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A little more wonder
Bridge has Olympic recognition, technically
Yes, sitting silently at a card table while fiercely judging your partner is technically recognized by the IOC. While you will absolutely never see them…
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The silent way gamers roast their teammates
Who needs a microphone when you can aggressively spam a yellow question mark over your ally's corpse? The visual alert system, originally designed to…
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Male ballet dancers lift more than a ton per show
Next time you think classical dance is just delicate prancing, remember these performers are basically human forklifts. Over the course of a standard…
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Why 45s were made for hit singles
The format that permanently fueled the concept of the one-hit wonder. Introduced by RCA Victor in 1949 as a direct competitor to the LP, the 7-inch 45 RPM…
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Friends almost took place in a diner
NBC executives thought a coffeehouse was too trendy and alienating for middle America, suggesting the gang hang out in a gritty diner instead. Luckily, the…
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Why speaking is faster than typing
We are hopelessly slow, stubborn analog creatures. Despite the existence of hyper-accurate speech-to-text algorithms that can transcribe spoken language…
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Some individuals genuinely believe they steer their fate
There are two types of people: those who think they are the captain of the ship, and those who know they are just driftwood. An internal locus of control is…
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Survivor tests every challenge before contestants
Before starving contestants are forced to balance on narrow pegs in the ocean, a group of well-fed production assistants does it first. This internal dream…
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Method acting originating from a strict Russian teacher
Every annoying actor who refuses to break character can trace their lineage back to Konstantin Stanislavski. This strict Russian theatre practitioner devised…
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Movie magic often starts with PVC pipes
Behold the majesty of a multimillion-dollar entertainment industry relying on hardware store plumbing. Because physical props only need to exist for actors to…
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Spreader bars lift long cargo onto trailers
Trying to lift an eighty-foot pipe with a single hook will just bend it into a useless boomerang. A massive steel beam is used to separate the lifting straps,…
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Train Simulator's DLC costs over $10,000
For the incredibly niche demographic that hates having disposable income but loves public transit. To purchase every single piece of downloadable content for…
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Neo Geo brought arcade hardware into the living room
Bringing the actual cabinet experience to your living room, literally. It offered the exact same internals for domestic use, ensuring flawless ports without a…
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A video game helps a man catch a cold
Sometimes the world needs saving, and sometimes a random guy just needs a sick day. Elite Beat Agents features a squad of secret agents who solve people's…
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Conestoga wagons featured curved floors to secure cargo
These iconic covered wagons didn't have nice, flat beds like a modern utility truck. The floor was intentionally bowed upwards at both ends like a wooden…
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Evil twins are a massive soap opera crutch
Why pay another actor when you can just use the one you have? When a beloved character becomes too boring, writers simply invent a diabolical twin with a…
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Legoland glues its giant Lego models together
The fiercely colorful theme park actively betrays the fiercely fundamental core philosophy of its completely famous building toy. Because thousands of highly…
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Survivor contestants risk $5 million for leaks
To keep the illusion of isolation alive, the network relies on sheer legal terror. Contestants sign ironclad non-disclosure agreements threatening them with…
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Lorne Michaels offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite
Ah yes, the standard rate for the most legendary band in human history. In 1976, SNL creator Lorne Michaels went on live television and offered The Beatles…
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Victorians spent Christmas telling ghost stories
Long before festive cheer and jolly consumerism took over, the holiday season was heavily dedicated to terrifying children with grim tales of the undead…
Discover morePower-ballad singers use lozenges made for metal screams
To maintain that powerhouse vocal range, power ballad singers rely on intense lozenges strictly formulated for screaming German metal vocalists to prevent…
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Polling rates dictate how often mice report positions
Your computer does not inherently know where your cursor is; the mouse has to constantly yell its coordinates through the wire. A high polling rate means the…
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Tetractys formations build triangles using exactly ten dots
Arranging a single dot, over two dots, over three dots, over four dots perfectly creates an equilateral triangle containing exactly ten points. This simple…
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Government borrowing prevents all private sector investment
When the state needs massive amounts of capital, it aggressively sucks up all available investment funds. Private businesses are left completely starved for…
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