Technology
Discover facts about technology. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Technology
A tablet is basically a giant phone
Despite their premium price tags, large touch devices share nearly identical internal architecture with pocket handsets. Manufacturers essentially stretch a…
Discover more
Why naming code can be the hardest part
Despite dealing with immense architectural complexity, developers globally agree that simply deciding what to name a chunk of code is the absolute hardest…
Discover more
Desktop computer cases are mostly empty air
That massive, glowing monolith sitting on your desk is a masterclass in wasted space. Unless you are packing a terrifying amount of custom hardware, the giant…
Discover more
Motorola began with a car radio
Before cell phones were even a concept, Motorola was trying to fix the absolute silence of long road trips. Founded as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in…
Discover more
Java and JavaScript aren’t related
Despite sounding like closely linked siblings, these two languages operate in entirely different universes. The naming similarity was purely a desperate…
Discover more
Cryptographic hashes operate like digital blenders
Trying to reverse a hash is like trying to un-blend a smoothie. A cryptographic hash function takes any amount of input data and violently scrambles it into a…
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.
Why HTML isn't really programming
Because it only structures text rather than executing looping scripts or complex logic, telling a veteran developer you 'program in HTML' is the absolute…
Discover more
Operating systems hide critical files to prevent tampering
Operating systems treat you like a toddler by actively hiding the folders that keep the machine alive. By default, the most vital system files are completely…
Discover more
WinRAR's trial that never really ends
That nagging popup asking you to buy a license has been bluffing you for decades. The developers intentionally made the trial endless so casual users would…
Discover more
Microsoft’s first mouse was a chunky two-button brick
Before they built Xboxes and Surface tablets, Bill Gates' empire tested the hardware waters with a piece of ugly plastic. Nicknamed the 'Green-Eyed Mouse'…
Discover more
Donkey Kong has a level the clock can't handle
Becoming a world champion at this arcade classic requires accepting that the game simply gives up. The algorithm calculating bonus time breaks down at this…
Discover more
Step down transformers reduce dangerous grid voltages
Without these heavy, highly magnetic middlemen sitting menacingly on neighborhood poles, trying to casually plug in your bedside lamp would instantly vaporize…
Discover more
How tensegrity makes solid bars appear to float
It looks exactly like a structural glitch, but tensegrity is just a highly specific balance of physics. Instead of resting heavy parts on top of each other,…
Discover more
Copper wiring is slowly being replaced by cheaper aluminum
Your cheap cables are secretly downgrading their internal metals to save a fraction of a cent per mile. Aluminum conducts electricity poorly compared to…
Discover more
What your phone's star codes can reveal
Dialing random symbols on your phone isn't a glitch; it's a secret backdoor. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) commands are real-time,…
Discover more
Photomultiplier tubes detect single stray photons of light
When literally just one solitary particle of light enters the darkness, these aggressive vacuum tubes trigger a massive, cascading avalanche of rebounding…
Discover more
The first secure online purchase was a Sting CD
The great dawn of global digital commerce didn't begin with a meaningful piece of human history; it began with adult contemporary pop-rock. In August 1994, a…
Discover more
Security questions can be defeated with public records
The security industry somehow believes your mother's maiden name is a highly guarded secret. Systems lock down your account with encrypted passwords, only to…
Discover more
Wi-Fi doesn't actually stand for anything
Despite what every smug relative at Thanksgiving claims, the term means absolutely nothing. It is a completely made-up trademark chosen because it rhymed with…
Discover more
Atm machines pull bills using thick rubber rollers
There is no tiny banker inside handing you twenties. The machine relies on highly calibrated rubber wheels that use precise friction to grab exactly one bill…
Discover more
Computer case shields can draw blood
Building a computer requires at least one blood sacrifice to the hardware gods. The thin input/output shields pushed into the back of a case are stamped out…
Discover more
Spacesuits are inflatable pressure vessels
Without atmospheric pressure, the human body suffers disastrous consequences, so we just pack astronauts into rigid, air-filled inflatables. A modern…
Discover more
Indium is a soft silvery metal that bonds to glass
Finding a metal that plays nice with smooth silica is notoriously difficult. Indium is bizarrely soft; you can physically bite into it like bubblegum. When…
Discover more
Why aluminum smelting needs so much electricity
Aluminum is practically impossible to separate from its raw ore using simple fire. To forge this shiny metal, smelters dissolve bauxite in a chemical bath and…
Discover more