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
The queen who kept her dead husband nearby
Grief affects everyone differently, but Joanna's method was profoundly unsettling. She kept her husband's deceased body in a casket near her at all times,…
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Gallium arsenide moves electrons faster than silicon
Silicon gets all the fame, but gallium arsenide actually lets electrons zip through it significantly faster, making it perfect for hyper-fast radio frequency…
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Central Park is the world's most filmed location
If a rom-com exists and a couple doesn't awkwardly bump into each other on a leafy New York path, did the movie even happen? Central Park is officially the…
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Why Elon Musk sent a Tesla into space
Because nothing screams 'billionaire flex' quite like littering in the solar system. In 2018, SpaceX needed a dummy payload for the Falcon Heavy test flight,…
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Why Alaska is both the easternmost and westernmost state
Alaska looked at the compass and decided that merely being the furthest north and west simply wasn't greedy enough. Alaska is obviously the westernmost state…
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The currency that survived its dictator
Sometimes a piece of paper is so stubborn it outlives the dictator who commissioned it. After the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein printed new, cheap money and…
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Diablo almost became a turn-based RPG
Imagine if the ultimate action-clicker RPG played like an aggressive game of chess. David Brevik originally designed Diablo as a methodical, turn-based…
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India's hidden gold reserve is in women's jewelry boxes
Forget Fort Knox; the real global gold reserve is sitting in the jewelry boxes of South Asian aunties. Due to historic mistrust of banks and cultural…
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Birch trees droop while you sleep
It seems humans aren't the only ones completely exhausted by the simple act of existing all day. Scientists using laser scanners discovered that trees have…
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Some N64 games needed a red RAM upgrade
Selling a console that literally cannot run its best titles without a mandatory upgrade is a bold corporate strategy. Certain demanding cartridges required…
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Sega CD attachment sat awkwardly underneath the main console
When your base hardware is already struggling, the best solution is clearly to bolt an enormous disc tray underneath it. This bulky peripheral required its…
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The feud over the world's blackest and pinkest colors
When a company invented Vantablack, the blackest material known to humanity, they aggressively sold the exclusive artistic rights to exactly one artist: Anish…
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One novelist helped create the myth that Earth was flat
Everyone believes that medieval people thought the earth was flat, and you can blame one fiction writer for it. In 1828, Washington Irving wrote a heavily…
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PlayStation 3 Super Slim possessed a flimsy sliding cover
As consoles age, manufacturers desperately seek ways to construct them using the absolute cheapest materials possible. The final iteration of this massive…
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Moby-Dick was a flop during Melville’s lifetime
You can pour your absolute soul into a towering masterwork about human obsession, and the public will still yawn. When 'Moby-Dick' was published in 1851,…
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Numerology links master number 22 to people who build huge movements
This elevated digit is allegedly responsible for people who cannot just have a hobby and must instead build global movements. It is a very exhausting…
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Electronic monitors replaced railroad cabooses for checking brake failures
Railroads used to attach a special end-cab just for staff to watch for brake failures. Now they just slap a blinking red box on the last coupler, saving money…
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Standardized hotel check-out demands early exits
Despite paying for a full day of accommodation, the brutal morning cut-off ensures you only get twenty hours of shelter. This aggressive eviction schedule is…
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Why presidential trains need armor
When heads of state decide to traverse the rails, they do not just book a window seat. Their custom locomotives are outfitted with bulletproof glass and steel…
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What keeps your washing machine from becoming a shock trap
The only thing stopping your washing machine from becoming a lethal shock trap is a metal stick hammered into the yard. Grounding systems provide a safe path…
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The GameCube had a hidden online adapter slot
Hidden underneath the purple plastic box was a mysterious expansion bay waiting for an attachment that was effectively useless. A broadband adapter could be…
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In numerology, the number eight is associated with wealth and ambition
For a mystical discipline, it is hilarious that one of its core digits is entirely dedicated to becoming incredibly wealthy. It is the capitalist dream…
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Sanitation trucks hydraulically crush their loads
Because rubbish consumes entirely too much room, these smelly behemoths possess a giant metal compactor. It relentlessly squishes tons of garbage into a…
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A plug adapter won't convert electricity
Buying a simple plastic plug adapter ensures your device fits into the wall, but it does absolutely nothing to regulate the electricity. Plugging a North…
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