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Think Apple Maps Are Bad? These Cartographics Blunders Were Way Worse

If you think Apple messed up big time, think again. The history of map making is full of far worse blunders

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Open For Business: The 3D Printed Gun Store

After Makerbot and Stasys pulled support, 3-D gun printers have found help elsewhere, and opened an online database of designs

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Was Yasser Arafat Poisoned by Polonium?

In November, the body of Yasser Arafat was exhumed from beneath several feet of concrete to determine whether or not the leader had been poisoned by polonium 210

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Russia Just Voted To Stop Letting Americans Adopt Russian Kids

The Duma - Russia’s power house of Parliament - voted in support of a bill that would ban American citizens from adopting Russian orphans

Larissa and Michael Milne, shown here in their hometown of Philadelphia, sold nearly all their belongings in 2011 and embarked on a tour of the world. Along the way they visited the frightening but fascinating country of North Korea. Also shown in this photo is the Milnes’ travel companion, “Little Rocky,” a six-inch figurine of one of Philadelphia’s most famous native sons.

A Frightening and Fascinating Journey Through North Korea

When a Philadelphia couple took a world tour in 2011, they quickly struck upon the idea of visiting one of the world’s most mysterious places

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Your Guide to the Most Delicious Drinks for the Holidays

Few beers may so strongly evoke the image of dark winters and frozen European landscapes as Imperial Stout—and a bottle fits nicely in a Christmas stocking

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Rasputin Was Murdered Today in 1916

It’s still a mystery who exactly orchestrated and carried out the deed

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We Prefer Our Leaders to Have Deep Voices, Even If They Are Women

Our biology may be influencing our decision making when it comes to how we select our leaders

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The Legend of the Christmas Stocking

What’s behind the holiday tradition of hanging hosiery on the fireplace?

The lodge at Bolivia’s Chacaltaya Glacier was once the world’s highest ski resort—until the glacier melted away almost entirely in just 20 years. The lodge closed its ski facilities in 2009 and stands today amid a rocky, almost snowless moonscape.

As the World Warms, the Future of Skiing Looks Bleak

Climate change is delivering serious wounds to the winter sport all over the globe

The Obamadon is that little blue guy in the left corner.

How To Get an Ancient Lizard Named After You: Get Elected President

Simply get elected president, and you’ll have a fair chance of some newly discovered creature inheriting your moniker

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Your Guide to Selecting the Best (or Is It Worst?) Ugly Christmas Sweater

Holiday cheer with a touch of nostalgia celebrates garish knitwear from the 1940s to ‘80s

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Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?

Some argue that tourist safari hunts generate important money for African nations—but can lions afford the loss?

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What Prehistoric Reptile Do These Three-foot Claws Belong To?

Claws once thought to belong to a giant turtle turned out to be from one of the weirdest dinosaurs ever found

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Where to Watch the Biggest Waves Break

From Waimea Bay to “Mavericks,” here are some superb sites to watch surfers catch the biggest breakers in the world this winter

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The Best in Fashion History: Penny Loafers, Forgotten Suitcases and Hermès Scarves

Three good reads to accessorize your daily routine

Photography by Diana Zlatanovski. Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology malacology collection.

Collecting the World’s Collections of Small Oddities One Day at a Time

A Q&A with Diana Zlatanovski on how she came to collect collections, what they say about design, and how to be a collector without becoming a hoarder

Dining aboard the RMS Caronia, from a 1950s World Cruise brochure.

Dress Codes and Etiquette, Part 3: The Death of the Dinner Jacket on Open Water

Are the days of wearing just a tuxedo t-shirt just over the horizon?

It took many, many long sea voyages and much tedious charting to produce the first crude maps of the world. Today, travelers are increasingly abandoning even the best maps in favor of electronic navigation devices.

Have GPS Devices Taken the Fun out of Navigation?

With the rise of the digital age, the fascinating skills of map reading and celestial navigation are becoming lost arts

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The Pope’s Tweets Are Official Church Doctrine

The pope is officially Tweeting now, under the handle @pontifex, and his Tweets are officially “part of the church’s magisterium.” Which means that anything he Tweets is the teaching authority of the Catholic Church

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