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 Little Mermaid statue is a vandalism magnet
Copenhagen’s bronze Little Mermaid has been blown up, painted, and beheaded multiple times, requiring repeated repairs.
Discover more
Why roller coasters roar so loudly
Hollow steel tracks act like giant sound boxes: as trains roll over them, the vibrations echo through the tubes and create that bone-rattling roar.
Discover more
The Chihuahua's story reaches back to older Mexican dogs
The breed is associated with the small Techichi kept in pre-Hispanic Mexico, although its ancestry is not a complete paper trail. The modern breed later…
Discover more
An imagined lift is easier than the real one
Before trying an unfamiliar weight, you have to estimate your ability from incomplete clues: past lifts, the object's size, and how strong you feel. The…
Discover more
Why touching a product makes it feel like yours
A product behind glass is easy to treat as somebody else’s. Once you hold it, your mind can start simulating what it would be like to use and own it. That…
Discover more
Brussels has a wardrobe for a tiny bronze boy
Manneken Pis is dressed for occasions in specially made costumes, and the city's GardeRobe MannekenPis museum displays selections from the collection. The…
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.
A lemon has an orange in its family tree
Genome research identifies lemons as hybrids of citron and sour orange. Sour orange itself has mandarin and pomelo ancestry, making the familiar yellow fruit…
Discover more
Vacuum cleaners devour dirt by generating negative pressure
A motor-driven fan pushes air out the back, drawing surrounding air—and dust, hair, and crumbs—into the nozzle to replace it.
Discover more
Family Feud surveys poll exactly one hundred individuals
A polling company calls 100 people and asks them questions, so the “top answer” can reflect the quirks of a very small sample.
Discover more
Basketball rims sit exactly ten feet above the floor
James Naismith hung peach baskets from the running track in a Massachusetts gym in 1891, and the track happened to be 10 feet above the floor. That accidental…
Discover more
The Mona Lisa gets love letters
Admirers have sent the Louvre letters addressed to the woman in the painting, including declarations of love. Her smile has prompted people to write as if she…
Discover more
Madame Tussaud made revolutionary death part of her story
Tussaud's account described making death masks during the French Revolution, including those of prominent victims. Those claims became part of the identity of…
Discover more
Macarius discarded a woven basket because he liked it
He treated even a small spark of pride in his own handiwork as an attachment worth resisting.
Discover more
Johnny Appleseed's orchards were useful for making alcohol
Trees grown from apple seeds do not reliably reproduce the sweet fruit they came from. Many of the resulting apples were better suited to pressing and…
Discover more
White noise helps babies sleep soundly
A steady wash of sound can make a baby's sleep less vulnerable to sudden noises—a door slam stands out less against an even background. White noise works like…
Discover more
Why taverns gave away oysters with beer
Oysters were cheap and plentiful in 19th-century taverns, so bars gave them away with beer. The salty snack made customers thirstier, turning a giveaway into…
Discover more
Sea-Monkeys arrive as eggs with life on pause
Brine shrimp can produce protective cysts that remain dormant through dry, unfavorable conditions. When conditions improve, the embryos resume development and…
Discover more
Your seat belt tightens around the crash before you do
A pretensioner quickly removes slack when the car detects a crash. That puts the belt in position to restrain you before you travel farther forward. The belt…
Discover more
Millionaire sends someone to watch your phone-a-friend
On the British show, production staff supervise the friend during filming to prevent outside help such as an internet search. The caller gets a human…
Discover more
Why car engines hide under plastic covers
Plastic covers tidy up the engine bay and damp some engine noise before it reaches the cabin. Under the hood, the machinery still looks like machinery; the…
Discover more
Catherine of Siena survived exclusively on dry wafers
Accounts say Catherine of Siena lived almost entirely on communion wafers; after fasting so intensely, she could no longer swallow ordinary food.
Discover more
Some UNO decks let you write part of the rulebook
Mattel sells editions with blank customizable Wild cards for rules agreed on by the players. They are not automatically printing mistakes or spare…
Discover more
Vogue began as a weekly guide to society
The first issue appeared in 1892, covering fashionable social life for readers including both men and women. It was closer to a record of elite manners and…
Discover more
The tiny hole that keeps your muffler from rusting
Combustion leaves water vapor in the exhaust, and some of that water condenses inside a cool muffler. A small drain hole lets it escape before it eats through…
Discover more