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Patagonia’s 6000-year-old marble cave, Cuevas de Mármol in southern Chile
On the shores of Lake General Carrera in Patagonia, southern Chile, lies a marble cave known as the Marble Cathedrals. The unexpected natural wonder is sculpted by nature. The cave originated over 6,000 years ago due to waves driven by nearby glaciers, crashing up against calcium carbonate on the peninsular of the remote glacial lake. […]
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Explore the incredible crater of Australia’s Gosses Bluff
Gosses Bluff is an eroded crater remnant in central Australia formed from an asteroid or comet collision during the earliest Cretaceous period, 142 million years ago. The 3-mile wide crater was originally believed to be 12 miles in diameter before natural erosion took its course. The aboriginal Western Arrernte were the first to recognize the […]
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All that fur makes the Pallas cat look like an absolute unit
The Pallas cat is a cute little furball. Pallas’s cats are about the same size as domestic cats — they measure up to 26 inches in length and weigh around 10 pounds. But their body hair is twice as long as the hair on its head, so they appear much larger than they are. That […]
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Deadly scorpions invade southern Egypt after freak thunderstorm
If you thought the plagues were over, think again. Thunderstorms in southern Egypt forced hordes of scorpions out of the desert into Aswan, killing 3 and sending more than 500 people to hospitals with stings. Sources say the black scorpions entered everywhere from people’s homes, cars, and buildings to inject them with deadly venom. The […]
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The cassowary is living proof that birds are living dinosaurs
The cassowary is further proof that birds are living dinosaurs. Native to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia, the flightless Cassowary bird can grow up to a whopping 7 feet tall and weigh as much as 120 pounds. It’s the third-tallest and second-heaviest living bird. But even more dinosauric are the cassowary’s razor-sharp talons that […]
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Olms, the eyeless baby dragons of Europe
Olms are underwater cave-dwelling salamanders found in Europe. The neatest part about these unique, entirely aquatic amphibians is that they have long bodies, heads, and no eyes, unlike their relatives of axolotls. They also can live up to a century and go a decade without food due to their low metabolism. In Slovenian folklore, the olm […]
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The giant crowned flying fox is a human-size bat from the Philippines
Here’s a creature from the Philippines that will stop you in your tracks. The giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus) grows as large as 3 feet with a 5-6 feet wingspan. For the record, that’s also wider than Danny DeVito is tall. It is quite simply one of the largest bats in the world. You’d think that […]
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Discover the wonder of Onekotan Island
Onekotan is a deserted volcanic island in the northwest Pacific Ocean near the northern end of Russia’s Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk. The archipelago consists of two stratovolcanos at each end, Krenitsyn and Nemo, connected by a flat strip of land. Crater lakes surround both volcanoes. The 4344-foot Krenitsyn volcano on the […]
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Dual head-mounted listening devices
This dual-mounted listening device served as an aircraft detection device before the invention of radar in 1935. The Dutch military used the elephant-looking ears to detect approaching enemy aircraft by listening afar for engine sounds. There were various iterations of the acoustic locators. The Germans created a dual sight and sound system in 1917 that […]
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These deep-sea anglerfish might as well be aliens
Deep-sea anglerfish (Ceratiidae) remain one of the most intriguing mysteries of the ocean. Ugly and ghoulish with giant mouths and pointy teeth, only recently has video footage revealed the creature’s unique form of alienesque reproduction. The 3.5-foot females are most famous for their hunting methods, in which they use a fish rod-like appendage (the esca) […]
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Say hello to the Vampire Crab
Here’s an animal made for Halloween: say hello to the Vampire Crab. The recently discovered species of the genus Geosesarma dennerle is a tiny, semi-terrestrial crab that resides on the Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. They get their name from their fang-shaped mouthparts, spooky eyes, and pinchy claws. The super-colorful purple vampire crabs are native to […]
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Valais Blacknose sheep from Switzerland
Strange-looking but cute — if you can even see their faces — the Valais Blacknose sheep is a type of mountain-breed sheep from the Valais region of Switzerland. These fancy-looking lambs are called ‘luxury sheep’ for their magical faceless features, shaggy coats, and spiral horns. Although they’re used for their wool and meat in Switzerland, the […]