Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
Articles [alt+h] Reading List [alt+r] [alt+s]

Damn Interesting

Visit Blog

Sort By

Popular [alt+1] Recent [alt+2]

Change View

List View [alt+w] Expanded [alt+e]
Damn Interesting
A Trail Gone Cold Iceland is known to the rest of the world as the land of Vikings and volcanos, an island caught...
10 months ago
65

A Trail Gone Cold

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

10 months ago
Iceland is known to the rest of the world as the land of Vikings and volcanos, an island caught between continents at the extremities of the map. Remote and comparatively inhospitable, it was settled only as long ago as the 9th century, and has seen little additional in-migration...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Breaking a Bit It’s been a busy summer, and the large shortfall in donations last month has been demoralizing, so...
a year ago
61

Breaking a Bit

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

a year ago
It’s been a busy summer, and the large shortfall in donations last month has been demoralizing, so we’re taking a week off to rest and recuperate. The curated links section will be (mostly) silent, and behind the scenes we’ll be taking a brief break from our usual researching,...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Hunting For Kobyla On a January day in 1964, something remarkable happened: Simon Wiesenthal took the afternoon off. He...
over a year ago
18

Hunting For Kobyla

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
On a January day in 1964, something remarkable happened: Simon Wiesenthal took the afternoon off. He parked himself at a table on the terrace of Tel Aviv’s Café Roval, soaking up the sunshine as if he wished to bottle it. The friend he’d come to meet was late, but Wiesenthal had...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Journey to the Invisible Planet In the late 17th century, natural philosopher Isaac Newton was deeply uneasy with a new scientific...
a year ago
18

Journey to the Invisible Planet

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

a year ago
In the late 17th century, natural philosopher Isaac Newton was deeply uneasy with a new scientific theory that was gaining currency in Europe: universal gravitation. In correspondence with a scientific contemporary, Newton complained that it was “an absurdity” to suppose that...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
This is Dang Interesting Happy New Year! This has nothing to do with the new year. We at this website know, reluctantly, that...
over a year ago
17

This is Dang Interesting

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
Happy New Year! This has nothing to do with the new year. We at this website know, reluctantly, that “d*mn” is not always a welcome word. Additionally, we are aware that we have a few articles sporting even saltier vocabularies (settle down, Colonel Sanders!). Countless school...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Traveler and His Baggage On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people...
over a year ago
17

The Traveler and His Baggage

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people of Nazi-occupied Paris. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proudly announced to the world that the German capital of Berlin was officially judenfrei–free of all Jews. As this...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Giving the Bird the Bird We’re not going to post things on Twitter X anymore. The new owner keeps doing awful stuff. If you...
a year ago
14

Giving the Bird the Bird

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

a year ago
We’re not going to post things on Twitter X anymore. The new owner keeps doing awful stuff. If you have enjoyed our mostly-daily curated links via the aforementioned collapsing service, we invite you to bookmark our curated links page, or follow us a number of other ways. Rather...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Devouring the Heart of Portugal On the morning of Thursday, 04 December 1924, a tall and well-dressed Dutch trader named Karel...
over a year ago
14

Devouring the Heart of Portugal

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
On the morning of Thursday, 04 December 1924, a tall and well-dressed Dutch trader named Karel Marang strolled along Great Winchester Street in the City of London, among the bustling crowds of bankers and brokers of the business district, unaware that the parcel he carried held...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
To Hell With Facebook The earliest known version of the idiom “the straw that broke the camel’s back” was written by the...
over a year ago
14

To Hell With Facebook

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
The earliest known version of the idiom “the straw that broke the camel’s back” was written by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury in 1677, though it was concerned with horses and feathers: “The last Dictate of the Judgement, concerning the Good or Bad, that may...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Ancient Order of Bali In the 1970s, the Indonesian island of Bali went through a period of rapid change. Along the...
a year ago
13

The Ancient Order of Bali

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

a year ago
In the 1970s, the Indonesian island of Bali went through a period of rapid change. Along the stunning beaches on the southern side of the island, tourism boomed. Parking lots were put up, together with swinging hot spots and hotels of various colours. Hip young travellers from...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort...
over a year ago
13

The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort in 1956, Bayley had no plans to compete with the flashier, corporate casinos at the center of the Strip. Instead, the Hacienda Hotel catered to families, as well as to locals who...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Fifteen Years Forsaken Editor’s Note: This article contains quotations from contemporaneous accounts which might be...
over a year ago
13

Fifteen Years Forsaken

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
Editor’s Note: This article contains quotations from contemporaneous accounts which might be offensive for today’s readers. The moon was new on the night of 31 July 1761, and the wide expanse of the Indian Ocean uniformly black. But Captain Jean de Lafargue of the French cargo...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Pushing the Envelope As is often the case with people in dangerous professions, the Apollo astronauts found that life...
over a year ago
12

