Before Biosphere 2, the Soviet BIOS-3 system tested semi-closed ecosystems

Built from 1965 to 1972, the habitat hosted 10 experiments with crews ranging from one to three individuals who had their air recycled by algae and grew their own wheat and vegetables. However, dried meats were routinely brought into the facility to balance crew members’ diets.

Biosphere 2 gradually transformed into a lab modeling environmental disasters

Built to establish a self-sustaining habitat, the privately funded facility was taken over by Columbia University in 1995. Closed-system experiments were halted in favor of investigations focused on the effects of climate change, which continued after B2 was donated to the University of Arizona in 2011.

'Plan 9 from Outer Space' gained an audience after it was trashed by critics

The science-fiction film went mostly unnoticed in its original theatrical run, often playing in double-features aimed at teenagers. It wasn't until 1980, when film critics Harry and Michael Medved dubbed it the "worst film ever made," that it began to attract a cult following. In 1994, Johnny Depp starred in a biopic about its director, Ed Wood.

Read a firsthand account of a participant in the first Biosphere 2 mission

The first crew of “Biospherians” spent four months growing their own wheat and awaiting the ripening of tomatoes, onions, and peppers to make their own pizza. They also raised their own livestock, including chickens, pigs, and two goats named Milky Way and Stardust.

As an experiment, the first B2 mission highlighted the challenges of isolated systems

Some argue that isolation from the outside world was compromised—making the experiment a failure—when a crew member was taken from Biosphere 2 for surgery and returned hours later. This position was strengthened when it was revealed that oxygen had been pumped into the facility.

Fans of 'The Room' love it for its (many) faults

The movie has bad acting, nonsensical dialogue, and a plot that doesn't add up. Still, its fans attend midnight screenings, recite its most famous lines, and even act out scenes in the aisles. Studies have found that fans are drawn to "trash cinema" like "The Room" for the same reason they're drawn to avant-garde works: because they flout mainstream standards.

Biosphere 2 is the largest Earth science experiment ever built

The vivarium—an enclosed system including animals and plants—is sealed from below with 454 metric tons of stainless steel liner and includes an ocean habitat with more than 700,000 gallons of seawater. B2 is visited by 100,000 people yearly, including more than 10,000 K-12 students.

During the first Biosphere 2 mission, crew members lost 16% of their body weight

Food and oxygen shortages drove the "Biospherians" to split into two factions—one seeking to bring in outside resources and another aiming to maintain isolation for the experiment's integrity. Psychological stress was exacerbated further by the increasing prevalence of insect pests.

Take a series of virtual tours of Biosphere 2

The videos provide a 360-degree view of the indoor rainforest, ocean ecosystem, Landscape Evolution Observatory, and underground technosphere. A Google Maps Street View option is available to explore additional biomes, with each associated with a different floor level on the bottom right.

Steve Bannon was made CEO of the company in charge of Biosphere 2 in 1994

After providing $200M to launch and upgrade B2 before its second mission, billionaire philanthropist Ed Bass appointed the future political strategist and then financial consultant to help find new investments and bring costs under control. Fearing interference from non-science experts, Biospherians from the first mission vandalized the project.

An artificial ‘lung’ protects the glass structures making up Biosphere 2

Although confined from much of the surrounding environment, B2 allows sunlight to enter, enabling its plants to engage in photosynthesis. Expansion chambers were built to protect the facility's integrity by managing changes in gas pressure resulting from temperature fluctuations.

Biological terraforming studies have been conducted at Biosphere 2

The experiments involve populating barren hillslopes within the Landscape Evolution Observatory with microbes that react with air and rock to produce molecules needed by more complex organisms. Mosses and other simple plants can then grow in these spaces, gradually making them more hospitable to humans.

An original review of the 1987 parody 'Spaceballs'

On June 24, 1987, Mel Brooks launched "Spaceballs" in theaters—a comedy starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, and Rick Moranis that spoofed the "Star Wars" trilogy and sci-fi tropes in general. The movie has remained a cult classic ever since. Read the Hollywood Reporter's original review of the film here.

'Idiocracy' film clad extras in Crocs for cheap, unintelligent look

Lore around the 2006 film—imagining a future where the not-so-smart have taken over—arose that the "dumb" extras were given Crocs to wear (before they were popular). Movie makers attest it's true: at the time, they were cheap and looked futuristic and odd to contemporary tastes.

Exposed concrete led to oxygen depletion within Biosphere 2

Instead of being absorbed by plants through photosynthesis to produce oxygen, significant amounts of carbon dioxide were taken up by the calcium hydroxide in the concrete, trapping the oxygen in calcium carbonate and water. This concrete was sealed before the start of the second B2 mission.

Biosphere 2 revealed limitations in maintaining wildlife in unfamiliar environments

Trees appeared to become weak and more prone to breaking because a lack of wind caused them to no longer need to develop stress wood. The extinction of pollinators—potentially due to an explosion in the population of longhorn crazy ants—was also unexpected.

