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Word technology stems from ancient Greek terms for crafting
The ancient Greek word téchnē meant art, craft, or skill. The roots of “technology” reach back to a word for making things by hand.
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Animal Crossing changes its music every hour
The game's soundtrack changes at the top of each hour, cycling through 24 tracks to mark the time of day.
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Wireless charging pads transfer energy via magnetic fields
A coil in the pad creates an alternating magnetic field that induces current in a coil inside the device. The device can grow warm, and charging may be slower…
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Satsang makes gathering highly profound
In this spiritual practice, sharing truths in a group is believed to amplify a collective vibration, turning a gathering into something more than casual…
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NASA’s urine collectors had a sizing problem with human pride
A story recounted by astronaut Mike Mullane describes men selecting oversized external urine collectors, producing leaks. The solution was to give even the…
Discover moreTwilight’s baby was almost a demonic robot
The original plan for Twilight’s half-vampire baby was a demonic-looking animatronic the crew nicknamed “Chuckesmee.” They replaced it with CGI, which was…
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Silent Hill 2 features a monster shaped like a giant pyramid
The towering helmet and dragging blade turn an otherwise simple figure into a menacing presence in the dark.
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When a cloudy week defeated the sundial
A sundial needs a visible shadow to tell time, so a week of winter clouds can leave you without a reliable way to follow a schedule.
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Brie’s rind comes from a mold cloned for decades
Brie’s white rind is Penicillium mold. Cheesemakers kept cloning a favored albino strain for decades, leaving the cultivated mold with very little genetic…
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Disney delayed announcing Walt Disney’s death
Disney reportedly held the announcement of Walt Disney’s death until the stock market had closed for the weekend. The delay was intended to protect the…
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Selkies casually shed seal skins on sandy beaches
In folklore, a stolen pelt can leave a selkie stranded in human form on land, unable to return to the sea.
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Why swallowing one fry takes 50 pairs of muscles
Your tongue pushes the fry backward while muscles close off the route to your lungs and open the route to your stomach. Dozens of paired muscles have to move…
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When German nobles launched live foxes into the air
In the aristocratic entertainment called fox tossing, pairs of people jerked up long slings as animals ran across them. The sudden pull launched the animals…
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Walking on a highway median guarantees a citation
A highway median is part of the controlled-access roadway, not a walking path, and traffic rushes past on both sides. Step onto it and you’ve turned a…
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Falafel origins remain hotly contested in the Levant
Countries across the Levant claim the crispy chickpea dish as their own, keeping its origins disputed and dinner-table debates lively.
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Why Hollywood traded movies that didn’t exist
An unmade movie can still change hands: executives and collectors trade its script before anyone has filmed it. Sometimes the possibility of a hit is worth…
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Firdaria divides life into time blocks
Each period is assigned a celestial ruler and an overarching theme, turning a lifetime into a kind of cosmic itinerary.
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Woven jute fibers provide biodegradable packaging sacks
Coffee beans need to breathe on a long trip, so shippers pack them in coarse jute sacks instead of sealing them in airtight bags. The plant's long fibers can…
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France helped win America’s independence—and went broke
Louis XVI wanted revenge for France's defeat in the Seven Years’ War, so he paid to help the American colonies fight Britain. The bill strained France's…
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Kelvin formulated the strict rigid rules of thermodynamics
A heat engine cannot turn all its heat into useful work; some energy must leave as waste heat. Kelvin helped show that this is a basic limit, not a defect an…
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Domino trains sprout branching lines from a central hub
Players build outward from a central starting piece, matching numbers as the lines split into spokes. The result can turn a tidy table into a sprawling web.
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Virgo people research household brooms for six entire months
The joke is that a Virgo will cross-reference online reviews for months rather than risk buying a broom without doing the research.
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Placidus houses dominate programs
Most people use the Placidus house system simply because it was the default setting in early computer programs, not because it actually works better.
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An empty logging truck can give its own trailer a piggyback ride
Some logging rigs carry the unloaded trailer on the truck for the trip back to collect another load. Once logs fill the combination, the trailer runs on its…
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