You can read IGN's thoughts on the movie in our review of The Marksman. Read this story where Neeson said he hasn't been approached to reprise his role as Qui-Gon Jinn in any live-action Star Wars projects after that and then read about how he blames criticism for hurting the career of Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Naked Gun: Liam Neeson Says Seth McFarlane Has Approached Him to Star in Reboot

Liam Neeson says Seth McFarlane has approached him to star in a reboot of The Naked Gun, which would mark the first time the two have worked together since 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West. This news comes by way of an interview between Neeson and People, in which Neeson discussed how he plans to retire from action movies soon, opening up the door for other types of movie genres like comedy. His venture out of action could begin with a reboot of The Naked Gun series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-action-movies-on-netflix-right-now&captions=true"] "I've been approached by Seth McFarlane and Paramount Studios to maybe resurrect the Naked Gun films," Neeson told People. "It'll either finish my career or bring it in another direction. I honestly don't know." The Naked Gun is a movie series consisting of three movies, From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), The Smell of Fear (1991), and The Final Insult (1994), based on a television series called Police Squad! that lasted just six episodes before it was cancelled. The original films were comedy crime movies that starred Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin who stops assassinations, kidnappings, and more. It's unclear if this reboot would feature Neeson in the role of Detective Frank Drebin or if he would play an entirely new character. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/29/top-10-action-movies-of-all-time-part-2-cinefix"] Neeson has quite the career behind him stretching as far back as the 1970s. His filmography covers many genres but after starring in 2008's Taken, where he played a very skilled agent tasked with rescuing his own daughter from kidnappers, Neeson found himself the star of many action movies like The A-Team, The Commuter, Non-Stop, and of course, Taken 2 and Taken 3. He told Entertainment Tonight in a different interview that he's nearing the end of his run as an action actor. "I'm 68 and a half," he told Entertainment Tonight. "Sixty-nine this year. There's a couple more I'm going to do this year — hopefully, COVID allowing us — there's a couple in the pipeline and then I think that will probably be it." One of those final action movies for the actor is The Marksman, which hits theaters on January 21. You can read IGN's thoughts on the movie in our review of The Marksman. Read this story where Neeson said he hasn't been approached to reprise his role as Qui-Gon Jinn in any live-action Star Wars projects after that and then read about how he blames criticism for hurting the career of Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Hacker Creates Mario Kart, Ring Fit Exercise Game and Homemade Nintendo Direct to Reveal It

Hacker Mike Choi, who you might know as the engineer and co-designer of the Nintendo Flip Grip, revealed his latest unofficial Nintendo peripheral last week, complete with its own Nintendo Direct-style reveal. It’s called the Labo Fit Adventure Kart. The Labo Fit Adventure Kart is a multi-part invention that combines the Ring Fit Adventure Ring-Con, Nintendo Labo-inspired cutouts, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and an exercise bike, into a single workout game hybrid. The basic mechanic of the Labo Fit Adventure Kart is that the pedaling on the exercise bike will accelerate your kart in-game, while items and directional controls are handled by squeezing and turning the Ring-Con. The engine that pulls all these elements together is a home-brewed robot that Choi calls TAPBO, which is responsible for making the whole thing playable. Check out a brief video overview below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/19/hacker-creates-nintendo-labo-ring-fit-exercise-bike-game"] IGN spoke with Choi on the origins and design process of the Labo Fit Adventure Kart which Choi says was an idea he came up with while playing Tetris 99 a year ago. “I’m not a very fitness-oriented person,” Choi tells IGN. “I don’t exercise regularly and I ate an entire Costco-size box of Oreos this past week. So I decided to set a challenge for myself: to pedal on an exercise bike during the entire duration of a Tetris 99 game.” Choi says a game of Tetris 99, for him at least, felt like a good length for a cardio workout. But the idea came to him to take the concept even further. “What if I connected the exercise bike to the game somehow?” Choi wondered. Enter the Labo Fit Adventure Kart and TAPBO robot. The TAPBO robot, which Choi explains in-depth in his full Nintendo Direct-style video here, is how the entire Labo Fit Adventure Kart concept works. Essentially, the robot is connected to motion sensors in the exercise bike. When the pedals reach a certain speed threshold, the TAPBO will mechanically press the “A” button on the Joy-Con and accelerate your character in Mario Kart 8. Meanwhile, pushing in on the Ring-Con will cause TAPBO to press the trigger button on the Joy-Con for items. “I knew from the get-go that there would be at least two components: a module to press buttons on the Joy-Con and a bike that could detect your pedaling,” Choi says when asked about his early design ideas. “Early in development I realized it would be a ton of fun to steer and shoot items with the Ring-Con, so I decided to implement that as well.” What makes TAPBO unique is that it is a feat of mechanical engineering, not a software hack, though we asked Choi why he opted to create a mini robot instead of some kind of home-brewed software to make his idea come to life. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=labo-fit-adventure-kart-design-gallery&captions=true"] “It’s no secret that Nintendo isn’t the biggest fan of people messing with their software, and the Bike-Con solution circumvents needing to emulate or modify any Joy-Con software or hardware,” Choi says. “It’s definitely possible to create a setup that doesn’t require a robot to press buttons; creators like Super Louis 64 have done exactly this to create Ring Fit mashups with [The Legend of Zelda] Breath of the Wild and even Mario Kart,” Choi adds. But Choi’s passions lie with robots and he says the device serves as an homage to Nintendo’s own robot, R.O.B. Choi even 3D printed a custom TAPBO amiibo. As for the future, Choi has some more fitness-focused ideas for TAPBO like creating a version that can hug the Switch console itself and force it to turn off if you stop pedaling on an exercise bike; or a rowing machine game to work with Super Mario Party. But the TAPBO can also be used for non-fitness games and Choi says people have suggested re-tooling the robot for the upcoming Pokemon Snap game on Switch. “The possibilities are really endless, and I hope Nintendo continues experimenting with how to use Ring Fit and Labo accessories in more games." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Hacker Creates Mario Kart, Ring Fit Exercise Game and Homemade Nintendo Direct to Reveal It

