Solved? The mystery of the Easter Island statues.

They're positioned as they are for a good reason

(Thomas Barrat/Shutterstock)
  • A new study may finally have learned what the Easter Island moai signify
  • The were important to survival on an inhospitable island
  • Hundreds of the stone figures dot Rapa Nui
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What are we really doing here? 10 quotes from Yuval Noah Harari

The Israeli historian has plenty to say.

HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG - JULY 09: Israeli historian and writer Yuval Noah Harari makes a lecture of artificial intelligence during the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit Forum on July 9, 2017 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
  • In Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari investigated the last half-million years to understand how we've arrived here.
  • In Homo Deus, he speculated on how our present course will influence the future of humanity.
  • Harari's insights are strongly influenced by his thoughts on religion, sexuality, and animal rights.
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Why not all uncivilized people are barbarians

Oppression causes many people to run for the hills. Literally.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
  • We often imagine that civilization was formed when people agreed to from societies together and then attracted others out of the wildreness to join them.
  • Some historians and anthropologists argue that a huge part of Asia is filled with people who did the opposite.
  • If true, the idea could flip our understanding of how states and civilizations form on its head.
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Cushioned shoes aren't good for your feet

More and more research points to a serious mistake we made in how biomechanics works.

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
  • A new study from Helsinki found that the more you cushion your feet, the more likely you'll get injured.
  • This follows previous studies showing that cushioned shoes leave you more susceptible to pain and injury.
  • A few million years of evolutionary design has been usurped by shoe marketing campaigns.
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