f a garden-variety dog could talk it'd probably inform humans that starvation sets in roughly five seconds after the plastic on a slice of processed cheese makes that distinctive crinkly noise. But how long can dogs really go without food?
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Let's start by establishing that this is a safe, judgement-free zone, and nobody is making any assumptions about anybody else, or the things that no one should ever be doing to their cat.
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Lionheart. Great nickname for a Medieval king.
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We know dogs are great at sniffing out all sorts of maladies, whether it's the bag of cocaine you accidentally shoved too far up your backside or cancer of the non-butt. Their otherworldly olfactory senses might even be useful in detecting COVID-19. Here's how dogs could help detect the coronavirus.
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Felines, believed to be domesticated first in Egypt, were held in such high regard that anyone who killed a cat, even by accident, was in turn sentenced to death. What is up with Egyptians and cats?
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Odds are, Jeff Bezos has more money than anybody else on the block. Pick a block. Any block. The question arises, however: Just how much money will he have in the future?
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In 2003, Siegfried and Roy's time in the spotlight came to a tragic, if predictable, end. So what happened to the menagerie of performing creatures under the magicians' care? And what happened to Montecore?
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Elegant and marble-like, cat eyes have a hypnotic quality to them and do a fantastic job of scaring the bejesus out of unsuspecting people when those peepers creepily glow in the dark. But what colors do they actually see?
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Waylon Jennings sang about heartbreak, hard luck, and hard choices. And as it turns out, he knew all about that stuff, as he lived a tough life marked with pain, struggle, and loss. Here's a look at the tragic, ramblin' life of Waylon Jennings.
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Counterfeiting cash is a crime that has been around as long as legitimate currency. Here's how people are attempting to do it today.
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It feels like we're all on house arrest now, given our quasi-quarantine experience. But truthfully, our experience is not at all what it really feels to be placed under house arrest.
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The Aldi supermarket chain boomed in Germany after WWII. Unfortunately, the store's origin story isn't as happy as its success might make it seem. As business boomed, danger loomed, and in 1971 that danger abducted Theo Albrecht. Here's the truth about the Aldi owner's kidnapping.
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The U.S. is one of the few Western countries that still allows capital punishment; most frequently the sentence is handed down for the crime of murder... here's what those final 24 hours are like for the condemned.
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While not everyone framed for a horrible crime goes on the run like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive, the real world is full of grim cases of misplaced blame. These celebrities were all accused of crimes, but it was later found they hadn't done the dirty deeds.
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Vile and defiant until the bitter end, the infamous "Killer Clown" had spent years fighting to have the last laugh. He would spend his last 14 years clogging up the courts with appeals, like a stubborn turd in the toilet of justice.
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How did this Steven Seagal, this staple of '90s action shlock and 2000s video on demand become a sworn-in peace officer capable of calling in a suburban tank assault? All we can do is present the pieces of the puzzle. It's nobody's fault that they don't match the picture on the box.
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Paramount's miniseries Waco premiered recently on Netflix, an attempt to dramatize the events of early 1993 at the Branch Davidian compound where ultimately 75 people died, including children. One of the characters in the series is FBI negotiator Gary Noesner. Here's his story.
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Being a cult leader basically requires being pretty crazy. That's why some myths about them have persisted for so long. But if you believe the supposed facts about cult leaders listed here, it's time for some reeducation. Here are false facts about cult leaders you always thought were true.
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A cult leader's first convert is themselves. No matter how obviously skeevy or devious they may seem to outside observers, the leader remains the hallowed object of self-worship, and their own most zealous believer.
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The first crack in Pink Floyd's cohesion probably came when Barrett, also the main songwriter, discovered LSD. He eventually left the band. But he wouldn't be the last to do so. Roger Waters eventually left as well.
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Carlos Santana has had a fascinating life. And he's been married. Twice, as a matter of fact, to two fascinating people.
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With his social media fame, considerable financial resources, and buff looks, it was really just a matter of time before Bilzerian got his mitts in the movie business, and at the time of writing, his IMDb page indeed shows a handful of roles -- to be precise, five.
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We all know Willie Nelson as one of the most recognized musicians in country and folk music, but his three sons have also carried on the sterling musical tradition their father began.
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In a 2010 episode of Mythbusters titled "Flu Fiction," the reality of the way germs can spread is spelled out in simple, easy to follow terms using the crew's patented show-don't-tell approach to science. It's illuminating. And gross.
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Nasty Nas, born Nasir Jones, broke onto the rap scene with 1994's raw, up-front Illmatic, which chronicled Nas' life growing up in Queensbridge Houses in Queens, New York. He became a living legend. So how'd he end up broke?
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Yoga doesn't exactly make you think of a fedora-wearing, Bentley-driving, cursing showman, but that's precisely who Bikram Choudhury is. Here is the crazy real-life story of hot yoga founder Bikram Choudhury, from his meteoric rise to fame to his disgraceful run from the law.
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Regardless of your personal opinion of Joe Rogan, there's no denying that the guy's doing pretty well for himself. He's had an interesting career, including his stint as the host of Fear Factor. Here's how he got that gig.
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Before Kurt Cobain ended his tragically short life, he addressed his issues in a sort of letter he wrote to his fans that wasn't circulated during his lifetime.
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Rank has its privileges. The most successful among us have always been better equipped to chase their bliss, and as Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame can attest, spending fifteen years as the co-host of a cable network's most profitable property buys you a lot of bliss chasing.
