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12 Places that Prove Berlin is a Brilliant Wunderkammer
A vibrant cat rollercoaster at Spreepark, Berlin's abandoned dinosaur theme park. (Photo: Norbert Löv/CC BY-SA 2.0)The Germans have a brilliant word for a cabinet of curiosities: the wunderkammer. The...
View ArticleThe Strikingly Well-Preserved Modernist Homes of Pre-Revolutionary Cuba
(All Photos: Stephen Allen)In 1957, the last private residence in Havana to be designed by Cuban architect Ricardo Porro was finished. Situated in the Nuevo Vedado neighborhood, it featured a sharply...
View ArticleVillage Mayor Arrested for Stealing 111 Road Signs
Frank Moracco. (Photo: New York State Police)Frank Moracco has a LinkedIn page, like many working Americans. He has two jobs: mayor of Frankfort, New York, and sign shop supervisor at the state...
View ArticleWatch This Chef Turn a Wad of Dough into Yards of Noodles
Watching someone create hand-pulled noodles is like witnessing magic. First, there's just a block of dough, and moments later, you've got yards of thin, stretchy strings. Fresh, chewy la mian is the...
View ArticleThe Biggest Lion Airlift Ever to Send Dozens of Big Cats to Africa
(Photo: Mara 1/CC BY 2.0)Thirty-three lions start new lives in South Africa, after an environmental group announced that they would be flying the lions to a sanctuary there Friday, having rescued the...
View ArticleFound: Computer Viruses at a Nuclear Plant
The Gundremmingen nuclear power plant in Germany. (Photo: Felix König/CC BY-SA 2.0)Viruses were found on computers at the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant in Germany, officials said Tuesday.But there...
View ArticleThe Complaints the FCC Got Because of Super Bowl 50
Beyoncé at the Super Bowl. (Photo: Arnie Papp/CC BY 2.0)A version of this story originally appeared on Muckrock.com.The FCC has released 45 complaints it received regarding Super Bowl 50, mostly...
View ArticleThe Most Beautiful Tulip in History Cost as Much as a House
Behold the Semper Augustus. (Image: Public domain)Adriaan Pauw was a powerful man. He was a director of the Dutch East India Company, the owner of an entire town, and a diplomat sent to the courts of...
View ArticleSold, for Over $18,000: A Skullcap Worn by the Pope
Congrats on selling my hat, bro! (Photo: Republic of Korea/CC BY-SA 2.0)Among other, more religious things, the pope is known for his hats. And, unsurprisingly, even his most simple chapeaus can fetch...
View ArticleFound: James Monroe's Actual House
This was just the guest house (with a later addition). (Photo: RebelAt/Public domain)James Monroe, one-time ambassador to France, Governor of Virginia, and fifth president of the United States, may not...
View ArticleTake a Tour of Trendy Panama City, Led by Former Gang Members
Alexis Montenegro leads a group of tourists through Plaza Herrera. (Photo: Tania Rodriguez)Ten years ago, the infamous gang leader Mario LaMafia jumped off a fifth-floor balcony of Panama City’s...
View ArticleRead a Japanese Region's New Anti-Flatulence Brochure for Tourists
Japan region revises 'patronising' Chinese tourist guide #NewsFromElsewherehttps://t.co/w4NjMuptlHpic.twitter.com/UpeL21nBCv— BBC Monitoring (@BBCMonitoring) April 26, 2016So you're heading to...
View ArticlePeople Increasingly Identify as Global—Not National—Citizens
(Photo: NASA/Public Domain)People across the world increasingly identify as global citizens, a new BBC poll says, eschewing national identity.Global identity was felt most strongly in developing...
View ArticleBehold the Whoosh Bottle, Science's Coolest Fire Experiment
Behold, the whoosh bottle. You may have seen it before, in a science classroom, since it's a popular experiment designed to demonstrate the large amount of chemical energy produced in the combustion of...
View ArticleThe Urban Legend of the Government's Mind-Controlling Arcade Game
What was Polybius, and did it ever exist? (Photo: albund/shutterstock.com)In a suburban arcade near Portland, Oregon, in 1981, a dull, digital glow bounced off the faces of teenagers who clutched...
View ArticleAll of Belgium Is Going to Get Iodine Pills in Case of a Nuclear Accident
(Photo: Andreas Krischer/CC BY-ND 2.0)Belgium will soon begin distributing iodine pills to its 11 million residents, a precautionary measure that officials say will help in case of a nuclear accident....
View ArticleThe Fascinating Local Color from Illegal NBA Playoff Streams
An NBA All-Star game in Texas. (Photo: Rondo Estrello/CC BY-SA 2.0)In Houston, I watched an elderly dance troupe called the Space City Seniors entertain the crowd during a timeout. In Charlotte, a...
View ArticleThe FBI's Social Media Policies for Agents Are Ham-Fisted Yet Smart
(Photo: Federal Bureau of Investigation/Public Domain)FBI Special Agents are humans, like the rest of us, and they are probably tweeting, and posting stupid photos to Facebook, and maybe sharing memes...
View ArticleA Visual Guide to 11 of the World's Most Baffling Theme Parks
This strange waterfall overlooks the Swarovski crystal theme park. (Photo: Costel Slincu/CC BY 2.0) Disney's theme parks might be the best known, but they are far from the most interesting. Across the...
View ArticleUncover a World of Magical Nature in the Czech Republic
The Velka Amerika in Vysoký Újezd offers such remarkable views that you'll find it hard to believe that it is of this world. (Photo: Karelj/Public Domain)Beyond the awe-inspiring structural wonders of...
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