curio

Where Curio's facts come from

128 of the 148 cards published on Curio link to a source, across 66 sites. 20 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. Nothing here is a summary of a summary — if a card has no source we do not publish a source for it.

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en.wikipedia.org39 cardsreference, not primary

• A 2,000-year-old computer was found in a shipwreck
• A Crowd Is a Clue, Not a Verdict
• A Decision Note Stops Memory Drift
• A single tulip bulb once cost more than a house
• Ask for a favor to make someone like you
• Australia lost a war against birds
• Bananas are slightly radioactive
• Cheap things often have the highest cost
• Disneyland's Queues Bend on Purpose
• Hot water can freeze faster than cold
• IKEA's Blue Arrows Lead Shoppers Past Sofas
• In 1518, a town danced until people died
• Lateness Can Look Like Character
• LFP Batteries Trade Range for Staying Power
• Losing $20 hurts more than finding $20 feels good
• Most businesses don't die from low profit — they die from no cash
• Oxford was teaching before the Aztec Empire existed
• Random Inbox Rewards Train the Habit
• Soap Does Not Dissolve Grease
• Some people hear a hum no instrument can find
• Some things get stronger when you stress them
• The 1807 Law Banned Trade, Not Slavery
• The Guns That Undid the Theodosian Walls
• The last human freedom can't be taken from you
• The less you know, the more sure you feel
• The Library of Alexandria didn't burn down in a night
• The Martian Turns Survival Into Math
• The Planning Fallacy Needs Old Projects
• There's a condition where people believe they're dead
• What the Mary Celeste Actually Left Behind
• Why Content Delivery Networks Speed Up Your Internet
• Why Do Cut Apples Turn Brown?
• Why Omelas Needs One Child
• Why You Pick the Middle Option
• You don't remember experiences — you remember two moments
• You have two minds, and the loud one is usually wrong
• You like things just because they're familiar
• Your brain hoards unfinished tasks
• Your gut has its own nervous system

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov8 cards

• A Wall Sit Shakes When Force Wobbles
• A Watched Raven Moves the Food
• Embarrassment can feel like pain
• Every time you remember something, you change it
• Jenner Tested Cowpox Against Smallpox
• Remove the Cue Before the Craving
• The tree that gives no warning
• Your brain eats itself to stay sharp

consumerfinance.gov4 cards

• A $600 Repair Tests Whether Savings or Interest Pays
• A Mortgage Point Is a Bet on Staying Long Enough
• The Hidden Cost of Buy-Now-Pay-Later Plans
• Why a $25 Minimum Barely Moves a $1,000 Balance

paulgraham.com4 cards

• Every founder should know one number cold
• It's better to have 100 users who love you than a million who like you
• The best startups start by doing things that don't scale
• The goal isn't to look big — it's to not need anyone

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov4 cards

• Nobody noticed your worst moment
• People feel limbs that aren't there
• The Laptop Gets Better After You Buy It
• You live half a second in the past

journals.plos.org3 cards

• Sailing Stones Move on Thin Ice
• The sailing stones of Racetrack Playa
• Voynich Patterns Are Not a Translation

hachettebookgroup.com2 cards

• 'Follow your passion' is risky advice
• The ability to focus is becoming rare — and valuable

history.state.gov2 cards

• The 1973 Oil Shock Made Efficiency Visible
• The Berlin Airlift Kept West Berlin Supplied

nhm.ac.uk2 cards

• How Penguins Keep Their Feet Warm
• Sharks are older than trees

osti.gov2 cards

• A Ready Solar Project Can Still Wait
• Rooftop Solar Has to Fit the Local Grid

smithsonianmag.com2 cards

• An octopus has three hearts and blue blood
• Archaeologists found 3,000-year-old honey still edible

