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
Babylonian astrologers originally represented the zodiac sign of Cancer with a giant water beetle instead of a crab
The beetle was scarab-like; the Greeks later replaced it with the more familiar crab.
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Ziplines exist purely for downward sliding
The cable’s downward angle gives gravity a forward pull, while the trolley rolls along instead of scraping. No motor needs to chase you: the planet supplies…
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Your marble countertop began as limestone
Underground heat and pressure make limestone’s calcite crystals rearrange and grow into larger crystals that interlock. As they grow, they can wipe away the…
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Nintendo Wii internal storage holds extremely few downloads
With only 512 MB of internal storage, the Wii could hold just a few downloaded games at once, so players often had to move files to external storage to make…
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A toy gun can still get you detained at airport security
A realistic toy gun still has the shape of a real weapon on an X-ray or in a crowded checkpoint. Security has to treat the outline as a threat until it’s…
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Baccarat deals exclusively with single digit point values
If the cards total 15, baccarat counts it as 5: you drop the tens digit and keep only the ones digit.
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KISS promoted a comic with their own blood in the ink
For the band's 1977 Marvel comic, blood drawn from its members was added to red printing ink in a photographed publicity event. The comic sold a superhero…
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Tetris is named after four and tennis
The name combines “tetra,” for the game’s four-block shapes, with “tennis,” the creator’s favorite sport.
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Group bargaining stalls until someone acts first
Everyone waits for someone else to name a price. Then the first offer lands, and it can anchor what the group considers reasonable for the rest of the…
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Cartesian coordinates map endless worlds
A game does not need a separate picture for every possible place a character can go. It gives the character coordinates—numbers for position along three…
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Hydrogen peroxide naturally decays into water and oxygen
Hydrogen peroxide slowly breaks apart into water and oxygen, and light, heat, or tiny contaminants can speed the process. That’s why it often comes in an…
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Building houses facing east pleases the gods
In some traditions, aligning a home's doors and windows with specific directions is believed to invite prosperity and keep bad luck away.
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Why wearing red can make you seem more attractive
Red can change how a person is perceived before they say a word. Some studies have found that men rate women in red as more attractive, in part because the…
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Pool halls got their name from gambling pools
The name comes from betting pools: early billiard rooms were associated with group wagering, not just the game.
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Why self-deprecation can hurt your dating chances
Calling yourself boring or unattractive on a date can sound like a joke, but it also hands the other person a job: contradict you, reassure you, or agree.…
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Potala Palace contains thousands of painted scrolls
The thousands of intricate painted scrolls are housed in a sprawling, multistory complex high on a mountain.
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Why broken games get the same apology graphic
After a troubled launch, studios may post somber, black-background text graphics on social media asking players for patience.
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Why printing money doesn't always cause inflation
New money can sit in bank reserves instead of being spent in shops. If it doesn’t circulate through everyday purchases, it may not push up the prices shoppers…
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An injured knee helped turn a kicking game into Hacky Sack
John Stalberger met Mike Marshall in Oregon in 1972 while recovering from a knee injury. Keeping a small bag in the air became both exercise and an absorbing…
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Pie crusts were once just medieval Tupperware
Some medieval meat pies used thick pastry shells as cooking vessels and storage containers rather than as the part diners were meant to enjoy. The crust held…
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Why an old rotary phone can still work today
Its dial sends electrical pulses that many telephone switches can still recognize—but only if you can connect it to a working copper phone line.
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Extreme bird watchers spend heavily on high end optics
For some bird watchers, the expensive part isn’t the bird. It’s the binoculars, telephoto lens and waterproof equipment needed to spot distant or rare ones…
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Xbox 360 external power brick is absurdly massive
The external adapter was a separate, heavy block of circuitry that took up space behind the entertainment center.
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Pilgrims were once simply strangers abroad
The old root of “pilgrim,” peregrinus, meant a foreigner or traveler; the word later narrowed to someone journeying to a holy place. Leave home and cross…
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