Hacker Mike Choi, who you might know as the engineer and co-designer of the Nintendo Flip Grip, revealed his latest unofficial Nintendo peripheral last week, complete with its own Nintendo Direct-style reveal. It’s called the Labo Fit Adventure Kart. The Labo Fit Adventure Kart is a multi-part invention that combines the Ring Fit Adventure Ring-Con, Nintendo Labo-inspired cutouts, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and an exercise bike, into a single workout game hybrid. The basic mechanic of the Labo Fit Adventure Kart is that the pedaling on the exercise bike will accelerate your kart in-game, while items and directional controls are handled by squeezing and turning the Ring-Con. The engine that pulls all these elements together is a home-brewed robot that Choi calls TAPBO, which is responsible for making the whole thing playable. Check out a brief video overview below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/19/hacker-creates-nintendo-labo-ring-fit-exercise-bike-game"] IGN spoke with Choi on the origins and design process of the Labo Fit Adventure Kart which Choi says was an idea he came up with while playing Tetris 99 a year ago. “I’m not a very fitness-oriented person,” Choi tells IGN. “I don’t exercise regularly and I ate an entire Costco-size box of Oreos this past week. So I decided to set a challenge for myself: to pedal on an exercise bike during the entire duration of a Tetris 99 game.” Choi says a game of Tetris 99, for him at least, felt like a good length for a cardio workout. But the idea came to him to take the concept even further. “What if I connected the exercise bike to the game somehow?” Choi wondered. Enter the Labo Fit Adventure Kart and TAPBO robot. The TAPBO robot, which Choi explains in-depth in his full Nintendo Direct-style video here, is how the entire Labo Fit Adventure Kart concept works. Essentially, the robot is connected to motion sensors in the exercise bike. When the pedals reach a certain speed threshold, the TAPBO will mechanically press the “A” button on the Joy-Con and accelerate your character in Mario Kart 8. Meanwhile, pushing in on the Ring-Con will cause TAPBO to press the trigger button on the Joy-Con for items. “I knew from the get-go that there would be at least two components: a module to press buttons on the Joy-Con and a bike that could detect your pedaling,” Choi says when asked about his early design ideas. “Early in development I realized it would be a ton of fun to steer and shoot items with the Ring-Con, so I decided to implement that as well.” What makes TAPBO unique is that it is a feat of mechanical engineering, not a software hack, though we asked Choi why he opted to create a mini robot instead of some kind of home-brewed software to make his idea come to life. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=labo-fit-adventure-kart-design-gallery&captions=true"] “It’s no secret that Nintendo isn’t the biggest fan of people messing with their software, and the Bike-Con solution circumvents needing to emulate or modify any Joy-Con software or hardware,” Choi says. “It’s definitely possible to create a setup that doesn’t require a robot to press buttons; creators like Super Louis 64 have done exactly this to create Ring Fit mashups with [The Legend of Zelda] Breath of the Wild and even Mario Kart,” Choi adds. But Choi’s passions lie with robots and he says the device serves as an homage to Nintendo’s own robot, R.O.B. Choi even 3D printed a custom TAPBO amiibo. As for the future, Choi has some more fitness-focused ideas for TAPBO like creating a version that can hug the Switch console itself and force it to turn off if you stop pedaling on an exercise bike; or a rowing machine game to work with Super Mario Party. But the TAPBO can also be used for non-fitness games and Choi says people have suggested re-tooling the robot for the upcoming Pokemon Snap game on Switch. “The possibilities are really endless, and I hope Nintendo continues experimenting with how to use Ring Fit and Labo accessories in more games." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Astronomers Discover ‘Super Earth’ That Is Almost as Old as the Universe

