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Edgar Allan Poe deliberately broke West Point’s rules to get himself expelled.
Edgar Allan Poe deliberately broke West Point’s rules to get himself expelled. After serving in the Army under the name Edgar A. Perry, he entered the academy…
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Airport currency exchange kiosks are basically legalized extortion disguised as a helpful travel convenience, offering exchange rates so catastrophically bad they would be…
Airport currency exchange kiosks are basically legalized extortion disguised as a helpful travel convenience, offering exchange rates so catastrophically bad…
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A wombat's pouch opens away from the dirt it digs.
A wombat's pouch opens away from the dirt it digs. The opening faces toward the rear, helping keep excavated soil away from the young inside. Koalas, their…
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Neurological wiring in some individuals gets wildly crossed in a condition called synesthesia, causing them to physically taste words, see music as vibrant colors, or associate…
Neurological wiring in some individuals gets wildly crossed in a condition called synesthesia, causing them to physically taste words, see music as vibrant…
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An aircraft crew can restrain a passenger who threatens safety.
An aircraft crew can restrain a passenger who threatens safety. International aviation rules allow necessary, reasonable restraint to protect the aircraft or…
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Harrison Ford shot the legendary scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones casually shoots a flashy sword-wielding assassin because the actor was suffering from a…
Harrison Ford shot the legendary scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones casually shoots a flashy sword-wielding assassin because the actor was…
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The biggest lottery prize can distract from the rest of the odds.
The biggest lottery prize can distract from the rest of the odds. Researchers studying state lotteries found that sales reacted to changes in the jackpot but…
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Bananas bend upward while the bunch stays hanging.
Bananas bend upward while the bunch stays hanging. Young fruit starts out pointing down and curves as it develops, growing against gravity. The stem does not…
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A growling stomach is the sound of moving plumbing.
A growling stomach is the sound of moving plumbing. Muscles squeeze gas and liquid through your digestive tract, creating the rumbles called borborygmi. Food…
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Your little finger contributes much more to a strong grip than its size suggests.
Your little finger contributes much more to a strong grip than its size suggests. Together with the ring finger, it helps wrap the hand around a handle and…
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An airplane brace position gives your body less room to crash.
An airplane brace position gives your body less room to crash. A sudden stop does not stop your head and limbs at the same instant. Bracing puts them in a…
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Keanu Reeves was so desperate to get his canine co-star to jump on his face during the morning routine sequence in the original John Wick that the crew literally had to smear…
Keanu Reeves was so desperate to get his canine co-star to jump on his face during the morning routine sequence in the original John Wick that the crew…
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Nokia's legendary default ringtone, which dominated the soundscape of the early 2000s and haunted theaters and restaurants globally, is actually a tiny snippet of a classical…
Nokia's legendary default ringtone, which dominated the soundscape of the early 2000s and haunted theaters and restaurants globally, is actually a tiny…
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Walt Disney recalled taming a studio mouse before creating Mickey.
Walt Disney recalled taming a studio mouse before creating Mickey. At his struggling Laugh-O-gram studio in Kansas City, Disney said he fed mice that visited…
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Dromedary camels are exceptionally designed biological transport vehicles capable of drinking up to forty gallons of water in a single sitting and carrying heavy cargo across unforgiving deserts.
Dromedary camels are exceptionally designed biological transport vehicles capable of drinking up to forty gallons of water in a single sitting and carrying…
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Your nose turns down smells that stay around.
Your nose turns down smells that stay around. With continued exposure, responses in the smell system diminish and a familiar odor becomes less noticeable. The…
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Jack Dorsey published the very first message on the platform that would become Twitter in 2006, simply typing the phrase just setting up my twttr into the digital void.
Jack Dorsey published the very first message on the platform that would become Twitter in 2006, simply typing the phrase just setting up my twttr into the…
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Aghori ascetics of India follow a deeply hardcore mystical path where they literally smear themselves in the ashes of the dead and use human skulls as drinking bowls to prove their spiritual superiority.
Aghori ascetics of India follow a deeply hardcore mystical path where they literally smear themselves in the ashes of the dead and use human skulls as…
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Consumer electronics manufacturers in the 1980s made the programming interface for video cassette recorders so unnecessarily complicated that a blinking twelve o'clock became a global symbol of technological defeat.
Consumer electronics manufacturers in the 1980s made the programming interface for video cassette recorders so unnecessarily complicated that a blinking…
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A Toronto lawyer’s 1926 will turned an inheritance into a ten-year childbirth contest.
A Toronto lawyer’s 1926 will turned an inheritance into a ten-year childbirth contest. Charles Vance Millar left the residue of his estate to the local woman…
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The shortest flight can look like a detour on your screen.
The shortest flight can look like a detour on your screen. A great-circle route follows a globe, while a seatback map flattens that globe. The resulting curve…
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Tulpas originated in Tibetan Buddhist mysticism as incredibly advanced meditative constructs where a practitioner focuses so intensely on an imagined entity that it actually gains physical form and independent sentience.
Tulpas originated in Tibetan Buddhist mysticism as incredibly advanced meditative constructs where a practitioner focuses so intensely on an imagined entity…
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Unicycles are statistically one of the least practical modes of transportation in existence, yet a niche community of aggressive urban hipsters insists on using them to commute through modern city traffic.
Unicycles are statistically one of the least practical modes of transportation in existence, yet a niche community of aggressive urban hipsters insists on…
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Tsutomu Yamaguchi holds the incredibly dark historical distinction of officially surviving both atomic bombings in Japan during World War II, basically making him the unluckiest lucky man alive.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi holds the incredibly dark historical distinction of officially surviving both atomic bombings in Japan during World War II, basically making…
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