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Popular health advice insisting you must drink exactly eight glasses of water a day has absolutely no basis in modern scientific research and was likely pulled completely out of thin air.
Popular health advice insisting you must drink exactly eight glasses of water a day has absolutely no basis in modern scientific research and was likely…
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Sleeping policemen were the original colloquial term for the massive concrete speed bumps invented by physicist Arthur Holly Compton in 1953 to slow down campus traffic; he was…
Sleeping policemen were the original colloquial term for the massive concrete speed bumps invented by physicist Arthur Holly Compton in 1953 to slow down…
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General Purpose was originally the military designation for the light reconnaissance vehicles used during World War II, which soldiers quickly abbreviated to GP and then Jeep;…
General Purpose was originally the military designation for the light reconnaissance vehicles used during World War II, which soldiers quickly abbreviated to…
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Allan Kardec completely transformed the chaotic, unregulated spiritualist movement in France by applying the rigid, uncompromising logic of a professional educational administrator.
Allan Kardec completely transformed the chaotic, unregulated spiritualist movement in France by applying the rigid, uncompromising logic of a professional…
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First commercial microprocessor in history, the legendary Intel 4004, was specifically designed in 1971 to power a high-end Japanese desktop calculator.
First commercial microprocessor in history, the legendary Intel 4004, was specifically designed in 1971 to power a high-end Japanese desktop calculator. The…
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Highly secure master keys to physically reboot the global internet are held by a completely mundane group of seven international individuals.
Highly secure master keys to physically reboot the global internet are held by a completely mundane group of seven international individuals. These trusted…
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Space Invaders was originally designed with human enemies, but Taito changed them to aliens to avoid moral outrage from a society that apparently thought shooting digital blobs…
Space Invaders was originally designed with human enemies, but Taito changed them to aliens to avoid moral outrage from a society that apparently thought…
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Project Sea Hunt was a bizarre 1970s Coast Guard initiative that successfully trained pigeons to spot lost people at sea from the underside of rescue helicopters; the birds were…
Project Sea Hunt was a bizarre 1970s Coast Guard initiative that successfully trained pigeons to spot lost people at sea from the underside of rescue…
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Resident Evil's iconic system of healing brutal zombie bites with assorted potted herbs is a direct homage to traditional medicinal plants used in the mountainous regions of…
Resident Evil's iconic system of healing brutal zombie bites with assorted potted herbs is a direct homage to traditional medicinal plants used in the…
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Dutch merchant Adriaen van Ketwich launched the world's very first mutual fund in seventeen seventy-four as a desperate response to a brutal European financial crisis,…
Dutch merchant Adriaen van Ketwich launched the world's very first mutual fund in seventeen seventy-four as a desperate response to a brutal European…
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Buying a timeshare is widely considered one of the worst financial decisions a human being can make because the secondary market value for them is functionally zero dollars.
Buying a timeshare is widely considered one of the worst financial decisions a human being can make because the secondary market value for them is…
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New Jersey strictly forbids motorists from pumping their own gasoline, maintaining a law from 1949 that claims self-service stations are an extreme fire hazard; back then, gas…
New Jersey strictly forbids motorists from pumping their own gasoline, maintaining a law from 1949 that claims self-service stations are an extreme fire…
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Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth in ancient Greece using nothing but a stick, some shadows, and basic geometry, proving the planet was round thousands of years ago.
Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth in ancient Greece using nothing but a stick, some shadows, and basic geometry, proving the planet was…
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United Parcel Service painted all of their delivery trucks Pullman brown in 1916 because it was the most effective color for hiding dirt and road grime; back then, most roads…
United Parcel Service painted all of their delivery trucks Pullman brown in 1916 because it was the most effective color for hiding dirt and road grime; back…
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Keanu Reeves famously negotiated a backend deal for The Matrix sequels that redirected tens of millions of his own dollars directly to the special effects and makeup crews.
Keanu Reeves famously negotiated a backend deal for The Matrix sequels that redirected tens of millions of his own dollars directly to the special effects and…
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Charles Babbage invented the iconic metal cowcatcher attached to the front of steam locomotives long before he became famous as the visionary father of the modern computer.
Charles Babbage invented the iconic metal cowcatcher attached to the front of steam locomotives long before he became famous as the visionary father of the…
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Dutch manufacturer DAF created a small family car in the late nineteen fifties equipped with a variomatic transmission that allowed it to drive backwards exactly as fast as it could drive forwards.
Dutch manufacturer DAF created a small family car in the late nineteen fifties equipped with a variomatic transmission that allowed it to drive backwards…
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Fire ants can lock their bodies together to form massive, living rafts that float on floodwaters for weeks at a time.
Fire ants can lock their bodies together to form massive, living rafts that float on floodwaters for weeks at a time. The colony coordinates perfectly,…
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Prop masters for the legendary horror film The Exorcist created the infamous projectile vomit by mixing a canned split pea soup with a touch of oatmeal.
Prop masters for the legendary horror film The Exorcist created the infamous projectile vomit by mixing a canned split pea soup with a touch of oatmeal. The…
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Consumers will completely change their preference between two options when presented with a third, asymmetrically dominated option designed solely to manipulate them.
Consumers will completely change their preference between two options when presented with a third, asymmetrically dominated option designed solely to…
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Carcinization is a baffling example of convergent evolution where completely unrelated crustacean species repeatedly evolve into a crab-like form.
Carcinization is a baffling example of convergent evolution where completely unrelated crustacean species repeatedly evolve into a crab-like form. Over…
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Binaural beats are a modern auditory illusion created by playing two slightly different frequencies in each ear, which mystics and wellness gurus claim can hack your brainwaves…
Binaural beats are a modern auditory illusion created by playing two slightly different frequencies in each ear, which mystics and wellness gurus claim can…
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Airplane boarding from back to front is mathematically one of the absolute slowest and most inefficient ways to load a plane, yet almost every airline continues to use some…
Airplane boarding from back to front is mathematically one of the absolute slowest and most inefficient ways to load a plane, yet almost every airline…
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Genuine smiles involve the involuntary contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle around the eyes, making them biologically distinct from fake, socially obligated smiles.
Genuine smiles involve the involuntary contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle around the eyes, making them biologically distinct from fake, socially…
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