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
Magnum opus consists of four distinct color stages
Achieving ultimate spiritual perfection is essentially a very aggressive color-by-numbers project. The 'Great Work' of alchemy must proceed exactly through…
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Commuter ferries burn thousands of gallons of diesel
While politicians boast about expanding eco-friendly transit, the massive boats used to drag commuters across harbors are casually guzzling enormous vats of…
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Diaper bags haul immense quantities of baby wipes
Leaving the house with an infant requires more logistical support than a deep-sea expedition. The diaper bag is a massive, overstuffed transit hub that…
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Why a simple answer can turn into a long story
You just asked for a simple answer, but now you are getting the entire origin story of the wristwatch. Circumstantial speech is a tedious, indirect way of…
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Behaving exactly opposite to your actual feelings
If a little boy throws rocks at you, he doesn't like you—he is just violent. But in adult psychology, reaction formation is a defense mechanism where a person…
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Ringworm has no worms—it's a fungus
Whoever named this highly contagious dermal affliction was entirely unconcerned with taxonomic accuracy. The angry, circular red rash is entirely the work of…
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The preserved body that attended university meetings
Leaving a massive financial endowment to a university usually comes with simple strings attached. Bentham, however, strictly mandated that his physical…
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Nanosecond represents exactly one billionth of a second
Humans invented a word for a unit of time so infinitely short that you will literally never be able to experience it. Light itself only travels about one foot…
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Elizabeth I named her heir without speaking
Nothing ensures governmental stability quite like completely refusing to tell anyone who takes over when you die. Elizabeth was so stubbornly opposed to…
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Lollipops keep sticky sugars away from bare hands
Giving a child hard candy is a recipe for sticky, ruined furniture. The stick is a brilliant transit handle that allows you to hold a slowly melting sphere of…
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Printed circuit boards bake copper into rigid plastic
Complex circuit boards are basically multi-layer metallic sandwiches. Manufacturers take thin sheets of fiberglass, bond pure copper foil to them,…
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Why CEO pay can be a prize for everyone else
Hook: The CEO doesn't actually deserve a private jet; it is just a prop. Tournament theory argues that astronomical executive salaries aren't necessarily…
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The artists who make game menus readable
You might not care about the font used for your inventory, but a team of highly stressed artists certainly does. Studios dedicate specific interface experts…
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The president who burned his own papers
Future historians were deeply inconvenienced by Arthur's absolute dedication to privacy. Before leaving office, he casually ordered multiple garbage cans full…
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Tantalum capacitors hold massive charge in tiny spaces
To fit gigantic amounts of electrical storage into paper-thin electronics, manufacturers turn to tantalum. This exceedingly rare metal creates an incredibly…
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How Gerald Ford became president without an election
Ford managed to achieve the ultimate political life hack: reaching the absolute top without anyone ever officially voting him into the executive branch.…
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What if your job disappeared tomorrow
Hook: If your job vanished tomorrow, the world might actually run smoother. The 'bullshit jobs' theory posits that massive chunks of modern corporate…
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Franklin Pierce recited his inauguration from memory
Why read from notes when you can subject an entire crowd to a flawless, deeply concerning display of rote memorization? Pierce didn't use a single piece of…
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Rubedo represents achieving ultimate red perfection
The finish line of spiritual alchemy requires you to glow with an intense, bloody redness. Rubedo represents the final fusion of spirit and matter, completing…
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Believing celebrities are secretly in love with you
Sure, Ryan Gosling is definitely sending you coded messages through his posts. Erotomania is a delusional disorder where a person is absolutely certain that a…
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The wet-towel trick behind movie body impacts
Creating the sickening thud of a body hitting the pavement does not require a stuntman. Sound engineers simply soak large bath towels in water and violently…
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Rolling pins flatten dough for easier kitchen transit
A large lump of pie crust is dense and hard to handle. By systematically crushing it with a heavy wooden cylinder, you transport the dough's mass outward,…
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Spagyric tinctures combine salt sulfur and mercury
According to alchemists, everything in the universe can be broken down into exactly three things, none of which you want to drink. Spagyric medicine involves…
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How Maria Theresa turned her children into alliances
Why negotiate complex treaties when you can just export your offspring? Maria Theresa viewed her sixteen children as highly effective chess pieces, marrying…
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