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How the Poppy Came to Symbolize World War I

Red blooms help the world commemorate a bloody war

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10,000 Scrotum Frogs Found Dead Near Lake Titicaca

Over 10,000 of the world’s largest water frogs were found dead along the Coata River, a tributary of the heavily polluted lake

President Barack Obama and Republican Party nominee Mitt Romney broke bread at the 2012 Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.

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The History of Presidential Politics’ Most Important Dinner Date

For decades, the Al Smith Dinner has helped Catholic voters dine and decide

Jia Jia

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Goodbye, Jia Jia: World’s Oldest Captive Panda Dies at Age 38

Throughout her long life, Jia Jia helped the dwindling number of pandas bounce back

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Countries Agree to Cut Harmful Refrigerants: What You Need to Know

Over the weekend, nearly 200 nations agreed to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, a super greenhouse gas used in air conditioners and refrigerators

Sumando Ausencias (2016)
Doris Salcedo

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An Artist Blanketed Bogota’s Bolívar Square With the Names of Victims of Colombia’s Civil War

Remembering the dead as the country struggles to make peace

The Great Hall of the People in Beijing is now on a 20th-century cultural preservation list in China.

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China Now Has a 20th-Century Architectural Heritage List

A country with an uneasy relationship to its past will preserve 98 buildings of the 20th century for future generations

An illustration of the Schiaparelli lander detaching from the Trace Gas Orbiter as it makes its way to the surface of Mars

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Five Things to Know About the Schiaparelli Probe Heading for a Touchdown on Mars

A lot is riding on the European Space Agency’s first Mars lander

Protestors at Tiananmen Square in 1989

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China Will Finally Release the Last Tiananmen Square Prisoner

Miao Deshun has been in prison for the majority of his life

Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty

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What to Know Now That the King of Thailand Has Died

Political uncertainty and potential unrest follows the death of the beloved Bhumibol Adulyadej

John Cohen photographs a young Bob Dylan playing his guitar and harmonica in New York City in 1962.

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Five Things to Know About Bob Dylan

When it comes to awards, the times are a’ changin’—and now the iconic musician is a Nobel laureate

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on NASA's final space shuttle mission from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 8, 2011.

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Many of NASA’s Recent Successes Actually Date Back to the Bush Administration

Some leaps, launches and grand plans for the future

A malnourished Somalian baby is held by its mother while waiting for food during a 2011 drought.

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It’s 2016. Here’s How Hungry the World Is

More than 21 percent of the developing world is in “serious” need of food, according to a new report

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Obama Just Signed a Law Mandating Diaper Changing Tables in Men’s Restrooms

The BABIES Act will put changing tables in men’s rooms in public, federal facilities

The Countess of Computing was the daughter of the Princess of Parallelograms.

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Five Things to Know About Ada Lovelace

The “Countess of Computing” didn’t just create the world’s first computer program—she foresaw a digital future

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Landmark Settlement Seeks to Address Decades of Harassment Faced by Female Mounties

The historic apology to women in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police comes with steps to prevent future abuse

A set of Civil War-era cannonballs were uncovered on a South Carolina beach after Hurricane Matthew.

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Civil War-Era Cannonballs Unearthed by Hurricane Matthew

The destructive storm dug up some old history

People protest the Ethiopian government's alleged killing of Oromo students and seizure of Oromo lands in Addis Ababa in 2014.

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Why Ethiopia Just Declared a State of Emergency

Anti-government protests have roiled the fast-growing country

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