The world is more interesting than you think.
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Poe's enemy got to write his obituary
Writing under a pseudonym, critic Rufus Griswold portrayed Poe as a drunken, depraved man in the obituary.
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Sony argued that a PlayStation 2 belonged in the computer tax category
The distinction mattered at customs: different product classifications carried different import duties. Sony challenged the European classification in court,…
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Heavy metal helped fans process anger in an experiment
In a 2015 study, fans listened to their own extreme-music selections after an anger-inducing interview. The music did not make them angrier and was associated…
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The cat that survived three shipwrecks
He survived all three shipwrecks by clinging to floating debris and was eventually retired to a dry sanctuary.
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The surprising sound behind movie fires
Sound designers crinkle stiff cellophane to mimic the crackle of burning wood.
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Ashtapada served as an early Indian grid board game
Ashtapada had 64 squares, but they weren’t arranged in the alternating light-and-dark pattern of a modern chessboard.
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Hopping diagonally on colorful cubes while swearing loudly
Q*bert's isometric pyramid made diagonal jumps central to play. When he fell, a symbol-filled speech bubble stood in for his profanity.
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Wagner gave his dressmaker exact instructions for pink silk
His surviving correspondence discusses fabrics, colors, and trimmings in detail, including distinctions between shades of pink. Clothing was something he…
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Why pop music stopped changing keys
Dramatic key changes were a pop staple in the 1980s but are now rare on charting tracks; some listeners find the sudden lift cheesy.
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Cleveland's ten-cent beer promotion ended with a forfeited game
At the 1974 game, disorder escalated into fans invading the field and fighting. The visiting Texas Rangers were awarded the win when play could not safely…
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Minecraft's enchanted armor wears its upgrade on the outside
Enchanted equipment has a moving glint that distinguishes it from ordinary gear. The shimmer is a visual signal, not light thrown into the surroundings.…
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When hailstones grew as large as melons
A violent 19th-century storm over rural Europe sent enormous, jagged hailstones crashing through roofs and destroying crops within minutes.
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Doom chainsaws require gasoline to continuously operate
Even on futuristic installations, the marine's main melee weapon can run out of gas, forcing players to scavenge for bright red fuel canisters.
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Build orders require exact timing down to the literal second
In real-time strategy games, a second barracks at 3:00 instead of 2:40 can throw off the timing of later steps and the economy behind them.
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Italian bus drivers navigate tight corners with zero fear
Some routes send articulated buses through narrow, cobblestone streets, where drivers thread past ancient walls with barely any clearance.
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Empty space can help pull two metal surfaces together
At tiny separations, quantum fluctuations of electromagnetic fields produce a measurable force between conducting surfaces. Their boundaries change which…
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Printing passports costs less than the fees charged
The printed booklet is only a small slice of the passport fee. Citizens aren’t paying mainly for the paper and cover.
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Tiferet acts as the structural center of esoteric balance
In these diagrams, the central node balances opposing forces: severity on one side and mercy on the other.
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The riot sparked by Chicago's closed taverns
Chicago raised liquor-license fees and closed taverns on Sundays; thousands protested both, and the crackdown helped turn downtown into the scene of a violent…
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Dota lets you destroy a resource before the enemy can collect it
Players can deny eligible allied creeps, preventing opponents from receiving the normal rewards for killing them. Timing the final hit becomes a contest over…
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Asteroid highlighting your worst commitment fears
In astrology, this asteroid is associated with fears around commitment and sharing your life with someone else.
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Crash Bandicoot collects fruit to gain extra lives
In the game, every 100 floating apples earns Crash an extra life.
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Low earners receive subsidies instead of paying taxes
For people below an income threshold, the government adds to what they earn instead of collecting taxes from them. The supplement is meant to establish a…
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The dentist's electric drill is 150 years old
George F. Green patented the first electric dental drill in 1875. Before electricity, dentists had to turn drills by hand or foot, supplying the motion…
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