Despite its name, Oktoberfest starts in September. Called “Wiesn” in German, it’s the largest folk festival in the world.
Illinois harvested 15,000 acres of pumpkins in 2024—the highest among US states.
Tens of millions of people are turning to A.I.-powered religious apps that mimic conversations with clergy—or even God. These apps are rocketing to the top of Apple’s App Store.
Aston Martin introduced a luxury baby stroller for $3,000.
The Frisbee was accidentally invented by hungry New England college students who discovered that empty pie tins from Connecticut’s Frisbie Pie Company (1871-1958) made perfect flying discs.
Major League Baseball has approved the use of “robot umps” in 2026 as part of a limited use system to challege balls and strikes.
High-strength Californian weed is so popular in Britain that large quantities are being illegally smuggled on passenger flights.
Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un were caught in a hot-mic moment discussing immortality and organ transplants at a military parade in Beijing.
The Chicago River is clean enough for swimmers for the first time in nearly a century.
There are currently 3 billion active monthly Instagram users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The price of diamonds has fallen by more than a quarter in the last two years as buyers shift to lab-grown stones, the vast majority of which meet the quality standards of the very best natural gems.
Spaceflight accelerates aging of stem cells, lowering their production of healthy new cells. These findings suggest health risks of long-duration space flights.
Starbucks has tapped into consumers’ protein obsession by launching protein-packed cold foam and lattes.
There were 1,135 billionaires in the U.S. as of 2024—up from 927 in 2020. Collectively, these people are worth about $5.7 trillion. If you spent $1,000 every single day, it would take you 2,740 years to spend a billion dollars. That means you could have started spending during the time of ancient Rome and still be spending today.
Disney World ticket prices have risen by 56% in a decade.
Only three of the 46 new musicals that have opened on Broadway since the pandemic have become profitable.
Tesla’s board proposed a pay package that could make Elon Musk, its chief executive, the world’s first trillionaire.
More than 500,000 bankruptcies are filed in the US each year.
AI can now pass the hardest level of the CFA exam in a matter of minutes.
There are now more obese children in the world today than underweight ones.
LEGO’s new Death Star building set breaks price records at $1,000 while delivering a massive 28-inch tall replica of the iconic “Star Wars”superweapon.
The iconic red lightsaber wielded by Darth Vader in two “Star Wars” films sold at auction for $3,654,000.
The world’s largest and oldest iceberg—A23A—once the size of Rhode Island and weighing a trillion tons, has now shrunk to roughly the size of Houston as it drifts between southern Africa and South America.
Analysis of the swirling patterns in Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” found an alignment with the mathematics used to describe turbulence. The depiction may indicate he possessed an uncanny ability to capture nature’s details.
Self-driving cars in the US may not need windshield wipers starting next year. The US transportation secretary said that in 2026 the rules of the road will be updated “to fit the realities of the 21st century.”
Iceland, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, and Singapore were the top 5 most peaceful countries in the world in 2024.
Movie theaters in the United States and Canada had their worst summer since 1981, after adjusting for inflation and excluding the Covid pandemic years.
Researchers found that blue-throated macaws can learn new behaviors by observing third-party interactions between others, a trait previously seen only in humans.
Western parents are increasingly hoping for daughters rather than sons, with research showing that would-be mothers often feel they would have a stronger connection with girls.
China has more working robots than the rest of the world combined.
Archaeologists have uncovered direct evidence of brown bears being forced to fight gladiators in Ancient Rome.
Some stone skimmers in Scotland cheated by doctoring their stones to compete in the World Championships.
The best angle for skipping stones is 20 degrees.
Japan has set new records every year for the last 55 years for the number of centenarians in the country (presently 99,763). The oldest woman is 114, while the oldest man is 111 (88% of the centenarians are female).
Some dogs—dubbed “gifted word learners”—can extend word meanings to new objects based on function, not just appearance; the skill is considered a cornerstone of early language development in humans.
Khaki is Sherwin-Williams’ 2026 color of the year. A color that resembles playing it safe—not quite brown, not quite tan, not quite beige. Just... there. Sounds about right.
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