Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Mortal Kombat turned an error log into a fighter
Ermac began with the abbreviation for an error macro in the original arcade game's diagnostic system. Fans interpreted it as evidence of a hidden character,…
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The Star Wars prequel edit Topher Grace made for fun
Topher Grace taught himself Adobe Premiere by cutting all three prequels into an 85-minute action thriller, trimming Jake Lloyd, Jar Jar Binks, and the…
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Why telenovelas can rewrite a plot overnight
Traditional telenovelas are filmed close to broadcast, so producers can use daily ratings to reshape storylines—sometimes writing a character out almost…
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Daredevil launched Netflix’s audio-description rollout
In April 2015, Netflix began adding narration of visual action with its series about a blind superhero. The extra track describes details dialogue cannot…
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The Thing poster painted overnight without seeing the film
With less than 24 hours before the deadline, Drew Struzan had only a vague concept of an alien in a snowsuit to guide him.
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Radio Caroline moved the studio offshore
From 1964, the station broadcast popular music from a ship outside Britain's territorial waters, reaching listeners ashore. The vessel was part of the…
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How Adult Swim built a cult brand with text and stock photos
Adult Swim paired stark Helvetica text with stock photos of elderly people swimming to create an ironic, deliberately cheap look. The bumpers’ cynical jokes…
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Why Latin America's Homer Simpson sounds different
Rather than translate obscure American references literally, Velez improvised local slang and catchphrases and roasted regional politicians.
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Cloverfield hides more than a monster in its shaky footage
Brief flashes of classic monster-movie images are hidden among the apparent glitches in the recording. They give the found-footage film a second layer for…
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How The Hunger Games made violence look like sports
The Capitol’s broadcast borrowed the look of ESPN and NFL coverage: player-stat graphics, dramatic bumper music and polished sponsor logos. That slick sports…
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The Thing's title emerged through melting plastic
Effects artist Peter Kuran used a backlit title and dark plastic that was heated so it pulled apart, letting the light break through. The uneven physical…
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The bizarre sitcom about a murdered detective dog
In the 1990 pilot Poochinski, Peter Boyle played a murdered Chicago detective whose soul ended up in an English bulldog. The dog drove, passed gas, and bit…
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Why This Is Spinal Tap gets an 11 on IMDb
The film’s guitarist boasts that his amplifier goes to 11—“one louder” than 10. IMDb’s page reportedly echoes the joke with a rating scale that tops out at 11.
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Disney made a Haunted Mansion crypt sneeze at the queue
The interactive graveyard added in 2011 lets the haunting begin before the ride. A sea captain sings from inside a water-filled crypt, bubbles rise, and a…
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Anime crossed borders on homemade VHS tapes
Before streaming, fans translated shows, added English subtitles with video equipment, and copied the results onto VHS. Those tapes circulated through clubs…
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The punishing training behind Sheila Ki Jawani
Farah Khan’s choreography demanded intense pelvic isolation and stamina, making the three-minute number a spectacle in its own right. Its viral popularity…
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Red Dead Redemption 2 turns housebuilding into a rhythm game
During the epilogue, the hammering and measuring sounds in the folk music respond to the player's button presses. That makes building a house feel like…
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The puppet sex scene that fought the ratings board
In Team America: World Police, Trey Parker and Matt Stone used puppets to parody an absurdly elaborate movie sex scene. The filmmakers repeatedly cut the…
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Elvis impersonators have a wardrobe industry of their own
Reproducing the stage look means matching jumpsuits, capes, embellishments, and the details fans associate with particular performances. Specialist costume…
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How Serial turned listeners into armchair investigators
After Sarah Koenig’s 2014 series, Reddit users scrutinized old architectural blueprints and cellphone tower data, turning true-crime listening into…
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The grim history hidden in Parks and Recreation
To give their fictional Indiana town a sense of history, the Parks and Recreation writers created centuries of grim pioneer lore for the murals in city hall.
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Wayne Campbell appeared on Canadian TV before Saturday Night Live
Mike Myers played the character on CBC's It's Only Rock & Roll in 1987. Wayne then moved into Saturday Night Live sketches and eventually a movie. The…
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This dinner show sells deliberately disastrous service
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience puts guests inside a meal served by performers playing Basil, Sybil and Manuel. Much of the show is improvised around the…
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The Blair Witch filmmakers returned a camera for a refund
A 1999 TIME report says the directors bought a $500 Hi8 camera at Circuit City, used it for the shoot, and returned it afterward. The actors' rough handheld…
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