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The Tsunami House, on the northern end of Washington's Camano Island, is designed to withstand the impact of high-velocity wave walls with heights of up to eight feet.

This House is Built to Withstand the Force of a Tsunami

A clever idea to let water flow through a home may allow residents in Puget Sound to escape the fate that locals centuries ago could not

Can a lab-made gel, added to foods, actually make it possible to munch your way to a trimmer figure?

Eating This Gel Might Help You Lose Weight

It’s not a diet pill, but researchers have developed an edible substance that makes you feel fuller longer

Trending Today

Rio’s Giant Christ Statue Damaged by Lightning

Repairs will begin on Christ the Redeemer’s fingers and head

Cool Finds

This One Site in Texas Will Get Most of America’s Low-Level Nuclear Waste

As America’s nuclear plants run out their lives, decommissioning waste will be headed to Texas

A redesigned egg carton from Gil Rodrigues.

These Redesigned Egg Cartons and Tea Bags Let You Play With Your Breakfast Meal

To reimagine your morning meal, one designer looks to bridge engineering and another to common sense.

Before long, artificial intelligence will stop looking to humans for upgrades and start seeking improvements on their own.

What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Turns On Us?

In a new book, James Barrat warns that artificial intelligence will one day outsmart humans, and there is no guarantee that it will be benevolent

Cool Finds

Virgin Galactic Started Selling Tickets to Space Before Getting Permission to Take People There

The private spaceflight company is missing a crucial FAA permit

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Cool Finds

One Italian Director Animated These Old Masterpieces With New Technology

We can’t decide if these moving paintings are cool or totally creepy

Clouds of haze rise above China, largely the result of the country's massive manufacturing industry.

Air Pollution in China Is Spreading Across the Pacific to the U.S.

China is sending detectable levels of pollution to the U.S., but a significant fraction of it results from manufacturing products for American customers

Beautiful, beautiful vaporized dirt.

New Research

Vaporized Dirt Might Be the Mysterious Cause of Ball Lightning

An analysis of one ball’s contents found silicon, iron and calcium—the main components of dirt

Not the best place to get diarrhea.

New Research

What Does Space Do To Your Microbiome?

Nobody wants E. coli on a trip to Mars

Halal meat is, usually, free of pork.

New Research

Study Finds that Halal Meat in Iran is Contaminated With Pork

Halal meat is supposed to adhere to strict religious rules, but a new study suggests it isn’t quite so spotless

A memory-weakening drug has shown promise in mice. Could Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind someday be a reality?

A New Drug Could Help You Forget Long-Term Traumatic Memories

The drug has allowed mice to replace old anxiety-filled memories with new, harmless ones

Cool Finds

How Much Do You Actually Know About What You’re Putting in Your Mouth?

A little background in food science can turn you into a next-level foodie

Alise Ojay claims that a series of routine vocalizations, performed 20 minutes a day over the course of less than a month, can reduce snoring significantly.

The Cure For Snoring Is…Singing?

Choir director Alise Ojay’s vocal exercises have been shown to work throat muscles that help silence the snorer within

New Research

Two Pints of Water Can Contain the DNA of Thousands of Fish

Two pints of water from a 1.2 million gallon tank were all that was needed to identify 13,000 fish

Sculpting the eyes that will stare into your soul.

Cool Finds

This Is How Giant Animal Statues Get Made

Who do you go to when you need a giant crocodile statue? This guy

An elephant seal from the Kerguelen islands with a logger device attached to his head, just before his departure back to sea.

Seals Are Scientists’ Little Helpers for Collecting Ocean Data

For the past 10 years, hundreds of seals equipped with special headgear have collected crucial data on ocean temperature and salinity for scientists

Cool Finds

The Short History of the Invention of Writing

Writing was invented, but by whom?

Cool Finds

Conservationist Are Resorting to Branding Endangered Tortoises

If the tortoises’ shells are marred with numbers and letters, they’ll be less appealing to poachers

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