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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 pale half moon in a clear blue daytime skySpace & the SkyThe Moon Isn't a Night Owl. It Spends About as Much Time in the Daytime SkyIllustration of an old seismograph with a needle drawing linesEarth, Nature & the OceanNews Reports Still Say Richter Scale. Scientists Quietly Switched Decades AgoIllustration of golden cream-filled snack cakes arranged on a white plateFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Original Twinkie Had a Different Filling, and World War II Changed It for GoodIllustration of a wooden jigsaw puzzle being assembled on a tableInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Jigsaw Puzzles Weren't Pretty Pictures. They Were School Lessons in Disguise
A quirky small-town street in Roswell with alien-themed signs and green alien decorationsStrange Places & GeographyIn 1947, the Army Announced It Had Found a Flying Disc. The Next Day, the Story ChangedIllustration of folded dollar bills tucked beside a receipt on a restaurant tableEveryday Science & Curious CustomsTipping Feels All-American, but Several States Once Made It Illegal
An Arctic tern with a red beak flying low over icy blue waterAmazing AnimalsThis Small Seabird Skips Winter Every Year. Its Secret Is an Epic CommuteIllustration of a person looking grumpy at a kitchen table just before lunchThe Human BodySkipping Lunch Can Make the Nicest People Snappy. Your Body Chemistry Is Partly to Blame
A vintage-style scene of a wooden barn at night with a dairy cow and a glowing lanternHistory's OdditiesA Cow Took the Blame for the Great Chicago Fire. Then a Reporter Made a ConfessionIllustration of a cosmonaut floating in a space stationSpace & the SkyOne Doctor Spent 437 Days in Orbit, Then Did Something Surprising When He LandedWaves rolling onto a rugged Pacific coastline under a soft evening skyEarth, Nature & the OceanThe Pacific Is Bigger Than All of Earth's Land Combined, Yet It's Quietly Getting SmallerIllustration of a bunch of firm green bananas on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsA Slightly Green Banana Isn't Just Unripe. Its Starch Takes a Detour Through Your Body
Illustration of a smiling woman in 1950s clothes spinning a bright hula hoopInventions & Everyday Things25 Million Hula Hoops Sold in Under Four Months. The Idea Came From Down UnderIllustration of an abandoned saloon in a desertStrange Places & GeographyNorth America's Ghost Town Champion Isn't Nevada or Texas. It's Not Even in the U.S.Illustration of the first snow falling gently on a quiet residential street at duskEveryday Science & Curious CustomsFresh Snow Is Made of Clear Ice, Yet It Glows White. The Real Magic Is in Each FlakeIllustration of a dog nibbling grass in a sunny backyardAmazing AnimalsYour Dog Is a Meat Lover, So Why Does It Graze Like a Cow in the Yard?
Illustration of a smiling young child with a missing front tooth in a sunny kitchenThe Human BodyBaby Teeth Fall Out Anyway, So Why Bother? They Have a Hidden JobIllustration of a vintage Cadillac in a cemetery settingHistory's OdditiesThe Chicago Funeral Where a Man Was Laid to Rest Behind the Wheel of a 'Cadillac'Illustration of the planet Saturn surrounded by bright icy ringsSpace & the SkySaturn's Famous Rings Are Vanishing, Now and Then and Also for GoodIllustration of white salt crystals along the shore of a shallow lakeEarth, Nature & the OceanThis Tiny Antarctic Pond Is So Salty It Stays Liquid at 58 Degrees Below Zero
Illustration of red-and-white candy canes hanging on a decorated Christmas treeFood & Kitchen SecretsStriped Peppermint Candy Showed Up Before the Candy Cane Did. Here's How They MetIllustration of a large antique wall clock with ornate hands and Roman numeralsInventions & Everyday ThingsClock Hands Move the Way They Do Because of a Shadow in the Northern HemisphereIllustration of a red, white, and blue swallowtail-shaped flag waving in the windStrange Places & GeographyOhio Has the Only State Flag That Isn't a Rectangle, and It Even Has a Folding LawA basket of brightly painted Easter eggs in pastel colorsEveryday Science & Curious CustomsDecorating Eggs at Easter Started With a Rule About What People Couldn't Eat