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Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

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The strange, beautiful landscapes revealed by lasers

If you were to strip a forest of all its vegetation, what would you see? A spectacular and strange landscape of old landslides, abandoned river channels, ancient lava flows, and the tracks of glaciers.

ILLUSTRATION BY CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE, DTM, ROBERTO MOLAR CANDANOSA/SCOTT SHEPPARD

A distant world beyond Pluto hints at a mysterious 'Planet X'

The icy oddball is about as wide as Massachusetts and takes 40,000 years to plod once around the sun. And like a handful of other distant objects in space, its orbital behavior might signal the presence of an unseen planet lurking in the outer dominions of our solar system.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAOLO VERZONE

These extraordinary fossils were unearthed in a garbage dump

Paleontologists in Spain have uncovered a wide array of fossils spanning more than a million years. Among the ancient species they've found are the precursors to apes—and us.

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In 1212, the Children's Crusade set out for the Holy Land. It never arrived.

Stories of the two failed expeditions of young European Christians fascinated 13th century audiences. But who were these "children," and what really happened to them? Historians are still trying to piece together the full story.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL, MARK V. ERDMANN

The little-known shark that has evolved to walk on land

There are nine known species of sharks that can walk—and all of them evolved that trait in the last 9 million years. That's highly unusual, considering sharks have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and most have barely changed.

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With more than 300 days of sunshine a year, Zion National Park is a beautiful and unique wonder. Our new Outside Academy augmented reality (AR) experience on Instagram allows you to experience this iconic national park, from the comfort of home. Try the Effect.

QUOTE

They will say things you have never heard before, have jobs that don't exist, share tales you cannot repeat, and look like no one else.

Giulia Barcaro

Writer, creative director

From: Meet the local legends of this Italian town by the sea

PHOTOGRAPH BY REED YOUNG

Meet the local legends of this Italian town by the sea

This story is about Bari, a port city in the south of Italy, home to around 300,000 people. Here, deviating from the norm is an integral part of the city's DNA.

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Need a distraction?

How Zoom killed the fine art of interrupting (Washington Post) ››

The chef cooking a cicada recipe for every palate (Atlas Obscura) ››

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