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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.

An early wooden camera on a tripod pointed out of a high window toward rooftopsInventions & Everyday ThingsThe World's Oldest Photo Is Famous for Its 8-Hour Exposure. It May Have Taken DaysIllustration of a winding country road in Vermont lined with bright autumn treesStrange Places & GeographyDrive Across Vermont and Something Is Missing From the Roadside. It Has Been Since 1974Illustration of a steaming teacup on a saucer beside a rainy windowEveryday Science & Curious CustomsTea Feels Like Instant Calm. The Science Behind That Feeling Is Surprisingly MurkyIllustration of an opossum lying still on its side among autumn leavesAmazing AnimalsOpossums Are Famous for Playing Dead. The Surprising Part Is That They Can't Help It
Illustration of a grandmother crying happily at a weddingThe Human BodyHappy Tears Make No Sense at First. Then Scientists Looked CloserIllustration of a crowded train platform at night in the 1860sHistory's OdditiesA Stranger Pulled Lincoln's Son From Under a Moving Train. His Last Name Was Booth
An icy, cracked moon hanging in space in front of a giant striped gas planetSpace & the SkyOne of Jupiter's Moons Is Covered in Ice. Scientists Think There's an Ocean UnderneathIllustration of a single raindrop falling toward the calm surface of a lakeEarth, Nature & the OceanA Raindrop Can Spend 9 Days in the Sky or 10,000 Years Underground
Illustration of grilled ears of corn on a plate at a summer picnicFood & Kitchen SecretsCorn on the Cob Began as a Scrawny Wild Grass That Looked Nothing Like CornIllustration of a vintage board game boxInventions & Everyday ThingsDuring World War II, Some Monopoly Sets Sent to Prison Camps Hid More Than Play MoneyIllustration of a rocky mountain slope with a long tongue of loose earth and rocks flowing down a valleyStrange Places & GeographyMountains Don't Walk. But This Slope in Colorado Has Been Crawling for 300 YearsIllustration of an old field hospital scene in vintage styleEveryday Science & Curious CustomsBite the Bullet Probably Comes From Surgery Without Painkillers, but the Proof Is Thin
Illustration of a cat's glowing eyes shining in a dim roomAmazing AnimalsCats Seem to See in the Dark. The Real Secret Is Hiding Behind Those Glowing EyesIllustration of a roller coaster train cresting a tall hill against a blue skyThe Human BodyThat Stomach-Flipping Moment at the Top of a Coaster Hill Has a NameVintage-style illustration of a giant silver airship floating over a green field at duskHistory's OdditiesThe Hindenburg Burned in Under a Minute. Yet Most People On Board SurvivedIllustration of astronauts floating weightlessly inside a space station moduleSpace & the SkyAstronauts Float in Orbit, but Not Because There's No Gravity Up There
Illustration of long green seagrass waving underwater in clear blue waterEarth, Nature & the OceanA Seagrass Meadow Near Ibiza May Be Older Than Civilization. Nobody Knows How OldIllustration of a pumpkin patch in autumnFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Jack-o'-Lantern Is Technically a Fruit. A Very Specific Kind, TooIllustration of white bowling pins with red stripes standing on a polished laneInventions & Everyday ThingsBowling Pins Have Looked Like Little Vases for a Very, Very Long TimeIllustration of an ancient Japanese pond gardenStrange Places & GeographyThis Quiet Kyoto Pond Garden Is Over 1,200 Years Old. Emperors Once Partied Here
A colorful slot machine showing three red sevens lined up across the reelsEveryday Science & Curious CustomsSeven Tops the List of Favorite Numbers. The Reasons Go Back to the Ancient SkyA red crab scuttling sideways across wet sand at the water's edgeAmazing AnimalsCrabs Can Walk Forward. Most Just Have a Better Reason to Go SidewaysIllustration of a bright rainbow arching over green farmland after a rain showerThe Human BodyEvery Color You've Ever Seen Comes From Just Three Kinds of Cells in Your EyesIllustration of a Renaissance marble statue of MosesHistory's OdditiesMichelangelo Carved Moses With Two Horns on His Head. A Single Hebrew Word Explains It