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An unfamiliar group can look more alike than your own.
An unfamiliar group can look more alike than your own. You know the exceptions, personalities and disagreements inside a group you belong to. Outsiders are…
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The first Oregon Trail printed the adventure on paper.
The first Oregon Trail printed the adventure on paper. Three student teachers—Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger—created the game in 1971.…
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Thailand is home to a chaotic railway market in Maeklong where hundreds of vendors set up their fresh produce and fish stalls directly on top of an active, functioning train track.
Thailand is home to a chaotic railway market in Maeklong where hundreds of vendors set up their fresh produce and fish stalls directly on top of an active,…
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ELIZA made a simple script feel like an attentive listener.
ELIZA made a simple script feel like an attentive listener. Joseph Weizenbaum's 1960s program used pattern matching, with a famous script that echoed users'…
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Blind Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga became a legendary figure for allegedly predicting global disasters and the exact date of her own demise with stunning, terrifying accuracy.
Blind Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga became a legendary figure for allegedly predicting global disasters and the exact date of her own demise with stunning,…
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Jurassic Park's digital dinosaurs still needed stop-motion expertise.
Jurassic Park's digital dinosaurs still needed stop-motion expertise. ILM's animation tests helped persuade Spielberg that computer-generated dinosaurs could…
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Oymyakon's average January is colder than most freezers.
Oymyakon's average January is colder than most freezers. The Siberian settlement has a January mean around −46°C, and a recorded low of −67.7°C in 1933. An…
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Humanity's deepest borehole is narrower than a dinner plate.
Humanity's deepest borehole is narrower than a dinner plate. The Kola Superdeep Borehole reached 12,262 meters into the crust, yet the hole was only about…
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A bicycle lets the same human engine travel much farther.
A bicycle lets the same human engine travel much farther. Walking repeatedly lifts and redirects your body; wheels let it roll forward with much less effort…
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Hashima went from crowded mining island to a model for a Bond villain's hideout.
Hashima went from crowded mining island to a model for a Bond villain's hideout. Coal mining supported a tightly packed community in concrete apartment blocks…
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An Icelandic road dispute ended with an elf-associated rock being moved.
An Icelandic road dispute ended with an elf-associated rock being moved. In 2015, a large outcrop known in local belief as Ófeigskirkja was relocated during a…
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Air Force One is not actually the registered name of a specific, hyper-advanced presidential airplane, but rather the designated air traffic control call sign for any United…
Air Force One is not actually the registered name of a specific, hyper-advanced presidential airplane, but rather the designated air traffic control call sign…
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Star Wars filmed its opening crawl as a physical object.
Star Wars filmed its opening crawl as a physical object. For the original film, the yellow text was laid out on a long black surface and photographed with…
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Coober Pedy moved homes and churches underground.
Coober Pedy moved homes and churches underground. Residents adapted dugouts to escape the harsh heat of the South Australian opal fields. Earth around the…
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ABC paired Buckley and Vidal for a televised political clash in 1968.
ABC paired Buckley and Vidal for a televised political clash in 1968. During the presidential conventions, the conservative and liberal commentators turned…
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Erika Eiffel held a commitment ceremony with the Eiffel Tower.
Erika Eiffel held a commitment ceremony with the Eiffel Tower. In 2007, she gathered with friends at the monument and declared her attachment to it. It was a…
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Segway's owner died while riding one near a cliff.
Segway's owner died while riding one near a cliff. Jimi Heselden bought the company in 2010 and died later that year when his off-road Segway went over an…
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Mexico's doll island gives a ghost story a physical address.
Mexico's doll island gives a ghost story a physical address. On a chinampa in Xochimilco, Julián Santana hung dolls that became the setting for a legend about…
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Tashirojima's cats became one of the island's main attractions.
Tashirojima's cats became one of the island's main attractions. Cats have a long local association with good fortune, and the Japanese island even has a cat…
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Apple's 9:41 display time was designed to agree with a product reveal.
Apple's 9:41 display time was designed to agree with a product reveal. Former executive Scott Forstall explained that major announcements were planned around…
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A Chinese theme park built its shows around performers with dwarfism.
A Chinese theme park built its shows around performers with dwarfism. Kingdom of the Little People near Kunming presents singing and dancing in a…
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Curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the background to understand.
Curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the…
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Most of digestion's waiting time happens after nutrients are absorbed.
Most of digestion's waiting time happens after nutrients are absorbed. Food spends hours moving through the stomach and small intestine, where digestion and…
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Disney actually brought fully grown, live lions and other dangerous African wildlife directly into their animation studios in California so the artists could accurately study…
Disney actually brought fully grown, live lions and other dangerous African wildlife directly into their animation studios in California so the artists could…
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