Topic

Sports & Games

A collection of 49 issues

Hitting the Wrong Note: The Musical Protest That Made Baseball History

When a minor league organist grew tired of an umpire's bad calls in 1985, he turned to his sheet music for protest. The three notes he played earned him a permanent, and hilarious, place in baseball's book of unwritten rules.

History Sports & Games Music

The Big Unit's Home Security: A 100-MPH Fastball for Intruders

Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson famously kept a bag of baseballs by his bed for home security. Confident in his legendary arm, he reasoned that if he heard a noise, he wouldn't be throwing pillows—he'd be throwing 'some kind of leather.'

Biography & Personal Stories Sports & Games Oddities & Curiosities

The Accountant Who Played 14 Minutes of Perfect Hockey

On an unbelievable night in March 2018, 36-year-old accountant Scott Foster was pulled from the stands to play goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks. In 14 minutes of flawless play, the unpaid amateur stopped every shot he faced and became a legend.

Biography & Personal Stories Sports & Games Work & Labor

Why We Tilt: Unpacking the Brain's Response to Failure and Frustration

'Tilting' is an intense state of frustration where emotional distress leads to irrational, self-defeating decisions. Triggered by repeated failure, the brain's emotional center, the amygdala, hijacks the rational prefrontal cortex, impairing judgment.

Medicine, Psychology & Health Science & Nature Sports & Games

The Two Faces of a Hard-Working Heart: How Exercise Builds and Hypertension Breaks It

Both intense exercise and hypertension make the heart work harder, but their effects are polar opposites. Exercise is a controlled stress, creating a stronger, more efficient heart. Chronic hypertension is a relentless load, causing the heart muscle to become stiff, weak, and prone to failure.

Medicine, Psychology & Health Science & Nature Sports & Games

The Inerter: How a Secret F1 Invention Revolutionized Suspension by Thinking Like an Electronic Circuit

A surprising link exists between electrical circuits and mechanical motion: the inerter. This device, conceived in the 2000s, resists changes in acceleration like a capacitor resists voltage changes. It was secretly used in Formula 1 to revolutionize suspension, a brilliant crossover of disciplines.

Technology & Innovation Inventions & Discoveries Sports & Games

More Gigs, No Games: Why Your 16GB Smartphone Chokes on the 256MB PlayStation 3

Modern phones boast more RAM than older consoles like the PlayStation 3, but can't run its games. The reason lies in architecture and heat. The PS3 used a unique, hyper-specialized processor for gaming, while phones use efficient, all-purpose chips, making emulation a monumental task.

Technology & Innovation Sports & Games Oddities & Curiosities

Tumbling for Glory: Inside England's Unstoppable and Perilous Cheese-Rolling Race

Each spring, daring competitors chase a nine-pound wheel of cheese down Gloucestershire's near-vertical Cooper's Hill. An ancient tradition famed for its chaotic tumbles and near-certain injuries, the cheese roll endures as an unofficial event, a testament to community spirit over safety rules.

Sports & Games Oddities & Curiosities Myth, Folklore & Legends

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