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Master Chief's voice also belonged to a rock-radio DJ.
Master Chief's voice also belonged to a rock-radio DJ. Steve Downes spent decades in radio, including hosting on Chicago's WDRV, while voicing Halo's armored…
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Con artist Victor Lustig successfully sold the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal dealers in 1925 by convincing them that the city of Paris could no longer afford the monument's upkeep and needed to tear it down.
Con artist Victor Lustig successfully sold the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal dealers in 1925 by convincing them that the city of Paris could no longer afford…
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Car advocates helped turn jaywalking into a public embarrassment.
Car advocates helped turn jaywalking into a public embarrassment. In the 1920s, campaigns promoted the term and used mockery to portray pedestrians crossing…
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The Empire State Building became the Empty State Building.
The Empire State Building became the Empty State Building. Opening in 1931, the skyscraper offered an enormous amount of office space in the middle of the…
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Set decorators for the sitcom Friends found the iconic orange velvet couch abandoned deep inside the basement of a Warner Brothers prop storage facility before deciding to make…
Set decorators for the sitcom Friends found the iconic orange velvet couch abandoned deep inside the basement of a Warner Brothers prop storage facility…
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London's first bus needed three horses for twenty passengers.
London's first bus needed three horses for twenty passengers. George Shillibeer's 1829 omnibus took about an hour to cover five miles from Paddington to the…
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Men's underwear sales are a genuinely recognized economic indicator used by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to detect approaching recessions.
Men's underwear sales are a genuinely recognized economic indicator used by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to detect approaching recessions.…
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Peruvian authorities employ a resident herd of llamas to act as natural lawnmowers for the historic ruins of Machu Picchu.
Peruvian authorities employ a resident herd of llamas to act as natural lawnmowers for the historic ruins of Machu Picchu. The llamas graze the terraces…
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Economic anxiety can change what people want to buy.
Economic anxiety can change what people want to buy. In research on the 'lipstick effect,' financial worries increased some women's interest in…
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New York once had a pizza-slice yardstick for subway fares.
New York once had a pizza-slice yardstick for subway fares. In 1980, Eric M. Bram pointed out how closely the price of a plain slice had tracked the base…
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Vatican crime statistics have an unusual denominator problem.
Vatican crime statistics have an unusual denominator problem. The city-state has a tiny resident population but hosts huge numbers of visitors. Dividing…
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Commercial airlines intentionally sell more tickets than there are actual physical seats on the airplane, relying on advanced statistical models to predict exactly how many…
Commercial airlines intentionally sell more tickets than there are actual physical seats on the airplane, relying on advanced statistical models to predict…
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A refueling stop helped Shannon create modern duty-free shopping.
A refueling stop helped Shannon create modern duty-free shopping. In 1947, the airport opened a shop for international passengers passing through Ireland.…
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Tetris borrowed its most familiar tune from a peddler's song.
Tetris borrowed its most familiar tune from a peddler's song. Korobeiniki traces back to a nineteenth-century Russian poem about a peddler and a girl. Its…
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Europe even specified a color code for passports.
Europe even specified a color code for passports. A 1982 agreement on a common European passport format specified a burgundy-red cover using the color…
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The first computer mouse had a wooden shell and two wheels.
The first computer mouse had a wooden shell and two wheels. Douglas Engelbart conceived it, and Bill English built the prototype in 1964. Its two wheels…
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Hedonic treadmill is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.
Hedonic treadmill is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or…
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Global Positioning System satellites orbiting the Earth have to continuously adjust their internal clocks to account for Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
Global Positioning System satellites orbiting the Earth have to continuously adjust their internal clocks to account for Albert Einstein's theory of…
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Indiana Jones and Gremlins helped expose a gap between PG and R.
Indiana Jones and Gremlins helped expose a gap between PG and R. Both 1984 films unsettled parents who had expected a milder experience under the PG label.…
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A traffic jam can travel backward while every car moves forward.
A traffic jam can travel backward while every car moves forward. One driver slows, the next reacts a little later, and the disturbance spreads through the…
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Escalator brushes are a warning strip, not a shoe cleaner.
Escalator brushes are a warning strip, not a shoe cleaner. They discourage passengers from placing shoes against the skirt beside the moving steps, where…
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Florence gave its name to a very unusual kind of overwhelm.
Florence gave its name to a very unusual kind of overwhelm. Psychiatrist Graziella Magherini described 106 visitors treated over roughly a decade for acute…
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MTV turned its moon-landing station ident into an award.
MTV turned its moon-landing station ident into an award. The network's early on-screen branding showed an astronaut planting an MTV flag, borrowing the…
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The same childcare enters GDP when someone gets paid for it.
The same childcare enters GDP when someone gets paid for it. Hire a nanny and the service contributes to measured output; provide comparable care unpaid…
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