usgs.gov2 cards

• Hawaii moves toward Japan every year
• Why water stops acting like water

abc.net.au1 card

• There are more stars than grains of sand on Earth

academic.oup.com1 card

• How a Sea Slug Steals Sunlight

aeaweb.org1 card

• Why Wider Roads Fill Back Up

artsandsciences.osu.edu1 card

• We heard one strong signal from space — once

arxiv.org1 card

• Why One AI Answer Can Cost More Than Another

atulgawande.com1 card

• Why Atul Gawande Wrote a Checklist Book

australian.museum1 card

• Victorians were so afraid of being buried alive they built escape bells

beinecke.library.yale.edu1 card

• A 600-year-old book no one can read

blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk1 card

• You are almost entirely empty space

bls.gov1 card

• Your coffee isn't why you're broke

brainfacts.org1 card

• The brain can't feel pain

britannica.com1 card

• Cleopatra lived closer to the Moon landing than to the pyramids

cbinsights.com1 card

• Most startups fail by building something nobody asked for

collabfund.com1 card

• Define 'enough' before the world does it for you

columbia.edu1 card

• Elevator Mirrors Made the Wait Feel Shorter

coned.com1 card

• How a Building Buys an Afternoon Off the Grid

en.wikisource.org1 card

• Name the Event Before the Story

energystar.gov1 card

• Why a Fan Cools You but Not the Room

esa.int1 card

• There's an animal that survived open space

exploratorium.edu1 card

• Why Pressure Cookers Push Water Past 100°C

files.consumerfinance.gov1 card

• Waiting one decade can cost you half your fortune

fortune.com1 card

• One Name Makes a Task Real

history.com1 card

• Factory women were told to lick radioactive paint

hu.gatech.edu1 card

• Wombats produce cube-shaped poop

ideas.repec.org1 card

• A Task Switch Leaves Focus Behind

iea.org1 card

• Data Centers Need Power Before Chips

investor.gov1 card

• A Fund Fee Can Cost Money Without Sending a Bill

irs.gov1 card

• A Tax Refund Started as Your Paycheck

jamesclear.com1 card

• You don't rise to your goals — you fall to your systems

labs.la.utexas.edu1 card

• The Verb That Rewrites a Witness

londonmuseum.org.uk1 card

• How a Map Narrowed Cholera to One Pump

mitsloan.mit.edu1 card

• In a negotiation, silence is a tool

nasa.gov1 card

• Tunguska Was an Airburst, Not a Crater

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov1 card

• How Myelin Makes Nerve Signals Jump

news.gallup.com1 card

• People don't quit jobs — they quit unclear expectations

nist.gov1 card

• The Bigger Package Can Still Cost More Per Ounce

nps.gov1 card

• The Frozen Secret of Wood Frogs

oceanservice.noaa.gov1 card

• We've mapped Mars better than our own ocean floor

pratt.duke.edu1 card

• How Glass Frogs Hide Their Blood

rmg.co.uk1 card

• A clockmaker solved a problem that sank fleets

science.nasa.gov1 card

• A day on Venus is longer than its year

theconversation.com1 card

• The Eiffel Tower is taller in summer

thedecisionlab.com1 card

• A $5 Shipping Fee Can Sour a $40 Basket

themuse.com1 card

• What Should Happen by Day 90?

toureiffel.paris1 card

• The Eiffel Tower Outlived the Protest

trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu1 card

• What the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Changed Forever

ucanr.edu1 card

• Why Bananas Are Berries but Strawberries Are Not

van.physics.illinois.edu1 card

• Why Metal Feels Colder Than Wood Indoors

warmuseum.kyiv.ua1 card

• Birds are building nests out of drone cable

web.archive.org1 card

• You don't need to be the best — you need a rare combination

web.mit.edu1 card

• What Users Hack First

www6.slac.stanford.edu1 card

• It rains diamonds on Neptune

ycombinator.com1 card

• Why Workarounds Reveal Your Next Product

zengerfolkman.com1 card

• The most useful sentence at work: 'What am I missing?'