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Crocodile Tears Are Real

A new study has authenticated the phrase “cry crocodile tears”, by discovering that crocodiles really do weep while eating — but it is purely physiological reasons that makes them bawl. A University of Florida researcher observed and videotaped four confined caimans and three alligators, both close relatives of the crocodile, while eating on a spit of dry land at Florida’s …

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Can trains run without rails?

For many years railway engineers have been thinking about new kinds of track for trains to run along. The parallel metal rail tracks with which we are familiar are not very efficient by modern standards. Because wheels are needed to move the trains along, a good deal of power is lost through friction in the moving parts. Ordinary railway tracks …

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Can sands boom?

Yes. Loud booming sounds occur in deserts when sand dunes are disturbed and sand slips down the steep faces of the dunes. Such roaring sounds have been compared with the noise of aircraft engines starting up. At night, sounds like pistol shots may frighten travelers. They occur when desert rocks crack and split. The cracking of rocks is caused by …

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Can frogs fly?

A species of treefrog from Malaya is even more adapted for scrambling and leaping after flying insects. This is Wallace’s Treefrog and it has webbed feet with especially long fingers and toes. When the frog launches into a leap it stretches the fingers and toes wide apart, and the increase in surface area enables it to glide downwards for considerable …

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Can farming produce enough of the world food?

Land covers just over 29 per cent of the earth’s surface. But about two thirds of the land is too cold or too dry for farming. Of the remaining land, only one-third can be used for crops and the rest is grazing land. Will this be enough to feed the world’s population as it soars towards 10,000 million? Experts think …

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