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
How My Hero Academia makes punches feel heavier
Brief black-and-white impact frames interrupt the animation at the moment of collision, making a punch feel heavier without 3D physics.
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Adani Group faced massive backlash over misusing green bonds for heavily polluting coal projects
The green label was supposed to help fund cleaner activity, but largely self-reported standards can leave room for companies to raise cheaper debt and use it…
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GTA Online punishes trolls with a dunce cap
Players who repeatedly destroy others’ personal vehicles can be branded Bad Sports and sent to lobbies with other griefers, where they wear a white dunce cap.
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In DDR freestyle, the footwork is only half the battle
In freestyle play, judges score more than arrow accuracy: players add gymnastics, breakdancing, and costumes to turn a rhythm chart into a performance.
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Betty's office humiliation became a worldwide TV template
Colombia's Yo soy Betty, la fea inspired versions including Ugly Betty in the United States and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin in India. Each adaptation relocated the…
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You can walk around one marker and enter three countries
At Vaalserberg, Germany, Belgium, and the European Netherlands meet at a tripoint. The marker puts three national territories within a few steps. It is a…
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Iceland's Katla volcano reshapes the glacier covering it
Geothermal heat melts ice from below, creating depressions called ice cauldrons on the surface. Meltwater carries evidence of the hidden activity into…
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Why some memories play like a movie from outside
When you remember an event, you don’t simply replay a recording from behind your own eyes. Your mind reconstructs the scene, and it can choose an outside…
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Hermes Trismegistus mapped a post-mortem prison break through seven demonic planetary tollhouses
The Corpus Hermeticum describes the soul ascending through seven planetary spheres after death, shedding negative influences associated with each one. Only…
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Why warmth can make strangers seem more trustworthy
A warm mug can change more than your hands. Physical warmth is closely linked in the mind with social warmth, so holding something warm can nudge a stranger’s…
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A large trial tested whether blood-pressure pills needed a bedtime
The TIME study followed more than 21,000 people assigned to morning or evening dosing and found no significant difference in major cardiovascular outcomes. An…
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How the Fed's bond sales can raise mortgage costs
Mortgage rates can feel the Fed’s absence as well as its purchases. When it stops buying mortgage-backed securities—or sells them—buyers have to absorb more…
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Berlin turned an airport's runways into public space
After Tempelhof closed, the airfield opened as Tempelhofer Feld in 2010. People could cycle, skate, fly kites, and picnic on land formerly organized around…
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Your pancreas can become fatty too
The pancreas is not immune to fat storage: fat can build up within the organ and may affect its insulin-producing beta cells. Because insulin helps control…
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Why Big Bird was designed to look harmless
Big Bird’s oversized head tilts down, and his loose limbs and waddling walk make him seem clumsy rather than threatening. Jim Henson and Kermit Love designed…
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An LCD screen can go dark where its molecules lose alignment
Liquid crystals control how light passes through the screen by lining up in particular ways. A defect in that alignment can disrupt the light and create a…
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How scientists scan Earth's core without digging
IceCube does not peer through Earth like a giant flashlight. It counts neutrinos arriving from different directions: those that pass through the denser core…
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When acne-like inflammation forms tunnels under the skin
When hair follicles become blocked and inflamed, the problem can extend beneath the surface instead of staying like a spot on top of the skin. In hidradenitis…
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How sweat can turn metal tools into a rash hazard
Sweat can dissolve tiny amounts of nickel from a tool and carry the metal ions into the skin. In someone sensitive to nickel, that contact can trigger an…
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Why checking again can make you trust your memory less
Checking again can turn attention from the memory itself to the question of whether you can trust it. Each replay highlights the possibility of having missed…
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A Himalayan monastery grows out of a cave mouth
Phuktal's buildings cluster on a cliff above the Tsarap River in Zanskar, with a natural cave at the center of the complex. The final approach is on foot.…
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These microscopic algae build armor from glass
A diatom takes silica from seawater and builds a hard, detailed shell around its single cell. The shell comes in two overlapping pieces, like a box whose lid…
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An immune reaction can make food get stuck on the way down
Eosinophilic esophagitis brings inflammatory cells into the lining of the esophagus. Over time, swelling and scarring can narrow the passage, so swallowing…
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Roman soldiers got citizenship on bronze diplomas
Rome made citizenship a reward for 25 years of auxiliary service. Veterans received two inscribed bronze tablets wired together, extending citizenship to…
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