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In one of his journal entries, Henry David Thoreau wrote about stumbling upon a single stalk of corn deep in the woods. It looked out of place there, so far from any cornfield, growing next to a pine tree. And yet it was doing just fine. How did its seed get there? By wind or […]

If you’re reading this horoscope, you’re not a Cambodian orphan who grew up as a slave in a brothel or a Sudanese man kidnapped by a militia and forced to do heavy labor 18 hours a day or one of the 27 million other victims of human trafficking around the world. But you may be […]

This could be an epic year to be an Aquarius. I’m hoping you won’t be satisfied with merely coasting along on the positive vibes that will be flowing in abundance. Rather than just enjoying your rising popularity, for instance, why not use your popularity to double your clout? And instead of simply increasing your productivity, […]

It’s a favorable time for you to phase out at least 60 percent of your stale old fears. The cosmos is poised to assist you in this noble cause if you’ll exert even a modicum of effort. What’s that you say? You’re afraid you can’t live authentically without a hefty amount of anxieties? You secretly […]

“Dear Rob: Are you holding back some painful truth from us Tauruses? I feel like you’re going too easy on us, and as a result I’m missing some clue I desperately need. Please tell us what it is so we can face it and get on with life. – Semi-Elegant Bull in a China Shop.” […]

Mexican scientists have discovered a way to transform tequila into diamonds. Even the brands that sell for three dollars a bottle work fine as raw material. The catch is that the diamonds produced are too small to be used for jewelry. But they do have numerous practical uses: in surgical instruments, for example. You now […]

According to some historians, Barack Obama won’t be the first American president with African ancestry. As many as six previous presidents may have had black ancestors, with Warren Harding and Dwight Eisenhower being the most likely. None of the others claimed their heritage, however, choosing instead to pass as pure white. Obama is the first […]

Beginning with Plato, a number of philosophers have proposed that humans suffer from a collective amnesia about where we come from and what we’re doing here on planet Earth. Other thinkers of a more esoteric nature have suggested that our amnesia goes even further and is more personal, blocking us from remembering our previous incarnations. […]

Maurice Krafft has made a career of filming places where hot lava is flowing. National Geographic describes him hiking across the crater floor of Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano that’s sacred to the Maasai people in Tanzania. The ground is not erupting in torrents of fire and burning liquid rock, but is constantly bubbling […]

According to expert gerontologists, Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards (a Sagittarius) should have passed on to the next world a decade ago. The man has abused his body so thoroughly, his continued survival is a mystery. You’re currently in an excellent position to achieve equally stupendous feats of persistence yourself, Sagittarius. More than ever before, […]