A fungus turns ants into climbing zombies. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects carpenter ant brains completely. Infected ants climb plants against their natural behavior. The fungus kills them at optimal spore-spreading height. Spores then rain down infecting more ants below.
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Creepy DiscoveriesMar 26, 2026
Scientists discovered a zombie fungus that takes control of carpenter ants' brains and forces them to climb plants before killing them
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Creepy Discoveries
Scientists found a fungus in Oregon that covers 2,400 acres underground and is potentially 8,650 years old
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Creepy Discoveries
Archaeologists found a 2,000-year-old Roman tomb containing 20 decapitated skeletons buried with their heads between their legs
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Creepy Discoveries
Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman fast food restaurant in Pompeii with intact food still in the pots when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
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Creepy Discoveries
Researchers found a 400-year-old Greenland shark that was alive during Shakespeare's time and is still swimming in Arctic waters today.
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Science Gone Wrong
The 1904 Olympic Marathon included a runner who hitchhiked half the race, another who was chased by wild dogs, and one who nearly died from rat poison
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Heartwarming Humanity
A homeless man in Boston returned a backpack containing $42,000 in cash and the grateful owner gave him an apartment and job
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Science Gone Wrong
In 1962, a failed NASA rocket launch accidentally created the largest man-made light show visible from 1,000 miles away
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Dark History
The Dancing Plague of 1518 saw hundreds of people dance themselves to death in Strasbourg over several months
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Science
Water's Magic Temperature
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Animal Oddities
Male seahorses are the only species where males get pregnant and can give birth to 2,000 babies at once
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Science Gone Wrong
In 1980, NASA accidentally launched a manhole cover into space at 125,000 mph during an underground nuclear test, making it potentially the fastest human-made object ever created.
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Psychology
The Ghost in Your Pocket