Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
How a metal ball appears to float around a magician
Telekinesis is fake, but ultra-thin Kevlar string is very real. The mesmerizing metallic sphere hovering around the magician's body is entirely controlled by…
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Didgeridoo demands circular breathing
Passing out from oxygen deprivation is highly frowned upon during a solo. To play this massive wooden tube continuously, performers must flawlessly inhale…
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How trapeze catchers hold on midair
Hanging upside down fifty feet in the air without dropping someone requires absolute knee superiority. The catcher fiercely wedges their legs over the…
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Tango requires a constant chest connection
Personal space is entirely abolished on this dance floor. Partners press their torsos tightly together, allowing the follower to blindly feel the subtle…
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Rammstein performers breathe fire through face masks
Why settle for standard stage lighting when you can just strap a literal incendiary device to your face? This industrial band performs live while casually…
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Flamenco guitar relies on percussive tapping
Why stop at plucking strings when you can also beat up the instrument? Guitarists forcefully slap the soundboard with their fingers in a technique called a…
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Cyr wheel requires spinning inside a giant hoop
Why perform acrobatics on the floor when you can do them trapped inside a single massive metal ring? The performer grips the rim and furiously shifts their…
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How metal singers scream without shredding their vocal cords
Heavy metal vocalists sound like they are shredding their throats, but it is entirely a trick. They push air past their ventricular folds instead of their…
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Glissando requires sliding across piano keys
Instead of carefully picking out individual notes, the pianist simply drags their fingernail across thirty keys in a frantic blur. It looks completely chaotic…
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Metallica's Antarctic concert needed headphones
Because standard world tours are for absolute amateurs, this metal band decided to freeze their instruments off. They performed live to a crowd of scientists,…
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The giant tuba designed to wrap around you
Carrying a massive brass tuba while walking is utterly absurd, so they simply reshaped the instrument to coil around the human torso. This allows the bell to…
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Playing pedal steel guitar takes all four limbs
It is less like playing music and more like operating a complex piece of heavy machinery. The musician uses both hands to pick and slide, while their feet and…
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How sopranos sing over an orchestra
Forget using cheap electronic microphones. By expertly uncoupling their vocal tract resonances from the fundamental pitch, these highly trained singers…
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Vuvuzela creates a deafening stadium drone
It takes true malicious genius to invent a simple plastic horn capable of drowning out tens of thousands of screaming fans. Blowing into it requires zero…
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Melodica forces you to blow into a keyboard
Because normal breath-controlled instruments simply do not have enough buttons. This hybrid device features piano keys but remains completely silent until you…
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How magicians saw people in half
Despite what your eyes tell you, nobody is actually surviving a giant buzzsaw to the waist. The classic illusion simply uses an oversized hollow table…
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Ocarina functions as a closed vessel flute
It looks like an oddly punctured sweet potato, but it operates on pure acoustic physics. Because the chamber is entirely enclosed, pitch is determined by the…
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Why mosh pits turn music into a human whirlpool
A bizarre ritual where concertgoers collectively decide to aggressively slam into each other in a circular vortex. It converts pure musical aggression into…
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Beatboxing mimics an entire acoustic drum kit
Completely negating the need for actual percussion equipment, these performers contort their lips and tongues to unleash snares, kicks, and hi-hats. The most…
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Otamatone looks like a screaming music note
If a synthesizer and a cartoon tadpole had a baby, this would be it. You play it by sliding your fingers up and down its neck while literally squeezing its…
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Ballet pointe shoes put your weight on your toes
It takes immense athletic prowess to gracefully pretend you aren't in agonizing pain. Dancers stuff their feet into reinforced satin shoes, actively bearing…
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Why blowing into a kazoo doesn't work
It is the ultimate trap for untalented people who think they can play an instrument by exhaling. A kazoo solely relies on vocal cord vibration; if you just…
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Mariachi bass lines rely on a giant acoustic
To be heard over blazing trumpets without an amplifier, you need pure acoustic volume. The guitarrón is comically oversized, featuring a massive V-shaped back…
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Pizzicato forces violinists to pluck strings
You spend thousands of dollars on a perfectly crafted bow just to ignore it entirely. Orchestral string players use their fingertips to aggressively snap the…
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