U.S. Air Force warns UFO enthusiasts against storming Area 51

Jokesters and serious Area 51 raiders would be met with military force.

Image source: Pixabay
  • Facebook joke event to "raid Area 51" has already gained 1,000,000 "going" attendees.
  • The U.S. Air Force has issued an official warning to potential "raiders."
  • If anyone actually tries to storm an American military base, the use of deadly force is authorized.
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Politics & Current Affairs

California, an island? Meet cartography's most persistent mistake

The Glen McLaughlin Collection brings together more than 700 historical examples of 'California as an island'.

Image: © Stanford University, CC BY-NC 3.0
  • California was born a fiction: named after a made-up island the name of which could be translated as 'caliphate'.
  • For centuries, California was a cartographic fiction as well: it was shown as an island until as late as 1865.
  • Over 40 years, Glen McLaughlin dug up more than 700 maps of California as an island – the world's biggest collection on cartography's most persistent mistake.
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Strange Maps

Why eating turkey really makes you sleepy

Is everyone's favorite Thanksgiving centerpiece really to blame for the post-dinner doldrums?

(Photo from Flickr)
  • Americans kill around 45 million turkeys every year in preparation for the Thanksgiving meal, only to blame our favorite centerpiece for the following food comas.
  • Rumor has it our after-dinner sleepiness results from the tryptophan found in turkey.
  • However, it is the meal's overall nutritional imbalance, not just the tryptophan, that make us want to leave the dishes for tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.
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Surprising Science

How to split the USA into two countries: Red and Blue

Progressive America would be half as big, but twice as populated as its conservative twin.

Image: Dicken Schrader
  • America's two political tribes have consolidated into 'red' and 'blue' nations, with seemingly irreconcilable differences.
  • Perhaps the best way to stop the infighting is to go for a divorce and give the two nations a country each
  • Based on the UN's partition plan for Israel/Palestine, this proposal provides territorial contiguity and sea access to both 'red' and 'blue' America
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Strange Maps

Reality show idea: Make Flat-Earthers search for the world's edge

The contestants would try to reach the end of the world, as they understand it.

  • According to Flat-Earthers, our planet is flat and space travel doesn't happen.
  • People are calling for a reality show about Flat-Earthers.
  • Flat-Earthers say a 150-foot ice wall surrounds the world.
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Surprising Science