'The Shawshank Redemption' flopped in theaters

The Tim Robbins movie, based on Stephen King's short story "The Body," did poorly at the box office when released in 1994. It took off on the video rental market, though, after it was nominated for seven Oscars.

'Barbenheimer' resulted in a historic box-office event

The cultural sensation that erupted when Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" shared an opening night was something that no one could have predicted. "Barbenheimer," as the pairing was called, became a semiserious litmus test for relationships: Who wanted to see which film, and in what order? The viral moment led to box-office gold for both movies, as well as a few Oscars.

Many critically panned cult classics did well at the box office

Franchise flops like 1997's "Batman & Robin," 1983's "Jaws 3-D," and 2015's "Fantastic Four" were panned, though that didn't stop them from selling hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets.

A basement of mechanical systems—collectively called the technosphere—supports B2

Twenty-six underground air handlers heat, cool, filter and manage the humidity of the air across the biomes of Biosphere 2. The above-ground Energy Center complex provides continuous power to these and other systems, including heating and cooling water for laboratory experiments and personal use.

The greatest satirical films of all time

This list of satires from the silver screen runs the gamut: There’s a send-up of the music industry (“This is Spinal Tap”), a zombie-filled treatise on consumerism (“Dawn of the Dead”), and an oft-misunderstood analysis of masculinity (“Fight Club”), among several other classic critiques.

A prototype greenhouse for Biosphere 2 is now part of a test habitat for Mars

The Space Analog for the Moon and Mars combines the Test Module greenhouse with a workshop, kitchen, common area, sleeping quarters, and a yard that mimics lunar and Martian surfaces. A blind crew member in SAM’s first mission, Inclusion I, helped assess accessibility in potential future space habitats.

'Harold and Maude' became a cult classic thanks to a one-screen theater in Minnesota that featured the film for two years straight.

In 1980, Steven Spielberg added a scene depicting the interior of an alien spaceship to a rerelease of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' at the studio's request, but later regretted the decision, believing it depleted the movie's enchanting mystery.

Joaquin Phoenix's bizarre 2009 interview on Letterman was part of an elaborate performance

The actor appeared humorless and pouty in the late-night appearance. Host Dave Letterman seemed put off by his guest's behavior, but poked fun at him throughout the interview. Phoenix later returned and revealed he was playing a part in a mockumentary called "I’m Still Here," which satirized celebrity culture.

Movies that killed these 17 actors' careers

Hollywood's history is checkered with flubs and successes, and many actors have suffered from portraying specific roles, even if the films were successful. This list goes into 17 acting careers that took a nosedive after a specific role, including Elizabeth Berkley in "Showgirls" and Sofia Coppola in "The Godfather: Part III." Read the rest here.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

Existential dread still informs popular comedies

Although the Theater of the Absurd was primarily a 20th-century trend, a similar kind of existentialist-minded comedy still exists in popular culture. Films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and television shows like “BoJack Horseman” tackle the same issues that existentialist thinkers like Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus explored, transforming those profound questions into thought-provoking and crowd-pleasing works of comedy.

The studio behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled its promotion before the film's national release, looking to cut its losses.

The crypto city home to biohacking experiments

The DIY nature of biohacking gives the work an entrepreneurial feel, as seen by the emergence of community labs, at-home testing kits, and corporation-backed cities that don't necessarily require government-approved testing standards. Próspera, Honduras, created by a business of the same (first) name, was born from legislation that allowed international businesses to shave off a slice of the country to establish their own micronations.

Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, the stars of 'Casablanca,' bonded over how little they thought of 'Casablanca.'

Watch an episode of 'Ray Bradbury Theater,' the sci-fi writer's '80s HBO show, starring a young Jeff Goldblum.

Philip Glass composed music for the 1998 film 'The Truman Show,' and even briefly appeared in it.

'The Big Lebowski' slowly spawned a cult following—and a religion

When it was released in 1998, the Coen brothers' film didn't garner overwhelming critical praise or generate impressive ticket sales. Over time, though, it's become one of the defining cult movies, with midnight showings where audience members dress as Jeff Bridges' "Dude" and drink White Russians. It's even spawned its own religion: dudeism.

'SNL' spinoffs have had mixed success

As “SNL” became more popular, Lorne Michaels sensed an opportunity to turn some of the show’s most popular sketches and characters into feature films. It’s a strategy that had mixed results: “Wayne’s World” and “The Blues Brothers” are modern classics, while others, like “It’s Pat” and “The Ladies Man,” performed poorly with audiences and critics alike.

'Jaws' creators regret making sharks the monsters

Both Peter Benchley, the author of the original 1974 novel, and Steven Spielberg, the director of the blockbuster film based on it, acknowledge that the film's popularity has led to the stigmatization of the mostly harmless creatures.

The cult of 'Rocky Horror' has its own rituals

The movie was initially a commercial failure, but it began amassing a loyal following through midnight showings, where audience members dressed as their favorite characters and acted out scenes from the movie in the aisles—a tradition that continues to this day.