Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Empty cabs suddenly vanish the moment a tourist needs one
It can feel as if every empty cab disappears just when you need one; even when one stops, the driver may refuse your destination.
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Ludwig II built his own Versailles—and stayed about ten days
Herrenchiemsee was meant as a private retreat, with lavish rooms modeled on the French palace rather than practical space for governing Bavaria. Ludwig stayed…
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A North Carolina New Year tradition lowered a live possum
For years, Brasstown celebrated midnight by lowering an opossum in a clear enclosure, echoing New York’s ball drop. The event later moved to nearby Andrews…
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Deep-fried butter is really a disappearing filling
A coating of batter surrounds the butter before it goes into hot oil. Inside, the butter melts into the surrounding dough rather than staying a solid lump.…
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Cruise ships began as floating mail services
Luxury ocean travel grew out of mail-delivery voyages that also let wealthy passengers come along for the ride.
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Michelin helped drivers find places worth driving to
Alongside tires, the company produced guides with practical travel information and launched road maps in 1910. Making motoring easier supported the activity…
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Seattle roads are notoriously steep and heavily slick
Frequent rain and mist can make parallel parking on Seattle’s steep streets a careful test of whether your parking brake holds.
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A quiet pause can be ordinary conversation in Finland
Finland's official cultural guide describes a communication style in which silence need not be filled and interruptions are taken seriously. A visitor…
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Your airline's legroom number isn't your legroom
Seat pitch measures the distance between matching points on successive seats, not the empty space for your knees. Some economy cabins use a pitch as tight as…
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Loch Ness could hold every lake in England
Loch Ness is so deep and voluminous that it could hold all the water in England’s lakes, with room to spare.
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Falafel origins remain hotly contested in the Levant
Countries across the Levant claim the crispy chickpea dish as their own, keeping its origins disputed and dinner-table debates lively.
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Red kangaroos clear massive gaps in one jump
A red kangaroo can cover more than 25 feet in a single bound when moving at full speed.
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Venice's wooden piles survive by staying waterlogged
Buried wood has limited access to oxygen, slowing the fungal decay that rapidly attacks exposed damp timber. It can still deteriorate, particularly through…
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Why thousands of tarantulas cross roads every fall
Every fall, thousands of tarantulas cross roads in search of mates, turning some drives into a hairy obstacle course.
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Paying thousands of dollars for a first-class ticket only buys you marginally better microwaved meals
Airline meals are prepared in airport kitchens, chilled, then reheated in the galley. An expensive entrée may come with a better seat and silverware, but it…
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The men who wrap decades-long mustaches around their necks
In Rajasthan, some men let their mustaches grow for decades, oiling the hair and wrapping it around their necks as a display of grooming prowess.
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The eerie royal figures hidden in Westminster Abbey
These lifelike wooden and wax effigies were made for royal funeral processions; they now sit in museum cases, staring out at visitors.
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You cannot legally use a recovered document
Once a travel document is reported lost, it can be added to an international database of invalid documents. Trying to cross a border with it can lead to…
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You can sometimes walk from Alaska to Russia
Little Diomede, Alaska, and Big Diomede, Russia, are only 2.4 miles apart. Winter pack ice can span the gap, but crossing it is dangerous.
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Cheap wooden chopsticks offer a huge amount of splinters
Disposable wooden chopsticks can split into jagged, uneven edges that leave splinters. Rubbing the sticks together is a common attempt to smooth them before…
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Costa Rica's clean electricity depends heavily on rain
Hydropower supplies much of the country's electricity, alongside other renewable sources. When El Niño reduced reservoir levels in early 2024, oil- and…
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Jaywalking in Seattle can still get you a ticket even if there is absolutely zero traffic around
Seattle can ticket pedestrians for crossing outside a crosswalk even when the street is empty, so visitors used to crossing wherever traffic allows may get…
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Japanese capybaras soak in yuzu baths
Japanese zoos give capybaras yuzu-scented hot baths, where the rodents can sit with their eyes closed for hours.
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Italy produces over 400 distinct types of cheese
The range spans hard, aged Parmigiano and soft mozzarella—two very different ways to transform milk.
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