On one sailor's race to sail around the world solo

That time two journalists raced around the world in 80 days

In 1889, Journalist Nellie Bly, née Elizabeth Jane Cochran, set sail on a journey around the world to compete with Phileas Fogg, the protagonist of the 1872 fiction novel "Around the World in Eighty Days." This short video explains how competing...

The 'maiden of maiden voyages' who taught the world how to fly

In 1939, Clara Adams set the world record for the fastest person to circle the globe via commercial airliner, though she was a passenger and not a pilot. This article explores the impact of Adams' journey on the commercial flight industry. During...

Francis Drake: favored English pirate who sailed around the world

Before becoming the global explorer that many know him as today, Sir Francis Drake was a pirate, merchant, and slave trader. This in-depth article dives into the life of Drake, who's commonly credited as the first person to circumnavigate the globe by ship successfully.

A deep dive into the lives of Guinness World Record addicts

Most people don't hold any world records. Then, there's this group of adventurers, who are racing to own the most. A look at the ambitious world record pursuers racking up hundreds of accomplishments.

The attack at Pearl Harbor led to the world's first around-the-world commercial flight

A World War II-era commercial flight was forced to change course when Pearl Harbor was bombed, leading the 12-member crew on the world's first commercial flight to circumnavigate the globe. The Boeing 314 crossed the equator four times during the journey, which totaled more than 30,000 miles and required the crew to strip the plane of any identifying marks.

Some people smash Champagne bottles on ships for good luck

Long before Champagne existed, people performed good-luck rituals before setting sail. But since animal sacrifice is generally frowned upon these days, a new tradition developed before a ship’s maiden voyage: smashing a bottle of Champagne against the hull.

How did Polynesian wayfinders navigate the Pacific Ocean?

Ancient Polynesian navigators used the sun, moon, stars, clouds, currents, and more to sail the seas. People of Southeast Asia began their voyages to the region now known as Polynesia in roughly 1500 BCE. They would settle a vast area of 15 million square miles, including hundreds of islands, moving from islands due to overpopulation or war. Such voyages dwindled in 1300 CE as societies became more rooted.

Kathrine Switzer was the first official female finisher in the Boston Marathon

A year after Bobbi Gibb’s unofficial finish, Kathrine Switzer registered under an androgynous name to avoid suspicion. Race officials unsuccessfully tried to remove her from the race while she was competing (pictured below), but she ultimately became the first woman to officially finish the race. In 1972, the Boston Marathon changed its rules to allow women to register.

The world's maritime traffic in real-time

More than 50,000 ships are sailing the high seas on any given day, representing the highest volume pathway for international trade. This real-time traffic provides a visual impression of the scale of ocean-bound commerce.

'Shipping Out' can be viewed as a more recent example of subjective journalism

Later retitled "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," Wallace's essay details his existential experience on a cruise ship with biting wit. Arguably more Gonzo than New Journalism, Wallace laments the pressure to have fun in the commercialized cruise atmosphere that brings out feelings of dread more than pleasure.

Gen Z is increasingly interested in running marathons

The race has become a popular event for young people. Over 12,000 20-somethings signed up for the New York Marathon in 2024. That's a significant increase from 2023 (9.987) and 2022 (8,039).

Sailor tattoos represent naval milestones

Sailors often come home with mermaids or turtles adorning their bodies. But what does it mean to have permanent images of propellers on your bum, British galleons with soaring tiers of sails on your chest, or a bicep portrait of the Roman god Neptune? Those tattoos represent meaningful naval milestones.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

The Artemis program to bring humans to the moon for the first time since 1972

Using NASA's next-generation megarocket, the Space Launch System, Artemis I will take an uncrewed spacecraft on a 42-day journey around the moon. Subsequent missions plan to land the first woman on the lunar surface.

Becoming an Olympic swimmer costs tens of thousands of dollars

When you see Olympic athletes win gold, it's the culmination of years of hard work and discipline. But it isn't all sweat equity. Before ever stepping foot on the world stage, these athletes have to pay or find funding for private coaching and lessons, club memberships, and meet fees, with estimates that it costs $25K to $40K to make it to the Olympics.

A pod of orcas takes down a yacht

The pod rammed the boat’s rudder for about 45 minutes. Authorities were able to get crew members to land safely, but their yacht was irreparably damaged. Check out the story and photos here.

Voyager mission's Golden Record captures Earth’s essence for alien discovery

Housed aboard Voyager 1 and 2, each record serves as a time capsule of human culture and a peaceful introduction to any intelligent life. Even if never played, the records can outlast humanity and travel through space for a billion years.

The Grace Hopper Celebration honors women in computing every year

Since 1994, the world's largest gathering of women technologists has been produced by The Anita Borg Institute, a nonprofit driving intersectional equity in the global technical workforce. The event honors the legacy of Grace Hopper by highlighting the research and impact of women in technology.

The American missionary and the uncontacted tribe

When a 26-year-old American missionary set out for a lush island in the Indian Ocean last year, it was with one objective in mind: to convert the uncontacted Sentinelese tribe, who had lived for centuries in isolation, free from modern technology, disease, and religion. John Chau's mission had ambitions for a great awakening, but what awaited instead was tragedy.

Read a list of one digital nomad's favorite remote work locations

Roughly 18 million Americans travel the world while working remotely, hunting for hotels and cafes with solid Wi-Fi connections and weather. From Thailand to Greece, these digital nomads have worked all over the world in the years since remote work has become more popular.

The quest to find natural ways to extend lifespan

Tales of searching for the Fountain of Youth persist. Our modern-day version is marked by promises of pharmaceutical miracles and a proliferation of viral "biohacking" routines. One doctor’s quest to unlock the keys to longevity stimulated much of this renewed fervor, though his ideas are often taken out of context.

The world's largest coral, as seen from space

The world’s largest individual coral colony—measuring over 100 feet wide and 100 feet long—was discovered in the Solomon Islands. This coral is so large it can be seen from space, and is estimated to be between 300 and 500 years old. The coral's size and health provide hope amidst a global coral bleaching crisis, wherein three-quarters of coral reefs have experienced significant bleaching in recent decades. See the photos from space and learn more here.

The fatal allure of the Andrea Doria

The SS Andrea Doria was a luxury ocean liner that sank in 1956 after colliding with the Swedish passenger liner MS Stockholm. The sinking of the Andrea Doria was one of the most famous maritime disasters of the 20th century, and it resulted in the...

Great circles provide the shortest path between two points on a sphere

On Earth, a great circle is formed by slicing through the planet, such that one cuts through the center alongside the two locations from which the shortest distance needs to be found. The resulting arc along the Earth's surface is responsible for curved routes on flight maps, rather than straight trajectories.

Examining golf's problems with race

In 1961, the PGA removed the "Caucasian-only" membership clause, marking the last major professional sports organization to desegregate. But unlike other sports, golf didn't see an influx of Black players following the change. This article from The Ringer's Lex Pryor examines golf's complicated history with race and gender, showing both the progress made and the challenges that remain.

Touring the northernmost brewery in the world

Svalbard Brewery is located in the Arctic village of Longyearbyen—in a region known for polar bears, reindeer, and miles of uninhabited frozen tundra—and caters to a diverse, international clientele who appreciate the beer's unique ingredient: 2,000-year-old glacier water.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

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

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.