The world is more interesting than you think.
Unexpected facts, big ideas, and little discoveries. Find something that sparks your curiosity today.
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Gluten intolerance differs entirely from Celiac
In celiac disease, gluten triggers the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine. Some people have symptoms after eating gluten without that…
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The Children's Blizzard cut the warning lines too
On January 12, 1888, a sudden blizzard caught children trying to get home across the Plains. In the Black Hills region, the storm also knocked out a telegraph…
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Teddy Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day
Teddy Roosevelt drank roughly a gallon of coffee a day, often with five to seven lumps of sugar per cup.
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Why Deus Ex left the Twin Towers out
Memory limits kept the Twin Towers out of Deus Ex’s New York skyline; the game’s story explained their absence with a fictional terrorist attack.
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Why copper door handles can kill bacteria
Copper’s surface can slowly release ions that harm some microbes. So a copper handle may cut down the bacteria left behind by passing hands; it’s working…
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The remote control that worked without batteries
A button released a small hammer inside the remote, and the hammer struck a metal rod. The rod rang at an ultrasonic frequency the TV recognized as a command,…
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Ticket punches utilized highly unique hole shapes
Different punch shapes made tickets easy to distinguish after validation. Conductors could check the little cutout at a glance, while anyone trying to reuse a…
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Gore-Tex began as stretched-out Teflon
Stretching heated PTFE creates microscopic pores that keep raindrops out while letting sweat vapor escape.
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Glowing atmospheric flashes occur during seismic shifts
In astrology-based office stereotypes, someone born in early March might be labeled overly sensitive and bad at taking feedback before coworkers know them.
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Scissors given as gifts were thought to sever friendships
The superstition held that scissors could cut the bond between giver and recipient, turning a practical gift into an omen of a broken friendship.
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One piece of Kentucky has no road to the rest of Kentucky
Kentucky Bend sits inside a loop of the Mississippi, with Tennessee on its southern land boundary and Missouri across the water. The state boundary and the…
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An 1888 cookbook already offered edible ice-cream cornets
Victorian cookery writer Agnes Marshall published a recipe for “cornets with cream,” using an edible cone-shaped casing. She also wrote extensively about…
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Target drones let gunners practice without a pilot in the line of fire
Radio-controlled aircraft such as the 1930s Queen Bee provided moving aerial targets. Operators could guide the plane while remaining on the ground,…
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Missouri elected a senator who had already died
Carnahan died in a plane crash three weeks before Election Day, but his name stayed on the ballot and voters elected him anyway. Missouri then filled the…
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Silver utensils had an unexpected antimicrobial effect
A silver utensil could affect microbes without its owner knowing why. Silver can interfere with pathogen replication at a molecular level, an unexpected…
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Noon once pointed to a time around three in the afternoon
Its ancestor was the Latin expression for the ninth daylight hour, counted from roughly sunrise. The word passed through religious timekeeping and gradually…
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Remaining completely silent on bridges supposedly secured luck
The belief held that speaking while crossing a bridge over rushing water would surrender your good luck to the river.
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Why you apologize to furniture after bumping into it
You bump a table and hear yourself say, “Sorry.” The apology is an automatic social repair move: your mind has detected a small collision and reached for the…
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Devil May Cry strictly relies on fiercely aggressive juggles
Stylish combat revolves around launching enemies into the air and keeping them suspended with repeated attacks.
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Mortal Kombat grew from an unrealized Van Damme idea
The developers explored a fighting game built around the action star, but that project did not come together. They instead developed their own fighters,…
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Lenticular clouds frequently resemble hovering objects
High winds interacting with steep mountains can create stationary, disc-shaped clouds that resemble hovering saucers.
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Blue painted ceilings deterred hovering atmospheric anomalies
A sky-blue porch ceiling was believed to make hovering forces mistake it for daylight and stay away.
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Pay-per-chapter reading apps obscure massive total costs
A romance novel split into 200 paid chapters can add up to $50, even when the paperback costs $10. Small in-app charges can make the total easy to overlook.
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Halo's bouncy jeep helped pull its camera closer
Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian recalled suspension tests that looked impressive close up but lost their impact from an overhead view. The vehicle that became…
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