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Cool Finds

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This Is Probably the World’s Most Beautiful Seismograph

Using different colors of paint and a map of Christchurch, this machine lays down beautiful portraits of New Zealand’s deadly earthquakes

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We Don’t Know the Origins of the Candy Cane, But They Almost Certainly Were Not Christian

There are a lot of explanations floating around out there about the candy cane—but almost none of them are true

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The Most Exclusive Coffee in the World Is Harvested From Elephant Poo

Two cups of the so-called Black Ivory coffee cost around $50, while a pound of the digested beans total a tidy $500

A reef ecosystem grows on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Environmentalists Want To Keep Oil Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Wait, What?

Oil companies want to pull their rigs from the Gulf, but environmentalists are saying “no”

Google Gives Millions To Build Poacher-Hunting Drones

Google has joined Hillary Clinton, basketball star Yao Ming and countless wildlife organizations in the battle against illegal wildlife trade

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In a Homemade Tank, Syrian Rebels Use a PlayStation Controller to Operate a Machine Gun

The Syrian rebel forces, who face a strong disparity in access to the tools of war, have fashioned themselves a homemade tank

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This Weird Map Visualizes Air Pollution as Nose Hair Length

If there’s one thing nobody wants, it’s really long nose hairs. Which is perhaps why Clean Air Asia has decided to start visualizing each person’s air pollution as super-long, disgusting nose hairs

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The Fungus in Your Cheese Is Having Weird Sex

It turns out that the fungi in cheeses like blue cheese aren’t just sitting there, waiting for you to eat them

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Scientists Accidentally Create a Pina Colada Pineapple That Tastes Like a Coconut

Now, scientists have created the cocoapple—a pineapple that tastes like a coconut

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This Is Every Bomb Dropped on London During the Blitz

See all 100 tones of explosives the Germans dropped on London in one map

In New Zealand, Dogs Are Being Taught How To Drive Cars

Because people didn’t think dogs were awesome enough

Here’s How to Make a Scorpion Bomb

Want to keep your enemies at bay? How about throwing a jar of scorpions at them?

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These Beautiful Blurs Are Nude Portraits

New York–based photographer Shinichi Maruyama has a knack for capturing motion on film

“Nothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the Earth than city lights” – NOAA.

Black Marble, Interrupted: Our Mark on the Night Sky, From Space

NASA scientists created global composite images using cloud-free nights to reveal an unprecedented look at how our planet appears at night

Drinking Tea Was Once Considered an Irresponsible, Reckless Pursuit for Women

Poor Irish women who drank tea in the 19th century might as well have been chugging a bottle of whiskey

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Oldest Book Printed on American Soil To Go Up for Sale

A 372-year old book of psalms is set to go up for auction

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The First Text Message, Sent Twenty Years Ago, Was ‘Merry Christmas’

Text messaging turns twenty - celebrating two decades of helping people plan where to meet, wish happy birthday, break up, make up, and generally communicate without actually having to talk to one another

Blame Napoleon for Our Addiction to Sugar

Prior to 1850, sugar was a hot commodity that only society’s most wealthy could afford

Electric Bus Charges While It Picks Up Passengers

Utah State University’s buses charge like an electric toothbrush or cell phone while dropping off and picking up passengers

Could a Computer Out-Diagnose Dr. House?

Could computers may make diagnostic wizardry a thing of the past?

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