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
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai spent all night decorating the divine feminine for a cosmic wedding
Pulling an all-nighter usually involves cramming for exams, but classical Kabbalists did it to accessorize a deity. In the esoteric text of the Zohar, Rabbi…
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Traversing swaying suspended rope bridges above the massive Danum Valley rainforest canopy
Staring straight down a 130-foot drop through the wooden planks of a violently swaying suspension bridge is undoubtedly the quickest way to cure your fear of…
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Evangelion's iconic opening was made at the last minute
'A Cruel Angel's Thesis' is arguably the most recognizable anime anthem in history, but its creation was a masterclass in procrastination. Director Hideaki…
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Meteorites contain dust older than the Sun
Our solar system is a relatively young whippersnapper compared to the ancient dust trapped inside meteorites. When the Murchison meteorite slammed into…
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The fictional band that beat real metal legends on Billboard
It turns out the most successful death metal band of the 2000s didn't even exist in three dimensions. Brendon Small's fictional animated band Dethklok,…
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Wake up to Mount Fuji from Japan’s overnight train
Sleeping on a train usually involves terrible neck cramps and questionable hygiene, unless you manage to book a carpeted floor space on Japan's last regularly…
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The lab where you can run experiments from a laptop
Instead of forcing scientists to manually pipette toxic chemicals in a basement, Emerald Cloud Lab turned biological research into a remote API. They…
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The magnetic liquid that forms spikes in space
When NASA engineers realized that liquid rocket fuel tends to float uselessly around tanks in zero gravity, they invented a liquid infused with nanoscale iron…
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When a chess match became a Cold War spy thriller
Forget nuclear submarines and espionage; the most intense battle of the Cold War was fought with carved wooden horses and sheer, unadulterated paranoia. The…
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Why red tattoos can cause problems years later
Decorating your temple sounds poetic until your immune system decides your new medical alert tattoo is a hostile invader. Red ink is notoriously rebellious,…
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The Office waited nine years to explain its camera crew
The shaky-cam mockumentary style revolutionized modern comedy, but it created a massive logical black hole. For nine years, a mysterious crew supposedly…
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How Delhi is replacing noisy auto rickshaws with electric ones
The chaotic symphony of sputtering two-stroke engines in India's capital is being abruptly silenced by government mandate. Through aggressive electrification…
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Why Strava can make your best run feel inadequate
Fitness tracking apps are heavily designed to motivate you, but they routinely hijack a primal instinct that makes you completely miserable. By constantly…
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How a bacterial toxin can read your DNA
Biologists looked at a deadly bacterial weapon designed to punch microscopic holes in human cell membranes and thought, 'We can totally use this.' By…
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The hotel made of ice that melts every spring
Paying a premium to freeze your tail off on a solid block of ice is the ultimate flex of winter luxury. Every year, the iconic ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi is…
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The fake Mortal Kombat secrets that ate kids' quarters
Ed Boon and John Tobias weren't just pioneers of digitized violence; they were masters of playground psychological warfare. When the original Mortal Kombat…
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Cosmic rays can see inside a volcano
Forget risking a grad student's life inside an active caldera. Physicists instead rely on the cosmic detritus of exploding stars. High-energy muons constantly…
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Venice kept records of its poisonings
Assassination is generally considered a shady, back-alley business, unless you were the Venetian government, in which case it required a formal committee vote…
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Your iPhone can map a room with invisible lasers
Your smartphone camera is secretly acting like a heavily miniaturized autonomous car. The solid-state LiDAR array crammed into the back of an iPhone fires…
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The Star Wars prequel edit Topher Grace made for fun
While most actors spend their downtime between gigs reading scripts or lounging in Malibu, the star of 'That 70s Show' took out his frustrations on George…
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Why telenovelas can rewrite a plot overnight
The aggressive dramatic zooms and slapped faces of Latin American soap operas aren't just a stylistic choice; they are an agile development process. Unlike…
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How lightning can create glowing balls
For centuries, people who claimed they saw glowing orbs floating through their living rooms were politely told they were insane. Turns out, they were…
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How Facebook changed users' moods with a feed tweak
Misery really does love company, especially on the internet. In a highly controversial 2014 study, Facebook intentionally altered the feeds of nearly 700,000…
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Why some delivery rooms are being redesigned for trauma survivors
For survivors of sexual trauma, the clinical exposure of childbirth can trigger catastrophic psychological flashbacks. Standard obstetric protocols—bright…
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