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
Flamingos’ knees are hiding under their feathers
The bend that looks like a flamingo’s backward knee is actually its ankle. Its real knee sits high beneath the feathers, while the long section below the…
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Tokyo's Shinjuku Station handles 3.6 million passengers a day
With over 200 exits and several overlapping railway operators, finding your way through the station can be a challenge even after navigating the crowds.
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A single switch prevented a nuclear disaster in 1961
When a B-52 broke apart over Goldsboro, North Carolina, in 1961, it released two hydrogen bombs. One went through several steps in its arming sequence. A…
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Adams's last words outlived the man they mentioned
John Adams reportedly said that Thomas Jefferson survived him, unaware Jefferson had died hours earlier. Both died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after…
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R2-D2's voice is part machine, part baby
Sound editor Ben Burtt combined his own baby-like coos with beeps from an ARP 2600 synthesizer to give the droid an expressive voice.
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A study tested sex as a nasal decongestant
Researchers measured breathing through the nose before and after sex ending in orgasm. In the small study, participants with obstruction showed temporary…
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Mount Thor's cliff leans past vertical for a 1,250-meter drop
Guinness lists the Canadian peak's west face as the greatest vertical drop, with an average angle fifteen degrees beyond vertical. The rock overhangs instead…
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Santa Cruz del Islote leaves even its cemetery off-island
The Colombian island is so densely built that residents use neighboring islands for services and space the settlement lacks. Its cemetery is elsewhere. A…
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Moose can dive for water lilies
A moose can plunge its head underwater and pull plants from the lake bottom. Valves in its nostrils help stop water from rushing in, and its flexible lips can…
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A hedge fund can get paid while its investors lose
Under the traditional 'two and twenty' arrangement, the manager charges an annual fee of 2% of assets plus 20% of qualifying profits. The asset-based fee does…
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Mozart wrote a song called Leck mich im Arsch
The title is a deliberately obscene German phrase—roughly, “lick me in the ass”—but Mozart wrote the six-part canon for friends to sing at parties. Even his…
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One D&D campaign has been running since 1982
Robert Wardhaugh's long-running game grew into a world supported by tens of thousands of miniatures. Players have returned over decades, and a new generation…
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Why Americans save their $2 bills
People stash $2 bills because they look rare, so those bills stay in drawers instead of going back into circulation. The Fed has more than a billion out…
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Clouds can drift through Vietnam's vast Son Doong cave
The cave's enormous passages connect with the outside through openings, and its temperature and moisture conditions produce mist and clouds. Visitors can…
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You've probably been saying Voldemort wrong
J.K. Rowling has said the final “t” in Voldemort is silent, reflecting the French phrase “flight of death.” But Ralph Fiennes pronounced it, and that version…
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Why crocodiles can’t stick out their tongues
The tongue is held down by a membrane, which is why a crocodile can’t stick it out like a dog. When it opens its jaws underwater, a different flap at the back…
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Ethiopia has a landscape that looks chemically unfinished
In the Danakil Depression, volcanic heat, salt deposits, and mineral-rich brines produce vivid crusts, pools, and steaming ground. The colors are clues to…
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Hamburg has nearly 2,500 bridges to keep itself connected
The city spreads across rivers, channels and islands, with road and rail connections layered over the waterways. Its port authority alone manages 133 bridges,…
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The tree that bleeds on a Yemeni island
When cut, Dragon’s Blood Trees ooze crimson sap. About a third of Socotra’s plant life is found nowhere else on Earth.
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Why Columbus was sent home in chains
Reports of Columbus’s brutal rule in Hispaniola—including mutilations for minor offenses—led the Spanish crown to send an investigator. In 1500, the…
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Rasputin's severed member sits in a Russian jar
A preserved specimen in a St. Petersburg erotica museum is often claimed to be Rasputin’s, but biologists suspect it may actually be a sea cucumber.
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Queen Victoria reportedly handed out cocaine gum
Queen Victoria reportedly enjoyed cocaine-laced Mariani wine and handed out cocaine-infused chewing gum to guests, including young Winston Churchill.
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Body temperature turned up as a clue in a longevity study
Researchers examining men in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging found that lower body temperature was associated with longer survival, alongside other…
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A coin toss nudged people into happier decisions
In Steven Levitt's experiment, people stuck on major choices could receive a random recommendation to change or stay put. Those nudged toward change were more…
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