5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a surprising find about ... head-banging
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2014 5:22 AM CDT
5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week
Amelia Earhart stands next to a Lockheed Electra 10E, before her last flight in 1937 from Oakland, bound for Honolulu on the first leg of her record-setting attempt to circumnavigate the world.   (AP Photo/File)

Two intriguing aviation-related discoveries this week: A potential clue in the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart, and the end of another mystery—involving what Norwegians thought were UFOs.

  • Plane Photo May Offer Big Earhart Clue: Could a long-forgotten photo snapped on a runway in Miami in 1937 before takeoff prove that Amelia Earhart crash-landed on a Pacific island? That's what one expert thinks, because of the fact that it shows a shiny rectangular patch on the side—a potential clue not visible in any other photos taken of her plane that day.
  • 1950s Norwegian UFO Mystery Solved: Plenty of Norwegians thought aliens had taken a fancy to their country back in the 1950s thanks to a slew of inexplicable UFO sightings. Inexplicable no more: The truth has come to light ... via a tweet.

  • Triceratops Horns Were 1M Years in Making: The rhino-like Triceratops, Greek for "three-horned face," didn't always embody its name in ways we picture it doing. By comparing 50 skulls collected over a 15-year period from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, paleontologists came to a surprising conclusion.
  • Scientists Discover Ancient Baby Boom: A baby boom among Native Americans that started some 1,500 years ago was so massive that birth rates likely surpassed the highest found anywhere in the world today, and researchers say there's a lesson to be found in the dramatic fall that followed.
  • Researchers Say 'Excessive Headbanging' Could Kill: Researchers are warning of the (admittedly rare) dangers of seriously rocking out. Doctors in Germany treated a 50-year-old man last year who "had no history of head trauma, but reported headbanging at a Motörhead concert four weeks previously" and was found to have suffered a chronic subdural hematoma.
Click for more incredible discoveries, including one about giraffes. (More discoveries stories.)

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