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
Why silk production starts with boiling cocoons
Boiling loosens the silk’s continuous thread while it is still wound around the cocoon. If the moth chews through the strand first, the thread breaks into…
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Tiger salamanders crawl out of burrows to find mating pools
A temporary pool can be a perfect nursery for tiger salamanders: its still water lets eggs hatch and larvae grow. The adults use it for breeding, then return…
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The world's tallest tree is being kept secret
Park officials keep Hyperion's exact location secret to prevent visitors from trampling the roots of the towering coast redwood.
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A Chameleon's Tongue Can Reach Twice Its Body Length
A chameleon’s tongue launches like a spring-loaded toy, not like a muscle stretching twice its length. The animal stores elastic energy, then releases it to…
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An idol's dating ban became a dispute over the right to a private life
In a 2016 Japanese case, a court rejected an agency's damages claim against a performer who had dated despite a contractual restriction. The business wanted…
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Morning sickness may signal a lower miscarriage risk
The hormone shifts of early pregnancy can bring on nausea, and nausea and vomiting are associated with a lower miscarriage risk. That connection is not a…
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Why some airports keep beehives
Bees visit flowers across a wide area, then bring pollen and nectar back to the hive. Testing those samples gives researchers a living survey of local plants…
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Baggage carousels are built to run either way
Manufacturer Daifuku offers clockwise travel as well as its standard counterclockwise layout. Even the overlapping carousel plates can be reversed to suit the…
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Triceratops horns were longer than fossils suggest
A fossil usually preserves the horn’s bony core, not its full living covering. Triceratops also had a tough keratin sheath—the same material as your…
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Guam's introduced snakes helped erase its forest birds
Brown tree snakes arrived after World War II and preyed on birds that had not evolved with this predator. Native bird populations collapsed across much of the…
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Zambia's Kasanka forest hosts a temporary city of fruit bats
Millions of straw-colored fruit bats gather seasonally as fruit becomes available. They travel out to feed and return to a concentrated roost. The spectacular…
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Forced group chuckling is deemed highly spiritual
Laughter yoga uses deliberate laughter in a group, often until the laughter feels genuine. The practice treats shared laughter as a spiritual exercise.
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Ham the chimpanzee pulled levers in space
Ham learned to pull a lever when a signal light appeared, earning a food reward for the correct response. The test checked whether a trained task still worked…
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The last passenger pigeon died alone in a zoo
Martha, the last passenger pigeon, lived alone in an Ohio zoo until her death in 1914. The species had once formed flocks so vast they darkened the sky.
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Why astigmatism turns lights into starbursts
The cornea—the clear front surface of the eye—may be curved more steeply in one direction than another. That uneven shape bends light differently across the…
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Why your nose works worst in the morning
The nose and brain don’t register smells at exactly the same strength all day; smell sensitivity can shift with the body’s daily rhythms. That can make…
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Seven colored wheels supposedly spin inside you
In chakra traditions, colors are assigned to different energy centers; blue is associated with the throat and communication. A “blocked” throat chakra is one…
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About one person in ten is left-handed
A large 2020 meta-analysis estimated the prevalence at roughly 10.6%, with the result changing according to how handedness was defined. Writing hand,…
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Armstrong left the overshoes that made his Moon footprints behind
The treaded lunar boots went over the boots built into the spacesuit. Apollo 11 left those outer overshoes on the surface along with other equipment to reduce…
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The shortest flight path can look curved on a map
A flat map stretches a spherical world, so the shortest surface route between two places often appears to bend toward a pole. Stretch a string across a globe…
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Your car's color won't raise your insurance
An insurer cares about what a car costs to repair and how powerful it is, along with the driver’s record. A costly bumper can matter; neon-orange paint doesn’t.
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Why second-born babies are often heavier
During a first pregnancy, blood vessels supplying the uterus stretch. Researchers have proposed that this might help nutrients reach later babies, which could…
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A dental implant is basically a screw in your jaw
The metal part is not the tooth you see: it sits in the jaw while bone fuses to its threads. Months later, a porcelain crown is attached on top.
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Tetherball has surprisingly pagan roots
Its roots have been linked to ancient Maypole traditions, though the familiar version became a schoolyard game.
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