Missed chronicles

Was the Kraken real? Scientists prove it was!

Between political updates, economic shifts, and the relentless speed of the modern news cycle, it’s incredibly easy for fascinating breakthroughs and heartwarming stories to slip through the cracks. While the world was looking elsewhere, scientists were rewriting history, and everyday heroes were quietly accomplishing the extraordinary. If you need a break from the usual headlines, here are 10 amazing, recent news stories that you probably missed.

For centuries, the Kraken was a terrifying myth spread by sailors. However, a groundbreaking paleontological study published by scientists at Hokkaido University in Japan changed everything. By analyzing well-preserved fossilized jaws from Late Cretaceous sediments, researchers identified a colossal, prehistoric finned octopus species named Nanaimoteuthis haggarti. Scientists estimate this ancient cephalopod reached a staggering length of up to 62 feet, making it the largest invertebrate ever discovered.

Robots are no longer those chunky machines we used to watch in films and TV shows. At the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon, a humanoid robot named "Lightning" shocked sports and tech enthusiasts alike. Competing autonomously alongside 12,000 human runners, Lightning completed the 13.1-mile race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Not only did it win its category, but it also ran faster than the official human men's half-marathon world record of 57:31. The event was designed to test advanced robotic cooling systems and structural endurance under real-world conditions.

In a huge leap for neuroscience, researchers at Eon Systems—a San Francisco-based neurotechnology startup—successfully built a digital brain emulation of an adult fruit fly. Scientists uploaded this computational brain into a simulated environment called NeuroMechFly v2, thanks to the "FlyWire" project, a Princeton-led connectome that mapped all 140,000 neurons and 50 million synaptic connections of the insect.

The result? The digital fly began moving its virtual body, grooming itself, and seeking out food. This marks the world's first embodiment of a brain emulation producing multi-behavioral actions without direct programming.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has been roaming Gale Crater since 2012, but it just pulled off one of its most historic achievements. Using an onboard chemical asset known as TMAH, the rover conducted an unprecedented experiment on Martian clay.

The analysis uncovered more than 20 organic compounds. Most notably, Curiosity detected a nitrogen-bearing molecule with a chemical architecture similar to the precursors of Earthly DNA. While scientists cannot yet confirm if these molecules stem from ancient alien life or unique geological processes, it proves Mars has the fundamental building blocks of life.

If you are looking for the fountain of youth, you might want to look across the dinner table. A study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) analyzed biological age acceleration using "epigenetic clocks".

The study revealed a fascinating link between marital status and aging. It found that never-married males exhibited significantly accelerated biological aging compared to their married peers. The data for females showed that experiencing a stressor, like widowhood, drastically accelerated biological age markers due to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Frustrated by bureaucratic delays after a close friend went missing, an 18-year-old high school student from Oaxaca, Mexico, took matters into his own hands. Jesús Alejandro Jiménez López developed a facial recognition prototype called Encuéntrame 72 (Find Me 72).

The AI maps unique facial markers and scans real-time security feeds and databases to generate instant alerts. The technology is optimized to exploit the critical first 72 hours of a disappearance. The project recently won first place in a prestigious international engineering competition in Peru.

In the southern city of Tarnów, Poland, a 50-year-old resident finally passed the written theory portion of his driver's license exam on his 139th attempt. The man had been stubbornly taking the test since 2017, spending roughly €1,800 in exam fees over nine years.

Testing center officials eventually discovered the reason behind his historic losing streak: the man had been studying using a limited demo version of the practice software. Once he finally switched to the full version covering all the questions, his scores skyrocketed.

We have always known that dogs are man’s best friend, but an international genetic investigation led by the Universities of Oxford and Liverpool proved the bond goes back much further than we believed.

By analyzing ancient DNA and 3D scans of over 600 canid skulls spanning 50,000 years, scientists established clear genetic and structural evidence of domestication dating back 14,000 to 16,000 years ago. This places the origin of domestic dogs in the last Ice Age, thousands of years before human societies transitioned into agriculture.

In most major cities, losing your wallet or smartphone on a subway means it’s gone forever. Not in Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department operates a specialized Lost and Found Center in Bunkyo City to manage the millions of items turned in by honest citizens every year.

Driven by deeply ingrained cultural values of civic duty and integrity, the center processes everything from umbrellas to wallets full of cash. Thanks to an incredibly organized database, the return rate for high-value items like electronics and official documents is around 80% to 90%.

In the vast agricultural plains of the Argentine Pampas, a spectacular aerial image can be seen from space: a perfectly manicured, third-of-a-mile-long forest in the precise shape of an acoustic guitar.

The living masterpiece was created by a local farmer named Pedro Martin Ureta. In 1977, his 25-year-old wife, Graciela, tragically passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm. Years before, she had mentioned wanting to design their ranch into her favorite musical instrument. To fulfill her wish, Pedro and his four children spent years planting over 7,000 trees: dark cypresses to outline the body and soundhole, and vibrant eucalyptus trees to represent the strings.

Turkey Day!

Learn about one of our favorite holidays with these Thanksgiving facts!

Image: Claudio Schwarz

The last Thursday of November marks one of America’s favorite holidays: Thanksgiving. This iconic celebration is not only a time for delicious food and time well-spent with family and loved ones, but it is also a holiday that makes us think about what it means to be an American. With that in mind, we have selected a few fun and interesting facts about Thanksgiving to help you embrace the holiday spirit. Enjoy!

