Blowing on NES Game Cartridges: Why Did You Do It?
When a game cartridge did not work with my Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), I would just take it out and blow on it. And I wasn’t the only one who did this. It was generally believed that blowing on the cartridge fixed problems – because it removed dust particles, improved conductivity, or whatever.
The simple truth of the matter is that blowing on game cartridges did nothing to fix whatever problem you were facing. The act of taking out the game cartridge fixed the problem, not you blowing on it. As a matter of fact, experts will tell you that blowing on the cartridge actually hurt it, because the moisture in your breath could corrode and contaminate the pin connectors.
So to recap, when I faced a problem with my NES game cartridge, I would take it out and blow on it. Everybody did it back in the day. But do you know why you did it?
YouTube channel It’s Okay to be Smart takes a look at why we did this. The video embedded below explains how our brains can be tricked into doing things that don’t work, things like blowing on a game cartridge to fix problems.
In game-related news, Google recently rolled out a geography-based trivia game called Smarty Pins. The game goes something like this. First up, you are asked a question, something like “In which English city was Stephen Hawking born?” You must then take a pin and drop it on the correct location. Answer the questions correctly and you earn prizes. Answer the questions rapidly, and you earn bonus miles.
And in video-related news, Samsung rolled out a new video in which it makes fun of iPhone users. And to be more precise, the video makes fun of the fact that iPhone battery life is dreadful and consequently iPhone users spend a lot of time clustered around power outlets, waiting for their mobiles to charge.
The simple truth of the matter is that blowing on game cartridges did nothing to fix whatever problem you were facing. The act of taking out the game cartridge fixed the problem, not you blowing on it. As a matter of fact, experts will tell you that blowing on the cartridge actually hurt it, because the moisture in your breath could corrode and contaminate the pin connectors.
So to recap, when I faced a problem with my NES game cartridge, I would take it out and blow on it. Everybody did it back in the day. But do you know why you did it?
YouTube channel It’s Okay to be Smart takes a look at why we did this. The video embedded below explains how our brains can be tricked into doing things that don’t work, things like blowing on a game cartridge to fix problems.
In game-related news, Google recently rolled out a geography-based trivia game called Smarty Pins. The game goes something like this. First up, you are asked a question, something like “In which English city was Stephen Hawking born?” You must then take a pin and drop it on the correct location. Answer the questions correctly and you earn prizes. Answer the questions rapidly, and you earn bonus miles.
And in video-related news, Samsung rolled out a new video in which it makes fun of iPhone users. And to be more precise, the video makes fun of the fact that iPhone battery life is dreadful and consequently iPhone users spend a lot of time clustered around power outlets, waiting for their mobiles to charge.
