Nerd Culture Topics: Stories & Guides

Name	Category	Origin	Purpose	Storage Duration
act	Required	.facebook.com	Used to distinguish between two Facebook sessions for the same user, created at different times.	Session
c_user	Required	.facebook.com	The Facebook user ID of the currently logged-in user.	90 days
fblo_	Required	nerdspot.events	Used to log in users via Facebook.	6 months
fbm_	Required	nerdspot.events	Used to log in users via Facebook.	3 months
user-is-logged-in	Required	nerdspot.events	Saves that the user is/was logged in.	31536000 seconds
LF9x	Required	nerdspot.events	Unique ID that identifies the user's session.	14000 seconds
datr	Marketing	.facebook.com	Used to identify the web browser used to connect to Facebook regardless of the user logged in.	2 years
_fbp	Marketing	.facebook.com	Used by Facebook to display a range of advertising products, such as real-time bids from third party advertisers.	3 months
fr	Marketing	.facebook.com	Used to show and measure ads and improve the relevance of ads (including measurement of conversions). Determines the relevance of ads based on site behavior and/or current search queries.	3 months
sb	Marketing	.facebook.com	Used to show and measure ads and improve the relevance of ads (including measurement of conversions). Determines the relevance of ads based on site behavior and/or current search queries.	2 years
spin	Marketing	.facebook.com	Set by Facebook at login - exact usage unknown.	25 hours
	Marketing	nerdspot.events	Used to collect consent for tracking the user ID in Matomo. No cookie is set.
	Marketing	nerdspot.events	Used to collect consent for tracking the user email in Matomo. No cookie is set.
wd	Statistics	.facebook.com	This cookie stores the dimensions of the browser window and is used by Facebook to optimize the display of the page.	7 days
_GRECAPTCHA	Statistics	https://www.google.com	Cookie set by Google reCAPTCHA to protect the site from spam by bots.	180 days
mtm_consent	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to remember that consent was given by the user.	Unlimited
_pk_cvar.*	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to temporarily store data for the visit.	30 minutes
_pk_hsr.*	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to temporarily store data for the visit.	30 minutes
_pk_id.*	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to store details about the user (e.g. a unique visitor ID)	13 months
matomo_ignore	Statistics	stats.pcsg-server.de	Flags the user as ignored from tracking.	Unlimited
_pk_ref.*	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to store the attribution information (e.g. the referrer initially used to visit the website).	6 months
_pk_ses.*	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to temporarily store data for the visit.	30 minutes
MATOMO_SESSID	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Created when opt-out feature is used. Helps prevent CSRF security issues.	Temporary
_pk_testcookie.*	Statistics	nerdspot.events	Used to check whether the visitor’s browser supports cookies.	1 second
xs	Preferences	.facebook.com	This cookie contains several pieces of information about the user’s session.	3 months

Pixel art of a white model sailing ship and an open book in a retro bedroom, with a harbour departure on a CRT television.

Tolkien

Explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth: Bilbo’s birthday, Frodo’s farewell, the author’s story and a Lord of the Rings marathon with seven Hobbit meals.

Pixel art of two children comparing monster cards in open binders at a retro bedroom desk, with separate card trays, an hourglass and an adult nearby.

Nintendo

Explore Nintendo through Mario and Pokémon: game-design stories, Mario Day, an Indigo League watchlist and a Pokémon card-trading party guide.

Pixel-art bedroom with a spacecraft on a CRT television, three VHS tapes and a handmade cardboard space model

Star Trek

Explore Star Trek’s beginnings, Gene Roddenberry’s storytelling blueprint and Captain Picard Day. Three perspectives on the series and its fan culture.

Pixel art of a pirate map with three colored routes on a retro bedroom rug, beside a model sailing ship and a CRT showing a moonlit cove.

Retro Gaming

Revisit retro gaming through Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, Street Fighter and Super Mario. Explore the design choices that make classic games memorable.

Pixel art of a boy and a girl sitting at a computer and browsing the web in a 1990s bedroom, with cyan globes on CRT screens.

Internet History

Explore internet history through the W3C, Google, PageRank and eBay, with a detour into cat culture. Stories about the systems and habits behind the web.

Pixel art of five glowing glass gas tubes on a wooden shelf in a retro bedroom, beside a CRT, a brass balance and a prism.

Science

Explore physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy through everyday questions. From Geiger counters and noble gases to bananas, sleep and the Moon.

Pixel art of four couscous bowls, dates and popcorn on a round table in a retro bedroom, with desert dunes on a CRT.

Food & Drink

Explore kitchen science and fandom menus: guacamole, bananas and salami, plus practical food plans for Dune, Lord of the Rings and shared movie nights.

Pokémon

Revisit the Indigo League over three evenings, or host a Pokémon card-trading party with clear rules and a 90-minute plan.

Pixel-art illustration for “Talk Like Yoda Day”

Star Wars

Explore Star Wars through Yoda’s distinctive voice and Harrison Ford’s screen career, with stories for fans who enjoy the people behind the characters.

Pixel art of a boy lying on a bedroom carpet with a joystick, watching a spooky mansion with three figures on a CRT screen.

Adventure Games

Follow Monkey Island’s puzzle paths and Maniac Mansion’s team choices. Discover how adventure games turn dialogue, characters and unfinished tasks into play.

Anonymous lone figure stands before an open circular bunker door and a cyan-lit ruined wasteland in detailed pixel art

Gaming

From Mario’s first level and Fallout’s vault door to Monkey Island and Jackbox: explore game design, memorable classics and practical ways to play together.

