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Scrabble's tiny words can unlock much bigger scores.
Scrabble's tiny words can unlock much bigger scores. Knowing legal two-letter words lets a player build alongside an existing word and score several short…
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Heated water can actually freeze faster than cold water under certain highly specific and intensely debated thermal conditions known as the Mpemba effect.
Heated water can actually freeze faster than cold water under certain highly specific and intensely debated thermal conditions known as the Mpemba effect. The…
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Flights traveling from east to west consistently take longer than the same routes flown west to east because of high-altitude winds known as jet streams.
Flights traveling from east to west consistently take longer than the same routes flown west to east because of high-altitude winds known as jet streams.…
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British Petroleum hired the massive public relations firm Ogilvy and Mather in two thousand four to aggressively popularize the concept of a personal carbon footprint to shift the blame for climate change.
British Petroleum hired the massive public relations firm Ogilvy and Mather in two thousand four to aggressively popularize the concept of a personal carbon…
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The capsule hotel turned a hotel room into just its sleeping part.
The capsule hotel turned a hotel room into just its sleeping part. Capsule Inn Osaka opened in 1979 with compact pods designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa.…
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Portal turned a promised cake into a warning about trust.
Portal turned a promised cake into a warning about trust. GLaDOS offers cake as a reward while the test chambers reveal reasons to distrust her. The wall…
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Retired science teacher Irv Gordon holds the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage after driving his red Volvo P1800 for more than three million miles before his passing.
Retired science teacher Irv Gordon holds the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage after driving his red Volvo P1800 for more than three…
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Australia's extinct gastric-brooding frogs raised their young in their stomachs.
Australia's extinct gastric-brooding frogs raised their young in their stomachs. The mother swallowed the eggs, and developing offspring suppressed the…
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Zarathustra, the ancient Persian mystic, founded Zoroastrianism, which is considered one of the world's oldest continuously practiced monotheistic religions.
Zarathustra, the ancient Persian mystic, founded Zoroastrianism, which is considered one of the world's oldest continuously practiced monotheistic religions.…
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Sean Bean's downward glances helped hide a dialogue prompt.
Sean Bean's downward glances helped hide a dialogue prompt. He reportedly kept revised lines near his knee during the Council of Elrond scene. Looking down…
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Minecraft can make an empty cave sound occupied.
Minecraft can make an empty cave sound occupied. Its cave ambience can trigger around suitably dark spaces without an enemy making the noise. A disturbing…
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Buying a car directly from its maker can run into a legal roadblock.
Buying a car directly from its maker can run into a legal roadblock. Some U.S. states restrict manufacturers from selling directly to consumers, protecting…
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Female bedbugs evolved an organ for a brutal form of mating.
Female bedbugs evolved an organ for a brutal form of mating. Male bedbugs pierce the female's body wall to inseminate her. A specialized structure called the…
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Male ducks have explosively uncoiling corkscrew-shaped penises, while female ducks have evolved complex, labyrinth-like vaginas with dead ends and reverse spirals to defend themselves against unwanted mating.
Male ducks have explosively uncoiling corkscrew-shaped penises, while female ducks have evolved complex, labyrinth-like vaginas with dead ends and reverse…
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Commercial banks literally conjure new money out of thin air through a magical process called fractional reserve banking every time they approve a loan.
Commercial banks literally conjure new money out of thin air through a magical process called fractional reserve banking every time they approve a loan. A…
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Stranger Things built its nightmare wall from disturbingly real references.
Stranger Things built its nightmare wall from disturbingly real references. For season five, ILM studied tendons, veins, and other biological textures to…
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Some vultures cool themselves by coating their legs in their own droppings.
Some vultures cool themselves by coating their legs in their own droppings. As the liquid evaporates, it carries heat away from blood flowing near the skin.…
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Whales lost their walking legs but kept a use for the pelvis.
Whales lost their walking legs but kept a use for the pelvis. Their small pelvic bones anchor muscles involved in reproduction. A 2014 study linked…
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Ichneumon wasps reproduce by injecting their eggs directly into the bodies of living caterpillars, ensuring their offspring have a warm, fleshy buffet the moment they hatch.
Ichneumon wasps reproduce by injecting their eggs directly into the bodies of living caterpillars, ensuring their offspring have a warm, fleshy buffet the…
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The Dalek's alien shell had to fit a seated human.
The Dalek's alien shell had to fit a seated human. Raymond Cusick designed Doctor Who's familiar prop around the practical need to hide an operator inside.…
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Shamanism is one of the oldest mystical practices in human history, involving a practitioner entering an altered state of consciousness to interact directly with the spirit world.
Shamanism is one of the oldest mystical practices in human history, involving a practitioner entering an altered state of consciousness to interact directly…
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Pixar accidentally deleted almost the entirety of Toy Story 2 from their central servers during production because an anonymous employee typed a single flawed command code into the system.
Pixar accidentally deleted almost the entirety of Toy Story 2 from their central servers during production because an anonymous employee typed a single flawed…
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A derivative’s huge headline number is not its price.
A derivative’s huge headline number is not its price. Notional value is the reference amount used to calculate payments on a contract. In an interest-rate…
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Numerology is the mystical belief that numbers carry divine vibrational frequencies, requiring you to convert your name into a mathematical value to understand your true cosmic purpose.
Numerology is the mystical belief that numbers carry divine vibrational frequencies, requiring you to convert your name into a mathematical value to…
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