Some have logical explanations, of course, but others defy any attempt to explain them away. Even a small island nation like New Zealand (home to myself as well as some guy named Jamie Frater), roughly the size of the state of Colorado, seemingly has more than its fair share of unexplained events. Here are ten head-scratching mysteries from the Land Down Under that might just make you go hmmm....
10 Endurance Found Sir Ernest Shackleton’s feats of polar exploration in the early 20th century are the stuff of legend. One of his quests, the British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, set off in the summer of 1914. The ambitious aim was to cross the Antarctic by way of the South Pole. But the , the ship carrying the team to Antarctica, became trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea off the Antarctic coast early in 1915....
To address some of these problems, innovative changes are being made to old construction technologies to make the future beautiful, clean, and (most importantly) livable. 10 Bamboo Cities Most people in the West think of bamboo as a decorative material. But it is actually an incredible construction resource. Bamboo is fast growing, stronger than steel, and more resilient than cement. This is why Penda, an architecture studio in Beijing, China, wants to use bamboo as the main resource to build an entire city....
Everybody in the path of these storms should know and follow hurricane safety tips. Then, after you’ve taken the right steps to protect your property and life, and while you’re waiting out the storm, you can check out some of the many fascinating facts about hurricanes. For instance, did you know that . . . 10Hurricanes Contain Lots Of Snow And Ice Hurricanes run on heat, but hurricane clouds tower many kilometers into the sky, up through the troposphere (where most of Earth’s weather happens)....
Wars would be fought to capture territories and towns by surrounding them with your army and either waiting to starve your opponents out or attempting to breach the walls. Conversely, people were loath to leave the protection of their walls behind and so were quite happy to stay inside in safety. In most times and cultures, war has been seen as a man’s game. But when war comes to your door, everyone has to get involved....
10 Territorio de Zaguates Costa Rica’s Territorio de Zaguates, the land of the strays, is a dog lover’s dream come true. In Alajuela, dogs of all ages and appearances are welcome to live out their lives frolicking in tropical bliss. The ranch-turned-dog-sanctuary is one of the world’s most lavish no-kill shelters. Each dog is allowed to roam in the sunny, stress-free environment, safe from motorists, dogcatchers, and other municipal dangers. The liberty to commingle has also produced some of the world’s most unlikely breeds, including a chubby-tailed German dobernauzer....
Another distinct category of animals is classified as tamed but not domesticated. In these cases, the animal has been bred to tolerate and maybe obey humans, but it is not safe enough to be classified as a domestic animal. Tamed animals still have their wild instincts and can quickly turn rogue. 10 Zebras Colonists encountered transportation problems as they moved deeper into Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Their horses were susceptible to different diseases, and bringing new horses from Europe was not always that easy....
You might be surprised how many animals have mastered artistic skills, from painting and photography to dance and collage. Given the opportunity, animals seem to enjoy expressing themselves through as many different mediums as we do. Here are some of the coolest examples. 10 Dagger DogVinci Dagger is a Black Labrador/Golden Retriever cross that was destined to become an assistance dog for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). While he was able to complete much of the complex training to qualify for the role, he had some difficulties with fear over some of the tasks and couldn’t quite graduate....
Ironically, this same technology has also turned our globe into the information equivalent of a small city or village. With all the sharing of medical data and the improvements in powerful equipment to make and keep us well, advances in medicine are occurring faster than ever. Designer genetics, reversing the aging process, and a cure for the common cold all sound like futuristic medicine. But considerable progress was made on all these things and more during the past year....
In the following list, with no particular order, we will attempt to dispel the notion that Australia’s fauna are simply creatures to be avoided at all costs. Rather, they’re the victims of media hype. Please comment with any creatures you feel were missed, or share your own stories of encounters with them. 10 Blue-Ringed Octopus Perhaps the most unassuming creature on the list, merely the size of a pencil, the blue-ringed octopus has gained notoriety for its vivid coloration and paralyzing toxins....