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In 2003, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson managed to summarize his life in 5 words: Get Rich or Die Trying, the title of his highly successful debut album. He got very rich. So how'd he end up losing his money and filing for bankruptcy?
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Should you decide to get involved in the seedy underworld of pool halls and speakeasies, it's important to have a friend in the know. Someone with the experience to warn you when you're stepping into dangerous territory. A pal with a pocket full of helpful mnemonic truisms ...
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Twin Peaks may be the quintessential example of a TV series finale that blew peoples' minds with its extreme not-good-ness, but the 2004 to 2010 TV Series, Lost, has to be right up there as a show whose ending still angers and perplexes people.
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Cash has a truly astounding legacy, and enough signature songs to fill a set list. What could have prompted the country legend to turn his gaze toward an industrial rock song?
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Rock 'n' Roll is a volatile business, and it's not uncommon for musician feuds to emerge, even within your own band. This arguably applies double when your band contains siblings, and triple when their last name is Gallagher.
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In many ways, Cobain was riding the winning horse of the great grunge race. As such, he made a fairly pretty penny over the course of his all-too-short career. Here's how much Kurt Cobain was worth when he died.
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In a 1977 interview with the Washington Post, the iconic Rock Hudson declared, "A mirror is the biggest liar there is — you never see yourself as others see you."
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David Bowie's back catalog is stuffed with legendary tunes, from old favorites like "Space Oddity," "Life on Mars?" and "Starman" to modern classics like "Lazarus." Still, there's a flip side to a career that's absolutely filled to the brim with quality music. Here's his most underrated song.
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You'd be hard-pressed to find a rock star who has found more success than Dave Grohl, a man who seems to turn everything he touches into pure, distilled rock 'n' roll -- a substance which in his case has been at least as valuable as gold. Here's how much he's worth.
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Without David Bowie, we may never have known just how Peter Frampton felt. Here's how Bowie may have saved his life.
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Sometimes all it takes is a pair of fresh eyes to spot the giant, potentially offensive flaws in your art. For KISS, those eyes came in the form of the entire nation of Germany, who pointed out that the band had accidentally gone and dumped the Nazi Schutzstaffel insignia at the end of their logo.
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The first Juggalos were arguably born before the word 'Juggalo' existed. That sounds a bit like fodder for a chicken-and-egg debate, but as Shaggy 2 Dope told the Metro Times, avid fans painted their faces before there was a label for it.
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Is there an actor who has done more in Hollywood than Clint Eastwood? The tall, darkly charismatic man has gone from one of the most esteemed Western stars in history to an acclaimed, award-winning director who keeps making quality movies six decades later.
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Grunge circles weren't the cozy love-in that fans would perhaps prefer to imagine them as. "There was a rivalry to have your voice be heard, and be successful," is how Courtney Love described the situation.
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Regardless of what your opinion about R.E.M. is, there's no denying that they shaped the face of alternative rock for years. Heck, they've basically been every kind of alternative rock band themselves. They spent their formative years as cult favorite college rockers.
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Rick Allen was a founder of the legendary heavy metal band, Def Leppard, but the musician would also be known for his miraculous comeback to the drums after an accident changed his life forever.
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Duran Duran was the 1980s, with two Grammys, several million records sold, and an absolute banger of a James Bond theme, a feat few musicians can claim. But along the way, Duran Duran encountered some events that would have shattered lesser bands. This is the crazy real-life story of Duran Duran.
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Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks are each musical legends in their own right, but back in the day, Petty gave Nicks advice that would result in some great music.
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It is an unfortunate fact that financial woes can come to any of us, no matter our level of success or our adamant stance on the subject of whether or not we can be touched. M.C. Hammer, born Stanley Kirk Burrell, came into money hard and fast when he released Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Em in 1990.
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It's been the better part of half a century since Antiques Roadshow took to the airwaves in its original British format. Yes, Antiques Roadshow started out as a BBC production. It's a show about people complimenting other people's musky possessions in moderate tones. This shouldn't be a shock.
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Among the more intriguing elements of Jet Li's personal life was his decision to renounce his American citizenship and jet off to new lands. What country could possibly propel Jet Li to just leave?
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KISS: a thing you shouldn't do all night or every day with strangers when faced with a highly contagious virus. And as of May, it's also a legendary band you won't catch playing on a cruise ship until at least 2021.
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Fear Factor was basically about what kind of horrifying things contestants would actually try. Some people went above and beyond, and participated in some truly horrible challenges. Some did stuff you would say "no way" to, and we salute them. These are the absolute worst challenges on Fear Factor.
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In the film Bohemian Rhapsody, Jim Hutton is portrayed as romantic Yoda who, in many ways, fixes the troubled rock star. The reality of Jim and Freddie's time together was a lot less cinematic.
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For most people, a tsunami isn't a near-death experience — it's an uncheatable death. Tsunami researcher and forecaster Vasily Titov called it the reverse of an earthquake in terms of casualties, because it's such a difficult disaster to survive.
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The old joke is, "Where does a 500-pound gorilla sit?" And the answer is, "Anywhere he wants!" So, what kind of car does one of the world's richest men drive? Anything he wants. And what he wants, historically, is ...
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In a 2008 piece written for Esquire, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained his interest in manned interstellar travel by laying out some of the most likely threats to the human race. And do you know what else would be pretty bad? A Friday without boozy creations like Jello shots.
