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Watch a Sea Snail Swallow a Fish Whole

We fear things that we don't understand, but occasionally we come across things that we do understand that are still terrifying. The Conus is one of these things. The Conus is a genus of carnivorous...

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Identify Any Tree in New York City With this Map

A map identifying each and every one of the trees in New York City, using the latest tree census data. (All photos courtesy of Jill Hubley)Though we may like to think that we know the secrets of the...

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Vintage Photos of Tree Worship at Western College for Women

The freshmen class gives a Pierrot and Pierrette dance in homemade costumes, 1915. (All Photos: Courtesy Miami University Libraries) On May 13, 1891 in Oxford, Ohio, a group of spade-wielding young...

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A New Form of Light Has Been Discovered

(Photo: Ibrahim Iujaz/CC BY 2.0)Scientists announced recently that they have discovered a new form of light, one that breaks a fundamental understanding of physics, and could lead to faster fiber-optic...

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Truman, Trump, and Why Presidential Candidates Get Top Secret Intelligence...

They were originally Harry Truman's idea. Here's Truman with Josef Stalin, left, and Winston Churchill in July 1945. (Photo: Unknown/CC BY-SA 3.0)For weeks, across social media and, presumably, in...

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Over Half of Fish Caught Off New Zealand Are Not in Official Records

(Photo: 昶廷 林/CC BY-SA 2.0)Fishing is a long-standing tradition in New Zealand. It's big business, too: According to official tallies in the island nation, over 15 million tons of fish were caught from...

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The Ben Franklin Statue In Boston Just Took a Bad Fall

More photos of the fallen Ben Franklin statue on the #FreedomTrailhttps://t.co/dDqLhKPfNbpic.twitter.com/IsptLl9J9W— Steve Annear (@steveannear) May 16, 2016The life-size Ben Franklin statue on...

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Take a Look at America's Least Convincing Cell Phone Tower Trees

This cell tower tree in Los Angeles lacks artificial foliage to cover up all the antennae. (Photo: Lord Jim/CC BY 2.0)All over the world, there are trees that quietly carry our phone messages. They...

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Get Out of the Office and Into the Trees as an Urban Arborist

The city trees need love, too. Can you give it to them? (Photo: Helen Alfvegren/CC BY 2.0)In the annals of childhood pleasures that can be turned into actual careers, being a professional tree climber...

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For Sale: A Handwritten Bob Dylan Letter from His Christian Phase

Bob Dylan plays Toronto's Massey Hall during his Gospel Tour. (Photo: Jean-Luc Ourlin/CC BY-SA 2.0)A decades-old letter from Bob Dylan to a friend has recently gone on auction, providing a rare glimpse...

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The WWI Plan To Turn America's Trees Into Telephones

A step-by-step guide to floraphoning your tree. (Image: Smithsonian Libraries/July 1919 "Electrical Experimenter"/Public Domain)Every late-night park walker has been through it. You're lost in thought,...

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A Map of the World's Most Superlative Trees

Illustration by Matt Lubchansky.Sources:Hirsohima TreeMajor OakThe Tree on the LakeOld TjikkoThe Hardy TreeFairy Post OfficeChandlelier Drive-Thru TreeChapel OakTree of LifeHitachi TreeGeneral...

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Found: Secret Rooms in a Very Old Theater

On the main shopping street in Perth, a Scottish city of about 47,000 people, one of Scotland’s oldest theaters is giving up its secrets. The theater’s being restored, and the construction has revealed...

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There’s a Hotline for People With Knotty Wood Questions

Forest Products Laboratory develops codes and standards for large wood structures, such as this one. (Photo: USDA Forest Service/CC BY 2.0)Who would you call if you had a wood-related question? The...

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You Can Again Dine at the KGB's Favorite Restaurant

Aragvi, le Maxim's de la nomenklatura soviétique, rouvre ses portes à Moscou https://t.co/3WRniPSRTG#AFPpic.twitter.com/uDuZ1624rW— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) May 17, 2016In Soviet Moscow, if you...

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Watch a Fast and Furious Bout of Competitive Tree Felling

For regulars at the annual Royal Easter Show in Sydney, Australia, scenes like the one above, in which men simultaneously climb and chop wooden poles in a crowded arena, are routine. But for the rest...

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The International Space Station Has Completed Its 100,000th Orbit of Earth

(Photo: NASA/Public Domain)The International Space Station has been circling the Earth for a very long time. Over 17 years, in fact, enough to travel over 2.6 billion miles, or about the distance from...

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The Facial Recognition App That Could End Public Anonymity in Russia

Moscow's famous Red Square. (Photo: Christophe Meneboeuf/CC BY-SA 3.0)A new app that has already amassed over half a million users in Russia claims to be able to identify strangers on the street using...

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The True Story of the Rainforest Cafe is Even Wilder Than You Thought

A Rainforest Cafe mascot, Cha Cha the red-eyed tree frog. (Photo: Miranda 72/CC BY 2.0)It can be hard to hear the daily specials over the storm, a loud and distracting production that happens every 17...

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We Now Have Evidence of a Mega-Asteroid Strike from 3.5 Billion Years ago

(Photo: NASA/Public Domain)Some 3.5 billion years ago a massive asteroid slammed into the Earth. This wasn't just any asteroid. Scientists estimate that it was over 12 miles wide, and hit our planet...

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