Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Symphonic metal mixes orchestras with guitars
Because sometimes a distorted electric guitar riff desperately needs the backing of fifty violinists and a blaring French horn. It seamlessly violently merges…
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Fire breathing is just spitting fuel mist
You aren't actually exhaling flames like a dragon. The performer holds highly toxic combustible liquid in their mouth and forcefully spits it out in an…
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Headbanging causes literal neck whiplash
Aggressively whipping your skull back and forth to a heavy beat is a cornerstone of live metal shows. It frequently results in a temporary muscular strain…
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Double bass belongs to the viol family
Despite hiding in the back of the string section, it is a total imposter. Unlike the cello and viola, the double bass sloped shoulders and flat back prove it…
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Singing bowls just need a rubbed rim to wail
A deeply spiritual approach to making an intense ringing noise. By dragging a wooden mallet around the metal rim of the bowl, you create continuous friction…
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Tap dancing involves metal plates on your feet
The absolute easiest way to annoy your downstairs neighbors. Performers wear specialized shoes with heavy metallic taps screwed into the heel and toe,…
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Stylophone is played with a literal stylus
Forget using normal fingers like a peasant. This miniature analog synthesizer features a metal keyboard that completes an electrical circuit only when you tap…
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Contortionists possess hypermobile spines
Bending completely backward until your head rests squarely on your buttocks is not something you just practice. These performers have genetically loose…
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Alphorns are fourteen feet of pure wood
Because nothing says 'subtle melody' quite like blowing into a small tree. Lacking any keys, buttons, or valves, the performer must rely entirely on extreme…
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Hula dancing tells complex stories with hands
While tourists just focus on the swaying hips, the actual narrative is entirely in the upper body. Every single precise hand gesture represents specific…
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How aerialists stop a fall with fabric
Dropping from the ceiling wrapped in mere fabric looks suicidal, but the physics are flawless. The performer rapidly tangles the silk around their waist and…
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The singer who rolls over crowds in a giant bubble
Walking onto a stage is entirely too normal. The lead singer regularly chooses to climb inside a massive transparent hamster ball and literally roll over the…
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Banjo features a weirdly short fifth string
Symmetry is apparently highly overrated in the string instrument world. The fifth string is inexplicably shorter than the others and attached to a tuning peg…
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Hang drum is basically an inverted steel pan
Looking suspiciously like a crashed alien spacecraft, this instrument is entirely acoustic. You play it by lightly striking the dented metal shell with your…
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The hidden escape pin in a stage water tank
Drowning on stage is exceptionally bad for ticket sales. The heavy padlocks on the water tank look completely impenetrable, but the top hinges usually conceal…
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Harpsichord plucks strings instead of hitting
It is essentially a keyboard that refuses to understand how a piano works. Pressing a key activates a tiny mechanism that violently plucks the internal…
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Jaw harp uses your skull as an amplifier
Why use an acoustic box when you can just rattle your own teeth? You place this tiny metal frame against your slightly opened mouth and pluck the reed,…
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Silent discos feature utterly quiet dance floors
Imagine a room full of people aggressively sweating and jumping to absolute dead silence. Everyone wears wireless headphones tuned to a local DJ, making the…
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The giant Octobass is played with hand and foot levers
Because a standard double bass apparently wasn't obnoxious enough. Standing over eleven feet tall, this string instrument requires the musician to use a…
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Taiko drumming is a full body workout
Forget sitting comfortably on a stool behind a drum kit. These massive Japanese drums demand explosive, highly choreographed bodily movements and aggressive…
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Glockenspiel uses tiny metal bars for music
It is essentially a xylophone that traded its warm wooden resonance for pure, piercing metal. Struck with hard mallets, its high-pitched chime slices through…
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The instrument that makes horror-movie sounds with water
Ever wonder how to effortlessly induce paranoia in a dark room? This acoustic instrument consists of a stainless steel resonator bowl filled with water and…
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Why Irish dancers keep their arms still
A completely baffling stylistic choice where the lower half of your body moves at the speed of light while your upper half remains rigidly paralyzed. The arms…
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Keytar straps a keyboard onto your shoulders
For the keyboardist who absolutely refuses to stand still in the background. By throwing a strap over the shoulder and extending a neck for pitch-bending…
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