Technology
Discover facts about technology. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Technology
Why Wikipedia biographies overlook so many women
An overwhelming majority of its biographies focus on men, showing how even an open encyclopedia can reproduce gaps in whose lives get documented.
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A discarded gadget can become a toxic recycling problem
Electronics contain useful metals alongside substances such as lead and mercury. Burning or breaking them apart without proper controls can release those…
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Did cold winters give Stradivarius violins their sound
Evidence suggests their sound may owe something to the unusually dense, tightly grained wood of trees that grew during Europe's prolonged Little Ice Age.
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Virtual machines run entire operating systems in windows
A virtual machine reserves part of your computer’s processor and memory for a separate operating system, such as Linux, running alongside your usual desktop.
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Wii U GamePad only operated within a single room
Its local wireless link kept the GamePad tethered to the Wii U: move more than about 15 feet from the console and the screen went black.
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Early broadband ran on decades-old phone lines
Providers sent high-frequency internet signals over the same aging copper wires built for voice calls, rather than running new cables to every home. The…
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GoldenEye's multiplayer became a defining feature very late
Developer Steve Ellis built the mode near the end of production, initially without management knowing about it. Splitting one television between friends then…
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Continuous deployment can put broken code online instantly
The pipeline automates testing and release instead of waiting for a monthly manual launch, so a bug can reach users as soon as the code is deployed.
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Wi-Fi doesn't actually stand for anything
A marketing agency chose Wi-Fi as a catchy name for the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance; it doesn’t stand for “Wireless Fidelity.” The technical…
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Revolving doors spin on a central shaft to control crowds
Their rotation meters how many people enter at once, reducing the rush through a doorway.
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Telegraph operators sent insults in Morse code
Telegraph operators sometimes used the wires to trade elaborate insults in Morse code, even interrupting official messages to mock operators in other cities.
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What that dial-up screech was actually saying
The modem was negotiating connection speeds, testing the phone line, and agreeing on digital protocols over copper voice wires. That screech was the sound of…
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Some dryers change direction to stop laundry becoming a rope
Reversing the drum helps separate sheets and clothes that have wound around one another. A tightly tangled bundle leaves parts of the load sheltered from the…
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Why you shouldn't parse HTML with regex
HTML allows tags to nest, and regular expressions can’t reliably match nesting at arbitrary depth. The internet’s “Zalgo curse” is a joke about the…
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Every top-500 supercomputer runs Linux
All 500 fastest supercomputers run some version of Linux, including machines used for climate models, quantum simulations, and AI.
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Entering database commands into text fields breaks apps
In a poorly secured app, input such as `DROP TABLE` may be treated as a database command rather than text, potentially deleting records.
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Microsoft's underwater data-center trial had fewer server failures
Project Natick's Northern Isles servers failed at one-eighth the rate of the land-based control group. The result came from a specific sealed subsea trial,…
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The IBM PC that loaded software from cassette tape
The cassette port let owners load programs from audio tape, a cheaper alternative to floppy disks at the time.
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The algorithm waiting for cosmic rays
It repeatedly checks whether an array is sorted, hoping cosmic radiation will flip bits into the right order—outsourcing the sort to the universe.
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A Tetris-playing program found an unbeatable move: pause
In a 2013 experiment by programmer Tom Murphy VII, a game-playing program paused Tetris when defeat approached. It avoided the losing screen without solving…
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Zinc carbon cells utilize acidic ammonium chloride paste
In zinc-carbon batteries, acidic ammonium chloride paste can leak and corrode the casing, leaving crusty white residue inside a remote.
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A forklift's huge battery is also part of its balance
The heavy lead-acid battery acts as a counterweight, helping keep the forklift from tipping forward when it lifts a heavy pallet.
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Macro keys execute programmed sequences with one press
A macro key can be programmed to press as many as 20 keys in a specific sequence, turning a complicated shortcut into a single button press.
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The Game Boy Color was Nintendo's last 8-bit handheld
Despite its 8-bit hardware, it became a global hit, helped by long battery life and Pokémon.
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