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Evel Kneivel shown here in this promotional still from the 2015 documentary Being Evel, about to launch in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket, wearing a helmet, of course.

Risk-Taker Evel Knievel Was a Big Proponent of Wearing a Helmet

The daredevil still holds the world record for the most broken bones

Meandering river in Nyingchi, Tibet, China

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Watch 32 Years of Our Changing Planet Unfold With Google Timelapse

A satellite-eye’s-view of growing cities and climate change

Spc. Crisma Albarran volunteered for the U.S. Army. In the future, other women could be required to serve.

Women Won’t Register for the Draft After All

They’re gaining parity within the U.S. military—but women won’t yet be required to register for compulsory service in case of war

New Research

Was the Speed of Light Even Faster in the Early Universe?

Physicists propose a way to test if light exceeded Einstein's constant just after the Big Bang

Not the meteorite that struck Ann Hodges, this five-inch-long chunk was recovered from Siberia.

For the Only Person Ever Hit by a Meteorite, the Real Trouble Began Later

The "Hodges meteorite" brought problems to the woman it struck, but good fortune to at least one neighbor

Cool Finds

Newly Uncovered Ruins Reveal 7,000-Year-Old City in Egypt

Ancient huts and tombs could be the final resting places of local elites

Gregory "Joey" Johnson, holds a flag sent to him by an unknown well-wisher in New York, Wednesday, June 28, 1989.

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Five Things to Know About the Case That Made Burning the Flag Legal

It’s a grand old flag—here’s why the right to burn it was affirmed in 1989

Robert McNamara meeting with Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House.

How Robert McNamara Came to Regret the War He Escalated

The 'architect of the Vietnam war' never formally apologized, but struggled with its consequences for the rest of his life

Cassini crosses Saturn's F ring once on each of its 20 Ring-Grazing Orbits, shown here in tan and lasting from late November 2016 to April 2017. Blue represents the extended solstice mission orbits, which precede the ring-grazing phase.

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In Its Final Hurrah, Cassini Will Swoop Past Saturn’s Rings

The craft will take one last look at the ringed planet before diving into its depths

Madeleine L'Engle, with granddaughters Charlotte and Léna, in 1976.

The Beloved, Baffling 'A Wrinkle in Time' Was Rejected By 26 Publishers

Author Madeleine L'Engle, whose birthday is today, almost quit writing before it was published

New Research

Researchers Find Word Optimism Is Linked to National Misery

Even Pollyanna changes her tune in times of war and economic hardship

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Why Xenophobia Is Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year

The word derived from Greek roots captured the zeitgeist of 2016

The 45-foot Christmas tree is installed in Boston Common.

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A Century-Old Boston Christmas Tree Tradition Costs Canadians Big Money

Turns out that Boston’s city Christmas tree is a very valuable gift

New Research

Feeling Down? Scientists Say Cooking and Baking Could Help You Feel Better

A little creativity each day goes a long way

A detail of a 17th century map found stuffed in a Scottish chimney.

Cool Finds

Rare 17th-Century Map Found Shoved Up a Chimney Is Restored

Nothing like an antique document to block a draft

The "toilet" on the Soyuz capsule

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NASA Wants to Know What to Do With Its Astronaut Poo

The Space Poo Challenge is offering $30,000 for a system that can keep an astronaut clean and dry for 144 hours in a space suit

French toast, also known as lost bread, German toast, and "poor knights' pudding" is celebrated today, but it tastes great any day.

There Are as Many Names for French Toast as Ways to Cook It

People have been enjoying the eggy bread treat since Roman times

J. Frank Duryea, left, and race umpire Arthur W. White, right, in the 1895 Duryea during the Chicago Times-Herald race, the first automobile race in the U.S.

The Forgotten Car That Won America's First Auto Race

The zippy roadster won America's first automobile race in 1895 with an average speed of 5 mph

Coconut Crab's Pinch Among the Strongest in the World

The unusual crustacean's pincer rivals the bite of a lion

The aftermath of the 1919 Great Molasses Flood

New Research

The Sticky Science Behind the Deadly Boston Molasses Disaster

Nearly 100 years after the massive molasses tank ruptured, scientists are finally sussing out how this tragedy occurred

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