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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 two dolphins swimming side by side underwaterAmazing AnimalsEach Dolphin Has Its Own Signature Sound, and Friends Remember It for DecadesIllustration of a basket of carrots on a kitchen counterThe Human BodyThe Carrots-Help-You-See-in-the-Dark Story Began as a Wartime Cover StoryIllustration of a 1830s frontier general store counter with bottles, barrels, and a wooden shelfHistory's OdditiesBefore the White House, One Famous President Poured Drinks in a Frontier StoreIllustration of a bright comet with a long glowing tail stretching across a starry skySpace & the SkyA Comet's Tail Doesn't Trail Behind It. Sometimes It Leads the Way Instead
Illustration of white hailstones scattered across a green lawn after a stormEarth, Nature & the OceanSlice a Hailstone in Half and You'll Find Onion-Style Rings. Each One Tells a StoryIllustration of garlic bulbs on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsGarlic Was Hailed as a Cure-All for Centuries. Modern Studies Tell a Humbler Story
Illustration of a vintage rotary telephone ringing on a wooden tableInventions & Everyday ThingsAlexander Graham Bell Wanted Us to Answer the Phone With a Sailor's Word. Edison WonIllustration of a road sign with an extremely long place nameStrange Places & GeographyA Modest Hill in New Zealand Has an 85-Letter Name. It Tells a Whole Love Story
Brightly wrapped gifts piled beneath a decorated Christmas tree with glowing lightsEveryday Science & Curious CustomsBefore Gifts Went Under the Christmas Tree, They Hung Right on the BranchesA tabby cat sitting snugly inside an open cardboard boxAmazing AnimalsYou Bought the Cat a Fancy Bed. It Chose the Box the Bed Came InIllustration of a person warming their hands around a hot mugThe Human BodyYour Fingers and Toes Go Icy First for a Reason. Your Body Is Making a ChoiceIllustration of a golden retriever wearing a tiny sash in a small townHistory's OdditiesA Golden Retriever Won a Mayor's Race in California. His Rivals Included Two Cats
Illustration of deep, shadowed craters near the Moon's pole with sunlit crater rimsSpace & the SkySome Craters on the Moon Haven't Seen Sunlight in Ages. Scientists Found Ice InsideA green Venus flytrap with red-lined jaws closing on a flyEarth, Nature & the OceanThe Venus Flytrap Can Count. It Won't Snap Shut Until a Bug Touches It TwiceIllustration of a Margherita pizza with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basilFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Famous Story of a Pizza Made for an Italian Queen Has a Few Holes in ItIllustration of a moth taped in an old logbookInventions & Everyday ThingsA Moth Was Taped Into a 1947 Computer Logbook. The Word 'Bug' Is Even Older
A red wooden covered bridge over a creek surrounded by bright autumn treesStrange Places & GeographyAmerica Once Had About 14,000 Covered Bridges. One State Still Holds More Than 200Illustration of a person holding a seashell to their earEveryday Science & Curious CustomsThat Ocean Roar in a Seashell Isn't the Sea. A Coffee Mug Can Do the Same TrickIllustration of a large Greenland shark swimming slowly through icy, dark waterAmazing AnimalsScientists Checked the Eyes of an Arctic Shark and Found a Staggering AgeIllustration of an older man sitting at a kitchen table, smiling as he works on a crossword puzzleThe Human BodyLondon Cab Drivers' Brains Changed as They Learned the Streets. What That Means for Yours
A man in rough clothes planting young apple seedlings in an old orchardHistory's OdditiesJohnny Appleseed Was a Real Man, and His Apples Weren't Quite What the Storybooks SayIllustration of the blue-green planet Uranus tilted on its side with faint ringsSpace & the SkyUranus Rolls Around the Sun on Its Side. Its Poles Get 42-Year Days and 42-Year NightsIllustration of a snowy Antarctic landscape with a group of penguins on the iceEarth, Nature & the OceanThe South Pole Gets More Summer Sunlight Than the Equator. It Still Stays FrozenIllustration of metal buckets hanging on maple tree trunks in a snowy winter forestFood & Kitchen SecretsIt Can Take About 40 Gallons of Tree Sap to Make Just One Gallon of Maple Syrup