curiosities

How Your Grandma’s Experiences Can Leave Their Mark On Your Brain

New research adds another layer of complexity to the "nature versus nurture" debate.

By Krissy Howard • Mar 14, 2017

How Your Grandma’s Experiences Can Leave Their Mark On Your Brain

New research adds another layer of complexity to the "nature versus nurture" debate.

By Krissy Howard • March 14, 2017

Inside Scotland’s Deadly Glasgow Ice Cream Wars

The Glasgow Ice Cream wars were a lot less sweet and a lot more deadly than their name suggests.

By Savannah Cox • Mar 2, 2017

Inside Scotland’s Deadly Glasgow Ice Cream Wars

The Glasgow Ice Cream wars were a lot less sweet and a lot more deadly than their name suggests.

By Savannah Cox • March 2, 2017

Dying Stars, Physics, And The Reason Why Barns Are Painted Red

Turns out that the stars above have a lot to do with the iconic red barns that dot the United States.

By Krissy Howard • Feb 23, 2017

Dying Stars, Physics, And The Reason Why Barns Are Painted Red

Turns out that the stars above have a lot to do with the iconic red barns that dot the United States.

By Krissy Howard • February 23, 2017

David Lynch Facts Almost As Strange As His Films

David Lynch – along with his films – is hard to figure out. Reading about him, you get the impression he likes it that way. The three-time Oscar nominee — famous for cult classics such as Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, as well as the recently revived Twin Peaks series...

By All That's Interesting • Feb 23, 2017

David Lynch Facts Almost As Strange As His Films

David Lynch – along with his films – is hard to figure out. Reading about him, you get the impression he likes it that way. The three-time Oscar nominee — famous for cult classics such as Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, as well as the recently revived Twin Peaks series...

By All That's Interesting • February 23, 2017

What Your Favorite Foods Look Like Before Harvest And Processing

From bananas to coffee to chocolate, you'd never guess what some of your favorite foods look like while still plants.

By All That's Interesting • Feb 20, 2017

What Your Favorite Foods Look Like Before Harvest And Processing

From bananas to coffee to chocolate, you'd never guess what some of your favorite foods look like while still plants.

By All That's Interesting • February 20, 2017

Inside The Mysterious Lives Of 19th-Century Garden Hermits

In 1800s Europe, real-life humans served as ornamental garden hermits on the estates of wealthy landowners. This is their bizarre yet true story.

By Abby Norman • Feb 20, 2017

Inside The Mysterious Lives Of 19th-Century Garden Hermits

In 1800s Europe, real-life humans served as ornamental garden hermits on the estates of wealthy landowners. This is their bizarre yet true story.

By Abby Norman • February 20, 2017

Bizarre Photos That Prove History Was Far Stranger Than You Ever Realized

From Boston's Great Molasses Flood to Los Angeles' alligator picnics, these bizarre photos make history much more interesting.

By John Kuroski • Feb 16, 2017

Bizarre Photos That Prove History Was Far Stranger Than You Ever Realized

From Boston's Great Molasses Flood to Los Angeles' alligator picnics, these bizarre photos make history much more interesting.

By John Kuroski • February 16, 2017

Lily Dale, New York: One Of Spiritualism’s Last Bastions

Maybe Lily Dale, New York is just like any other town. But its reputation as "the most psychic town in America" certainly suggests otherwise.

By Erin Kelly • Feb 10, 2017

Lily Dale, New York: One Of Spiritualism’s Last Bastions

Maybe Lily Dale, New York is just like any other town. But its reputation as "the most psychic town in America" certainly suggests otherwise.

By Erin Kelly • February 10, 2017

How A Blond, Blue-Eyed Frenchman Fooled Europe Into Thinking He Was Taiwanese

George Psalmanazar was a French Caucasian who faked his way into an easy living by pretending to be from Taiwan. What does his success, even after he was exposed, say about human gullibility?

By Richard Stockton • Feb 7, 2017

How A Blond, Blue-Eyed Frenchman Fooled Europe Into Thinking He Was Taiwanese

George Psalmanazar was a French Caucasian who faked his way into an easy living by pretending to be from Taiwan. What does his success, even after he was exposed, say about human gullibility?

By Richard Stockton • February 7, 2017

When Cigarettes Were For Kids

The narrator of Horatio Alger’s rags-to-riches post-Civil War American classic, Ragged Dick (1868), offered perhaps the best, most sympathetic description of a contemporary epidemic almost unthinkable in the 21st century: childhood addiction to cigarettes. “Men are frequently injured by smoking, and boys always,” Alger wrote, specifically referring to the “newsboys...

By Kellen Perry • Feb 1, 2017

When Cigarettes Were For Kids

The narrator of Horatio Alger’s rags-to-riches post-Civil War American classic, Ragged Dick (1868), offered perhaps the best, most sympathetic description of a contemporary epidemic almost unthinkable in the 21st century: childhood addiction to cigarettes. “Men are frequently injured by smoking, and boys always,” Alger wrote, specifically referring to the “newsboys...

By Kellen Perry • February 1, 2017