Past minutes
Previously published Curious Minute questions, answers, and context.
The answer page publishes after the day closes. Start with today's live question, then come back for the deeper dive.
One new question tomorrow morning. No spoilers.
Peanut flowers grow above ground. Where do the peanuts themselves develop?
LEGO takes its name from two Danish words. What do they mean?
Your honey has gone grainy in the cupboard. What are those little grains?
A smooth golf ball looks like it should fly farther. Why do those little dimples help?
Most marine mammals stay warm with blubber. Which one depends on an unusually dense fur coat instead?
We call it ‘lead.’ What’s actually inside a pencil?
Why can an astronaut’s footprints stay on the Moon for so long?
What is a lichen made of?
What inside a popcorn kernel drives the pop when it is heated?
What can some sand dunes do when dry sand slides down them?
What can help sea turtles navigate across the ocean?
What do some humpback whales make to help trap fish?
What connects the thousands of trees in Utah's Pando grove?
How can a volcano create a hollow lava tube?
What lets a saguaro cactus expand after a desert rain?
What can create a lake-like pool on the bottom of the ocean?
What can lightning turn sand into?
What can turn a snowfield pink or crimson?
What are the pouch-like clouds hanging under a storm called?
What geometric weather feature circles Saturn's north pole?
What is rain called when it evaporates before it reaches the ground?
What actually pushes Death Valley's moving rocks across the ground?
Where can the tongue-supporting apparatus of some woodpeckers curve?
What makes Antarctica's Blood Falls look red?
Which gas fills the protective cases around the U.S. Constitution?
Does an equinox give every place exactly 12 hours of daylight?
What lies beneath Kentucky for more than 426 mapped miles?
What made Devils Tower fracture into giant polygonal columns?
What can the tiny pores around a shark's snout help it detect?
Which animal makes a high, eerie bugle during the autumn rut?
Why do many leaves look yellow in autumn?
Which butterfly has a fall generation that lives long enough to migrate south?
What did Voyager 1 carry into space besides scientific instruments?
Does the Moon physically grow larger when it is near the horizon?
What do many animals in the deep ocean make for themselves?
How can a sea star eat prey larger than its mouth?
Why can fire help giant sequoias reproduce?
Where is the world's largest waterfall?
By what year is teaching known to have existed at Oxford?
What mythical creature is Scotland's national animal?
Which continent is the driest on Earth despite being covered in ice?
What animal is known for producing cube-shaped droppings?
What lunar phenomenon did seismometers deployed by Apollo astronauts detect?
Lightning can heat the surrounding air to approximately what temperature?
What is the smallest bone in the human body?
What everyday object inspired Cambridge researchers to build an early networked camera system?
What is the longest mountain range on Earth?
What are the only mammals capable of true powered flight?
What pigments in a flamingo's diet help turn its feathers pink?
Which birds are uniquely able to fly backward?