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Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

 
Burgruine Waldenburg in Attendorn, Germany
Waldenburg Castle, also known as Schnellenberg Castle, is a fascinating castle ruin located near Attendorn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its history dates back to the 12th century when it was first built. The castle changed hands several times over the centuries and played an important role in the history of the region. Originally, Waldenburg Castle was built as a fortress to protect the strategically important trade route in southern Westphalia. In the course of time, it became a residence for...

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Okuno Building Manual Elevator in Tokyo, Japan
Ginza is Tokyo’s flagship shopping district and is home to numerous boutiques, art galleries, and cafés, upmarket but with comfy historic charms. A little off its main street stands the Okuno Building, a relic of pre-war Japanese architecture. Built in 1932 and extended with an annex in 1934, it was designed as a high-income, earthquake-resistant apartment complex then-named the Ginza Apartment, and survived the Bombing of Tokyo into the current age. Old-fashioned to a fault, the Okuno Building is...

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Asur Ticaret Tableti in Kayseri, Turkey
One of Turkey’s many notable archaeological sites is Kültepe-Kanesh, which is located in the center of the country near the region of Kapedokya (Cappadocia). Founded around 2000 B.C., the site was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kanesh and was a key part of the Assyrian trade network in the Anatolian Peninsula. The nearby provincial capital of Kayseri, which itself is thousands of years old, likes to highlight its connections to the ancient Assyrians. In particular, the Kayseri...

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Does the New Zealand Fantail Connect the...
The animal world is full of harbingers of doom—at least, according to superstitions. From the Tower of London’s ravens (whose departure would signal the fall of an entire nation) to the average black cat crossing your unlucky path, plenty of critters warn of woe. In Ominous Animals, we explore the lore—and the science—behind these finned, furry, and feathered messengers of impending calamity. An agile gray bird with a chipper song flitters in and out of a hiker’s peripheral vision...

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Lennel Kirk in Lennel, Scotland
Lennel Kirk served the village of Lienhale, which once stood to the east of the graveyard but now no longer exists. The small Lennel Kirk was constructed in the 1120s. The building was dedicated to St, Mary in 1243 by the Bishop of Durham. The foundations of the church are probably of Anglo-Saxon origins with the nave being medieval. The small church was added to over time. Initially, the church held mass led by a priest, but after the Reformation,...

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Sulphur Springs Park in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas
During Antebellum, travel became very popular across the United States. Springs, abundant in the Ozarks, were sought out for their healing properties. Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, became a spa and health tourism boom town. The center of the town contained four mineral springs. The boom continued through the 1940s.  The three springs of Sulphur Springs Park contained different minerals for suggested cures. White sulfur water eased liver aliments, black sulfur for malaria, lithium soothed the nerves, and alkaline magnesium helped...

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Rock Springs Historical Museum in Rock Springs,...
This stately building was once the center of civic life in the mining town of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Now the historic building serves as the city’s historical museum telling the story of the many individuals who came together to create Rock Springs, and of one of the darkest moments in American history. By 1893, the newly incorporated Rock Springs was booming, and its citizens were looking to create a grand municipal building that would confirm its status as a...

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5 Creepy Tales of Real-World Zombies
Scary movies have nothing on nature itself. Eons of evolution have created plenty of nightmare scenarios with no screenwriter in sight. For example, the Atlas Obscura archives are full of tales of the undead all around us—bees that dig their own graves, caterpillars that explode, shrimp controlled by parasites—and scientists’ efforts to explain these totally real zombies. Here are a few of our favorites, along with our picks for refuge when Hollywood’s more familiar brain-eating monsters shamble to life....

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The Benefits of Offering Multiple Payment Methods...
The world of hotel payments is everchanging. New payment methods are constantly being introduced into the market, from cash and bank transfers to credit cards and digital wallets. To satisfy guest expectations and encourage direct bookings, lodging operators must stay on top of emerging trends and offer the latest payment methods. The Importance of a The post The Benefits of Offering Multiple Payment Methods at Your Hotel appeared first on Revfine.com.

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The Tomb at Cuthá Mountain in Zapotitlán...
This area was once inhabited by the chocho-popolcas, and was the central political power in the Tehuacán Valley in pre-Hispanic times. The ancient city is located on top of a mountain, and the tomb itself is located at the highest point. Also, the area has a very rich biodiversity of cacti and desert vegetation, as well as fossils from an ancient seabed. 

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Stone Skimming Is a World Champion Sport—And...
Alex Lewis has spent many evenings searching for and gathering 100 rocks. After collecting various shapes and sizes from the west coast of Scotland, he returns home, numbers each from one to 100, weighs them, and measures their width and thickness. He’s looking for stones that fit comfortably in his palm, are heavy and light, and vary from circular to square. He then records all his data in a little black book full of tables and near indecipherable calculations....

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Monument to the Latvian Riflemen in Riga,...
The Latvian Riflemen were a military battalion of the Imperial Russian Army when first founded in 1915.  The purpose of this battalion was to defend the Baltic territories against the Germans during World War I. Initially, the Riflemen were made up of volunteers, but from 1916 onwards, the battalion was formed by conscription. Around 40,000 troops were drafted into the Latvian Riflemen Division. The battalion was used as an elite force in both the Imperial and Bolshevik armies. Despite suffering from...

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Kanibōzu Claw Marks in Yamanashi, Japan
Chōgen-ji Temple in Manriki, Yamanashi, is home to a bizarre legend of a man-eating crab monster and the marks of its claws to prove it. One evening in the early 18th century, the temple was visited by a 10-foot-tall pilgrim, who gave its head priest a riddle: “I am eight-legged, able to sidle at will, and heavenward-eyed; what am I?” When the head priest failed to guess correctly, the monk struck him dead and ate him, and continued this...

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Daffin's Chocolate Kingdom in Sharon, Pennsylvania
In the 1940s, Mr. Pete Daffin and his wife Jean created “the world’s largest candy store.” In the 1960s they moved to this building, keeping a factory that still offers tours in nearby Farrell. In 1970, Pete realized his vision of a Wonka-esque wonderland, which he called “Daffin’s Chocolate Kingdom.” Over the years, the cast of mammoth chocolate characters and creatures have changed. Recently, this surreal attraction welcomed a 125-pound turtle and a 75lb bunny made of solid milk...

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