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People Pirated Many More Files (And Many Fewer Ships) in 2013

While there were zero Somali pirate hijackings this year - the amount of content that was uploaded to The Pirate Bay this year increased by 50 percent

The development of the ancient city of Akko, roughly 6000 years ago, led to the collapse of the local ecosystem.

Urbanization Has Been Destroying the Environment Since the Very First Cities

The development of the ancient city of Akko, roughly 6000 years ago, led to the collapse of the local ecosystem

Border Agents Can Search Laptops “Without Reasonable Suspicion”

A U.S. District Court judge says border agents should be allowed to search travelers’ laptops

Some Chinese Donkey Meat Actually Contains Fox

Some customers in China now know both what the fox says, and what it tastes like

Downed trees litter the street during a recent ice storm in Toronto.

A Loud Crack on a Cold Winter Night? It Might Have Been a Frost Quake

Frost quakes can cause a sound like a sonic boom

World War II Just Took Another Life As Relic Bomb Explodes

An old bomb just killed one and injured eight in Germany

Deep fried butter on a stick

Long Before Paula Deen’s Fried Butter Balls, Cooks Were Trying to Roast Butter on a Stick

Paula Deen may in fact come from a long culinary tradition of skipping the bread and simply eating the butter

Frozen bubbles

How to Make Awesome Frozen Soap Bubbles Without Having to Brave the Cold

Frozen soap bubbles are really cool looking. But going outside to make them means braving the cold. Here’s how to make them at home

A resolution-themed postcard from 1909.

This Site Provides a Supportive Audience For Your New Year’s Resolution

The site has sponsored projects ranging from losing weight to building a race car

A memorial to the Irish famine in Dublin.

160 Years Later, Scientists Grow a GM Potato That Could Have Prevented the Irish Potato Famine

Genetically modified potatoes resistant to potato blight were designed in Ireland

Drivers Are Doing Something Besides Driving Ten Percent of the Time

Simply talking on a cellphone, however, did not increase the risk of an accident or near accident for drivers - so long as their eyes stayed on the road

On a Warmer Planet, Fewer Clouds Form, And Temperatures Rise Further

Scientists use words such as “catastrophic,” “impossible” and “profound” to describe what life on the planet would be like under 4-degree-warmer conditions

Why So Many Afghanis Celebrate Their Birthdays on January 1

In the war-ravaged nation, many peoples’ birthdays are on January 1st

The World’s Third Oldest Bible, the Codex Washingtonianus, Is Making a Rare Museum Appearance

When the Codex was first published publicly in 1912, it caused a controversy because it contained an extra passage in the Gospel of Mark

Using Nothing But Sound, These Scientists Are Making Things Float

Using nothing but high frequency ultrasound, these researchers can make anything float

Your Probability of Dying Doubles Every Eight Years

It’s a brand new year, and the chances that this one will be your last might be higher than you suspect

This Cold Snap Is Making It Colder Than the Surface of Mars

There’s a pocket of cold air hanging over the eastern states, and it is very cold indeed

London’s Looking at Building Bike Lanes in the Sky

The dedicated bike lanes could improve some commuter’s trips by nearly 30 minutes

Playing Q-bert on the Atari 2600 through the Internet Archive’s Console Living Room.

Play Through the History of Video Games (Frogger! Asteroids! Q-bert!) All on One Site

From Frogger to Asteroids to Turtles!, play through the early days of video gaming

Bodily maps of emotion developed by the researchers.

Different Emotional States Manifest in Different Spots in the Human Body

Humans are emotional creatures, but whether emotions produced the same physical responses in people across varying cultures remained unknown until now

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