Stacy Conradt

Stacy Conradt

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Stacy Conradt is a freelance writer often found scribbling things out for the _floss. As an avid board game lover, she is especially fond of her work on Split Decision and Mixed Nuts.
In her spare time (ha) she likes to run badly and visit roadside attractions that make most people cringe. She never met an Abe Lincoln tribute she didn't love. If you have one to suggest, let her know at twitter.com/stacy_writes

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11 Famous Misquotations and What Was Really Said

1. "Billions and billions." Carl Sagan never said this, and he even explained that he never said it in the first chapter of his book, which, incidentally, was titled Billions & Billions:"Oh, I said there are maybe 100 billion galaxies and 10 billion trillion stars. It's hard to talk about the Cosmos without using big numbers...But I never said 'billions and billions.' For one thing, it's too imprecise."The quote actually originated from Johnny Carson's impression of Sagan.2. "The British are... READ ON

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15 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Wreck-It Ralph

All images (c) 2012 Disney Enterprises, Inc As a Disney geek and former Nintendo addict, I was fired up for Wreck-It Ralph when I heard about it at the D23 Convention last year. Here are 15 facts about the movie that will get you just as pumped as I am, whether you were the world’s best “Tapper” bartender or consider yourself more of a “Dance Dance Revolution” phenom. 1. There are more than 188 characters in the movie. Most Disney movies have only 40-60. You probably won’t spot all of the... READ ON

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25 College Classes Based on TV Shows

Yesterday, The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz tweeted a photo of the syllabus for California Here We Come: The O.C. and the Self-Aware Culture of 21st Century America. It's being offered at Duke this semester. We touched on the topic of TV-inspired courses in a sidebar in our last issue, The 25 Most Powerful TV Shows of the Past 25 Years. Here are some non-O.C. classes that have been offered. 1. Oberlin Experimental College: Through the Darkness of Future-Past: An Exploration of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks... READ ON

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Why Do Nebraska and Maine Split Electoral Votes?

In the majority of the United States, one candidate gets all of the state’s electoral votes. That holds true whether the state has 55 electoral votes to give, like California, or a scant 3 votes to offer, like Montana. Two states, however, don’t have to go the all-or-nothing route: Nebraska and Maine. Those states have opted to use the Congressional District Method, where electoral votes are distributed according to the state’s congressional districts instead of the state as a... READ ON

articles

The Dixville Notch Results Are In

ZHANG CHUANSHI/Xinhua/Landov The returns are in, at least in one place in the U.S.: Dixville Notch, N.H., where 10 voters lined up at midnight to be the first in the nation to cast their ballots. The whole process took less than a minute. If the tiny town’s results are any indication of nationwide trends, then we’re all in for a long night. The Dixville folks split their votes right down the middle with five for Obama/Biden and five for Romney/Ryan, the first time that's happened since the tradition... READ ON

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11 NaNoWriMo Books That Have Been Published

It’s November, of course, and while that means turkey, football and marathon shopping for some, it’s a month of being hunched over at a laptop slurping cup after cup of caffeine for others. Yep - it’s NaNoWriMo, AKA National Novel Writing Month. People who are crazy ambitious enough to accept the challenge aim to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November, which is about 1,667 words every day. While no one expects masterpieces to be written in such a short time span - the goal is to force... READ ON

articles

A Paranormal Activity-Style Engagement...At Disneyland

Just in time to give your spine a little tingle for Halloween, filmmakers Josh and Jeremiah Daws have captured a Disneyland marriage proposal gone horribly awry. Shot in shaky cam style, it’ll remind you of Paranormal Activity—if Paranormal Activity had singing busts and Hatbox Ghosts. As a Haunted Mansion geek and a fan of horror movies, I’m totally in love. Enjoy! More from mental_floss… 11 Geeky Wedding And Engagement Rings * Why Are Engagement Rings Made With Diamonds? * A... READ ON

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5 Books Dictated From Beyond the Grave

It’s really hard to write a book; it’s even harder to sell one. Add a dead author into the mix (it's pretty difficult to outline plot points and dictate precise punctuation from six feet under) and you’ve got a real publishing challenge. Enter the Ouija Board. Here are a few of the most famous instances of two frustrated creatives—one dead and one living—coming together to make literature happen. 1. The Sorry Tale, Pearl Lenore Curran and Patience... READ ON

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17 Famous Actors in Tiny Background Parts

Before they were headlining movies and TV shows, these celebs were just like everyone else trying to make it in Hollywood: thrilled to call home to report that the “Flight Attendant #3” role was totally in the bag. Check out a few of today’s big names back when they were cast as no-names. 1. Jason Segel as “Watermelon Guy” in Can’t Hardly Wait 2. Lucy Liu as waitress on Beverly Hills 90210 3. Alexis Bledel as an unnamed student in Rushmore 4. Michelle Williams as Brad’s... READ ON

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Can You Tattoo a Corpse? And Four Other Fascinating Facts About Death

Photo Courtesy of Order of the Good Death Are you guys watching Caitlin Doughty’s "Ask a Mortician"? You should be. Not too long ago, I tweeted about how it’s my new favorite thing ever and my mom immediately texted me and wanted to know if we needed to talk. After I explained that Caitlin is more Mary Roach and less cryptkeeper, the intervention was called off. Actually, my mom is now an Ask a Mortician fan, too. Here are just a few things I've learned from Caitlin: 1. Rigor mortis kicks in... READ ON

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