discoveries

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Ancients 'Predicted the Future' With ... Flour?

Archaeologists uncover three shrines on Armenian hilltop

(Newser) - Archaeologists have discovered three ancient shrines where diviners apparently tried seeing the future with animal bones, small pebbles, or flour baked into little bread rolls, LiveScience reports. Ensconced in an Armenian fortress, the roughly 3,300-year-old shrines found between 2003 and 2011 each have a room containing a clay basin...

Lennon a Jerk? 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including the happiest language on Earth and a millennia-long embrace

(Newser) - John Lennon's alleged dark side and a material stronger than spider silk make this week's list:
  • Housekeeper's Letter Reveals Lennon's Demons : Dorothy Jarlett was the housekeeper for John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, during the late '60s, and the picture she paints of the
...

Finger Length Indicates How Nice a Man Is to Women

The 2D:4D ratio is tied to agreeable, quarrelsome behavior

(Newser) - A study released earlier this month relied on the "2D:4D" ratio to determine that 57% of men are inclined to be promiscuous . Now, a second study says the same ratio—which makes use of the length of the index and ring fingers—can also indicate how nice men...

Star Once Passed 'Astronomically Close' to Earth

It was less than a light-year away

(Newser) - Somewhere out there is a trivia question asking for the name of the star closest to our solar system. The answer has long been Proxima Centauri, a mere 4.2 light-years away. But now astronomers say that another star came five times closer about 70,000 years ago, they write...

These Tiny Teeth Hold the Strongest Material on Earth

Move over, spider silk, another substance takes the lead

(Newser) - There's a new strongest material on the planet, and it's found in the lowly mouth of a tiny snail-like sea creature called a limpet. The limpet's teeth, which are about a millimeter in length, are made up of fibers of goethite, and scientists report in the Royal...

'Priceless' Gold Coins Found in Record Israel Haul

Israeli diving club at first thought the coins were toy versions

(Newser) - Many divers search long and hard for sunken treasure, but an Israeli diving club out for a recent dive in their local harbor struck literal gold by chance: 2,000 priceless gold coins that had been sitting on the seabed for about 1,000 years, the largest stash of gold...

Guy Finds $35K Watch at Goodwill Store

Rare 1959 diving watch had $5.99 price tag

(Newser) - A Phoenix man who went into a Goodwill store looking for a used push-pull golf cart ended up leaving with a $35,000 watch—and getting change from $6 (it cost $5.99). Zach Norris, who became interested in vintage watches after inheriting one a few years ago, says he...

Penguins Can&#39;t Taste Fish: Study
 Penguins 
 Can't Taste 
 the Fish They Eat 
new study
Feb 17, 2015 1:40 PM CST

Penguins Can't Taste the Fish They Eat

Their sense of taste is very limited

(Newser) - Penguins, it seems, can't really taste their dinners. They aren't able to pick up on sweetness, bitterness, or a meaty flavor known as umami, a study finds. Instead, they can only taste sourness and saltiness, the BBC reports. That sets them apart from other birds, most of which...

Potent &#39;Skunk&#39; Pot Ups Psychosis Risk
Potent 'Skunk' Pot
Ups Psychosis Risk
STUDY SAYS
Feb 17, 2015 11:47 AM CST

Potent 'Skunk' Pot Ups Psychosis Risk

Milder hashish poses no increased risk, researchers say

(Newser) - Despite efforts to reclassify marijuana down to a Schedule II (read: less dangerous) drug, there are some people who still insist on its dangers—and new research may back those theories up. Scientists at King's College London have discovered that smoking potent, or "skunklike," cannabis was tied...

Married Couples' Sex Lives 'Rebound'—After 50 Years

Those in first marriages have sex more frequently than those who remarried

(Newser) - It's no secret that most married couples have less sex as the years go by, but those who stick it out tend to see something of a romantic renaissance—it just takes five decades to get there. Researchers looking at 1,656 married adults ranging in age from 57...

