Google isn't so much a search engine as it is a panopticon that you opt into. So why don't people freak out about Google's mass data collection like they did when Edward Snowden exposed mass surveillance by the NSA? We're guessing that the company's name has something to do with it.
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You don't really consider it when you're a kid, but all those astronauts you looked up to were depositing paychecks every month. In addition to acclaim, patriotism, and the chance to be an icon, they were at least partially in the space exploration game because it beats digging a ditch.
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Antarctica is cold. You've never seen a photo of Antarctic beaches looking warm and inviting, and you wouldn't want to go for a swim in the Antarctic waters. A lot of serendipitously sucky variables have to come together in just the right way to create conditions that cold.
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In terms of altitude, there is a bird that puts all others to shame. If Snoop Dogg could shapeshift into an avian, he wouldn't even come close. This bird gets so high that most people don't even know it exists; it's literally off their radar. That bird is the Ruppell's griffon vulture.
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If you're a budget-minded traveler, you probably plan your estimated expenses every time you travel. If you're not keeping track, your credit card bill might be pretty shocking. Now imagine you're traveling through space. Just how much would it actually cost to go to Mars?
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Hey, guess what? This world isn't gonna last forever. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, one day the end of the world will arrive. One day the sun will explode or an asteroid will strike or some aliens will come blow everything up and it'll be the end. The real question is, when?
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Mattress companies, for some weird reason, seem to really enjoy telling us how long snails can sleep. The idea that snails can sleep for up to three years has been perpetuated by these sites all across the internet, but is it true? How long do snails sleep, really?
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Humans place a premium on uncommon objects. Perhaps the world's biggest spenders would pay their prettiest pennies for the rarest substance on Earth. What's the rarest substance? Glad you (probably) asked. This is the rarest substance on Earth.
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Not even light can escape from black holes, meaning that if Earth got close enough we'd be screwed. Most black holes are way too far off to pose a real threat to humanity and the earth, but there's one that's relatively close and should maybe be concerning. This is the black hole closest to Earth.
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Every living thing wears out its welcome on Earth eventually and takes a one-way train to oblivion. But some departures hurt worse than others. As painfully unthinkable as it is, dog breeds go extinct and it might not be for the reasons you think. Here's the sad reason dog breeds go extinct.
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Most spider bites won't kill you. Only an itsy-bitsy portion of the world's more than 43,000 known spider species pose a danger to humans. In fact, fewer than 30 species have ever killed a human. Which bites have the best chance of making you bite the dust? What is the deadliest spider in the world?
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In space no one can hear you scream, but can they smell your fear? What does space smell like? Thankfully for those curious sniffers, we've sent lots of astronauts into space, and they can tell us what space smells like ... sort of.
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Hollywood tells us that space is cold. Really cold. We've seen lots of pop culture heroes and villains get frozen to death in outer space. But is that accurate? How cold is outer space, really?
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The humble hamster looks like it wouldn't harm a fly but might totally swallow a fly like an old woman in a nursery rhyme if the fly looked like one of her pups. Want to know why the hamster would swallow a "fly" it gave birth to? Here's the reason hamsters eat their babies.
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Which plant gets the title of "most poisonous" is kind of a subjective thing. Do we mean "most poison per square inch" or "highest mortality rate" or "fastest acting poisonous plant" or "easiest to encounter"? What is science's consensus on the most poisonous plant in the world?
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As you well know, insects come in all shapes and sizes. There are few that stand out for different size characteristics, and you deserve to see them all. But what is the largest insect in the world? We must comb the corners of the world for the biggest, longest, fattest creepy crawlies we can find.
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You may have heard the Old Testament tale of Jonah and the Whale. When Jonah was swallowed by a whale, he was able to relax inside until he thought about what he had done. But is it possible for a human to really be swallowed by a whale? And what would happen?
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Intelligence is incredibly different to standardize and measure because it takes so many different forms. While humans excel in many realms of intellectual ability, there are plenty of areas in which other animal species abilities exceed our own. So what is the smartest animal in the world?
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Why do so many people fear spiders? The vast majority of spiders are harmless, so it's hard to believe that the fear is based entirely on the possibility of a painful or deadly spider bite.Yet spiders are terrifying, terrifying, harbingers of ... what? Do you even know why you're afraid of them?
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When we heard there was a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy we knew it meant bad news. We've seen the movies. But we have little to fear from the black hole and it's surprisingly quiet. Until now. Our galaxy's supermassive black hole might be up to something weird.
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The term "water bear" is a nickname for the tardigrade, an adorable species of nearly invisible little engines that could. Tardigrades are microscopic eight legged animals with incredible powers of adaptability. So where can you find these majestic creatures?
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G-forces, or gravity forces, increase your perceived weight when you accelerate. In fact, subjecting your body to extreme G-forces will not only make you feel both fast and fat; it can knock you unconscious. What's the highest G-force that a human can take before the Sandman comes knocking?
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Consider the following question: what color is the sun? The obvious answer would be to say "That's easy, it's..." before staring into the sky, screaming in pain, and accidentally blinding yourself permanently without ever coming up with an answer. Don't do that. Let us tell you the right answer.
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Great white sharks would be dwarfed by a megalodon shark. Yet despite their obviously superior awesomeness, megalodons no longer exist. So what force of nature could have possibly been so massive, so terrifying, so overwhelming that it could be the reason megalodon sharks went extinct?
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The hottest temperature ever recorded anywhere on Earth was in Death Valley on July 10, 1913, when the mercury reached 134 degrees Fahrenheit. In case you're wondering how hot that is, it's Really Danged Hot. What is it about Death Valley in particular that makes it such an oven?
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The United States' worst hurricane of all time was not Hurricane Katrina, at least in terms of death toll. The United States' worst hurricane of all time was the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Between 6,000 and 12,000 people died, making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
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Flat-Earthers insist that the earth is shaped like a Parcheesi board rather than the sphere that science has shown it to be. If you ever become embroiled in a debate with one of these flat-Earthers, here are a few quick and easy ways to prove the earth isn't flat.
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