The Reason People Think Black Cats Are Bad Luck
It's easy to blame a cat for bringing bad luck, and we've been doing it forever. But why? How did this superstition arise?
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The Real Reason You Should Reconsider Using Zoom
With "social distancing" expertly positioning itself as 2020's Word of the Year, companies and schools have turned to teleconferencing with unprecedented interest. At the forefront of this movement has been Zoom, the video calling service which has experienced a meteoric rise to the top.
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The Real Reason Dogs Lick Their Paws
The sudden urge to "nibble" an adorable baby or "dropkick that puppy" because "he's so cute," demonstrates a phenomenon that scientists call cute aggression. Apparently, a person or pet can be so aww-inspiring that you feel the spontaneous urge to eat or beat it.
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What It's Like Inside The G.W. Zoo Today
The subject of Tiger King, one self-styled Joe Exotic, created a zoo/wild animal park in memory of his late brother, the Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Oklahoma. That morphed into the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. Here's what it's like today.
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Do Dogs Really Have Night Vision?
"Dogs can't see color." It's something you learn as a kid and then take with you, unquestioningly, for the rest of your life. Like so many animal tall tales, such the whole "cows always sleep standing up" thing, there is a small fraction of truth here, and lots of exaggeration.
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The Real Reason Dogs Wag Their Tails
You know what's weird? Dog tails. They aren't arms or legs or butt horns. Do people even know what dog tails actually do? Yes. But dog tails are still weird. What's up with that whole wagging thing? Turns out we know that too. This is the real reason dogs wag their tails.
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The Truth About The $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill
On March 26th, 2020, the United States Senate passed an unprecedented $2 trillion financial stimulus bill in response to the historic economic downturn facing the country due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Here's what you need to know.
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Fossil Of 67-Million-Year-Old Raptor Found In New Mexico
Fans of Jurassic Park are well-acquainted with raptors of the "veloci" variety. But that's not what paleontologists dug up in New Mexico, explains the Guardian. Instead, it seems they stumbled across 20 bones belonging to a "cousin" of the velociraptor.
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Germany's $1 Billion Jewelry Heist Might Have Been An Inside Job
Art Recovery International founder Christopher Marinello called it "a theft of epic proportions," according to the BBC. In 2019, a pair of men dressed in black ransacked the lavish Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) at the Dresden Royal Palace.
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The Taiping Rebellion: The Deadliest Civil War You've Never Heard Of
The deadliest civil war in human history, the Taiping Rebellion broke out in the middle of the 19th century. What started as a small sect of violent Christians quickly transformed into a rampaging army of more than 2 million. And buddy, things got bloody.
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Study Suggests Neither Nature Nor Nurture Is What Makes Us Individuals
The "nature vs. nurture" debate which has raged for ages between scientists. But now, some experts point to a third option: neither.
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Water World: Earth May Once Have Been A Global Ocean
Researchers have determined that approximately 3 billion years ago, Earth was a "water world" flooded by a global ocean that spanned from pole to pole. No word yet on whether this diluvial epoch featured any gill-bearing Kevin Costners.
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The Cat Breed That Is Closest To A Lion
If cats knew they were also mostly tiger inside, would they cease to know who or what they are? And are some cats more lion-like than others? If so, which breed best resembles the king of the jungle?
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'Ice Volcanoes' Erupt On Michigan Beach
An employee of the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids took a stroll and noticed the beach belching up water. The worker shared pictures, remarking, "You never know what you'll find at the lake until you go out there. Today it was volcanoes." Specifically, they were ice volcanoes.
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Ecuador's 'Black Giant' Volcano Showing Signs Of Collapse
The Tungurahua volcano, known affectionately in Ecuador as "the Black Giant", has researchers concerned that local instability around the volcano's sides could result in a landslide of epic proportions.
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For Dogs, Cancer Is An STD
Because nature's cruelty knows no bounds, dogs have to worry about contagious, cancerous tumors that can spread when two dogs start behaving more like the birds and the bees.
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How Dirty The Ocean Really Is
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that an estimated eight million metric tons of plastic enter the world's oceans annually. That's tantamount to the weight of about 90 aircraft carriers. Just how dirty is the ocean?
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The Truth About Chernobyl's Radiation-Eating Fungus
If you know one thing about Chernobyl, you probably know that it was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in human history. So it may not come as a surprise that weird, radiation-eating organisms have been discovered there.
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The Truth About Pavlov And His Dogs
You may think Ivan Pavlov discovered Pavlovian responses by conditioning dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. But that wouldn't ring true to Pavlov, since everyone describes the iconic dog study incorrectly. Here's the fascinating and occasionally ugly truth about Ivan Pavlov and his dogs.
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Is Cat Food Bad For Dogs?
Beggars can't be choosers, and nobody begs better than dogs. They'll eat almost anything. So what about cat food, then? How bad could it possibly be?
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Dozens Of Ancient Viruses Discovered In Tibetan Glacier
A group of researchers from Ohio State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, have released a paper stating that they've extracted a series of 15,000 year-old viruses from the ice of a glacier in Tibet.
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Why Are French Bulldogs So Expensive?
A French bulldog costs an average of $2,200 and pretty uniformly weighs less than 30 pounds. Heck, from time to time, they can top six figures per pup. What's the deal? Why are French bulldog owners paying so much more, pound for pound, for so little dog meat?
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The Real Meaning Behind The Wizard Of Oz's Flying Monkeys
The lights are up. The studio audience has taken their seats. Who's ready for another round of "Guess which beloved corner of your childhood is steeped in thick, syrupy racism?" Today, we turn our loving gaze to L. Frank Baum, the creator of the magical land of Oz.
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Spotify Made A Podcast For Dogs Left Home Alone
In a classic case of "your scientists were so busy wondering if they could, they didn't bother to ask if they should," Spotify has released a number of playlists and podcasts for dogs who are left alone at home all day.
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Stolen Painting Found In Museum Wall Could Be Worth $100 Million
"Portrait of a Lady," by Gustav Klimt, features a brown-haired woman against a green background. Her face is a graceful contradiction, almost dead-eyed yet expressive. But it vanished in February 1997. That is, until the lady turned up nearly 23 years later.
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Marina Chapman: Whatever Happened To The Girl Raised By Monkeys?
Marina Chapman, by her own account, has had a roller coaster of a life. Hers is the sort of story that one might point a cynical finger towards -- a tale of a woman that really was raised by capuchin monkeys.
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Canada Accidentally Sent A Nuke Alert To Millions Of Citizens
Imagine just going about your lazy Sunday morning when suddenly, your phone receives a message. Not just any message, mind you -- a cell phone alert from your country's officials, warning about an "incident" at a nearby nuclear plant. Well, that just happened in Canada.
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