Interesting Thing of the Day

What do fungi, algae, and Peter Rabbit have in common? They were all drawn by Beatrix Potter, who was one of the first to suggest that lichens may actually be a symbiosis of fungi and algae.

Scuba divers who need to spend extra time underwater or move as silently as possible can strap on a device that stretches their oxygen supply while minimizing bubbles.

The national sport of Bhutan is not merely a matter of hitting a target with an arrow. In fact, mischief and spectacle play a much larger role than accuracy.

A meteorological phenomenon that can bring extreme temperature changes within a short period of time, chinook winds are created when warm, wet winds blow from the Northwest coast of North America over the Rockies.

Some of San Francisco's best public artwork was made by an artist who changed his surname every year from 1982–2002. He's now known as Rigo 23, but his masterpieces are timeless.

Borrowing technology from military and space applications that also appears in your smartphone or digital camcorder, some fancy binoculars can keep a highly magnified image from shaking even when your hands are unsteady.

If you want to contemplate the magical powers of salt, there's no better place than a salt mine. This one near Salzburg in Bavaria is open to tourists and features an underground salt lake.

A neolithic stone village in Scotland was preserved by being covered with sand for thousands of years. Now wind and water threaten it again.

Some scientists believe that the human brain, or maybe even the entire universe, stores information in much the same way as a hologram. If true, this could explain everything from psychic experiences to the nature of God.

The red horse that serves as a decorative motif on lots of IKEA items is actually a cultural icon in Sweden with a long and storied history.

Famous for its wool and its visits by Darwin, Chatwin, and Theroux, Patagonia is a vast region of South America with surprising things around every corner (even if the corners are hundreds of miles apart).

The world's oldest surviving geared mechanism is a remarkable analog astronomical computer built by the Greeks in around 82 BCE. But after this device was created, its technology was seemingly lost for 1000 years.

The best way to get a feel for the history (and mystery) of New Orleans is to take one of numerous walking tours of the French Quarter. But watch out for ghosts and vampires.

An English-born Welsh architect set out to create not just one building, but an entire town in harmony with its environment. The result was a beautiful site that is in some ways the forerunner of sustainable development.

Of the many grand and well-known castles in Bavaria, Burghausen has an unusual claim to fame: its length of more than a kilometer—the longest in the world.