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EartherThe Coal Industry’s New ‘Clean Coal’ Scheme Is Dirty
In the summer of 2017, Mary Hess, a retired postal worker, heard rumors about a proposal for a mysterious new coal plant to be built in her town of Dale, Indiana. But for months, they were just rumors, because it was hard to find any details about the project. “We’d go to town council meetings … Continued
By Dharna Noor -
io9Captain Janeway’s Hometown Could Get a Star Trek Memorial, With Your Help
Certainly would beat a Millennium Gate, wouldn’t it? Although the esteemed captain of the U.S.S. Voyager, tireless scientist and lover of dramatic off-camera stares, won’t actually be born for a few centuries yet in the Star Trek timeline, CBS has announced a new collaboration that hopes to honor Kathryn Janeway with her very own monument … Continued
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Tech NewsHere’s Every Project Being Delayed to Pay For President Trump’s Idiotic Border Wall
President Donald Trump is diverting $3.6 billion in U.S. military funding to build part of his wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, but where is the money actually coming from? So far we’ve only heard talk about a few million dollars here and a few million dollars there, but last night NPR finally obtained the complete … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceBiologyNew Translucent Spider Discovered Living in Muddy Indiana Cave
Scientists have discovered a new species of sheet-weaving spider, and it only dwells in one cave in southern Indiana. As its name suggests, this spider spins flat, tightly-woven, horizontal webs. There are thousands of species of sheet-weavers, and you’ve probably walked through one of their webs by accident some point. “In the morning when there’s … Continued
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Tech News
Former Hotel Owner Sued After Charging Woman $350 for Posting Negative Review Online
The state of Indiana is suing the former owner of a hotel over a policy to charge guests $350 for making “disparag[ing]” public comments about the business. According to the state’s attorney general’s office, Katrina Arthur wrote a negative online review of Abbey Inn and Suites in March 2016. The hotel room, she says, was filthy, … Continued
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Tech News
‘Extremely Dangerous’ Tornado Flattens Starbucks in Terrifying Bystander Video
On Wednesday, a tornado described by the National Weather Service as “large and extremely dangerous” tore through central Indiana, overturning cars and leveling a Starbucks store, Weather.com reports. Miraculously, no injuries have been reported. The tornado’s destruction was widely documented on social media. One video, provided to WTHR-TV by witness Brandon Mobley, appears to show … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech News
Rats Bred Over Several Decades To Get Wasted For Science
It’s tough to say whether studies that show there is an “alcohol gene” hold any weight, but a new study does attempt to drive home that genetics can play a role in somebody’s desire to get totally trashed. It’s all thanks to some drunk rats. In a recent study published in PLOS Genetics, scientists at … Continued
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io9
Blood Of 2 Million Babies Found In Indiana Warehouse
For over 20 years, the state of Indiana hoarded the blood of newborns without their parents’ consent. If your child was born in Indiana after 1991, chances are his or her blood sample is one of an estimated 2.5-million specimens currently stored in a warehouse, the location of which state officials have not disclosed. Above: … Continued
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Tech News
No One Knows Why Deep, Dangerous Holes Are Appearing In This Sand Dune
One summer day last July, a six-year-old boy was walking across a dune when he disappeared, falling into a deep, narrow hole in the sand. This and two other holes that have since appeared at Indiana’s Mount Baldy are unlike anything scientists have seen before—it could be an entirely new geological phenomenon. After being buried … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech News
This Weed-Killing Robot Dispatches Dandelions with 98 Percent Accuracy
A prototype weed-seeking automaton could change the way seven billion humans eat, as well as help to end industrial agriculture’s reliance on toxic herbicides and itinerant labor. The “Lettuce Bot” is a four-wheeled weeding machine designed and built by Indiana-based startup Blue River Technology, using a $400,000 angel investment as well as an early grant … Continued
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io9
The Eccentric Crank Who Tried To Legislate The Value Of Pi
There’s an old urban legend about a state legislature that passed a law redefining pi so that it equaled 3. This story is a myth – but the true story that inspired it is actually even more ridiculous and bizarre. The mythical version goes something like this: a state legislature is threatening to pass a … Continued
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Tech News
Idiot Thief Uses Railroad Crane to Steal Jeep
If you’re going to go through the trouble of stealing a car—a highly illegal and dangerous endeavor!—it would probably be worth it to not crunch it to death with a crane as you make off with it. But then, I’m not a professional car thief, so what do I know? Early Sunday morning, some imaginative … Continued
By Kyle Wagner -
io9Man selling his own thumb to save haunted train museum
Since 1976, John Baker has run the Bakers Junction Railroad Museum in Smithville, Indiana. The museum — which operates a haunted house in old railcars — has fallen on tough financial times, so Baker’s turned to an unusual source of fundraising capital. That is, his own severed thumb. Here’s John’s story: I was using a … Continued
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Tech NewsTerrifying Video of the Deadly Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse
Absolutely gut-wrenching video of the Indiana State Fair concert stage collapse from last night. Reports indicate a freak wind burst and sudden weather may be partially to blame, and that the concert was delayed at the time. It goes without saying that our hearts go out to the victims of this awful, awful incident. Update: … Continued
By Jack Loftus
