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A bee’s tiny hairs can pick up a flower’s electric field.
A bee’s tiny hairs can pick up a flower’s electric field. Researchers found that weak electric fields move the hairs on a bumblebee’s body and trigger nerve…
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Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny teamed up in ads before Space Jam.
Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny teamed up in ads before Space Jam. Nike's Hare Jordan campaign paired them in the early 1990s. Their live-action-and-animation…
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Your hotel key may contain a chip instead of a magnetic stripe.
Your hotel key may contain a chip instead of a magnetic stripe. Hotels use several credential types, including magnetic-stripe cards, contactless RFID cards,…
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Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa was a Renaissance occultist who wrote massive, deeply influential textbooks on magic but spent his final years desperately claiming that all magic was actually completely useless.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa was a Renaissance occultist who wrote massive, deeply influential textbooks on magic but spent his final years desperately claiming…
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Michelle Rodriguez needed a driver's license before playing a street racer.
Michelle Rodriguez needed a driver's license before playing a street racer. She has recalled getting her license and attending racing school for The Fast and…
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Lake Hillier's pink water contains a community of pigment-making microbes.
Lake Hillier's pink water contains a community of pigment-making microbes. A 2022 microbiome study found salt-loving organisms with genes associated with…
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Dion Fortune was a prominent British occultist who aggressively claimed she fought a massive, entirely invisible psychic war against Nazi Germany from the comfort of her London living room.
Dion Fortune was a prominent British occultist who aggressively claimed she fought a massive, entirely invisible psychic war against Nazi Germany from the…
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Takeout demand created a shortage of ketchup packets.
Takeout demand created a shortage of ketchup packets. During the pandemic, meals that once used a shared bottle at a table increasingly needed individually…
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First piece of artificial intelligence artwork to ever sell at a major auction was a blurry portrait called Edmond de Belamy, and it went for nearly half a million dollars in 2018.
First piece of artificial intelligence artwork to ever sell at a major auction was a blurry portrait called Edmond de Belamy, and it went for nearly half a…
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Some female turkeys can produce offspring from eggs that were never fertilized.
Some female turkeys can produce offspring from eggs that were never fertilized. This rare process, parthenogenesis, uses only the mother's genetic material,…
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Marlon Brando was paid a record-breaking 3.7 million dollars and a percentage of the profits for his brief role as Jor-El in the 1978 Superman movie, despite absolutely refusing to memorize a single line of his dialogue.
Marlon Brando was paid a record-breaking 3.7 million dollars and a percentage of the profits for his brief role as Jor-El in the 1978 Superman movie, despite…
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Amazon Alexa was inspired by the conversational computer systems featured in the original Star Trek television series, aiming to create an omnipresent ambient intelligence for the home.
Amazon Alexa was inspired by the conversational computer systems featured in the original Star Trek television series, aiming to create an omnipresent ambient…
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Some oysters change which sex cells they produce.
Some oysters change which sex cells they produce. In sequential hermaphroditic species, an oyster can produce sperm during one phase and eggs during another.…
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The Pinto recall addressed what happened to its fuel tank in a crash.
The Pinto recall addressed what happened to its fuel tank in a crash. A rear impact could damage the fuel system and release gasoline, creating a fire risk.…
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A cockroach's head is not its only control center.
A cockroach's head is not its only control center. Insects breathe through openings along the body, and nerve centers outside the head control many movements.…
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An EVE Online bank suffered a very real-looking financial crisis.
An EVE Online bank suffered a very real-looking financial crisis. In 2009, the player-run EBANK froze withdrawals after theft, bad loans, and accounting…
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Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson cast actor Christopher Lee as the wizard Saruman, but quickly discovered that the veteran actor needed absolutely no direction on how to…
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson cast actor Christopher Lee as the wizard Saruman, but quickly discovered that the veteran actor needed absolutely no…
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Automotive safety engineers used actual human cadavers as the very first crash test dummies in the 1930s, tossing lifeless bodies down elevator shafts and crashing them into walls to study blunt force trauma.
Automotive safety engineers used actual human cadavers as the very first crash test dummies in the 1930s, tossing lifeless bodies down elevator shafts and…
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Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta has somehow maintained its miserable status as the busiest airport in the entire world for over two decades, processing more…
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta has somehow maintained its miserable status as the busiest airport in the entire world for over two…
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Desperately popularizing the depressing modern concept of a staycation during the 2008 financial crisis happened when consumers literally could not afford to buy plane tickets for a real getaway!
Desperately popularizing the depressing modern concept of a staycation during the 2008 financial crisis happened when consumers literally could not afford to…
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The pogo stick's spring does the saving between jumps.
The pogo stick's spring does the saving between jumps. A rider compresses the spring while descending, storing energy that helps launch the next hop. Max…
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Half-Life was revolutionary in 1998 for telling its entire narrative strictly from a first-person perspective without ever taking control away from the player with cutscenes.
Half-Life was revolutionary in 1998 for telling its entire narrative strictly from a first-person perspective without ever taking control away from the player…
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An early roller-skating story ends in a shattered mirror.
An early roller-skating story ends in a shattered mirror. The Science Museum recounts Joseph Merlin's dramatic 1760 entrance to a masquerade party on skates…
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Witch marks were considered undeniable, damning evidence of a mystical pact with the devil during medieval trials, but in reality, they were literally just ordinary moles, skin tags, or weird freckles.
Witch marks were considered undeniable, damning evidence of a mystical pact with the devil during medieval trials, but in reality, they were literally just…
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