Posted in r/todayilearned by u/The_Questionist69 • 3,177 points and 404 comments

A climatologist predicted that our earthquake alley had a 50-50 chance for a big one, a megaquake maybe on the order of the horrific seismic jolts that dismantled the area

He's the star of the acclaimed 24 and tonight he'll save America one more time as the latest series reaches its climax. But life hasn't always smiled on Kiefer Sutherland. After Brat Pack superstardom his career nosedived, then Julia Roberts ditched him.…

Back in 1991, scientists were amazed when they made the discovery...
In the eerie environment inside the abandoned Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, researchers remotely piloting robots spotted pitch...

One of the most widely-circulated bits of misinformation to be found on the internet.

Moby has canceled his book tour and vowed to "go away for awhile" after sentiment turned against him in a dispute with Natalie Portman.

Waterbeds were a coveted, "fluid fixture" of bedrooms—until suddenly they weren't.

The country's aging population means businesses have to shift their approach.

80% complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil

“Did you get your flu shot?” If your friends are anything like mine, you heard this question at least a dozen times before Thanksgiving. You probably got your fair share of disdainful looks too, if you answered “No.” But why are we worried about getting the…

game, played with a group or alone, in which players imagine that the floor is made of lava and avoid touching the ground lest they get burnt by standing on furniture; the players must move from one piece of furniture to the next

The words cement and concrete are often used interchangeably, but they actually have very different meanings. In fact, many things you probably think are made of cement are actually made of concrete. And while you probably refer to those big trucks with rotating…

Why is the US drinking age 21? And how did it happen? In this episode of Vox Almanac, Vox’s Phil Edwards explores the history of the somewhat unusual way the drinking age became 21.

Help us make more ambitious videos by joining the Vox Video Lab. It brings…

extra second inserted to keep civil time in sync with the Earth's rotation

It has been revealed that deep in the bowels of the Cumbrian nuclear plant there is a freezer packed with an expanding mountain of radioactive gulls.

46 years later, it's still unsolved.