The very mention of the gang’s name, The Forty Elephants, sent shivers down the spines of shop owners all over London. A mere glimpse of a member sent chaos exploding through a store as cashiers and shoppers ran. But this fearsome gang wasn’t your run-of-the-mill pack of … [Read more...]
Birds aren’t usually the first animal that people think about when they think about smart animals. In English, calling someone birdbrained means that they are stupid. And saying something is ‘for the birds’ means that it’s trivial or worthless. However, these expressions … [Read more...]
Sleep is not optional. After a long enough period of being awake, our brain starts to produce signals that we are tired. As these signals increase in strength, our brain becomes impaired. We all know what it’s like to feel tired to the point of exhaustion. We are less aware, … [Read more...]
What if a hidden tribe in Mexico holds the secret to health, happiness, and long-distance running? A tribe of super-athletes lives hidden in caves along the cliffs of northern Mexico. Men, women, and even young children often run the cliff ledges for sport. Sometimes they run … [Read more...]
Have you ever heard of a tongue twister? Tongue twisters are English sentences that are designed to be hard to say. Try saying this five times fast: She sells seashells on the seashore. Any native English speaker will have learned this tongue twister as a child, but what … [Read more...]
‘Love at first sight’ is an English expression that means to fall in love with someone instantly after just looking at him or her for the first time. Whether you believe this is real love or just shallow desire, it’s a familiar scene in today’s books, movies, and television … [Read more...]
How well do you remember yesterday? Do you remember what you wore, what you ate, or what you watched on television? If you’re like most people, you do. But you probably don't remember what you wore, ate or watched on TV on the third Wednesday of January, six years ago. One woman … [Read more...]
Maybe death is just another disease that doctors will one day cure. That was the dream of Professor Robert Ettinger, who is the godfather of cryonics. First dreamed up by Ettinger in the 1960s, cryonics is the freezing of bodies in the hopes of one day being able to bring them … [Read more...]
When Oscar the cat visits with a patient, everyone knows that death is just around the corner. Oscar was adopted as a kitten by the Steere House Nursing Center in Providence, Rhode Island. He has the mysterious ability to predict death among the patients. According to Dr. … [Read more...]
What separates humans from animals? The more we research animal intelligence and behavior, the more we see that we are not so different. At one time, communication was thought to be the main differentiator, but research into chimpanzees, dolphins, and even prairie dogs has … [Read more...]
In some cultures, such as in the US, having a front yard of green grass is not only considered beautiful, it’s also a status symbol. In fact, it’s so important that some towns actually make it illegal not to grow grass. But what if we were to use this land for something more … [Read more...]
Fighting over household chores and responsibilities is one of the most common arguments in any marriage or relationship. One couple has a unique way to settle those arguments - cold hard cash. Daniel Reeves and Bethany Soule are a happily married couple with two children. They … [Read more...]
Meet Michael. Michael is an addict. He is hopeless against his addiction and will do absolutely anything to get a fix. You might not even be able to tell that someone like Michael has a problem just by looking at him. He doesn’t look homeless or like he hasn’t bathed in days as … [Read more...]
Do you periodically wake up on the wrong side of the bed, dreading the inevitable reality of having to go to work? If your company were to offer you a lot of money to quit your job, would you do it? Every year, workers at Amazon each receive a memo with the headline “Please … [Read more...]
Are you an early bird or a night owl? While some people would like to believe they are an early bird or night owl by choice, it's more complicated than that. This is determined mostly by your circadian rhythm. A circadian rhythm is a natural cycle of energy levels that is … [Read more...]
Nature is a guide and teacher that can inspire us in the strangest of places and phenomena. In Venezuela, where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo, there is a lightning storm that seems to never end. For about 300 days each year, cloud to cloud lightning strikes up to … [Read more...]
While it is hard to say what she truly felt, Tahlequah the killer whale appeared heartbroken when her calf died soon after being born. As any mother would, she took it hard, and could not let go. Tahlequah carried her child’s body for 1,000 miles over 17 days before finally … [Read more...]
Teacher Fabio Chavez leads a children’s orchestra in a slum built upon garbage. The Landfill Harmonic orchestra gets its name from the word ‘philharmonic,’ which means ‘music loving.’ Chavez brings his love of music and a passion for social change to the kids of Cateura, a town … [Read more...]
On March 1st, 1950, a natural gas explosion in Nebraska blew up a church. Choir practice at the West Side Baptist Church usually kicked off at 7:20 pm. The church exploded at 7:25, but not a single person was killed or injured. The choir members often arrived early, but on that … [Read more...]
Are you superstitious? Most people would say no, but in fact, many of us live our lives making off the wall choices. In the US, Friday the 13th is thought to be so unlucky that 10,000 fewer people choose to fly on this day. And businesses also suffer on that day because fewer … [Read more...]
