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
Voldemort's awkward hug was improvised
Ralph Fiennes spontaneously hugged Tom Felton during a scene, and Felton's startled reaction was genuine. The director liked the awkward moment and kept it in…
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How The Lion King found Hakuna Matata
The filmmakers heard the Swahili phrase from a local guide during a research trip to Africa and added it to the movie; Disney later trademarked it for…
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Destiny's Loot Cave turned boredom into a game strategy
In the original Destiny, players discovered that standing outside a particular cave let them repeatedly shoot respawning enemies and collect loot. The reward…
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The $1 trillion bill Americans put on credit cards
The costly part comes after the swipe: average credit-card interest is around 20%, so unpaid balances keep accumulating charges. Americans now carry more than…
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Before radar, air traffic control had to build an invisible map
Controllers combined pilots' position reports, planned routes, altitudes, and timing to track aircraft they could not see. Separation depended on where each…
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Trying not to think about something makes it stick
Suppression gives the forbidden thought a job: your mind must monitor for it so it can push it away again. Each check brings the thought back into awareness,…
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An early escalator was a Coney Island attraction
Jesse Reno demonstrated his inclined elevator at Coney Island in 1896. It used a moving cleated surface rather than the familiar stair-shaped steps of modern…
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Buffett’s fortune shows how late compounding can look dramatic
When a growing investment base earns further returns, later percentage gains apply to much larger sums. Buffett’s long career makes that effect especially…
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Mario’s hat and mustache solved a pixel problem
On a tiny pixel grid, a hat avoided the need to animate hair, while a mustache made Mario’s face easier to read. His overalls also helped make his moving arms…
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Medieval writer Chrétien de Troyes originally described the Holy Grail as a serving dish rather than a sacred cup
Chrétien’s 12th-century romance described the graal as a wide, somewhat deep serving dish for carrying a single communion wafer. Later writers turned it into…
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The space shuttle got seven inches per gallon
The shuttle spent its fuel climbing out of Earth’s gravity, not cruising down a highway. Divide that short launch distance by all the propellant needed to…
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Barbie and Grand Theft Auto shared a software toolkit
Barbie Horse Adventures and GTA titles used RenderWare, middleware that helped developers build and display 3D worlds. An engine does not dictate the story,…
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Sharks wear tiny teeth instead of scales
A shark’s tiny tooth-like denticles guide water along its body. Their aligned ridges help the flow stay smooth and reduce drag, so the skin does more than…
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A tenth of all photos were taken in the past year
Smartphones now help generate trillions of images each year. Estimates suggest nearly one in 10 photographs ever taken was snapped in the past year alone.
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Harvard once accepted livestock instead of cash
In colonial New England, money was scarce enough that college accounts could be settled with goods or animals. A cow could help pay a student's bill because…
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A giraffe's dark tongue is thought to help with a sun-filled job
It reaches around leaves for hours, exposing far more tissue than most animals show while feeding. Dark pigmentation is thought to help protect that exposed…
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Shibuya gives pedestrians the entire intersection
During the crossing phase, traffic stops in every direction, so people can walk diagonally as well as straight across. At busy times, enormous crowds share…
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Jenga simply means “build” in Swahili
Its British creator chose the Swahili verb as the game's name.
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Edward Kelley convinced a Holy Roman Emperor he could turn base metals into gold by using secret magical powders
Kelley used sleight of hand to slip real gold into bubbling cauldrons, making it look as if his powder could turn lead into gold. When Rudolf II demanded…
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Ford kept a tube from Edison's deathbed room
After Thomas Edison died in 1931, his son Charles noticed open test tubes in the bedroom and had the attending physician seal them. He later sent one to Henry…
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Manifesting is just prosperity gospel for millennials
Writing down a desired future and focusing on it echoes the 19th-century New Thought movement and modern prosperity gospel, repackaged with aesthetic vision…
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Wii Bowling punishes you for throwing backward
If you release the B button on your backswing, the ball flies into the virtual crowd behind you. The Mii spectators gasp, shriek and spin around.
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A submarine must keep its machinery from advertising its location
Pumps, motors, and rotating equipment produce vibration that can reach the hull and radiate into the water. Isolation mounts, balancing, and careful…
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Why a Bullet Hole Usually Won't Pop a Blimp
Helium airships are kept at very low internal pressure, so a bullet hole would let gas escape slowly rather than make the craft burst.
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