Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Dubai introduced feeding stations for stray animals
The municipality launched its Ehsan Stations initiative to provide food in managed locations rather than relying on scattered feeding. The project combines…
Discover more
Cyprus puts your hands—not just your phone—under its driving rule
The island's official visitor guidance says drivers must keep their hands free to maintain full control of the vehicle. The rule explains why a drink or snack…
Discover more
How a backyard invention became Tilt-A-Whirl
Herbert Sellner built the first Tilt-A-Whirl in his Minnesota backyard in 1926. Its cars spun unpredictably on a bumpy, rotating platform—a motion later used…
Discover more
The unexpected ingredient behind Crayola’s familiar smell
Crayola’s distinctive waxy smell comes partly from stearic acid, a waxy substance produced from rendered beef tallow.
Discover more
Why Swedes hide their keys at the table
In Swedish superstition, putting keys on the table is said to bring bad luck, so hosts may slide a napkin underneath them.
Discover more
The Super Soaker began with a heat-pump experiment
Engineer Lonnie Johnson was exploring a cooling-system idea when a jet of water suggested a different product. He developed the concept into a pressurized toy…
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.
A virtual queue lets a theme park hold your place without holding you
Disney has used app-based boarding groups for selected experiences, calling guests back when their turn approaches. The waiting time does not disappear, but…
Discover more
The CN Tower has a message waiting for 2076
A time capsule is embedded in the Main Observation Level, with opening planned for the tower's hundredth birthday. Visitors go up to look across present-day…
Discover more
Chia Pets sprout seeds on grooved terracotta figurines
The figurines are porous clay with grooves that hold moistened chia seeds in place until they sprout—farming on a tiny, oddly shaped scale.
Discover more
Why toasting with water can be a bad idea in Germany
In Germany, a toast with water is traditionally said to wish death on the people you’re drinking with, a superstition rooted in ancient lore.
Discover more
Buckingham Palace has its own cash machine
The basement ATM is for the royal family and staff—and dispenses cash bearing the monarch's own portrait.
Discover more
Ant farms became a massive craze using harvester ants
Starting in the 1950s, Uncle Milton's Ant Farm sold millions of kits by mailing customers live red harvester ants to watch work in a plastic box.
Discover more
The hula-hoop boom turned a wooden-toy idea into a plastic craze
Wham-O's founders heard about an Australian wooden hoop in 1958 and experimented with polyethylene tubing. The lightweight, brightly colored version became a…
Discover more
A Virginia office-supply landmark is a 30-foot pencil
The oversized pencil in Wytheville turns an ordinary stationery item into roadside advertising visible above Main Street. It doesn't need to write: its job is…
Discover more
A basket company's headquarters was a seven-story basket
Longaberger opened its Newark, Ohio, home office in 1997 as an enormous version of one of its products. Because the basket shape widens upward, the seventh…
Discover more
A desert town built a thermometer 134 feet tall
Baker, California's giant thermometer uses its height to echo Death Valley's famous 134°F temperature record. The roadside landmark turns local heat into…
Discover more
Accident, Maryland tells a story of two matching surveys
The town’s origin story says two teams independently chose the same tract of land, leading to the name “Accident.” The coincidence became a place name and…
Discover more
Lily Dale built a community around messages from spirits
The New York hamlet is a center of Spiritualism, with registered mediums offering readings and public demonstrations. Visitors come to hear claimed messages…
Discover more
The first powered flight ended just 120 feet away
At Kill Devil Hills in 1903, Orville Wright's first flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. The landing site now has its own marker. The distance was…
Discover more
Flippin, Arkansas got its name from a family, not an exclamation
The name traces to Thomas H. Flippin, who arrived from Tennessee in 1837, and the area's earlier name, Flippin Barrens. The settlement later shifted toward…
Discover more
No Name, Colorado, has a No Name Lane
The community near Glenwood Springs sits beside No Name Creek and has its own No Name exit on Interstate 70. Local archives show the name predates the highway…
Discover more
There really is a town called Okay, Oklahoma
Read as an address, the name identifies a town. Read aloud as a reaction, it sounds like somebody giving the entire state a mildly approving review. The joke…
Discover more
A radio contest renamed a New Mexico town
In 1950, Hot Springs adopted the name Truth or Consequences after the radio program offered publicity to a town willing to do so. The promotion ended, but the…
Discover more
Greasy Corner Arkansas sounds thoroughly unappealing
The name brings to mind the smell of an unwashed deep fryer.
Discover more