The Most-Read WIRED Culture Stories of 2018

Netflix gets real about its programming, MoviePass struggles, and, of course, Yanny vs. Laurel divides the internet.

The Dress. Everyone remembers where they were when they saw it. (And what colors they saw. I'm a blue and black gal myself.) WIRED editors hold that day special in their minds: We ran a piece exploring the science of why no one could agree on the color, and it quickly became the most popular story in site history. We never thought we'd see another meme like it. Then, this past May, a half-second audio clip began making the rounds. Did you hear "Yanny" or "Laurel"? Our investigation of the origins of the clip went similarly viral, and catapulted to the top of our list of this year's most-read culture stories. So while The Dress remains in the black, it goes to show no meme should rest on its—well, you get it.

  • Image may contain Text and Face
    Getty Images
    01

    The True History of 'Yanny' and 'Laurel'

  • Photograph: Mustafah Abdulaziz
    02

    The Final, Terrible Voyage of the Nautilus

    Kim Wall went for a ride on a submarine, hoping to write a story about a maker of “extreme machines.” She never did. Writer May Jeong needed to know why.

  • Daymon Gardner
    03

    A Deadly Hunt for Hidden Treasure Spawns an Online Mystery

  • Netflix
    04

    Netflix Is So Big It's Finally Canceling Shows. Good

    It's time to make room for new content.

  • Preston Gannaway
    05

    How the Startup Mentality Failed Kids in San Francisco

    Huge contributions from tech titans, a STEM-packed curriculum, gadgets everywhere: Willie Brown Middle School was supposed to set the bar. Then it opened.

  • Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
    06

    How Does MoviePass Make Money? We're Starting to Find Out

    A new fight with AMC is just one sign that MoviePass has settled in for the hard part: actually making money.

  • Netflix
    07

    Maniac Is the Most Netflix-y Netflix Show Yet. In a Bad Way

    This is what happens when a prestige- and pedigree-obsessed creative strategy overrides all functionality.

  • John P. Johnson/HBO
    08

    We Need to Talk About That Westworld Season 2 Finale

    There's a lot to process.

  • Richard Waite/Getty Images
    09

    MoviePass Revives Its Unlimited Plan

    Two weeks after MoviePass' unlimited plan disappeared, the service is reviving it—and explaining some of its controversial practices.

  • Erik Dreyer
    10

    The Strange History of One of the Internet's First Viral Videos

    The video known as badday.mpg has been an internet phenomenon for more than 20 years. Thanks, CERN.

Andrea Valdez is the editor of WIRED.com. Before arriving at WIRED in 2017, she worked at Texas Monthly for 10 years, first as a fact checker, then as a columnist, and, ultimately, as the editor of texasmonthly.com. She is the author of How to Be a Texan: The Manual. Valdez ... Read more
Editor of Wired.com
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