Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Taking Sardinian beach sand home can cost up to €3,000.
Taking Sardinian beach sand home can cost up to €3,000. The regional rules cover sand, pebbles, stones and shells taken from the coast, with fines of…
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Changi's indoor waterfall drops through seven stories.
Changi's indoor waterfall drops through seven stories. The Rain Vortex at Jewel falls 40 meters from the roof opening toward the basement, surrounded by an…
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Travelers left the TSA $956,000 in a single year.
Travelers left the TSA $956,000 in a single year. That was the unclaimed money collected at airport checkpoints in fiscal 2023, including foreign currency.…
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Iceland welcomed over two million international tourists in a single year, which is absolutely wild considering the entire permanent population of the country is barely over three hundred and seventy thousand people.
Iceland welcomed over two million international tourists in a single year, which is absolutely wild considering the entire permanent population of the country…
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Most Japanese residents did not hold a passport in 2024.
Most Japanese residents did not hold a passport in 2024. Japan's foreign ministry counted about 21.64 million valid passports at the end of that year, far…
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Emergency oxygen is meant to cover the descent, not the flight.
Emergency oxygen is meant to cover the descent, not the flight. Many passenger-mask systems generate oxygen chemically for a limited period; exact duration…
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The Eiffel Tower's night lights have their own image rights.
The Eiffel Tower's night lights have their own image rights. The old tower and its illuminated display are treated differently. The operator handles…
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An early cash machine swallowed paper vouchers.
An early cash machine swallowed paper vouchers. Barclays installed its 1967 Enfield cash dispenser before the familiar bank-card routine existed. Customers…
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Kissing the Blarney Stone requires a backward lean.
Kissing the Blarney Stone requires a backward lean. The famous stone sits in the castle's battlements, so visitors lie back and lean toward it with…
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The Taj Mahal gets clay treatments to lift dirt from its marble.
The Taj Mahal gets clay treatments to lift dirt from its marble. Conservators apply a material known as Fuller's earth, let it dry, and remove it with the…
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Russian Soyuz space capsules were routinely equipped with a specialized triple-barreled survival shotgun designed to fend off angry bears upon landing in the remote Siberian wilderness.
Russian Soyuz space capsules were routinely equipped with a specialized triple-barreled survival shotgun designed to fend off angry bears upon landing in the…
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North Sentinel's protected boundary extends into the sea.
North Sentinel's protected boundary extends into the sea. India designated the island and surrounding coastal waters out to five kilometers as a tribal…
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Machu Picchu was constructed with such advanced ashlar masonry that the stones are tightly packed without mortar, allowing them to bounce and settle perfectly back into place during earthquakes.
Machu Picchu was constructed with such advanced ashlar masonry that the stones are tightly packed without mortar, allowing them to bounce and settle perfectly…
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The Eiffel Tower's survival depended on more than winning people over.
The Eiffel Tower's survival depended on more than winning people over. Built for the 1889 exposition, the tower initially faced fierce criticism and a limited…
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A cruise ship's flag is also a business decision.
A cruise ship's flag is also a business decision. Registering in countries such as Panama or the Bahamas places a vessel under that flag state's maritime…
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At the poles, longitude cannot tell you which clock to follow because all meridians meet there.
At the poles, longitude cannot tell you which clock to follow because all meridians meet there. People choose a practical time zone instead: the South Pole…
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Singapore enforces strict customs regulations that make it entirely illegal to import or sell chewing gum anywhere within the borders of the city-state.
Singapore enforces strict customs regulations that make it entirely illegal to import or sell chewing gum anywhere within the borders of the city-state.…
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Sudan's desert holds royal pyramids beyond Egypt's famous skyline.
Sudan's desert holds royal pyramids beyond Egypt's famous skyline. The Kushite rulers buried at Meroe had their own pyramid cemeteries, with funerary chapels…
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Magnetic stripe hotel key cards almost never contain your personal credit card data or home address, despite a widespread urban legend that insists hotel staff are secretly…
Magnetic stripe hotel key cards almost never contain your personal credit card data or home address, despite a widespread urban legend that insists hotel…
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Federal Aviation Administration regulations strictly mandate that commercial flight crews receive a legally required minimum rest period of ten consecutive hours before they can…
Federal Aviation Administration regulations strictly mandate that commercial flight crews receive a legally required minimum rest period of ten consecutive…
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The world's shortest escalator ends beside more steps.
The world's shortest escalator ends beside more steps. Guinness lists the escalator at a Kawasaki shopping mall as having a vertical height of just 83.4…
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Venice's delivery carts became a noise-control problem.
Venice's delivery carts became a noise-control problem. In 2014, a proposed restriction focused on commercial carts with hard wheels that rattled over and…
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Con artist Victor Lustig successfully sold the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal dealers in 1925 by convincing them that the city of Paris could no longer afford the monument's upkeep and needed to tear it down.
Con artist Victor Lustig successfully sold the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal dealers in 1925 by convincing them that the city of Paris could no longer afford…
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Peruvian authorities employ a resident herd of llamas to act as natural lawnmowers for the historic ruins of Machu Picchu.
Peruvian authorities employ a resident herd of llamas to act as natural lawnmowers for the historic ruins of Machu Picchu. The llamas graze the terraces…
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