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In 1844, the Philippines Skipped a Day, And It Took Decades for the Rest of...
The southern Philippines, in an 1852 map (Image: Geographicus Rare Antique Maps/Wikimedia)One of the marvels of modern civilization is that, for the most part, humans all around the globe have agreed...
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How Studying Really Stoned People Can Unlock Secrets of Paranoid Thinking
Security cameras covering four angles. (Photo: Johnny Habell/shutterstock.com)Someone is walking behind you. Their pace is even, but you know they’re close. You quicken your step, turn the corner–are...
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Fleeting Wonders: Shredding the Worst of 2015 in Times Square
A few things people hope to leave behind in 2016. (Photo: Countdown Entertainment)Before welcoming 2016 with optimism and open arms, you’ve got to shred the worst of 2015. That’s the idea behind “Good...
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The Bar at Vernadsky Research Base in Antarctica
Originally founded in 1947 by the British as an Antarctic expeditionary base, Vernadsky Research Base was bought by the Ukraine in 1996 for the price of one British pound, since the cost to dismantle...
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Baalbek Trilithon in Baalbek, Lebanon
There were many stone movers in the ancient world. From Stonehenge to Macchu Piccu, ancient peoples found a way to move stones of massive proportions. The Olmec of Central America moved enormous stone...
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Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan
Situated in the suburbs of Mitaka,the Ghibli Museum is both a showcase for the famed animation studio and a playground for children of any age.Known in the west for its films such as Spirited Away,the...
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Paper House in Rockport, Massachusetts
Elis F. Stenman started building his house in 1922 as anyone else would, with a timber frame, roof, and floors. But when this mechanical engineer and tinkerer began constructing the walls, he chose to...
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Sweden Solar System in Stockholm, Sweden
The Sweden Solar System is the world's largest model of our planetary system, at a scale of 1:20 million.The sun is represented by the Globe Arena in Stockholm, the largest spherical building in the...
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Awashima Jinja in Wakayama, Japan
Awashima jinja is a shrine for women and is famous for its enormous collection of dolls.There are a lot of Japanese superstitions about dolls, and a good number of people in Japan seem to find them a...
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Kawah Ijen in Banyuputih, Indonesia
It is an American pastime to complain about one's job. A bad boss, late hours, poor pay: there is always plenty to complain about. However even the worst office 9-5 in the U.S. is a cakewalk compared...
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Cat Island in Ishinomaki, Japan
On the island of Tashirojima, the cats outnumber people, and the people like it that way.It's no accident that the cats who inhabit Tashirojima, or what has become known as "Cat Island," in Japan have...
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La Specola Anatomical Collection in Florence, Italy
The largest and best-known wax anatomical collection, La Specola is part of the Museum of Natural History in Florence and also houses some wonderful taxidermy, including now extinct specimens and a...
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Fontanelle Cemetery Caves in Naples, Italy
Like many ossuaries in Europe, the Cimitero Fontanelle began as an secondary burial ground when the church yards and crypts began to overflow. Unlike other ossuaries, the skulls of the anonymous dead...
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Roppongi Hills Garden Pond in Minato, Japan
When the Roppongi Hills urban development project opened in 2003, it quickly wowed Tokyoites with its office towers, art museum, deluxe hotels, and prestigious shopping.The most curious part of the...
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Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Hawaii
Contrary to popular belief, the tallest mountain in the world is not Mount Everest but rather Hawaii's Mauna Kea. That is, if you measure from Mauna Kea's peak to its base on the Pacific Ocean...
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How New Year's Eve Came to Times Square
Confetti showers in Times Square at midnight on December 31. (Photo: Kohei Kanno/flickr)On New Year’s Eve in 1903, there was no countdown to midnight, no ball drop, and no partygoers wearing silly hats...
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The Subversive Design of America's Suburban Churches
The prow of the First Unitarian Society Meeting House in Madison WI, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (Nomadseifer / Wikimedia Commons) “You Belong in PARK FOREST!” claims a 1952 advertisement for a...
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Relive the Glory Days of '80s Subway Graffiti With These Captivating Photos
Bearded character with kids, by unidentified artist, 1981. (Photo: © Martha Cooper) In 1984, the book Subway Art, by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, was released. It documented New York’s early 1980s...
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The Hidden History of the Housewarming Pineapple
One of the grander uses of a pineapple motif, at Dunmore House in Scotland. (Photo: Otter/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0) If you were rich 1700s nobleman, had a dinner table, and wanted to impress your...
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FOUND: A Cedar Log Road That Dates Back to the Civil War
The road (Photo: Fairfax County Parks Authority)In Fairfax County, Virginia, county employees were digging into the ground to build a road shoulder, when they found a layer of macadam–an older sort of...
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