Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Why chess cheaters keep visiting the bathroom
The pinnacle of intellectual combat has a massive, embarrassing problem with players sneaking off to the toilet to consult their smartphones. Because computer…
Discover more
Standing alone in a dark closet while your friends leave
A childhood staple where the ultimate victory is remaining utterly undiscovered while everyone else just gets bored and goes to eat snacks without you.
Discover more
When crossword clues looked like military code words
During major global conflicts, intelligence agencies actively interrogated newspaper editors because the daily grid answers perfectly matched top-secret…
Discover more
The innocent game of tag has a grim hunting past
The innocent childhood activity of chasing a friend stems from ancient hunting exercises where catching the target meant a swift demise. Playtime used to…
Discover more
Chess pawns granted immense promotion
The weakest piece on the checkered battlefield can magically transform into the most powerful piece just by advancing to the other side. It is the ultimate…
Discover more
Relying on digital dice for better loot
Random number generators dictate whether you get a legendary sword or a useless piece of digital trash after a grueling boss fight. It is a slot machine…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Listening to screaming children in lobbies
Multiplayer voice chat remains the fastest way to have your entire existence brutally insulted by an unsupervised twelve-year-old on another continent.
Discover more
Creating entirely new game modes
Communities frequently completely ignore the actual objective of a multiplayer title, instead organizing massive digital hide-and-seek matches simply because…
Discover more
Standard soccer balls are truncated icosahedrons
The classic black and white stitched sphere is not a perfect round orb. It is a harsh geometric shape strictly composed of exactly twenty hexagons and twelve…
Discover more
Poker completely relies on massive human deception
Unlike innocent pastimes, this heavily monetized card contest requires you to look your absolute best friends in the eyes and ruthlessly lie to their faces.…
Discover more
How bingo helps keep local halls afloat
Underneath the facade of elderly folks gently dabbing numbered squares lies a surprisingly aggressive financial engine. This incredibly repetitive matching…
Discover more
When England banned bowling for archery practice
King Edward the Third banned the popular sport of rolling heavy rocks at pins because his soldiers were playing it instead of practicing archery. National…
Discover more
How pinball players shake cabinets without tilting
Playing a certain slanted table game is half flipper skill and half physically assaulting the cabinet without triggering the tilt sensor. Players spend years…
Discover more
Entering secret inputs for giant heads
Early software often included specific button combinations that did absolutely nothing except make the characters' skulls inflate to comical proportions.…
Discover more
Why competitors stuff straw down their pants
Contestants stuff their pants completely full of dry straw, grab each other by the collar, and violently hack at each other's lower legs until someone…
Discover more
Jump rope originating from skilled rope makers
Skipping over a swinging cord began with artisans leaping over thick strands of hemp during the weaving process. They turned a hazardous industrial chore into…
Discover more
How a snapped rope can sever a limb
Casually yanking on a thick hemp line alongside your friends frequently results in catastrophic physical damage. When massive amounts of tension snap the…
Discover more
Flipping cardboard tables over fake real estate
A few printed papers and plastic hotels are enough to make lifelong friends violently hate each other. The illusion of wealth breeds very real and terrifying…
Discover more
Scrabble's letter supply was counted from newspapers
The exact number of wooden tiles allocated for each vowel was determined by physically counting letters on the front page of a daily broadsheet. This…
Discover more
The Olympic event that drew one spectator
Only French players entered the tournament in the year nineteen hundred. An elderly Englishman traveled from out of town to be the sole audience member.
Discover more
Why losing can sound like winning
Modern digital levers are highly calibrated to play joyful triumphant melodies even when you win back slightly less than you just bet, totally tricking your…
Discover more
Mahjong tiles double as weapons in intense family feuds
The aggressive slamming down of winning pieces is a terrifying display of superiority among elderly relatives. A friendly match can instantly escalate into…
Discover more
Sudoku puzzles rely entirely on basic visual pattern matching
Despite featuring grids packed entirely with digits, these incredibly popular daily challenges involve absolutely zero actual addition or subtraction. You…
Discover more
Shooting high velocity colorful pellets at your friends
Dressing up in thick padded gear to shoot rapidly moving colorful spheres at peers is a beloved weekend activity. Participants go home covered in bright…
Discover more