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Amidst all the hoopla about the Harbaugh brothers being pitted against each other in Super Bowl 47 and the fact that it was Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis's last game, there was one celebrity who went completely unnoticed - The team's offensive tackle, Michael Oher! For those that are drawing a blank, he was the inspiration behind the 2010 Hollywood blockbuster, 'The Blind Side,' for which Sandra Bullock received her first Oscar....

With over 2 million visitors flocking in every year, Brazil's second largest city, Rio de Janeiro is already the most popular tourist destination in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, with the city hosting the final game of the 2014 World Soccer and the 2016 Summer Olympics, things can only get worse. While most cities prepare for events like this by adding more hotel rooms or police force, Rio is etching bar codes into the city's iconic black and white mosaic sidewalks and, its not because they are trying to sell them to the tourists either!...

Who says that Swedish kids are the only ones that get to play at school? On January 29th, 2013, 336 students and faculty members at New Jersey's Hawthorne High School got to skip some classes and have fun too. In this case, however, the 'play' involved something a little more low-tech - Simultaneously popping, crackling, and snapping as much Bubble Wrap as they possibly could in two short minutes!...

The moose population in Minnesota is declining sharply - And nobody knows why! Now researchers from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have devised an innovative solution - One that will allow the moose to send them a text message but unfortunately, only after they are dead!...

It's Groundhog day! That means that people living in the Northern Hemisphere all eagerly tuned in to see what the legendary weather predictor Punxsutawney Phil had to say about the length of this year's dreary winter season. And, he did not disappoint!...

Though there have been many cases of sinkholes swallowing up garbage bins, trees or even a car or two, one large enough to devour entire buildings, has never been encountered before! That however changed when the ground suddenly gave away on January 29th, 2013 in central Guangzhou, the capital of China's Guangdong Province....

Cycling or even walking in urban areas can be a little treacherous, thanks to the fact that one is sharing the road with vehicles that are Increasingly getting larger and heavier. A 2009 study conducted by the World Health Organization revealed that of the 1.27 million people that perish in road traffic crashes each year, about half, are pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. Now there may be a solution that could provide at least some relief to protect this vulnerable group - An airbag!...

To say that Mariska, a Friesian mare who resides at the Misty Meadows Farm in Midland, Michigan is a smart horse, is an understatement. After all, which animal can figure out how to escape from its stable by deftly open the latch! If that doesn't impress you how about this? After she strolls out, Mariska calmly goes and opens the stable doors of her friends and encourages them to take off too!...

'Please do not play with your toys on the living room furniture!' - If that is something you hear more often than you care for, you are in luck. That's because thanks to award winning British toy and furniture designer Amy Whitworth, your parents may actually invite and even, encourage you to bring your toys in and play not just on, but with the living room furniture. Playhouse by day, coffee table by night, the ingenious Qubis Haus is a win-win for all!...

It was exactly two years ago in January 2011, that the people of Egypt finally garnered the courage to stand up against the injustice they had been enduring for 30 years, under the reigning government of President Hosni Mubarak. Within 18 days, the president succumbed to the wishes of his people by resigning and handing over interim power, to the country's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces....

While spending eight years in the White House may sound glamorous, life for Malia and Sasha Obama cannot be that much fun. After all, which teen/tween likes to sit through long boring speeches, be constantly hounded by the media and worst of all, have some secret service agent constantly watching all their movements? But, every now and again the job of being America's 'first girls' does bring some perks - One of which happens to be the 'Kid's Inauguration Ball', a tradition started by President Obama, where the girls get to invite and hobnob with music stars of their choice....

On January 11th, professional diver and excursion expert, Keller Laros and his team did what they do every night - Lead a group of tourist divers into the ocean off the Hawaiian island of Kona, to experience the stingrays, up close. While that in itself was a magical experience, what happened that night, was even more unforgettable!...

Spain is host to some of the world's most fun and crazy festivals - Events like Pamplona's Running of the Bulls and Castrillo de Murcia's El Colacho or Baby Jumping. But, what the Spanish seem to enjoy the most, is pelting food at each other, the most famous example of which is of course, La Tomatina. However, they have a few others that you have probably never heard of and if you thought throwing tomatoes at people was odd, wait till you read what gets thrown during these two annual celebrations....

With advances in technology, robots have increasingly become smarter - They help with eye surgeries, compete in triathlons and may soon even conduct space walks. However, no robot has ever attempted to start a heavy metal rock band . . . Until now!...

While snowflakes - those fluffy conglomerations of frozen ice crystals may appear to be indistinguishable from one another, they are all unique in structure, and come in all kinds of really cool shapes and patterns. However, so far the only way to discover this has been by viewing them under a microscope, which means that only a select few have been able enjoy and appreciate their true beauty. But, things are about to change....

Late last week, Lance Armstrong, the winner of seven consecutive titles (1999-2005) of the world's most grueling bike race - The Tour de France, finally confessed to something many people had suspected for years - The use of performance enhancing steroids during most of his storied career, to get an edge over his competitors....

Sweden has to be one of the coolest places for a kid to grow up in - First, they introduced the concept of schools with no grades or classrooms, then came Monstrum's amazing playgrounds and now, the coolest idea of all - 'Forcing' 13-year-olds to play Minecraft as part of the classroom curriculum....

How would you feel if you walked into your local public library and instead of hundreds of shelves laden with all kinds of exciting books, you encountered a modern interior that resembles an Apple store complete with aisles of computers and other electronic gadgets? That, is exactly the vision Nelson Wolff has for BiblioTech, a new kind of public library that is scheduled to open in San Antonio's Bexar County, in fall 2013....

You may have encountered instances when you could have bet your life about something you had seen or done, but yet when you revisited, either the thing has vanished or the chore, left undone. If you happen to visit Ireland you may encounter the same feeling at the Loughareema Lake - However, in this case it is not your mind playing games with you, but the lake itself, which seems to sporadically appear and disappear....

The drive-thru window of a fast-food restaurant is probably the least fun place to work at - All the staff do is open the window, dish out bags of food to someone they cannot even fully see, say something polite and then wait for the next car to drive up! But what if a car drove up with nobody at the wheel?...

In December 2012, three men braved Antarctica's treacherous and remote Princess Ragnhild Coast to seek out a colony of Emperor Penguins that has hitherto just been suspected to exist. They were not disappointed!...

After many years on the endangered list of animals, Japan's Amami Black rabbit can finally breathe a sigh of relief - That's because this year, the rare animal that is believed to be the only living remnant of the ancient rabbit that once inhabited Asia, is no longer in danger of being eradicated!...

Many parts of the Northern Hemisphere have experienced a rather severe winter this year. However, very few can be compared to that felt by the residents of some parts of Russia where the temperatures have dipped as low as -50°Ç - Some of the lowest recorded in the area in the last 50 years!...

Chips is like any other bobcat. She has black-tipped pointed ears, yellow eyes with black pupils, sharp hearing and vision and can even climb trees, as well if not better, than any other member of its species. But, she has one big problem - She is just too nice to be a bobcat! While that may be a good thing in most other species in her case, it is a kiss of death!...