Explore the metaverse with this mind map

The interoperable metaverse and what that means

This explainer video explores the challenges of achieving the interoperability needed to unify economies, avatars and systems across virtual worlds in the metaverse.

A framework for understanding the metaverse

An article answering some of the metaverse's most foundational questions: How much of the metaverse is already here? When will the rest arrive? And how will it grow?

What does the metaverse actually look like?

An emerging virtual world could change how we work, play, and do business. This five-minute video shows you what it looks like and the potential it holds.

Expert predictions on the metaverse

Experts are split about the likely evolution of a truly immersive metaverse. Many worry current online problems may be magnified if Web3 development is led by those who built today’s dominant web platforms.

Virtual and augmented realities are paving the way for a more immersive future

Tech companies like Apple, Meta, and Microsoft invest heavily in immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. While VR transports users to a fully digital space and AR adds digital elements to the real world, mixed reality allows interaction with both at once.

By 2022, Meta was betting strongly on a metaverse strategy for its products

Moving beyond the controversies over fueling misinformation, division, and harm worldwide, Mark Zuckerberg expressed optimism about technology's role in connecting people. Meta's multibillion-dollar investments in integrative AR and VR technologies have further evolved its founder's vision.

Explore an interactive map of the unified theories of everything

This interactive concisely describes many highly complex theories ranging from quantum gravity and black holes to dark matter and energy. Supplementary resources, key questions, and possible solutions accompany each description. As of 2026, no developed theory provides an accepted explanation of all observed phenomena in the universe at all scales.

A fascinating look at how a journalist spends 24 hours in the metaverse

A Wall Street Journal strapped on a VR headset for a full day. Here's what happened when she went to work meetings, hung out with new avatar friends and attended shows — all in the metaverse.

Coinbase and the metaverse

In this essay, Coinbase founders Brian Armstrong and Alex Reeve talk about the importance of the metaverse, the components of it, and the role Coinbase plays.

Investors are buying up land in the Metaverse

Real-estate transactions in the metaverse are reaching record highs. Digital real estate investors share how and why they're spending millions on virtual property.

Is there a First Amendment right to assemble in the metaverse?

Metaverse users have taken to digital streets to protest topics ranging from the commercialization of the supposed decentralized virtual world to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Do these protesters have the legal right to do so? Do First Amendment rights for American users carry over into the metaverse's digital sphere, and what dangers await users in countries prone to protest suppression? This article explores human rights and the right to protest in the metaverse.

A map of the Milky Way

Curious about the layout of the cosmos? This resource presents a detailed map of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Learn the basic structure and identify prominent global clusters, nebulae, main arms, spurs, and constellations. With numerous different maps and mediums, get oriented with the universe’s configuration and where exactly we fit into it.

The future of the internet

Blockchain? Crypto? NFTs? Oh my. Gilles DC provides a simple breakdown of what Web3 is, what it involves, its connection with web currencies, and how you can begin your own explorations of this brave new world. Gilles promises to describe Web3 in one take, explain how the reader can take advantage of it, and how blockchain might build a better society as a result.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

How metaphors shape the way we think

A metaphor is often viewed as a form of art, deployed only in special circumstances to help an audience grasp something complex or unique. But metaphors are far more fundamental than that, shaping much of how we think about our relationship to others and the world. This article explores how a focus on the metaphors we use can clarify and strengthen our thinking. Learn more here.

A collaborative map lets anyone rename the entire world in real time

Rename.world is a playful, community-driven project where users discover, claim, and rename locations across a live global map. It's kind of like Wikipedia meets Google Maps, filtered through the internet's love of chaos and whimsy.

An interactive timeline of history, from beginning to middle

The history of humanity is a long, winding road, and the history of everything else is even more complex and interwoven. This interactive timeline takes users through the history of the world and includes links to related videos, blurbs, and events. Each event in history is represented by a dot, providing users with a glittering horizon filled with moments of intrigue and impact.

Common mistakes we make about the world map

Maps have long loosely approximated what the world actually looks like. Here's a few common errors that persist due to outdated conceptions of the world.

Explore the world of fan fiction

This guide to the genre's major platforms breaks down their strengths and weaknesses, offering an excellent primer for the uninitiated newcomers.

Explore the lunar surface, orbit, and rocks with NASA's moon interactives

This webpage offers tools to explore the moon digitally, including MoonTrek, a 3D lunar surface explorer, and the Daily Moon Guide, an interactive map for tracking the moon each day of the year.

How to visualize the enormous wealth of Elon Musk

The disruptive innovator and founder of SpaceX and Tesla is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, an unimaginable sum. This simple interactive visual uses pixels (representing $1K each) on a scrolling screen to demonstrate the billionaire's wealth compared to other known financial values, like the cost of building a Boeing 777 or the net worth of Tiger Woods.

Run your own social media Trust & Safety team with this eye-opening game

Ever wondered what really goes on behind the scenes at a popular social media company trying to keep users, businesses, and workers safe? Now you can try out your own ideas for moderation and management with this fun and informative game designed to...

What to see at the Met

With hundreds of thousands of objects on display at any given time, how do you decide what to see at the Met? This video tour from Behind the Masterpiece walks through some of the museum’s most popular and interesting works, like the ancient Temple of Dendur and John Singer Sargent's 'Portrait of Madame X', explaining their cultural context and why they’ve captivated visitors for so many years.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Find connections between Wikipedia articles utilizing a node mapping tool

Multiple Wikipedia articles can be placed on the map, each with its own node, and expanded to reveal related articles. The goal is to expand as many subsequent nodes as needed to connect articles and identify related concepts. Any node can be double-clicked on to open its respective Wikipedia page.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Psychedelic compounds: a visual library

However psychedelic experiences manifest, they all begin with the presence of psychoactive compounds. Learn about their various chemical compositions in this structural library of psychedelic compounds. Clicking on an entry will take readers to a new page where they can learn about the chemistry and pharmacology of each compound, as well as the drug's possible applications.

The overview effect is a cognitive shift experienced when viewing Earth from space

Astronauts regularly report profound realizations after seeing Earth from space for the first time, sometimes prompting significant philosophical changes, including a greater awareness of the interconnectedness and fragility of life.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.