Astronomers have discovered a new Super-Earth planet that's nearly as old as the universe itself, but despite what the name might indicate, the words "Super Earth" only speak to the exoplanet's size as this new planet doesn't have many similarities to Earth. This new Super Earth is called TOI-561b and it's 50% larger than Earth, according to UC Riverside News. It orbits its star in less than half a day though, despite how much larger it is than Earth, which orbits its star, the Sun, every 365 days. TOI-561b is, all things considered, quite different from Earth, but the reason it's called a Super Earth is almost exclusively because of its size. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gorgeous-photos-of-earth-from-space&captions=true"] "Super-Earths — a class of planets unlike any in our solar system — are more massive than Earth yet lighter than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus, and can be made of gas, rock, or a combination of both," according to NASA's official definition of a Super Earth. "They are between twice the size of Earth and up to 10 times its mass. Super-Earth is a reference only to an exoplanet's size — larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune — but not suggesting they are necessarily similar to our home planet." UC Riverside planetary astrophysicist, Stephen Kane, said that for every day we spend on Earth, TOI-561b orbits its star twice. The reason for this quick orbit is due to the heat created by the planet's close proximity to the star it orbits. TOI-561b's temperature is over 2000 degrees Kelvin, which is obviously too hot for life as we know it to exist on the planet. The other reason for the speedy orbit is due to the planet's density, which is roughly the same as Earth's. "This is surprising because you'd expect the density to be higher," Kane said. "This is consistent with the notion that the planet is extremely old." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/08/scientist-says-object-that-flew-by-earth-could-have-been-made-by-aliens-ign-news"] The older a planet is, the less dense it generally is and that's because the materials that make a planet dense simply weren't as abundant the farther back in time you go. The materials that eventually form dense planets are heavy elements that are produced by fusion reactions in stars as they age, according to UC Riverside News. When stars explode, the elements are scattered outward and those elements form new stars and new planets. Because TOI-561b is not nearly as dense as expected, the astronomers that discovered the Super Earth believe it to be as old as the universe itself as at that point in time, heavy elements to create a more dense planet would not have been as readily available as less stars were exploding since they weren't as old. For more science, read about how the Earth is spinning faster than it has in 50 years and then check out this story about how the Moon is rusting. Read about how a space object that passed by Earth was likely from aliens after that, and then read this story about how researchers are trying to turn Mars green. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Hearthstone’s First Mini-Set Has Been Unveiled – See All 35 New Cards

The Hearthstone team today revealed the game’s first “mini-set” – The Darkmoon Races, which is a collection of 35 brand new cards that will be hitting the game on January 21 in NA (January 22 in Asia Pacific). Typically, the Hearthstone team releases three large sets of cards each year, with balance adjustments and special events in-between to help keep the game feeling fresh, so this mid-meta card injection represents a fresh approach. The cards feature mechanics from all three sets released during the Year of the Phoenix - Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy and Madness at the Darkmoon Faire – so that means more dual-class cards, dormant minions, spellburst effects and cards that can be corrupted. The set as a whole contains four legendaries, one epic, 14 rare and 16 common cards and you can see them all below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hearthstones-darkmoon-races-full-set&captions=true"] Once the set has been released, the cards will start showing up in Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs. Players can also, however, simply purchase the entire set as it will be available as a bundle for either $14.99 USD ($19.95 AUD) or 2000 gold. This will contain 66 cards in total - two copies of each common, rare and epic card, as well as one copy of each legendary card. The bundle will be in the Hearthstone shop until May 11. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/24/hearthstone-madness-at-the-darkmoon-faire-cinematic-trailer"] Elsewhere in the world of Blizzard, the Battle.net client has had its first major overhaul in eight years, and we had a hell of a good time with the Diablo Immortal technical alpha. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Cam Shea is IGN's AU Studio Lead and has a serious soft spot for rave era breakbeat . He also played more Breath of the Wild than any other game last year. Catch him on Twitter. Maybe.