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It's never easy, watching a member of an iconic group take their first tenuous baby bird steps out of the nest and plummet like a fleshy brick. Nobody hit terminal velocity with the same aplomb as Paul McCartney, and his band Wings.
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The Three Stooges was an act that went all the way back into vaudeville. The act lasted nearly 50 years, and though Moe, Larry and Curly were the most famous, there were other "replacements" throughout the shows tenure.
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Prior to performing his final song for MTV Unplugged in New York, Kurt Cobain shared an anecdote about a very special guitar. He was preparing to play "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," a song by his favorite performer: Lead Belly. He got it, and now it's selling for way more.
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Love scenes in movies are difficult to get right, so any time a love scene turns out well the actors involved should probably get an award. A lot of movies end up with really bad love scenes. Here are some of the worst love scenes of all time.
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the highlights of November for many people, right behind the culinary delights of Thanksgiving. But the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade hasn't always been a polished, smooth celebration. Here are Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade bloopers you forgot about.
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No matter how successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is, it's still a product of Hollywood magic, and the internet is awash with behind-the-scenes photos, often courtesy of the actors' social media accounts. Here are some set photos that'll change how you see the MCU movies.
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Right about now, Bryan Adams might be wishing he was back in the summer of '69 doing all the things that implies, such as falling in love 69-style and attending Woodstock. But instead of taking stock of his wood, Adams has to do damage control because of an online rant about the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Living on the USS Enterprise had some serious downsides.
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Feeling insane in the membrane, and need a little magic in your life? Watch the video for Insane Clown Posse's "Hokus Pokus." If Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope's magic is just too dope for you to resist, you might become one of their devoted Juggalos.
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Jerry Stiller, father of comedian and filmmaker Ben Stiller, has died at the age of 92 of natural causes. Ben announced the death May 11, 2020.
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The good news is that money can't buy happiness, so the joy quotient at Disneyland shouldn't be affected. The bad news is, money can — and has — paid for every other aspect of Disney's iconic vacation spots, so the rest of the experience is in a lot of trouble.
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Sir Paul McCartney is so good that when his name pops up in a conversation, there's a chance people won't even make bassist jokes. Of course, that has something to do with the fact that he also plays a few other instruments. And sings. And has a stellar solo career.
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Yes, there was another Tussaud in the pantheon of wax figure entrepreneurs, and according to popular opinion, his museums are just the worst.
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Fiona Apple, that '90s musical wunderkind, a classically trained pianist who dropped an album at age 17 and has been selling recordings and racking up awards ever since, also spent some time behind bars. Here's why.
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Elon Musk and Warren Buffett: two guys who really are toward the top, if not at the top, of their respective games. So what's the beef?
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Brian Howe, former lead singer for the band Bad Company, died from cardiac arrest on May 6, 2020, at his home in Florida. He was 66 years old. Here's why he left the band.
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Though the break could probably be described as "acrimonious," Brian Howe, who died May 6, 2020, at the age of 66, was often quoted as referring to his time with the band Bad Company as "a lovely ride."
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Eric Clapton is one of the most successful musicians of his generation, to the point that he's been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame no less than three times. Still, don't take that to mean that old Slowhand has been living a cozy and worry-free life of making music.
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Jeopardy! debuted back in the 1960s as a daytime game show. Created by Merv Griffin, it moved well and truly into syndication in 1984, helmed by Alex Trebek, and there it has remained. That's a lot of answers in the form of a question. And some of them are bound to be verbal missteps.
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Most every single day all of Disney's many magical, sensory-overloading theme parks have thrown open their gates. But sometimes sadness, tragedy, fear, and caution can overcome even the joy and glee produced by "the happiest place on Earth." Here are all the times the Disney theme parks have closed.
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Most of Jimmy Buffett's movie turns have been of the blink-and-you-miss-him variety, in true cameo fashion, no doubt for the fun of it, rather than the fame.
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There's this old thought experiment called the Ship of Theseus. If some guy named Theseus has a ship, and over time, he removes and replaces every part of said watercraft, is it still the same ship? If you put a new head on your mop, and then put a new handle on the head, is that still your mop?
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It all started on April 23rd, 2005, with an 18 second video posted by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. It was called "Me at the zoo." It's still available to watch, the only video posted to the channel.
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Atop the Vegas big cat game was the magic spectacular that was Siegfried and Roy, using illusions, elaborate dance routines, pounding music, and lights to surround the fact that they were working with big cats. Live. On stage.
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Wings are a great way to get high, but when Paul McCartney flew to Japan in 1980 to tour with his band, Wings, he wasn't riding as high as he would have liked. In fact, he ended up pretty low -- in jail.
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Both Marvel and DC have a bad habit of slapping a fresh coat of spandex on the other's intellectual property and calling their work original. But it’s especially true when it comes to Stan Lee and company. So today, let's look at all the characters that Marvel stole from DC.
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Noel Gallagher, formerly of Oasis, is known for hating many things. Chief among them -- playing his hit song, Wonderwall.
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A couple of guys from Detroit in clown makeup, blasting out hip hop anthems and calling themselves Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope? On paper, the Insane Clown Posse sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the pair have certainly found their audience.
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He may not have had the best looking chin on the Green Hornet TV show, but when it came time to roll, Bruce Lee stole the spotlight.
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Ah, yes, the phoenix! Today, the fiery bird's name is rather unfairly associated with two of the most infamous X-Men movies in existence (Last Stand and Dark Phoenix, natch), but the original beast of legend is considerably more hardcore.
