Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
GTA San Andreas jetpack requires strict button inputs
Entering a specific sequence of controller buttons in *GTA: San Andreas* spawns a jetpack, letting players fly over obstacles and locked gates.
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Digital transitions rendered millions of antennas useless
The antennas themselves could still receive broadcasts; older TVs needed an external converter box to decode the new digital signals.
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Brie Larson wrote journals from several ages of her Room character's life
She described writing as the character at ten, fourteen, and sixteen or seventeen, reconstructing the person she had been before captivity. Larson also spent…
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Why Brad Pitt eats in almost every scene of Ocean's Eleven
Pitt made Rusty’s constant snacking a character choice: a stressed-out heist planner wouldn’t have time for a proper sit-down lunch.
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A pianist bequeathed his skull for a Shakespeare role
André Tchaikowsky left his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company, hoping it could play Yorick in Hamlet. It eventually appeared with David Tennant in 2008.…
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Hollow Knight map updates require resting on benches
Even with a map, your explored area won't update until you find a bench and rest, where you can mark down where you've been.
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The circus ring was shaped around a rider on a moving horse
As a horse travels in a circle, its rider has to manage the turn as well as balance on its back. The familiar circular arena grew from equestrian performance,…
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Sawing women in half started as a box trick
P.T. Selbit's 1920 version used a closed wooden crate, with ropes tied to the assistant's wrists and ankles—not a transparent table.
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Why Fox nearly rejected Gillian Anderson as Scully
Executives wanted a bombshell actress, but creator Chris Carter argued that Scully should be the highly educated FBI medical doctor the role called for.
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Closets provide impenetrable cloaking from searchers
In some games, a slatted wardrobe can hide a character in plain sight—even as the door shakes and they breathe loudly.
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TV court judgments can be paid by the production
On some courtroom shows, a production fund covers awards rather than requiring the losing participant to hand over the money. The ruling still structures the…
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Poe's enemy got to write his obituary
Writing under a pseudonym, critic Rufus Griswold portrayed Poe as a drunken, depraved man in the obituary.
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The surprising sound behind movie fires
Sound designers crinkle stiff cellophane to mimic the crackle of burning wood.
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Why pop music stopped changing keys
Dramatic key changes were a pop staple in the 1980s but are now rare on charting tracks; some listeners find the sudden lift cheesy.
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Dota lets you destroy a resource before the enemy can collect it
Players can deny eligible allied creeps, preventing opponents from receiving the normal rewards for killing them. Timing the final hit becomes a contest over…
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Drive-time radio explicitly targets exhausted commuters
Commute-time slots attract large audiences, so broadcasters make their shows energetic and loud for tired drivers.
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WordGirl hides a vocabulary lesson inside a superhero plot
Each episode introduces four target words and repeats them in different contexts, according to PBS. The story gives children reasons to hear and use the words…
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A leaked manuscript was rewritten instead of released
She halted the release, then spent several years rewriting the manuscript from a different perspective before finally publishing it to fans who had already…
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Why roller-coaster screams are hard to suppress
A sudden drop can trigger the amygdala's fight-or-flight response, making a scream an involuntary reaction rather than just a deliberate expression of fun.
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The dinosaur skeleton in a museum may be a replica
Many museums display lightweight casts while keeping fragile original fossils in storage, so the towering skeleton visitors see may be a replica.
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Why TV rain can destroy an entire room
Many interior sets use thin cardboard and wallpaper, so fake rain can soak through and leave a room soggy or collapsing.
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How tango went from slums to ballroom floors
It began in working-class Buenos Aires neighborhoods, where it was performed on the streets. Elite society rejected it until its popularity in Paris made it…
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Travel hosts falsely pretend every single dish is perfect
Even a mediocre bowl of local stew can get a reverent nod and life-changing praise—a familiar bit of travel-TV theater.
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Clue's first design included a hypodermic syringe
Anthony Pratt's original murder game had more suspects and weapons than the version that reached stores in 1949. The syringe and an Irish walking stick were…
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