Technology
Discover facts about technology. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Technology
Wide gaps after periods are a leftover habit that makes modern text look awkward
The extra space can make paragraphs look uneven, with conspicuous gaps between sentences.
Discover more
A lone word at the bottom of a page is a serious typography error
A single word stranded at the bottom of a page is considered a serious typographical flaw.
Discover more
Cellular automata simulate life via basic rules
By applying simple rules to each square based on whether its neighbors are alive or dead, a grid can produce patterns that resemble biological growth.
Discover more
A file can reveal its type even after you rename it
Many formats contain identifying bytes known as a magic number or signature. Software can inspect that structure instead of trusting the extension at the end…
Discover more
Moiré patterns occur when grids overlap badly
When a camera's pixel grid clashes with the fine stripes on a shirt, the overlap creates false rippling patterns called moiré.
Discover more
Why vector graphics never turn pixelated
Vector graphics store shapes as mathematical paths rather than fixed grids of pixels, so they can be redrawn at different sizes without losing crisp edges.
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.
How one missing condition traps code forever
Without an exit condition, a loop keeps repeating the same action indefinitely—a tiny piece of logic with no way to quit.
Discover more
How two files can share the same digital fingerprint
Different files can produce the same hash, a collision that can undermine systems relying on the fingerprint to distinguish them.
Discover more
Aspect ratios mathematically dictate digital frames
When an image’s shape doesn’t match the screen’s width-to-height ratio, it has to be cropped or displayed with black borders to fit.
Discover more
Phase vocoding alters pitch without changing time
It shifts the frequencies in a recording to change a singer’s pitch while preserving the track’s timing.
Discover more
Texture mapping literally wraps images on models
A flat image is mapped onto a model’s surface, giving its bare geometry color and detail.
Discover more
Lens flares are beautiful optical mistakes
Bright light reflects off glass elements inside a camera lens, producing a flare that isn’t actually in the scene.
Discover more
Vignetting naturally darkens image corners
A curved lens can deliver less light to the frame’s extreme edges, creating dark borders even when they aren’t intentional.
Discover more
When loud audio gets its tops chopped off
When a digital signal is pushed beyond its limit, the waveform's rounded peaks get clipped flat, creating harsh distortion.
Discover more
Sample rates dictate high frequency reproduction
To reproduce high-pitched sounds, digital audio must sample the sound wave fast enough—often tens of thousands of times per second.
Discover more
Monospace fonts give every letter equal width
A skinny “i” takes up the same horizontal space as a wide “W,” keeping columns of text and data aligned.
Discover more
Kerning adjusts the awkward distance in text
Without manual adjustment, the letters A and V can look awkwardly far apart, disrupting the flow of a word.
Discover more
Endianness dictates directional data arrangement
When a value spans multiple bytes, endianness sets which byte comes first. Systems must agree on that order to interpret the data correctly.
Discover more
Depth of field isolates subjects through blur
A wide aperture can make the in-focus slice of a photo very narrow, blurring objects in front of or behind the subject. That shallow depth of field can soften…
Discover more
Boolean logic reduces everything to true or false
In computing, Boolean logic gives digital decisions a simple yes-or-no framework, even when the operations built on it are complex.
Discover more
Look-up tables act as permanent color filters
A lookup table remaps each pixel's original color values to new ones, letting software shift an image toward a chosen look.
Discover more
How color codes can spell words
Hex color codes use base 16, which includes letters as well as numbers. That lets a code like BADA55 double as a cheeky spelling of “badass.”
Discover more
Why loud sounds erase nearby quiet ones
Some audio formats reduce or remove quieter frequencies that overlap louder ones, based on the idea that the louder sound masks them.
Discover more
Optical sizing changes font shapes for small text
Rather than simply shrinking a headline font, designers adjust its proportions for the intended reading size to keep small text legible.
Discover more