In 2014, Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe made history when they were declared the first co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 52 years, and only the fifth since the contest began in 1925. On May 28th, 2015, 13-year-old Vanya Shivashankar and 14-year-old Gokul Venkatachalam repeated the feat, after zipping through the final list of 25 difficult words with ease....
Read news articleWhat's better than the school year drawing to a close? How about a National Donut Day, which believe it or not, happens to be tomorrow, Friday, June 5th! Given that the only way to celebrate this all-important occasion is to eat donuts, you really have no choice but to devour one (or even a dozen) of the gooey treats....
Read news articleWhile e-books are on the rise, most people, especially young kids, still prefer printed versions that they can pore over for hours on end. Though that is an excellent habit, it also means cutting down precious trees. But what if the book could revert to its roots and transform back into a tree? Now thanks to a Brazilian children's book publisher, that is possible, at least for one book!...
Read news articleEarlier this month, the officials of China's Hunan Province revealed what they believe will be a new "Wonder of the World" — the planet's longest and highest glass-bottom bridge. When complete, the 430 meter-long and 6 meter-wide structure will connect the two summits across the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. While the length is certainly impressive, it is the 400 m (1,312 ft) height that will have most visitors gripped by fear as they try to traverse across....
Read news articleIt was a chilly and gloomy Sunday morning. But that did not prevent thousands of Bay Area residents from making their way to San Francisco's beautiful waterfront to participate in the city's oldest and most iconic footrace - Bay to Breakers. Now in its 104th year, the 12 Km (7.45 mile) competition that spans across the city may not be the world's hardest or longest race. But it is the most fun!...
Read news articleIn the last 15 years, Yves Rossy has used his amazing jetpack wings to soar over the Grand Canyon, fly alongside an F-17 bomber and even circle Japan's Mt. Fuji. However, his latest flight in Dubai surpasses them all. That's because this time the adventurer joined forces with his protégé, 31-year-old skydiver and base jumper Vince Reffet, to do what no human has accomplished before - fly in formation!...
Read news articleWhen researchers from the University of Manchester and Manchester Museum decided to take a peek inside some ancient Egyptian animal mummies using CT scans they expected to discover perfectly preserved remains. To their surprise, only one-third of the 800 specimens they examined actually contained complete skeletons. The rest housed partial animal remains, or even worse, just some mud, sticks, and eggshells....
Read news articleSimilar to humans, produce comes in different shapes and sizes. Yet, chances are you have probably never encountered a gnarly looking carrot or an apple with "character" at your local grocery store or farmers market. That's because any fruit or vegetable that looks different from what is considered "normal" is deemed undesirable and automatically tossed out!...
Read news articleIf Stark Industries were a real company, chances are Patrick Priebe would be Tony Stark's go-to man for all new gizmos. In fact, this young man's creations are so impressive that any superhero would be proud to be seen with them....
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