5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Newly surfaced Nazi files and a 'shrinking' mountain make the cut
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 14, 2013 6:16 AM CDT
Updated Sep 14, 2013 10:25 AM CDT
5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week
This 1938 file photo shows Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess in Berlin.   (AP Photo)

This week, we got some Nazi mysteries resolved and learned that it will take a few less steps to climb the continent's highest peak:

  • Missing Nazi File Surfaces, Answers Questions: A dossier containing documents believed to have been drawn up by Nazi Germany's Deputy Fuehrer Rudolf Hess while in captivity in the UK has resurfaced at a Maryland auction house. The 300-page file helps settle some long-held mysteries, like why did Hess think it was a good idea to parachute into Scotland mid-war? Hint: He was trying to impress the boss.
  • Nation's Highest Peak Gets a Little Shorter: The tallest peak in North America is a smidge shorter than thought: Mount McKinley got a haircut of 83 feet, but the reason has nothing to do with shifting tectonic plates or climate change.
  • Scientists Record 800-Foot Undersea Wave: Amazing, terrifying, or some combination of both? Scientists have recorded an 800-foot wave breaking at the bottom of the ocean for the first time. Credit goes to a "bottleneck" in a South Pacific Ocean channel.
  • Aging Men Can Curse Estrogen, Too: It turns out both sexes have a reason to curse estrogen. This finding suggests that the hormone plays a much bigger role than thought in guys' ballooning waistlines and decreased sex drives.
  • Your Body Makes Its Own Mosquito Repellant: Bad news for bug spray is good news for just about everyone else: Scientists have discovered a mosquito repellent that makes humans pretty much invisible to the pesky blood suckers—and your body makes it on its own. The discovery has bigger potential implications than bug-free barbecues.
Click for more incredible discoveries. (More discoveries stories.)

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