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Smart News / Smart News Travel

A screenshot from the game Airport Scanner.

It’s Relatively Easy to Spot Water Bottles in Airport Scanners; Guns, Not So Much

Researchers plan to examine whether the same tendencies to overlook uncommon items exist among trained TSA professionals, just as it does gamers

Disney’s childhood home in Chicago (on the corner), as depicted by Google Street View.

Walt Disney’s Childhood Home May Soon Be a Museum

The new owners may return the house to the same conditions it was in when young Disney ran through its halls

Freezing fog is reflected in great patterns on this Kaibab Limestone at the Grand Canyon.

This Awesome Atmospheric Anomaly Filled the Grand Canyon With Fog

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in recent days were treated to a special sight as a rare atmospheric behavior filled the canyon

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With 502,165 Bulbs, Australian Man Retakes World Record for Most Christmas Lights on a Single Home

David Richards first claimed that title back in 2001, with a paltry 331,038 lights, but last year he was overtaken by a New York family

Ghost Hunters Burn Down Historic Mansion

In Old Arabi, Louisiana the historic LeBeau Plantation was burned down by men looking for ghosts, according to local news reports

St Peter’s square, as seen from St Peter’s Basilica

Are These the Bones of Saint Peter?

On Sunday, Pope Francis displayed the remains of what is thought to be Saint Peter

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The World’s Tallest Water Slide Is More Than 134 Feet Tall

Riders—who will descend in inflatable rafts of four rather than alone—will reach speeds of more than 65 miles per hour

The Bird in the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock Weighs 330 Pounds

The clock is based on a much smaller cuckoo clock that is about 100 years old - scaled up sixty times

A páramo ecosystem in the Andes.

This Spot in the Andes May Be the Fastest-Evolving Place on Earth

Like isolated islands, evolution in these mountainous, unique environments seems to be ticking away at a faster beat than run-of-the-mill habitats

Before the World Cup, Brazilians Are Trying to Learn English

Brazilians have 211 days left to prepare for the World Cup one of the things many of them are doing to get ready is to try and learn English

Moscow Will Give You a Free Subway Ticket If You Do 30 Squats

The Moscow subway system will now reward riders with a free trip in exchange for 30 squats

Washington Monument Scaffolding Is Coming Down Today

Two years later, the scaffolding around the Washington Monument is ready to come down

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Almost Half the Runners in the NYC Marathon Were Supposed to Race Last Year

New York’s marathon is the country’s largest, and last year, it was cancelled

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Watch “Vintage” Signs Get Made in This Portland Shop

From painting to stenciling to distressing, watch a sign come to life in this little video from the shop

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The Most Isolated Tree in the World Was Killed by a (Probably Drunk) Driver

The acacia was the only tree for 250 miles in Niger’s Sahara desert and was used as a landmark by travelers and caravans

Archimedes Would Be Proud of This Now-Bright Norwegian Town

Inspiration for the idea traces back to the 212 BC legend about Archimedes’ burning mirrors used to set Roman battle ships ablaze

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Visit the Edge of Space on the Cheap in a High-Altitude Balloon

Do your best Felix Baumgartner impersonation with this balloon trip to the stratosphere

This Man From Calgary Spent 23 Years on the Road, Visiting Every Country in the World

While many other people have also managed to visit more than 190 countries, in Bown’s book those visits don’t count

There Are No More Landlines in This Town

Residents, however, are not pleased and demand their landlines to be reinstated

Part of the city of Mohenjo Daro

The 4,500-Year-Old City of Mohenjo Daro Is Crumbling, And No One Is Stopping It

The ruins had been preserved for thousands of years, but now they’re fading fast

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