<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Curiosity — World of Curious</title><description>Mystery objects, antiques, price guessing, scam-spotting, everyday science and the myths that turn out to be half right.</description><link>https://worldofcurious.com/</link><language>en-au</language><atom:link href="https://worldofcurious.com/curiosity/rss.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title>What Was This Strange Household Object Actually Used For?</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/what-was-this-household-object-used-for/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/what-was-this-household-object-used-for/</guid><description>A heavy glass dome with a hole in the top, found in sideboards and attics everywhere. Three plausible answers, and one that is correct.</description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>What Is This Thing?</category><category>objects</category><category>identification</category><category>household</category><category>history</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Which Cost More? Eight Price Comparisons From the Past</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/which-cost-more-back-then/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/which-cost-more-back-then/</guid><description>Not exact prices, which nobody remembers reliably, but the comparisons: which of two things cost more at the time, and what that says about the period.</description><pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Guess the Price</category><category>prices</category><category>history</category><category>economics</category><category>guess it</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>How to Read a Hallmark in Four Steps</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/how-to-read-a-hallmark/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/how-to-read-a-hallmark/</guid><description>The tiny marks stamped into silver tell you the metal, the town, the year and the maker. Here is how to read them, and what the same marks look like when faked.</description><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Antiques &amp; Collectibles</category><category>antiques</category><category>silver</category><category>identification</category><category>how it works</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Which Is Worth More? Six Pairs and the Reason Behind Each</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/what-makes-one-thing-worth-more/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/what-makes-one-thing-worth-more/</guid><description>Two similar objects, very different values. Six head-to-head comparisons that explain how condition, rarity, provenance and demand actually interact.</description><pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Which Is Worth More?</category><category>antiques</category><category>value</category><category>collecting</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Six Warning Signs in a Suspicious Message, and What to Do Instead</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/six-warning-signs-in-a-message/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/six-warning-signs-in-a-message/</guid><description>How to recognise the pressure tactics that almost every scam relies on, described in general terms, with a simple three-step habit that defeats all of them.</description><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Can You Spot the Scam?</category><category>scams</category><category>safety</category><category>education</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Ten Everyday Objects That Changed Shape for a Specific Reason</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/objects-that-changed-shape-for-a-reason/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/objects-that-changed-shape-for-a-reason/</guid><description>Plug pins, bottle bases, milk cartons and the humble pencil. Ten familiar objects whose current shape solves a problem you have probably never noticed.</description><pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Everyday Objects: Then &amp; Now</category><category>design</category><category>objects</category><category>engineering</category><category>then and now</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Ten Everyday Questions With Surprisingly Good Answers</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/everyday-science-questions-answered/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/everyday-science-questions-answered/</guid><description>Why metal feels colder than wood, why the sky changes colour, why ice is slippery and six more. Plain explanations, including where the honest answer is that it is complicated.</description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Everyday Science</category><category>science</category><category>explainer</category><category>physics</category><category>everyday</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Twelve Things You Have Heard All Your Life. How Many Are Actually True?</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/twelve-things-you-have-heard-all-your-life/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/twelve-things-you-have-heard-all-your-life/</guid><description>Twelve claims that everybody repeats, checked one at a time. Four are true, five are false, and three are the interesting answer: partly.</description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Myth or Fact?</category><category>myths</category><category>facts</category><category>science</category><category>folklore</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>Ten Jobs That Existed in Living Memory and Do Not Now</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/jobs-that-existed-in-living-memory/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/jobs-that-existed-in-living-memory/</guid><description>Switchboard operators, lift attendants, typesetters and the man who lit the streetlamps. Ten vanished occupations, what the work involved, and what replaced each one.</description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Strange Jobs &amp; Professions</category><category>jobs</category><category>work</category><category>history</category><category>technology</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item><item><title>How a Lock Actually Works, and Six Other Mechanisms Worth Knowing</title><link>https://worldofcurious.com/article/how-a-lock-actually-works/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://worldofcurious.com/article/how-a-lock-actually-works/</guid><description>The pin tumbler lock, the zip, the escalator corner, the thermos and the ballpoint pen. Seven everyday mechanisms explained, each with the single clever idea that makes it work.</description><pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>How Does That Work?</category><category>engineering</category><category>mechanisms</category><category>how it works</category><category>design</category><author>Editorial Team</author></item></channel></rss>