Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Escargot is often smothered in garlic and butter
Escargot is often served smothered in garlic and butter.
Discover more
Earth’s day-night boundary sweeps across the surface
As Earth rotates, the boundary between sunlight and shadow sweeps across the surface, marking sunrise and sunset wherever it passes.
Discover more
Japanese vending machines sell hot coffee, eggs and shirts
The machines sell everything from hot coffee and fresh eggs to clean shirts, making everyday errands possible around the clock.
Discover more
An underwater waterfall plunges over two miles
Cold, dense water from the Nordic Seas plunges into warmer water in the Denmark Strait, falling more than two miles and carrying millions of cubic meters per…
Discover more
Allspice gives jerk seasoning its sweet, pungent depth
Allspice gives the seasoning its sweet, pungent depth, balancing Scotch bonnet heat as the meat smokes over pimento wood.
Discover more
Clear skies at your airport do not mean a clear flight path
A storm can close airspace along the route or delay the aircraft assigned to your flight earlier in its day. Airport weather is only one part of the network.…
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.
Brooklyn Bridge vaults once stored champagne
The cool chambers were once used to store champagne, but they have sat mostly empty for decades.
Discover more
Fresno changed its airport's name but kept FAT
The code comes from Fresno Air Terminal, an earlier name for what is now Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Three-letter identifiers can outlive the…
Discover more
Alexander’s army crossed deserts and mountains on foot
His army crossed deserts and mountain ranges on foot, relying on grain to keep going.
Discover more
An axolotl can become an adult without losing its baby features
It reaches reproductive maturity while retaining external gills and an aquatic body form that other salamanders outgrow. This retention of juvenile traits is…
Discover more
Stagecoach passengers couldn’t bring unlimited baggage
Passengers’ weight and luggage were limited because too much load could break a stagecoach’s wooden axles, leaving travelers to continue on foot.
Discover more
The secret bunker beneath a luxury resort
The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia concealed a Cold War bunker intended for Congress. Behind the luxury-hotel setting were spaces for legislators to live…
Discover more
Bunk beds trade headroom for floor space
Stacking sleeping places lets several people share the same patch of floor, which makes the arrangement useful in barracks, ships, hostels, and children's…
Discover more
A jet engine's spiral makes spinning easier to see
The marking sits on the central spinner, turning into a moving pattern when the engine rotates. Ground crews can recognize motion more easily than they could…
Discover more
The White House was rebuilt behind its old walls
During Truman's administration, workers gutted the interior down to the exterior walls and rebuilt it with modern steel framing, preserving the White House's…
Discover more
Gateway Arch required exact mathematical precision
The two legs were built separately, so the piece joining them at the top had to fit with millimeter-level precision.
Discover more
The Red Sea grows saltier because desert heat evaporates its water
As water evaporates, the dissolved salts remain behind, concentrating the sea’s salinity—nature’s slow pickle.
Discover more
A Czech church decorated with 40,000 human skeletons
At Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora, human bones from a crowded burial ground were arranged into chandeliers, garlands, and other decorations. Woodcarver…
Discover more
Phoenix summer pavement gets hot enough to burn bare skin on contact
That makes retrieving dropped keys risky, and barefoot walking can cause burns.
Discover more
The first bumper stickers were wired to car grilles
Early motorists attached political messages to their grilles with pliers and metal wire because waterproof adhesive backing wasn't available.
Discover more
Why you might cry at a movie on a flight
Lower oxygen levels in a pressurized cabin may affect emotional regulation, making some passengers more sensitive to a movie’s ups and downs.
Discover more
Penguins steal rocks from their neighbors
Adélie penguins use scarce pebbles to raise their nests above freezing water, and will steal stones from a neighbor’s nest when the chance arises.
Discover more
Pinnacles Desert is dotted with strange limestone spires
Thousands of weathered pillars rise from the yellow Australian sand, giving the landscape the look of a petrified ancient city.
Discover more
Why Ireland has no native snakes
An ice sheet kept snakes from reaching Ireland. By the time the glaciers melted and the climate could support them, the island had separated from the mainland.
Discover more