Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Quiz show categories are obsessively formatted as puns
Contestants may have to decode a pun just to discover they're answering a question about ordinary geography.
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The Spice Girls were once called Touch
The group rebranded as the Spice Girls and adopted distinct, marketable personas; they went on to become the best-selling female group of all time.
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Why stadium exits are called vomitories
Arena exits are called vomitories because they “spew” crowds from the seating areas into the concourse. The name describes how the exits move people, not the…
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Printing completely wrong psychic predictions
Tabloids publish annual lists of psychic predictions, often without revisiting whether the previous year’s forecasts came true.
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First sale doctrine allows used physical media resales
After the first sale, the copyright owner generally can't control that particular copy, so you can lend or give it away as well as resell it.
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Josephine Baker's fame helped her carry secrets across borders
During World War II, the entertainer worked for French intelligence and the Resistance. Her international performances offered cover for travel, and…
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How professionals fake a roasted turkey
A heat gun gives a raw turkey a roasted-looking golden-brown color, and brown shoe polish deepens the effect. The bird remains uncooked.
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Doctor Who's original electronic sound was assembled on magnetic tape
Delia Derbyshire realized Ron Grainer's theme using recorded sounds, altered playback speeds, and tape editing at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Changing speed…
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Noise limits at venues adhere to strict city laws
Open-air venues may have to keep sound below a legal decibel limit measured at the property line. If noise exceeds that threshold, organizers can face fines.
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Trombones use a continuous slide to manipulate pitch
Extending the slide lengthens the tubing and lowers the pitch; shortening it raises the pitch. The slide allows smooth glissandos, but players rely on muscle…
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Why talk-show guests can't name rival networks
Guests may sign agreements barring them from mentioning rival networks or shows, turning a casual interview into a carefully controlled promotion for the…
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Why Arthur the Aardvark doesn't look like one
Animators flattened his face because a realistic aardvark’s long snout looked unsettling when drawn head-on.
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Why museum audio guides sound so slow
Museum audio guides are often recorded at about 100 words per minute, much slower than ordinary conversation. The deliberate pace gives visitors time to take…
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In Ico, you have to hold hands to survive
In Ico, you lead your companion by holding a button to take her hand; let go, and she can fall behind. Keeping her close becomes part of the journey.
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Bloodborne's wooden shield is a poor hiding place
The base game's shield offers limited protection in a combat system that rewards movement and aggression. The Old Hunters expansion adds a different shield,…
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Marcel Marceau forged papers to save children
His illustration skills helped him forge identity papers for Jewish children during World War II, helping them avoid being sent to concentration camps.
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Sekiro replaces health bars with exhaustion meters
In Sekiro, aggressive attacks and deflections build an enemy’s posture meter. Fill it, and you can land a fatal blow without draining the enemy’s entire…
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The computer shortcut behind Solitaire's card cascade
The animation works by disabling the screen-wipe function: as each card sprite falls, it leaves its pixels behind, creating the cascade.
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Why lightsabers do not leave messy wounds
In the films, the blades' extreme heat is said to seal wounds instantly, which is why severed limbs bleed so little.
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Harvest Moon's original dog was easier to care for than its cows
In the SNES game, Ellen gives you a dog early in your farming career. Unlike livestock, it does not need feeding and has no affection meter to manage. In a…
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Electronic game Simon directly copies a playground game
Players repeat the colors and sounds in the order shown until they make a mistake.
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The monument that vanished on live TV
The trick relied on controlling what the television camera showed, making the monument appear to vanish to viewers watching live.
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Why movie furniture breaks so easily
Movie chairs and tables may be made from balsa wood, which is so lightweight and weak that it breaks easily when an actor throws it against a wall.
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Public access mandates were forced onto early monopolies
Regulators required telecom monopolies to provide free public-access channels as a condition of allowing them to lay cables through city streets.
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