James Joyce's 'Ulysses' (1922) takes place over a single day in Dublin — June 16, now celebrated as 'Bloomsday.'

Alfred Hitchcock never won an Academy Award for directing despite five nominations.

The Vikings used to give kittens to new brides as essential household gifts.

A regulation NFL football must be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 psi.

The Nordic countries consistently rank highest in global happiness indexes — attributed to strong social safety nets and trust.

Poverty traps occur when poverty itself prevents people from acquiring the resources to escape it.

The Parthenon has no straight lines — all horizontals slightly curve upward and columns lean slightly inward to appear straight to the human eye.

The concept of hell as a place of punishment varies dramatically across world religions — Buddhism's naraka is temporary, not eternal.

Impressionism, initially mocked as unfinished and messy, transformed into one of the most celebrated art movements in history.