Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Stradivarius violins were soaked in chemicals
Modern analyses found aluminum, copper, and zinc in the violin wood, though that alone doesn’t explain its distinctive sound.
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Federal law requires aviation lights on transmitters
Flashing red lights help aircraft pilots spot tall broadcast antennas, and federal rules require them; stations can be fined for failing to install them.
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Metroid hides upgrades behind fake walls
An upgrade needed to clear an obstacle may be hidden behind a fake wall nearby, encouraging players to bomb the planet's walls one by one.
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Nintendo's baseball investment outlasted its majority ownership
The company helped keep the Seattle Mariners in the region in the 1990s. When it agreed to sell its majority holding in 2016, it retained a 10% stake rather…
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Blank cassettes use breakable tabs to prevent overwriting
Removing the tabs blocked the deck’s recording button, though a piece of tape over the holes could bypass the safeguard.
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True life television stories are heavily embellished
To make real-life stories more watchable, writers may invent arguments, rearrange timelines, or exaggerate minor inconveniences.
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Heath Ledger improvised the Joker's slow clap
The script called for the Joker to sit quietly in his cell during Commissioner Gordon’s promotion, but Ledger began a mocking slow clap without breaking eye…
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One Oscar winner was not on the nominees list
Hal Mohr won cinematography for A Midsummer Night's Dream at the 1936 ceremony through write-in votes. The Academy identifies him as its only write-in winner,…
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Why Steve Buscemi kept his crooked teeth
He reportedly told his dentist not to fix them because his distinctive smile helped him land roles as oddballs, criminals, and outcasts.
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Titanic's movie budget dwarfed the ship's original bill
The liner cost about $7.5 million in 1912; James Cameron's film had a production budget around $200 million in 1997. Those are prices from different eras, not…
Discover moreDaft Punk made old recordings sound like new machinery
On Discovery, fragments of earlier tracks are cut, repeated, and placed in new arrangements. A short section can become a rhythmic engine rather than a…
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Talk show titles utilize aggressive exclamation marks
Producers use oversized fonts and strings of punctuation to make on-screen arguments feel more dramatic.
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Reaction streams feature creators staring blankly at screens
The creator's face may appear in a small corner of the screen while another video plays, sometimes for hours.
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Derivative works mandate original creator consent
A sequel built around someone else's protected characters or setting can infringe copyright without permission, and its creator doesn't gain rights to those…
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This monkey has more than 20 acting credits
Capuchin Crystal has appeared in films including The Hangover and Night at the Museum.
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Photo dump carousels group unrelated images into one post
Rather than choose one perfect photo, users bundle blurry selfies, dog pictures, and even half-eaten sandwiches into a single gallery.
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Why Frankenstein's monster wore 13-pound boots
The boots weighed 13 pounds each and were modified from asphalt-paving gear, giving Karloff's monster a genuinely heavy, shambling gait.
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Jack Nicholson's Batman contract included Lakers games
His Batman contract required filming to accommodate every Lakers home game, so the production schedule had to work around his basketball plans.
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How Sailor Moon borrowed from superhero teams
Creator Naoko Takeuchi was a fan of Super Sentai, the team-based shows about heroes in colorful suits fighting monsters. She brought that group-transformation…
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How open-mic comedy began in London pubs
The idea grew out of UK pub nights where patrons were invited to get onstage and entertain the room, long before today's sign-up lists and wait times.
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Fans can name stars after pop singers
Fans can pool their money to buy a star name for a pop singer through a commercial registry, but the name is symbolic rather than an official astronomical…
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Why fashion shows sometimes make the runway slippery
Some avant-garde shows use water or mud on the catwalk for dramatic effect, making an already difficult walk in heels even more treacherous.
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Why film crews hide wet tampons behind coffee mugs
Film crews hide heated, damp tampons behind mugs because they retain moisture and produce steam longer than a quick burst from boiling water.
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Nicholson's Joker deal paid for more than showing up
He negotiated a share of Batman's gross as well as an upfront fee. That structure ties compensation to revenue rather than just a fixed salary. For a major…
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