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William Mumler accidentally discovered 'spirit photography' in 1861 when he took a self-portrait and noticed a faint, ghostly apparition of a woman in the background due to a reused glass plate.
William Mumler accidentally discovered 'spirit photography' in 1861 when he took a self-portrait and noticed a faint, ghostly apparition of a woman in the…
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Farmers Almanac has been heavily relying on astrological formulas and lunar cycles to predict long-range weather patterns since it was first published in the late eighteenth…
Farmers Almanac has been heavily relying on astrological formulas and lunar cycles to predict long-range weather patterns since it was first published in the…
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Tokyo utilizes incredibly sophisticated, automated underground bicycle parking vaults called Eco Cycles to combat the severe lack of available surface space in the crowded metropolis.
Tokyo utilizes incredibly sophisticated, automated underground bicycle parking vaults called Eco Cycles to combat the severe lack of available surface space…
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Ostrich riding turned a fast bird into a tourist attraction.
Ostrich riding turned a fast bird into a tourist attraction. South African ostrich farms have offered short rides in which people attempt to stay on the bird.…
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An airplane lavatory lock has an emergency override.
An airplane lavatory lock has an emergency override. Cabin crew can use an external release to open the door if a passenger becomes unresponsive or needs…
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Panama's canal locomotives keep ships from scraping the walls.
Panama's canal locomotives keep ships from scraping the walls. In the original locks, electric 'mules' run along the sides with cables attached to the vessel.…
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Some airliners hide beds above the passenger cabin.
Some airliners hide beds above the passenger cabin. On certain long-haul aircraft, crew-rest compartments fit into space over the cabin or below it, reached…
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NASA equipped the Voyager 1 space probe with a gold-plated audio-visual disc containing greetings in 55 languages, sounds of Earth, and a curated selection of music designed to…
NASA equipped the Voyager 1 space probe with a gold-plated audio-visual disc containing greetings in 55 languages, sounds of Earth, and a curated selection of…
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La Paz turned the daily commute into a cable-car ride.
La Paz turned the daily commute into a cable-car ride. Mi Teleférico connects neighborhoods in La Paz and El Alto by traveling above the steep terrain and…
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Ostrich eyes are about the size of a billiard ball, making them the largest eyes of any land animal, which is necessary to spot predators from a vast distance across the open savanna.
Ostrich eyes are about the size of a billiard ball, making them the largest eyes of any land animal, which is necessary to spot predators from a vast distance…
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Alaska's Denali rangers still have a working dog team.
Alaska's Denali rangers still have a working dog team. The park established its sled-dog kennel in 1922, using teams for patrols, supplies and protecting…
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A closed Waffle House became a clue to a storm's severity.
A closed Waffle House became a clue to a storm's severity. The chain's preparations for staying open made its operating status useful as an informal…
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Rockstar Games caused an international political scandal in 2005 when hackers discovered fully functional, hidden sexual mini-games buried deep within the source code of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Rockstar Games caused an international political scandal in 2005 when hackers discovered fully functional, hidden sexual mini-games buried deep within the…
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Outdoor time can help protect children's distance vision.
Outdoor time can help protect children's distance vision. Studies link more time outdoors with a lower chance of developing myopia, or nearsightedness. One…
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Tim Berners-Lee famously admitted that putting the double forward slash in web addresses was completely unnecessary and fundamentally just a massive waste of human time and effort.
Tim Berners-Lee famously admitted that putting the double forward slash in web addresses was completely unnecessary and fundamentally just a massive waste of…
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Fossil records show that the prehistoric snake known as Titanoboa grew up to forty-two feet long and weighed well over a ton, thriving in the swampy jungles of South America right after the dinosaurs went extinct.
Fossil records show that the prehistoric snake known as Titanoboa grew up to forty-two feet long and weighed well over a ton, thriving in the swampy jungles…
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Bronies became an entirely unexpected demographic of adult male fans obsessed with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, completely derailing Hasbro's marketing strategy that was aimed strictly at young girls.
Bronies became an entirely unexpected demographic of adult male fans obsessed with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, completely derailing Hasbro's…
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Elementary school playgrounds in the late nineteen nineties briefly developed a ruthless, high-stakes underground economy based entirely on the trading value of holographic…
Elementary school playgrounds in the late nineteen nineties briefly developed a ruthless, high-stakes underground economy based entirely on the trading value…
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Snoop Dogg recorded himself into Call of Duty.
Snoop Dogg recorded himself into Call of Duty. His 2022 operator appearance in Vanguard and Warzone included newly recorded voice lines, turning the musician…
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Astronomy and astrology were considered the exact same legitimate scientific discipline for thousands of years, with early scholars like Galileo and Kepler practicing both without any distinction.
Astronomy and astrology were considered the exact same legitimate scientific discipline for thousands of years, with early scholars like Galileo and Kepler…
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Agatha Christie's disappearance left a mystery outside her novels.
Agatha Christie's disappearance left a mystery outside her novels. After her car was found abandoned in December 1926, an extensive search followed. Eleven…
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Looking at the sky means looking at several different pasts.
Looking at the sky means looking at several different pasts. Sunlight takes about eight minutes to reach Earth; light from other stars takes years or far…
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Delivery drivers in the Washington metropolitan area inadvertently created the Pizza Meter, a legendary geopolitical economic indicator based entirely on late-night food orders…
Delivery drivers in the Washington metropolitan area inadvertently created the Pizza Meter, a legendary geopolitical economic indicator based entirely on…
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In California, riding a horse does not exempt you from road rules.
In California, riding a horse does not exempt you from road rules. State law gives people riding animals on highways many of the same duties as vehicle…
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