Mars Mystery: Bizarre 125-Mile-High Plumes

Scientists have 2 theories, neither likely

(Newser) - Amateur astronomers have made an unexpected discovery: massive plumes spouting up at least 125 miles from the surface of Mars. Two plumes, up to 620 miles wide, were spotted over the Terra Cimmeria area in the red planet's Southern Hemisphere by at least 18 people over two 10-day periods...

Ladies, Your Hot Flash Phase Could Last 14 Years
Ladies, Your Hot Flash Phase Could Last 14 Years
STUDY SAYS
Feb 16, 2015 3:43 PM CST

Ladies, Your Hot Flash Phase Could Last 14 Years

And researchers find the earlier they start, the longer they tend to last

(Newser) - No woman looks forward to menopause, especially the accompanying hot flashes. Which is why a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine may not bring relief to those hoping for a quick demise to the excessively warm, sweaty stage: A 17-year review of 1,449 women from a variety of...

Spotify Reveals the Songs We Have Sex To

Service sifts through 2.5M 'sex' playlists

(Newser) - Spotify knows some pretty personal stuff about users—like what songs they like to be playing in the background while they get it on. That's thanks to the 2.5 million "sex" playlists Spotify users have put together, the Guardian reports. Inspired by Valentine's Day, the music...

Housekeeper's Letter Reveals Lennon's Dark Side

She says he was cheating husband, bullying father

(Newser) - When the Beatles were soaring in popularity, the John Lennon that the world didn't see was a lousy husband and father, according to newly unearthed divorce papers. In a letter to lawyers in 1968, the Lennons' housekeeper, Dorothy Jarlett, described how the atmosphere in the house became increasingly tense...

Darkness Reigned for 550M Years

Stars didn't appear until 100M years later than we thought

(Newser) - After the Big Bang, it was dark for a very, very long time—even longer than experts had previously believed, the Smithsonian reports. Scientists had thought that the dark period between the Big Bang and the emergence of the first stars lasted about 440 million years, the Press Association reports...

The Violin&#39;s Shape Was an Accident

 The Violin's Shape 
 Was an Accident 
study says
Feb 15, 2015 6:16 AM CST

The Violin's Shape Was an Accident

Researchers reveal how it 'evolved'

(Newser) - The shape of today's violin wasn't the result of some genius's design specifications; instead, it developed over time, likely improving by chance, researchers say. As the Christian Science Monitor reports, an instrument's sound depends heavily on the way air flows through it: The more air that...

Western US Poised for Worst Drought in 1K Years: Study

But experts say there's still time to change our ways

(Newser) - Within a few decades, a significant chunk of the US could be in for the worst drought in more than a millennium. That's if we don't change our greenhouse-gas-emitting ways, scientists say: A study co-author says the chance of a megadrought in the central and western US sometime...

Spanish Is the Happiest Language
 Spanish Is 
 the Happiest 
 Language 
study says
Feb 14, 2015 7:51 AM CST

Spanish Is the Happiest Language

Scientists' analysis of websites suggests as much

(Newser) - If you're in a foul mood, it might be time to learn Spanish. Languages, and the people who use them, tend to favor using positive words over negatives, researchers find, and they've learned that that's particularly true in Spanish. Experts at the University of Vermont and the...

Young Couple Found in Embrace of 6K Years

They apparently died holding each other in Greece

(Newser) - Your dose of Valentine's Day coupledom comes courtesy of archaeologists in Greece, who unearthed a man and woman locked in an embrace for about 6,000 years. The pair in their early 20s were found buried together in southern Greece at a dig site known as Alepotrypa Cave, reports...

Smile! 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including two snack-themed mysteries solved

(Newser) - A secret about Earth's core and an interstellar emoticon make the list:
  • The Hubble Spots 'Smiley Face' in Space : You've probably experienced the phenomenon of "face pareidolia"—seeing non-existent faces in things—before, but this one is out of this world. The Hubble Telescope has
...

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