Original photo by Iryna Sukhenko/ iStock
In an effort to ensure a perfect al dente texture every time, Barilla pasta offers nine Spotify playlists tailored to the precise cook times of popular pasta varieties. Curated as a more entertaining alternative to your everyday kitchen timer, the compilations debuted in 2021, blending both English and Italian music.
There are two playlists apiece for four different pasta varieties: spaghetti, fusilli, linguine, and penne. Each playlist ranges from nine to 11 minutes, based on recommended cooking time. The most popular (based on total followers) is “Mixtape Spaghetti,” which is 9 minutes, 3 seconds in length and includes hip-hop tunes from Jay-Z and Italian rapper Ernia.
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It's a factIn 2005, scientists unearthed a bowl of 4,000-year-old preserved noodles at the Lajia archeological site in northwest China. In an interview with NBC, researcher Houyuan Lu called the find the “earliest empirical evidence of noodles ever found.” The noodles were made from two types of millet.
At 19 minutes, 12 seconds, the longest playlist of the bunch is the only one dedicated to an entire recipe: “Absolute Carbonara.” This film-themed mix incorporates beloved tracks from Grease, Mamma Mia!, and Guardians of the Galaxy, and is tailored to the exact amount of time you’ll need to prepare a bowl of spaghetti carbonara from start to finish.
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As of June 2025, the most streamed song on Spotify is ______.
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As of June 2025, the most streamed song on Spotify is "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd.
The first successful pizza order via computer was in 1974.
On December 4, 1974, a man named Donald Sherman became the first person to order pizza using a computer. Sherman — who struggled with speech because of a neurological condition — used a text-to-speech device nicknamed “Alexander” to place the order. The mechanism was designed by engineers John Eulenberg and J.J. Jackson, who worked in the Artificial Language Laboratory at Michigan State University.
As Sherman typed out his order, the computer converted the text into a robotic voice that read the order aloud over the phone. Several pizza places initially thought it was a prank call and hung up. After some repeated attempts, a local joint called Mr. Mike’s took down Sherman’s order and successfully delivered his pizza. It would be another 20 years until Pizza Hut unveiled PizzaNet — an experimental online ordering system that was among the first services to allow people to order food over the internet.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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