Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Oslo turned a toddler's tantrum into a landmark
Gustav Vigeland's bronze Angry Boy, or Sinnataggen, stamps and clenches his fists in a furious pose. He stands among the many human figures in Vigeland Park.…
Discover more
The geese that fly at commercial-jet altitudes
Bar-headed geese can fly over the Himalayas at elevations comparable to commercial jets, using specialized hemoglobin to absorb oxygen in thin air.
Discover more
Hotel beds have a sacrificial layer for your suitcase
A bed runner adds a replaceable layer at the foot of the bed, where luggage or shoes may land. It also gives an otherwise plain bed a decorative accent.…
Discover more
Halloumi can brown on a grill without flowing through it
Its production includes heating the curd in whey, creating a firm structure that behaves differently from cheeses that melt into a sauce. The surface can sear…
Discover more
Why Croatia's Blue Cave glows blue
Sunlight enters through an underwater opening and reflects off the white limestone floor, giving the cave its blue glow.
Discover more
Someone hid a gun inside a raw chicken at an airport
In 2022, TSA officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport found a handgun concealed inside a raw chicken in a traveler's luggage. The unusual…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Federal no-fly lists operate with zero transparency
The list is compiled in secret, and someone can be flagged because their name matches a suspect's. Challenging a listing can be difficult because officials…
Discover more
The steep street designed by planners who missed the hill
Baldwin Street in Dunedin has a 35 percent incline and was laid out on a flat grid by British planners in London who didn’t account for the hill. Even taking…
Discover more
Lamingtons are sponge cakes covered in chocolate coconut
The cake was reportedly invented to use up stale sponge: squares were dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in coconut.
Discover more
Street pianos turn passersby into an audience
Luke Jerram's Play Me, I'm Yours began with 15 pianos around Birmingham in 2008, free for anyone to use. Communities played and decorated them; the instrument…
Discover moreA Polish playground debate got stuck on Pooh’s missing pants
Council members in Tuszyn discussed Winnie-the-Pooh as a playground mascot, then objected to his clothing and ambiguous sex. A recording of the discussion…
Discover more
A hotel upgrade can change your floor, not your floor plan
Hotels can classify an otherwise similar room as an upgrade because it has a better view, higher floor, or different position. The word alone doesn't promise…
Discover more
A souvenir's traditional look does not tell you how it was made
Hand-carving, machine-cutting, sanding, and finishing can all contribute to a wooden object. A power tool alone does not make the work fake, and a rustic…
Discover more
Why severe dieting can bring the weight back
Severe restriction can slow metabolism and make a diet difficult to sustain. Returning to old eating habits can bring lost weight back.
Discover more
Motel rooms feature outside facing doors
That layout lets guests park right outside their rooms instead of walking through an interior corridor.
Discover more
Centipedes are terrifyingly fast land runners
Their alternating leg movements help them sprint over uneven ground and close in on prey quickly.
Discover more
This Australian highway goes 90 miles without a bend
The Eyre Highway's 90 Mile Straight runs for about 146 kilometers across the Nullarbor region. Drivers get a remarkably long uninterrupted line instead of a…
Discover more
The burger with molten cheese trapped inside
Minneapolis’s Jucy Lucy has cheese sealed inside the patty, where it becomes a pocket of molten cheese that can burn anyone who bites too soon.
Discover more
When African dust storms erase entire roads
Walls of dust can blot out the sun and leave drivers unable to see the road, forcing them to pull over until the storm passes.
Discover more
Dongles require secondary dongles to function
When devices have incompatible ports, connecting them can take a chain of adapters instead of just one.
Discover more
The Colorado River needed a scheduled flood to reach its thirsty delta
In 2014, a U.S.–Mexico agreement released about 132 million cubic meters of water into the delta's river corridor over eight weeks. The pulse was designed to…
Discover more
Your co-pilot can fly the plane just as well
First officers are fully licensed commercial pilots who can fly the same aircraft as captains. They split flying duties roughly evenly on most routes, while…
Discover more
The Leaning Tower of Pisa started leaning before it was finished
The bell tower's foundations began settling unevenly while construction was still underway. Work continued in stages over roughly two centuries, leaving…
Discover more
Italian bus drivers navigate tight corners with zero fear
Some routes send articulated buses through narrow, cobblestone streets, where drivers thread past ancient walls with barely any clearance.
Discover more