The Dodo Play Blog

Plain-language explainers behind the formulas our tools use — GST, EMI, SIP, BMI, compound interest, password security and more.

July 6, 2026 · Tech

How QR Codes Actually Work: The Tech Behind the Square You Scan

Why QR codes look the way they do, how a phone camera reads one in a fraction of a second, and why they still work even when part of the code is damaged.

June 15, 2026 · Tech

What Is Base64 Encoding, and Why Does the Internet Rely on It?

Base64 isn't encryption and doesn't compress anything — here's what it actually does, why it makes data larger, and where it quietly shows up every day.

May 25, 2026 · Tech

Why Properly Formatted JSON Saves Developers Hours

What JSON actually is, why a single missing comma breaks an entire file, and why a formatter/validator is one of the highest-value tiny tools a developer can keep bookmarked.

May 4, 2026 · Tech

What Is a UUID, and Why Does Almost Every App Use One?

What a UUID actually is, why software prefers it over simple incrementing IDs, and what the different UUID versions mean.

April 13, 2026 · Security

How Random Number Generators Actually Work

The difference between the 'random' numbers most software uses and the cryptographically secure kind that passwords and security systems actually need.

March 23, 2026 · Health

BMR vs TDEE: What Your Body Actually Burns Each Day

The difference between BMR and TDEE, why one number alone doesn't tell you much about weight management, and how activity level changes the real figure.

March 9, 2026 · Math

Percentages Made Simple: The Formulas You Actually Use

The three percentage calculations that cover almost every real situation — finding a percentage of a number, finding what percentage one number is of another, and percentage change.

February 23, 2026 · Health

How Age Calculators Actually Work (and Why Manual Math Gets It Wrong)

Why counting your age by hand is more error-prone than it looks, how leap years and varying month lengths trip people up, and how an age calculator handles it correctly.

February 16, 2026 · Security

How to Create a Strong, Unbreakable Password in 2026

What actually makes a password hard to crack, why length beats complexity, and the habits — like reuse — that undo even a strong password.

February 9, 2026 · Finance

The Power of Compound Interest: Why Starting Early Matters

A closer look at why the same monthly investment produces very different outcomes depending on when you start, using a simple side-by-side example.

February 2, 2026 · Health

What Is BMI? Understanding Body Mass Index and Its Limits

What BMI actually measures, how the categories are defined, and why it's a useful screening tool but not a complete picture of health.

January 26, 2026 · Finance

SIP vs Lump Sum: Which Investment Strategy Wins?

Two common ways to invest in mutual funds — investing everything at once, or spreading it out monthly — and what actually determines which one comes out ahead.

January 19, 2026 · Finance

Understanding Loan EMI: How Banks Calculate Your Monthly Payment

What actually happens behind an EMI figure — the reducing-balance formula banks use, why your interest-to-principal ratio shifts over time, and how tenure trades off against total interest.

January 12, 2026 · Finance

How to Calculate GST in India: A Complete Guide

A plain-language walkthrough of how GST works in India — the current slabs, how CGST/SGST/IGST differ, and how to add or remove GST from any amount by hand.