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Musk is CEO not only of SpaceX, but also Tesla, with those ever-so-cool electric vehicles. Some call him the real-life Tony Stark. But he may not be as rich as you think.
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Long before Jumanji, long before Moana, even long before The Mummy Returns, back when Dwayne Johnson was still the Rock ... long before all of that, there was another kind of "Roc," who played with people's emotions and fears and sense of the mythic. No K, thank you very much.
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The first dictator of North Korea was born on April 15, 1912, the same day that the Titanic sank. This was no accident, according to North Korea's United Front Department (UFD).
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How does an entire boatload of people just disappear in the middle of the ocean? The Mary Celeste is one of the most well-known examples of this phenomenon, and to this day, no one knows what happened. This is the legend of the Mary Celeste explained.
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If Henry Tudor -- England's King Henry VIII -- had posted a dating profile, no doubt it would have included the words "It's complicated." Words which also extended to his relationship with the Catholic Church.
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In Northern Ireland, you'll find a breathtaking collection of over 40,000 basalt pillars known as Giant's Causeway. The scientific explanation is that 60 million years ago, volcanic eruptions created that breathtaking formation. The slightly less scientific explanation? Well, a giant caused it.
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If you find yourself seeking a mythical beast with lion legs and an eagle's head -- or some variation on that theme -- what you are looking for is a griffin, a griffon, or a gryphon. Depictions of griffins date back as far as 2000 BCE. Here's the legend of the griffin explained.
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People forget that Henry VIII was necessarily preceded by a Henry VII. And according to historians, there's an argument to be made that his grim-reboot-of-Van-Wilder lifestyle all came down to his relationship with his old man. This is the real reason Henry VII is blamed for Henry VIII's tyranny.
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In the U.S., nurses have reported being ordered not to wear masks even when they're available while others have resorted to donning Halloween masks amid PPE shortages. Some have responded with walk-outs. Others walked away entirely.
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This grinning, crimson-skinned devil is the Nain Rouge, or "red dwarf," and he's what paranormal experts describe as "a real Jerk McGurk."
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These days, kids know Pukwudgie as the name of a house from Ilvermorny, the American version of Hogwarts, in the Harry Potter series. The Pukwudgie is one of many mythical creatures referenced in the books. But what exactly is a Pukwudgie?
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When Napoleon Bonaparte married Josephine, the future emperor saw greatness on the horizon. But if if it weren't for a crazy twist of fate, instead of marrying Napoleon, Josephine would have gotten a forced divorce from her own head. Here's the reason Napoleon's first wife was nearly executed.
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In 1983, Randy and Vicki Weaver packed up their belongings and moved to a place in rural Idaho, just 40 miles south of the Canadian border, known as Ruby Ridge. A decade later, an 11-day standoff with the government ended in tragedy. Here's why the Ruby Ridge standoff was worse than you think.
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The whole world loves dogs. But in Nepal, they really show it. During the five-day Hindu festival of Tihar, one day is set aside as "Kukur Tihar," or "Day of the Dogs."
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The Spanish flu was very different than seasonal flu - it kicked off in the spring of 1918 on the tail end of World War I, and it was downright brutal.
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Rosetta Stone: It's not just a linguistics software company. And Napoleon isn't just the name of a cream-filled dessert pastry. But they are inextricably linked, and for good reason.
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Women at Versailles lived in the seat of political power but had none of it themselves. This is what life was really like for women at Versailles.
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William Tecumseh Sherman famously observed that "war is hell," and Don Bluth asserted on several occasions that "all dogs go to heaven." They can't both be right.
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In the 1890s, explorer Robert Peary (left) started an Arctic expedition with all ten of his toes. He returned with only two. As recounted in Explorers and Exploration, the other eight toes snapped off when fellow explorer Matthew Henson removed Peary's sealskin boots ...
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You'd think that being directly responsible for saving thousands of lives, of amassing and analyzing data that contributed to massive improvements in sanitation and health care, and honored by Queen Victoria herself would be enough. But no. Florence Nightingale never married.
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It turns out that people have been trying to make self-driving cars a reality for quite a long time ... in fact, possibly even longer than you can imagine.
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Italian dictator Benito Mussolini doesn't typically top people's lists of role models. But some of his descendants have defended him. Here's what they're up to today.
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An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, instantly killing 80,000 people, and days later on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. Thousands would die from radiation sickness. But that's just the beginning. Here's why the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were worse than you thought.
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If you take a moment to look around you in the short period of relative comfort before takeoff and after landing at an airport, you might notice a peculiar thing: The entire gate area is carpeted. Here's why.
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Henry VII, the Tudor monarch who gave us Henry VIII and all of the drama and spectacle attached thereunto, is among the monarchs whose mortal remains grace the interior of Westminster. What about his son, the VII?
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In 1540, Henry VIII gave his primary advisor, Thomas Cromwell, the axe. Well, technically the executioner gave him the axe, but the point still holds. Citing a dubious "contemporary" source, Arthur Galton describes an "ungodly" affair in which the executioner hacked at Cromwell's neck for ...
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Bill Gates is one of those modern-day legends. Love him or not, admire him or not, the guy has an impressive string of accomplishments on his resume, going back to high school ... including a nice mugshot.
