Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Why movie romances often start with hatred
The enemies-to-lovers setup gives a romance instant conflict: the characters' hostility has to turn into attraction before the credits roll.
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Jeopardy! can punish a contestant for buzzing too early
The signaling system opens after the clue is read; an early press causes a brief lockout. Knowing the answer is therefore only part of winning the race to…
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Mark Wahlberg was almost a New Kid on the Block
At 13, Mark Wahlberg was one of the founding members of New Kids on the Block, alongside his brother Donnie. He quit after a few months and later became Marky…
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Sailor Moon put friendship and superhero combat in the same story
Its schoolgirl heroines have relationships, ordinary worries, and transformations that let them fight extraordinary enemies. The combination made intimacy and…
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Removing one wall can supply a renovation show's big reveal
Opening connected rooms changes the longest line you can see through a house. Light, furniture, and people suddenly share the same view, so the…
Discover moreVal Kilmer’s Batman suit barely let him turn his head
The rigid rubber suit kept Val Kilmer from turning his head, so he had to pivot his whole torso to look to either side.
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In Counter-Strike, you can make a chicken follow you
You can make a wandering chicken follow you, but it offers no tactical advantage and may give away your position to the enemy.
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A legendary rap album was written by a teenager
The East Coast lyricist was 17 when he wrote the album, whose dense rhymes and reflections on urban life made it a celebrated debut.
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Bryan Cranston learned to make meth for Breaking Bad
DEA chemists taught Bryan Cranston the chemistry of meth production so he could portray Walter White convincingly.
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Haydn wrote a symphony that could wake the audience
A sudden, blasting chord interrupts an otherwise quiet movement, startling aristocratic patrons who might have dozed through Haydn's recitals.
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Jim Bakker sold survival supplies through his TV ministry
His broadcasts promoted stored food alongside warnings about future crises. The audience was offered both a reason to worry and something to buy in response.…
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Willy Wonka's original fate was much darker
An early draft had a golden-ticket winner fall into a vat of chocolate and become encased in it. Dahl cut the scene before publication.
Discover moreU2's famous Joshua tree became a desert pilgrimage
Anton Corbijn photographed the band beside a solitary Joshua tree near Darwin, California, for the album's artwork. The front cover used a different view at…
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The Game Gear that devoured six batteries
Its full-color, backlit screen could chew through six batteries, making it an expensive companion on road trips.
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Mozart and Salieri once wrote music for the same celebration
In 1785, Mozart, Salieri and a composer identified as Cornetti contributed to a piece celebrating a singer's recovery. A surviving print was identified in a…
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Mike Russell kept a podcast going for 36 hours
The host's archive describes an April 2016 marathon involving guests and a live audience online. The conversation continued across a day and a half while…
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What PlayStation’s four symbols mean
Designer Teiyu Goto gave each shape a purpose: the triangle suggested a viewpoint or menu heading, the square stood for a document, and the circle and cross…
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Voice notes allow people to speak instead of typing
Voice notes spare the sender typing, but they can make the recipient stop what they're doing and listen—like voicemail in a chat app.
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Houdini died on Halloween
Houdini died on October 31 from a ruptured appendix. Magicians still hold séances on Halloween, hoping he’ll escape from the afterlife.
Discover moreGary Oldman hired a coach to brush up his own English accent
He said years of living in America, surrounded by American speech, had let unfamiliar sounds creep into his voice. Preparing for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy…
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William Gibson coined the term cyberspace
William Gibson coined “cyberspace” for a short story, but the word later became standard language for digital networks.
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The Indian rope trick became famous through stories nobody could reliably stage
The celebrated version has a rope stand upright, a boy climb it, and an impossible disappearance follow. Newspaper accounts helped spread the tale, including…
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Kabuki used revolving stages centuries before the West
In 18th-century Japan, Kabuki theaters used large rotating platforms pushed by stagehands hidden beneath them, making rapid scene changes possible.
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Summer reruns were invented purely to save money
When summer audiences shrank, networks saved the cost of producing new shows by filling their schedules with old episodes.
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