Germans are sending their aging parents abroad, said Anette Dowideit. With pensions flat and nursing costs rising, families often can’t afford to put Grandma in an elder-care program close to home. So over the past decade, they have turned to countries where such services are much cheaper— mostly in former Eastern bloc states like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and […]
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The Dutch city of Utrecht will give unconditional monthly payments of about $1,000 to select citizens starting in January 2016 to see whether “basic income” can work as a means of welfare. Various other governments have resorted to unusual handouts to achieve certain ends: DUBAI City officials tried to boost public transport in November by raffling off prizes, including 8.8-lb. […]
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A dog named Trigger shot his 25-year-old owner in the foot in a bizarre accident that had Indiana officials on Monday reminding hunters to take safety lessons. Allie Carter of Avilla was wounded during a waterfowl hunt at the Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area in northern Indiana, according to Indiana Department of Natural Resources. She laid her 12-gauge shotgun on […]
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The discovery of nine brains which were found along a street in the upstate town of Gouverneur, NY had residents turning their heads. However, authorities confirmed that they were believed to have been part of a collection for educational or research purposes. Criminal activity has been ruled out, but nobody seems to know how they got there. Local residents discovered […]
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Back about 40,000 years ago the Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens coexisted for several thousand years in Eurasia. Researchers have found that during the coexistence they were able to breed. Humans that are not of African heritage do show Neanderthal DNA throughout their homo sapien genes. A study shows that about 40% of Neanderthal genes are contained in modern human genes. […]
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Scientists have found some radioactive dust from a supernova that landed in Antarctica when a star exploded millions of years ago. The radioactive dust from a supernova was discovered under thousands pounds of snow. They are hoping to be able to find out a lot more about the history of our galaxy. Especially how the cosmic environment ended up surrounding […]
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A Canadian spring break trip turned out to be pretty expensive for one Michigan family. As the parents drove over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada, their 11 year old son was unknowingly racking up thousands of dollars in roaming data charges while watching videos on his iPad. “It was an innocent trip,” said Mike Domzalski. “We had never been to […]
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■ An Iowa State University professor has developed a virtual reality headset for chickens that will fool factory-farmed hens into thinking they’re free-range. The gadget uses a special headset that lets caged chickens pad around a virtual farmyard, pecking at virtual bugs. “I did a lot of work to get the technology right,” said inventor Austin Stewart. He admits that […]
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■ A Japanese town wants to put underpants on a replica of Michelangelo’s David. The 16-foot-tall statue has caused a stir since it was presented to the town of Okuizumo as a gift. “It’s frightening the children and worrying the adults with its nakedness,” said an official. “Several people have asked us to cover it up with underpants.” Officials are […]
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■ When Aaron Collins of Lexington, Ky., died suddenly last year at the age of 30, he left his family instructions in his will to leave an “awesome tip” for an unsuspecting server. “I mean $500 on a f—ing pizza for a waiter or waitress,” he wrote. His family did as Aaron had requested —but his brother, Seth, didn’t want […]
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