The Unlikely
39 articles-
Revisiting “Moneyball” with Paul DePodesta
Shattering preconceptions about players isn’t all about the numbers.
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Hunting for Eclipses as Perfect as Earth’s
Roughly twice a year, the apparent positions of Sun and Moon coincide, and a fortunate few observers are treated to a solar eclipse. Watching such an event provides the opportunity to contemplate a strange coincidence: From the surface of Earth, the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon in the sky are nearly equal. The […]
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Unlikely Story: Truth Is Stranger Than Pulp Fiction
A few weeks we asked you for your most unlikely stories—the kinds of things that make you scratch your head and think, “What are the chances?” Here’s one from one of Nautilus’ own editors. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . Chanting can, apparently, be a pretty good marketing tool. […]
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Unwinding the Mystery of Namibia’s Natural Crop Circles
The Himba bushmen who inhabit the Namibian grasslands—a 1,200-mile-long swath of land running from Angola into South Africa—have come up with different stories over the years to explain the unusual circular bare patches, called “fairy circles,” dotted throughout the grassy expanse. These reddish-hued circles, sometimes several feet in diameter, are dubbed “footprints of the gods,” […]
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The Curse of Being a Sole Survivor
On January 26, 1972, a Yugoslavian passenger plane flying 33,000 feet above then-Czechoslovakia exploded, ripped apart, and plummeted into the ground, killing 27 of the 28 passengers and crew. Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant, was the only one to survive the crash. Vulovic holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the highest fall without a […]
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How Unicorns Evolved Into Rhinos, Goblin Sharks & Olinguitos
Earlier this month there was a rare announcement, promoted widely by the press: a new mammal species had been discovered, the first carnivorous mammal identified in the Americas for 35 years. But the olinguito, as the raccoon-like carnivore is now known, was not spotted for its surprising looks or remarkable behaviors that set it apart […]
