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Two BlizzCon attendees dress up as Blood Elves, a race from the World of Warcraft.

The NSA Was Spying in World of Warcraft

And in Second Life

Watch Some of the Most Important Moments of Nelson Mandela’s Life

Former South African president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has passed away

Here’s How Astronauts Will Eat Thanksgiving Dinner in Space

Yum yum yum, irradiated smoked turkey and thermostabilized yams

Here’s What the U.S. Is Trying to Do With the Iran Nuclear Deal

The Iran nuclear deal won’t stop the country’s ability to make a nuclear weapon, but it will give us more warning time

Today Is World Toilet Day, Celebrate Accordingly

Celebrate by appreciating your fancy toilet and considering those who live without one

Physical bitcoins exist, but the currency is a digital one.

Powering the 21st Century

Bitcoins May Power the Next Election Cycle

Soon, you might be able to donate bitcoins to your favorite poltician’s campaign

Indonesian Volcano Spews a Four-Mile High Column of Ash

Until August 2010, Mount Sinabung had been inactive for centuries

China Is Slowly Undoing Its One-Child Policy

The addition of an extra exemption will let more Chinese families have more than one child

For just $875,000, you, too, could live in scenic Malta. Or anywhere else in the European Union.

Want European Union Citizenship? You Can Buy It

Got a million dollars sitting around? Move to Europe, and bring your friends

This Robot Is Powered by Pee

From bug eaters to pee drinkers, these robots of the future will be part of the food chain

One of the Strongest Hurricanes Ever Seen Is About to Hit the Philippines

Since detailed observations began, only three hurricanes on Earth have been this strong

A poster for the Degenerate Art exhibit that ran in Munich’s Residenz in 1937

A Billion Dollars of Modernist Art, Stolen by Nazis, Was Just Recovered in Munich

As many as 1,500 pieces of modernist art were just found in a Munich apartment

Germany Adds a Third Gender to Birth Certificates

Parents of newborns born in Germany now have a third option for the gender section of their birth certificate

The Sriracha Factory Could Get Shut Down. Panic?

Stock up now, the Sriracha factory is facing shutdown

U.S. paratroopers drop into Grenada

30 Years Ago Today, the U.S. Invaded Grenada

The conflict pit the U.S. military against Grenadian revolutionaries and the Cuban army

None

Australia’s Military Accidentally Set the Country on Fire

Australia’s largest wildfire is the result of a weapons test gone awry

A street scene in Harbin

Air Pollution Closed Schools in China

Officials blamed the influx of smog on three factors—windless conditions, bonfires of harvested corn stalks and a fired-up municipal heating system

You Can Buy the Violin That Played the Titanic Out

The violin of Wallace Hartley, a member of the on-board orchestra, is up for auction

Children stand near a memorial at Cambodia’s killing fields

The Trial of Cambodia’s Genocidal Leaders Is Nearing a Verdict

More than 30 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, trials of the group’s genocidal leaders are inching closer to a verdict

Glitches in the Common Application Have Seniors Pulling Their Hair Out

Should the Common App fall down entirely, we’ll probably hear the collective wail millions of high school seniors all over the country

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