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This 17th Century Map of the Skies is Bursting With Mythological Creatures
This stunning map of the skies is the work of Frederik de Wit, a Dutch cartographer from the 17th century. (Photo: Frederik de Wit/Public Domain)For time immemorial, humans have turned their gaze...
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The Illicit Spelunker Capturing Underground Scenes at Chernobyl
Wrecked machinery in the Chernobyl sarcophagus. (All Photos: Alexander Kupny)It is hard to imagine the circumstances why someone would want to climb into a small hole under the Chernobyl’s...
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Gopalpur Lighthouse in Gopalpur, India
This no-name lighthouse in a small Indian beach town withstood two of the biggest cyclones in recent memory, and it continues to stand silently on one of the quietest beaches in the world.The small...
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Found: The Largest Python Ever Captured
The python was 26 feet long, and very heavy. (Photo: Malaysia’s Civil Defence Force)The construction workers found the python curled up under a tree, and they did what most of us would do in that...
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New Zealand's Biggest Sheep Race Was Led By a Black Goat
Sheep lined up for the main event. (Photo: Adam McGhee)Everyone knows about Spain's gory, theatrical Running of the Bulls. But those in the market for something less dramatic may want to check out New...
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The Man Who Began America's Yurt Craze
Bill Coperthwaite, who died in 2013, in his yurt in 2003. (Photo: Kevin Bennett/Bangor Daily News)The story of yurts in America begins 44 years ago, when Bill Coperthwaite was leafing through National...
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Have Fun Trying to Reach the Poles of Inaccessibility
It's a lonely world, and these are the Poles of Inaccessibility are the loneliest places in it. (Photo: Google Maps/Map Data 2016)Everyone wants to get away, but how far can you actually get? Geography...
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Satan's Land in Provo, Utah
The ruins of an early 20th century iron factory sit on the largest tract of undeveloped land in Provo, Utah. Known colloquially to a handful of locals as Satan’s Land, the area has been a haven for...
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British Spy Agency Tried to Stop a Massive Harry Potter Leak
Fans waiting to buy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (Photo: Raul654/CC BY-SA 3.0)The year 2005 was a different time. A lot of people were wearing trucker hats, for example, and, until April...
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Mel Brooks Handprint in Los Angeles, California
Believe it or not, 2014 marked the 40th anniversary of Young Frankenstein. To commemorate this Mel Brooks classic, Grauman’s Chinese Theater asked him to add his hands and feet to the famed forecourt...
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The Perilous Art of Iraqi Truffle Hunting
Cousins Khogir (left) and Aram carry trowels, water bottles and a bag each of gathered truffles. (Photo: Campbell MacDiarmid)In the springtime, the arid lands of northern Iraq undergo a dramatic...
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Orvieto Underground in Orvieto, Italy
Building a city on top of a bluff has its advantages: it looks nice, and it provides formidable natural defenses. On the other hand, it doesn’t leave you a lot of space to work with, and it limits...
View ArticleWatching a Laser Clean a Baking Tray is Surprisingly Satisfying
In the future, we will live in a world in which we don't have to do the dishes. Instead, we will give our used kitchenware to our household robots, who will take care of all of the scraps and residue...
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When America's Most Notorious Lobbyist Produced a Dolph Lundgren Film
Lundgren in Red Scorpion. (Photo: YouTube) A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail. No matter how many redemption tours...
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Chinese Scientists Have Edited the Genes of Human Embryos—Again
(Photo: Geoff Hutchison/CC BY-ND 2.0)In 50 years, when water has submerged Manhattan, disease has been edited out of the human genome, and the world has become an Orwellian dystopia, you may think...
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C-Mine in Genk, Belgium
Located in the Belgian city of Genk, the former Winterslag coal mine, once a major source of industry in the city, has been converted into a sprawling contemporary art campus where visitors can...
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The Lewes Avalanche Tablet in Lewes, United Kingdom
A quiet residential street and a local pub mark the site where eight people died via the somewhat tenuous disaster known as, “The World’s Only Avalanche to Happen at Sea Level”.England is famed for its...
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Witch Hunting for Dummies: The 15th-Century Witchcraft Manual
Malleus Maleficarum (Photo: Cornell University Library, Kroch Library, Division of Rare Books and Manuscripts, BF1569.A2 I59 1519 tiny)German clergyman Heinrich Kramer really had it out for witches. A...
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The High Heel Church in Budai Township, Taiwan
Standing on a large concrete disc in Ocean View Park, in Taiwan's Budai township, is a massive glass slipper that looks as though it would be fit for a giant Cinderella. But in actuality this strange...
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The Self-Sacrificing Japanese Pilgrims Who Chose to be Swallowed by the Sea
Two Buddha statues in Japan, showing Bodhisattva Seshi (left) and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (right). (Photo: Nelo Hotsuma/CC BY 2.0)Sometime around the year 1000, a young man in Japan named Sanuki no...
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