Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Las Vegas has a Sphinx bigger than Egypt’s original
The Luxor Hotel’s Sphinx stands 110 feet tall—more than 40 feet taller than the ancient original.
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How brochures make tiny hotel rooms look huge
Wide-angle photography makes cramped hotel rooms look more spacious in brochures than they are in person.
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First travel agency organized a massive group excursion
Thomas Cook's first organized excursion was modest: he chartered a single train to take local people to a nearby rally.
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Why Greek wedding guests pretend to spit
Guests make a “ptou ptou ptou” sound to ward off the evil eye and protect the couple from jealous spirits; no one actually spits on the bride.
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Greece consists of thousands of fragmented islands
More than 6,000 islands and islets make up Greece, but only about 200 are inhabited.
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Hotel hair dryers have terrifyingly short cords
Because the dryer is fixed to the wall with a short coiled cord, you may have to stand close to the mirror to reach your hair.
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A postcard can cost more than the journey of its message
The card sells an image and a souvenir; the stamp buys transport through a shared postal network. Those are different products with different pricing. A small…
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Why some hotels skip room 420
Hotels sometimes skip the number or label it 419+1 because guests have stolen room 420 signs as cannabis-culture souvenirs.
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Ninety Mile Beach is about 55 miles long
New Zealand's famous beach is roughly 88 kilometers long, far short of the distance in its name. The name has outlasted the measurement. It is a useful…
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Daypacks are just backpacks with less commitment
It's a slightly smaller backpack for carrying what you need on a day out—still a sack strapped to your shoulders, just with less commitment.
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A sloth's fur can host a small living ecosystem
The green tint on some sloths comes from algae growing in their hair, not moss planted on their backs. Their coats can also harbor moths and other tiny…
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A thousand hidden caves may lie inside the Grand Canyon
Park officials estimate roughly 1,000 caves lie in the Grand Canyon, but only a few hundred have been documented. Most remain unexplored.
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Why Italians rarely order cappuccino after breakfast
Many Italians consider a cappuccino’s large serving of milk too heavy after a meal and believe it can disrupt digestion, so they tend to reserve the drink for…
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Millipedes coordinate hundreds of tiny legs
Millipedes don't have a thousand legs, but their hundreds of legs move in synchronized waves to carry their long, armored bodies forward.
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Hostels were pioneered by a German schoolteacher originally
A German schoolteacher came up with the idea to take city children into the countryside without requiring extensive resources.
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A real macchiato is much smaller than you think
A traditional macchiato is just a shot of espresso marked with a tiny dollop of frothed milk—not a giant caramel drink.
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Tripoints are spots where three borders collide
These precise meeting points are often marked by an unremarkable rock or pole—where you can stand in three places at once.
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The first motel is still standing in California
The first motel, still standing in California, pioneered a simple roadside stay for motorists looking for an affordable bed.
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Thailand once staged polo matches on elephants
At the King's Cup tournament, players used long mallets while mahouts directed the animals. The sport turned the scale of an ordinary polo field into a very…
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The Mexican island covered in thousands of dolls
Mexico City's Isla de las Muñecas is covered with dolls hung by its former caretaker, Don Julián Santana Barrera. Local legend connects them to the spirit of…
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Dry martini orders simply mean less vermouth
“Dry” means less vermouth, not less liquid. An extra-dry martini has very little vermouth, sometimes just a trace.
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French dip sandwiches require violently soggy roasted bread
One disputed origin story says a hurried chef accidentally dipped a French roll into hot roasting juices and served it soggy.
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Denver's airport is twice the size of Manhattan
At 53 square miles, it is one of the world's largest airports. Its giant blue mustang statue with glowing red eyes has also helped fuel conspiracy theories…
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Muscle fatigue comes from chemical buildup
Hard exercise changes the chemistry inside working muscles, contributing to fatigue. The old idea that lactic acid simply builds up as acidic waste is…
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