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. 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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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?'