Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Why Minesweeper lets your first click survive
Many versions wait until your first click to place the mines, then keep that square safe. The board is generated around your choice, so the opening move can’t…
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The stranger who inspired Attack on Titan
Creator Hajime Isayama has said an encounter with an aggressively intoxicated customer at an internet cafe helped inspire the Titans. The experience made him…
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India's film industry is much bigger than Bollywood
Hindi-language cinema is only one part of the country's output. Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, and other film industries serve different…
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The Fellowship's tattoo included a stunt double
Eight of the nine lead Fellowship actors got matching 'nine' tattoos after The Lord of the Rings. John Rhys-Davies did not, and his stunt double participated…
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Halle Berry accepted her Razzie with an Oscar in hand
Berry showed up at the Golden Raspberry Awards with her Best Actress Oscar and gave a tearful, sarcastic speech thanking Warner Bros. for putting her in a…
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Why game shows gave landlocked winners boats
A huge boat makes a more dramatic stage prize than a practical one, so some shows awarded them even to winners who lived far from the water.
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Count von Count makes math slightly less scary
His vampire look borrowed from classic horror, but his obsessive counting turned a frightening monster into a friendly guide to addition.
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Miss Teen USA replaced swimsuits with athletic wear in 2016
Organizers presented the change as a way to recognize young women's active lives and confidence. The new round changed what contestants wore while keeping a…
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Cheap theater tickets meant standing in a muddy courtyard
The cheapest admission bought no seat: spectators stood in an open, muddy pit below the stage for three hours, exposed to the weather and falling spit and…
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The original Alien script ignored every character's gender
The script came with a note saying any character could be played by a man or a woman, giving the filmmakers complete casting flexibility.
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Beatboxing turns a voice into a drum machine
Performers imitate kicks, snares, hi-hats, and other sounds with the mouth, arranging them into a rhythm. The art grew within hip-hop alongside electronic…
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JoJo's creator was commissioned to make a Louvre comic
The commission brought Araki’s dramatically posed, fashion-forward characters into the Louvre’s galleries, alongside works by classical masters.
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A dance lift is upper-body training disguised as choreography
Researchers analyzing ballet and contemporary performances counted lifts and movements in which dancers supported their own weight. Contemporary performances…
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Why 45s were made for hit singles
RCA Victor introduced the 7-inch, 45-rpm record in 1949 to compete with the LP; each side held one song, and the cheap, durable discs quickly became jukebox…
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Friends almost took place in a diner
NBC worried a coffeehouse would feel too trendy for middle America and suggested a diner instead. The creators kept the coffeehouse setting.
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Survivor tests every challenge before contestants
Production assistants run through each physical challenge before contestants do, checking that it is possible and safe. They test the obstacles before the…
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Method acting originating from a strict Russian teacher
In the early 1900s, Konstantin Stanislavski developed a system that asked performers to draw on real emotional memories to create convincing feelings onstage.
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Evil twins are a massive soap opera crutch
An evil twin gives soap-opera writers a ready-made source of conflict: the same actor can return as a look-alike villain without adding another character to…
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Survivor put a $5 million price on breaking confidentiality
When CBS countersued contestant Stacey Stillman in 2001, it said the contestants' agreements carried that penalty. Keeping the outcome secret wasn't merely a…
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Lorne Michaels offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite
On a 1976 SNL broadcast, Michaels jokingly offered $3,000 total, or $750 each. Lennon and McCartney were watching together in New York and considered going to…
Discover moreA singer's instrument is tissue that has to keep vibrating
The vocal folds open and close as air passes through them, while the throat and mouth shape the sound. Long performances place repeated demands on that…
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Florence Foster Jenkins made a concert attraction out of bad singing
The wealthy amateur paid to perform opera despite serious problems with pitch and rhythm. Listeners came for a spectacle very different from the technical…
Discover moreThe Bee Gees wrote hits without reading music
They composed complex vocal harmonies by ear, without being able to read or write sheet music.
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Lilo’s voice actress also played The Ring’s terrifying girl
Daveigh Chase voiced the spirited Hawaiian child in Lilo & Stitch and played Samara in The Ring, both released in 2002. One performance reaches the audience…
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