The world is more interesting than you think.
Unexpected facts, big ideas, and little discoveries. Find something that sparks your curiosity today.
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Why game studios pay a cut to use free engines
A game studio can use a major engine for free until its game crosses an earnings threshold. Then the engine provider gets a percentage of the revenue—so the…
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Heartburn has nothing to do with your heart
Stomach acid can wash back into the esophagus when the ring of muscle at its lower end doesn’t close properly. Acid irritates the esophagus, and because that…
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Online breast milk can come with an unwanted ingredient
Researchers who bought breast milk online found that some samples contained added cow's milk; other research found bacterial contamination. A seller's…
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Why you think propaganda works on everyone but you
Propaganda is easier to spot when it targets someone else's fears or loyalties. When a message fits yours, it can feel like common sense instead of influence.…
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Famous Tibetan Book of the Dead was hidden in a cave for centuries as a mystical treasure text waiting to be found
The *Bardo Thodol*, known in the West as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, belongs to a tradition of hidden texts called *terma*. According to that tradition, the…
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Antares emits an intensely fierce red light in the sky
Its deep red glow can look like a drop of blood against the night sky.
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MySpace sold for $580 million—and later just $35 million
News Corp bought MySpace in 2005, when it was at its cultural peak, then sold it in 2011 after users fled to Facebook amid a flood of ads.
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Why a bobsled can cost over $100,000
The shell has to slice through air while its runners grip the ice through curves at racing speed. Building and tuning that combination takes specialized…
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Levitating into tall branches leaves ascetics stranded
Stories of spontaneous levitation describe practitioners getting stranded in high branches, leaving onlookers to fetch tall ladders.
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Sugary drinks cause chemical crashes that slow reaction time
A rapid rise in blood glucose can be followed by insulin release, but that doesn't mean everyone will feel a crash or have slower reflexes.
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Distant burning body associated with complaining
In astrology, this star is associated with self-pity and pessimism, though that’s a symbolic interpretation, not an effect of the star.
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Ultimate weapons demand ninety nine fragments
To assemble the ultimate weapon, you have to collect all 99 glowing shards scattered across the continent.
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Lotteries prey primarily on desperate people hoping to win
A lottery ticket sells a tiny chance at instant wealth, not a likely plan for getting rich. Hopeful players keep paying for the possibility even when the odds…
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Tugboats utilize recycled tires as boat bumpers
Tugboats work close to much larger vessels, so they need a soft buffer between steel hulls. Recycled tires squash under impact, turning a potential…
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Mad Libs makes you write a story before you're allowed to read it
One person supplies nouns, verbs, and adjectives without seeing where they will go in a prepared passage. The grammar still works while the meaning veers into…
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Why cars finally got cup holders
As American drivers increasingly expected to drink on the go, automakers redesigned center consoles to fit the large cups sold by fast-food chains.
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Early helicopters shook pilots like jackhammers
Without vibration-damping hubs, early helicopters shook so violently that test pilots struggled to hold the controls.
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Why Dutch canal houses lean over the street
The narrow facades were built leaning outward so residents could winch heavy furniture up to the windows without smashing it against the brickwork.
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Basic input output systems initialize hardware on boot
It runs a power-on self-test, checking that components such as the memory, processor, and keyboard are present before handing control to the operating system.
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Amazonian canoes are paddled while standing up
Standing gives a paddler a clear view over the water and a long reach for each stroke. The canoe becomes a quiet little observation platform, with the…
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Voice actors often record lines without knowing the story
Studios sometimes give voice actors isolated lines with little context, so an actor may be asked to sound devastated without knowing what the plot twist is.
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Pythagoras wasn't first to use his famous theorem
The right-triangle relationship now called the Pythagorean theorem was known long before Pythagoras lived. Babylonian and Indian mathematicians used it…
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Washing your face in Tuesday rainwater
Some old folklore claims that washing your face with rainwater collected on a Tuesday will make you beautiful, overlooking the pollutants that can fall with…
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Why charging cables fray near the plug
The cord bends most where it meets the rigid plug, concentrating stress at that transition. Repeated bending can split the protective sleeve there.
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