Universal Language

• Gorillas Like to Hum While They Eat
• With Voices Joined in Chorus, Giant Otter Families Create a Distinct Sound Signature
• Microorganisms on Your Scalp, Ears and Elbows Can Be Turned into Music
• Enjoy the Heavenly Sounds of the Glass Armonica, Invented by Benjamin Franklin
• William Zeitler Demonstra…

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Do You Hear What I Hear?

• Can You Hear the Pylons Thud? The Silent Gif Dubbed an ‘Optical Illusion for the Ears’
• A Silent GIF That Somehow Makes You Hear a Sound
• Scientist Seeks to Learn Why Some People Are Able to Hear Silent a GIF of Power Lines Jumping Rope
• A Man Builds an Incredibly Loud, Leaf Blower Powered Train Horn out of a 55 Gallon Dru…

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Weight for Santa

• How Much Weight Would Santa Gain from Eating Milk and Cookies at Every House He Visits?
• Santa Claus, Indiana Gets 20,000 Letters a Year — and ‘Elves’ Reply to All of Them
• Here Lies Santa Claus? Researchers Zero In on Bones of St. Nick
• Finally, Proof That Christmas Songs Really Do Your Head I…

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Map Lust 3

• U.S. Corn Production by Percent
• Global Farming Land, USGS Survey
• Official Language Status in the US by State
• Cropland Map of the Continental US, 2012
• Land Value in Manhattan, 2006
• Fragile State Index, 2015
• This Map, with a Dot for Every American, Shows the Country’s Racial Divisio…

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Surrounded by Sound

• Since 2010, Sad Songs Have Become Less Common All over the World
• Sorry, Christmas Music Might Be Bad for Your Health
• Scientists Analyze the Moods of 90,000 Songs Based on Music and Lyrics
• The Simple Statistical Analysis That Explains the Entire History of Popular Music
• This Bird’s Songs Share…

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The Sound of Fear

• NASA Rocket Scientists Carve the Most Incredible Pumpkins
• Get in the Halloween Spirit with a NASA-Curated Playlist of Spooky Space Sounds
• NASA Playlist of the Incredible ‘Sounds of Space’
• A “Spooky Sounds” Playlist Direct from Outer Space, Compiled by NASA for Halloween
• What Song Terrifies You?
• Fear Can Make You a Bette…

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Around Japan 4

• Gifu’s Yanagiya — Is This the Best Restaurant on the Planet?
• Kaki: The Miracle Japanese Persimmon
• Japanese Women Rank the Otaku Obsessions They Can Most Forgive in a Partner
• City Hands Manhole Covers to Lottery-Picked Buyers
• Translation Debate: How Do You Say “Oh My God!” in Japanes…

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Food for the Senses

• Grocery Shoppers Buy More Food When the Music Is Slower
• This Song Is So Relaxing, Scientists Recommend NOT Listening While Behind the Wheel
• More Songs’ Emotional Moods Inverted with Key Changes
• The First Batch of 2018 Colors of the Year Is Here
• What You Call a Color Depends on How You Use It

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Sounds Strange

• Dangerous Sound? What Americans Heard in Cuba Attacks
• Mass Hysteria May Explain ‘Sonic Attacks’ in Cuba, Say Top Neurologists
• First Recording Emerges of High-Pitched ‘Sonic Weapon’ Linked to Attacks on US Embassy Workers in Cuba
• Listen to the Sound That US Diplomats Heard When Attacke…

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Playa Ukulele, Anyone?

• Emergency Playa Ukuleles
• Bonkers Human Centipede Race Against a Bull Looks Ridiculously High Risk
• Hide-And-Seek World Championship
• Hobby Horsing Around
• Want a Fun Party Game? Now ‘That’s a Question!’
• 27 Adorably Strange Birthday Party Themes Kids Have Chosen
• The Lost Origins of …

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