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Smart News

The USPS Will Make Sunday Deliveries Just for Amazon

The US Postal Service announced that it would make special Sunday deliveries for Amazon.com customers

Conrad Heyer, a Revolutionary War Veteran, Was the Earliest-Born American To Ever Be Photographed

Conrad Heyer fought with Washington in the Revolutionary War

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Listen to “Huh”—a Universal Word—in Russian, Icelandic, Lao And Siwu

Researchers think “huh” is a great example of “convergent cultural evolution of linguistic items,” or a word that came out of a conversational need

Porcupines can be vicious killers. But not this one. This one is adorable.

Porcupine Quills Can Kill

Researchers in Italy watched porcupines corner a dog and stab it to death

You don’t need to take Google’s personality test; you’re already revealing enough on Twitter.

Analyzing Your Tweets Could Help Advertisers Understand Your Personality And Sell You More Stuff

By scraping your tweets, these researchers can get insight into your personality

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Pollution May Be Crippling Chinese Men’s Sperm

The problem likely reaches beyond China, as some researchers have reported a worldwide decline in average sperm counts

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Kraft’s New Natural Cheese Dyes Were the Key Ingredient in a 17th Century Scam

Kraft’s new orange dye was used in the 17th century to trick people into thinking cheese was better than it was

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These High-Tech Cocktail Garnishes Take a Hint From Plants And Animals

In the coming years, biomimicry could be the newest upscale dining fad, much as molecular gastronomy was in the late 1990s and locavorism is today

This Robot Is Powered by Pee

From bug eaters to pee drinkers, these robots of the future will be part of the food chain

Big-Breasted Mannequins Take a Craze for Plastic Surgery to Its Logical Conclusion

Whether in Sweden, the U.S. or Venezuela, however, it seems that women simply want to recognize a bit of themselves in store windows

One of the Strongest Hurricanes Ever Seen Is About to Hit the Philippines

Since detailed observations began, only three hurricanes on Earth have been this strong

The Inventor of Videotape Recorders Didn’t Live to See Blockbuster’s Fall

As far as Charles Ginsberg was concerned, the video tape was “one of the most significant technological advances” since the television

Tufa Dinku studies how satellites can be used to measure rain and temperature and other things relevant to understanding the climate.

This “Climate Models” Calendar Wants You to Check Out These Model Scientists—And Their Work

These climate scientists had some fun posing n landscapes representing their very serious work

Blue, Australian Kelpie, Age 19

This Photographer Captures the Beauty And Dignity of Elderly Animals

Photographer Isa Leshko says the project originally began as a form of self-therapy, but it evolved into a traveling photography exhibition

Sweetie, a virtual 10-year-old Filipino girl

A Virtual Ten-Year-Old Girl Helped Identify 1,000 Online Predators

Over a ten week period, Sweetie accrued around 20,000 solicitations for virtual sex from men from around the world

This Movie Has Been Rated S for Sexist

Even with the bar set incredibly low, most movies fail this simple test for sexism

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Americans Who Have Stereotypical Ideas About Race And Violence Are More Likely to Own Guns

These results held true even after controlling for conservative politics, being from the South and harboring anti-government sentiments and other factors

African elephants in Kruger National Park

Elephants Never Forget When You Slaughter Their Family

Culling an elephant pack can destroy the survivors’ social skills

Thanksgiving Day Shopping Could Overtake Black Friday in Five Years

Whether non-virtual stores will succeed in drawing shoppers away from their turkey dinners and post-stuffing stupor, however, remains to be seen

Karl Marx Is the World’s Most Influential Scholar

When compared on equal footing, Marx stands out above the crowd

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