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Female spotted hyenas give birth through a penis-like structure.
Female spotted hyenas give birth through a penis-like structure. The structure is an elongated clitoris, often called a pseudopenis, and it is also used for…
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The first public handheld cellphone call went to a rival.
The first public handheld cellphone call went to a rival. On April 3, 1973, Motorola's Martin Cooper called Bell Labs' Joel Engel from a portable prototype on…
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A Coca-Cola bottle can arrive where the company has no official operation.
A Coca-Cola bottle can arrive where the company has no official operation. Coca-Cola has stated that it has no authorized bottlers in Cuba or North Korea.…
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A sleeping dolphin can keep one brain hemisphere more alert.
A sleeping dolphin can keep one brain hemisphere more alert. During unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, one side shows sleep-like activity while the other remains…
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Candy Land was designed in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, a retired schoolteacher who was actively recovering from polio in a San Diego hospital ward.
Candy Land was designed in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, a retired schoolteacher who was actively recovering from polio in a San Diego hospital ward. Since play…
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The U.S.
The U.S. once had a 94% top income-tax bracket. In 1944 and 1945, that marginal rate applied to taxable income above $200,000. It did not mean every dollar a…
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Voodoo dolls are widely recognized in pop culture as terrifying tools of revenge where a mystical practitioner sticks pins into a little cloth effigy to inflict excruciating physical pain on their enemies.
Voodoo dolls are widely recognized in pop culture as terrifying tools of revenge where a mystical practitioner sticks pins into a little cloth effigy to…
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Some Tamagotchi owners gave their digital pets real funerals.
Some Tamagotchi owners gave their digital pets real funerals. Reports from the 1990s documented burials and memorials for the little electronic pets. Owners…
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An early banner ad reportedly got a 44% click rate.
An early banner ad reportedly got a 44% click rate. AT&T's 1994 HotWired banner invited people to try clicking it. Web advertising was novel enough that the…
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A brainless slime mold built a network comparable to Tokyo's rail system.
A brainless slime mold built a network comparable to Tokyo's rail system. Researchers arranged food sources to represent urban centers and watched Physarum…
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Fast Five director Justin Lin practically refused to use computer graphics for the climactic sequence where two muscle cars drag a massive bank vault through the streets of Rio,…
Fast Five director Justin Lin practically refused to use computer graphics for the climactic sequence where two muscle cars drag a massive bank vault through…
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Nicolas Cage once engaged in a furious, high-stakes bidding war against Leonardo DiCaprio over a sixty-seven-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar skull, ultimately winning the…
Nicolas Cage once engaged in a furious, high-stakes bidding war against Leonardo DiCaprio over a sixty-seven-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar skull,…
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Toy Story had to make Woody someone you could forgive.
Toy Story had to make Woody someone you could forgive. Early development explored a dummy-like character and a much harsher personality. The finished cowboy…
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Standing on the right side of an escalator so impatient people can walk on the left actually reduces the overall efficiency of the machine.
Standing on the right side of an escalator so impatient people can walk on the left actually reduces the overall efficiency of the machine. The walking lane…
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Belief in the Evil Eye dates back to classical antiquity, operating on the premise that certain people can cause injury or bad luck simply by looking at you with envy or malice.
Belief in the Evil Eye dates back to classical antiquity, operating on the premise that certain people can cause injury or bad luck simply by looking at you…
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Geckos can effortlessly scale vertical glass walls and hang completely upside down thanks to millions of microscopic hairs on their toes called setae.
Geckos can effortlessly scale vertical glass walls and hang completely upside down thanks to millions of microscopic hairs on their toes called setae. Each…
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The sound of South Africa's World Cup was often made in China.
The sound of South Africa's World Cup was often made in China. During the 2010 tournament, industry estimates put most vuvuzela production in Chinese…
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A Roman historian gave Rome's enemy a devastating line.
A Roman historian gave Rome's enemy a devastating line. In Agricola, Tacitus puts the accusation that conquerors make a desert and call it peace into a speech…
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You hear a version of your voice nobody else gets.
You hear a version of your voice nobody else gets. While you speak, sound reaches your ears through the air and through vibrations carried by your head. Those…
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Oliver Cromwell was exhumed for a posthumous execution in 1661.
Oliver Cromwell was exhumed for a posthumous execution in 1661. After the monarchy returned, his body was taken from Westminster Abbey, hanged at Tyburn, and…
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E.T.'s voice was a carefully assembled performance.
E.T.'s voice was a carefully assembled performance. Sound designer Ben Burtt used Pat Welsh's distinctive voice as a central ingredient, alongside other…
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Beneath the bustling streets of the French capital, Paris's massive subterranean catacombs house the skeletal remains of more than six million people, meticulously arranged in tunnels that stretch for miles.
Beneath the bustling streets of the French capital, Paris's massive subterranean catacombs house the skeletal remains of more than six million people,…
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Gold can be forged in the debris of colliding dead stars.
Gold can be forged in the debris of colliding dead stars. When neutron stars merge, neutron-rich material can build heavy atomic nuclei, including gold.…
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A ride-hailing trip can add traffic before you get in.
A ride-hailing trip can add traffic before you get in. Drivers travel empty to collect passengers and between fares. If the paid ride replaces transit,…
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