Every year on the third Monday of January, Americans celebrate the life and legacy of the extraordinary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK). It is thanks to the vision and courage of this tireless clergyman turned civil rights activist that America is today a nation where everyone has equal rights, regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin....

It is the beginning of a new year. This means that most of us have a lengthy list of goals laid out for the next 365 days. Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg is no exception. While his past resolutions have been mundane challenges like reading two books a month, meeting a new person every day of the year and mastering Mandarin, this year the Internet mogul has a loftier goal. He wants to build his own version of Tony Stark's (AKA Iron Man's) digital assistant and closest friend, Jarvis (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System)....

WestJet Airlines began the tradition of delighting unsuspecting passengers with well-deserved Christmas cheer in 2012, when they surprised weary travelers with free iPods. In 2013, the Canadian Airline granted the Christmas wishes of passengers on two late-night flights. The following year, the company upped the ante with Christmas deliveries to an impoverished community in the Dominican Republic. For 2015, the Airline's management went a step further by challenging each of its 12,000 employees to perform at least one Christmas 'miracle' within a stipulated 24-hour period....

The 2015 holiday season brought little cheer to the thousands of Southern California residents affected by a methane leak from an underground gas storage facility. Since late November, over 2,800 families from the Porter Ranch Community in Los Angeles have been forced to flee their homes to escape the adverse effects of the odorless gas. What's worse is that they have no idea when they will be able to return....

A few years ago, Douglas Long and his colleagues from the California Academy of Sciences were helping D. Ross Robertson identify some chimaeras caught off the Pacific coast of Central America in 2010. Among the images were those of a mysterious pitch black shark. Intrigued, the marine ichthyologist asked the Smithsonian Institute researcher to lend him the preserved specimens so that his team could study the fish in detail....

Access to clean water is something many of us take for granted. However, for millions of people living in developing nations, it is a scarce commodity. According to the World Health Organization 3.4 million people, mostly children, die annually from water-related diseases. But that could change soon thanks to 'Row-bot', a tiny autonomous robot that powers itself by eating harmful water microbes....

Manatees or sea cows as they are often called, are large, rotund marine animals that can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds. But despite their enormous size, the mostly herbivorous animals have no blubber to protect them from chilly winter waters. Hence, every winter, the gentle giants seek out warmer waters. For the approximately 6,000 Florida manatees that reside in the Gulf of Mexico it means heading to the balmy 72°F waters of the roughly one-acre Three Sisters Spring in Florida's Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge....

With smart technology increasingly infiltrating all aspects of our lives it was only a matter of time before someone invented 'smart' shoes - Ones that can be customized at the owner's whim. Called ‘ShiftWear,' the animated sneakers are the brainchild of a team of entrepreneurs, futurists, and engineers led by New York-based designer David Coelho....

At the stroke of midnight on December 31, cities around the world welcomed the new year with elaborate fireworks shows. Here are some of 2016's most spectacular displays. So cuddle up with a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the shows!...

In November 1966, Fred Thrower, the President of New York-based television station WPIX was faced with a dilemma. He had to figure out some exciting Christmas Eve programming to replace a three-hour slot left vacant by the cancelation of the regular Saturday night college basketball game....

When Disney acquired Lucas Films in 2012, fans were a little skeptical. After all, how can a company that is known for its feel-good princess movies do justice to epic franchises like Indiana Jones and Star Wars? The release of the first Star Wars movie under the Disney banner has alleviated those doubts....

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All hotels renovate periodically. However very few do it as frequently as Sweden's ICEHOTEL. As the name indicates the hotel that is located in the remote village of Jukkasjärvi is constructed entirely from ice and therefore, has to be rebuilt annually!...

Two weeks ago, representatives from 196 countries arrived in Paris to resolve one of the world's most pressing problems — Climate change. On Saturday, December 12th, the group emerged victorious with the first-ever global accord in the fight against global warming — One that U.S. President Obama hailed as the "turning point for the world" and the "best chance to save the one planet we've got."...

During a recent trip to the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Dan Zaleski decided to entertain the resident orangutan with a magic trick. In the video, the orangutan is seen carefully observing the Connecticut resident as he places a chestnut inside a Styrofoam cup, seals it with a lid and then shakes it vigorously....

The Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe, Japan is no stranger to turtle traffic. Every summer from May to September, hundreds of reptiles make their way to and from the nearby ocean. While most manage to cover the short distance safely, a handful get trapped inside the railway tracks that lie between the ocean and the popular park....

This is the time of the year when most people reach out to help those in need. For some, it means donating to a local food bank. For others in involves participating in clothing and toy drives. This year, two remarkable people have taken the season of giving to a new level with their simple but ingenious ideas....

Mention snakes and the image that comes to mind is that of a stealthily gliding reptile. Turns out that this was not always the case. Ancient snake fossils indicate that the reptiles once had legs, just like the rest of us. So why did snakes decide to shed them in favor of the slither that sends chills down our spines? That is a mystery researchers have been trying to solve for some time....

In July 2014, a helicopter pilot flying over Northern Russia's remote Yamal Peninsula came across a massive crater in the thick, permanently frozen subsurface layer of soil known as permafrost. As news of the gaping hole that measured an impressive 100-meters in diameter spread, people all over the world began wondering about its origin....

To say that David Richards loves to create Christmas light displays is an understatement. In the past four years, the Canberra resident has picked up three Guinness World Records - Two for 'most Christmas lights on a residential property' and one for 'largest image made of LED lights.' On November 27th, the Canberra resident broke yet another record - This time for 'most lights on an artificial Christmas tree.'...

At sundown on Sunday, December 6th, millions of Jews around the world celebrated the first day of Hanukkah by lighting a candle and singing traditional songs. The eight day festival that is observed annually, starts on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, which follows the lunar cycle. Hence, its exact date varies anywhere from late November to the end of December....

While physics, chemistry, and biology are a norm at all schools, computer science is still a nascent subject. It is estimated that just 10 percent of American schools offer computer science and only 19% of high school students graduate with the course under their belt. Seattle-based non-profit Code.org wants to change that by exposing every student in the world to this all important science that is the basis of the digital world we live in....

Rising water temperatures and the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in our oceans are killing our beautiful coral reefs at an unprecedented rate. Add the current El Nino weather pattern that is expected to prevail through winter and spring 2016 to the mix, and things look even worse. Scientists estimate that the 1988 El Nino destroyed almost 16% of the world's coral reefs and believe things could get even worse this time around....

On October 7th, residents of the Chinese cities of Jiangxi and Foshan reported a strange sight - Towering skyscrapers that appeared to be dangling from the clouds. As the video of the 'floating city' went viral, it resulted in various theories. Some speculated the residents had seen a window to a parallel universe while others believed they had just glimpsed into a secret NASA project. Then there were the skeptics that dismissed the whole thing as a hoax. While that may still be the case, some experts believe that it could also have been a rare, naturally occurring optical illusion called Fata Morgana....