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How Unions and Regulators Made Clothing Tags an Annoying Fact of Life
Icons for clothing care on a label. (Photo: aotaro/CC BY 2.0)A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail. Recently, there was...
View ArticleWatch a Kitten Get Rescued After Becoming Stuck in a Sunflower
This time curiosity almost did kill the cat.If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when an adorable animal lodges itself in a flower, this video is for you. This cat is quite literally just hanging...
View ArticleWatch 2 Men Waltz in the First Experimental Film With Sound
In 1998, film editor Walter Murch carefully connected an old, 40-foot-long strip of 35mm nitrate film with a cylinder soundtrack. When he finally synchronized the gentle tune of a violin with the...
View ArticleYou Can Become a U.S. Citizen at Mount Rushmore or Yosemite
New citizens waving their American flags in the Great Hall at Ellis Island. (All photos: Tao Tao Holmes/Atlas Obscura)“Are you ready to become U.S. citizens?”“Yes.”“It doesn't sound like it. Family and...
View ArticleThe Ashen Remains of a Canadian Boomtown After a Massive Wildfire
It's hard to distinguish much in the ash. Washing machines, mattress coils. A child's bike. #ymm#ymmfirepic.twitter.com/Lwzl9YjssI— Andrea Ross (@_rossandrea) June 8, 2016Last month, a massive and...
View ArticleThis Floating Schoolhouse Just Collapsed After a Heavy Storm
The school before the collapse. (Photo: 準建築人手札網站 Forgemedia/CC BY 2.0)Nigeria’s Makoko Floating School, an experimental three-story schoolhouse, has collapsed under the stress of a severe rainstorm,...
View ArticleFound: A Hidden Monument in the Center of Petra
Petra. (Photo: Jan Smith/CC BY 2.0)Sarah Parcak, the space archaeologist, keeps finding new and exciting places, by looking down from above. In a new paper, National Geographic reports, she and...
View ArticleWatch an Action-Packed Video of a Swedish-Ukrainian Berry Rake
If you have been picking your blueberries and mulberries one by one, then you have been doing it wrong. Welcome to the juicy world of berry rakes, which expedite the process 10-fold, and even come with...
View ArticleWant to Make America More Inclusive? Start With Stamps
Stamps from around the world. (Photo: Simon Davies/CC BY-SA 2.0) When attendees walk into theWorld Stamp Show, a collectors convention held somewhere in the U.S. every 10 years, they’re greeted by a...
View ArticleWhat Do Scientists Do When They Think They Might Have Intercepted Alien Signals?
A look at space, from Hubble. (Image: NASA/Public domain)Imagine that you’re an astronomer, working in your lab, day in and day out, analyzing signals from space. Waves of energy pass through, you...
View ArticleGiant Inflatable Dog Poop Is Stolen in Spain
Éxito absoluto en #Torrelodones de la campaña contra las deposiciones caninas. #nomascacashttps://t.co/lEUJrDr2USpic.twitter.com/6xMWnUEooW— Ayto Torrelodones (@Torrelodones_wb) June 8, 2016Faced with...
View ArticleWhat It's Like to Run a Fan Site For the Arguably Worst Team in NBA History
The paper bag says it all: a 76ers fan at the December 2015 game against the Memphis Grizzlies in Philadelphia. (Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)This NBA season has been extraordinary. The Golden...
View ArticlePortuguese Slave Traders Were No Match for Angolan Queen Nzinga Mbandi
Nzinga as illustrated by Pat Masioni for UNESCO's series on women in African history. (Photo: UNESCO/CC BY 3.0)In the 16th century, Portuguese slave traders turned to the Congo and southwest Africa,...
View ArticleChina's Plans for a Huge 'Space Station' Nearly 2 Miles Underwater
The South China Sea. (Photo: Rod Waddington/CC BY-SA 2.0)China has long been behind the U.S. and other countries when it comes to deep-sea research, which can be expensive, since it requires...
View ArticleMeat Raffles are the Juiciest Bar Trend
Meat prizes on display at a meat raffle. (Photo: Erick Hansen)If you’re from Minnesota, Wisconsin, or western New York, you’d likely recognize a carnivorous event known as the meat raffle, where locals...
View ArticleThey've Finally Named 4 New Elements
(Photo: Ed Uthman/CC BY 2.0)Last January, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry announced something big: four new elements. All super-heavy—meaning they each contain a high number of...
View ArticleRead the Public Testimony to Make the Stonewall Inn a New York Landmark
(Photo: Travis Wise/CC BY 2.0)A version of this story originally appeared on Muckrock.com.Last year, days before the 46th anniversary of the eponymous riots that sparked the modern LGBT movement, the...
View ArticlePhotographing the World's Secret Subterranean Spaces
Data centre in the former Pionen bunker, 100ft below the Södermalm district in Stockholm. (Photo: Samuel Merrill)If you found yourself walking around the Södermalm district of Stockholm, you may see...
View ArticleHow a Hotel in Chicago Convinced Drivers They Needed Parking Garages
An ad targeted towards auto travelers. (Photo: Landmarks Illinois/Public domain)The arms race for parking in cities began at an upscale hotel in Chicago. The city's La Salle Hotel was an opulent,...
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