World War II in Europe: Losses and gains in territory over the course of the war.

It’s fascinating, but also horrifying when you consider how many lives were lost every time a small piece of territory changed sides.

Major points are noted in this iO9 article (where I found the video).

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What was that you wanted? A laser rifle?

Here you go! A British company has built one!

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Until October 20th, there’s a giant rubber duck in Pittsburgh on the Allegheny River.

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I loved these pictures of cliffside walkways.

And really, I loved the comments on the iO9 story almost as much.

9jack9U
Rejected Chinese tourism slogan: “Watch your fucking step!”

Gemmabeta
And also, “honestly, we are not trying to jinx your experience, but we would still like you to pay in advance.”

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This is just plain gorgeous:

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And finally, this seems like it should be a really terrible joke, but somehow, this book exists.

No. Really. IT EXISTS.

And over at SBTB, they have a review of it.

I HAD A PERFECTLY LOVELY LIFE WITHOUT THIS KNOWLEDGE AND NOW I CAN NEVER LIVE A LIFE WHERE I DID NOT READ THIS.

No, seriously. Someone wrote Dinosaur Erotica AND IT WAS PUBLISHED.