Once a year, Bali goes completely silent

The banishment of Nian marks the origin of the Lunar New Year

After suffering for years as Nian destroys their crops and eats their children, villagers are visited by a mysterious stranger who reveals that the monster is afraid of loud noises and fire. The villagers use the information to drive Nian out, celebrating their victory every year after with fireworks, feasting, and more.

New Year's Eve celebrations date back to ancient Babylon

Rather than celebrating in winter, the Babylonians honored the vernal equinox, a day in late March with equal amounts of darkness and light that signaled the start of a new year. They celebrated with Akitu, an 11-day festival.

One New Yorker saved $1,600 during her 'no-buy January'

A social trend in recent years encourages participants to buy essentials only for the month (an abbreviation of the even more radical no-buy year). Hannah Marder gave the fast a go, fastidiously dividing her purchases into wants and needs and managing to save roughly $1,600 over the month.

Guatemala's Day of the Dead tradition fills the sky with colorful kites

In a tradition that has lasted over 3,000 years, Guatemalans launch giant kites into the air on the eve of Day of the Dead. The colorful kites honor the dead and carry messages of hope, love and peace to the world.

Life during three months of polar night

In Norway's Svalbard archipelago, night reigns from November to January, as with many communities living within the polar regions. Contrary to popular assumptions about such places, many residents of the region describe the long darkness as peaceful, a time to slow down and draw nearer to neighbors and community. Read more on life in polar night, specifically in the Svalbard town of Longyearbyen, in this essay from a resident there.

The volcano threatening the Greek island of Santorini

Santorini is a popular tourist destination, known for its stunning white architecture and dreamy blue waters. Yet underneath the charming island is a potentially dangerous underwater volcano. Recent earthquakes have triggered nearly half of residents to evacuate, signaling heightened uncertainty about when the volcano could erupt. Researchers studying activity in the region plan to produce detailed hazard maps for Greek authorities to improve local safety and emergency planning.

Niagara Falls stopped flowing for a full day in 1848 due to ice

In March 1848, ice jams halted the Niagara River entirely for over 24 hours, allowing people to walk on the riverbed—a rare event that drew international headlines.

Photos from Burning Man 2023

The annual Burning Man festival occurs in August where over 70,000 people gather in the austere setting of the Black Rock Desert playa in Nevada. The city is set up for a week in concentric circles where attendees set up their habitats and art...

Ramadan tends to reduce Gulf productivity, but increases reported happiness

Economists have documented a measurable dip in productivity and output in Muslim-majority countries during Ramadan. But surveys consistently show the opposite on subjective well-being, with people reporting they feel better and more connected.

Budget airline Spirit announced its shutdown on May 2, 2026

After filing for bankruptcy twice, there were a multitude of reasons for the airline's shutdown, including an increase in jet fuel prices due to the conflict in Iran in the first half of 2026.

Hear today's call to prayer and special 'duas' sung by the muezzin

The call to prayer is a distinctive sound marking the start and end of the fast each day, playing a key cultural role in the rhythms of the period. This archive collects "duas" (or supplications, or a prayerful petition) for each day in the year, with timely prayers and recitations sung by the muezzin, or cantor, in gorgeously intricate melodic intervals.

Fiji's 'quiet' diabetes crisis

Across the Pacific archipelago of Fiji, diabetes often avoids diagnosis until amputation or death is imminent. Fiji's government has said nearly 30% of its population has diabetes, and, in 2019, related amputations accounted for 40% of the country's hospital operations. This "sugar disease" may have such a stronghold on the archipelago, which has a physically active culture that prizes locally sourced foods, due to cost, with processed foods being much cheaper than alternatives.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

At 3 pm on Memorial Day, Americans are asked to pause for one minute of silence

President Bill Clinton first called for the National Moment of Remembrance in 1999, and Congress made it law in 2000. The time was chosen because most Americans are in the middle of holiday activities.

Explaining why animals don't cross this invisible line in Indonesia

Although the distance separating the two regions is small, East and West Indonesia have starkly different species, puzzling scientists for decades. Biogeographers use the theory of plate tectonics to explain the phenomenon, arguing the two regions...

Why is there a regular event to call Houdini from beyond the grave?

An annual seance on the anniversary of Harry Houdini's Halloween death seeks to communicate with the great escapologist from the great beyond. This podcast episode explores why the Hungarian illusionist wanted these magical rites held after his...

Indian Creek Village: the exclusive billionaire island

Off the coast of Miami lies an island called Indian Creek Village. Spanning around 300 acres, the island is home to a few dozen homes owned by celebrities, sports stars, and tech founders. Only residents and verified visitors can enter this private space, protected by its own police force. Listen to this podcast episode for more information about the private island and why the wealthy love it.

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

Listen to forests around the world

Looking for something soothing to listen to? Tree.fm shares audio recordings of forests sent from people all over the world. Escape into the sounds of birds chirping, water flowing, or wind in the trees. This site offers a tool for those in need of meditative noises, and a bit of digital fresh air.

In the 1930s, New York banned buskers as part of an antinoise campaign

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was hoping to modernize the city and believed that street performers only crowded the streets and added to an annoying cacophony. Residents wrote to the mayor to protest the decision, arguing that buskers were appreciated by the public.

Hawaii is the only US state with no incorporated municipalities

Unlike every other state, Hawaii has no cities or towns. Its four county governments manage all local services—the functions that municipalities provide elsewhere in the US—across the entire state.

Read Swami Vivekananda's 1893 speech to the World's Parliament of Religions

The Hindu monk’s appearance at the conference, which many credit with introducing the US to Hindusim, emphasized tolerance and bemoaned religious violence and bigotry. “I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism,” he told those assembled.

States have stepped in to keep national parks open during shutdowns

National parks typically close during federal shutdowns, but in 2023, Arizona and Utah planned to use state funds to keep parks open—highlighting how shutdowns can disrupt tourism and local economies.

Some companies like to make their IPO day antics unique

An article details some of the wildest bell-ringing day stunts in recent history, from Clifford the Big Red Dog ringing the opening bell to one company's employees roasting marshmallows in a campfire on Wall Street as it went public.

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

Things to avoid doing in Barcelona

Everyone gets told about the places they should visit, the food they should try, and the activities they should do. But what about the things one shouldn’t do? Here’s that list. The authors are journalists and tour guides in Barcelona, so you can suspect they know what they’re talking about when they say “Don’t treat tapas like fast food.”

'Silent' fireworks are not entirely noise-free

By using a reduced amount of flash powder—the ingredient responsible for the loud explosions that fireworks make—"silent" fireworks produce displays between 70 and 90 decibels, rather than the approximately 175 decibels heard in professional displays.

Cerebrospinal fluid flushes waste from your brain during sleep

Recent research suggests a nightly brain cleanup as an important purpose of sleep. Brain waves have been observed to work in lockstep with the brain’s blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid flow, allowing for a cleansing tide that washes away toxic waste.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

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

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

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

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

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

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

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.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.