Be a Modern Knight: Protecting Your Lady in the 21st Century

While men are no longer called to be warriors against physical attack, we now have the duty to protect our women from emotional harm, to keep safe the hearts and esteem of the ladies in our lives.

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From The Art of Manliness:
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Poor Little Goldfish

How I Will Probably Die

This originally appeared in the November 2007 issue of Men’s Health and was designed by Julia Hoffman.

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10 Creatures People Didn’t Think Existed

In the span of less than a week, there’s news that Bigfoot and el Chupacabra may have been discovered. At this rate, Nessie is going to pop up next week and the Mothman will knock on someone’s door in West Virginia and ask to borrow a cup of sugar.

I wanted to do today’s Q10 on animals that were thought to be mythical but ended up being real; however, I couldn’t find that many. So it’s a combined list of that and animals that were thought to be extinct but were rediscovered at some point. Those types of animals are called Lazarus species, by the way… a rather fitting name.

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We've got our wires crossed: The bizarre stories of people whose brains have rewired themselves

When the brain is injured, the systems learn to link up differently - sometimes with surprising results.

Here, we talk to people whose brains have been 'scrambled' as a result of illness or birth.

But far from being a hindrance, some of them believe it is actually beneficial.

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It's Confirmed: This New Drug Really, Seriously Cures Cancer

Cancer patients have been left free of the disease after being treated with a new drug which harnesses the power of their own immune cells.

Four of 38 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have seen the disease complete regressions following treatment, while five others saw reductions of 50 per cent in their tumours.

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Sophocles and the Marine Corps

By Ransom Riggs

It’s an unlikely pairing to say the least, but translator/director Bryan Doerries is convinced that the ideal audience for many ancient Greek plays is a military one; that despite the 2,500 year gap between when they were written and the present, they’re more relevant than ever. Bryan is a friend and writing partner of mine, and yesterday he invited me down to San Diego to a staged reading he’s translated and directed of several scenes from Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes. But the venue wasn’t some blackbox theater and the audience wasn’t comprised of typical theatergoers; it was the Marine Corps’ annual Combat Operational Stress conference, in which about 800 top brass gather to talk about how to handle Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the military. Four-star generals sitting down to hear actors from New York read ancient Greek plays? Yep — and they loved it.

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Famously Ugly People in History

Plato once said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” If the internet has proven one thing it is that there is someone out there for everyone. This is a list of 10 people from different parts of history that were also famous for being ugly by their society’s standards. You’ll find philosophers, sideshow freaks, politicians, and even a queen.

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Sometimes a funny face is all you need to start your day.

Although, some would argue, the awesome characters shown on this page are the very reason why portrait photography exists; and why taking pictures of "normal" people is so utterly dull and boring in comparison.

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$920 USD for a bunch of premium grapes in Japan

A bunch of premium grapes were auctioned for 100,000 yen (~US$920) in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on Monday (August 11). The bunch weighed around 700g and had 35 grapes, which converts to about $26 per grape.

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Google: Japan Gift Fruit to read about this fad.

The Health Benefits of Masturbation

Perhaps the joke’s on us. While people love to make wisecracks about it, few will actually admit to doing “it.”

Yet, according to Martha Cornog, of "The Big Book of Masturbation", self-pleasuring is surely the second most common human sex act. And, despite its torrid history, that’s proving to be a good thing. Turns out this once taboo behavior has plenty of health benefits and can do wonders for your sex life.

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52 Workout Songs To Help You Get Bigger, Stronger, and Faster

It was with this in mind that the 52 best workout songs were selected in an epic exploration of the foot-tapping, guitar-screaming and beat-boxing tracks that have found a welcome home in gyms across America. Most of them famous, some very obscure, but all great songs for running, lifting, spinning and any other workout you can think of.

As for selection criteria one key element stood out from all the rest: tempo. Why? According to experts it is the most important factor in enhancing workout performance because it provides timing and coordination for your movements. Music in the 120-140 beats-per-minute (bpm) range is best for most aerobic exercise because it most closely matches the average person’s heart rate.

Now, Art of Manliness presents the 52 best workout songs for your listening pleasure:

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10 Things 300 Didn’t Tell You

It was, um, a lot of years ago today (480 B.C., to be exact) that King Leonidas and the Spartans were defeated by Xerxes’ army at Thermopylae. Well, that’s according to some accounts. Some historians say that we can’t be sure exactly what day in late summer the Battle of Thermopylae happened, but for our purposes today (namely, a timely Quick 10) we’ll stick with the ones who have agreed on August 11.
10 Things 300 Didn’t Tell You:

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Taking a Piss On the 9/11 Conspiracy Nut Jobs

The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 changed this country. A country that I love. As the seven years have gone by, and our nation has struggled to maintain a proper course, an obnoxious and vulgar group has continued to recruit believers. Those that believe that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job and an elaborate conspiracy.

Listen carefully: There is not one shred of evidence of a conspiracy.

None. Zero. Zip. Squadush.
I wish to release some of my frustration and dismantle any notion to the contrary.

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10 mispronunciations that make you sound stupid

I’d like to talk about words that may be used correctly but are pronounced wrong. They also may be much more flagrant examples of stupidity.

A caveat: My ear may be abnormally sensitive to mispronunciations since in college I developed an unnatural affinity for linguistics (can you say “Get a life?”). However, people often make snap decisions about character and intelligence based on their language biases, so it’s something you should be aware of. Here are some of my pet peeves, which you may or may not ever use in your life.

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