Leftover Pizza Is Healthier Than Fresh Thanks to Resistant Starch
That cold slice of leftover pizza in your refrigerator is actually healthier than it was when fresh. Cooling starchy foods creates…
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A Quarter of the Netherlands Lives Below Sea Level
The Netherlands is so low-lying that 26 percent of its land area and most of its population sit below sea level. The Dutch joke that God…
The Number 4 Is Unlucky in China
In Chinese culture, the number 4 is considered extremely unlucky because its pronunciation sounds like the word for death. Many buildings…
Butter May Have Been Invented by Eurasian Nomads on Horseback
The origin of butter might be traced back to Eurasian nomads who carried mare's milk in skin bags during long journeys. The repeated…
George Stephenson Invented the Steam Blast for Locomotives
George Stephenson invented the steam blast in 1814, a crucial innovation that redirected exhaust steam up the chimney to increase the…
Steam Locomotives Required Up to 14 Coupled Driving Wheels
Early steam locomotives like Stephenson's Rocket had only a single pair of driving wheels, but later locomotives were built with as many as…
China Has the World's Largest High-Speed Rail Network
China's high-speed rail network spans approximately 38,000 kilometers, connecting all of the country's major megacity clusters and…
Japan's Shinkansen Bullet Train Has Carried Over 10 Billion Passengers
Since its inauguration in 1964, Japan's Shinkansen high-speed rail network has safely transported over 10 billion passengers without a…
Maglev Trains Float Above the Track Using Magnetic Levitation
Maglev trains use powerful magnets to levitate above the guideway, eliminating wheel friction entirely. These trains can reach speeds…
The Trans-Siberian Railroad Spans Eight Time Zones
The Trans-Siberian Railroad is the longest single rail system in the world, stretching 5,771 miles across Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok…
The Transcontinental Railroad Reduced Cross-Country Travel from Months to Days
Before the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, traveling across the United States took about six months by wagon or ship.…
The Rocket Locomotive Reached 36 Miles Per Hour in 1829
The Stephensons' Rocket locomotive achieved a speed of 36 miles per hour during the Rainhill Trials in 1829, winning a competition to…
The First Steam Locomotive Pulled 450 Passengers at 15 Miles Per Hour
On September 27, 1825, George Stephenson's Locomotion became the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public railway. The train…
The Mongol Empire Facilitated the Spread of Gunpowder to Europe
The Mongol conquests helped transfer gunpowder technology from China to the Middle East and eventually Europe, fundamentally changing…
Genghis Khan Descendants Ruled for Centuries After His Death
The Mongol Empire was divided into khanates ruled by Genghis Khan sons and grandsons. His descendants continued to rule across Asia for…
Genghis Khan United the Mongol Tribes at Age 40 After Decades of Warfare
Born as Temujin around 1162, Genghis Khan spent nearly three decades fighting rival tribes before finally unifying all Mongol tribes in…
The Mongols Had a Written Legal Code Called the Yassa
Genghis Khan established the Yassa, a comprehensive code of laws that governed the Mongol Empire. Though no complete copy survives, it…
The Mongols Used Primitive Biological Warfare by Catapulting Diseased Bodies
During the siege of Caffa in 1346, Mongol forces catapulted plague-infected corpses over the city walls. This is one of the earliest…