Author: Ian Fortey

Enrico Fermi set the groundwork for nuclear power back in the 1930s. By the 1940s we had all the horrible evidence we needed of the awesome power that splitting an atom can produce. Today there are almost 14,000 nuclear warheads in the world, down from an all-time high of over 70,000 in the 1980s. Around…

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There’s an old adage that says “crime doesn’t pay.” Unfortunately, a lot of criminals steal things to make money precisely to ensure that crime does pay them. Now for some criminals this doesn’t pan out at all. But for others, it actually works out much better than you’d think. Sometimes the difference between crime failing…

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Some of the deepest mines in the world extend miles below the surface of the Earth. Deep, dark pits that stretch on into forever. The world is littered with them and we’ve used them to mine everything from salt to gold to obscure metals like tantalum and gallium. But every so often you’ll find a…

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You don’t need to go to a desert island and find the “X” on a map to discover hidden treasure these days. As it happens, hundreds of homeowners and businesses are routinely discovering things hidden in their walls. Sometimes they’re treasures, and sometimes they are decidedly not.  10. The First Appearance of Superman In the…

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Modern medicine is about as close to a miracle as you’re likely to see in your lifetime. The number of lives saved each and every year thanks to everything from penicillin to cancer treatments to insulin is staggering. It’s very likely utterly incalculable. But it does come with a price that most of us are…

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There are 118 chemical elements that run from gases to liquids to solids. Some of them we’ll never run across in our lives because of how rare or dangerous they are. Others are so common we barely give them a second thought. But some of the elements that make up our world have far more…

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America’s Most Wanted debuted on FOX back in 1987. Since its inception it has proven to be incredibly popular, even surviving a cancelation and a network move before ultimately being canceled again in 2011. That was until 2021, when it was revived yet again. Over the years, the show has been directly responsible for tips…

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DNA has been the single most valuable tool in solving crimes in the last century. Genetic evidence has proven capable of solving crimes that have been unsolved for decades but the problem is often how to get the DNA needed to solve those crimes. It’s not enough for a criminal to leave evidence at a…

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They say crime doesn’t pay, but that statement seems to be only true for those who get caught. Fortunately for the justice system there are a lot of criminals out there making it far too easy to round them up through some of the most ridiculous mistakes imaginable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTQ8LALy2a8 This is an encore of one…

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As we’ve mentioned in the (very recent) past, they say that sometimes crime doesn’t pay. But that statement seems to be only true for those who get caught. Fortunately for the justice system there are a lot of criminals out there making it far too easy to round them up through some of the most…

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George S. Patton once said “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.” That may have been a quote about the honor, skill, and mettle of soldiers. But it also can apply to the use of these impractical weapons, which seem more likely to help you lose a fight than win…

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There’s an old adage that says “crime doesn’t pay.” Unfortunately, a lot of criminals steal things to make money precisely to ensure that crime does pay them. Now for some criminals this doesn’t pan out at all. But for others, it actually works out much better than you’d think. Sometimes the difference between crime failing…

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The universe is full of millions of tons of debris of all shapes and sizes. Out in space these are meteoroids. The moment it hits our atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. And if it actually makes it through the atmosphere and hits pay dirt, we call it a meteorite. Literal tons of this stuff hits…

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The word “mutation” tends to have a negative connotation, in no small part thanks to science fiction. We think of mutations as something gone wrong. But mutation is also how things improve. Throughout human history, there had been some remarkable mutations with some incredible side effects. 10. Shovel Teeth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_KmR5Si-7U Mutation is what has allowed…

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For a family that lives its life on public display, the Royals have an uncanny knack for getting embroiled in scandal and intrigue. Some of this plays out publicly, but some of it seems to be hidden away  in some dark places. Every family has their secrets, but not every family ruled over nations and…

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Terraforming is the process of modifying things like atmosphere, ecology, even surface topography of another world to make it hospital for life as we know it. Think of it like buying a run-down house with no insulation and holes in the floors then fixing it up so you can live in it. Except, you know,…

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They say crime doesn’t pay, but that statement seems to be only true for those who get caught. Fortunately for the justice system there are a lot of criminals out there making it far too easy to round them up through some of the most ridiculous mistakes imaginable.  10. The Door Pusher Who among us…

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Technology is ever moving forward, but its acceptance is a fickle thing. We are almost cursed with abundance these days, so consumers are able to be discerning about which technology they want to spend time and money on. Even a good idea may have to fall by the wayside if it’s marketed incorrectly or its…

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Science is a helpful tool to explain the world around us. Observation, experimentation and some intuition go into determining how things work and why. One of the best things about science is that it’s malleable. Science isn’t trying to be a religion, it’s just trying to explain things. If we learn something new, science changes…

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