Fortnite’s Latest Pop Culture Collaboration Is With Soccer Legend Pele

Fortnite's next collaboration brings in the world of Soccer to the battle royale game, and it includes a partnership with the soccer legend Pelé and outfits from some of the biggest clubs in the world. While the Kickoff Set of club outfits and Pelé's Air Punch Emote will be available to everyone on January 23, players will be able to participate in the Pelé Cup on January 20 for a chance to win both Pelé's emote and the Kickoff Set for free. Top scorers will also have a chance to win a customized signed shirt. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/19/fortnite-pel-air-punch-emote-trailer"] Much like the NFL outfits that were previously released for Fortnite, the Kickoff Set includes 10 variants of male and female outfits and each outfit can be swapped out for any of the 23 soccer clubs participating at any time. The full list includes;
  • Manchester City FC
  • Juventus
  • AC Milan
  • Inter Milan
  • AS Roma
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Atlanta United FC
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Santos FC
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
  • West Ham United FC
  • Sevilla FC
  • Sporting CP
  • Borussia Mönchengladbach
  • FC Schalke 04
  • VFL Wolfsburg
  • Rangers FC
  • Celtic FC
  • Cerezo Osaka
  • Melbourne City FC
  • Sydney GC
  • Western Sydney Wanderers
  • EC Bahia
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fortnite-football-club-kit-skins&captions=true"] In addition, there will also be a soccer-inspired Creative island featured in the Creative Hub that will see players use "their bodies, Pickaxes, power-ups, speed boosts and more to try to outscore their opponents and come out the winner in this 4v4 bracket style gamemode." Each game will last two rounds, with the winners advancing to face each out and the 3rd and 4th-placing teams facing each other in a consolation match. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Isaac Newton’s Notes Show He Was Obsessed With the Apocalypse

Best known for his theory of universal gravitation, Isaac Newton was one of the most famous scientists of his time. But he kept some of his ideas private and unpublished, including his work on alchemy, apocalypses, and Egypt’s Great Pyramid. Some of his notes on these topics were recently sold at auction for £378,000.

The notes date to around 1680, when Newton was looking for proof of his theory of gravity. “Today, these seem disparate areas of study–but they didn’t seem that way to Newton in the 17th century,” Gabriel Heaton, Sotheby’s manuscript specialist, told the Observer.

Newton believed the ancient Greeks knew how to correctly measure the circumference of the Earth. In the intervening centuries, humans had lost the knowledge of how to measure and what the stade represented, he thought. One measurement put the circumference at 400,000 stades, a unit he would need to convert to be of any use to his theory of gravity.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/19/mysterious-black-sarcophagus-finally-opened-in-egypt"]

Newton also wanted to understand the cubit, the measurement the Egyptians had used when building the Great Pyramid. He combed through ancient sources and studied John Greaves's Pyramidographia (1646), trying to calculate the size of bricks and dimensions of tunnels. The cubit would allow him to reconstruct, if only figuratively, Solomon’s Temple, supposedly the site of the apocalypse.

“An exact knowledge of the Temple's architecture and dimensions was therefore needed to correctly interpret the Bible's deep and hidden meanings,” according to Sotheby's auction listing for Newton’s notes.

Newton’s deep interest in alchemy didn’t become widely known until well after his death, when the Earl of Portsmouth bought his papers in 1936. In 2018, his “recipe” for making a philosopher’s stone went up for auction. "Newton was intensely interested in alchemy almost his whole life," James Voelkel, curator of rare books at Othmer Library of Chemical History, told The Washington Post in 2016. "These alchemical manuscripts consist of about a million words he wrote in his own hands."

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The notes that were sold are actually a little singed. The story is that Newton’s dog set them alight when he knocked a candle over – essentially the 17th-century version of “the dog ate my alchemy homework.”

If you're looking for more news on anything apocalypse-related, check out the heartbreaking secret behind Marvel's Apocalypse's Villainy, and pack up your treasure-hunting goods since National Treasure 3 is in development.

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Jenny McGrath is a science writer for IGN. She never tweets, but here she is @JennyMcGeez.