Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Why Washington's forests attract Bigfoot hunters
The appeal is the chance that a blurry Bigfoot photo might lead to a face-to-face encounter. Hunters venture into the woods with whistles, hoping the elusive…
Discover more
Driving through Nebraska guarantees infinite corn fields
Long stretches of flat farmland can make the drive feel like a repeating view of cornfields on both sides.
Discover more
A racing car helped introduce the steering wheel
Alfred Vacheron's Panhard used a wheel in the 1894 Paris–Rouen event, when tillers and levers were still familiar steering controls. Rotating a wheel offered…
Discover more
Ships strictly utilize port and starboard terminology
Port always means the vessel's left when facing forward, and starboard means its right. Those directions stay fixed even when a sailor turns around.
Discover more
Luggage tags started as simple paper strings tied to handles
Flimsy paper tickets tied loosely to bag straps helped handlers identify luggage before rigid plastic sleeves became common.
Discover more
Quadripoints are geographic anomalies
A quadripoint is where exactly four borders meet. Unlike a three-way tripoint, such intersections are rare and can be disputed on maps.
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.
Australia turned buttered bread into party confetti
Fairy bread is white bread spread with butter and covered in colorful sprinkles, often cut into triangles for children's parties. The trick is almost entirely…
Discover more
Komodo dragons stick to their home ranges
Though capable of traveling long distances, Komodo dragons often stay within familiar home ranges rather than roaming far afield.
Discover more
Low-fat diets routinely fail to produce long-term results
Dietary fat helps people feel full, so cutting it out can leave some people hungry and more likely to compensate with carbohydrates.
Discover more
The tires that shovel sand to move
Their paddle-like treads scoop sand and throw it backward, pushing the buggy forward—but also blasting drivers behind it with sand.
Discover more
Some borders have checkpoints far inside the country
Crossing the border isn't always the last checkpoint: some countries maintain permanent stops miles inside their territory to catch people who bypassed the…
Discover more
Being a ship's captain doesn't automatically let you marry people
Commanding a vessel and performing a legally recognized wedding are different kinds of authority. Whether a captain can officiate depends on the applicable…
Discover more
A blind driver took a Corvette past 200 mph
Dan Parker reached 211.043 mph at Spaceport America in 2022. His custom Corvette used an audio guidance system to help him follow the runway. This was a…
Discover more
Park Güell was once a failed housing project
The mosaic-covered park was planned as an exclusive neighborhood for wealthy residents. When buyers passed on the steep hillside plots, the city took over the…
Discover more
Leaving early from a dinner party in Argentina is rude
In Argentine dinner-party etiquette, leaving before the conversation and coffee wind down can be seen as rude; meals may continue past midnight.
Discover more
Why the posted speed can smooth out a speed bump
At the posted speed, a vehicle’s suspension can absorb the impact as intended; creeping over some wide humps can transfer more of the jolt into the cabin.
Discover more
Newgrange catches a sunrise older than the pyramids
Built around 3200 BCE, the Irish passage tomb aligns with the winter-solstice sunrise. Light enters through a roof-box above the entrance and reaches the…
Discover more
Florida's Everglades host alligators and crocodiles
It's the only place in the world where both species live in the wild.
Discover more
McDonald's Golden Arches started as parts of a building
Dick McDonald wanted the restaurant's roofline to stand out, so arches were added to the early red-and-white design. Yellow neon made them visible as a…
Discover more
Bicycle rickshaws feature massive reinforced steel frames
A bicycle rickshaw uses a reinforced, welded steel chassis rather than an ordinary bicycle frame to carry its passengers.
Discover more
Why pools smell like chlorine
That strong swimming-pool smell usually comes from chloramines, formed when disinfectant reacts with sweat, urine, and other material swimmers bring in. They…
Discover more
Le Roy turned Jell-O into a local museum subject
The New York town celebrates the packaged-dessert brand's beginnings with advertising, packaging, and other memorabilia. Gelatin itself is much older; the…
Discover more
Windsor Castle is a continuously occupied royal home
It has been continuously occupied for nearly 1,000 years, making it Europe’s longest-occupied palace. Generations of monarchs have lived there as it underwent…
Discover more
The nautical story behind the word posh
A popular nautical story claims “posh” stands for “port out, starboard home,” referring to passengers choosing the shadier side of a ship on each leg of a…
Discover more