Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
A K-pop group's visual is a role in its public image
The label highlights a member's appearance and visual appeal in photographs, videos, and publicity. It sits alongside roles such as vocalist or dancer rather…
Discover more
Houdini discovered that dirt could defeat an escape artist
A 1915 buried-alive attempt without a protective coffin left him overwhelmed by the weight of the soil. Accounts describe him reaching the surface and…
Discover more
Why film crews stand silently in empty rooms
Editors need a recording of a room’s ambient hum to smooth over audio edits. After a long day, the crew may stand still and silent for 60 seconds while a…
Discover more
Night of the Living Dead made gore from a bizarre menu
The production used chocolate syrup for blood and edible or butcher-supplied materials for the zombies' feast. In black and white, color mattered less than…
Discover more
Harvest Moon lets you marry the creature in the lake
In More Friends of Mineral Town, the kappa is a secret marriage candidate. Giving him cucumbers is only part of a demanding set of requirements. The game…
Discover more
Push notifications interrupt routines with trivial updates
Apps can interrupt you with alerts about mundane events, like someone you haven't spoken to in years going live.
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.
The unlikely link between Steve Jobs and Toy Story
Jobs bought Lucasfilm's computer graphics division, which became Pixar, then invested millions to keep the struggling company afloat long enough to make Toy…
Discover more
Desktop wallpapers are usually default generic landscapes
Many computers display the scenic image bundled with their software, even though users can choose almost any picture.
Discover more
Why piano keys were called “ivories”
Before plastic keys became common, piano keys’ white surfaces were made from elephant ivory. That’s the literal origin of “tickling the ivories.”
Discover more
Undertale lets you win without killing anyone
You can reach the ending without killing anyone, using actions like talking, flirting, or petting instead of attacking.
Discover more
Die Hard’s casting history included an offer to Frank Sinatra
The film came from a novel that followed The Detective, whose earlier adaptation had starred Sinatra. That connection gave him a contractual offer before…
Discover more
Hosting a pageant to keep tourists in town
The pageant was a tourism draw designed to keep vacationers in the coastal city past Labor Day.
Discover more
When synthesizers filled an entire room
The earliest synthesizers were massive, wall-sized machines. Making even a simple sound meant manually connecting patch cables across the instrument.
Discover more
When Metallica lost a Grammy to Jethro Tull
The first Hard Rock/Metal Grammy, awarded in 1989, went to folk-rock band Jethro Tull instead of Metallica.
Discover more
Cinema ushers had instructions for keeping their flashlights out of the movie
A surviving 1953–54 instruction sheet for New York's Cinema 16 told ushers to note empty seats before the show, keep voices low, and point flashlights toward…
Discover more
MiniDiscs store audio data in a protective plastic shell
The shell protects the disc from scratches, while audio is stored magneto-optically: a laser heats the surface as a magnetic head writes the data.
Discover more
The four-panel comics that shaped internet humor
Static four-panel comics helped establish the format of relatable, shareable visual jokes that people still use to communicate online.
Discover more
Harrison Ford joked about stapling on Indiana Jones’ hat
Behind-the-scenes footage shows Ford using a stapler against the fedora as a gag. The joke made sense because keeping a recognizable hat in place during…
Discover more
Stock image models are forced to point at blank screens
Stock photos often show actors gesturing at transparent boards or empty space, pretending to discuss corporate ideas that aren't there.
Discover more
Johnny Depp fired Hunter S. Thompson from a cannon
After Thompson died in 2005, Johnny Depp spent $3 million to build the 150-foot cannon Thompson had requested for launching his cremated remains. It was…
Discover more
Starch can keep a meat pie's filling from running away
Potato starch absorbs water and thickens the juices as a filling cooks. That helps a slice hold together instead of releasing a puddle when the crust is cut.…
Discover more
Shrek was supposedly a punishment assignment
Animators who struggled with The Prince of Egypt were reportedly assigned to Shrek, which they thought would derail their careers. Instead, it won the first…
Discover more
Trivia teams invariably choose names containing terrible puns
At pub trivia, the team name can be a pun so painful that even the host groans while announcing it.
Discover more
Why Among Us tasks leave you vulnerable
Some tasks, such as swiping a card or connecting wires, cover part of your screen. That reduced view can make it harder to notice what’s happening around you.
Discover more