Pushing the Envelope

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
As is often the case with people in dangerous professions, the Apollo astronauts found that life insurance policies were prohibitively expensive. Rather than pay the exorbitant insurance fees, the astronauts devised a system to ensure their wives and children would be financially...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
From Where the Sun Now Stands An American Indian man on horseback stood outlined against a steely sky past midday on 05 October...
a year ago
12

From Where the Sun Now Stands

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

a year ago
An American Indian man on horseback stood outlined against a steely sky past midday on 05 October 1877. Winter was already settling into the prairies of what would soon become the state of Montana. Five white men stood in the swaying grass on the other side of the field,...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Lofty Ambitions One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named...
over a year ago
12

Lofty Ambitions

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named Maurice Wilson clutched the stick of his tiny, open air biplane and watched his fuel gauge dwindle. He had only learned to fly two months earlier, but inexperience was not his...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
Capital, Punished Located 350 km (217 miles) southeast of Puerto Rico, the British island of Montserrat is sometimes...
over a year ago
12

Capital, Punished

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
Located 350 km (217 miles) southeast of Puerto Rico, the British island of Montserrat is sometimes called ‘The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean’ for its verdancy and early Irish settlers. However, far from a paradise, Montserrat also boasts an unfortunate history, and not just...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Anticipated Future of the Moon When the Earth was young, shortly after the moon formed, our planet was spinning so fast that a day...
over a year ago
11

The Anticipated Future of the Moon

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in science

over a year ago
When the Earth was young, shortly after the moon formed, our planet was spinning so fast that a day was approximately five hours long. During the intervening billions of years, the dragging effect of the moon’s gravity slowed the Earth’s spin to the 24-hour day we now observe....
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Kingpin of Shanghai Respectable heads of state rarely admit to keeping company with gangsters. But in April 1927, about...
over a year ago
11

The Kingpin of Shanghai

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
Respectable heads of state rarely admit to keeping company with gangsters. But in April 1927, about 15 years after the collapse of the last imperial dynasty, Chiang Kai-shek and China were at a crossroads. Chiang had followed a murky path to leadership of the Chinese Nationalist...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Mount St. Helens Trespasser The Washington state deputy sheriff looked suspiciously at the motorcycle strapped to the back of...
over a year ago
10

The Mount St. Helens Trespasser

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
The Washington state deputy sheriff looked suspiciously at the motorcycle strapped to the back of the odd little French car. The motorcycle was a recently repaired Honda 90, sporting a fresh coat of grey spray paint. The driver, Robert Rogers, kept a neutral expression as the...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Comforts of the Throne In the days when hunting was a more common pursuit than it is today, those involved in the job...
over a year ago
10

The Comforts of the Throne

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in science

over a year ago
In the days when hunting was a more common pursuit than it is today, those involved in the job cultivated a taxonomy for the various droppings they might encounter and use for tracking. Thus, rather than merely looking out for scat, those stalking deer would keep an eye peeled...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
The Rube’s Dilemma It all started with a hat. A straw boater, to be precise, with a flat, round brim and brightly...
over a year ago
10

The Rube’s Dilemma

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
It all started with a hat. A straw boater, to be precise, with a flat, round brim and brightly colored ribbon tied around the crown. Originally popularized by gondoliers in Venice, this jaunty accessory had reached the height of American couture by the turn of the 20th century....
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
A Blight on Soviet Science On a hazy afternoon in March 1927, a Russian scientist was walking through the dense forests of...
over a year ago
8

A Blight on Soviet Science

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in science

over a year ago
On a hazy afternoon in March 1927, a Russian scientist was walking through the dense forests of Abyssinia, ducking under low-hanging branches and stopping to inspect the wild coffee trees lining his path. Accompanied by a group of local guides, the young traveller had been hiking...
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]
Damn Interesting
A Taste of Italy In the mid-1800s, Italy was consumed by two parallel fights: one to rid itself of Austrian...
over a year ago
7

A Taste of Italy

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in travel

over a year ago
In the mid-1800s, Italy was consumed by two parallel fights: one to rid itself of Austrian domination (a holdover from the Holy Roman Empire) and the other for unification. At the time, Europe’s boot was a curious conglomeration of separate states, not all of which got along....
Article Summary [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
upvote [alt+ctrl+↑] downvote [alt+ctrl+↓]

The best way to read the internet.
Made for nerds, by a nerd.

The best way to read the internet

© 2023 Bored Reading. All rights reserved.

Terms Privacy Design by Kumail

bored reading

v. 229.328 compliant with
earth/mars-x8292 communication
protocol 29xjw899992

When Google killed Google Reader, the bloggosphere took a severe hit and the content quality went down because there weren't enough readers to justify the effort it takes to maintain a high quality blog.

What's left is a decaying wasteland of blogs, most abandoned, a lot are now SEO spam, and 99% are not worth reading. BoredReading is a way to read the remaining great blogs that survived the ice age.

To add your favorite blog, please suggest it here! I get emails every day which helps me maintain a high quality selection of blogs!

Avatar

Made by,
Kumail Hunaid

@kumailht on Twitter.
My website and email.

Close [esc]