Pixel art of a girl on a bed looking up at a hanging spacecraft model, beside a CRT showing a rocket launch in a retro bedroom.

Science Fiction

Explore imagined futures through Star Trek, Firefly, Alien and The X-Files, then plan a Dune or Back to the Future evening with practical guides.

Pixel-art model of a grassy hill house with a round green door, birthday gifts, a book and a gold ring in a dark retro bedroom.

Fantasy

Follow Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Alice’s strange tea party and the worlds of Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro, with guides for your own fantasy film night.

Pixel-art typewriter, books and a red toy car in a dark retro bedroom, with a hand-shaped shadow and a school corridor on a CRT television.

Horror

Discover how Stephen King, Frankenstein, Alien, Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro make familiar places unsettling and give monsters a human dimension.

An open novel in a dark 1990s bedroom casts two different cyan and magenta creature shadows

Books & Literature

Read Tolkien, Frankenstein, Stephen King, Sherlock Holmes and Alice through questions about characters, editions and storytelling, alongside a look at adaptable ebooks.

Pixel art of a retro bedroom with a sleeping ginger cat, VHS tapes and a CRT showing a fictional female spaceship engineer with a flashlight.

Film & TV

Explore performances, pilots, animation and screen storytelling, from Hitchcock and Ripley to Star Trek, with watchlists and plans for shared evenings.

Pixel art of a retro bedroom with floor cushions, a tea trolley and an autumn woodland on a CRT television.

Animation

Revisit He-Man’s television rhythm, Pokémon’s first adventures, Over the Garden Wall and the handmade worlds discussed in our Guillermo del Toro story.

Pixel-art illustration for “Spider-Man’s first appearance”

Superheroes

Meet Spider-Man, Wolverine, Deadpool and Stan Lee, then explore Superhero Day as a celebration of the characters that connect comics and screen culture.

Pixel-art illustration for “Wolverine’s comic debut”

Marvel

Trace Marvel’s characters through Spider-Man’s first appearance, Wolverine, Deadpool and Stan Lee, with stories about the beginnings behind familiar heroes.

Pixel art of a boy arranging coins on squared paper beside a piggy bank and a glowing CRT computer in a retro bedroom.

Computing & Technology

Explore VisiCalc, early Linux, Android, Unix, personal computers and the web through stories about the engineering choices that made technology useful.

Pixel-art bedroom seen from above, with an open beige computer, floppy disks and a circuit notebook beside a glowing CRT

Open Source

Compare early Linux and Android’s staggered launch to see what source availability, licensing and a usable platform each contribute to open source.

Pixel art of a boy kneeling beside a Geiger counter in a retro bedroom, with a detector illustration on a CRT.

Physics

From Geiger’s clicks and Schrödinger’s equation to Sputnik’s radio signal and sitcom whiteboards, discover how physics turns observations into explanations.

Chemistry

Follow Ramsay’s unexpected gases, Lavoisier’s careful weighing and the browning of guacamole to explore chemistry through evidence and everyday reactions.

Pixel art of a telescope beside an open bedroom window, with a half-lit Moon, a glowing CRT, books and an amber bedside lamp.

Astronomy & Space

Check the changing date of Astronomy Day and follow Sputnik’s radio signal into a new navigation idea, connecting skywatching with space history.

Pixel-art 1990s bedroom with a teenager photographing a hanging banana bunch whose fruits curve upward

Biology

Explore banana growth, fermentation, colour vision and waking up, alongside stories about bees, penguins, earthworms and Sea-Monkeys.

Pixel-art movie-night feast with bread, mushrooms and mugs beside a CRT showing a green hillside village in a cozy retro bedroom.

Movie & TV Nights

Plan a shared evening with Lord of the Rings, Dune, Back to the Future, Pokémon, The X-Files or Over the Garden Wall, using watchlists and practical schedules.

Pixel art of friends passing a controller around a low table with coloured tokens in a retro attic bedroom.

Party & Tabletop Games

Organise Jackbox for a larger group, host a Pokémon card swap and discover the maths behind Scrabble, with ideas for fair and sociable play.

Pixel art of a top hat, teacups, an open book and a pocket watch at six o’clock in a cozy retro bedroom with a glowing CRT.

Awareness & Fun Days

Discover the stories behind unusual holidays, awareness days and fandom celebrations, from Hobbit Day and Mario Day to science, food and everyday objects.

Pixel-art illustration for “International Cat Day”

Cats

Explore Cat Day through the animals we live with and the remixable icons that took over the internet, connecting real cats with online culture.

Pixel-art illustration for “Cookie Monster Day”

Sesame Street

Discover Cookie Monster’s comic timing and emotional honesty, then follow Ernie’s rubber duck from Sesame Street into wider nerd culture.

Pixel-art illustration for “World Bee Day”

Nature & Wildlife

Meet bees, penguins, earthworms and Sea-Monkeys through the days dedicated to them, with short introductions to the animals behind familiar calendar entries.

Pixel art of a girl comparing an intact and a crushed drink can on a model sorting line in a retro bedroom.

Recycling

Compare two Crush a Can Day stories and discover why a deposit-return machine may need a can intact before the recycling process can continue.

Pixel-art illustration for “Nerdy Christmas gifts”

Nerd Culture

Discover what a nerd calendar is for, celebrate your interests and find personal gift ideas, with stories about the everyday habits that make fandom feel like home.