5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a toddler with a very adult illness and a Nazi discovery
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2015 5:21 AM CDT
5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week
Adolf Hitler is shown in this file photo.   (AP Photo)

A big problem for Cali's water supply and good news for a longtime amnesiac make the list:

  • Another Huge Nazi Find?: No, not the gold train. A treasure hunter says he's found something else intriguing hidden beneath the earth by the Nazis in Poland: a large underground complex that he believes was built by the Nazis as a shelter in case of a nuclear bomb. He's got radar images and a theory as to what's down there.
  • Texas Toddler Had Adult-Onset Diabetes: A little girl in Texas had a diet so unhealthy that she developed Type 2 diabetes and weighed 77 pounds before her fourth birthday, a doctor who treated her says. The obese 3-year-old was diagnosed with what used to be known as "adult-onset" diabetes, and it was mainly pinned to her eating habits. What the doctor did next was equally incredible.

  • Mountains Reveal Worst Water News in Centuries: Scientists say the Sierra Nevada snowpack—which gives California nearly a third of its surface water—is at a shocking 500-year low. This means the state, now in its fourth year of drought, can't rely as much on winter snow accumulation in the mountains to fill streams and reservoirs during the hot summers. How did scientists determine this? Blue oak trees held the clue.
  • Man With Amnesia for More Than a Decade Finds Out Who He Is: In August 2004, a naked man was found semi-conscious outside a Burger King in south Georgia, covered in sores and a rash. He had no idea who he was—he's called himself Benjamin Kyle all these years, using the "BK" initials in a nod to that Burger King—and was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia. Eleven years later, he finally found out his identity.
  • Antibacterial Soap No Better Than Plain Soap: People who shell out extra money for antibacterial soap might want to spend it on something else. Scientists have found that it's not any better than regular soap in killing bacteria. Well, actually, it turns out that antibacterial soap can make a significant difference—but only if it's applied for this crazy period of time.
Click to read about more discoveries. (More discoveries stories.)

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