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Curious Facts

1007 surprising, true stories about animals, history, space, food and the everyday things around us. Each one checked against trusted sources.

Illustration of a platypus swimming in a clear streamAmazing AnimalsScientists Once Thought This Egg-Laying Mammal Was a Hoax Sewn TogetherIllustration of a woman listening with a puzzled smile to an old cassette tape recorder at a kitchen tableThe Human BodyHate Hearing Your Voice on a Recording? The Real Reason Is Inside Your HeadIllustration of an old map of early America lit by candles on a wooden deskHistory's OdditiesA Pennsylvania Town Renamed Itself to Become America's Capital. It Came So CloseIllustration of the ringed planet Saturn floating in a giant old-fashioned bathtub among the starsSpace & the SkySaturn Is 95 Times Heavier Than Earth. In Water, It Would Still Bob Like a Cork
Illustration of a dragon blood tree on a rocky islandEarth, Nature & the OceanOn One Remote Island Grows a Tree Shaped Like an Umbrella That Bleeds Deep RedIllustration of an open carton holding a dozen brown and white eggs on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsWe Count Almost Everything by Tens. So Why Do Eggs Still Come in Twelves?
Illustration of an open box of adhesive bandages on a bathroom counterInventions & Everyday ThingsShe Kept Cutting Her Fingers in the Kitchen. Her Husband's Simple Fix Went WorldwideIllustration of weathered wooden buildings in an empty Old West ghost townStrange Places & GeographyThis California Gold Town Was Simply Left Behind, Goods Still Sitting on the Shelves
Illustration of a cracked mirror with spidering lines across the glassEveryday Science & Curious CustomsBreaking a Mirror Supposedly Brings 7 Years of Bad Luck. Here's Where That Fear Came FromIllustration of a garden snail on a leaf after rainAmazing AnimalsA Museum Glued a 'Dead' Snail to a Card. Four Years Later, It MovedIllustration of a group of friends laughing around a kitchen tableThe Human BodyBabies Laugh Before They Can Talk. Scientists Think That Tells Us Something BigIllustration of a 1960s rocket lifting off from a launch pad in a cloud of smokeHistory's OdditiesNASA's First Shot at Venus Lasted About Five Minutes, All Because of One Tiny Mark
Illustration of a shiny gold record floating in deep space beside a distant spacecraftSpace & the SkyIn 1977, NASA Sent a Record Into Space for Aliens to Find. Chuck Berry Made the CutIllustration of the Grand Canyon glowing in warm colors at sunsetEarth, Nature & the OceanA River Carved the Grand Canyon, but It Had a Giant Helper Pushing From BelowIllustration of a vintage microwave oven on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsAn Engineer Found a Gooey Mess in His Pocket in 1945. It Changed Kitchens ForeverIllustration of an open box of wooden matches with one match lit and glowingInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Strike-Anywhere Matches Were So Toxic That Workers' Jawbones Glowed in the Dark
Illustration of a small Eiffel Tower replica topped with a red cowboy hatStrange Places & GeographyTexas Has an Eiffel Tower in a Cowboy Hat. How Many Parises It Has May Surprise YouIllustration of large bubbles rising in a steel pot of boiling water on a stoveEveryday Science & Curious CustomsThe Bubbles in a Boiling Pot Aren't Full of Air. They're Something StrangerIllustration of a cat sitting proudly beside a toy mouse on a porch stepAmazing AnimalsYour Cat Leaves a Mouse on the Doormat. Scientists Have Two Theories About WhyAn older man tasting soup from a wooden spoon in a warm kitchenThe Human BodyIf Old Family Recipes Taste Blander Than You Remember, the Food May Not Be the Problem
Illustration of a snowy pine forest below a vintage propeller airplane at nightHistory's OdditiesHis Parachute Burned, So He Jumped Anyway From 18,000 Feet. Then Came the LandingIllustration of an astronaut asleep in a sleeping bag strapped to a wall on a space stationSpace & the SkyAstronauts Sleep Strapped to a Wall, and a Fan Is the Most Important Thing in the RoomIllustration of the Great Barrier Reef seen from above, with turquoise water, coral patterns, and small islandsEarth, Nature & the OceanThe Biggest Thing Ever Built by Living Creatures Is Visible From SpaceA fresh bunch of green cilantro on a wooden cutting boardFood & Kitchen SecretsSome People Love Cilantro and Others Say It Tastes Like Soap. Both May Be Right