Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Air guitar's winner gets a real guitar
Air guitar is a competitive sport, and the winner takes home an actual guitar—a prize that rather undercuts the point.
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St. Basil's Cathedral features completely mismatched domes
Their vivid colors and swirling patterns give the cathedral’s skyline an unmistakably irregular look.
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This museum collects the things an ex left behind
The Museum of Broken Relationships displays donated objects alongside the stories attached to them. An ordinary possession becomes interesting because of the…
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Burj Khalifa operates incredibly high-speed elevators
Its elevators reach the top in under a minute, and the rapid climb can make passengers' ears pop.
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The Times Square ball sits on the roof all year
It stays atop the One Times Square building between New Year’s Eve celebrations, rather than being hauled away after its annual drop.
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The Sphinx's missing nose shows signs of deliberate damage
Investigations of the face have identified damage consistent with tools used to break the nose away. It was already missing before Napoleon's Egyptian…
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The White House has a private bowling alley
A full bowling lane sits beneath the executive mansion, installed for presidential leisure.
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Why the Alamo has no basement
The Alamo has no basement; the idea comes from a famous movie joke, but visitors still ask tour guides to see one.
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Pentagon consists of exactly five sides and five floors
Inside, five concentric rings of corridors echo the building’s five-sided design.
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Ethiopia has a month that lasts just five or six days
Twelve months each contain 30 days, leaving a short thirteenth month to finish the year. It has five days normally and six in a leap year. The calendar also…
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A mosquito's deadliest weapon is the passenger it carries
An infected mosquito can pass malaria parasites into a person's bloodstream while feeding. WHO's 2024 report estimated 597,000 malaria deaths worldwide in…
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Tunarama turned a fishing job into a throwing contest
Port Lincoln's tuna toss took inspiration from fishermen unloading their catch. Competitors once threw frozen fish, but the event switched to rubber replicas…
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Why tourists mail stolen Roman stones back to Italy
Fearing bad karma, some tourists mail stolen cobblestones or fragments of ancient monuments back to Italian authorities, often with apology letters.
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Sardinia's longevity diet wasn't built around avoiding dairy
Researchers reviewing the island's mountain communities described a traditional diet rich in cereal foods and dairy, shaped by livestock farming. Later…
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A honeymoon was a phase before it was a destination
The English word originally referred to the sweet early period of marriage, not a holiday booking. Its honey-and-moon imagery suggested affection that could…
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A French gnome-liberation prank ended up in court
The Garden Gnome Liberation Front became notorious for taking ornaments from gardens and staging them elsewhere. Reuters reported that a ringleader received a…
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Thomas Cook's early excursion carried campaigners against alcohol
In 1841 he organized a train from Leicester to Loughborough for temperance supporters. His first profit-making excursion followed later. A business associated…
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How The Bucket List made its phrase famous
The phrase was rare in common speech before Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson starred in the film that popularized it.
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The view from space can change how astronauts see Earth
Astronauts often describe a powerful sense of planetary unity after seeing Earth as a blue sphere against the darkness of space.
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A trademark application is not the same as owning a word
An application for 'mancation' was filed in 2006 and later abandoned. The term still circulates as a label for a men-only getaway, but the filing itself does…
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Organized gap years sent young people abroad decades before social media
Project Trust began arranging long-term overseas volunteering placements in 1967. Its model gave time between education stages a defined activity and an…
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Armchair travel was for the broke in the 1800s
Victorians who couldn't afford a voyage read embellished travel diaries instead, gaining a vicarious taste of exploration without the cost, disease, or motion…
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Cabin fever began with settlers trapped by snow
In the 19th century, settlers snowed into small wooden cabins could spend long stretches confined indoors—a classic recipe for feeling cooped up.
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Why carriages once carried hired bodyguards
Rough roads and no roadside help made robbery a risk, so wealthy travelers hired imposing men to ride beside them as a deterrent.
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