Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Where on Earth you spin fastest
At the equator, Earth's rotation carries people fastest because they are farthest from its axis; that speed decreases toward either pole.
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Why airport shops can sell goods tax-free
They operate in international transit areas, where some taxes and duties do not apply to eligible purchases.
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The fragile strip keeping your hotel room locked
A magnetic key card unlocks the door when its strip registers with the reader. If the reader rejects it, you get the familiar red flash and repeated swipes.
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Why hotel pens multiply in your desk drawer
A free pen can feel like a tiny rebate on an expensive room, even if it ends up drying out in your desk drawer.
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Why folding a tourist map back is nearly impossible
The huge glossy sheet unfolds easily, but getting its creases back into their original alignment is another matter. Before long, it’s a crumpled ball at the…
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The backyard kingdoms people declare for themselves
Some people declare their rural properties independent states, then issue novelty passports and stamps for visitors seeking an unusual souvenir.
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When gestures fail to cross a language barrier
Without shared words, even pointing to a restroom can lead to confusion—and a lot of mutual nodding.
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Acquiring a cheaply manufactured plastic magnet that was made thousands of miles away from the gift shop
The souvenir may be mass-produced far from the place it supposedly represents, making its geography more decorative than accurate.
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Staring through a tiny glass lens at a majestic monument instead of actually looking at it directly
The image may be poorly lit and never looked at again, while the visitor misses seeing the monument directly.
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Overpacking fills a suitcase with possible problems
Packing asks you to decide now what an unfamiliar future will require. Weather, activities, and missing conveniences each suggest another 'just in case' item.…
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The island where nature has been left to start over
Surtsey formed in an underwater eruption in the 1960s and was protected from human interference. Ocean currents and bird droppings helped seed life on the…
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The tiny country built on a World War II sea fortress
A pirate radio broadcaster occupied an abandoned World War II sea fort off Britain and declared it the independent nation of Sealand. It issues passports and…
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On La Gomera, people can whistle whole sentences
Silbo Gomero turns spoken language into patterns of whistles that carry across the island's deep ravines. Pitch and other changes stand in for speech sounds,…
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The castle built to seal a supposed gateway to hell
Houska Castle in the Czech Republic is surrounded by stories about a pit leading to hell. In the legend, its chapel was built over the opening to contain what…
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Five freedoms of international aviation
The third and fourth freedoms let an airline carry passengers to a foreign country and bring passengers back, respectively.
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Psychology behind dark tourism sites
Psychologists suggest that visiting places such as Chernobyl or Auschwitz can let people confront mortality and process collective grief in a controlled…
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The Italian island only 1,000 tourists can visit yearly
Visitors can't swim, stay overnight, or take even a pebble; the waiting list can stretch for years.
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Mysterious massive stone vessels in a valley
Some evidence points to their use in prehistoric funerary rituals, though archaeologists still debate their exact purpose.
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Cochin Airport made enough solar power to cover its electricity use
Its solar installations produce power by day, with the grid taking surplus and supplying electricity when needed. That balance is what makes the solar-powered…
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Lake Titicaca puts commercial boats 12,500 feet above sea level
The lake sits at about 3,812 meters on the border of Peru and Bolivia and is known as the world's highest commercially navigable lake. Its broad waters…
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Montana has a river you can walk past in a minute
The Roe River runs just 201 feet from Giant Springs to the Missouri River. It has a source, a channel, and a mouth like a much larger river; the entire…
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Kowloon Walled City's residents built systems the city lacked
Tens of thousands lived in a tightly packed enclave in Hong Kong, where homes and businesses grew with little formal planning. Residents improvised water…
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How Venice blocks high tides from its streets
MOSE’s hollow gates normally rest in housings on the seabed at the lagoon entrances. Compressed air pushes water out of them, making them rise to block an…
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This Ethiopian volcano has kept lava exposed for decades
Erta Ale is famous for long-lived lava-lake activity, documented since 1967 and possibly reaching back to 1906. Instead of cooling into an ordinary crater…
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