About a billion people live in deserts today. This is not a new fad. Humans have walked across the dunes since prehistoric times. However, most of us have no interest in moving to an oasis and trading our car for a camel. Living in a desert is hard. But ancient cultures once mastered these dry […]

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Forget masked robbers, getaway cars, and elaborate bank vaults. Some of the biggest heists of the modern era have required little more than laptops, stolen credentials, clever code, and an understanding of systems holding billions of dollars in digital assets. Cryptocurrency has created a new kind of crime story. Hackers have stolen fortunes without ever […]

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Most engineering is about preventing failure. Strengthen the bridge, reinforce the machine, make the component last longer. But sometimes the smartest design does the exact opposite. Engineers deliberately build a sacrificial response into a system, creating something meant to break, melt, corrode, deform, or release at exactly the right moment. It sounds counterintuitive, but there […]

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Broadway is full of musicals inspired by real people. Alexander Hamilton, Eva Perón, and Fanny Brice have all proved that history can make great theater. But for every smash hit based on a famous figure, there are plenty of shows that fail to find an audience. Some of these productions had acclaimed composers, Tony-winning actors, […]

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The early history along the eastern coast of North America is rife with otherworldly tales of terror and tragedy. Wayward and forlorn spirits are said to mourn the premature deaths of those close to them, while still others are believed to be the ghosts of long-dead victims, wronged but never avenged. Here are ten obscure […]

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Money works because people agree that it has value. Usually, governments and central banks make that agreement easier by printing notes, minting coins, and regulating the financial system. But when conventional money is unavailable, restricted, distrusted, or simply inconvenient, people have repeatedly found substitutes. Prisoners have paid for haircuts with fish and ramen noodles. Prisoners […]

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The world’s oceans are littered with the wrecks of sunken ships, some of which are still stuffed with the cargo they were carrying and the personal effects of passengers and crew. But while anyone diving to explore a shipwreck is likely to find coins and dishware, plenty of more unusual things have also been brought […]

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Professional athletes already train harder than most people can imagine. But for some competitors, ordinary dedication isn’t enough. Their careers become experiments in how far the human body—and mind—can be pushed in pursuit of another second, another victory, or one seemingly impossible goal. Some trained every day for years. Others reshaped nearly every part of […]

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There are many iconic works of art around the world. Some are famous for their artistry, others for the people who created them. But a few are remembered for a stranger reason: no one knows where they are. Some vanished during wartime looting. Others disappeared in brazen museum robberies, leaving behind ransom demands, Mafia theories, […]

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Humans have come a long way since keeping cave bears at bay with a spear. Most people today do not fear getting jumped by wildlife, even though nonhuman animals contribute to nearly a million human deaths every year, mostly through disease transmission and snakebite. The deadliest are not necessarily the animals getting the most attention. […]

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Indiana Jones is the quintessential adventurer, and you can trace much of that reputation back to Raiders of the Lost Ark. This debut film begins with the archaeologist exploring a South American jungle. He enters a rundown temple to find a golden idol, but removing the artifact triggers the temple’s collapse. The most imposing obstacle […]

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Science fiction has long imagined alien landscapes, apocalyptic disasters, and monstrous ecosystems. Yet some of the strangest scenarios ever conceived didn’t originate in a writer’s imagination. They actually happened here on Earth. Buried beneath the crust and preserved throughout the fossil record is evidence of a planetary history far stranger than the world we know […]

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Violence has accompanied humanity throughout recorded history, leaving behind countless mysteries that still puzzle archaeologists today. Advances in forensic science, DNA analysis, and modern imaging techniques have solved some ancient crimes. Still, many remain stubbornly unsolved despite decades of research. From carefully arranged mass graves to murdered kings and frozen victims whose killers were never […]

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The Addams family is one of the most beloved fictional families ever, right alongside the Simpsons and the Bradys. The creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky clan has appeared in countless forms over the decades. It shows no signs of loosening its macabre grip on popular culture, with Netflix’s Wednesday introducing the characters to an entirely […]

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A century ago, the world was between the two world wars that would convulse the twentieth century. But 1926 was far from a year when nothing much was happening. Miami was pummeled by one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history. Britain’s General Strike brought the nation to a standstill. And Mexico was wracked by […]

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Wardrobe is part of the cinematic illusion. Filmmakers use costumes and makeup to bring fictional figures to life in vivid detail. As much as they wow audiences with their craftsmanship, these choices also reveal what kinds of characters we’re dealing with. They’re an incredible tool for visual storytelling, and filmmakers throughout cinema history have proven […]

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Everyone loves a good mystery. Most of us are drawn to tales of the unexplained, the spooky, or the seemingly impossible. We love the thrill of listening to stories about cursed relics and time travelers. But there is a downside, too. There is no doubt that mysteries capture the imagination, but when they remain unsolved, […]

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The mad scientist is a classic stereotype in cartoons and comic books. We’ve all watched a wild-haired character pour something into a beaker, only to have it blow up in their face. In reality, researchers follow strict safety guidelines during experiments. This makes controlled environments ideal for studying scaled-down versions and simulations of deadly phenomena. […]

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When people think of ancient Greek mythology, the same familiar names immediately come to mind, including Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon. However, the vast pantheon extends far beyond these major Olympian figures into deeply specific and strange territories. Ancient communities routinely worshipped minor deities, local spirits, and personified concepts that served hyper-focused roles in daily life. […]

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The boundary between historical documentation and morbid fascination is thinner than most people care to admit. While law enforcement agencies often work to preserve the dignity of sites where tragedies occurred, public curiosity frequently draws visitors to the locations of infamous crimes. From quiet suburban homes where cult murders unfolded to remote roads where legendary […]

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