The world is more interesting than you think.
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A little more wonder
Citrine allegedly deflects all bad vibrations
Believers say citrine destroys negativity on contact, so it never needs cleansing; this yellow quartz can also look like fossilized urine.
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Mass literacy is an incredibly recent historical anomaly
For much of history, reading was concentrated among elites. As industrial economies needed workers who could read basic instructions, public education…
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GTA: San Andreas hid a joke at the highest bridge
A jetpack ride to the state’s highest bridge reveals a plaque insisting there are no Easter eggs there—a joke that is itself an Easter egg.
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Yahoo stands for a surprisingly pompous phrase
Jerry Yang and David Filo liked “yahoo” as slang for someone rude or uncouth, then turned it into the grand-sounding backronym “Yet Another Hierarchical…
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Uranian methods rely on invisible points
Uranian astrology adds eight theoretical, invisible points to standard interpretations, using them to build complex chart structures.
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Why round manhole covers never fall through
A circle's width stays the same no matter how you turn it, so a properly sized lid can't slip through its opening.
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The android whose first job is cleaning a toilet
In one storyline, android caretaker Kara must follow prompts to pick up trash, wash dishes, and scrub a toilet in her human employer's home.
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Samarium chemically binds with cobalt for industry
A magnet stays strong when its tiny magnetic directions stay lined up. In samarium-cobalt, the crystal structure makes those directions hard to flip, even at…
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Why some Maya stretched their earlobes with jade
Jade earspools displayed status, and some Maya gradually replaced them with larger ones. The jewelry grew more imposing as the earlobes stretched to hold it.
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How World War II made Spades a hit
Invented in the United States in the late 1930s, Spades spread widely when troops carried decks overseas during World War II.
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Enron executives utilized extremely complex mark-to-market accounting tricks to hide billions in corporate debt
The accounting move was to treat hoped-for future income as money earned now. Enron’s books looked healthier, even as executives hid billions in debt.
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Egyptian priests revolutionized early astrology by inventing the deeply confusing concept of a rising sign
They combined Babylonian zodiac signs with the decans, stars rising over the eastern horizon, to create the ascendant.
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Why Black Friday discounts can be misleading
A retailer can raise an item’s listed price before Black Friday, then “slash” it back to the price it usually charged. The discount looks dramatic; the…
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Airport baggage gets a transport network of its own
Conveyors, sorting systems, carts, and loading equipment move bags along routes separate from their passengers. The difficult part isn't just lifting a…
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The king who ate himself to death on lampreys
Henry I’s doctors reportedly warned him off lampreys, but he ate a large serving anyway. He later died of food poisoning; the royal kitchen had served up…
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An airport swab looks for traces too small to see
Explosives-trace detectors analyze material collected from hands, bags, or other surfaces. Some systems separate chemicals by how their ions move, then…
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Why supermarket tomatoes can survive a rough ride
A firm tomato is less likely to split under a harvesting machine or after hours in a truck. Breeding for that toughness helps get tomatoes to the supermarket…
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Awe has turned up in research on inflammation
In two studies, people who reported more awe tended to have lower levels of an inflammatory marker called IL-6. The finding connects an expansive emotional…
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Giant metal cages originally protected the fighters
The mesh kept furious, intoxicated spectators from climbing in to attack the villain when he was winning.
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Why fear and excitement feel almost identical
A pounding heart is an unspecific message: something important is happening. Your mind reads the room to label that surge—thrill on a roller coaster, terror…
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Public libraries deliver immense societal value
A library lends more than books: people can use its internet, join literacy programs and find shelter there. Those services keep serving the community even as…
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A termite queen can produce tens of thousands of eggs in a day
In highly productive species, the queen's enlarged abdomen supports an enormous reproductive output while workers feed and care for her. The Smithsonian…
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The ruble's name may preserve a way of making change
A traditional explanation links “ruble” to a Russian verb meaning to chop or cut: a payment could be a piece of a silver bar. The etymology is debated, but…
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Fourth house governs your mother and dark basements
In astrology, the fourth house also represents ancestry and physical real estate, tying family roots to the home itself.
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