Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Ibn Battuta walked further than anyone
Over three decades, Ibn Battuta traveled an estimated 75,000 miles, mostly on foot or riding animals.
Discover moreSome Indian shrines drop infants onto blankets
At some shrines, priests drop infants onto a blanket held by people below. The ritual is believed to bring the child lifelong luck.
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Gelato's softness starts in the display case
Artisanal gelato is typically served warmer than industrial ice cream: a Carpigiani teaching guide gives about −12 to −14°C versus −18 to −20°C. It also…
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Dracula's most famous tourist castle is not a map pin from the novel
Bran Castle has become associated with the vampire story, but Stoker's fictional fortress occupies an uncertain location in a different part of Transylvania.…
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Tennessee's building packed with tiny salt shakers
The attraction began when an enthusiast found herself with too many condiment dispensers and turned her collection of tiny ceramic salt shakers into a…
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Restaurant takeout containers inevitably leak everywhere
Flimsy foam and paper containers can buckle under pressure, letting grease and sauce soak into your bag until it becomes the real takeout container.
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Alebrijes gave an artist's dream creatures a body
Pedro Linares's family recounts that a fever dream filled with impossible animals inspired the colorful creatures he made from paper and paste. Combining…
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Middle Eastern coffee is brewed directly with grounds
The fine grounds settle at the bottom, leaving the last sip thick and gritty. It’s best to stop before you reach the sludge.
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Pittsburgh puts the side dishes inside the sandwich
At Primanti Bros., fries and coleslaw share the bread with the main filling. The slaw adds crunch and acidity while the fries provide the starchy side.…
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Angkor Wat is designed to be strictly perfectly symmetrical
The temple complex is organized around a central axis, with mirrored halves that give its layout a striking balance.
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The Sistine Chapel's walls hide painted curtains
Painted draperies cover the Sistine Chapel's lower walls, using folds and shading to imitate fabric on flat plaster. Above them are famous sacred scenes;…
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Lonely Planet began after a trip that ended with 27 cents
Tony and Maureen Wheeler reached Sydney in 1972 after traveling overland through Asia. Friends kept asking how they had done it, and the answers became Across…
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Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers
With no perennial streams, the kingdom depends on costly desalination plants to turn seawater into drinking water for millions.
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Brussels enlarged an iron crystal into a building
The Atomium represents a unit cell of iron, with large spheres connected by tubes. Built for the 1958 World's Fair, it lets visitors enter an architectural…
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The Parthenon became a gunpowder store—and then exploded
During the Venetian siege of Ottoman-held Athens in 1687, a hit ignited ammunition stored in the ancient temple. The blast destroyed much of a building that…
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Hotel key cards demagnetize incredibly easily
Magnetic-stripe room cards can lose their encoded data, but ordinary items sharing a pocket with them don't automatically erase the strip.
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SPF numbers make more sense if you count what gets through
Under test conditions, SPF 30 lets through about one-thirtieth of the UVB exposure, while SPF 100 lets through about one-hundredth. That is roughly 97% versus…
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Packing cubes turn one suitcase into several drawers
Separate fabric containers group shirts, underwear, and other items so opening the suitcase does not mean unpacking everything. Eagle Creek dates its Pack-It…
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A Taj Mahal legend turns demolition into a giveaway
One story says Shah Jahan let people keep the bricks from the enormous construction scaffolding if they removed them. In the telling, material worth taking…
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Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel standing up
Pop culture loves the dramatic image of an artist lying flat on his back. In reality, a custom scaffolding platform was built so the painter could awkwardly…
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Climbing Everest starts with an $11,000 permit
Nepal’s permit is only the starting cost: equipment and expedition logistics can bring a climb to around $60,000. The summit route can also involve waiting in…
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Garam masala is an incredibly complex roasted blend
The name means “hot spice,” and recipes vary by region, combining up to 20 toasted seeds, barks, and pods.
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How strangers can track your flight in real time
Commercial aircraft broadcast their position, altitude, and speed using unencrypted ADS-B signals. People with inexpensive radio antennas can receive the…
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Why the second-cheapest wine is so tempting
Diners worried about seeming cheap may see the second-lowest-priced bottle as a safer choice than the cheapest, making it an easy upsell for restaurants.
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