Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Lego bricks grip together via clutch friction
Stepping on them hurts because their tolerances are absurdly strict. The tiny tubes on the bottom of a block perfectly wedge against the studs of the one…
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The comedy show where the performer never stands
Stand-up comedy is incredibly demanding, so why not just do it from a pillow? Japanese Rakugo is a theatrical storytelling art where the sole performer sits…
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Carrom is an Indian tabletop game played by flicking disks
Imagine playing billiards, but instead of a cue stick, you are forced to use the brute strength of your own index finger. Carrom is a traditional Indian…
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Kendama is a Japanese toy featuring three cups and a spike
Catching a ball in a cup is far too simplistic for true masters of coordination. The Japanese Kendama involves a wooden handle with three differently sized…
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Electric guitars catch vibrations with magnets
Shredding an epic solo requires some fundamental electromagnetism. The metal strings vibrate over magnetic pickups wrapped in miles of fine copper wire,…
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Why Vine’s six-second limit was inspired by texting
Before it became the graveyard of internet comedy, Vine's iconic time limit was entirely arbitrary. The founders originally just wanted a video version of a…
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Knott’s Berry Farm began as a roadside fruit stand
One of the most famous amusement parks in California literally started with a guy selling fruit on the side of a dirt road. It only turned into a massive…
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Thai festival Loy Krathong floats decorated stem baskets
Rather than just looking at a river, it is much more visually pleasing to cover it entirely in glowing debris. During Thailand's Loy Krathong festival,…
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Japanese Koinobori streamers are flown to celebrate children
Because nothing honors the fierce resilience of youth quite like a tubular cloth fish blowing wildly in the wind. During specific festivals, Japanese families…
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Rangoli art uses colored sand to decorate Indian floors
Sweep your floors just to immediately cover them in colored dirt. Rangoli is the traditional Indian art of creating spectacular, sprawling geometric patterns…
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Japanese Ukiyo-e prints require separate carved woodblocks
Printing a colorful poster today takes three seconds, but historically, it required an absurd amount of chiseling. Japanese Ukiyo-e prints demanded that a…
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The puppeteers hidden underwater in Vietnam
Standard puppet theaters let you stay dry, but traditional Vietnamese art demands mild aquatic suffering. Performers of water puppetry stand waist-deep in a…
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The hidden mechanism inside a Rubik’s Cube
The world's most frustrating puzzle is brilliantly empty on the inside. None of the brightly colored outer blocks are actually attached to each other; they…
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Japanese Tabi socks feature a divided front to fit sandals
Wearing socks with sandals is universally recognized as a modern fashion faux pas, unless you engineer the sock specifically for the task. Japanese Tabi socks…
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Bharatanatyam dance uses specific mudras for storytelling
Who needs spoken dialogue when your fingers can do all the talking? In the classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam, performers utilize dozens of highly…
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Fyre Festival served VIPs cheese sandwiches
The ultimate luxury music retreat collapsed so spectacularly that high-net-worth individuals were left fighting over FEMA tents. They paid thousands for a VIP…
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Why Japanese artisans fill cracks with gold
Nothing screams 'I have too much disposable income' quite like filling the cracks of a shattered cereal bowl with precious metals. Instead of throwing away…
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Vietnamese conical hats Non La are used as makeshift baskets
Why carry a bucket when your headgear can do double duty? The iconic Vietnamese Non La isn't just a meticulously woven palm leaf hat designed to perfectly…
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Sumi-e painting uses only black ink to capture subjects
If you cannot capture the exact essence of a bamboo stalk using only shades of gray, you simply aren't trying hard enough. The Asian art of Sumi-e completely…
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Why G.I. Joe became an action figure
Toxic masculinity birthed an entirely new toy category. When launching G.I. Joe, executives knew boys in the 1960s would absolutely refuse to play with…
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The giant hot dog built during the Depression
When the economy completely collapses, the logical corporate solution is apparently a massive hot dog on wheels. The company launched their terrifying 13-foot…
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Japanese Furoshiki are cloths used entirely to wrap items
Backpacks and plastic bags are fundamentally uninspired compared to the sheer versatility of a square piece of fabric. The Japanese art of Furoshiki involves…
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The six flags that gave Six Flags its name
The cheerful amusement park brand actually has an awkwardly imperialistic name. It literally stands for the six different nations that have governed Texas…
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Instagram started with whiskey check-ins
Before it became a machine for making you feel bad about your vacation, Instagram was called Burbn. It was originally built as an overly complicated…
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