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
Bowling alleys generate primary revenue from lane rentals
A bowling alley’s biggest earner is often the lane, not the snacks or drinks. Those hourly rentals help pay to keep the mechanical pinsetters running.
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Neuschwanstein was a king's retreat built like a legend
Ludwig II commissioned the Bavarian castle with an idealized medieval world in mind, drawing on stories and theatrical imagery rather than military necessity.…
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Refusing to swallow saliva causes severe dehydration
Some practitioners treat swallowing saliva as gluttony, so they let it drool out instead. The practice can leave the throat parched and the lips cracked.
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Your heart cells beat as one
An electrical signal spreads from heart muscle cell to heart muscle cell through tiny connections called gap junctions. Instead of contracting one by one, the…
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Early pet exposure has been linked with fewer later allergies
In one birth-cohort study, children who lived with two or more dogs or cats in their first year showed less allergic sensitization at ages six to seven. That…
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Corporate mindfulness exists purely to boost output
The criticism is that companies use mindfulness to ease stress just enough for employees to keep working long weeks. In that view, it’s less about…
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Why Joy-Con sticks start moving on their own
The drifting cursor can come from physical wear: pushing the stick repeatedly grinds down the tiny carbon pads inside its sensor.
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Why hotel mirrors make getting ready so hard
Harsh overhead lights cast shadows across your face, making it harder to shave or apply makeup. You may find yourself leaning over the sink to see clearly.
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Corsets could make overeating painful
A tightly laced corset limited how far the torso could expand. After a large meal, the stomach needed room, but the whalebone pressing against the ribs left…
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Why green can make staring less tiring
Green sits near the part of the visible spectrum our daylight vision handles especially well, so it can look clear without the same sense of harshness as some…
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Dunnage secures cargo on flatbed trucks
Dunnage—blocks, straps, or inflatable bags—fills gaps and braces cargo against sliding when the truck turns or brakes. The load gets a snug nest; the road…
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Rage quitting can leave you playing with a bot
A rage-quit can change the match rather than end it: some games fill the empty slot with a bot. The player who storms off stops making decisions, but the game…
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Dark mode shifts interface colors to reduce screen glare
Dark mode replaces bright backgrounds with darker colors, which can make a screen feel less glaring, especially at night.
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A business deduction once came with paws
In a 2005 U.S. Tax Court case involving a used-car business, the IRS did not contest a claimed guard-dog deduction, even while disputing other expenses. The…
Discover moreJohn Travolta donning thirty pounds of latex fat
For Hairspray, he wore a 30-pound fat suit and heavy facial prosthetics. The suit was so hot that he needed a portable air-conditioning unit to keep cool…
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Too many pension choices can cost you employer money
Give employees 50 retirement funds to choose from, and some may choose none. That can mean leaving their employer’s matching money on the table.
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National economic metrics include citizens living abroad
A country’s residents can earn money abroad and still count toward this measure of national output. GDP draws a different border: it counts production inside…
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Older siblings tend to score slightly higher on IQ tests
Large studies have found a small average IQ advantage for earlier-born siblings, around a point or two rather than a dramatic divide. Family attention and…
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Basis points equal exactly one hundredth of a percent
Instead of saying an interest rate moved by 0.01 percentage point, analysts can call it a one-basis-point change. A hundred of those tiny steps add up to one…
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The shuttle needed millions of pounds of push to lift off
Its main engines and two solid boosters together produced about 7.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Much of that push initially went into lifting the…
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One spot makes three rows of Vatican columns disappear
Stand on either marked focal point in St. Peter's Square and Bernini's four-deep colonnade lines up into what looks like a single row. Step sideways and the…
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Wooden pallets can carry invasive insects across borders
An insect larva tucked under pallet bark gets a free ride across a border. That’s why international shipping rules require wood packaging to be treated and…
Discover moreGwyneth Paltrow wore a 25-pound fat suit
For Shallow Hal, Paltrow spent four hours in makeup and wore a 25-pound latex suit. She said wearing it in public made her realize how poorly overweight…
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GameCube's broadband adapter had almost nothing to play
The adapter worked with only a handful of games, including an online role-playing title.
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