Hit By Lightning
Yearly odds of an adult being hit by lightning: 1 in 1 million
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Give That Man A Hand . . .
A British pilot momentarily lost control of his passenger plane when his artificial arm fell off during landing. The captain of the FlyBe turboprop was approaching Belfast City Airport in windy conditions with 47 passengers on board when his prosthetic left arm suddenly became detached, forcing him to handle the controls with just one arm. The plane touched down heavily […]
Read moreCANNABIS CONSUMERS
In 2012, some 2.9 million adults and teens tried an illicit drug for the first time. More than 80% of them used pot. Among all pot users, 40% take the drug 20 or more days a month. Two states have legalized it for recreational use.
Read moresubways “teeming with life”
Researchers who swabbed and tested DNA from surfaces in New York City’s subway system identified 562 species of bacteria, including microbes from mozzarella, sausage, hummus, kimchi, sauerkraut, rats, mice, and lice. Geneticist Christopher E. Mason said the bacteria found were not sufficient to cause disease, but that his work revealed the subways to be “teeming with life,” like “a rain […]
Read more7 GOOD REASONS TO BEFRIEND A SHARK
If nightmares about Jaws are keeping you from taking a dip in the ocean, relax. You’re much less appetizing than you think. 11: U.S. fatalities from sharks, 1990-2006 16: U.S. fatalities from collapsing sand holes, 1990-2006 1 in 310,733: Odds of dying in a fireworks accident 1 in 3,750,000: Odds of dying in a shark attack 80: Total unprovoked shark attacks around the world in 2012 30 Million: Sharks killed by people each year 219: Estimated […]
Read moreSmoking ban in Russia
Russia, the world’s second biggest cigarette consumer after China, has banned smoking in most public places as well as all tobacco advertising. Even popular Soviet-era cartoons featuring pipe smokers are to be censored. It’s unclear, though, how the ban will be enforced. Moscow police chief Anatoly Yakunin said his force has no plan to arrest violators. “We hope that they will […]
Read moreParalympic Medal Winner Regains Use of Her Legs
A Paralympic medal winner who spent half her life in a wheelchair has made a miraculous recovery, and now hopes to represent her country in the Olympics. Monique van der Vorst had been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of 13, and won two silver medals as a hand-cyclist in the 2008 Paralympic Games. But the 27-year-old Dutch athlete […]
Read moreRedrawing Borders
Italy and Switzerland have agreed to redraw their border because global warming is melting the Alpine glaciers that mark their respective boundaries. The border had been fixed since 1861.
Read moreOscar Romero on path to sainthood
Pope Francis has declared Oscar Romero a martyr of the faith, paving the way for the murdered Salvadoran archbishop to be beatified, a step toward sainthood. A right-wing death squad executed Romero in a hospital chapel in 1980 while he was celebrating Mass just a day after he preached a sermon asking government soldiers to stop their repression. No one […]
Read moreSlow TV
An Icelandic public broadcast station aired 24 hours of live sheep birthing, part of its “slow TV” campaign, which also featured chess, knitting, and wood-burning.
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