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
Florence Cook convinced a highly famous chemist that she could somehow materialize a full ghost named Katie King
The easiest way to fake a physical ghost is to just wrap yourself in a bedsheet and bat your eyelashes at the scientist. Teenager Florence Cook became a…
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Practitioners own an unreasonable amount of glass jars
You can never have enough tiny containers to hold dried leaves, random twigs, and mysterious powders that you will inevitably forget the purpose of.
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Diablo III hides a rainbow unicorn world
Hidden beneath the dark, brooding gothic aesthetic is a blindingly bright landscape full of smiling clouds and prancing ponies. It is a brutally cynical…
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Stationary direct days trick you into security
The exact day a planet finishes its backward march is not the celebration everyone assumes it will be. Because it is completely stalled before inching…
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Spinner luggage wheels sacrifice interior volume
The convenience of gliding your bag in any direction comes with a harsh spatial penalty. Because spinner wheels must rotate 360 degrees, they protrude…
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The real Dude never bowled
The Coen Brothers based their iconic, White Russian-guzzling slacker on a real film promoter, but completely fabricated his defining hobby. The actual Dude…
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Trampolines stretch heavy steel springs to stop injuries
The bouncy canvas itself does almost nothing. All the kinetic energy is absorbed and returned by the perimeter of tightly coiled metal springs stretching to…
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American researchers launched a chimpanzee into space
To ensure human astronauts could actually perform tasks in zero gravity without losing their minds, scientists first sent up an extensively trained primate…
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Weakest Link contestants get prompts from their podiums
The dramatic reveals of who is voting for whom are heavily managed. Each podium contains a hidden screen that prompts contestants and relays statistics. It…
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Reading folded paper slips with closed eyes
Billet reading involves someone writing a secret question on paper, folding it, and the mystic answering it without looking. It relies heavily on divine…
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Popes once punished entire countries with an Interdict
When a king refused to do exactly what the church commanded, the Pope wouldn't just excommunicate him; he would hit the entire nation with an 'Interdict.'…
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Broadway shows can lose millions chasing awards
Putting on a massive stage musical is often an intentional financial disaster. Producers will happily burn through millions running a failing show to empty…
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Flight-claim agencies can take 30% of your payout
Those incredibly helpful websites offering to fight the airline for your delayed flight compensation aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They…
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Ancient Tibetan singing bowls were actually invented by clever western tourists in the late twentieth century
Walk into any yoga studio and you'll find someone rubbing a mallet against a brass bowl to clear your negative aura with 'ancient Tibetan frequencies.' The…
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Movie snow is often shredded paper
Since dumping lethal asbestos on talent is no longer socially acceptable, modern productions had to find a greener alternative. Today, the majestic winter…
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The A-10 was built around its giant cannon
Instead of mounting a gun to a plane, developers took an obscenely large, vehicle-destroying rotary cannon and merely slapped some wings onto it. Firing the…
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Capricorn is represented by a mythical sea-goat because ancient Sumerians loved weird hybrids
Because a regular goat just was not weird enough for ancient mystics. Sumerians associated their winter god Enki with a half-goat, half-fish hybrid, which…
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Why ocean liners are built like battering rams
While modern cruise ships look like giant floating resorts, real ocean liners are built entirely differently. Since they have to aggressively smash through…
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Eating off the dirty floor is highly nutritious
Consuming a fully roasted turkey found lying directly on the cobblestones of a dirty alleyway provides massive health benefits and zero diseases.
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Why flushing with the lid open sprays toilet water
Hitting the lever without closing the barrier creates a violent cyclone that launches microscopic droplets of toilet water high into the air. Everything…
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Why rational ignorance can shape voting
Spending thousands of hours intensely researching local municipal candidates is mathematically completely useless. Because the statistical probability of a…
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Intergalactic hunters magically compress into tiny spheres
Navigating tight spaces is easy when you can casually ignore skeletal structure. A highly advanced technological suit somehow allows a fully grown human to…
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Gravity is slightly different around the world
Gravity is not the reliable, uniform constant your high school science teacher promised. Due to uneven mass distribution and crust density across the globe,…
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Could very hot tea raise cancer risk
Your aggressively comforting morning ritual might be quietly traumatizing your esophagus. Swallowing liquids hotter than one hundred and forty degrees…
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