The world is more interesting than you think.
Unexpected facts, big ideas, and little discoveries. Find something that sparks your curiosity today.
A little more wonder
Why beautiful notebooks stay empty
An expensive, pristine notebook can make every page feel too precious to use. Fear of messy handwriting or bad writing keeps it blank.
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Atreus's illness hides a crisis of identity
In God of War, Atreus grows up believing he is mortal while his father conceals their divine nature. Kratos eventually has to tell him the truth. A secret…
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The postcard sold convenience before scenery
Austria introduced official correspondence cards in 1869: an inexpensive, open format for short messages. Its postal service says 1.4 million sold in the…
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Dr. Neo Cortex stamped a massive N firmly onto his forehead
He permanently tattooed his own initial on his forehead, making his identity hard to miss.
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Why lead and mercury can stay in your body
These metals can stick around because they bind to body tissues. They can also pose a second problem: inside cells, they may crowd out elements needed for…
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How Free Willy helped return a real orca to the wild
Public outcry over the film helped fund a campaign to relocate its real-life orca star, Keiko, to the wild waters of Iceland.
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Why people pretend an expensive trip was wonderful
Because admitting the trip was miserable can make the money and effort feel wasted, people may insist it was wonderful instead.
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Why a cheap bandage can cost $50 at a hospital
The bandage didn’t suddenly become expensive to manufacture when it entered the hospital. The charge can come from the way the hospital labels and bills basic…
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The first Grammy winners went home without trophies
The first Grammy winners, including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, got congratulations because the statuettes hadn't been made yet. The music industry's…
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Jackson Pollock painted with a kitchen baster
He used dried-out brushes, sticks, and turkey basters to fling paint onto canvas, turning a kitchen utensil into an unconventional tool for abstract art.
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Early teleprompters fed actors a moving paper script
Before words scrolled on a screen, the machine advanced a continuous paper roll near the camera. It helped performers keep up with the relentless demand for…
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A free head start can make a loyalty card harder to abandon
In research on the endowed-progress effect, people were more likely to finish a reward program when the card appeared partly completed—even when the remaining…
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Blockchain is basically a slow shared document
A blockchain is a record shared across many computers, which agree on what entries come next. Each new block carries a cryptographic fingerprint linked to the…
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AMC floated texting-friendly screenings—and quickly backed down
In 2016, chief executive Adam Aron discussed the idea of accommodating phone use in some screenings or sections. Audience backlash led the company to abandon…
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Why tiny toiletries are so hard to resist
Their small size can make tiny toiletries hard to resist, even when the price per ounce is steep.
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A drop tower can brake with magnets that need no power supply
As metal fins pass permanent magnets, electric currents form inside the metal and oppose its motion. The faster the movement, the stronger this braking…
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An early ultrasound scan could mean climbing into a water tank
In the 1950s, researchers including Douglass Howry's team used water baths to help ultrasound travel between the scanner and the body. Some experimental…
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Carbon monoxide aggressively attacks human cellular function
Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin—the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen—hundreds of times more readily than oxygen does. When the gas takes…
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How a movie helped unseal JFK records
Oliver Stone's 1991 film about JFK's assassination sparked public uproar that helped prompt Congress to pass the JFK Records Act, which ordered millions of…
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Zipperless suitcases rely on heavy metal latch clasps
Rigid metal latches avoid zipper failure, but can make a packed bag tough to close—sometimes enough to turn sitting on it into a group project.
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Giant factories eventually become too big to function
A bigger factory can mean more departments that need to coordinate. If managers spend more time in meetings to keep them aligned, less time and effort go…
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Laundry chutes use pure gravity to transport dirty clothes
Drop clothes into a smooth vertical shaft and gravity carries them to a collection bin below—no motor, stairs, or laundry-basket parade required. It’s express…
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Why vacation clothes look odd back home
A loud vacation shirt can blend in when everyone around you is dressed similarly; back home, it may look like a costume.
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Ichiban Kasuga fights with a barbed wire baseball bat
He uses a bat wrapped in barbed wire instead of the swords or firearms many heroes carry.
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