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Is There a Place in America Where People Speak Without Accents?
Where in the U.S. is the accent most featureless? (Photo: Nadezda Murmakova/shutterstock.com)If you want to anger a linguist, try bringing up a speech pattern called General American. “General American...
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Joining the Caterpillar Club is as Easy as Escaping a Fiery Plane
One of the pins issued to members of the Caterpillar Club. (Photos: Jacek Halicki/CC BY-SA 3.0)If you ever see someone sporting a golden caterpillar on their lapel, you’ll know they’re a member of a...
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The Italian Government is Giving Every Eighteen-Year-Old a €500 'Culture Bonus'
A couple of teens enjoying some culture. (Photo: SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget/CC BY 2.0)It's a great time to turn 18 in Italy. Thanks to a government initiative, all teen residents who reach that...
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How a Mathematician Turned an Obscure Number Into a Scary Story
Math can even baffle demons. (Photo: alessio/CC BY 2.0)For the most part, numbers are simply cold indicators, unable of expressing menace or guile, but then there’s Belphegor’s Prime, a supposedly...
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FOUND: The World's Largest Pearl
Not all pearls are lovely beads. (Photo: tanakawho/CC BY 2.0)The world’s largest pearl may have been discovered in an improbable setting: beneath a fisherman’s bed in the Philippines. For the last 10...
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Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale, New York
To call the Widow Jane Mine “abandoned” might be technically accurate—it’s been nearly 50 years since anything was mined here—but that misses the point. Since shutting down as a cement mine in 1970,...
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Why Do Hackers Love Beards So Much?
A representative beard from August's DefCon hacker convention. (Photo: Big Monocle) In 1969, a Bell Labs scientist by the name of Ken Thompson had a problem: he was having trouble finding a computer he...
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Seven Magic Mountains in Las Vegas, Nevada
Most people visit Las Vegas for casinos and crazy night clubs, but drive 10 miles beyond the Sin City walls and you’ll come face to face with one of Nevada’s most unique and unknown sights, the Seven...
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Nicolas Cage's Pyramid Tomb in New Orleans, Louisiana
Acclaimed, derided, and memed actor Nicolas Cage has long been known for his eccentric behavior both in front of the camera and in the real world. It seems Cage plans to continue this legacy into death...
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Sam Spade's Office in Winters, California
When the owner of a building in downtown Winters, California was trying to rent out his retail space, he found himself running into trouble with the City. The City required the building be earthquake...
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Gustave Eiffel's Secret Apartment in Paris, France
When the Eiffel Tower opened in 1889 to universal wonder and acclaim, designer Gustave Eiffel soaked up the praise, but as if that wasn't enough, it was soon revealed that he had built himself a small...
View ArticleWatch These Sprightly Frogs Compete in a 1965 Jumping Jubilee
For four days in May, the small population of about 4,000 in Angels Camp, California grows more than tenfold. Tens of thousands flock to the tiny former mining town to witness and participate in the...
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Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum in Brunswick, Maine
Located on the campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is dedicated to the study of the Arctic—and it remains one of only two museums in the US of its kind.The...
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Old Québec Funicular in Québec City, Canada
Since its founding at the beginning of the 17th century, Old Québec has been divided into the Lower Town (Basse-Ville) built along the the shore of the St. Lawrence River, and the Upper Town...
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Plot a Pinball-Themed Roadtrip With This Handy Map of America's Best Parlors
Interactive map at the bottom of the article. [Photo: Google Maps 2016]The flashing lights, the sounds of the steel ball bouncing off the bumpers, the infuriating, frustrating, intensely addictive...
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Archbald Pothole in Archbald, Pennsylvania
All too often potholes can result in your car getting a busted tire or a lost hubcap. However there is a pothole along Route 6 in Pennsylvania that could swallow your whole car and still have room for...
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The Tree Goats of Morocco in Tamri, Morocco
The Argania tree is not the most aesthetically pleasing plant in the world with a rough, thorny bark and gangly, crooked branches. But these Moroccan trees still tend to attract admirers, thanks in...
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Volcanic Island of Heimaey in Heimaey, Iceland
The Vestmannaeyjar, or Westman Islands, are a volcanic archipelago just off the southern coast of Iceland. At 10 square miles, the largest and only inhabited island is Heimaey, whose once-solitary...
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Wat Phra Yai (Big Buddha Temple) in Ko Samui, Thailand
Though by no means an ancient temple (it was built as recently as 1972), Thailand's Wat Phra Yai or "Big Buddha Temple" is still a cultural and artistic gem that's well worth a visit.The temple complex...
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A Striking Visual Compendium of All of Berlin’s Subway Stations
The platform at Potsdamer Platz, which was one of the "ghost stations" during the Berlin Wall era. (All Photos: Claudio Galamini/berlin_memories)Berlin’s metro system, the U-Bahn, is a vast...
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