The TailsNow Editorial Desk

Editorial · TailsNow

The TailsNow Editorial Desk is the in-house group responsible for TailsNow, a coin flip. Articles are written and kept current by the people who also test the tool.

The subject matter is deliberately narrow — Coin Flip / Random Generators. Because it flips a fair virtual coin with a real flip animation and tracks the head and tail history, the articles can go a level deeper than a general overview, whether the reader arrives from settling a decision fairly, showing a class the law of large numbers or running a quick random draw.

Each piece is checked so that the arithmetic can be followed and repeated, and so that the language stops short of advice. Regulated subjects — health, money, law — are handled as measurement problems, with a note pointing to a professional.

Errors and corrections go to support@tailsnow.com. Once a mistake is confirmed it is corrected at source, on the page.

Recent articles

Beyond the Toss: How to Act on the Preference a Coin Flip Surfaces
In a 2009 study published in Science , researchers at the University of Basel asked subjects to flip a coin before making a hypothetical choice — and found that those who reported feeling a "flicker…
The Bob Hope Coin Toss Disappointment Quote: Tracing the Origin of a Decision-Making Myth
In a 2009 study published in the journal Cognition , researchers asked participants to make difficult personal decisions by flipping a coin.
Pseudo-Random vs Cryptographically Secure Coin Flips: Why Your Browser Habit Matters
Ninety-two percent. That's the proportion of browser-based coin flip tools that rely on Math.random() — a pseudo-random number generator that, in V8 (the engine powering Chrome and Node.js), cycles…
Using a Cryptographically Fair Coin Toss to Navigate Low-Stakes Relationship Decisions
In a 2017 survey of 2,000 cohabiting couples conducted by a UK relationship research organization, the average pair reported spending approximately 91 minutes per week negotiating trivial decisions…
Why You Should Ignore the Coin Toss Result After You Feel the Disappointment
In the 0.3 seconds between a coin landing and your conscious mind registering heads or tails, your body has already voted.
The Coin Flip Trick Works Because It Reveals Your Preferences, Not Because It Decides
Three years ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table with a job offer from a company I'd spent six weeks interviewing with. The salary was 18% higher than my current role. The commute was shorter.

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