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Cool Finds

How Does One Actually Shrink a Head?

How does one take a regular sized human skull and miniaturize it?

This cicada is part of Brood XIX, a 13-year recurrent swarm from the southern US.

After 17 Years, the Northeast Is About to Be Blanketed by a Swarm of Cicadas

An inch and a half long with bright red eyes, the swarm of Brood II cicadas is coming

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From the Big Bang to the End of the Earth and Everything in Between, the Two Minute History of America

A fun video by a Minnesota high school student tries to capture all of human history in just two minutes

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Should You Trust Nate Silver’s March Madness Bracket?

Everybody’s favorite predictor of the future - Nate Silver - has his own analysis of the tournament over at the New York Times

Part of a whale backbone on the ocean floor

‘Bone-Eating Zombie Worm’ And Eight Other New Species Live on the First Whale Skeleton Found in Antarctica

The Minke whale skeleton was probably on the seafloor for at least several decades and is only the sixth natural whale carcass ever found

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The Science of Internet Virality: Awe and Joy All the Way Down

Cats and babies and corgis? Or something more.

Ecotourists Have Changed Stingrays’ Behavior—And Not for the Better

There might be a dark side to the so-called “interactive ecotourism” business

Hundreds of Emaciated Stranded Sea Lion Pups Are Washing Ashore in California

No one knows what is causing the unprecedented strandings, and the number of pups in need of help is only increasing

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Would You Give up an Ovary for the Ability to Fly? Birds Might Have

For the ability to fly, birds might have ditched on of their ovaries to cut down on their weight

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Nixon Prolonged Vietnam War for Political Gain—And Johnson Knew About It, Newly Unclassified Tapes Suggest

Nixon ran on a platform that opposed the Vietnam war, but to win the election, he needed the war to continue

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This Mountain Is What Curiosity’s Whole Mission Is About

Since August, Curiosity has been inching toward Mars’ Mount Sharp

This cliff swallow has built a nest beneath a road.

Are Birds Evolving to Avoid Cars?

New research suggests that perhaps, for some animals, evolution might be kicking in and helping birds adapt to avoid cars

Most Internet Spam Comes From Just a Handful of ‘Bad Neighborhoods’

The majority of the spam in the internet comes from just a couple of bad neighborhoods

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New Set of Patients May Be Cured of HIV With Early Treatment

Researchers announce that they have cured fourteen adults of HIV by treating them early

Albania Has No Idea What to Do With All of These Leftover War Bunkers

Albania’s 700,000 war bunkers aren’t going anywhere soon, so locals are turning them into hostels, animal sheds and make-out spots

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Whose Idea Were Cruises, Anyway?

By the 1960s, the cruise ship heyday had come and gone

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The Town Featured in ‘Erin Brockovich’ Still Has a Bunch of Pollution in Its Water

The chromium pollution is spreading, and Hinkley’s residents are at a loss for what to do

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Six Centuries Ago, Chinese Explorers Left This Coin Behind in Africa

Emperor Yongle was perhaps best know for starting the initial construction of Beijing’s Forbidden City, but he also sent huge fleets of ships, under the command of admiral Zheng He, out across the ocean to faraway lands

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Beautiful Monarch Butterflies Basically Aren’t Migrating Anymore

Over the past two years, the migration has shrunk by nearly 60 percent, the latest in a long-term plummet

Space suits might not be this sexy, but sex is space is bound to happen.

Are We Ready to Have Babies in Space?

As technology progresses, and people talk seriously about trips to Mars or other planets, the questions of love and sex in space become more pressing

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