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If the X-Men say it's cool, and if Mr. SpaceX/Tesla Motors himself, Elon Musk, says it's cool, then it has to be very cool indeed. And indeed it is: It's the SR-71, sometimes referred to as the Blackbird, adapted (quite radically) for toting mutants to battle evil on behalf of all of us.
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Watches complete a wardrobe, and make a statement. The Swiss brand Patek Philippe, for instance, has been around for decades, is highly regarded, and has made some of the costliest watches ever sold.
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Henry VIII is best remembered for one pastime: finding new ways to call mulligan on his panoply of marriages. His last wife was Catherine Parr, who came within spitting distance of being another notch on the king's beheading stump. This is the reason Henry VIII nearly executed Catherine Parr.
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Baby Jessica became famous on October 14th, 1987. The world got its first taste of binge-worthy cable news child endangerment when 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down a 22-foot well in Midland, Texas and stayed there for 58 hours. She was eventually rescued. So whatever happened to Baby Jessica?
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Anybody who doesn't live in Oregon or New Jersey and who has pumped their own gas knows that sometimes the pump stops before the tank is full. Here's why.
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There is much more to Paul Revere than just his famous midnight ride, so here are some common misconceptions about the Revolution's midnight rider.
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When you think of "outlaw bikers," you most likely think of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. But there have been a lot of tragic twists and turns in troubled history of the Hells Angels.
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Porsches are a brand indelibly connected with luxury, and the price points of their cars reflect that, regardless of whether they're vintage or fresh off the lot. But how did they get to such an elevated status?
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Henry VIII captures the popular imagination for mostly the wrong reasons. 'Tis a pity, because there was much, much more to his story, not the least of which were Henry's military accomplishments.
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Camelot. Few names in the public domain evoke the same reaction in the imaginations of the young at heart, nor the same public displays of musical number memorization from British comedy nerds. More than just a place, it represented an ideal: The best and noblest of man's potential, turned real.
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The University of Cambridge's Gonville and Caius College has a rather grim connection to a mysterious 16th-century epidemic. Symptoms kicked off with abrupt feelings of dread followed by headaches, neck pain, a profuse cold sweat, delirium and giddiness. Often, people died within eighteen hours.
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic came along, the gig economy was already a treacherous road for drivers to travel. But things have only gotten worse for Uber. Here's how much they've lost so far.
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Facebook has magnanimously decided not to needlessly endanger its employees. Good job.
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Despite creating the holiday, Anna Jarvis was aghast at what it had come to represent, ultimately fighting to have it abolished, before the task eventually took its toll.
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From everyday decisions to tracking apps, here are some truly creepy things about living in China.
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iPhone. iPod. iPad. iOS. iWork. iTunes. iPhoto. The modern society is so inundated with Apple's admittedly pretty neat "i" products and apps that it's hard to avoid mentally associating a product with that particular letter. But what does the "i" in iPhone really stand for?
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Amazon worker horror stories are nothing new, but low wages are merely one of the worst things about being an Amazon employee.
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Apple has taken a hit during the pandemic, but you may be surprised to find just how serious it actually was.
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Before David Koresh went from plucking guitar strings to pulling all the strings as a cult leader, he added a drummer to his band of believers. That drummer was David Thibodeau.
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Amazon Vice President Tim Bray found the company's actions so distasteful that he protested by resigning.
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On 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue sits a mansion unfit for a king, and that's a good thing. America already had a King George, and he taxed colonists' nerves so much that they told him to shove his tea right up his rear harbor during the Revolutionary War. So, it must have felt hella uncomfortable ...
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Robert Hanssen's fellow FBI agents dubbed him "the mortician" because his trademark dark suits matched his gloomy demeanor... but his secret life was even darker than the name implied... Hanssen was a Russian spy.
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A 1932 edition of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf has switched hands a couple of times in the last few years, and luckily for any antisemite coupon clippers out there, the price has just kept going down.
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While most people use their mobile phones to tell the time, watches are still coveted accessories, especially luxury watches. Cartier makes some of the most expensive luxury watches available. But why?
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"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em," said Shakespeare. Whether that greatness is actually thrust or not, UPS drivers are encouraged and trained to be nothing less than great. And that means boot camp.
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Isn't a coma basically just being asleep? How bad can a coma really be? Well, a coma is a horrific condition in so many ways that you've probably never imagined. That being said, a coma is far from a simple state of being. Here's what happens to your body when you're in a coma.
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People have long viewed The Simpsons as a kind of animated Nostradamus. Now, we can add murder hornets and coronavirus to the list of things it's predicted.
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You might have noticed the recent "buzz" about a certain, particularly worrying insect that goes by the charming nickname "murder hornet." These unsavory creatures have just been spotted in the U.S. for the first time ever...
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REO Speedwagon. Classic band, odd name. How'd they come up with it?
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It wasn't at all unusual for Lennon to sit out a session or more if he didn't like a track. In fact, it happened many times.
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The Band That Came to Be the Grateful Dead got its start in San Francisco back in the mid-sixties. In a 1991 interview with the aptly titled Interview Magazine just four years before he died, Jerry Garcia said ...
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Todd Boyd, one of the first U.S. professors to examine rap academically, said, "When you listen to Tupac, you feel something." And for some fans, those feelings have lingered for an incredibly long time.
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Prince was practically worshipped by millions, but real life is rarely a fairy tale. Let's take a look at the tragic real-life story of Prince.
