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This New Species of Stick Bug Is Big, Slow, Colorful and Smelly

A new species discovered in the Philippines has scientists wondering just how many animals we’re missing out on

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Your Beer Glass May Be Making You Drink More

New research shows that it might be influencing how much booze you down thanks to an optical illusion that makes curved glasses seem more alcoholically innocent than they really are

Birds Hold Funerals For Fallen Comrades

Researchers observed that western scrub jays hold funeral reveries for fallen comrades

Today, passenger pigeons’ habitat consists of a few museum display cases around the U.S.

Extinction Rates Are Biased And Much Worse Than You Thought

The IUCN’s Red List of endangered species looks bad, but the reality is probably much, much worse

A 2002 wildfire in Colorado

Fires Are Escaping Our Ability to Predict Their Behavior

Today’s fires are bigger, weirder, and way harder to model

Labor day parade, 1882

Labor Day’s Secret Society Connections

Add Labor Day to the vaulted hall of things concocted by secret societies, alongside Madonna’s Superbowl performance and Pancho Villa’s stolen skull

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Thalidomide Manufacturer Finally Apologizes for Birth Defects, Survivors Say It’s Not Enough

The German drug company Grunenthal broke its fifty year silence about thalidomide recently, but survivors aren’t satisfied

A fishing trawler off the coast of Turkey.

Lighted Escape Hatches Could Help Little Fish Flee Trawlers’ Nets

Rigid illuminated rings could help unwanted bycatch escape from fishing nets

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Tracking Walmart’s Breakneck Expansion Across the U.S.

From humble beginnings in 1962, today the Walmart empire includes 8,500 stores in 15 countries, with 3,898 proudly hosted on U.S. soil

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The Oldest Message in a Bottle Ever Found Is 98 Years Old

A Scottish skipper has discovered the world’s oldest message in a bottle, beating the record previously held by a buddy of his

Director cat needs to adjust the composition.

At the Internet Cat Video Festival, LOLcats Become Art

The Internet Cat Video Festival brought LOLcats inside the walls of the gallery

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The Long History of Americans Debating Empty Chairs

The history of debating empty chairs stretches back to at least 1924

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We Have No Idea What Makes Us Happy

Psychologists say that humans don’t really know what makes them happy

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Real-Life Cyborg Heart is Beating at Harvard

Harvard scientists infused rat heart cells with wires and transistors that monitor the tissue’s electrical impulses

Some historic sites, like the Lincoln Memorial, are heavily photographed. But many other significant sites are generally overlooked.

Help Illustrate the Internet With Wikipedia’s Photo Contest

The Wikimedia Foundation is hosting a photo contest, and you could win a trip to Hong Kong

An artist’s conception of a feeding black hole, or quasar.

Astronomers Find More Than 1,500,000 New Black Holes

Recent findings triple the number of known black holes in the universe

The X-ray on the left shows one of the girls’ hands at 2-and-a-half-years old. On the right, her same hand is shown at 12-years old.

50-Year Mystery Surrounding Death of Two Sisters Solved

Doctors discover the genetic cause of an extremely rare, almost always fatal condition called Winchester syndrome

Neil Armstrong giving a different speech as part of a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony.

Neil Armstrong’s Previously Unheard Speech, Recorded One Year Ago

Recorded surreptitiously, the 43 minute-long speech captures Armstrong’s presentation one year prior to his passing

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Storeowners Hope Cute Little Baby Faces Will Stop Crime

One street in London is hoping to dissuade potential looters by putting a gigantic baby face between them and their loot

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Watch This Decades-Old WWII Bomb Go Boom

A World War II bomb was discovered by workers the on the site of an old bar that was being demolished, and then blown up the next day

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