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It Was Once Someone's Job to Chat With the King While He Used the Toilet
In the 1500s, the King of England’s toilet was luxurious: a velvet-cushioned, portable seat called a close-stool, below which sat a pewter chamber pot enclosed in a wooden box. Even the king had one...
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Decoding London's Spontaneous David Bowie Shrines
On January 10, 2016, as news broke of David Bowie's death, fans around the world took to the streets to mourn. New Yorkers gathered outside what had been his Manhattan apartment. Californians went to...
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When You Win the Lottery for the Third Time
Playing the lottery is unwise and not something you should waste your time and money on, unless of course you realize it's unwise and not something you should waste your time and money on, and you...
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Tesla Didn't Invent the Neon Sign, He Imagined Something Even Better
There are all sorts of stories associated with the inventor Nikola Tesla, some truer than others. One of the more minor rumors about Tesla’s career, but one that remains surprisingly tenacious, is the...
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Japan's Colorful Gravestone Decorations Protect the Souls of Lost Children
In many Japanese cemeteries, including the vast Okunoin–the country’s largest, located south of Osaka–there are statues of varying sizes that stand out for their bright red bibs and little knit caps....
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The Odor 'Wheel' Decoding the Smell of Old Books
It’s official. Science has decided that old books smell “smoky,” “earthy,” and more than anything, “woody.”That's based on findings released today by Cecilia Bembibre and Matija Strlič, researchers at...
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Found: A Silver Snake Ring Dating Back to Roman Britain
Someone who lived in northern England around 2,000 years ago had good taste.Recently, Northern Archaeological Associates has been excavating a stretch of road—part of Britain’s longest highway, the...
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Utah's First Federal Surveyor Fled the Territory Fearing for His Life
When David H. Burr, the first Surveyor General of Utah Territory, showed up in Salt Lake City in July 1855, Brigham Young, then territorial governor, was almost certain he was a spy for the federal...
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When Michigan State Used Spoiled Mayonnaise for Power
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade—everyone knows that. When life gives you 1,250 gallons of spoiled mayonnaise, though, the instructions are a little less clear.Michigan State University...
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The Anthropocene's Best Gem Is Made Out of Old Car Paint
Agate gemstones are known for their amorphous, fluid patterns and colors created by the slow accumulation of sedimentary layers. But in the case of the obscure "gems" known as "motor agate" or...
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The Adventures of Tony Pizzo, Who Rode Around the U.S. Handcuffed to His Bicycle
On October 30, 1919, Tony Pizzo arrived in New York City chained to his bicycle. He had pedaled 3,000 miles in five-and-a-half months, attached to his bike by a three-and-a-half-foot chain and...
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Cracking the Secret Code of Car Names
See if you can guess which of these cars is a luxury car and which is a cheaper, mass-market car, just by the name:ES350A8YarisLT200SparkVelozesC300FiestaChances are, you picked the alphanumeric names...
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A Mysterious Albanian Island Will Open to Tourists
The island of Sazan, a little over three miles off the coast of Albania, was for years a mystery to the general public—home to a military base that used to shelter more than 3,000 soldiers and was...
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Deer, Violence, and Videotape
April Fool’s Day is a real pain for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that if something crazy happens to you, it’s going to be hard to convince people that it really happened. That’s...
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From Fine Art to Fishing Poles, the Most Surprising Things Libraries Are...
When the writer Deborah Fallows toured smaller and midsize communities in the United States in 2016, she made sure to make the same stop in every city and town: the local public library. Libraries were...
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Found: A Dead Bat in a Pre-Packaged Salad
In the world of mass food production, the sheer scale of food being processed means that, on occasion, some creature that’s not supposed to be in the food gets in the food. Spiders are found quite...
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A Jordan Bookseller's 24-Hour 'Emergency Room for the Mind'
Hamzeh AlMaaytah rarely sleeps, but when he does, it’s usually on the mattress hidden behind a screen in the back of his bookshop. Hamzeh, 36, is one of Amman’s most dedicated bookshop owners, and...
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Divers in Italy Are Searching for Caligula’s Last, Lost Pleasure Ship
Over the past week, divers from Italy's Civil Protection Agency have been scouring the bed of Lake Nemi, a peaceful oasis just outside of Rome. They're working off an unusual tip: According to local...
View ArticleAn Inflatable Mario and a Free-Speech Lawsuit
When James Madison wrote in the First Amendment that Congress shall make no law "abridging the freedom of speech," surely he knew that one day the owner of a video-game store would cite his words in a...
View ArticleA Pigeon's Violent Encounter With a Roller Coaster Rider
Ultra-fast roller coasters are cool and all, but you always forget about the birds. One rider of the newest (and fastest) coaster in Europe recently got a swift reminder, however, when a pigeon flew...
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