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Before Humans, England Belonged to Horrifying Scorpions the Size of Dogs. Here’s What They Looked Like.

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If you’ve ever found yourself playing Fallout: New Vegas and thanking your lucky stars that you don’t live in a world infested with gigantic scorpions, well, I hate to break it to you, but you do. Or at least, you used to. According to new research published in the journal Palaeontology and led by Richard Howard of the Natural History Museum, scientists have confirmed that a massive scorpion once crept across what is now England and Wales. Praearcturus gigas, as it’s called, lived around 415 million years ago during the Early Devonian period. Fossil fragments pulled from the St Maughan’s Sandstone Formation show a predator with 16-centimeter pincers and an estimated body length of nearly one meter, or roughly three feet. A scorpion as long as a toddler is tall. This would make it the largest scorpion ever identified in the fossil record . Photo: Franz Anthony/Natural History Museum No Way That Massive Thing Is a Scorpion, Scientists Thought The fossils themselves hav...
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Scientists Recreated Nuclear Fallout in a Lab. Here’s What Happened Next.

Nobody wants a nuclear event to occur, other than those prepper weirdos who secretly need one to happen to justify the small fortune they spent on a fallout shelter. But just in case one does happen, it’s probably smart to keep studying the science of nuclear fallout so we can mitigate as much of the damage as possible. According to new research from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory published in the journal Analytical Chemistry and reported by ScienceAlert, scientists have learned quite a bit about what happened inside the radioactive cloud that forms after a nuclear explosion. And they didn’t even have to set off a nuke to do it. Instead, the researchers used a plasma flow reactor, a one-meter-long device that can reach temperatures of 5,000 degrees Kelvin. It can recreate some of the extreme conditions found inside a nuclear detonation to observe how all that vaporized radioactive material cools down, condenses, and becomes fallout particles that can linger...
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The Truth About Today’s Crazy Cat Ladies, and Why You Might Owe Your Local Cat Lover an Apology

You’ve likely heard of the term “crazy cat lady,” which essentially describes a single woman who lives alone with a bunch of cats. Some people find this to be an unfortunate life choice, while others aspire to surround themselves with precious felines, sans a romantic partner . Obviously, this term was created as an insult toward women (or perhaps a fear of the more independent ones), namely those who craved a less traditional path. First of all, to imply a woman is “crazy” for choosing a solo life with feline companions is one of the most obvious attempts at social conditioning out there. Second, perhaps we should start making the same judgments toward unmarried men who own a bunch of dogs?  No? Didn’t think so. The Origin of The ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the “crazy cat lady” stereotype actually originated in medieval Europe during the infamous witch trials. During this time, cats were also considered “demonic,...
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Daily Horoscope: June 12, 2026

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It’s Friday, and the sky is actually cooperating today. The Moon conjunct Mars in Taurus means the energy is there and it has an appetite — not frantic, just ready. Moon sextiling Mercury means whatever you’ve been struggling to put into words has a better shot at coming out right today, stargazer. The Sun sextiling Eris is giving everyone a little extra nerve, which is useful if you’ve been waiting for a reason to say or do something you’ve been sitting on. The one complication is Venus squaring Chiron, which has a way of putting old wounds right in the path of good things. Notice that when it happens. Then step around it. Read your horoscope for the week , and see what the stars have in store for your sign today.  Aries: March 21 – April 19 It’s Friday, and your body knows it before your brain catches up. The Moon conjunct Mars today is basically a starting pistol, and for once, the energy is right there waiting for you. The ca...
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Experience: ‘I Just Trod on a Landmine!’

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This interview is from the spring 2026 issue of VICE magazine, THE NOT THE PHOTO ISSUE. Buy it now —or get 4 issues each year sent straight to your door, by  subscribing . Collin Mayfield is an American journalist who has covered conflict in countries around the world, in Ukraine , Haiti , Syria , Lebanon , and Myanmar . While I was sitting at my desk the other day, he messaged to say he’d had his foot blown off by a landmine, and did I want to know more? I said, yes, absolutely! We caught up with him as he recovered in Poland.   VICE: How did you come to step on a landmine in Myanmar? Collin Mayfield: I was on a reconnaissance mission, embedded with the People’s Defence Force-Zoland, part of the Chin Brotherhood Alliance, in Tedim Township, Chin State. I was with the commander, Gideon, another officer, and a few soldiers. The officer and I were in an SUV and he flew a drone. Some soldiers rode motorcycles to scope out different areas. Everything was going perfectly fine. No o...
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The Weird Origin Story Behind Nickelodeon’s Famous Green Slime, Explained

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Today, Nickelodeon is synonymous with neon green slime. The disgusting, gooey substance has become part of their brand identity. Generations of children all dreamed that one day they’d have the opportunity to be slimed. But just how did this idea come to be? Well, according to Nickelodeon legend, it largely happened by mistake. This Forgotten Nickelodeon show is responsible for slime In 1979, Nickelodeon premiered a kid-friendly version of Saturday Night Live! The show, You Can’t Do That On Television, featured a sketch where a young boy had a bucket of slop dumped over his head. According to the legend, due to long filming days (those child labor laws), the slop transformed into a green, gooey substance resembling slime. From there, Nickelodeon realized they’d struck gold, and kids received a $50 bonus for each sliming. The recipe changed over time, too. On Double Dare , it was reportedly a mixture of vanilla pudding, oatmeal, applesauce, and green food coloring. However...
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Daily Horoscope: June 11, 2026

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There’s a low-grade restlessness in the air today that most people will feel before they can name it. The Moon is moving through a tense stretch of the sky, squaring some of the heavier hitters along the way, and emotions have a way of showing up uninvited on days like this, and expecting to be dealt with. Something about what you need versus what you’ve been willing to say out loud is getting harder to ignore, stargazer. The Sun squaring Eris is giving everyone a sharper edge than usual — that’s not a warning, just good to know going in. Let what’s true have some air today. It’s been waiting long enough. Read your horoscope for the week , and see what the stars have in store for your sign today.  Aries: March 21 – April 19 Not knowing what you want is its own special torture, and Mars stuck in Taurus hasn’t helped much. The drive is there, but the direction isn’t, and that gap is maddening. Here’s the thing, Ar...
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