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Spartan sobriety lessons could depend on forced drunkenness.
Spartan sobriety lessons could depend on forced drunkenness. Plutarch describes Spartans making enslaved helots drink heavily, then displaying them to young…
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Vatican guards aggressively enforce a strict ban on photography and filming inside the Sistine Chapel, constantly shouting at tourists to put their phones away and respect the overwhelming sanctity of the sacred space.
Vatican guards aggressively enforce a strict ban on photography and filming inside the Sistine Chapel, constantly shouting at tourists to put their phones…
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Human skin is completely covered in invisible, alternating stripes and swirling patterns known as Blaschko's lines, which follow the paths of our embryonic cell migration.
Human skin is completely covered in invisible, alternating stripes and swirling patterns known as Blaschko's lines, which follow the paths of our embryonic…
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Naked mole-rats survived 18 minutes without oxygen in a lab.
Naked mole-rats survived 18 minutes without oxygen in a lab. In a 2017 experiment, the animals recovered after complete oxygen deprivation that would quickly…
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A sweet taste in urine became a clue to diabetes.
A sweet taste in urine became a clue to diabetes. In 1674, physician Thomas Willis described some patients' urine as tasting like sugar or honey. Excess…
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One of history's earliest documented strikes began when Egyptian tomb workers did not receive their grain rations.
One of history's earliest documented strikes began when Egyptian tomb workers did not receive their grain rations. During Ramses III's reign, workers from…
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The cellphone's inventor wanted a Dick Tracy wrist radio.
The cellphone's inventor wanted a Dick Tracy wrist radio. Martin Cooper has pointed to the comic-strip detective's wrist communicator when discussing the…
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Bermuda wrote restaurant branding into a law.
Bermuda wrote restaurant branding into a law. Its 1997 Prohibited Restaurant Act defined restricted restaurants partly by features suggesting a relationship…
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Some claw machines let the operator set how hard the claw grips.
Some claw machines let the operator set how hard the claw grips. Adjustable grip strength can make a toy easy to lift but hard to hold until a machine's…
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A legal threat helped turn D&D's hobbits into halflings.
A legal threat helped turn D&D's hobbits into halflings. Early Dungeons & Dragons used names from Tolkien's fiction. In 1977, a cease-and-desist demand from…
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American stop signs were yellow before red became the standard.
American stop signs were yellow before red became the standard. Durable red finishes helped make the switch practical in the 1950s, and the U.S. standard…
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Wedding industry vendors operate on a remarkably blatant form of price gouging known as the 'wedding markup', where they aggressively inflate the exact same services by up to…
Wedding industry vendors operate on a remarkably blatant form of price gouging known as the 'wedding markup', where they aggressively inflate the exact same…
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Planning fallacy is a phenomenon in which predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimism bias and underestimate the time needed,…
Planning fallacy is a phenomenon in which predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimism bias and underestimate…
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Pumbaa from the Lion King holds the distinguished cinematic honor of being the first character to fart on screen in a Disney animated feature.
Pumbaa from the Lion King holds the distinguished cinematic honor of being the first character to fart on screen in a Disney animated feature. The moment came…
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Your suitcase can fill up with trips you never take.
Your suitcase can fill up with trips you never take. Packing invites a chain of 'what ifs': what if there's a formal dinner, a sudden workout, or unexpected…
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Michael Jackson's Simpsons character had someone else's singing voice.
Michael Jackson's Simpsons character had someone else's singing voice. Jackson supplied the spoken voice of Leon Kompowsky in Stark Raving Dad, credited under…
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Mary Todd Lincoln held multiple seances in the White House during the American Civil War in a desperate, grief-stricken attempt to contact her young son Willie after he died of typhoid fever.
Mary Todd Lincoln held multiple seances in the White House during the American Civil War in a desperate, grief-stricken attempt to contact her young son…
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The brain processes pain without feeling pain in its own tissue.
The brain processes pain without feeling pain in its own tissue. Brain tissue lacks the pain-sensing nerve endings found in many other parts of the body. The…
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Your nose and ears can change shape long after childhood growth ends.
Your nose and ears can change shape long after childhood growth ends. Aging changes skin, connective tissue and support structures, allowing parts of the face…
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Ewan McGregor couldn't resist supplying his own lightsaber noises.
Ewan McGregor couldn't resist supplying his own lightsaber noises. Asked about making the sounds during rehearsals and fights, he described the habit as…
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Cleopatra actually lived closer in time to the release of the first iPhone than she did to the construction of the Great Pyramid.
Cleopatra actually lived closer in time to the release of the first iPhone than she did to the construction of the Great Pyramid. The pyramid was completed…
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Stephen King directed a movie about trucks turning murderous.
Stephen King directed a movie about trucks turning murderous. Maximum Overdrive, released in 1986, adapted his story Trucks and remains his only feature as…
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The bumps on F and J let your fingers find home without looking.
The bumps on F and J let your fingers find home without looking. Touch typists place their index fingers on those two keys, then arrange the remaining fingers…
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London Eye began as a temporary attraction for the new millennium, but it proved so immensely lucrative that the city decided to keep it forever. Each ride lasts half an hour in a glass pod.
London Eye began as a temporary attraction for the new millennium, but it proved so immensely lucrative that the city decided to keep it forever. Each ride…
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