The period expired horribly. But while it lasted, remarkable things happened. The first flower bloomed, ducks found their voices, and malaria was born. Researchers also pieced together extinct food chains, encountered mysteries, and discovered a single terrifying ant. 10 The Oldest Flowering Plant Archaefructus sinensis was proud of itself. At 125 million years old, the Chinese fossil was the oldest flowering plant ever found. In 2015, a new guy bumped it off the throne....

And who knows, perhaps these are the tip of the iceberg. There may be lots of them, living in the shadows or hiding in plain sight, waiting for their chance to save (or destroy) the planet! Here are ten real-life people with honest-to-goodness superpowers. 10 The Real-Life Batman As a baby, Daniel Kish developed retinoblastoma, a cancer which affects the eyes. He had to have both eyes removed before he reached his first birthday....

The answer: This discovery is a “crucial step” toward finding extraterrestrial life in the universe, according to Amaury Triaud, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge. And even if this exciting new discovery turns out to be yet another disappointing dead end in that search, it has sweeping implications for the future of science. 10Atmospheres Lacking Thick Hydrogen Layers Scientists have already confirmed that at least two of the planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1 (whose size, for the sake of comparison, would be that of golf ball if our Sun were the size of a basketball) are not completely enveloped in layers of thick hydrogen—so they likely have a rocky terrain, much like Earth....

10 Many States Have Made Up Their Minds Presidential voting is often characterized as the ultimate act of democracy in the US—a chance for each individual to play a part in determining the future of their country and, to a lesser extent, the world. But this view envisions the presidential race as one big contest. In reality, it’s more like 50 separate races—one for each state. The vast majority of voters live in states that made up their mind to vote red (Republican) or blue (Democrat) years ago....

10 A Puzzling Seizure In 2008, a 25-year-old German man was on a ski trip with a friend when he became trapped by an avalanche and knocked unconscious. On top of a broken hip and ruptured spleen, the incident left him with small muscle spasms that plagued him whenever he moved. In part, this was caused by the oxygen deprivation he had experienced beneath the snow. But an avalanche is not easy to survive, and he was a lucky survivor....

10 John And Christabel Russell When post–World War I couple John and Christabel Russell were in the middle of their divorce, it was such a bizarre and lurid affair that George V was rather outraged that he had to read about it in the papers every day. He was so outraged, in fact, that British laws were changed to forbid the press from running coverage of divorce cases. In the years after the war, society belle Christabel married John “Stilts” Russell, heir to Lord Ampthill....

10The Temporoparietal Junction May Be Responsible For Out-Of-Body Experiences Among the more common elements of near-death experiences is the distinct feeling of an individual having left their worldly body. Those who have had an “out-of-body” experience often report floating above themselves while being able to see their body and the people surrounding them. There have even been a few reports in which those who have had an out-of-body experience can identify objects and events occurring during times in which they were considered clinically dead, but there have also been studies demonstrating that this all could be due to damage in the temporoparietal junction of the brain....

While a fangblenny sounds like it’s a toothy Irish fairytale character, it’s actually a small tropical fish that can change its color. Depending on what it’s trying to sneakily blend in as, it can change to olive, orange, black, or electric blue. The blue-striped fangblenny is a predator and could probably feed on some of the fish it blends in with, but they’re more valuable as camouflage than food. Instead, it will slip away from its less aggressive friends and take small bites out of larger fish in the reefs....

10 Officer Damon Cole Officer Damon Cole is a real-life supercop but not for the reasons one might expect. When he isn’t off busting bad guys, Cole is traveling hundreds of miles to greet seriously ill children while dressed as their favorite superheroes. He has driven to 11 states, posing as Superman, Batman, and the Incredible Hulk among others. Cole’s caped crusade, while heartwarming, is also heartbreaking. He once made an 11-hour drive to see a terminally ill child....