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From Jim Morrison's early days as a star in the making to his wild partying antics and ultimate, untimely demise, the singer unashamedly lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle until the very end. Unfortunately, this was not necessarily a good thing. This is the troubled history of Jim Morrison.
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Since quarantine, concerts have been a no-no. But the management of one venue, the TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas, feels confident that they've cracked live entertainment in this, the new normal. It looks, um, not great.
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While frontman and main songwriter Billy Corgan has obviously been a Smashing Pumpkins mainstay, the other original members have all either quit or been fired at some point -- including bass player D'Arcy Wretzky.
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The most terrifying sea monster of all was the kraken. Originating from the frightened whispers of Scandinavian seamen, this tentacled monstrosity was believed to be capable of taking down entire boats in its many-armed embrace. So, was the kraken real? This is the legend of the kraken explained.
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Remember the 1985 classic, Legend, in which the generically named hero, Jack (Tom Cruise), defeats the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry) and stabs him in the abdomen with the horn of the last unicorn? You might assume the movie didn't know Jack about legends because Tim Curry isn't Satan ...
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The term "Minotaur" is a portmanteau derived from "Minos" and "taurus," the Greek word for "bull." Here's the legend of the Minotaur explained.
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If you're aware of a mythical snake king creature called the basilisk, it's probably thanks to J.K. Rowling's descriptions of a fifty-foot serpent with fangs as long as your arm and a taste for tender young Radcliffe flesh. But the truth about this creature may be a bit disappointing.
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Beyond vague images of pots of gold, wishes, and the general understanding that Colin Farrell is just three of them in a skin suit, what do we really know about leprechauns?
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Lack of scientific evidence aside a few folks are quite convinced that they are sharing their special quarantine time with a ghost. Perhaps more than one.
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Throughout the later 90s, it seemed The Wallflowers and frontman Jakob Dylan were everywhere, after bursting onto the scene in the with songs "One Headlight". If you ask some people, they'd say the band was a one-hit-wonder. But The Wallflowers are still alive and kicking -- even touring.
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There are lots of nominees for "most expensive flower," and the ground shifts considerably in terms of when the petals are being estimated.
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In the wild, wasabi grows exclusively on the rocky banks of cold, freshwater rivers. The plants are as finicky as pandas: the water has a temperature range of only about 9 degrees; sun is important, but not too much sun.
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It's probably fairly obvious and intuitive that Special Forces (AKA Green Beret) training involves a bit more than a few gentle laps, a couple of lazy pushups, and a multiple-choice test on how to kill bad guys with a pencil. Here's why you wouldn't survive it.
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You know you've done a terrible job as a politician when voters will literally elect any alternative as a political middle finger. And there are some pretty fantastic examples of pointed finger-wagging at the ballot box.
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Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was a man of many titles and epithets. According to ThoughtCo, people called him the "Butcher of Uganda." When Amin died in 2003, the BBC dubbed him "the buffoon tyrant" in a scathing obituary. The names he gave himself were far more charitable.
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Before Elizabeth I became queen, she was nearly executed by her half-sister.
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Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I of England are forever bound in history -- especially because the Queen of England ordered her rival's death. What makes their relationship intriguing is that they never even met.
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Queens of the Stone Age is one of the great survivors of the nineties rock scene. Formed in 1996 on the foundations of stoner-rock cult outfit Kyuss, according to AllMusic, the hard-rocking band not only flourished, but actually shot to the major leagues in the 2000s ...
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From his humble musical beginnings as a folk duo with Stevie Nicks to his illustrious career in Fleetwood Mac and assorted solo albums, Lindsey Buckingham has been an important part of the pop culture tapestry for decades. Here's how much that music career has earned him.
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Queen Elizabeth II: She's iconic. She's universally known. She has not once, to the best of anyone's knowledge, beheaded a traitor with a broadsword and forced his followers to clean the blood from her throne with their tongues.
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Given the same access to, say, strength-building tools and exercise, how strong will an average woman be?
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For the first time in nearly a decade, astronauts were set to take off from American soil as a joint venture between NASA and SpaceX prepared to slip the surly bonds of Earth. Then, at just T-17 minutes, the mission was scrubbed. Here's why.
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Most dream experiences don't feel like the dreamer is in control. Lucid dreaming offers a different experience.
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One person's pet snake (fetchingly referred to as "Rocky the Boa") is another person's nightmare, and someone's beloved, hairless Xoloitzcuintli might strike another as the world's weirdest dog. So what counts as weird — especially, with cats? It's all relative.
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Teleportation. No commute to the office, just step into the chamber and push the button and POW you're at your cash register at Quick Stop Groceries, just in time for your shift. That'd be really cool. But does it actually exist?
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If a snake tries to give you the kiss of death, there are steps you should take to minimize the damage.
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If ever you find yourself getting attacked by a swarm of bees, here's the short answer -- you ought to run.
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An average of only 10 alligator attacks occur in the U.S. per year -- but it's a more exciting prospective nightmare than realizing you're locked into an upside down mortgage. What do you do when Florida's biome decides to turn you into a Peter Pan villain?
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Nearly everything involved currently with space travel involves pots and pots of money. Space suits are no exception.
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Most people see airplane food and think of slop. Airlines try their best, but unless you're in the most expensive airline seat, airplane food often brings joyless dining experiences. There's a reason for that, and part of the blame lies with the traveler.
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It was not too many years ago when virtual assistants seemed like the stuff of science fiction, but today, many of us don't think twice of interacting with disembodied voices called Siri and Alexa. But hey -- how come they're all female?
