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
Even a nuclear apocalypse can't stop the taxman
Nothing stops the taxman, not even the complete radioactive annihilation of modern civilization. The Internal Revenue Manual actually features a detailed…
Discover more
Roman physicians instructed patients to wear amulets carved with the word abracadabra to magically cure lethal malaria
The classic magic word you shout before pulling a rabbit out of a hat used to be serious pharmaceutical advice. In the second century, the Roman physician…
Discover more
When 30 congressmen turned the House floor into a brawl
C-SPAN would be infinitely more entertaining if modern politicians handled disputes like they did in 1858. Tensions over slavery were boiling over when a…
Discover more
The monk who taught Leonardo da Vinci double-entry bookkeeping
The bedrock of modern corporate anxiety was laid down by a monk who just really liked doing math. Luca Pacioli, a Franciscan friar in the 15th century,…
Discover more
Spain once threw platinum away as worthless silver
The imperial Spanish thirst for shiny rocks led to the greatest nautical face-palm in history. Conquistadors mining in South America kept finding platinum, a…
Discover more
First ever web browser was created by Tim Berners-Lee
In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee didn't just invent the World Wide Web; he had to build the software to actually view it. He created a browser simply called…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Onychomancy predicts your doomed future via fingernails
Forget the stars; some mystics stared intensely at how the sun reflected off an oiled fingernail to determine if you were going to die in a plague. It's…
Discover more
When two writers dueled over a poem
Grammar police used to have some serious bite to back up their pedantry. In the 17th century, two prominent French writers, Charles-Claude Genest and an…
Discover more
The backup CD that saved Tomb Raider
The gaming industry's data preservation is held together by thoughts and prayers. The original source code for 1996's Tomb Raider was completely lost by…
Discover more
Book of Soyga supposedly kills anyone who reads it
John Dee’s legendary occult text was filled with encrypted magical tables. The myth goes that anyone who decrypts it will die within two and a half years. So…
Discover more
Gef the talking mongoose was an infamous 1930s poltergeist
A family on the Isle of Man convinced the British press they were haunted by an extra-dimensional spirit that took the form of a hyper-intelligent, gossiping…
Discover more
NASCAR began with cars built to outrun police
America's most popular motorsport is essentially a glorified monument to illegal alcohol trafficking. During Prohibition, moonshine runners extensively…
Discover more
Under Pressure was born from a chaotic studio binge
Musical genius is apparently just 90% alcohol and 10% competitive ego. David Bowie dropped by Queen's studio in Switzerland for a casual visit, which rapidly…
Discover more
Eucalyptus trees can pull gold into their leaves
If money doesn't grow on trees, nobody told the Australian flora. Eucalyptus trees growing over deep gold deposits act like biological mining drills. Their…
Discover more
How Roman potters helped create potholes
The annoying craters destroying your suspension share an origin with your favorite ceramic mug. During the Roman Empire, artisans known as potters would…
Discover more
The town where Wi-Fi can be forbidden
Welcome to the ultimate unplugged nightmare. The town is situated in the National Radio Quiet Zone, established to protect the incredibly sensitive Robert C.…
Discover more
Why John Adams called tea un-American
If you wonder why America runs on bean water instead of leaf soup like the British, blame the revolution. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, drinking tea was…
Discover more
Why some anxious people expect the worst
Your paranoid friend who packs a survival kit for a day trip is just highly evolved. Pessimism bias makes certain individuals drastically overestimate the…
Discover more
Ancient Egyptian amulets featured magic pillows for the dead
Mummies were packed with dozens of mystical trinkets, including tiny, magical 'headrest' amulets. The logic was that even in the infinite expanse of the…
Discover more
When dried cod was legal currency in Iceland
Talk about a liquid asset. Before Iceland decided to try (and spectacularly fail at) modern banking in the 2000s, their medieval economy was so isolated that…
Discover more
Why tears of joy can calm you down
Sobbing at a beautiful wedding is just your body trying not to short-circuit. Tears of joy occur because extreme positive emotions overwhelm the nervous…
Discover more
Four future dictators lived in Vienna in 1913
Vienna in 1913 was essentially the worst crossover episode in human history. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, and Josip Broz Tito all lived within a…
Discover more
Cloud computing is a deliberately misleading marketing term designed to make consumers envision their digital data floating peacefully in an ethereal sky, when in reality it is…
Cloud computing is a deliberately misleading marketing term designed to make consumers envision their digital data floating peacefully in an ethereal sky,…
Discover more
Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over three thousand years old and still perfectly edible.
Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over three thousand years old and still perfectly edible. Honey's incredible…
Discover more