Hit By Lightning
Yearly odds of an adult being hit by lightning: 1 in 1 million
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A Knife In The Head
A Chinese pedestrian narrowly escaped death after a knife fell from the sky and stuck in his head. XiaoYunzhi, 57, was walking below a high-rise apartment when the wind blew a kitchen knife from an eighth story balcony. The blade became embedded on the side of his scalp, standing straight up. Xiao realized what had happened only when a storekeeper […]
Read moreColorado Secessionists
Representatives from eight rural Colorado counties began making plans to form a breakaway state, North Colorado, to escape the state’s gun-control laws and oil-industry regulations. “This is not a stunt,” said Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway. “Our very way of life is under attack.”
Read morePleading Guilty
Percentage of all criminal defendants in the United States who forgo a trial by pleading guilty: 97 Percentage of U.S. convicts exonerated last year who had previously pleaded guilty without a trial: 17
Read moreGiving Away Guns For Jesus
The Kentucky Baptist Convention started giving away free steak dinners and guns to encourage “unchurched young rednecks” to come to church and accept Jesus. “Can you picture Jesus giving away guns?” asked one disapproving pastor.
Read moreWORLD’S MOST COMMON HEALTH COMPLAINTS
A major Gates Foundation- backed study found that over 95% of people in 2013 lived with a health problem. The leading issues varied across the 188 countries surveyed: U.S. Back pain Ireland Major depressive disorder Saudi Arabia Diabetes Iraq Iron-deficiency anemia Burma Hearing loss Qatar Opioid dependence
Read moreThe stuff of life on Mercury
Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, has blistering 800-degree temperatures at its equator—but its poles are full of ice. New data from NASA’s Messenger spacecraft, which began orbiting Mercury last year, has revealed that as much as a trillion tons of ice exists in shadowy polar craters, where temperatures can drop to minus 370 degrees. Much of the ice […]
Read moreOnline education
Police arrested a New Hampshire man who posted 35 videos on YouTube explaining how to grow marijuana at home. Kyle Berry didn’t appear in the videos, but authorities said his reflection could be seen in one of the tutorials. “He’s not the brightest person in the world,” said a sheriff.
Read moreEconomic Gains
Ninety-five percent of all economic gains in the U.S. since the Great Recession went to the top 1 percent.
Read moreCITY TRAFFIC
THE PROBLEM Congestion caused by commuters carries an annual price tag of $121 billion in wasted time and fuel costs. The average American who drives to work wastes 38 hours in traffic each year. THE INNOVATION City planning authorities increasingly prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars. A commitment to public transportation also signals the end of the age when cars […]
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