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
India canceled most of its cash value overnight
In November 2016, India announced that existing 500- and 1,000-rupee notes would cease to be legal tender. They represented roughly 86% of currency in…
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Yin embodies the entirely receptive dark energetic principle
In yin-yang philosophy, yin is the passive, receptive, cooling counterpart to yang. It isn't considered negative; both forces are needed for balance.
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A witch trial could threaten a family's property as well as a life
Confiscation and the costs of prosecution could strip accused people and their relatives of wealth in parts of early modern Europe. The rules differed by…
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The Pentagon has failed every audit
Auditors couldn’t account for vast portions of the Pentagon’s sprawling finances. The department’s books were so difficult to trace that audits repeatedly…
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Zodiac signs are divided into cardinal fixed and mutable modalities to over-explain how you handle daily stress
Cardinal signs are said to initiate action, fixed signs to resist change, and mutable signs to adapt—a trio of astrological styles for handling pressure.
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National defense protects everyone whether they pay or not
A country cannot neatly defend only the people who paid their share. That makes defense a difficult service to sell person by person: even nonpayers can be…
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Why morning tour guides are relentlessly cheerful
At 8 a.m., guides greet bleary-eyed, jet-lagged groups with booming enthusiasm and calls for crowd participation—even as everyone clutches coffee and longs…
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Essential dignity grades your chart like a report card
It assigns points based on where planets fall in a chart, then uses the total to assess their astrological strength.
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The knife thrower aims for where the person won't be
On a spinning target, the safe gaps move along with the assistant. The act depends on timing as well as aim: a throw has to meet an empty part of the board…
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Britain's early speeding case involved an 8 mph car
In 1896, Walter Arnold drove at about four times the town limit of 2 mph. A police officer pursued him on a bicycle, and Arnold was fined a shilling plus…
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Why finishing a TV series can feel like mourning
By the finale, characters can feel familiar because your mind has spent hours tracking their hopes, habits, and relationships. Then the story stops giving you…
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Medieval chess didn't insist on black and white
A 1283 Book of Games illustration shows red and white squares. Checkered boards and their orientation were not always standardized, either. The essential idea…
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Elizabeth I's flushing toilet still left someone with a dirty job
John Harington described his water-flushing design in 1596 and supplied one to the queen. A cistern could wash waste out of sight, but it went into a pit that…
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The Jenga move that can start an argument
If a piece is stuck, push it fully back into place before trying another. Leaving it halfway out can spark an argument over the jagged tower.
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Kim Jong-il’s luxury train had live chefs
The train carried a kitchen and chefs who prepared meals during the journey, bringing restaurant service onto the rails. Even a private luxury train needs…
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Why international courts can’t enforce their rulings
International courts lack their own police force, so they depend on sovereign states to hand over people they want to prosecute. Without a state's…
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Javier Escuella was a famous Mexican revolutionary
Before joining the outlaw gang, Javier Escuella was a Mexican revolutionary who fled after killing a corrupt military official.
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Exploding Kittens defuse cards prevent instant elimination
Unless you play a Defuse card, drawing an Exploding Kitten ends your game. Some cards use distractions such as a laser pointer or catnip sandwich to get you…
Discover moreEd Sheeran releasing a studio album of pure collaborations
Every track on Ed Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project features a guest artist, turning the album into a series of collaborations.
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USB connections are almost universally backwards compatible
A newer USB drive can often work in an older computer, though data may transfer much more slowly.
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Why a nautical mile equals one minute of latitude
A nautical mile matches one minute of latitude: travel north or south by that slice of the globe, and you’ve covered one nautical mile. Sailors get a distance…
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Gaming team houses reeking of stale energy drinks
Even well-funded teams can have messy shared spaces, with tangled cables, empty takeout boxes, and stacks of empty beverage cans.
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Norwegian fjord ferries act as critical highway extensions
A fjord turns the road into a dead end, so ferries pick up the cars and carry the route across the water. The ferry is basically a floating bridge that also…
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Paul Rudd once auditioned to play Jack in Titanic
Before a role is cast, several actors can seem like plausible versions of the same character. Once a film fixes one face in your memory, hindsight makes that…
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