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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Kenai lived to be 23, much longer than the 15-18 years of a typical sea otter.

Kenai the Sea Otter, Rescued From Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Has Died

One of the last two otters rescued from the Exxon Valdez oil spill has just passed away

Mo Yan and Chinese literature translator Howard Goldblatt speak at a literary festival.

China’s ‘Provocative and Vulgar’ Mo Yan Wins Nobel in Literature

Chinese author Mo Yan took this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature for his “hallucinatory realism”

This is not the lab in question.

Forensic Chemist Who Helped Put Hundreds in Jail Pleads the Fifth to Fraud Charges

What might have been be a standard academic fraud case is complicated by the fact that the scientist isn’t just any chemist, she’s a forensic chemist

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Emily Dickinson: The Remix

An ode to the poet, in four takes

Elevator Awkwardness Explained

David Blaine at a recent NYC performance.

David Blaine’s Going to Have 1 Million Volts of Electricity Shot at Him for 72 Hours

Los Angeles could use more green space.

Foreclosed Homes in Los Angeles Will Be Transformed Into Parks

L.A. is transforming foreclosed homes into much-needed urban green spaces

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How Google Keeps Your Spam Out of Your Inbox

You’re probably not surprised to find that there’s some interesting math behind all of Google’s information crunching

Every Day of a 21-Year-Old’s Life, in One Six-Minute Video

Twenty-one years of daily photographs in just over 6 minutes

California Governor Jerry Brown

California Bans ‘Cure The Gays’ Therapy

In California, it’s no longer legal to try to cure homosexual youth

A toothbrush floats in the International Space Station.

It’s Now Legal for Early American Astronauts to Sell Their Space Toothbrushes

A new law lays out the details of who owns souvenirs from the early space era

A bog oak floor.

Giant Tree Trunk Unearthed After 5,000 Years in a Bog

A 44 foot-long piece of a 5,000 year old tree trunk was uncovered on September 25 in the UK

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Google Brings Street View to the Great Barrier Reef

Google Street View-style views take you to on a tour of exotic coastal ecosystems

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Motor-Powered Mario Lets You Play Old-School Donkey Kong in Real Life

Laser-cut figurines and metal balls recreate the early 80s classic

Facebook Zero works on all these phones.

Facebook Snuck Into the World of Basic Cell Phones And Took Over

How Facebook is reaching those without smart phones

High School Students Hit a Forty Year Low on the SAT Reading Section

Over 50 percent of test takers scored below the level that would indicate college success, and scores from every racial group but one (Asian) declined

Clerics take part in a protest against innocence of Muslims, an anti-Islamic film

Cartoons of Mohammed, Anti-Jihad Subway Ads and Other Provocations, Past and Future

Antarctica

68-Year-Old Explorer Plans to Cross Antarctica…in Winter

Sir Ranulph Fiennes will traverse Antarctica by ski, in the middle of winter

The famous painting

Mona Lisa’s Body Might Soon Be Exhumed

The woman suspected to be the subject of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting might be buried in a church in Florence

An Ingenious Way of Shaming Politicians Into Fixing Potholes

A group of annoyed citizens in Yekaterinburg, Russia, reached their wits’ end with the many potholes dotting city roads, so decided to take action

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