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
Fruit Ninja turned fruit-slicing into an obsession
Finally, an answer to the age-old question: what if a ninja really hated cantaloupes? Fruit Ninja capitalized on early touchscreen technology by turning every…
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Why your voice drops around someone attractive
Your vocal cords are massive sellouts. When speaking to someone you find incredibly attractive, your voice pitch naturally deepens in a desperate,…
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The slow cooker began with a Sabbath stew
The ultimate lazy dinner pot was strictly religious in origin. Irving Naxon invented a heated ceramic crock specifically so his mother could prepare a…
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Bridge tolls generate endless revenue
Once a toll booth goes up, it almost never comes down. Even after a bridge's original construction debt is fully paid off, authorities usually keep charging…
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Why renovation shows love knocking down walls
According to home improvement broadcasts, every single house on earth needs a completely open floor plan immediately. Hosts routinely convince perfectly happy…
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Why Portal turned GLaDOS into a potato
How do you humble an omnipotent, murderous AI that controls an entire facility? You shove her consciousness into a root vegetable. Portal 2 writers wanted…
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Tensile strength of Manila rope strictly prevents snapping
Woven from abaca leaves, this rope can withstand massive opposing friction forces. When placed under heavy bidirectional tension, the fibers refuse to snap,…
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Enthusiasts constantly drop heavy stones on the floor
Insisting on carrying raw chunks of minerals everywhere guarantees that they will eventually slip out of your hands and put a massive dent in the hardwood.
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A three-dollar pastry can cost you hundreds
Standing outside a bakery for three hours to snag a trendy pastry is an absolute mathematical failure. The hidden expense of any action includes whatever you…
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Drafted complex logical arguments on the subway
Charles Williams didn't retreat to a quiet country cabin to draft his incredibly dense, complex theories. He worked a completely normal day job at a…
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Apple is worth more than Britain’s entire stock market
Think your diversified portfolio is a massive flex? Cute. The entire stock market of the United Kingdom—encompassing every historic bank, massive oil giant,…
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Gliders are towed into the sky by standard airplanes
Because unpowered aircraft literally lack the means to take off, they rely entirely on parasitic hitchhiking. A perfectly normal tow plane drags the glider…
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Japanese paper folders transformed flat squares
Scissors and glue are crutches for the creatively weak. Origami relies strictly on folding a single, perfectly square sheet of paper to create complex,…
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The Saturn’s second processor became a developer headache
Two brains are supposedly better than one, unless they refuse to cooperate. The engineering was so needlessly complex that most developers struggled to…
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Tweezers rely on natural metal tension to spring back open
There is no hinge or complicated coil here. The two arms are permanently welded together at the back, meaning you are literally fighting the natural…
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Why universities get forced into journal bundles
If a university library just wants access to one highly respected scientific journal, publishers will flatly refuse. Instead, they force the institution to…
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Molecular polarities prevent oil and water from ever mixing
Some substances are doomed to be permanent enemies. Water molecules are polar and strongly cling to each other, while oil molecules are non-polar and…
Discover moreVal Kilmer’s Batman suit barely let him turn his head
Fighting crime is tough, but doing it with fused cervical vertebrae is impossible. The Batman suit worn by Val Kilmer was sculpted from such rigid,…
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Official strategy guides printing terrible gameplay advice
Paying twenty dollars for a book that actively lies to you is a foundational experience. Because official guides were drafted using incomplete beta builds,…
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In Counter-Strike, you can make a chicken follow you
In the middle of an intense tactical shootout between highly trained operatives, you can simply walk up to a random wandering bird and press a button to make…
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Why a flat penny toss keeps falling short
Tossing a flat metal disc toward a wall is less about aim and entirely about negotiating with air resistance. The flat surface area fights the ambient air,…
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Aggressively scratching a virtual turntable to techno beats
Why learn how to beatmatch when you can just violently flick a crossfader on a plastic peripheral? DJ Hero tried to capture the magic of the rhythm genre by…
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Honey has a surprisingly unappetizing origin
Winnie the Pooh’s favorite snack is essentially insect vomit. Bees swallow flower nectar, let it slosh around in their special 'honey stomach' with some…
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Random acts of kindness can give you a helper’s high
Being nice to strangers isn't just morally good; it's a selfish pursuit of good feelings. Engaging in random acts of kindness triggers an intense internal…
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