Never underestimate the power of a story to illuminate meaning in this complicated world. Word-of-mouth stories were our first way of passing on knowledge. They allowed us to inspect ideas, characters, and situations from a safe distance. They served as…
It is cheaper to create housing for homeless than it is to ignore the problem
BY: CONNOR BRIAN It’s a fact that long-term investment will always supersede erratic donation based on the concept that infrastructure-based development is principal in achieving economic growth. According to recent studies, lending a hand to those in need doesn’t just…
This 34-year-old woman has sailed solo around the world for 10 years.
BY: BRITTANY ROSEN Captain Liz Clark lifted anchor on her boat in 2006, and has been independently sailing around the world ever since, with no plan to stop anytime soon. Armed with an in-depth education in sailing, and a lifetime at…
This man built a gorgeous tiny home in Thailand in just 6 weeks with only $9,000 (Photos)
BY; ROB HOFFMAN Steve Areen is proud owner of one of the cheapest, and most interesting instant mini homes on the planet. Areen was inspired by a friend named Hajjar Gibran, who in 2011, built a series of dome houses…
The Canadian feds target environmentalists as a threat to national security
BY: MICHAEL LYONS Canadian press and environmental groups are reporting that a leaked 2014 report by the federal and national police body, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) describes the national security threat of an “anti-petroleum movement.” In the face…
Chris McCandless’ sister reveals the real reason he went Into The Wild
BY: SINEAD MULHERN It’s been nearly 22 years since Outside magazine published Death of an Innocent, the story of a young man who left his home in a suburb of Washington D.C., travelled across the U.S., and disappeared into the…
This historian proves that we were never meant to sleep in 8 hour cycles.
BY: DANIEL KORN I’m the kind of guy who wants a full, eight-hour sleep every night. It’s the only option for me to operate normally—in fact, I got only seven last night, and now it’s 4 PM and I’ve been staring…
How this Indian official took a 24-year paid vacation
BY: TED BARNABY We’ve all played hooky: skipping out of school or work under the banner of illness, while secretly (and truthfully) prescribing to the occasionally necessary reasoning of “I just felt like it.” However, no soul on Earth can…
The food you’re eating could be killing you…slowly
By: JACK M. It’ll hardly come as a shock to learn that so-called “experts” frequently disagree. Put three experts in a room to work on some problem, and there’s a fair chance you’ll get three different opinions. And it doesn’t…
These women were born in the 1800s and are still alive (photos)
Each of these wise sages were born in the 19th century, living through two World Wars and the Cold War; and the inventions of the airplane, the television, and the Internet. Let’s be clear, these women have aged like a…
This ex-business man moved to the wilderness at 29, and lived without money for years
BY: TED BARNABY Mark Boyle is one of the only men on earth who can claim an entirely money-free life—at least for a few years. Boyle’s moneyless journey began in 2008, spending the next two years living completely self-sustainably. He…
Fire surfing is the most dangerous sport you have never heard of
BY: ZOE MELNYK As if surfing wasn’t challenging enough before, these dare devils decided to add fire into the mix—sort of. Professional surfers Bruce Irons and Sam McIntosh were the first to try this new fad of fire surfing on…
How these new technologies are killing your privacy and building a surveillance state
BY: DEXTER BROWN Would you allow someone to watch over you and hear your private conversations all day, every day? Well, with cameras and mics on everything from phones to tablets to computers, and even some video game controllers, you may…
In 2024, one of these five candidates may be selected to live and die on Mars (Video)
2024 is looking like it will be one of the most historically significant years in all of human history. Yielding over 200,000 applicants from all over the globe, and only 660 remaining, in the end only four will be given…
Why George Orwell would never buy a SmartTV by Samsung
BY: KHADIJA KHAN Many companies have recently capitalized on the growing trend of Internet-enabled devices, which allow you to access the Internet from, say, your TV. However, it seems now that the biggest screen in your house will be listening…
These alarming photos show how bad pollution in China has become
China is perhaps one of the most polarized landscapes, home to the strikingly beautiful Yellow Mountains and Great Wall of China, yet in other parts pollution runs rampant and completely unchecked. Unregulated dumping in various watersheds throughout China is fairly…
If you have always wanted to be a mermaid, there’s a school for that
BY: BRITTANY ROSEN Introducing Merfest: a mermaid convention that lets you live out your childhood fantasy without raising too many eyebrows. Located in Cary, North Carolina, over 300 of these real-life mermaids meet up three times a week at the…
This 20-year-old millionaire throws NYC’s wildest illegal parties (PHOTOS)
BY: KHADIJA KHAN Most 20-year-olds are unsure about what path they should take in life, but this entrepreneur formulated a master plan to get rich at the age of 15. Meet Alex Shlaferman. He started off by making up to…
The quietest room on earth makes people go insane after only 45 minutes (Video)
BY: BRITTANY ROSEN Step into dead silence; the quietest room in the world, where you can hear things that you’ve probably never heard before, like the blood flowing through your body. The record time for staying in this room is…
Scientists discover a second Earth, and it may contain extra-terrestrial life (Video)
BY: DANIEL KORN About 500 light years away from Earth, within the constellation Cygnus, is a planet with the catchy name of Kepler-186f. This planet is about the size of Earth and completes its orbit around a red dwarf star—half…