About a billion people live in deserts today. This is not a new fad. Humans have walked across the dunes since prehistoric times. However, most of us have no interest in moving to an oasis and trading our car for a camel. Living in a desert is hard. But ancient cultures once mastered these dry […]

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Forget masked robbers, getaway cars, and elaborate bank vaults. Some of the biggest heists of the modern era have required little more than laptops, stolen credentials, clever code, and an understanding of systems holding billions of dollars in digital assets. Cryptocurrency has created a new kind of crime story. Hackers have stolen fortunes without ever […]

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Most engineering is about preventing failure. Strengthen the bridge, reinforce the machine, make the component last longer. But sometimes the smartest design does the exact opposite. Engineers deliberately build a sacrificial response into a system, creating something meant to break, melt, corrode, deform, or release at exactly the right moment. It sounds counterintuitive, but there […]

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Broadway is full of musicals inspired by real people. Alexander Hamilton, Eva Perón, and Fanny Brice have all proved that history can make great theater. But for every smash hit based on a famous figure, there are plenty of shows that fail to find an audience. Some of these productions had acclaimed composers, Tony-winning actors, […]

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The early history along the eastern coast of North America is rife with otherworldly tales of terror and tragedy. Wayward and forlorn spirits are said to mourn the premature deaths of those close to them, while still others are believed to be the ghosts of long-dead victims, wronged but never avenged. Here are ten obscure […]

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Money works because people agree that it has value. Usually, governments and central banks make that agreement easier by printing notes, minting coins, and regulating the financial system. But when conventional money is unavailable, restricted, distrusted, or simply inconvenient, people have repeatedly found substitutes. Prisoners have paid for haircuts with fish and ramen noodles. Prisoners […]

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The world’s oceans are littered with the wrecks of sunken ships, some of which are still stuffed with the cargo they were carrying and the personal effects of passengers and crew. But while anyone diving to explore a shipwreck is likely to find coins and dishware, plenty of more unusual things have also been brought […]

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