Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Fondue works only while its ingredients agree to stay together
Melted cheese contains fat, water and proteins that can separate into an oily mess. Wine and added starch help produce a stable mixture, and research has…
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Consular officers officially report local births
For a child born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, a consulate can issue a Consular Report of Birth Abroad to document the birth. Whether the child qualifies…
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Cedar Point consumes an aggressively massive amount of fries
At Cedar Point, summer crowds eat freshly cut fries topped with thick cheese sauce. The park’s visitors collectively go through enough to make fries a major…
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A capsule hotel rents the sleeping space and shares the rest
A compact pod provides a bed and a small private enclosure, while facilities such as bathrooms are shared. That separation makes a different bargain from a…
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What hotel carpets leave on your feet
Hotel carpet can hold microscopic grit left by thousands of previous guests’ bare feet, even after industrial vacuuming.
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Mount Rushmore was meant to show more than heads
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum planned to carve the presidents down to their waists, but funding ran out in 1941, leaving only their faces.
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The free tickets that can trap you for hours
A “90-minute” presentation tied to free show tickets can stretch to four hours of high-pressure timeshare sales.
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Why Viennese coffee comes with water
Viennese coffee houses serve a small glass of water alongside espresso to cleanse the palate—a tiny reset between sips.
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Checkpoint Charlie's famous booth is a replica
The original wooden guardhouse was moved to a museum, and the booth now on display is a recreation.
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Visas permanently alter the document structure
Removing a used visa to save space can tear passport pages; damaged pages may be classified as mutilated and render the booklet unusable.
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Colonial Williamsburg employs intense character actors
At Colonial Williamsburg, interpreters stay in character, so visitors may have to explain modern objects like smartphones to them.
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An early leisure caravan traveled with a valet and a cockatoo
In 1885, William Gordon Stables set off in The Wanderer, an 18-foot horse-drawn caravan with mahogany paneling. Two horses pulled it, while the traveling…
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Mexican toll highways are vastly faster than free ones
Toll roads wind around mountains, while free routes pass through villages and speed bumps, sometimes adding hours to a trip.
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You can tunnel through Earth and still come up at sea
Some points in the Pacific have antipodes—locations directly opposite them on the globe—that also lie in the Pacific. The ocean covers so much of Earth's…
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Macao packs over 50,000 people into a square mile
With little land and towering casinos, Macao has limited room for its residents, while tourists add to the crowds.
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Why Yosemite's waterfalls vanish by late summer
Some waterfalls have dried up by then, leaving only bare granite where the cascade ran.
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Congo river reaches depths of seven hundred feet
Its powerful current keeps fish from crossing between the banks, where distinct species live.
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Canadian syrup bottles shaped like leaves
Gift shops sell maple syrup in small glass bottles shaped like maple leaves, turning a familiar grocery item into a souvenir.
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Why a one-hour late checkout can cost so much
Hotels may charge for a 1 p.m. checkout even if housekeeping won’t reach the room for hours; the fee puts a price on that extra time.
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Why the Dead Sea may protect you from sunburn
The Dead Sea lies more than 1,400 feet below sea level, so sunlight passes through more atmosphere before reaching it. That extra atmosphere filters some UV…
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Why an empty hotel room can cost extra before check-in
Some hotels charge an early check-in fee even when a clean room is empty; having it ready doesn’t guarantee you can use it before the standard check-in time.
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Butoh dancers embrace grotesque body movements
The slow, awkward contortions and white body paint turn discomfort and existential dread into a deliberate performance style.
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Extradition strictly requires dual criminality
Under dual criminality, extradition generally requires the alleged conduct to be a crime in both countries, even if the offenses have different names.
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Airport scanners flag shapes on a generic body outline
Millimeter-wave scanners look for objects concealed under clothing, including nonmetallic ones. Automated recognition can highlight a location on a generic…
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