Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
How do free-to-play mobile games use algorithmic manipulation to decide exactly when to send push notifications?
How do free-to-play mobile games use algorithmic manipulation to decide exactly when to send push notifications?
Discover more
Which brilliant visual design choice is secretly responsible for Wordle becoming a global cultural phenomenon?
Which brilliant visual design choice is secretly responsible for Wordle becoming a global cultural phenomenon?
Discover more
Why do real-world epidemiologists still fiercely study a devastating 2005 server glitch from World of Warcraft?
Why do real-world epidemiologists still fiercely study a devastating 2005 server glitch from World of Warcraft?
Discover more
What dark realization did psychologists discover about players who constantly trap their Sims in pools?
What dark realization did psychologists discover about players who constantly trap their Sims in pools?
Discover more
What unsettling habit did artificial intelligence display after finally mastering human chess strategies?
What unsettling habit did artificial intelligence display after finally mastering human chess strategies?
Discover more
What soul-crushing reality do arcade technicians know about how modern claw machines actually operate?
What soul-crushing reality do arcade technicians know about how modern claw machines actually operate?
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.
What was the actual reason behind the terrifying, iconic thick fog in the original Silent Hill horror game?
What was the actual reason behind the terrifying, iconic thick fog in the original Silent Hill horror game?
Discover more
Why does anonymous voice chat in competitive gaming inherently trigger severe aggression in normal people?
Why does anonymous voice chat in competitive gaming inherently trigger severe aggression in normal people?
Discover more
Why did Nintendo intentionally coat their Switch game cartridges in one of the most bitter chemicals on Earth?
Why did Nintendo intentionally coat their Switch game cartridges in one of the most bitter chemicals on Earth?
Discover more
How did the wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons alignment system accidentally shape modern internet culture?
How did the wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons alignment system accidentally shape modern internet culture?
Discover more
What brilliant illusion did modern game developers create to prevent you from getting bored during loading screens?
What brilliant illusion did modern game developers create to prevent you from getting bored during loading screens?
Discover more
South Korean lawmakers implemented the Shutdown Law in 2011, making it strictly illegal for children under the age of sixteen to play online video games between midnight and six…
South Korean lawmakers implemented the Shutdown Law in 2011, making it strictly illegal for children under the age of sixteen to play online video games…
Discover more
A $75 auction lot contained a Nintendo PlayStation.
A $75 auction lot contained a Nintendo PlayStation. Terry Diebold bought the lot at a company bankruptcy auction without recognizing the prototype inside. The…
Discover more
Angry Birds was Rovio's 52nd game.
Angry Birds was Rovio's 52nd game. The Finnish studio had already made dozens of games and was near bankruptcy before its 2009 hit. According to its own…
Discover more
Sega actually held a massive software patent on the concept of a floating navigational arrow in a 3D environment thanks to their classic arcade hit Crazy Taxi, effectively…
Sega actually held a massive software patent on the concept of a floating navigational arrow in a 3D environment thanks to their classic arcade hit Crazy…
Discover more
Star Fox's metal boots spawned an unexpectedly dark fan theory.
Star Fox's metal boots spawned an unexpectedly dark fan theory. Fans interpreted the pilots' shiny footwear as artificial legs and invented a story about…
Discover more
Final Fantasy VII made storage space part of a console rivalry.
Final Fantasy VII made storage space part of a console rivalry. Square's move to PlayStation let the game use CD-ROMs for its large collection of pre-rendered…
Discover more
Game publisher Activision boldly bragged about the advanced "fish AI" during the 2013 reveal event for Call of Duty: Ghosts, promising that the aquatic creatures would…
Game publisher Activision boldly bragged about the advanced "fish AI" during the 2013 reveal event for Call of Duty: Ghosts, promising that the aquatic…
Discover more
D&D grew out of rules for fighting miniature battles.
D&D grew out of rules for fighting miniature battles. The 1974 game referred players to Chainmail, a tabletop wargame, but also provided an alternative combat…
Discover more
Fallout makes bottle caps behave like scarce money.
Fallout makes bottle caps behave like scarce money. In the original game's setting, Hub merchants supported caps as currency and backed them with water. Their…
Discover more
Animal Crossing turned forgetting to save into a lecture from a mole.
Animal Crossing turned forgetting to save into a lecture from a mole. Mr. Resetti appeared after an unsaved reset and scolded the player, with increasingly…
Discover more
Sonic and his nemesis both made it into biology.
Sonic and his nemesis both made it into biology. Sonic hedgehog is the name of a real developmental gene and its signaling protein, involved in shaping the…
Discover more
Magic: The Gathering literally requires a team of dedicated economists to constantly monitor its complex secondary market because a single rare piece of printed cardboard can…
Magic: The Gathering literally requires a team of dedicated economists to constantly monitor its complex secondary market because a single rare piece of…
Discover more
Standard Uno does not let you pass a draw penalty along by stacking cards.
Standard Uno does not let you pass a draw penalty along by stacking cards. Under the base rules, a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four penalty is not answered with…
Discover more