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Cats bring joy to many, but if you're one of those allergic to them, it can feel like you're missing out. Don't worry, though, there are some cat breeds that won't always trigger sneezing fits.
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On May 10th, 2020, CNN reported that "Blue dragons are washing up on the Padre Island National Seashore." "Here be dragons -- literally," they opened, and it became clear that one of two things was happening...
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Acclaimed futurist and Twitter paradox Elon Musk announced a plan to start an autonomous taxi service during a 2020 first quarter earnings call, according to Inverse. It's a move that's been in the works since Tesla started including self-driving technology in all new vehicles in 2016.
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If you love your dog, but wish that your life was more like those Kato attack scenes from the Pink Panther movies, a wolf might just be for you. And that's the whole list of reasonable excuses to own a wolf as a pet. But if you're not convinced, read on!
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At 18 registered specimens left, this snake species is now considered the most endangered snake species in the world.
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Why do birds always disappear every time winter's near? Just like trees, they long to leave in the fall. Obviously, those lines came from sublime songbird Karen Woodpecker, but they also speak to the common phenomenon of bird migration.
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Like many Americans, you may currently find yourself wrapped up in a steaming hot, antimicrobial love affair with hand sanitizer, the gelatinous goop keeping our meathooks unoccupied by the germs that hate our freedom. You might even be using the stuff on the daily. You'll probably want to stop.
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Continuing their efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that they'll be contributing a further $125 million to the development and distribution of tests, treatments, and vaccines.
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Insects are harbingers of the apocalypse, grim reminder that humanity is not the only hunger that shapes this world.
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As of the beginning of May 2020, you shouldn't. Go out in public, that is.
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Covid-19 is one of several forms of coronavirus, and no successful human vaccine has ever been developed against any of the coronaviruses -- so far. So what will life be like without one?
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Amid the great toilet paper drought of 2020, the US has seen a flood of demand for bidets. Perhaps your hind parts feel thirsty for one right now. Should you quench your butt's thirst?
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Andrew Cunanan's childhood reads like a California dream come true. But even though he had the life equivalent of a royal flush, Cunanan wasn't satisfied with the hand he was dealt.
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The human body may be a wonderland, but it's also capable to do all sorts of things that will potentially cause trouble in the cold void of space. Take sneezing, for instance.
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There are many highly unlikely ways to die, and unless you count the increasingly convoluted Rube Goldberg deathtraps of the Final Destination franchise, a meteorite strike is doubtlessly at the top of the list.
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Barring any setbacks or other extenuating circumstances, on May 27, 2020, two astronauts will boldly go where others have gone before ... but they'll do it inside a Dragon, so that's new. Specifically, they'll do it in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2.
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The first crewed mission of SpaceX and NASA's collaborative efforts, the Demo-2, is scheduled to lift off on May 27th, 2020. Weather permitting.
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You'll never find Jon Bon Jovi rocking the Super Bowl. There is no chance, no prayer to live on. What gives?
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Why would a legendary (and legendarily passed away) martial artist like Lee have anything to do with Vince McMahon's pro wrestling juggernaut? It's an excellent question, but it turns out there is a connection.
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Macho Man Randy Savage was a two-time all-star catcher in high school, so it made perfect sense that when he graduated he would take a swing at a baseball career. Here's how that went.
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It was 1999, and World Championship Wrestling was in a bad way. World Championship Wrestling needed to drop costs and do something fresh. But first, old habits dying hard and all, they were going to spend a near-sacrilegious amount of money on 25-year-old glam rock played by 50 -year-old men.
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Mailmen deliver in any condition, day or night -- except, of course, on Sundays. That observation led to an inspired moment of trash which Scottie Pippen delivered to "Mailman" Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz during Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
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Ah, nineties-era Chicago Bulls basketball. The lights would go down, the lightning effects would hit the court, bursts of flame would explode into the air, and Your Chicago Bulls would enter the arena ... to this song.
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Michael Jordan's very own personal model of basketball (not baseball) shoes, the Air Jordan, created and marketed by Nike. Jordan himself, says Forbes, has taken home some $1.3 billion dollars for his troubles since the deal was inked in 1984. Here are the shoes he wore during each championship.
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If there is ever an appropriate time for an athlete to take their ball and go home, it's when they're playing the game of life against a deadly pandemic. But when the 1918 flu ravaged humanity, it turned daily life into a-life-or-death struggle.
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Don't call it a comeback. He's been here for years, specifically 53 years. But that's not why you shouldn't call it a comeback. No one knows yet whether Iron Mike Tyson is actually coming back to the ring.
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There was a time when Michael Jordan quit basketball and started playing baseball. Sensing this was not how destiny was to unfold, B.J. Armstrong stepped in.
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Even if your only exposure to boxing comes in the form of a few seconds of idle channel-surfing every now and then, you're probably aware of Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury. But which is faster and more furious? Who would win in a matchup?
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Jackie Robinson's retirement -- like most of his career -- was complicated.
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In 1984, Michael Jordan didn't want to work with Nike. He didn't like Nike. He wouldn't even take a phone call with the company.
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Michael Jordan's mansion in the Highland Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, is a sight to behold. He just wishes someone would buy it.
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One of the most baffling things in the giant, man-shaped box of baffle that is Dennis Rodman is his famous nickname, "The Worm," which is so deeply associated with him that Encyclopedia Britannica notes it. How exactly did a gigantic, muscular athlete end up with a moniker that silly?
