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Oxygen is actually a highly toxic, corrosive gas that slowly degrades our cells over time, leading to the physical deterioration we recognize as aging.
Science

Oxygen is actually a highly toxic, corrosive gas that slowly degrades our cells over time, leading to the physical deterioration we recognize as aging.

Oxygen is actually a highly toxic, corrosive gas that slowly degrades our cells over time, leading to the physical deterioration we recognize as aging. It…

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Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan, was the incredibly powerful chief mistress of King Louis the Fourteenth who reportedly…
Myths & mysteries

Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan, was the incredibly powerful chief mistress of King Louis the Fourteenth who reportedly…

Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan, was the incredibly powerful chief mistress of King Louis the Fourteenth…

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Eyelid myokymia is the involuntary spasming of your orbicularis oculi muscle, typically brought on by chronic sleep deprivation, massive caffeine consumption, or overwhelming psychological stress.
Health

Eyelid myokymia is the involuntary spasming of your orbicularis oculi muscle, typically brought on by chronic sleep deprivation, massive caffeine consumption, or overwhelming psychological stress.

Eyelid myokymia is the involuntary spasming of your orbicularis oculi muscle, typically brought on by chronic sleep deprivation, massive caffeine consumption,…

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Pruritus, the medical term for an itch, utilizes the exact same unmyelinated nerve fibers that transmit pain signals, operating as a low-level irritation to warn you of parasites or toxic plants.
Health

Pruritus, the medical term for an itch, utilizes the exact same unmyelinated nerve fibers that transmit pain signals, operating as a low-level irritation to warn you of parasites or toxic plants.

Pruritus, the medical term for an itch, utilizes the exact same unmyelinated nerve fibers that transmit pain signals, operating as a low-level irritation to…

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Sega originally stood for Service Games, a company founded in Hawaii in 1940 to provide coin-operated amusement machines to military bases during the Second World War.
Games

Sega originally stood for Service Games, a company founded in Hawaii in 1940 to provide coin-operated amusement machines to military bases during the Second World War.

Sega originally stood for Service Games, a company founded in Hawaii in 1940 to provide coin-operated amusement machines to military bases during the Second…

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Director Ridley Scott kept the cast of the 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien completely in the dark about the details of the infamous chestburster scene, neglecting to mention that…
Culture & entertainment

Director Ridley Scott kept the cast of the 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien completely in the dark about the details of the infamous chestburster scene, neglecting to mention that…

Director Ridley Scott kept the cast of the 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien completely in the dark about the details of the infamous chestburster scene,…

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Ticks can survive literally being washed in a washing machine and dried in a tumble dryer on the hottest setting, proving they are virtually indestructible demons.
Science

Ticks can survive literally being washed in a washing machine and dried in a tumble dryer on the hottest setting, proving they are virtually indestructible demons.

Ticks can survive literally being washed in a washing machine and dried in a tumble dryer on the hottest setting, proving they are virtually indestructible…

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Walmart generates such a staggering amount of annual revenue that if the massive retail corporation were recognized as an independent sovereign nation, it would boast a gross…
Economy

Walmart generates such a staggering amount of annual revenue that if the massive retail corporation were recognized as an independent sovereign nation, it would boast a gross…

Walmart generates such a staggering amount of annual revenue that if the massive retail corporation were recognized as an independent sovereign nation, it…

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Prop makers for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy crafted a giant, six-inch version of the One Ring just to film extreme close-up shots so they could avoid dealing with the annoying physics of macro photography.
Culture & entertainment

Prop makers for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy crafted a giant, six-inch version of the One Ring just to film extreme close-up shots so they could avoid dealing with the annoying physics of macro photography.

Prop makers for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy crafted a giant, six-inch version of the One Ring just to film extreme close-up shots so they could avoid…

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Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider-Waite tarot deck in nineteen hundred and nine, deliberately designing it to be the first deck where every single…
Myths & mysteries

Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider-Waite tarot deck in nineteen hundred and nine, deliberately designing it to be the first deck where every single…

Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider-Waite tarot deck in nineteen hundred and nine, deliberately designing it to be the first deck…

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Commuting to work on a motorcycle is statistically far more dangerous than recreational skydiving, mostly because gravity is a predictable constant while distracted drivers in minivans are agents of sheer chaos.
Transport

Commuting to work on a motorcycle is statistically far more dangerous than recreational skydiving, mostly because gravity is a predictable constant while distracted drivers in minivans are agents of sheer chaos.

Commuting to work on a motorcycle is statistically far more dangerous than recreational skydiving, mostly because gravity is a predictable constant while…

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Spyro the dragon was originally conceptualized as a green reptile during his early development phase for the original PlayStation.
Games

Spyro the dragon was originally conceptualized as a green reptile during his early development phase for the original PlayStation.

