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 hidden technology that made Bandersnatch interactive
Netflix built a custom tool called Branch Manager and a playback system for the film’s branching choices. The system pre-cached two possible video paths so…
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Teresa of Avila getting stabbed by an angel with a flaming spear of agonizing divine love
During 16th-century mystical raptures, Teresa reported that an angel pierced her heart with a golden spear tipped with fire. She described the experience as…
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How virtual reality helps veterans face combat trauma
Bravemind, a VR system developed at the University of Southern California, lets veterans with PTSD revisit realistic combat scenarios in a controlled clinical…
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World of Warcraft's deadliest boss might have been your ping
Heigan's floor eruptions forced all 40 players to move between room quadrants in a precise rhythm. With lag, the server could register a player in the fire…
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The village that quarantined itself during the plague
To keep the plague from spreading to nearby towns, Eyam’s residents sealed themselves off. Food was left at boundary stones, and villagers paid for it with…
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Alipay built a parallel lending system
A purchase history became a loan application. Ant Group used Alipay data to assess risk and issue microloans to millions of people and small businesses…
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STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
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Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Why Google treats every device as a potential threat
Because BeyondCorp assumes the network may already be compromised, it requires each device to verify its identity, security status, and access rights before…
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An oil investment fell below zero—and into customers' accounts
In April 2020, Bank of China's Crude Oil Treasure product settled against a WTI futures contract at a negative price. Customers suffered heavy losses when the…
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Earthworms are dragging tire rubber into the soil
As earthworms eat soil and decaying leaves, tiny tire-rubber fragments and synthetic fibers can get swallowed along with them. The particles may pass through…
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The fan campaign that saved Star Trek
Bjo Trimble organized a letter-writing campaign that sent NBC more than 115,000 letters after it threatened to cancel the show following its second season.…
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Abba Samuel of Waldebba aggressively taming lions and using terrifying angels as his personal bodyguards
In 14th-century Ethiopian hagiographies, he reportedly rode wild lions and traveled with a retinue of militant, many-winged angels—a portrait of asceticism as…
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How The Addams Family pinball machine creates endless flow
In The Addams Family, designer Pat Lawlor shaped the ramps so a well-aimed shot sends the ball back to the same flipper. Players can repeat the loop and stay…
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How one snow globe swallowed hundreds of TV shows
The finale of St. Elsewhere revealed that the series was a daydream inside a boy's mind. Because characters crossed over with shows like Cheers, Frasier,…
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An open route can turn RimWorld's defenses into a trap
Some raiders will follow an accessible path toward a target, letting players funnel them through a prepared corridor. The design exploits how those attackers…
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Live-action role-play has an out-of-character check-in
One safety tool lets a player make an OK hand sign to ask whether another participant is comfortable. A thumbs-up, flat hand, or thumbs-down answers without…
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The lost Mean Girls game was finally found
A YouTuber found a prototype cartridge from an anonymous developer and put its ROM online. The unreleased game is full of tedious puzzles.
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Knossos scribes using Linear A tablets to obsessively track olive oil and saffron shipments
Linear A remains undeciphered, but the tablets show palace scribes tracking farm deliveries before redistributing goods. The inventory system is clear even…
Discover moreDaniel Craig secretly played a Stormtrooper
In The Force Awakens, he plays the masked guard whom Rey persuades to release her and leave his weapon behind. The armor hides the face of the actor famous…
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Dajabón's market makes an international border a place to shop
On market days, traders and shoppers cross between Haiti and the Dominican Republic to buy and sell everyday goods. Gates, permissions, and political…
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A Yu-Gi-Oh! ban list can turn a cheap card into a prize
Restrictions on powerful cards reshape which decks can win, creating demand for overlooked alternatives and counters. Players who buy before that shift are…
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Why The Mandalorian’s actors got motion sickness
The Volume's enormous LED walls create a 360-degree background that shifts with the camera. When the virtual scene rotates to reset a shot, the mismatch…
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A sentence about neighbors helped collect unpaid taxes
British trials found that reminding late taxpayers how many others had already paid could improve payment rates. The message used a social norm rather than a…
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The fake Birkin bags that fool experts
Some counterfeiters use Italian leather and factory blueprints to copy Birkins so closely that resale authenticators can be fooled. The better the fake looks,…
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When GPS tells drivers to go straight into the water
A navigation app turns a complicated journey into a simple command, and that can make its instruction feel more trustworthy than the view through the…
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