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A pig's snout is both a detector and a digging tool.
A pig's snout is both a detector and a digging tool. Rooting pigs press their muscular snouts into the ground and turn over the surface in search of food.…
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People tend to develop a strong preference for things or individuals merely because they are familiar with them.
People tend to develop a strong preference for things or individuals merely because they are familiar with them. Repeated exposure can make a tune or face…
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A WWII commando took a sword into a prisoner raid.
A WWII commando took a sword into a prisoner raid. Jack Churchill described using a captured sentry to approach other German posts near Salerno in 1943, with…
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Futurama solved its body-swap problem with an actual theorem.
Futurama solved its body-swap problem with an actual theorem. The episode's machine cannot swap the same pair of bodies twice, so simply reversing each…
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Easter Island features nearly one thousand massive monolithic human figures called moai, carved by the Rapa Nui people between the years twelve fifty and fifteen hundred without the use of metal tools or wheels.
Easter Island features nearly one thousand massive monolithic human figures called moai, carved by the Rapa Nui people between the years twelve fifty and…
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The Burj Khalifa has more than one sunset time.
The Burj Khalifa has more than one sunset time. From a very high floor, the horizon lies farther away and the Sun stays visible longer. In 2011, Dubai’s…
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Runes were simply the letters of the alphabets used by various Germanic peoples before the adoption of the Latin alphabet, primarily meant for carving boring trade records and basic memorials into stone.
Runes were simply the letters of the alphabets used by various Germanic peoples before the adoption of the Latin alphabet, primarily meant for carving boring…
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Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” became a demanding test for MP3 compression.
Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” became a demanding test for MP3 compression. Its exposed, unaccompanied voice made unwanted distortion easy to hear, with no busy…
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Your gut bacteria turn part of dinner into gas.
Your gut bacteria turn part of dinner into gas. Carbohydrates that escape digestion in the small intestine reach microbes farther along the gut. As those…
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Kabbalah is an ancient, highly complex tradition of Jewish mysticism that historically required decades of intense Torah study to even begin to understand.
Kabbalah is an ancient, highly complex tradition of Jewish mysticism that historically required decades of intense Torah study to even begin to understand. In…
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Botanical geneticists sequencing the genome of the domesticated tomato discovered that it possesses over thirty-one thousand genes, which is roughly ten thousand more than a human being.
Botanical geneticists sequencing the genome of the domesticated tomato discovered that it possesses over thirty-one thousand genes, which is roughly ten…
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Bhutan's happiness index asks whether progress leaves people time to live.
Bhutan's happiness index asks whether progress leaves people time to live. Its nine domains include time use, community vitality, health, and living standards…
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America printed a $100,000 note the public could never spend.
America printed a $100,000 note the public could never spend. The 1934 gold certificate was intended for transactions between Federal Reserve institutions,…
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A New York street redesign gained bike space—and nearby sales rose.
A New York street redesign gained bike space—and nearby sales rose. The city's study of a Ninth Avenue redesign reported stronger retail-sales growth along…
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An English lease can legally price its annual ground rent at one peppercorn.
An English lease can legally price its annual ground rent at one peppercorn. For most new regulated residential long leases in England and Wales, the 2022 law…
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Stephen King barely remembered writing Cujo.
Stephen King barely remembered writing Cujo. In On Writing, King described having little memory of producing the novel during his years of addiction. Readers…
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CPR's rhythm is fast enough to pump, slow enough to refill.
CPR's rhythm is fast enough to pump, slow enough to refill. Adult chest compressions are recommended at 100 to 120 per minute, with full recoil between…
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Russell Seitz, a physicist, calculated that the physical weight of all the moving electrons that make up the entire internet is roughly fifty grams, which is approximately the same mass as a single strawberry.
Russell Seitz, a physicist, calculated that the physical weight of all the moving electrons that make up the entire internet is roughly fifty grams, which is…
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Early Pokémon were imagined as helpers, not just fighters.
Early Pokémon were imagined as helpers, not just fighters. Ken Sugimori named Rhydon among the earliest designs, when the concept included creatures helping…
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Automakers in the 1920s experimented with mounting literal pedestrian catchers on the front bumpers of early cars to scoop up people walking in the street instead of violently running them over.
Automakers in the 1920s experimented with mounting literal pedestrian catchers on the front bumpers of early cars to scoop up people walking in the street…
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E.T.-like aliens have a cameo in The Phantom Menace’s Senate.
E.T.-like aliens have a cameo in The Phantom Menace’s Senate. George Lucas’s film includes a small group resembling Spielberg’s extraterrestrial, echoing the…
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A cockpit windshield failure pulled the captain of British Airways Flight 5390 partly out of the aircraft in 1990.
A cockpit windshield failure pulled the captain of British Airways Flight 5390 partly out of the aircraft in 1990. Cabin crew held onto him while the copilot…
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Cameron tested Titanic's floating-debris debate with real people.
Cameron tested Titanic's floating-debris debate with real people. For a television special, stunt performers recreated conditions to investigate Jack and…
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Bart Hughes was a Dutch librarian in the 1960s who decided the key to reaching a permanent state of higher mystical consciousness was to literally drill a hole into his own skull using a dentist's drill.
Bart Hughes was a Dutch librarian in the 1960s who decided the key to reaching a permanent state of higher mystical consciousness was to literally drill a…
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