Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Vatican crime statistics have an unusual denominator problem.
Vatican crime statistics have an unusual denominator problem. The city-state has a tiny resident population but hosts huge numbers of visitors. Dividing…
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Commercial airlines intentionally sell more tickets than there are actual physical seats on the airplane, relying on advanced statistical models to predict exactly how many…
Commercial airlines intentionally sell more tickets than there are actual physical seats on the airplane, relying on advanced statistical models to predict…
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A refueling stop helped Shannon create modern duty-free shopping.
A refueling stop helped Shannon create modern duty-free shopping. In 1947, the airport opened a shop for international passengers passing through Ireland.…
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Europe even specified a color code for passports.
Europe even specified a color code for passports. A 1982 agreement on a common European passport format specified a burgundy-red cover using the color…
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Florence gave its name to a very unusual kind of overwhelm.
Florence gave its name to a very unusual kind of overwhelm. Psychiatrist Graziella Magherini described 106 visitors treated over roughly a decade for acute…
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Large cruise ships make room for a morgue.
Large cruise ships make room for a morgue. A death at sea cannot always be followed by an immediate transfer ashore. Refrigerated storage allows remains to be…
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Tristan da Cunha has no airport to shorten the journey.
Tristan da Cunha has no airport to shorten the journey. Reaching the inhabited South Atlantic island usually means several days at sea from Cape Town. Even…
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One Venezuelan lake became the world's lightning hotspot.
One Venezuelan lake became the world's lightning hotspot. A NASA-supported study of 16 years of satellite observations found about 233 lightning flashes per…
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Australia boasts the longest golf course on the entire planet, an absolute monstrosity called the Nullarbor Links that spans a staggering 850 miles across the desolate southern coast of the continent.
Australia boasts the longest golf course on the entire planet, an absolute monstrosity called the Nullarbor Links that spans a staggering 850 miles across the…
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A passport can hide a second landscape in its pages.
A passport can hide a second landscape in its pages. UV-reactive inks make artwork appear under a different light, adding features that are harder to…
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Flying in a window seat exposes you to significantly higher levels of ultraviolet radiation because the thin acrylic windows do absolutely nothing to block UVA rays at thirty thousand feet.
Flying in a window seat exposes you to significantly higher levels of ultraviolet radiation because the thin acrylic windows do absolutely nothing to block…
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Commercial airplanes do not actively dump human waste out of the sky mid-flight, despite the persistent urban legends and occasional terrifying news reports about frozen blue matter crashing through residential roofs.
Commercial airplanes do not actively dump human waste out of the sky mid-flight, despite the persistent urban legends and occasional terrifying news reports…
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Schiphol tested pigs as a way to make nearby fields less attractive to birds in 2021.
Schiphol tested pigs as a way to make nearby fields less attractive to birds in 2021. Twenty pigs ate leftovers in a harvested sugar-beet field while…
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An online map connected South Africa to Russia on foot.
An online map connected South Africa to Russia on foot. A widely shared route stretches roughly 14,000 miles from southern Africa to Magadan, using roads and…
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Japan's vending machines sell much more than soda.
Japan's vending machines sell much more than soda. The country's vending-machine statistics include food and household goods as well as drinks; broader totals…
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Magic Kingdom hides a working floor beneath its streets.
Magic Kingdom hides a working floor beneath its streets. Guests walk above the utilidors, a network used for staff movement and backstage services. Building…
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Iceland began monitoring mosquitoes found there in 2025.
Iceland began monitoring mosquitoes found there in 2025. Researchers investigated finds in Kjós and a stable in Ölfus, using traps and searches for breeding…
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One train journey can take you across seven time zones.
One train journey can take you across seven time zones. The Trans-Siberian route between Moscow and Vladivostok runs roughly 9,300 kilometers and takes about…
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A store in Alabama sells the luggage nobody reclaimed.
A store in Alabama sells the luggage nobody reclaimed. Unclaimed Baggage buys bags after airlines finish tracing efforts and settle passenger claims. Workers…
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Souvenir shirts can make travelers pay premium prices for walking advertising
Many souvenir shirts cost little to print but sell at premium prices, turning buyers into walking ads for a destination or brand.
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Timeshares are regretted almost immediately
A free gift can make the deal tempting, but some buyers realize within a year that they've committed to a purchase they regret.
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Souvenir thimbles were once useful travel tools
Victorian women used them to sew while traveling; today, souvenir thimbles mostly sit in display cabinets as reminders of a trip.
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Beach towels are sold at outrageous markups
Forgot your towel? Beach shops can charge premium prices for thin, scratchy replacements.
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Why group trips are so hard to organize
Getting a dozen people with clashing personalities to agree on one itinerary is so difficult that a large industry exists to handle the planning for them.
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