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Baku chimeras specifically consuming nightmares
In Japanese folklore, the Baku is a creature said to devour bad dreams, turning nightmares into a midnight snack.
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Why Tetris keeps appearing everywhere
Tetris needs little more than a screen and a way to move pieces, so developers keep porting it to calculators, car dashboards, and whatever else can display a…
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Neck joints casually let your head swivel like an owl
The atlas—the vertebra that supports your head—pivots around a peg-like part of the axis below it. That bony turning point lets your head rotate left and…
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Wireless internet on buses uses cell towers
The bus acts like a mobile hotspot, relying on a cellular connection; when it enters a dead zone, passengers can lose internet access.
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Buying a company can create an asset you cannot touch
When an acquisition price exceeds the fair value of identifiable net assets, accounting records the residual as goodwill. It can reflect expected synergies…
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The update that made Warcraft 3 worse
The Reforged edition replaced the original client and removed beloved community-made modes, leaving some fans with fewer features than in the version they…
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Hailstones grow in distinct solid concentric layers
A hailstone grows as it passes through changing conditions inside a storm. When its surface is wet, water freezes slowly into clear ice; when droplets freeze…
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Sale-leasebacks artificially inject quick corporate liquidity
A company can sell a building to bring in cash, then stay put by renting it back. The cash arrives now; decades of rent come with it.
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Romance novelists own massive private physical libraries
To keep up a fast writing pace while getting details like dukes and corsets right, some romance authors build personal libraries containing thousands of books.
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Ascended masters managing human development
Some groups believe enlightened, invisible beings guide human progress from behind the scenes, like an unseen board of directors.
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You can cross the Hogwarts viaduct on a real steam train
The Jacobite route runs over Scotland's Glenfinnan Viaduct, used in the Harry Potter films. The screen's Hogwarts Express locomotive, Olton Hall, is a…
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Jiangshi corpses relying solely on hopping
Their arms are held stiffly out in front, giving these folklore creatures an unmistakably awkward gait.
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DayZ spent five years in alpha
Players paid to test a still-unfinished, bug-ridden game during its five-year alpha phase.
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Startups measure success by their monthly burn rate
Every month, a startup spends part of the cash it has raised. Its burn rate shows how quickly that balance is shrinking—and how soon it may need new funding.
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The cheap movies designed to fool shoppers
Some low-budget studios release movies with titles timed to resemble blockbusters, hoping shoppers will mistake them for the real thing—like buying…
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Duke Nukem Forever spent 14 years trying to arrive
Repeated changes of technology and development upheavals stretched the sequel's journey from its 1997 announcement to its 2011 release. Meanwhile, the games…
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Fog is just a cloud that stayed on the ground
Fog forms when air near the ground cools enough for water vapor to condense into tiny floating droplets. Those droplets scatter light, making distant things…
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Why billion-dollar startups can value themselves
A handful of investors can set a startup’s private valuation in one funding deal. That price can then make the whole company look worth billions—even though…
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Why food tastes bland in space
In weightlessness, fluids shift toward the head and cause congestion, which dulls smell and makes food seem bland. Strong spices and hot sauce can make meals…
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Friday the 13th was filmed at a real scout camp
Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey supplied the setting for the original film's Camp Crystal Lake. Buildings and woodland already designed for an ordinary…
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Even a relaxed muscle has some spring in it
Muscle tissue resists being stretched even without an active contraction. That passive tension works alongside tendons and other connective tissue to help…
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A tree stunt once sent a martial artist into surgery
During a jump to a tree, the martial artist missed his grip and landed on his head. He needed brain surgery and was left with a permanent plastic plug in his…
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Spandex was born from wartime rubber shortages
Chemists developed an elastic polyurethane fiber during rubber shortages; it could stretch to 600 percent of its length without snapping.
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Alpha implies your portfolio manager is a genius
The fee pitch rests on beating the market: alpha measures a portfolio’s return above its benchmark. The catch is that consistently delivering that extra…
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