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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 shiny metal spring toy walking end over end down a carpeted staircaseInventions & Everyday ThingsA Navy Engineer Was Working on Ship Equipment When a Spring Fell. It Changed ToysIllustration of a tiny footbridge linking two small wooded islands on a riverStrange Places & GeographyThis Tiny Bridge Flies Two Countries' Flags. It Never Actually Crosses a BorderIllustration of shiny coins resting at the bottom of a clear blue fountainEveryday Science & Curious CustomsTossing a Penny in a Fountain Feels Like Harmless Fun. The Habit Is Thousands of Years OldIllustration of a pink pig nudging a puzzle toy with its snout in a wooden barnAmazing AnimalsResearchers Handed Pigs a Video Game Joystick. The Pigs Figured It Out
Illustration of a close-up face with expressive raised eyebrowsThe Human BodyThose Two Strips of Hair Above Your Eyes Are Doing More Work Than You ThinkPainting-style illustration of a harvest table set outdoors among autumn treesHistory's OdditiesThe 1621 Feast We Call the First Thanksgiving Looked Very Different From Our Holiday Table
A colorful starfield with red, orange, white, and blue starsSpace & the SkyStars Come in Red, Orange, White, and Blue. Green Almost Never Makes the ListIllustration of a huge white iceberg with its much larger hidden part visible beneath the waterEarth, Nature & the OceanAn Iceberg Can Weigh Millions of Tons and Still Float. The Secret Is in the Ice Itself
Illustration of a hot dog stand at a busy ballparkFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Hot Dog Bun May Have Been Invented Because Customers Kept Walking Off With GlovesIllustration of a vintage portrait of a man with big sideburnsInventions & Everyday ThingsEvery Man With Sideburns Owes the Name to One Union General's Very Bold WhiskersIllustration of many small rabbits gathered on a grassy island hillside overlooking a calm blue seaStrange Places & GeographyThousands of Friendly Rabbits Roam This Tiny Japanese Island. Its Past Is Far DarkerIllustration of a curved rainbow over hillsEveryday Science & Curious CustomsEvery Rainbow You've Ever Seen Was Actually a Full Circle. The Ground Hid the Rest
Illustration of a horse grazing in a misty green meadow at sunriseAmazing AnimalsA Horse Can Eat All Day, but There's One Thing Its Body Simply Won't Let It DoIllustration of a woman listening to a record player with her eyes closedThe Human BodyThat Shiver Up Your Spine During a Favorite Song Starts With a Little SurpriseIllustration of an antique set of dentures with metal springs resting on a red velvet clothHistory's OdditiesSchoolbooks Said George Washington Had Wooden Teeth. The Truth Is Much StrangerIllustration of the small gray planet Mercury glowing close to the blazing SunSpace & the SkyOn Mercury, a Year Flies By in 88 Days. A Single Day Takes Twice as Long
Illustration of morning fog drifting over a farm in a valleyEarth, Nature & the OceanFog Is Really a Cloud Lying on the Ground. Here's What Pulls It Down to EarthIllustration of ripe bananas with brown spotsFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Bananas Go From Green to Spotted in Days. A Gas They Make Themselves Is Behind ItAn antique wooden stethoscope resting on an old leather medical bookInventions & Everyday ThingsA Doctor Felt Too Uncomfortable to Do His Exam the Usual Way. So He Grabbed Some PaperIllustration of Michigan's Great Lakes seen from aboveStrange Places & GeographyAsk Someone From Michigan Where They Live and They Might Just Hold Up Their Hand
Colorful fireworks bursting in the night sky over a small American townEveryday Science & Curious CustomsFireworks Began With Exploding Bamboo. America Lit Its First July 4th Show in 1777Illustration of a humpback whale swimming underwater with sunbeams shining downAmazing AnimalsHumpback Whales Sing Hit Songs, and Every Male in the Area Learns the New VersionIllustration of a sneeze cloud spraying out in front of a tissueThe Human BodySlow-Motion Cameras Caught a Sneeze in Action. It Reaches Farther Than Anyone ThoughtOld-painting-style illustration of a Dutch market filled with tulipsHistory's OdditiesOne Tulip Bulb Once Cost More Than 10 Years of a Craftsman's Pay. Then February Came