This week was marked by one of the biggest deaths in recent American history. Last Friday, George H.W. Bush passed away, marking the first time a former president has died since Gerald Ford in 2006. The result was a week of soul-searching and remembrance of times gone by—at least in American media—and you’ll be getting plenty of that below, too. But the death of the 41st president of the United States wasn’t the only game in town....
This last week was one for explosive revelations, both figurative and literal. In Texas, the Austin serial bomber blew himself up after his identity was outed, thereby ending a three-week reign of terror. Elsewhere, a major scandal rocked France, while we discovered some unsavory things about Facebook’s data mining. And that’s before we even get on to the executions and extinctions rounding off the week. All in all, it’s been a gloomy seven days....
This was the week when the dream of a new, post-Mugabe society finally seemed to die in Zimbabwe. Following last year’s coup, new elections deteriorated into the sort of violence and painful crackdown that the old regime specialized in. More on this sad story below, along with a look at the week’s other great controversies—from 3-D printed gun technologies to the US trial of the year. 10 Zimbabwe’s Elections Ended In A Brutal Crackdown It was meant to be the moment that Zimbabwe finally stepped out from Robert Mugabe’s long shadow....
10Euglina Viridis This is Euglena viridis, a unicellular protist found just about everywhere in the world. Clusters consisting of billions of these protists can become so concentrated in ponds that they visibly turn the water green.The entire creature is only about 0.02 millimeters (0.0008 in) wide—in other words, about the size of an infrared wavelength. Our ability to see something like that with such crystal-clear detail is astounding. In this video, you can clearly see the chlorophyll-loaded plastids inside the protist as bright green lumps that shift as the organism moves around....
Myth: Catholic priests can’t be married In order to clear this one up, we need to first understand the nature of the Catholic Church. Within the universal Church there are sections (also called churches but not in the sense that they are separate) – the most common one is, of course, the Roman (or Latin) Catholic Church. Then there is the Eastern Catholic Church (not to be confused with the Orthodox which is a different religion)....
As you can guess, I find three-way rivalries to be quite fascinating, and a lot more than just 50% more complex than the standard two-sided ones. Also, having a theme like this is a good excuse to discuss a wider range of topics that might not otherwise be related: a better chance for everyone to learn something new. I’ve also snuck some personal reading recommendations in here. So I hope you enjoy my latest selections which incorporate past suggestions, explore new territory and round-out the collection at an even twenty....
Top 10 Unsolved MysteriesAnother 10 Unsolved MysteriesYet Another 10 Unsolved Mysteries10 More Unsolved Mysteries10 More Unsolved Mysteries of the World10 More Mysteries of the Unexplained, and Another 10 Mysteries That Defy Explanation. This list now brings our total number of mystery lists to 8, meaning that we have covered 80 amazing mysteries. Enjoy the list and – as always, be sure to tell us your own favorites in the comments (but remember: check the older lists if you think we have missed something – chances are we haven’t....
But we now apparently live in times where outright insanity is part of our daily news cycle. So, hey, did you hear about these recent conspiracy theories? 10 The Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak Was Bioterrorism Fast casual chain Chipotle Mexican Grill has had a number of problems with foodborne diseases, including a multistate E. coli outbreak in late 2015. The FDA never pinpointed the source of the outbreak due to the large selection of fresh ingredients mixed together in dozens of ways....
Sometimes, life has a way of telling you to take your genes out of the gene pool. If you are the man who got himself stuck in a chimney mid-burglary or the twosome who locked themselves in a janitor’s closet while trespassing, you might want to rethink your enterprising career in crime. Nonetheless, these simpleminded reprobates offer civilized society a chuckle and teach kids about the perils of crime....
Many Christmastime traditions are often a tad unique and eccentric. Here, we take a closer look at some of the most surprising Christmas traditions and tales from around the world. 10 The Nikolaus Boot And Knecht Ruprecht The Germans take their “naughty or nice list” stuff to a new level. On December 5, German children leave a boot outside their front doorways in preparation for Saint Nicholas Day. Sankt Nikolaus then checks his golden book for names of nice children....