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Behold, Scottie Pippen's son, Scottie Pippen Jr., who some have noted bears a marked resemblance to Scottie Pippen.
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Ah, yes, Dennis Rodman! The life of "The Worm" has been filled with enough twists and turns to last for five famous folks' lifetimes -- like his infamous wedding dress tale...
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There are 118 known chemical elements, and three classifications of "nastiness": radioactivity, toxicity, and reactivity. But which is the most dangerous?
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Che Guevara is legendary today, but his life was one of struggle and repeated defeat. This is the tragic real-life story of Che Guevara.
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Ella Fitzgerald gained a devout audience for over six decades, though her troubled history isn't usually mentioned. This is the tragic real-life story of Ella Fitzgerald.
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The Andrews Sisters -- Patty, LaVerne, and Maxene -- broke onto the music charts in 1937. By the time they were done selling records, they'd moved some 100 million units, and racked up a whopping 46 Top 10 hits. But there was a dark side. This is the tragic real-life story of The Andrews Sisters.
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Jerry Garcia and The Dead arose out of San Francisco's music scene in the mid-1960s. Drugs were plentiful; music was powerful; a youth culture was flexing its muscles and making itself heard throughout the country. But Garcia's responsibility as the figurehead of a movement would take its toll.
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Sylvia Plath remains a singular voice in American literature decades since her death, and her tragic story continues to resonate with readers today.
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While Rock Hudson radiated light on screen, he had to keep the public in the dark about his sexuality. Otherwise, the prevailing homophobia of the era would eclipse his career. They found out in 1985, when the actor announced he's be diagnosed with AIDS. This is the tragic death of Rock Hudson.
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Poets Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton captivated the world with their words and their tragic endings. But through an inspirational professional relationship, they also captivated each other.
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Andy Kaufman was a true original, and there has never been anyone else like him. While Kaufman's life ended in tragedy, the stories he created on the way there are unforgettable.
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It's cliche to compare the life of a country music star to the events of a country music song, but the real-life life story of Randy Travis sounds like it was ripped from a tragic ballad.
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Danny DeVito is in a class all his own, and that's "national treasure that must be protected at all costs." It doesn't matter when you grew up, there's something he's been in that's shaped your childhood. But there's a lot of tragedy in his past. This is the tragic real-life story of Danny DeVito.
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Hank Williams, the country legend, didn't have the opportunity to live in the world long. He picked up a drinking habit as a teen he would never be able to beat. But in the short amount of time he had, Williams gave the world a series of hits. This is the tragic real-life story of Hank Williams.
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Chief O'Brien's rise from random bridge guy to main cast member wasn't easy. This mild-mannered transporter chief has a biography that would make a Vulcan weep. Get the violins ready because we're about to dive into Chief O'Brien's tragic Star Trek timeline.
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Valhalla is the most glorious and desirable place within Norse cosmology, but it's more than just Viking heaven. This is the untold truth of Valhalla.
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Take a trip through time, back to those thrilling days of yesteryear, around about 2016, when the New Day, WWE tag team champions, emerged on-screen from a gigantic Booty-O cereal box.
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On the actual Con Air, there's no Cyrus the Virus who hijacks the plane, steals the show, or turns his name into a fun pun, like "Cy... Onara." There's no hope of escape. There's no hope -- period.
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A conquistador's mission in life is succinctly conveyed in the title itself. Spanish for "He who conquers."
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It's been more than fifty years since the residents of Bethel, New York were outnumbered 200 to 1 by a hoard of 400,000 hippies. Final tally: only two dead. Not bad. Carlos Santana remembers it vividly.
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So yeah, Elon Musk has a brother. His name is Kimbal.
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The word "supermoon," according to NASA, was first coined in the year 1979 by one Richard Nolle. Britannica notes that Nolle, an astrologer, claimed at the time that supermoons were portents of oncoming calamities such as earthquakes and severe weather patterns.
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Muhammad Ali is arguably the world's most famous boxer, but for years, he was denied the right to fight and stripped of his titles. The reason? He refused to fight in the Vietnam War due to his beliefs.
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Cats have figured in mythology and folklore the world over, from gods taking feline form in Egypt to the superstitions around black cats. In North America, the Wampus Cat is a creature that features in Appalachian and Southern regional lore ...
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In 1951, Icelandic researcher Jón Eythórsson described an alarming discovery. High atop the Hrutarjokull glacier, in an area otherwise free of debris, he'd found dozens of small, round, "moss-covered stones" sitting stationary in the frozen field of nothing.
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Even when your job is judging the most extreme everything, there needs to be a line. Yes, the Guinness World Record committee has limits, and there are some attempts at exceptionalism that they won't touch with a 10-foot thumbnail. Here are world records that Guinness refuses to certify.
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In 2018, a group of mammoth tusk hunters were honing their craft in Siberia when they unearthed a dead baby horse. It belongs to a long-extinct species, and its body is outlandishly well naturally mummified. Here's why this 42,000-year-old specimen is an eye-opening discovery.
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In the 1960s, a hematologist in Lexington, Kentucky embarked on a bizarre quest to find a group of blue people. At first blush, this mission smacks pure lunacy. Did this guy get high and convince himself he was Gargamel searching for Smurfs? Shockingly not.
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Madagascar: where evolution goes full-on Sid's room from Toy Story. It's most recent hit -- the ancient 'crazy beast'.
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