Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
The Star Wars asteroids made from a shoe and a potato
When you have a limited budget and exhausted visual effects artists, you simply throw garbage into space and hope no one notices. During the frantic…
Discover more
GoldenEye almost started on the Super Nintendo
Imagine playing the most revolutionary first-person shooter of the 90s on a flat 2D screen with a D-pad. The legendary friendship-ruining simulator was…
Discover more
Why “we need to talk” sounds so ominous
If someone approaches you and softly says, 'we need to talk', you should immediately call a lawyer. This specific phrase is never followed by an invitation to…
Discover more
Baking tents on television lack standard air conditioning
Pitting amateur bakers against intricate chocolate sculptures inside a humid outdoor tent is purely malicious. The lack of proper cooling ensures that…
Discover more
Fanzines thrived way before internet forums existed
Devoted nerds used to physically cut and paste articles, fan art, and deeply weird essays about their favorite shows, mailing them across the country like…
Discover more
Violin bows rely on sticky rosin to generate friction
Nothing creates beautiful, sweeping sonatas quite like rubbing crystallized tree sap onto a stick. Without a heavy coating of rosin, a violin bow would just…
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.
File hosting sites bury downloads under misleading buttons
Retrieving a digital file requires navigating a treacherous visual minefield. The actual legitimate download link is microscopically hidden amidst five…
Discover more
Shirley Temple left Hollywood at 22
Hollywood's original sweetheart figured out the game early and tapped out. After carrying entire studios through the Great Depression with her tap dancing and…
Discover more
Shonen Jump cancels manga based on weekly reader polls
The manga industry is a ruthless gladiator arena. Weekly Shonen Jump determines the survival of its series entirely based on tiny survey postcards mailed in…
Discover more
Film platters let one projectionist run an entire screening
The invention that finally let projectionists use the bathroom in peace. Before the 1960s, a feature film was shipped on several small reels, requiring a…
Discover more
Trapped in confined spaces guarantees romantic feelings
Claustrophobia is apparently the greatest aphrodisiac known to humanity. Stick two people who vehemently hate each other into a broken elevator or a locked…
Discover more
Why Lord of the Rings almost became one movie
As if we needed another reason to loathe Harvey Weinstein, he genuinely tried to compress a three-volume fantasy epic into a single two-hour movie. Miramax…
Discover more
Dramatic speakers remove their glasses for emphasis
Words alone cannot convey the absolute severity of a situation. To truly make a superior realize the world is ending, an expert must physically snatch their…
Discover more
Before Star Wars, John Williams wrote Gilligan’s Island music
Before he was scoring epic intergalactic battles and terrifying shark attacks, this musical genius was busy sound-tracking a boat tour gone catastrophically…
Discover moreBruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska on a cheap cassette deck
Instead of booking a lavish studio, Bruce Springsteen recorded his incredibly bleak acoustic album 'Nebraska' sitting on his bed with a cheap four-track…
Discover more
Why Zelda’s rupees have an Indian name
Geopolitical economics makes a shocking appearance in Hyrule. Shigeru Miyamoto didn't set out to make a bold statement on global fiat currency; he just…
Discover more
Heath Ledger made the Joker's nurse disguise with drugstore makeup
When you are fully immersed in crafting a legendary psychopath, you don't wait for the professional makeup department to do their jobs. For the tense hospital…
Discover more
The movie that tried to make audiences smell the story
Imagine paying good money to actively smell a movie. Back in 1960, a film called 'Scent of Mystery' utilized a system that pumped 30 different odors into the…
Discover more
Tubas were strictly invented to replace unstable instruments
The ophicleide was an early brass instrument that sounded notoriously terrible and was incredibly hard to play. The modern tuba was specifically engineered as…
Discover more
Magicians have sued over allegedly stolen tricks
There is no honor among thieves or stage magicians. Illusionists frequently launch incredibly furious, highly public lawsuits against each other for allegedly…
Discover more
Why bears roar for marshmallows
A towering, ferocious grizzly standing on its hind legs to roar is rarely actually angry. In most cases, the wranglers are dangling a stick covered in soft,…
Discover more
Where crowd surfers end up after reaching the stage
Riding a wave of human hands all the way to the front row does not result in glory. Security guards actively catch crowd surfers over the barrier and…
Discover more
Why Yo Gabba Gabba's monsters look child-drawn
Asymmetry is an intentional design choice. The chaotic, lumpy proportions of the monster characters were specifically engineered to look like a five-year-old…
Discover more
Gamers grind for hours simply because they started
Video game developers exploit you by making you sink fifty hours into building a digital town. Even when the game becomes mind-numbingly boring, you will keep…
Discover more