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
When bacon became a Wall Street commodity
In 1961, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange turned pork bellies into futures contracts. Meatpackers used them to hedge against price swings, while the contracts…
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Spyro the Dragon headbutts chests for shiny rare gems
Instead of picking a lock, Spyro smashes the metal chests with his head to get the gems inside.
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Licensing chips block third party titles
The console checked a proprietary chip in each cartridge; without a successful handshake, the game wouldn't run.
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Lacking a modality completely breaks your workflow
In astrology, a chart with no cardinal energy is said to lack initiative, no fixed energy to lack persistence, and no mutable energy to lack adaptability.
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Staring at the empty air around your room
Some spiritual seekers focus on the empty space between solid objects, believing it holds a subtle energy that is usually overlooked. To everyone else in the…
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Your soft palate helps keep drinks out of your nose
As you swallow, the soft palate lifts at the back of your mouth, and the uvula moves with it to help seal the opening to your nose. That closes the upward…
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A perpetual-motion patent can prompt a request for a working model
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office normally judges an invention from its written description and drawings. For a claimed perpetual-motion machine, however,…
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In movies, one cough can be a death sentence
In movies, a character's cough can signal that they're doomed, especially if they cough into a pristine white handkerchief. The trope often leads to a…
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An ambulance can need a specialist recovery truck
An ambulance carries equipment and a patient compartment that can make it heavier and more complicated to recover than an ordinary car. The rescue vehicle…
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Rare was once called Ultimate Play the Game
The Stamper brothers founded the company in the 1980s and made games for the ZX Spectrum before moving on to Nintendo. They shortened the unwieldy name to Rare.
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Chocks prevent parked vehicles from rolling
The wheel meets the chock before it gets a chance to roll away. Its wedge shape turns the vehicle’s forward push into pressure against the ground, holding it…
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Static charges strictly require insulating materials to build
Insulators hold static charge because it can’t move away easily. A conductor can hold charge too, as long as it’s isolated; connect it to the ground and the…
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A tire thump cannot tell a trucker the pressure
A strike can reveal an obviously flat tire, but sound is not an accurate pressure reading. Truck tires need a gauge check while cold, because heat changes the…
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Repeat a word enough and it can stop feeling like a word
In semantic satiation, repetition briefly weakens the familiar connection between a word and its meaning. You can still see or pronounce it while wondering…
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Taskmaster's challenges are tested in a garage
Before a challenge reaches the comedians, the show's creator often tries it at home to check whether it's possible and gauge how miserable it will be.
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A foam dart hides its flight control in the nose
The tip puts more mass toward the front than the light foam body. Air resistance then helps the trailing body line up behind it, keeping the dart flying…
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Backseat gaming creates intense household tension
The backseat player may think they’re helping, but constant instructions can make the person holding the controller feel criticized. A game session can…
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London briefly ran a cable-pulled railway beneath the Thames
The Tower Subway opened in 1870 with a small carriage pulled through a narrow tunnel by cable. Keeping the power source outside avoided putting a steam…
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Alebrijes gave an artist's dream creatures a body
Pedro Linares's family recounts that a fever dream filled with impossible animals inspired the colorful creatures he made from paper and paste. Combining…
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Marine iguanas slow their hearts to stay underwater
A marine iguana dives to graze on algae while holding its breath. Slowing its heart helps conserve the oxygen it brought down from the surface. After feeding…
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Why a wrist rest may make your desk less comfortable
A wrist rest can absorb arm sweat, then flatten into a hard surface that offers little cushioning.
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You have more than five senses
Your brain gets position updates from sensors in muscles and joints, so you can touch your nose with your eyes closed; that sense is proprioception. Pain and…
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Middle Eastern coffee is brewed directly with grounds
The fine grounds settle at the bottom, leaving the last sip thick and gritty. It’s best to stop before you reach the sludge.
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Why early gas stoves scared people
Early gas burners could be hard to see in bright kitchens, leaving people worried that an invisible flame might set their sleeves alight.
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