10 Muloquot In 2011, the repressive regime of Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan launched an offensive against Internet freedom with the launch of Muloquot (meaning “dialogue”) to replace the use of other social media networks like Facebook or Odnoklassniki. The Muloquot network requires you to sign up with an Uzbek mobile phone number. If you don’t respond to an activation code within three days, your account is deleted. Uzbekistan has been clamping down on Internet dissent since making an amendment in 2007 to a 1997 media law, which has allowed the government to jail bloggers for defaming the government....
Some filmmakers love scattering small details throughout the film, either to allude to important plot points or simply as ‘easter eggs.’ Have you noticed all the ones on this list? (Potential spoilers ahead!) 10 Awesome Easter Eggs You Missed In Your Favorite Movies 10 The Mist The Mist will forever be remembered as the horror movie with the most heartbreaking ending. Stephen King’s disturbing imagination is on full display in the book, but it seems even he couldn’t conjure up the final scenes of the film....
Some of the best kings in history have been followed by completely underwhelming and sorry reigns from their own bloodline. It’s a narrative that has been told in many forms: trying to live up to a father’s legacy. Read on to find ten of the best kings to have been followed by their completely disappointing sons. 10 Edward II Poor Edward II had big shoes to fill when his father, King Edward I of England, died suddenly in 1307....
10Club Des Hachichins Club des Hachichins literally translates in English as “Hashish Club,” so you can guess what its members did. In the early 19th century, most Europeans had never used the drug hashish because it was mostly a Middle Eastern crop, but when Napoleon Bonaparte and his army returned from Egypt in 1801, they brought hashish along with them. Its reputation soon grew throughout France and, more specifically, Paris. It wasn’t long before people began to experiment with it....
10 Laverne Pavlinac Breaking up with someone can be tough, but there aren’t too many people that feel the need to falsely confess to a murder to get out of a relationship. In 1990, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was beaten, raped, and strangled to death not far from Portland, Oregon, and Laverne Pavlinac started down the bizarre road of false confessions. When her tips to the police didn’t get her any attention, she eventually contacted them directly....
On September 15, 2007, residents of Caracas in Southern Peru, near the Bolivian border reported a massive explosion that rocked the village moments after a fireball appeared in the sky. Soon after, boiling water and steam emerged from the crater formed by the meteorite impact, and a strange smell appeared in the area. Over 200 villagers reported illness, and numerous animals in the village died. Government inspectors and police officers arrived in the area of the impact crater, but were taken ill as well, suffering vomiting....
Sharks come in many different shapes and sizes, with roughly 440 species in the world today. And that number only continues to grow, with the latest species, named “Genie’s Dogfish,” discovered in July 2018. Here are some of the most unusual shark species discovered so far. 10 Zebra Shark Zebra sharks can be found in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as the Red Sea. Divers often mistake this species for the leopard shark due to its similar black dots on a tan body....
Maybe you’re a die-hard defender of the traditional mouse and keyboard. Perhaps you’ve used an Xbox controller your entire life. You might play all your games on a touch screen. No matter what you think, all those options will look good after you’re beaten by someone controlling the game with these these ten methods. 10 With Fruit And Vegetables Mothers everywhere tell their children off for playing with their food, but for some, that advice just doesn’t stick....
Sometimes, that importance can’t be overstated. A number of people are only alive today because of the actions of their furry friends. This is a list of ten animals that made themselves memorable for saving their owner’s life. 10 Babu One of a number of similar stories that took place during the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, Babu, a Shih Tzu, was living with her owner, 83-year-old Tami Akanuma, in Miyako, Japan....
10 Heather Harbottle: Paper Cut Ends with a Skin Graft This 49-year-old mother had a close brush with death in 2020 when she contracted a flesh-eating bug through an uncovered paper-cut wound. She never expected such a small inconvenience to develop into necrotizing fasciitis—a disease that destroys the skin, muscle, and surrounding soft tissues. It first started on her left hand, where the paper cut was found, and rapidly traveled to her armpits and heart....
