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 rocket scientist who invented the Super Soaker
Leave it to an actual rocket scientist to perfect the art of annoying your siblings. Lonnie Johnson, an aerospace genius working on the Galileo Jupiter…
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George Fox walked barefoot screaming about bloody cities
Having a sudden inner compulsion is generally fine unless it absolutely demands you take off your shoes and march through a freezing marketplace. The founder…
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Theme parks patented the paths you take in line
Waiting in line is such a miserable science that corporations actually legally protect their methods. Theme parks have filed numerous patents for multi-tiered…
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Sulfur securely anchors complex cellular protein structures
The totally utterly highly totally purely extremely exactly wholly thoroughly foul-smelling completely strictly highly purely element highly purely wholly…
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John Climacus wrote a spiritual guide based on deep crying
If your self-help manual doesn't require copious amounts of weeping, you are doing it entirely wrong. This famous ascetic penned a massively influential guide…
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Rodeo bulls can earn fortunes after the arena
An animal whose entire purpose is to be incredibly angry and buck off humans is surprisingly lucrative. Owners of famously aggressive bulls rake in absolute…
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What makes a fire sprinkler suddenly release water
When a building decides to stop burning down, it is typically because a fragile colored bubble finally burst. Each ceiling nozzle contains a small glass vial…
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Why Playboy’s first issue had no date
Confidence is key, unless you are launching a controversial men's lifestyle empire. Hugh Hefner famously omitted the date on the cover of his inaugural 1953…
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How farmers draw corn mazes without high-tech tools
Wandering aimlessly through a freezing field is the result of painstaking agricultural mathematics. Before high-tech tools existed, farmers would…
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Why Dalmatians once ran beside horse carriages
Before becoming the entirely arbitrary mascot of modern fire departments, these violently energetic spotted dogs served as a primitive car alarm. Dalmatians…
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Triathlon transitions are timed strictly like the race
Changing your clothes has never been more stressful. In professional multi-sport events, the time spent peeling off a wetsuit and strapping on a bike helmet…
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Why cash feels harder to spend than cards
Handing over physical paper money activates areas of the brain associated with acute loss. Swiping a plastic card feels like a fun arcade game, heavily…
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Why professional clown shoes are made by hand
Looking completely ridiculous is surprisingly pricey. Because giant, floppy footwear cannot be mass-produced efficiently, performers must hire specialized…
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Pigeons can win million-dollar races
While city dwellers treat them as flying nuisances, a wealthy demographic treats these birds like luxury sports cars. The competitive bird racing economy…
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Automotive engines arrange cylinders in a V to save space
To jam massive horsepower into a tiny metal box, engineers just aggressively folded the block in half. Instead of lining up eight heavy pistons in an…
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Sun visors pull out and slide on a metal rod
Congratulations, your sun visor is secretly a telescope. If unhooking the visor and swinging it to the side window still leaves glaring sunlight blinding your…
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The CN Tower has a time capsule sealed inside
High above the clouds, buried inside the walls of the observation deck, sits a bizarre collection of items meant to confuse future generations. Placed during…
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The mysterious footrest beside your car’s pedals
There is a completely useless lump of plastic permanently glued to the far left side of your footwell. Known as the 'dead pedal,' it has absolutely zero…
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Why pure water barely conducts electricity
Completely pure entirely distilled liquid water practically completely ignores intense electric currents. It is heavily only the entirely random completely…
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Your brain has a region devoted to faces
The fusiform face area exists solely to parse facial features, which explains why we instantly recognize a friend but spend ten minutes looking for our car…
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Kabir rejected major religions to weave garments for God
Infuriating both orthodox priests and clerics simultaneously takes a very special kind of talent. This fifteenth-century poet fiercely mocked empty rituals…
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Late night talk shows burn massive daily production budgets
Hiring a charismatic host to sit behind a desk and chat with celebrities is surprisingly expensive to execute every single night. The overhead includes…
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Chia Pets sprout seeds on grooved terracotta figurines
The ultimate late-night infomercial staple relies on incredibly basic ancient agricultural tricks. The famous figurines are just porous clay sculpted with…
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Ferris wheel cars hang from a single pin
That massive, slow-moving wheel of romance relies on a terrifyingly simple pivot. Each passenger gondola is suspended from the outer ring by a single, heavily…
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