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Monks put their fasting calories in a beer mug
Paulaner's brewing tradition traces Salvator to monks who made a substantial beer for periods when their rules restricted solid food. The drink supplied…
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A hand over the heart changed an honesty test
In a 2014 experiment, participants making the gesture were more willing to admit they didn't know an answer than those using a neutral gesture. A related test…
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Most podcast listening happens during chores
People often listen while doing household chores or commuting, making podcasts a soundtrack for everything from scrubbing the bathroom to sitting in traffic.
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You can insure yourself against alien abduction
Some alien-abduction policies make you prove the visit with a signature from the ship’s captain. You can buy the policy; getting the alien to complete the…
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The programming language built from Shakespearean insults
The Shakespeare Programming Language declares variables as characters and puts instructions into theatrical dialogue. Adjectives and nouns help encode values,…
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How Impact became the meme font
Impact’s bold, readable letters stand out over busy images, helping make it a meme staple.
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The Sims' money borrows a much older slang word
“Simoleon” was American slang for a dollar long before the game existed. The name fits the series so neatly that it sounds invented for Sims. Its joke works…
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Stripping an office bare can strip away productivity too
In three field experiments, researchers compared sparse offices with spaces enriched by plants. Workers reported better concentration and greater satisfaction…
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Wandering monks lived entirely by mooching off others
Wandering ascetics could sustain their travels through religious hospitality, moving from monastery to monastery rather than earning a living through ordinary…
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Term après-ski denotes post-slope socialization
Après-ski literally means “after skiing,” and the phrase names what happens when the skis come off: people gather to eat, drink, and socialize. The slope may…
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Premium digital news is paying for long emails
Some readers pay monthly subscriptions for long, opinionated email newsletters—a digital format that has a lot in common with a mailed magazine.
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Tea leaves fly over jungles on ropeways
Ropeways carry freshly picked tea over steep, roadless ground in suspended baskets. The cable crosses ravines and jungle without asking a truck to climb a…
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Splash damage relies entirely on distance vectors
The game measures how far a character is from the blast’s center; the farther away they are, the less damage they take.
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Snake’s voice actor wrote the original X-Men
His screenplay for the original X-Men film helped launch Hugh Jackman's career.
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The IRS treats ostriches like farm equipment
For tax purposes, farmers can depreciate breeding ostriches over time, just as they do farm equipment. The bird gets written off gradually on the books.
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Holding a partner's hand changed how a small study's brains faced danger
In a 2006 experiment, 16 married women anticipated possible electric shocks while holding a husband's hand, a stranger's hand, or no hand. Holding the…
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Utopian religious community enforced mandatory swinging
In complex marriage, every adult was considered married to every other adult. The community punished exclusive romantic attachments with public humiliation.
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This horned giant's teeth reveal a plant eater
Arsinoitherium's enormous horns make it look formidable, but its teeth were adapted for processing vegetation. Fossil mouths often tell us more about diet…
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Skyrim rewards opening books as well as swinging swords
The Reader achievement requires finding fifty different skill books. Opening one can raise a skill immediately, so a shelf can hide character progression…
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Ambient occlusion adds shadows to tiny corners
It estimates how much nearby surfaces block ambient light, darkening crevices and tight corners.
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Sleepwalking occurs far more often in young children
A child can sit up, walk, or open a door without fully waking. During deep sleep, the brain’s systems for movement can come online before the systems for…
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Japan sold manga anthologies the size of small bricks
A Japan Foundation account of the early-1990s industry described magazines running from around 350 pages to more than 1,000, carrying many stories at once.…
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Thousands of peasant children marched to retake holy lands
Many of the young crusaders never reached the Holy Land; crowds of unarmed children were captured, and most were sold into slavery.
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When owing money meant going to prison
Victorian authorities jailed debtors to make them repay. But prison also stopped them from earning, so a person could be locked away for owing money and lose…
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