Lists and Stories

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  7 One-Hit Wonders That Kept Us Wondering Despite dreams of holding fame as long as they could hold a note, these music artists graced the American stage for one act, and one act only. They rode high on the charts, smiling from atop the gold-plated wings of their hit record, before falling from the pages of Billboard magazine and hitting...
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  The World’s Highest Mountains by Continent Mountaineers can all agree that climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks of each of the world’s continents, is among the supreme accomplishments of their sport; it is harder to get them to agree on exactly which peaks make up the Seven Summits. The problem is one of geographical classification...
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  7 Paintings You Have to See at the Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the world’s great encyclopedic art museums. Its collection of more than 300,000 artworks covers the history of art across multiple cultures and eras. Among its strengths is its European and American art; this list highlights just a few notable works from that...
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  7 Paintings You Might Not Expect to Find in Boston The Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts are two of the great art institutions in Boston where you can see these paintings. The collections in these institutions are significantly more diverse in terms of creators and subject matter than is represented by this list. Earlier versions of the...
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  7 People Who Shaped LGBTQIA+ World History These seven figures in LGBTQIA+ history broke barriers around the world. Their contributions to their respective fields have dismantled systems of oppression, advocated for LGBTQIA+ human rights, and allowed LGBTQIA+ people to express themselves more freely. list, Britannica, Encyclopaedia...
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  7 Dangerous Plants You Should Never Touch Plants don’t enjoy losing their leaves to herbivores and have evolved a number of ingenious strategies to deter leaf predators. Unfortunately for humans, several of these chemical defenses can cause painful skin reactions. Read on to discover some plants that could burn, blister, or otherwise...
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  7 Puzzling Plane Disappearances Over the years, aircraft have vanished without a trace, leaving unanswered questions even after thorough investigations. Here are seven of the most puzzling plane disappearances in history. list, encyclopedia, britannica, list, lists, planes, disappearances, mysterious, mystery, history, bermuda...
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  7 Questions About Lizards, Snakes, and Other Reptiles Answered Earlier versions of these questions and answers first appeared in the second edition of The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu (2010). list, reptiles, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, alligators The lizard is a reptile, a cold-blooded animal that is unable to internally control...
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  7 Questions About Mammals Answered Mammals can do amazing things! This list will answer your questions about flying ones, venomous ones, really fast ones, and smelly ones. Earlier versions of these questions and answers first appeared in the second edition of The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu (2010)....
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  7 Questions for Astronaut Jessica Meir Jessica Meir made history on October 18, 2019, when she and fellow astronaut Christina Koch made the first all-woman space walk. For more than seven hours they worked outside the International Space Station (ISS) to replace a power unit. Meir and Koch went on to make two more space walks together,...
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  7 Quintessential National-Spelling-Bee-Winning Words Since 1925 American grade-school students (and a few from outside the U.S.) have participated in a national spelling bee held annually in Washington, D.C. Students proceed through a series of rounds by spelling words correctly, and the winner of the bee is the contestant who pulls off one final...
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  7 Quizzes That Will Help You Prepare for Your Next Trip You’ve made your hotel reservations. You have your airline tickets. You’ve identified your mass-transit options. But…what do you really know about that place you’re going to? Do you know its capital? Its history? How about its area? Facts are the best things to pack for your trip, so use these...
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  7 Scary Surgical Instruments, Then and Now Just thinking about scalpels, forceps, and shears is enough to make some people squeamish. But while the modern versions of those instruments are nothing to sneeze at, consider the surgical knives, gorgets, and trepans of centuries past. Those vintage tools were crude at best by modern standards,...
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  7 Significant Political Events at the Olympic Games The Olympic Games are a time when many nations come together to celebrate athleticism and mental strength. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) aims to promote sport competition and education free of any discrimination, “in a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” The Olympics are a...
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  7 Significant Stadiums Stadiums have their roots in ancient Greece, where they were a place for footraces. Modern stadiums are home to a much wider variety of sports and purposes. Here are seven significant ones. Earlier versions of the descriptions of these sports structures first appeared in 1001 Amazing Places You...
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  The Great Molasses Flood and 6 Other Strange Disasters History abounds with descriptions of deadly earthquakes, storms, plane crashes, and other terrible occurrences. History also provides stories of truly strange things. Sometimes truly absurd and astounding things just happen, and other times mundane natural forces combine with misfortune to produce...
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  7 Surprising Uses for Mummies The ancient Egyptians are famous for their mummification process and their preservation of the dead. Scientists have studied mummies to learn more about the mummification process and also the condition of the bodies. Today you can visit certain museums to view mummies for pleasure. It may or may...
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  7 Tongue-Twisting Painting Techniques Over the centuries, artists have devised strategies to breathe life and realism into their works of art. What appear to be seamless representations of the real world on canvas were likely the result of endless months—or even years—of trial and error. These tricks of the trade, born of artistic and...
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  7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World The news of a loved one’s death hits every person differently. The aftermath of that news, then, takes unique forms the world over as cultures celebrate the life and honor the death of individuals in ways often singular to their culture. Let’s look at seven distinct burial rituals. list, burial...
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  7 Unsportsmanlike Athletes Sports might bring out the best in some people, but not in everyone. The desire to win has often resulted in athletes bending the rules. In fact, cheating in sports has a long and infamous history. The following list is just a small sample of some athletes who seem to have adopted the maxim “if you...