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
Five Nights at Freddy's doors drain your battery
Closing a door uses power, forcing you to choose between immediate protection and saving enough electricity to keep the room from going dark.
Discover more
Asteya ensures nobody steals anything
Asteya, the principle of non-stealing, also means not taking another person’s credit or joy—not just avoiding theft.
Discover more
The Acid That Eats Through Glass
Glass is mostly silicon dioxide, and hydrofluoric acid can react with it in a way most acids cannot. The reaction etches or dissolves the glass, so the acid…
Discover more
Why You Remember Where a Fact Was on the Page
Your memory sometimes saves the scenery around an idea: its position on the page, the nearby heading, even the shape of the paragraph. When the fact slips…
Discover more
Why Experts Reject Ideas That Challenge Them
A surprising claim does not arrive on an empty desk. Experts already have a detailed map of how their field works, and an idea that clashes with it demands…
Discover more
Mount Kilimanjaro features three distinct volcanic peaks
Kilimanjaro is built from three volcanic peaks: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Kibo, the central cone, has no recorded eruption, but scientists cannot rule out…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Japanese executives claim to be the supreme creator
Ryuho Okawa founded a Japanese faith after claiming he could channel historical figures and extraterrestrials.
Discover more
Why a Liability Waiver Can't Excuse Gross Negligence
A waiver may not shield a business from gross negligence: courts can reject blanket terms that try to excuse it.
Discover more
Why Great Danes and Pugs Are Genetically So Similar
Genes don’t all turn the body’s growth dial by the same amount. A few differences in growth-regulating genes can have a big effect on adult size, and an IGF1…
Discover more
Wile E. Coyote's real enemy was in the rulebook
Chuck Jones wrote that gravity should be the Coyote's greatest enemy whenever possible, and that tools and weapons should come from ACME. Falling anvils fit…
Discover more
Why the Legend of a Female Pope Persisted
A woman on the papal throne would have challenged a church that reserved authority for men, giving the tale a lasting edge. Later versions gave it a prop: a…
Discover more
A Renaissance composer hid a patron's name in a melody
Josquin des Prez built a musical subject from the vowels in the Latin title Hercules Dux Ferrariae, matching them to note syllables. The resulting mass…
Discover more
Tarballs are literally just glued-together files
Unlike a ZIP archive, a tarball bundles files end to end without compressing them, so it doesn't necessarily reduce their size.
Discover more
At Festivals, Even Toilets Become a Luxury
Inside a three-day festival, leaving the gates may not be a practical option when you need a toilet. That can make people willing to pay extra for a portable…
Discover more
Christian Bale lost 60 pounds for The Machinist
He reached about 120 pounds to play an insomniac factory worker, then regained the weight a few months later for Batman.
Discover more
The pope who endorsed cocaine-infused wine
Vin Mariani mixed Bordeaux wine with coca leaves, and Pope Leo XIII appeared in its ads and awarded its creator a Vatican gold medal. The tonic got an…
Discover more
Lingo uses an electronic hopper instead of real balls
Modern versions use an electronic hopper and computerized randomization rather than physical balls, which earlier versions used.
Discover more
How Leopards Haul Heavy Prey Into Trees
A leopard uses powerful shoulders and forelegs to haul prey up a tree, gripping the bark with its claws. Once the meal is off the ground, scavengers such as…
Discover more
In Ark, raw meat can fill your stomach while hurting you
The survival game's food rules distinguish hunger from health. Eating raw meat provides a small amount of food but also costs health, while activity and…
Discover more
Liquid on the photo page destroys a passport completely
A spill on the photo page can smudge identifying details or damage the chip, making the passport difficult to use at checkpoints.
Discover more
A Massachusetts region launched money meant to stay close to home
BerkShares began circulating in the Berkshires in 2006, building on earlier local-currency experiments. Participating businesses accept the notes, giving…
Discover more
Summer solstice babies get stereotyped
The stereotype casts people born on the year’s longest day as energetic simply because of their birth date; the association is arbitrary.
Discover more
Candy Crush put a price on continuing right now
The match-three game lets players run out of lives and wait for them to return, while offering paid ways to keep going or obtain help. That makes time and…
Discover more
Flood insurance relies entirely on massive asymmetric info
People who expect a flood are more likely to buy coverage, so insurers may attract a pool with unusually high risk. They account for that imbalance when…
Discover more