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
Goldman Sachs once asked whether cures are good business
The mask of pharmaceutical altruism slipped beautifully in a 2018 Goldman Sachs biotech research report. Financial analysts openly pondered whether providing…
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The boring train ride that inspired the Game Boy
Inspiration strikes in the most mundane places. Nintendo engineer Gunpei Yokoi was riding the bullet train when he spotted an adult businessman furiously…
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When first-class flights had piano bars
Before airlines decided to monetize every square inch of legroom, air travel was aggressively glamorous. In the early 70s, Boeing 747s literally housed a…
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Passports once accepted photos with dogs and sun hats
Before biometrics and facial recognition ruined all the fun, government documentation was surprisingly laid back. When passports first mandated photos around…
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The supercomputer that beat Jeopardy!’s champions
Some companies build AI to cure diseases; IBM built one to absolutely destroy Ken Jennings. In 2011, their multi-million dollar supercomputer, Watson, was…
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The sitcom character who hijacked his own show
It only took one episode for a profoundly irritating neighbor with high-water pants to completely hijack an entire family sitcom. Family Matters was…
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Medieval mystics genuinely believed rock crystals were pieces of regular ice that froze so hard they petrified
Before they were sold at premium markups to realign your chakras, crystals had a much dumber backstory. Ancient and medieval naturalists, including Pliny the…
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PayPal was once called one of 1999’s worst ideas
Venture capitalists are frequently, hilariously wrong. Back in 1999, the concept of emailing money to strangers on the internet seemed so absurdly dangerous…
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Why the Maya treated turkeys as sacred
While modern humans associate turkeys with being aggressively stuffed and deep-fried on Thursdays, the Maya viewed them as untouchable holy relics. Long…
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Surrealist artists adopted the spiritualist technique of automatic writing just to tap into their subconscious
Why let ghosts have all the fun when your own brain is chaotic enough? In the 1920s, Andre Breton and the Surrealists realized that mediums using 'automatic…
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Escalators move more people than planes, trains, and buses
The ultimate lazy commute is also the undisputed king of public transit. With over 35,000 escalators quietly whirring away in the US alone, they transport…
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Men are more prone to prolonged hiccups
Finally, a gender gap no one is fighting to close. For reasons that still slightly baffle the medical community, men are notoriously more susceptible to…
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Julius Caesar supposedly judged the character of his men by closely inspecting the wrinkles on their palms
If you thought modern HR departments were rough, try having your career prospects ruined by your hand wrinkles. Palmistry, or chiromancy, was taken incredibly…
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White paint remains the most popular color for new vehicles globally because it hides dirt well and reflects sunlight
We possess access to a nearly infinite spectrum of vibrant, metallic, and beautiful colors, yet society collectively chooses the automotive equivalent of a…
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The Sega game with a talking fish that could bleed
Welcome to 1999, where Sega looked at the gaming market and thought, 'You know what kids want? A fish with a human face that insults them.' The game was…
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Why lottery winners often lose their fortunes
Winning the lottery is just a really fast track to ruining your life with extra steps. Despite securing millions in instant cash, studies estimate that up to…
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NVMe solid-state drives send data directly through a computer's PCIe lanes
Old hard drives had to wait in line to talk to the processor. NVMe solid-state storage demands VIP treatment, hooking directly into the PCIe lanes to blast…
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How a quick tap can swing open a heavy door
Solid oak doors apparently possess zero weight. Sprinting at top speed while lightly tapping an entryway causes the massive barrier to violently swing open…
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Smart thermostats send tiny sensor updates through a lightweight messaging protocol
Your smart thermostat does not send huge reports. It uses MQTT, an incredibly lightweight protocol that just blindly shouts tiny updates into a central…
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Frequency modulation transports audio by squishing waves
Unlike old AM radio that changed the height of waves, FM keeps the volume identical but violently compresses and stretches the invisible carrier wave. Your…
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Mini travel irons burn clothes inefficiently
Shrinking a heating element to the size of a computer mouse ruins its only purpose. Travel irons lack the required weight and steam capacity to actually press…
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Sponsored creators hide required disclosure hashtags at the bottom of long captions
That casual endorsement of a skin cream was an aggressive corporate transaction. Because the law forces creators to disclose when they are being bribed to…
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Why anyone can fake an email's From address
The system running your inbox is incredibly gullible. Standard SMTP allows anyone to type whatever email address they want in the 'From' field, which is…
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Why dropping a monocle signaled shock
The single eyepiece wasn't securely attached. It was held purely by facial tension, meaning any time a 19th-century gentleman was mildly surprised, his face…
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