curio

Where Curio's facts come from

75 of the 84 cards published on Curio link to a source, across 68 sites. 9 do not, and are listed nowhere on this page — a card with no source says so by saying nothing.

Grouped by site, most-cited first. Every card below links to its own page, and that page links to the source itself. Reference sources such as Wikipedia are labelled rather than presented as primary evidence; cards without a source are excluded from this ledger.

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pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov5 cards

• A mirror helped some people unclench a missing hand
• Learning a skill can reveal mistakes you missed
• Tiny animals survived outside a spacecraft without air
• Would everyone remember your embarrassing T-shirt?
• You can like an image without remembering seeing it

consumerfinance.gov2 cards

• Small payment plans can add up to a big bill
• Why paying $25 can reduce your card debt by only $5

journals.sagepub.com2 cards

• Can choosing a laptop make it look better in your memory?
• Why a camera can seem better when a pricier one appears

plato.stanford.edu2 cards

• If every piece of a ship is replaced, is it still the same ship?
• The simplest explanation can still be wrong

access-board.gov1 card

• Why an elevator may ignore the close button for a few seconds

antarctica.gov.au1 card

• A penguin stays warm by letting its feet stay cold

archive.nyu.edu1 card

• An ancient library could lose texts without a fire

ars.usda.gov1 card

• Why does a freshly cut apple turn brown?

arxiv.org1 card

• Why hot water sometimes gets a freezing head start

ask.ifas.ufl.edu1 card

• Rain under this tree can leave blisters on your skin

au.schindler.com1 card

• Elevator mirrors can help wheelchair users back out

australian.museum1 card

• A coffin inventor added a bell—and an escape ladder

beinecke.library.yale.edu1 card

• The strange old book nobody can reliably read

brainfacts.org1 card

• How someone can talk during brain surgery

brown.edu1 card

• Why a belly flop hurts when water can move aside

canadianmysteries.ca1 card

• An Arctic crew’s note: “All well.” Later: 24 dead.

cdn.who.int1 card

• Why surgery teams say the basic checks out loud

cloudflare.com1 card

• A saved website copy can load fast but show old information

deremilitari.org1 card

• Cannons broke a city wall. Defenders filled the gap with barrels.

dynamics.berkeley.edu1 card

• Why a shoelace can hold for ages, then suddenly come undone

en.wikisource.org1 card

• Why a wealthy Roman suggested living with less

epa.gov1 card

• Why your banana is slightly radioactive

epi-snow.ph.ucla.edu1 card

• The clue that linked London deaths to one water pump

eta-publications.lbl.gov1 card

• Why a solar farm can wait years to connect to the power network

experts.umn.edu1 card

• Why unfinished work can distract you from the next task

exploratorium.edu1 card

• Why a pressure cooker makes boiling water extra hot

extension.psu.edu1 card

• Why honey lasts so long—and why the lid matters

gc.soton.ac.uk1 card

• Why a new road can bring more cars

guinnessworldrecords.com1 card

• A flight attendant survived a fall inside a broken plane

gutenberg.org1 card

• A politician won over a rival by borrowing a book

gwern.net1 card

• Why an even $20 bet might feel like a bad deal

heritagecollections.parliament.uk1 card

• Britain banned the slave trade without freeing enslaved people

hgc.com.hk1 card

• Backup internet cables can fail if they share the same route

home.csulb.edu1 card

• Would the rules seem fair if you might end up poor?

home.nps.gov1 card

• TV showed Americans police attacking voting-rights marchers

hu.gatech.edu1 card

• Wombats make square poop inside a round intestine

jnd.org1 card

• If everyone presses the label, maybe it looks like a button

journals.plos.org1 card

• Thin ice pushed heavy rocks across a desert lakebed

lavi.com1 card

• Why one checkout line can be fairer than choosing your own

mit.edu1 card

• The bat-and-ball puzzle with a tempting wrong answer

naa.gov.au1 card

• Australia sent machine guns to fight crop-eating birds

nasa.gov1 card

• The explosion that flattened a forest without making a crater

news.gallup.com1 card

• “Make the report better” can send two coworkers in opposite directions

niddk.nih.gov1 card

• How your gut keeps food moving without instructions from you

nps.gov1 card

• This frog survives ice inside its body and a stopped heart

ocean.si.edu1 card

• Shark ancestors are older than the earliest known forests

oceanexplorer.noaa.gov1 card

• How an ocean map can miss an underwater mountain

openstax.org1 card

• Why water needs soap to carry grease away

paulgraham.com1 card

• Stripe’s founders set up payment software on customers’ laptops

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov1 card

• A wrong guess can become part of your next memory

pratt.duke.edu1 card

• This frog hides its red blood cells while it sleeps

press.uchicago.edu1 card

• Did tulip trading really bankrupt the Netherlands?

rintintin.colorado.edu1 card

• Would a perfect life count if none of it really happened?

rmg.co.uk1 card

• The crew had vanished. The ship’s small boat was gone too.

sarabethbuckley.wordpress.com1 card

• A city tried to cure nonstop dancing with more dancing

sciencedirect.com1 card

• “Smashed” changed how people described a car crash

sec.gov1 card

• A profitable sale can still leave a business short of cash

sites.lsa.umich.edu1 card

• Why someone may crave a drug they no longer enjoy

sparq.stanford.edu1 card

• A longer medical test left a less painful memory

startalkmedia.com1 card

• A stranded astronaut needs food before his potatoes are ready

text-message.blogs.archives.gov1 card

• The glowing watch paint that poisoned its painters

theconversation.com1 card

• Sunlight makes the Eiffel Tower lean slightly away

toureiffel.paris1 card

• Radio helped save the Eiffel Tower from being taken down

ucl.ac.uk1 card

• How ancient gears tracked the Moon and predicted eclipses

ursulakleguin.com1 card

• Would you leave a happy city built on one child’s suffering?

van.physics.illinois.edu1 card

• Why does metal feel colder than wood in the same room?

warmuseum.kyiv.ua1 card

• A bird built its nest with cable used to control war drones

www1.eere.energy.gov1 card

• Why won’t a fan cool an empty room?