Spyro the dragon was originally conceptualized as a green reptile during his early development phase for the original PlayStation. The developers at Insomniac…

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First commercial antivirus software was created in 1987 in response to a virus named Brain, which was actually written by two brothers in Pakistan just to track pirated copies of their medical software.
Technology

First commercial antivirus software was created in 1987 in response to a virus named Brain, which was actually written by two brothers in Pakistan just to track pirated copies of their medical software.

First commercial antivirus software was created in 1987 in response to a virus named Brain, which was actually written by two brothers in Pakistan just to…

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Ants leave behind a pheromone trail when they find food, but if that chemical trail accidentally loops back on itself, they will march in a circle until they die.
Science

Ants leave behind a pheromone trail when they find food, but if that chemical trail accidentally loops back on itself, they will march in a circle until they die.

Ants leave behind a pheromone trail when they find food, but if that chemical trail accidentally loops back on itself, they will march in a circle until they…

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Othello error occurs when a suspicious observer discounts cues of truthfulness and falsely assumes that an anxious subject is lying.
Psychology

Othello error occurs when a suspicious observer discounts cues of truthfulness and falsely assumes that an anxious subject is lying.

Othello error occurs when a suspicious observer discounts cues of truthfulness and falsely assumes that an anxious subject is lying. Named after Shakespeare's…

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Chewing your food thoroughly increases the production of hormones linked to satiety and reduces the total amount of calories you consume during a meal.
Health

Chewing your food thoroughly increases the production of hormones linked to satiety and reduces the total amount of calories you consume during a meal.

Chewing your food thoroughly increases the production of hormones linked to satiety and reduces the total amount of calories you consume during a meal. The…

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Inflight coffee and tea are traditionally brewed using the airplane's internal water tanks, which are notoriously difficult to clean and frequently test positive for various delightful strains of coliform bacteria.
Travel

Inflight coffee and tea are traditionally brewed using the airplane's internal water tanks, which are notoriously difficult to clean and frequently test positive for various delightful strains of coliform bacteria.

Inflight coffee and tea are traditionally brewed using the airplane's internal water tanks, which are notoriously difficult to clean and frequently test…

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Blue Lagoon in Iceland is completely artificial and is literally just the industrial runoff water from the adjacent Svartsengi geothermal power plant, despite being marketed as a mystical natural healing wonder.
Travel

Blue Lagoon in Iceland is completely artificial and is literally just the industrial runoff water from the adjacent Svartsengi geothermal power plant, despite being marketed as a mystical natural healing wonder.

Blue Lagoon in Iceland is completely artificial and is literally just the industrial runoff water from the adjacent Svartsengi geothermal power plant, despite…

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Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth century that featured massive, ice-covered wooden slides.
Transport

Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth century that featured massive, ice-covered wooden slides.

Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth…

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John Cleves Symmes Jr.
Myths & mysteries

John Cleves Symmes Jr.

John Cleves Symmes Jr. passionately campaigned in the early nineteenth century for the Hollow Earth theory, claiming the planet was a series of concentric…

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Poker's legendary 'Dead Man's Hand,' consisting of a two-pair of black aces and black eights, earned its ominous title because it was allegedly the exact hand held by Old West…
Games

Poker's legendary 'Dead Man's Hand,' consisting of a two-pair of black aces and black eights, earned its ominous title because it was allegedly the exact hand held by Old West…

Poker's legendary 'Dead Man's Hand,' consisting of a two-pair of black aces and black eights, earned its ominous title because it was allegedly the exact hand…

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Tiny sensory hair cells inside your inner ear known as stereocilia bend in response to sound waves and convert those vibrations into electrical signals for your brain, but humans…
Health

Tiny sensory hair cells inside your inner ear known as stereocilia bend in response to sound waves and convert those vibrations into electrical signals for your brain, but humans…

Tiny sensory hair cells inside your inner ear known as stereocilia bend in response to sound waves and convert those vibrations into electrical signals for…

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Sister Mary Kenneth Keller became the first person in the United States to earn a doctorate in computer science in 1965, seamlessly balancing her strict Catholic vows with writing complex mathematical code.
Technology

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller became the first person in the United States to earn a doctorate in computer science in 1965, seamlessly balancing her strict Catholic vows with writing complex mathematical code.

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller became the first person in the United States to earn a doctorate in computer science in 1965, seamlessly balancing her strict…

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Seattle boasts a futuristic monorail system that was constructed for the 1962 World's Fair, heavily promoted as the absolute future of rapid, frictionless urban transit that would forever solve traffic congestion.
Transport

Seattle boasts a futuristic monorail system that was constructed for the 1962 World's Fair, heavily promoted as the absolute future of rapid, frictionless urban transit that would forever solve traffic congestion.

Seattle boasts a futuristic monorail system that was constructed for the 1962 World's Fair, heavily promoted as the absolute future of rapid, frictionless…

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