Here are 10 non-American urban legends to get your heart pounding and chills racing down your spine. 10 Ghostly Marble Games Singapore is the island of shopping malls and terrifying legends. When the Bishan MRT station opened in November 1987, several passengers reported seeing headless specters wandering around among the living. This might have had something to do with the fact that the station was built over the site of the former Peck San Theng cemetery....

10 Children Of The Night Sumerian texts dating back 4,000 years tell of night spirits that preyed upon sleeping humans. These spirits may have inspired myths of the Hebrew demon Lilith, whose name means “night monster.” Lilith had the upper body of a woman and lower body of a giant snake. According to legend, she was the snake who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, as well as the mother of many monsters....

10The Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius For a musician, owning a Stradivarius violin is like getting your hands on the Holy Grail. According to reputation, no instrument compares to the rich quality of sound produced by a Stradivarius. They even boast the ability to withstand centuries of wear and tear if taken care of properly. With that being said, only around 650 original Stradivari have survived to the present day. As well as violins, the remaining instruments include cellos, violas, guitars, harps, and mandolins....

While we seldom see scarecrows in their original form and in their natural elements today, there was a time when scarecrows were prevalent throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States. During these times, it was often hard to distinguish these mock humans from the living or, more often, from the recently deceased. 10 Swinging In The Breeze Albert Engel made one heck of a realistic scarecrow back in Wisconsin in 1916, and all of his neighbors were so impressed with his work that they showed up on his doorstep to find out how he did it....

Initially, hobbies tend to be undertaken purely for the enjoyment of the thing itself. But, when people get really good at something, even if that something is pretty darned peculiar, they soon want to compare themselves against other enthusiasts, and before you know it, a world championship is born. While it may take thousands of hours of training to win a world championship in running, say, or jumping, there are some hobbies which require not so much talent as perseverance....

Sometimes, these societies take on negative connotations, with nefarious plans to influence worldwide politics being a common accusation leveled against them. Other times, they’re just a way to engage in some fun-filled activities. Here are ten odd organizations of which you’ve probably never heard. 10 The Alfalfa Club Founded by four men at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, the Alfalfa Club derives its name from the plant. To be more specific, the name comes from the plant’s roots, since they “will allegedly do anything for a drink....

10 Red Wine Might Not Be All That Good For You Ever heard of the French Paradox? The term describes the weird way that the French eat so much fatty food yet suffer from barely any heart disease. For a long time, scientists believed that red wine was the key to French longevity. One of wine’s ingredients is a polyphenol called resveratrol, and researchers claimed that this antioxidant fights all manner of ills, like heart disease, cancer, and inflammation....

10Cat Eye Syndrome An extremely rare chromosomal disease, cat eye syndrome appears at birth and is a lifelong condition. The syndrome was named after its signature symptom—an absence of tissue in the eye, which causes the pupil to narrow and push itself into the iris. However, not all sufferers of cat eye syndrome actually experience this ocular abnormality. Unfortunately, cat eye syndrome also affects the kidneys, heart, ear, and skeletal system....

10George Darwin The Darwin name is about as big as you can get within the scientific community. Charles Darwin assured his place in history when he put forward the theory of evolution. Darwin was also a big family man. He and his wife-cousin Emma Wedgwood had 10 children, seven of whom survived into adulthood. The Darwin children knew they had inherited a huge legacy, and many of them would go on to make the family name proud....

There are many reasons why geniuses are unique, from nature to nurture. Some say it’s linked to genetics and brain size. Others insist that genius can be developed throughout childhood with deliberate practice and programming.[1] Either way, here are ten explanations for why the smartest humans are also sometimes the strangest. 10 They’re Oversensitive To Sounds A pen clicking. The crunching of a carrot. Loud breathing. The smallest everyday noises may be excruciatingly distracting for the hyperintelligent among us....

These ten animals have started using tools as a way to manipulate their environment in some very surprising ways. As a note, we tried to avoid using primates as much as possible, just because monkeys are doing some incredible stuff all over the place and it’s almost not surprising anymore. Crows have been seen crafting tools and using moving cars to help them get to food. Some birds use water displacement to get hard-to-reach bugs from water....