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
Airport slots gave airlines a reason to preserve a timetable.
Airport slots gave airlines a reason to preserve a timetable. At congested airports, failing to use enough allocated slots can cost an airline its future…
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Dubrovnik has had to manage tourists like rush-hour traffic.
Dubrovnik has had to manage tourists like rush-hour traffic. The walled city funnels visitors through a small historic center while cruise ships deliver large…
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Thailand closed a movie-famous beach to let it recover.
Thailand closed a movie-famous beach to let it recover. Maya Bay became an international attraction after The Beach, and heavy tourism put its habitat under…
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New Zealand turned wage disputes into a court's business.
New Zealand turned wage disputes into a court's business. Its 1894 arbitration law created a system for settling industrial disputes and setting employment…
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Barcelona locals have started a major protest movement against mass tourism, culminating in residents aggressively squirting water guns at visitors trying to enjoy their tapas on outdoor restaurant patios.
Barcelona locals have started a major protest movement against mass tourism, culminating in residents aggressively squirting water guns at visitors trying to…
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Alan Rickman's Die Hard fall began before the count he expected.
Alan Rickman's Die Hard fall began before the count he expected. For Hans Gruber's plunge, Rickman performed a controlled drop onto an airbag. Stunt…
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Your pupils can widen while you work out a hard answer.
Your pupils can widen while you work out a hard answer. Mental effort can produce small pupil changes even when the lighting stays the same. Researchers…
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A Japanese town blocked one famous view of Mount Fuji.
A Japanese town blocked one famous view of Mount Fuji. In 2024, Fujikawaguchiko erected a screen at a spot where tourists photographed Fuji above a Lawson…
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A Roman soldier's retirement could bring a major cash payout.
A Roman soldier's retirement could bring a major cash payout. Citizen soldiers completing service could receive a sum worth years of wages. The British Museum…
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Gion's private alleys became a boundary against tourist harassment.
Gion's private alleys became a boundary against tourist harassment. In 2024, residents moved to restrict tourists from private lanes in Kyoto's Gion district…
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A plant can respond to the vibrations of being chewed.
A plant can respond to the vibrations of being chewed. Researchers played caterpillar-feeding vibrations to Arabidopsis plants and found changes in their…
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A fictional PlayStation executive became a real contract dispute.
A fictional PlayStation executive became a real contract dispute. Jerry Lambert was closely associated with Sony's Kevin Butler commercials when he appeared…
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Sperm whales can share an ocean while belonging to different vocal clans.
Sperm whales can share an ocean while belonging to different vocal clans. Their social calls, called codas, are patterned sequences of clicks. Researchers…
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Pixar strictly forces its animators to hide the alphanumeric code A113 in nearly every single movie they produce as an elaborate inside joke.
Pixar strictly forces its animators to hide the alphanumeric code A113 in nearly every single movie they produce as an elaborate inside joke. It refers to a…
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Saint Augustine of Hippo famously destroyed the logic of astrology back in the fifth century by simply pointing out the completely different fates of a wealthy nobleman and a…
Saint Augustine of Hippo famously destroyed the logic of astrology back in the fifth century by simply pointing out the completely different fates of a…
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The ocean has salty lakes with living shorelines.
The ocean has salty lakes with living shorelines. Some seafloor depressions hold brine dense enough to remain distinct from the seawater above. In a Gulf of…
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United States currency is not actually made out of paper at all, but rather a durable fabric blend consisting of seventy-five percent cotton and twenty-five percent linen.
United States currency is not actually made out of paper at all, but rather a durable fabric blend consisting of seventy-five percent cotton and twenty-five…
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The Sixth Sense helped turn a difficult Bruce Willis deal into a success.
The Sixth Sense helped turn a difficult Bruce Willis deal into a success. After the collapse of Broadway Brawler, Willis agreed to a package of films for…
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An ocean-trash campaign invented passports and its own money.
An ocean-trash campaign invented passports and its own money. The 2017 Trash Isles campaign imagined plastic pollution as a country to make the problem harder…
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Tom Cruise broke his ankle and still finished the shot.
Tom Cruise broke his ankle and still finished the shot. During a rooftop jump for Mission: Impossible—Fallout, his foot struck the side of the building. He…
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McDonald's tested an AI order taker, then ended the IBM trial.
McDonald's tested an AI order taker, then ended the IBM trial. In 2024, McDonald's confirmed it was ending its drive-thru automated-ordering test with IBM…
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Fallout's Vault Boy borrowed his cheerful look from Monopoly cards.
Fallout's Vault Boy borrowed his cheerful look from Monopoly cards. Art director Leonard Boyarsky described the mascot and his illustrated situations as an…
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This blue planet gets its color from a very unfriendly sky.
This blue planet gets its color from a very unfriendly sky. HD 189733 b looks blue, but it is a hot gas giant, not another Earth. NASA describes an atmosphere…
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Alexander named a city after his horse.
Alexander named a city after his horse. Ancient accounts say Alexander founded Bucephala after the death of Bucephalus, his famous mount, during the Indian…
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