Image: Patrick Fore

We’ll start at the very beginning with the first Thanksgiving. Most historians mark 1621 as the year of the first Thanksgiving dinner, hosted by the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts, to celebrate the good harvest held that year. In order to thank them for their assistance during the scarcity of the previous winter, the Pilgrims shared the celebration with the Wampanoag tribe.

Having said that, some historians argue that the earliest precursor to Thanksgiving happened in 1619 when 38 English settlers arrived in what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their arrival was immediately followed by a religious celebration, designated as an annual observance, to serve as "a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Image: Gabriel Garcia Marengo

But what’s Thanksgiving without its undisputed star? For decades, American families have served turkey as the centerpiece of their Thanksgiving dinners. After all, the holiday is so closely associated with this bird that many call this holiday by the unofficial nickname "Turkey Day." Such is America’s fascination with turkeys that an estimated 46 million are prepared each year.

Interestingly, while nowadays turkey definitively takes center stage in almost every American table, the truth is that this beloved farm bird wasn’t featured in the first Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, the inaugural feast featured fruits, vegetables, fish such as cod and bass, and meats like venison.

Image: Rain Wu

While Thanksgiving is undeniably a time to spend with family, there are still a few things all Americans can enjoy about it. Case in point: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade through the streets of New York City. Nearly 100 years have passed since the first time this legendary parade took place in 1924, making it the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade, after Philadelphia's.

Macy’s Parade traditionally runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, moving throughout Manhattan streets and ending outside Macy's Herald Square. Its most memorable moments usually come from its delightful and iconic floats, with Peanut’s Snoopy standing out as one of the most beloved characters to hover over the excited crowds.

Image: Tyler Donaghy

We have been dealing with some age-old traditions up to this point, so let’s now focus on a relatively recent one. While the annual ceremony known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation, on which the U.S. president is presented a live turkey by the National Turkey Federation, dates back to the 1940s, we are instead talking about the tradition known as the turkey pardon.

While President Reagan is often credited as the first to formally pardon a presidential turkey, previous presidents also spared the lives of their gifted poultry: For instance, both President Kennedy and Carter returned their turkeys to live on farms or in petting zoos. Having said that, the tradition became a widely recognized tradition during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, with every president after him issuing pardons on their turkeys.

Image: Anna Gru

Thanksgiving tends to be a busy time for everyone: with so much food to cook and decorations to prepare, everyone has to pitch in and do their part. But your dinner table is definitively not the only busy place around—Thanksgiving tends to be the busiest time of the year for air travel since millions of Americans go back home to spend time with their loved ones.

To be fair, the busiest travel days are typically the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, as these are the days when most people hit the road or take to the skies. It’s estimated that approximately 31% of Americans travel for Thanksgiving.

Image: Ana Maltez

Turkey might be synonymous with this holiday, but we all know that a truly memorable Thanksgiving table is brimming with delicious dishes. So, let’s take some time to pay homage to the myriad of incredible side dishes that accompany us every Thanksgiving.

The usual favorites include yams, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce, but the truth is that each family introduces their own unique twists and preferences to the table. We’ll leave you the next few lines to reminisce about those amazing dishes that would make your Thanksgiving extra special.

Image: Riley McCullough

As long as traditions go, this one seems timeless: Who doesn’t remember tossing around the old pigskin while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be ready? Football and Thanksgiving have been synonymous throughout modern American history, whether through a friendly game of flag football or by watching professional games broadcast on TV.

Since its creation in 1920, the NFL has played games on Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally, two of these games have been hosted by the Detroit Lions since 1934, and by the Dallas Cowboys since 1966. This tradition comes from the days before the formation of the NFL when college football games were a hallmark of the November season.

Image: Janne Simoes

As we mentioned earlier, Thanksgiving dates back to many years before the founding of our country. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that this holiday was declared a National Holiday, proclaimed by the Great Emancipator himself, President Lincoln.

During the turmoil of the American Civil War, President Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing a National Thanksgiving Holiday would henceforth be celebrated on the 26th of November 1863, the last Thursday of November that year. In this document, the president stated that the gifts of God to the United States should be "gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people."

Image: J. Amill Santiago

Hear us out: By no means are we trying to besmirch the good name of our 3rd President with this entry. However, it should be said that, during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, no federal Thanksgiving holiday was declared. Was Thomas Jefferson some sort of Thanksgiving Grinch, that tried to keep this holiday all for himself? Far from it. Like much of what this country owes to this Founding Father, this had to do with Jefferson’s strong ideals.

Before President Lincoln declared a federal Thanksgiving Day, U.S. Presidents had to declare the holiday annually. Because Thanksgiving included prayers to thank God for His blessings, Jefferson considered that declaring a National Thanksgiving would be against his belief of separating church and state.

Image: Simon Maage

We’ll close this article by highlighting what we believe to be the most important part of this holiday. As we mentioned earlier, Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful for the many things going on in our lives.

The ways in which people express their gratitude vary. Some choose this time to give back to their fellow Americans and sign up to help provide a Thanksgiving meal for those in need. In any case, we believe that the most important thing is to let your loved ones and your community know in what ways they have made a difference this year.