Fault or feature?

Why does a pen cap have a hole? Is that tiny jeans pocket a mistake? Vote, then see the real reason.

Play today’s five

Odd things, in the wild

Fault

A leftover, an accident or a compromise. It was not made for you, and sometimes it only stays because it always has.

Feature

Put there on purpose to solve a problem you may never have noticed: safety, strength, cost, or a quirk of use.

One round, three steps

See it

One odd design: a product, an interface, a sign, a bit of a building.

Call it

Fault or feature? Two buttons, no hints. Then the page turns the colour of the truth.

Learn why

The real reasoning, a linked source, and how other players voted. Popular myths get called out.

Five new cards every day, the same five for everyone. Share your score as text, keep a streak, or browse all 38 cards at your own pace.

Browse all 38 cards

Checked, not guessed

Every card links to the standard, museum, manufacturer or publication behind its answer. Where the popular explanation is a myth, we say so.

How the cards are made