The decade is also famous for the counterculture of sex, drugs, and, of course, rock and roll. Some of the most iconic figures in the history of music rose to fame in this era. Many of these stars shared an eerie commonality in the years to follow—UFO sightings and alien encounters. Was it genuine paranormal experience or simply a matter of psychedelic hallucination? You be the judge. 10 Jimi Hendrix Heralded by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the “greatest guitarists of all time,” Jimi Hendrix was known for more than just his music....
10The Master Of Animals The Master of Animals depicts a man (or woman) flanked by two animals, which he holds in a show of dominance. The specific animals vary, from snakes to bulls to lions. One of the oldest examples, a 5,000-year-old seal from Uruk, shows a figure holding two goats. For 3,000 years, the symbol was borderline ubiquitous, appearing on everything from Bronze Age Mongolian petroglyphs to bronze vessels from Roman Italy to the grave goods of sacrificed Afghan queens....
When this happens, harm against the nonhuman entity will carry the same punishment as harm against humans. Imagine getting tried for assault because you whipped a river. Nobody has been charged for that so far, so we have yet to be treated to some legal humor. 10 Whanganui River The Whanganui River in New Zealand is the first river to receive the same rights as a human. The Maori tribe call the river Te Awa Tupua and consider it their ancestor....
10 The Sword Of Tipu Sultan Released in India in 1990, this historical, albeit fictional, TV serial, based on a best-selling novel by author Bhagwan Gidwani, was released to critical acclaim. Particular praise was focused on its grandeur and excellent casting. In addition to enjoying immense popularity throughout India for its quality, it has also gone down in history for another reason: It was the direct cause of probably the most deaths ever recorded on a single set....
We step into the world of music this week with tales about feuding neighbors, an unusual art installation, and a prime minister’s doppelganger. Also, spiders are floating in the sky in Brazil. And it should be noted that the Devil made an appearance in Spain. 10 Bless The Rains If you ever find yourself wandering the Namib Desert, and you start hearing “Africa” by Toto, don’t worry. You haven’t gone insane yet....
There are, of course, a few people whose names will live long after them. And then there are those anonymous pioneers whose achievements, good and bad, changed the course of history but whose names are, for the most part, unknown to us. Whether by design, by accident, or by malicious afterthought, there are some people whose contribution to the history of the world has gone largely unrecognized. Until now....
That has led to a lot of Chinese propaganda pieces that aren’t meant for Chinese people; they’re meant for people in the West. The Chinese government is doing its best to churn out material they think we’ll like and that they hope will get us to like them. In the process, though, the Chinese government has revealed an awful lot about how they see the Western world—and it’s not particularly flattering....
10Glacier National Park Around 10,000 years ago, the ice in the area of Montana’s Glacier National Park was about 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) deep. When the park was founded in 1910, there were around 150 glaciers. Only 25 of these giants remain, and it is suspected that all of them might be gone by 2030. The heart of the National Park, Grinnell Glacier, has lost more than 90 percent of its ice over the past century....
The rusted, dilapidated remnants of hulking ships, recent and ancient, litter this stretch of coast in this southwestern African nation, which the Namibian Bushmen called, “The Land God Made in Anger”. Many are covered by the sands of time – only their bows can be seen jutting through sandbars, while others are completely unseen, buried in their sandy graves. Punishing winds and currents, rocks, and fog have resulted in the demise of many ocean vessels throughout time, as well as multiple marine animals such as whales, whose bleached bones can be found intermingled with decaying hulls, and for which the coast gets its name....
10Mumbai The populous coastal city of Mumbai, India, unsurprisingly features many beaches. Unfortunately, these beaches have been declared unfit for bathing. Large amounts of untreated sewage are discharged from Mumbai into its surrounding seas, leaving its shores extremely polluted. While the city has a sewage network, much waste ends up bypassing it, traveling directly into waterways. Slum residents’ practice of throwing waste directly into storm drains is cited as a primary contributor to this problem....
