Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
The Lion King was almost called King of the Jungle
Basic geography clearly wasn't a prerequisite for working at Disney animation in the early 90s. Despite lions exclusively living in the open African savannah,…
Discover more
Paul Bettany voiced JARVIS without watching Iron Man
Collecting a massive Marvel paycheck while doing absolutely zero homework is the real superhero power here. Bettany openly admitted he would roll into a…
Discover more
Why Shrek is named after fear
The internet's favorite swamp-dwelling ogre wasn't named by mashing random fantasy syllables together in a board room. The name derives from the German word…
Discover more
Eminem wrote The Real Slim Shady in three hours
Interscope records demanded a catchy lead single for the Marshall Mathers LP at the absolute eleventh hour. A deeply irritated Eminem wrote and recorded "The…
Discover more
Hannah Montana nearly had a very different name
Disney narrowly avoided accidentally naming a child superstar after one of the internet's most prolific adult film stars. They originally loved the name…
Discover more
Julie Andrews was repeatedly knocked face-first into the mud by the downdraft of a helicopter while filming the iconic opening scene of The Sound of Music.
Julie Andrews was repeatedly knocked face-first into the mud by the downdraft of a helicopter while filming the iconic opening scene of The Sound of Music.…
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.
Rod Serling only became the on-screen host of The Twilight Zone because the network executives told him they couldn't afford to hire a professional narrator.
Rod Serling only became the on-screen host of The Twilight Zone because the network executives told him they couldn't afford to hire a professional narrator.…
Discover more
Chewbacca’s iconic voice in Star Wars was created by mixing the roars of bears, walruses, lions, and badgers.
Chewbacca’s iconic voice in Star Wars was created by mixing the roars of bears, walruses, lions, and badgers. Sound designer Ben Burtt spent months traveling…
Discover more
Directors for the first Harry Potter movie insisted on using real owls to deliver letters, spending six months training the birds to carry envelopes in their beaks.
Directors for the first Harry Potter movie insisted on using real owls to deliver letters, spending six months training the birds to carry envelopes in their…
Discover more
Oasis turned down the opportunity to write and perform the theme song for the iconic film Trainspotting because Noel Gallagher literally thought the movie was about actual train spotters hanging out at railway stations.
Oasis turned down the opportunity to write and perform the theme song for the iconic film Trainspotting because Noel Gallagher literally thought the movie was…
Discover more
Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B.
Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss famously rushed the final season of the wildly popular fantasy series because they were incredibly…
Discover more
Burt Reynolds turned down the roles of Han Solo, James Bond, and John McClane throughout his incredibly long career because he believed none of those characters fit his specific brand of macho cinematic charm.
Burt Reynolds turned down the roles of Han Solo, James Bond, and John McClane throughout his incredibly long career because he believed none of those…
Discover more
Paramount Pictures spent five million dollars digitally removing Henry Cavill's mustache for the Justice League reshoots because the actor was contractually obligated to keep his…
Paramount Pictures spent five million dollars digitally removing Henry Cavill's mustache for the Justice League reshoots because the actor was contractually…
Discover more
Seinfeld originally tested so poorly with focus groups that NBC executives were entirely convinced the pilot was an unmitigated disaster that would alienate viewers with its deeply unlikable characters.
Seinfeld originally tested so poorly with focus groups that NBC executives were entirely convinced the pilot was an unmitigated disaster that would alienate…
Discover more
Netflix originally launched a feature called Max in 2013, which was a virtual assistant designed to ask users a few questions and then recommend a movie so they would stop endlessly scrolling through the catalog.
Netflix originally launched a feature called Max in 2013, which was a virtual assistant designed to ask users a few questions and then recommend a movie so…
Discover more
Cocaine Bear is completely based on a very real and incredibly tragic event from 1985, where a black bear actually stumbled upon millions of dollars worth of smuggled drugs…
Cocaine Bear is completely based on a very real and incredibly tragic event from 1985, where a black bear actually stumbled upon millions of dollars worth of…
Discover more
Sony initially rejected the idea of producing the first Venom movie because executives fundamentally believed that a superhero film focusing entirely on a villain without…
Sony initially rejected the idea of producing the first Venom movie because executives fundamentally believed that a superhero film focusing entirely on a…
Discover more
Babe, the incredibly wholesome 1995 family film about a polite talking pig who learns how to herd sheep, was surprisingly nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Babe, the incredibly wholesome 1995 family film about a polite talking pig who learns how to herd sheep, was surprisingly nominated for seven Academy Awards,…
Discover more
Nickelodeon explicitly banned the creation of a spin-off for SpongeBob SquarePants while creator Stephen Hillenburg was alive, as he strongly felt the original show should remain a standalone piece of animated art.
Nickelodeon explicitly banned the creation of a spin-off for SpongeBob SquarePants while creator Stephen Hillenburg was alive, as he strongly felt the…
Discover more
Beatles manager Brian Epstein made a catastrophic merchandising deal in 1963, giving away ninety percent of the band's merchandising rights to a company called Seltaeb for a mere handful of upfront cash.
Beatles manager Brian Epstein made a catastrophic merchandising deal in 1963, giving away ninety percent of the band's merchandising rights to a company…
Discover more
Ringo Starr is the only member of the Beatles who actually legally changed his name, as his real birth name was the remarkably less rock-and-roll sounding Richard Starkey;…
Ringo Starr is the only member of the Beatles who actually legally changed his name, as his real birth name was the remarkably less rock-and-roll sounding…
Discover more
Seinfeld was famously pitched as a show about absolutely nothing, yet it somehow managed to establish a complex, iron-clad internal logic over nine massively successful seasons.
Seinfeld was famously pitched as a show about absolutely nothing, yet it somehow managed to establish a complex, iron-clad internal logic over nine massively…
Discover more
Paramount Pictures initially hated the design of the Starship Enterprise when Gene Roddenberry pitched the original Star Trek television series.
Paramount Pictures initially hated the design of the Starship Enterprise when Gene Roddenberry pitched the original Star Trek television series. Studio…
Discover more
Sylvester Stallone was so desperately broke before making Rocky that he actually had to sell his beloved dog for fifty dollars just to buy food.
Sylvester Stallone was so desperately broke before making Rocky that he actually had to sell his beloved dog for fifty dollars just to buy food. After…
Discover more