Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Fair use laws explicitly protect scathing parodies
Fair use can protect parody that uses a copyrighted work to criticize or mock it, but it isn’t blanket permission to copy a brand or profit from its material.
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Broadcasting weather for thirty four hours
One meteorologist stayed on air for 34 hours straight without sleeping, turning a weather broadcast into an endurance feat.
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A horror hit began with just 35 pages
The 35-page document was a loose outline of frightening scenarios, not a polished script. The cast improvised their panic in the woods on camera.
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E.T. may belong in the Star Wars universe
Lucas added a group of E.T.’s alien species, the Asogians, to the Galactic Senate scene in The Phantom Menace as a nod to Spielberg, who had included Yoda in…
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Digital spaces frequently render avatars without any legs
Some virtual worlds omit avatars' legs, leaving them floating from the waist down; accurately rendering foot positions can be difficult.
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Television schedule becoming top reading
TV Guide became a dominant print publication in America by telling readers what time their favorite shows aired.
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Failing to raise the dead on a live broadcast
A televangelist tried to stage a resurrection during a live segment, with thousands of viewers watching the attempt fail.
Discover moreTwilight’s baby was almost a demonic robot
The original plan for Twilight’s half-vampire baby was a demonic-looking animatronic the crew nicknamed “Chuckesmee.” They replaced it with CGI, which was…
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Disney delayed announcing Walt Disney’s death
Disney reportedly held the announcement of Walt Disney’s death until the stock market had closed for the weekend. The delay was intended to protect the…
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Why cartoon characters fall only after looking down
An animated character can sprint off a cliff and hang in midair until looking down makes them realize they're falling. In cartoon physics, that moment of…
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Why the first movie theaters were called Nickelodeons
The name combines the five-cent admission price—a nickel—with “odeon,” a Greek word for theater. The first indoor movie theaters called Nickelodeons appeared…
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The hit song made in a bedroom with one sampler
Liam Howlett built its dense, abrasive sound in a cramped bedroom with one basic sampler and cheap vinyl records—not a studio full of gear.
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Up doubled its balloon count for takeoff
Pixar used 20,622 balloons when Carl's house lifted off and 10,297 for many floating scenes. The canopy had to look and move convincingly as animation, not…
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Historic binge watching demanded marathon endurance
Before on-demand seasons, viewers had to plan around scheduled broadcast marathons—and sit through commercial breaks—to catch up on a show.
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SimCity ignores realistic urban zoning for gameplay
In the game, residential and polluting industrial zones can sit side by side, while parks help keep citizens happy.
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Your late-night radio host may have recorded it at 3 PM
The DJ may have recorded those intimate introductions hours earlier, at 3 p.m. over breakroom coffee.
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Adele named her first albums after her age
Her first three albums were named for the age she was when she wrote them, turning a personal milestone into a simple title.
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A stadium seat cushion can count as a container
Some stadium rules reject cushions with pockets or compartments. A seat accessory that conceals storage may therefore face the same scrutiny as a bag. The…
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Pixar changed a vegetable to keep the same joke
Inside Out's Japanese version replaced Riley's disliked broccoli with green bell pepper. The image changed so the audience would recognize the same childhood…
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Why Myanmar once banned The Simpsons
Censors banned the show because its yellow and red colors violated a ban on those colors in films.
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Pulp Fiction averages more than one f-word a minute
A commonly cited count puts the word at 265 uses across roughly 154 minutes. That is about 1.7 per minute, though the dialogue does not distribute them…
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Moulin Rouge once had a giant elephant
The Moulin Rouge courtyard once featured a giant hollow stucco elephant. A spiral staircase in its leg led to a belly where belly dancers performed.
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A movie mirror has to hide the people making the movie
Filmmakers adjust the mirror, camera position, and framing so the reflection shows the actor without exposing the crew. The actor's apparent gaze and the…
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The makeup trick that keeps movie sweat shiny
Makeup artists mist actors with water and glycerin. Unlike real sweat, the mixture evaporates slowly, keeping their skin shiny for hours.
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