Money, Power & Economics
Mar 4, 2026
Bill Gates' bucket list is not dying.
When you're worth over $100 billion, you've presumably done most things. Seen places. Bought islands. Eradicated diseases for fun. What's left? According to Gates himself: staying alive. That's the whole list. One item. The most relatable billionaire moment in history.
The Weird & Unexplained
Mar 3, 2026
Virginia has a mystery tunnel.
There's a pedestrian tunnel in Arlington, Virginia, that was used in the 1950s to protect children from traffic. Sensible enough. Except there are no records of who built it, when, or why. It just exists. A concrete gift from the bureaucratic void. You're welcome, children of the past.
Culture, Fame & Curiosity
Mar 2, 2026
Frank Sinatra has three Hollywood stars.
One for film. One for music. One for television. Most people struggle to be mediocre at one thing. Sinatra was apparently excellent at three. The Walk of Fame has over 2,700 stars. He took three of them. Greedy, really.
Culture, Fame & Curiosity
Mar 1, 2026
Squirrels oversee lost teeth.
In Sri Lanka, it is traditional for children to throw their lost baby teeth onto the roof of their house while a squirrel is present. The act is meant to encourage the new tooth to grow strong and healthy, with the squirrel serving as a symbolic witness rather than an active participant. Unlike tooth fairy traditions elsewhere, there is no exchange of gifts or rewards and no particular emphasis on sentimentality. The tooth is simply thrown away, the squirrel is acknowledged, and life continues. Cultural rituals do not always explain themselves, and this one is content to leave it at that.
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Your ISP sells your history.
In the US, ISPs have been legally allowed to sell customer browsing history since 2017. Every search, every site, every 3am Wikipedia spiral. Someone's monetizing your insomnia. A VPN encrypts that traffic into meaningless noise. Your existential crises remain your own.
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Money, Power & Economics
Feb 28, 2026
The average Cuban salary is $16 a month.
In Cuba in 2025 the average monthly wage was roughly equivalent to US $16, even at the relatively higher official exchange rate, placing ordinary incomes far below what most people elsewhere consider a living salary. This figure doesn’t include foreign currency earnings or remittances that some workers supplement their income with, and it varies by sector and region, but it remains a stark indicator of how low state-set wages are compared with basic costs of food, services, and housing. Most Cubans earn in Cuban pesos under a planned economy that sets wages centrally, and those wages struggle to cover necessities without help from alternate income sources. People work. They get paid. The number doesn’t aim to be inspiring.
The Weird & Unexplained
Feb 27, 2026
CIA tried to unhair Castro.
During Operation Mongoose, the CIA explored a plan to sabotage Fidel Castro’s public image by slipping thallium salts into his shoes. The chemical would have caused his beard, eyebrows, and even pubic hair to fall out, undermining the iconic appearance that formed part of his political persona. The idea never moved beyond planning stages, but it sits among the many unconventional schemes devised to discredit or destabilise Castro during the Cold War. The goal was not assassination, just humiliation, which somehow made the proposal even stranger.
Food, Drink & Obsession
Feb 26, 2026
Thirty-minute pizza killed a lot of people.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Domino’s promise to deliver pizza within 30 minutes led to a sharp rise in traffic accidents as drivers rushed to meet the guarantee. The pressure to arrive on time became intense enough that the company saw fatal crash rates among delivery workers comparable to those in mining and construction, industries not known for gentle working conditions. Multiple lawsuits followed, including high profile cases involving serious injuries and deaths, eventually pushing the company to abandon the guarantee in the United States. Fast delivery was achieved, just not in a way anyone should repeat.
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By Nescafé
Coffee is a fruit
Despite it being called a ‘bean’, coffee is actually a fruit. The ‘beans’ grow on a bush and are found in the centre of a berry, known as a coffee cherry.
More coffee knowledge on Nescafe.com →