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Excerpt from Papias the Grammarian

1 Million Dollars Worth of Rare Dictionaries About to Go on Sale

On December 4, a collection of rare old dictionaries will go on auction at Bonhams in New York City

Artist Calvin Seibert has been carving amazing sandcastles on beaches for nearly 30 years.

Amazing Modernist Sandcastles Sculpted by Calvin Seibert

Seifert uses simple tools to craft the details: two plastic putty knives and a five-gallon bucket to fill with extra sand.

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NYC Record: No One Shot, Stabbed or Slashed on Monday

It was a “nice way to start the week,” says NYPD

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Uglier Campaign Fundraising Emails Make More Money

All the rules you expect might apply to sending a perfect fundraising email? Throw them out the window

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Being Really, Really Good at Video Games Could Get You a Scholarship

A $1,000 scholarship beckons, if you can display your gaming prowess

In Denmark, Cinderella Wore Galoshes

Cinderella isn’t a Disney story, and earlier versions are, well, different

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The U.S. Is About To Drop $10 Billion Retrofitting Its Nukes

The military wants to upgrade its 1960s-era nuclear workhorse

Frogfish Might Look Like Sponges, But They’re Super Fast

Frogfish are really good at blending in with their environment - particularly with the sponges that they live on. But they’re also crazy fast hunters

Are People Who Are Obsessed With Themselves Actually Hotter?

Being narcissistic also tends to make you more physically attractive

A DNA molecule

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

Humans Have Been Evolving Like Crazy Over the Past Few Thousand Years

The past 5 to 10 thousand years have seen a surge in human genetic diversity

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The Strange Things We Do To Keep Our Food Cold

Whether it was shipped to you from somewhere, stored in a warehouse, or sold nice and chilly, over 3/4 of the food we eat has been commercially refrigerated

For Adults, TV Can Serve the Same Role as an Imaginary Friend

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Prepare to Be Amazed: Is That a Rubik’s Cube or a Drawing?

From the correct angle, you’d swear that these are three-dimensional objects

Like Snowbirds Heading to Florida, Galapagos Tortoises Head to the Mountains for the Cold Season

Birds do it, butterflies do it, and now, we know that Galapagos giant tortoises do it, too - but why?

Divers explore Kauai’s reefs

A Mysterious Disease Is Killing Hawaii’s Coral

Conservationists and divers alike are on edge over a mysterious disease sweeping through coral reefs in Kauai

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Eating Whale Meat Is Going Out of Vogue in Japan

Whale meat elicits a “meh” response from young Japanese these days, but global citizens continue to cry foul

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The First Use of OMG Was in a 1917 Letter to Winston Churchill

This jewel of a letter reveals the first usage of the now-ubiquitous OMG

Schematic drawings for the transforming robot

A Real, Working Transformer Robot!

This remote-controlled car turns into a walking, missile-shooting robot

Bacteria reside amongst the icy brine from Lake Vida.

Bacterial Life Abounds in Antarctic Lake, Cut Off From the World for 2,800 Years

From a frozen Antarctic lake, researchers pulled samples teeming with bacteria

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Getting the Prosthetic Is Easy, Compared to Getting It To Do What You Want

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