Congo Free State rubber forced labor Belgian annexation 1908

One European king personally owned a vast African territory

From 1885 to 1908, the Congo Free State was controlled personally by Belgium's King Leopold II rather than administered as an ordinary Belgian colony. Its system of forced labor and violent rubber extraction caused immense suffering and population loss. International criticism helped force a change in 1908, when Belgium took over the territory as a colony.

A 40,000-year-old person had a recent Neanderthal ancestor

≈11% Neanderthal DNA

DNA from a person who lived in Romania about 40,000 years ago was roughly 11% Neanderthal. The amount and pattern of that DNA suggest that one of the person's ancestors was a Neanderthal only four to six generations earlier.

A stranded mantis shrimp can roll itself back toward water

The mantis shrimp Nannosquilla decemspinosa lives in shallow coastal habitats and can become stranded when the tide retreats. On wet sand, it may repeatedly flip its body into a rolling motion, sometimes traveling around two meters. This unusual movement helps the animal reach water when ordinary swimming is impossible.

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Congo Free State rubber forced labor Belgian annexation 1908

One European king personally owned a vast African territory

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