Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Spin the bottle was once a polite greeting game
In an early version, adults supervised as players bowed or shook hands with whoever the bottle pointed to—a far cry from the kissing game it became.
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Winning a car can create a bill without giving you cash to pay it
In the US, a game-show prize generally counts as taxable income at its fair market value. A contestant can therefore receive an expensive car rather than the…
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Why the Wheel of Fortune wheel is so hard to spin
The Wheel of Fortune wheel is reinforced with heavy steel to keep its momentum smooth, making the giant prop surprisingly hard to spin.
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Jigsaw puzzles once fell apart at the slightest bump
Early wooden pieces had straight edges rather than interlocking tabs, so a small table bump could scatter hours of work.
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Why mirror mazes fool your depth perception
Lighting that hides shadows and other depth cues can make reflections look like open passages—until you meet the glass.
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Deal or No Deal briefcases are incredibly heavy metal boxes
The cases are weighted internally so they feel substantial when models carry them and don’t look flimsy on camera.
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In RollerCoaster Tycoon, guests could drown in puddles
In RollerCoaster Tycoon, a guest dropped into a shallow puddle could become unable to stand and drown.
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Why beds explode in Minecraft's Nether
The Nether is coded as a place where players can’t sleep, so trying to use a bed makes it explode.
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When musical chairs was a lesson in obedience
In Victorian times, musical chairs was used to teach children to react instantly to sudden stops and accept losing without protest.
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Mavis Beacon was never a real typing teacher
The typing tutor's reassuring instructor was a fictional character, with model Renée L'Espérance appearing on the packaging. There was no veteran teacher…
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Why arcade games stopped using real coins
Arcade operators had stockpiled so many real quarters that the government urged them to make their own tokens.
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Skee-Ball alleys are mandated to be exactly ten feet long
The patented standard has remained unchanged since 1908.
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Dunk tank volunteers are protected by heavy iron cages
The cage shields volunteers from stray baseballs while they sit above the water.
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The Sims makes ordering dinner part of managing a whole life
A pizza delivery looks like a tiny convenience until your Sim's hunger, money, schedule, and household all need attention at once. The series turns mundane…
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Motion blur smears the screen during camera pans
It was designed to make low frame rates look more cinematic, but can smear the image whenever the camera pans. Some studios enable it by default.
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Energy drinks heavily target digital focus
Energy drinks are marketed as a way to sharpen digital focus and reaction time, but their caffeine can leave users shaky instead.
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Users delete entire folders for tiny patches
Some updates temporarily duplicate an entire file structure, even when the changed code is only three megabytes. That can force users to delete photos or…
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Pausing intense sequences just to check phones
Even a cliffhanger can lose to the urge to check whether a text came in.
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Mini maps dominate massive screen real estate
A tiny rotating map can draw your attention away from the carefully crafted world around you as you follow its dotted route.
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Your game controller is covered in dead skin
Friction from your thumbs sheds skin cells onto a controller's grips, leaving traces of you behind.
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Why Download Codes Come in Empty Plastic Cases
Some companies ship download codes in full-size plastic cases, giving the purchase the feel of buying a boxed product even though there’s no physical game…
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Lens flares aggressively cover entire screens
A lens flare mimics light scattering inside a camera lens, often appearing as bright geometric shapes when the camera faces a sun or flashlight.
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A cloud-save conflict can erase weeks of progress
If you choose the wrong version in a sync conflict, a newer save can be overwritten by one from weeks earlier, wiping out your progress.
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Fake doors are just flat wall textures
In many video games, detailed city streets are scenery: doors and handles may be painted onto walls rather than built as interactive entrances.
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