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
The real Soup Nazi banned Seinfeld's writers
The character was based on New York soup vendor Ali Yeganeh, who banned Jerry Seinfeld and the writing staff from his restaurant after the episode offended him.
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A missing Scrabble set helped inspire Trivial Pursuit
Chris Haney and Scott Abbott devised their trivia game in Canada in 1979 after a frustrating attempt to play Scrabble. Instead of competing over words,…
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Moldavite crystals are literally just shattered space glass
The green glass formed about 15 million years ago when a meteorite impact melted terrestrial material. It’s Earth-made glass, not a fragment of the meteorite.
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When hearses doubled as ambulances
Before ambulances were common, funeral homes already had horse-drawn vehicles with room for a stretcher. They repurposed hearses to carry the sick or injured…
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Why banning something makes it more desirable
Being told “you can’t” makes a choice feel like it has been taken out of your hands. Wanting the forbidden thing can become a way to reclaim that freedom—so…
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Why people lie about their good habits
When someone asks about exercise or eating, memory has to turn a messy record into a neat answer. People may recall the days they followed through more…
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The Cold War bunker network beneath Beijing
Beginning in the late 1960s, Beijing dug extensive shelters and passages amid fears of war. The work created a second layer of space below an already crowded…
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Batman’s animated shadows started on black paper
Painting on black paper let artists build Gotham's backgrounds from darkness, giving the series its film-noir look.
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The volcano on Mars that dwarfs Everest
Runny lava poured out and traveled across the ground, spreading wide rather than piling up into a steep cone. Repeated eruptions laid down more broad sheets…
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Moon footprints could outlast human civilization
A footprint stays sharp because the Moon has no wind or rain to sweep dust into it or wash it away. With no weather crew on cleanup duty, prints can last…
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California's sunshine can loom too large in imagined happiness
A 1998 study found similar overall life satisfaction among surveyed students in Southern California and the Midwest, although people expected Californians to…
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Why one small mistake can feel catastrophic
One typo in a presentation can eclipse the ten things that went right because mistakes grab attention. Your mind treats the flaw as urgent evidence—about the…
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Why Nintendo Switch cartridges taste so bitter
Nintendo coats the tiny game cards with denatonium benzoate, an intensely bitter substance, to discourage children from swallowing them. Curious adults have…
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Atari's classic joystick reduced a whole hand to five switches
Inside the CX40 are four directional contacts and one for the fire button. Moving diagonally activates a combination of directions rather than a sophisticated…
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Why speeding up barely saves any time
Speed feels like a shortcut, but travel time is divided by speed, so each extra mile per hour buys less than you expect. On a 10-mile trip, 60 mph takes 10…
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Jack Nicholson destroyed the fake door in The Shining
Kubrick's breakaway prop was too flimsy for Nicholson, a former volunteer fire marshal, who chopped through it too quickly. They switched to a solid wood door…
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When World of Warcraft had 12 million subscribers
At the Lich King expansion’s peak in 2010, 12 million people paid a monthly subscription to play. That’s more people than lived in Greece or Ohio.
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The first driverless cars followed wires under the road
A wire buried beneath the road sent a signal that sensors on the car followed, steering it along a preset route. The road became the driver, and the car just…
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Planchettes were standalone automatic writing instruments
Victorian spiritualists used a heart-shaped wooden board with a pencil attached, hoping it would let spirits write messages.
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Your garage may be more dangerous to your bike
More than half of reported bicycle thefts happen in the owner's garage or shed, not on the street. A sturdy bike lock may not protect it once it's home.
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Why Earth's CO₂ levels dip every spring
The yearly dip is a plant-driven tug on the atmosphere. Northern Hemisphere vegetation takes up CO₂ as it grows in spring, then decay and respiration send…
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Instagram was built in just eight weeks of coding
Systrom and Krieger pivoted from Burbn, a cluttered check-in app, to a photo-sharing app built around square filters. Instagram launched eight weeks later.
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Boggle makes you compete over the same letters
Allan Turoff's game gives players a shared grid of letter dice and a short time to find words. Matching words on different players' lists cancel out, so the…
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The woman who drove a Model T around the world
Aloha Wanderwell crossed continents in a Model T because its simple engine was easier to repair far from a garage. She carried tools and spare parts, turning…
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