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The Backstreet Boys' biggest rivals had the same manager.
The Backstreet Boys' biggest rivals had the same manager. Lou Pearlman helped build both the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, putting two apparently competing pop…
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Marie Curie's notebooks retain physical traces of her experiments.
Marie Curie's notebooks retain physical traces of her experiments. Radioactive particles from laboratory materials settled onto hands, covers, and pages as…
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Bratz's origin became a fight over who owned the drawings.
Bratz's origin became a fight over who owned the drawings. Designer Carter Bryant developed the doll concept around the period he worked for Mattel, then took…
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Abraham Lincoln is the only United States president to ever secure a patent, having designed a device to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in shallow rivers.
Abraham Lincoln is the only United States president to ever secure a patent, having designed a device to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in shallow…
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The Animaniacs siblings borrowed their personalities from three real children.
The Animaniacs siblings borrowed their personalities from three real children. Creator Tom Ruegger said his sons helped shape Yakko, Wakko and Dot: the…
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Sean Connery gave a Bond salary to an education charity.
Sean Connery gave a Bond salary to an education charity. He donated his pay from Diamonds Are Forever to the Scottish International Education Trust, which he…
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Banana farms can repeat the same vulnerability millions of times.
Banana farms can repeat the same vulnerability millions of times. Export production relies heavily on Cavendish bananas propagated as clones. Uniform plants…
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Different animals resolve the visual world at different speeds.
Different animals resolve the visual world at different speeds. A 2013 comparison linked smaller body size and higher metabolism with the ability to…
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'Algorithm' carries a mathematician's name through every app.
'Algorithm' carries a mathematician's name through every app. The word developed from the Latinized name of al-Khwarizmi, whose work helped transmit methods…
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Private browsing features like Google Chrome's incognito mode were designed strictly to keep your web history hidden from other people who physically use the exact same device,…
Private browsing features like Google Chrome's incognito mode were designed strictly to keep your web history hidden from other people who physically use the…
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The Atlantic is still widening beneath the flight routes across it.
The Atlantic is still widening beneath the flight routes across it. New seafloor forms along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as plates move apart, at an average…
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Napoleon Dynamite was a headache for movie recommendations.
Napoleon Dynamite was a headache for movie recommendations. During the Netflix Prize competition, the film became a notorious example of a rating that was…
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Universal Studios originally passed on producing Star Wars because they simply could not understand George Lucas's script and thought the whole concept was far too confusing to be profitable.
Universal Studios originally passed on producing Star Wars because they simply could not understand George Lucas's script and thought the whole concept was…
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Plutarch described Spartan money that was a nuisance to hoard.
Plutarch described Spartan money that was a nuisance to hoard. In his account of Lycurgus, wealth was deliberately made bulky: iron money replaced precious…
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Apple's free U2 album needed its own removal tool.
Apple's free U2 album needed its own removal tool. In 2014, Songs of Innocence was added to iTunes accounts as a promotional giveaway, and some devices…
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The Mona Lisa's insurance cost more than extra security.
The Mona Lisa's insurance cost more than extra security. Before its 1962–63 U.S. tour, the painting received an insurance valuation of $100 million. According…
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The Web spread after CERN let everyone use it for free.
The Web spread after CERN let everyone use it for free. In 1993, CERN released its World Wide Web software into the public domain. Others could build servers…
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TLC's early schedule really was built around learning.
TLC's early schedule really was built around learning. A 1987 television-industry guide lists The Learning Channel's content as educational programs, how-to…
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Federal prison factories list wages starting at 23 cents an hour.
Federal prison factories list wages starting at 23 cents an hour. UNICOR, the U.S. government's prison-industry corporation, reports typical inmate pay…
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Keanu Reeves trained for eight months for John Wick: Chapter 4.
Keanu Reeves trained for eight months for John Wick: Chapter 4. Extensive preparation let him perform demanding action in shots that showed his face and…
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A deed to lunar land is not the same as recognized ownership.
A deed to lunar land is not the same as recognized ownership. Sellers have offered certificates for plots on the Moon, but the International Institute of…
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Pigeons developed routines around food they did not control.
Pigeons developed routines around food they did not control. In B. F. Skinner's famous experiment, food arrived on a timer regardless of what a pigeon did.…
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Alexander's body became a prize in the fight over his empire.
Alexander's body became a prize in the fight over his empire. After Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE, Ptolemy diverted the funeral procession to Egypt.…
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Steve Jobs reportedly kept changing cars to avoid license plates.
Steve Jobs reportedly kept changing cars to avoid license plates. Former Apple employee Jon Callas described a cycle of leasing a new silver Mercedes before…
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