The Democratic People’s Republic of Begonias
An iconic sight in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the Kimjongilia. This hybrid begonia was bred by a Ja...
Jan 15, 2018
Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet
Short-form objects of fascination from the editors of Damn Interesting.
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Episodes
Strange Brew
According to a 1957 US government study entitled The Effect of Nuclear Explosions on Commercially Packaged Beverages,...
Jan 08, 2018
Buzz On, Buzz Off
By the 1840s the British Empire was at full tilt, operating colonies on every continent apart from Antarctica. Key fo...
Dec 11, 2017
Armed Conflict
Götz von Berlichingen (1480-1562) was a German knight and warrior for hire in the first half of the 16th century. In...
Dec 04, 2017
Australia's Humped Pestilence
The introduction of non-native species can be a tricky business. The feral camels of Australia are a case in point. T...
Nov 27, 2017
Aluminum Illuminated
Shortly after aluminum was first discovered in the early 19th century it was counted among the most precious metals o...
Sep 08, 2017
Hasty Hostilities
Zanzibar, an island nation that is now part of Tanzania, has been a contested territory for centuries. Starting in th...
Sep 04, 2017
The Height of Mathematics
The height of Mount Everest was not calculated by George Everest, but by a brilliant mathematician who has since been...
Aug 28, 2017
Of Meteors and Men
In the early 1960s, General Electric proposed a system whereby an astronaut in a space emergency might abandon ship a...
Aug 21, 2017
Of Earwax and Ethnicity
One way of determining a person’s likely ethnicity is looking inside their ears. Simply put, there are two kinds of e...
Aug 14, 2017
National Treasure
Inside America's Mount Rushmore National Monument there is a "secret" chamber known as the Hidden Hall of Records. Th...
Aug 02, 2017
Well-Rounded
The most perfectly spherical object ever observed by mankind is the electron. In a series of experiments led by physi...
Jul 13, 2017
Short of Giants
In the 17th Century there was a shortage of giants in Europe, and only one man was to blame. The giant-greedy Frederi...
Mar 30, 2017
Fluid Identity
When a caterpillar enters the chrysalis stage, it is not merely sprouting wings to become a moth or butterfly. Enzyme...
Feb 23, 2017
Tastes on a Plane
Consumption of tomato juice is unusually popular on commercial airline flights. For example, German airline Lufthansa...
Jan 12, 2017
Do Not Go Lulled Into That Good Night
While today’s vision of the conductor is that of the be-tuxedoed individual standing in front of an orchestra holding...
Nov 17, 2016
Poor Execution
Jack Ketch was a man in need of a career change. As the official executioner during King Charles II’s 17th-century re...
Nov 08, 2016
A Googol by Any Other Name
When inventing a name for an imaginary and/or ridiculous object or concept, the best resource is often a child. A cle...
Sep 22, 2016
Titan the Bolts
On 18 September 1980, an Air Force airman was conducting routine maintenance high in the missile silo at a Titan II n...
Sep 13, 2016
Going Under
Among other things, former president Lyndon Baines Johnson was known for his collection of unique automobiles, which...
Aug 24, 2016
Victory in Death
Frank Hayes must have been excited as he climbed into the saddle on 04 June 1923. While the 35-year-old horse trainer...
Aug 04, 2016
Mind-warping Knowledge
Before London taxi drivers are allowed to convey paying customers in their renowned black cabs, they must be ‘of good...
Jul 06, 2016
The Cantaloupe Peril
Serving your melon with a layer of prosciutto around it may simply seem like one of the many lovely contributions of...
Jul 01, 2016
Unpresidented Situation
The framers of the United States Constitution explicitly forbade the United States from granting titles of nobility i...
Jun 27, 2016
Law Suit
In 1993, in an effort to avoid bad press, a zoo in Toluca, Mexico sought to quickly and quietly replace a gorilla tha...
Jun 10, 2016
All Together Now
In 1964, The Beatles traveled across the pond for a series of tour dates that would be their first in North America....
Jun 08, 2016
Vicary-ous
Market researcher James Vicary became well-known for a 1957 study attesting to the efficacy of subliminal advertising...
Jun 03, 2016
Cut It Out
Inés Ramírez Pérez of Rio Talea, Mexico, is known for being one of the only confirmed people to have successfully completed a Caesarian section on herself.
May 31, 2016
Poster Child
In 1935, Sonne ins Haus (The Sun in the Home) was one of the few magazines allowed to circulate in Nazi Germany. The...
May 30, 2016
The Ice Worm Cometh
On the curious, tiny organisms that make their homes inside glaciers.
Nov 16, 2011
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