Several weeks back, reader AMT requested a “Feel Art Again” post featuring Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949). Tomorrow is the 59th anniversary of Orozco’s death, so today we’ll take a look at his life and his art.

1. While mixing chemicals to make fireworks to sell for Mexican Independence Day in 1949, José Orozco injured his left hand and eye. His injuries weren’t treated for several days, though, because of the holiday, by which point gangrene had set in. After his hand and wrist were amputated, he abandoned his architectural studies to pursue painting.

2. Orozco had first become interested in painting during his school years, when he would watch the illustrator José Guadalupe Posada at work. Posada worked in shop windows, in full view of the public, on the path Orozco took to school. Orozco “would stop and spend a few enchanted minutes in watching;” it was his “awakening to the existence of the art of painting.”

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Football season is cranking up, and playoff baseball is on the horizon. With all this major-sports excitement, it’s easy to miss some of the more obscure competitions taking place in the coming weeks. Don’t make that mistake, though, as you might miss out on one of these unheralded events.

1. Red Bull Flugtag

Since 1991, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has brought his unique vision for an aviation competition to the world each year. Flugtag isn’t like any normal air show, though. Competitors launch themselves off a pier or dock in an attempt to fly their homemade human-powered conveyances as far as they can. (As you might have guessed, homemade flying machines tend to crash rather quickly, which is half the fun.) Once the teams take off, their flight is judged on the basis of distance, creativity, and showmanship. Some devices do actually manage to fly, though; one team made it 195 feet at an event in Austria. More often, though, the homemade machines splash down into the water, so each one must be unsinkable as an environmentally friendly precaution.

The final Red Bull Flugtag USA of the summer takes place at Chicago’s North Avenue Beach on Saturday, so there’s still time to see this spectacle if you hurry. Here are some highlights from a previous Flugtag:
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In case you missed it, a video of Cookie Monster defending his honor against Stephen Colbert. For more Sesame Street characters doing funny things, here’s a video of Burt and Ernie lip synching a rap. I don’t know why these sorts of things exist, but I am so happy they do.

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Silly but fun (and in most cases, true), 7 things that seem like a good idea at first … but really aren’t.

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From a New York Times blog, experimental bathroom tile art of the most abstract kind (the subway one really hurts my brain).

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Can you spot the real smile from the fake? Take this quiz from the BBC to find out.

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From Jan, license plates for geeks. Do any of you Flossy readers have vanity plates? Or seen some interesting ones of late?

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It’s hard to be a bully if you get pantsed (is that the correct spelling?). “Once I’ve seen your underwear, you are no longer a threat.”

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From Divine Caroline, brain exercises that defy memory loss.
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[there’s still time to get that caption in!]

If you missed our interview with Marc Tyler Nobelman, author of Boys of Steel - The Creators of Superman, you might want to check that out before submitting your caption to our latest caption contest. Why? Because it’s Marc’s cartoon and he’ll be the one judging your captions and selecting the 10 finalists for this month’s contest. From those 10, the three who receive the most votes will receive copies of Marc’s Superman book… so you stand a better chance if you know where he’s coming from.
To repeat the rules, the idea here is quite simple: Your job is to come up with a gag. Make us smile, make us laugh, extra-points for those who are able to drop some interesting fact or trivia along the way. Have at it! The contest will run through the end of the weekend.

click cartoon to enlarge

When America was being divvied up, surveyors and cartographers were as accurate as possible drawing the boundaries between these new regions. Unfortunately, mistakes were still made. And minor map mistakes led to years of fighting—sometimes in the courts, and sometimes on the field of battle.

1. The Toledo War: Ohio vs. Michigan

The story of The Toledo War actually begins in 1787, when the U.S. government enacted the Northwest Ordinance. The Ordinance described the border between Ohio and Michigan as “an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan.” Congress used the best map available at the time, The Mitchell Map (above), to create this east-west line, putting most of the west shoreline of Lake Erie within Ohio’s borders. This would include Maumee Bay, where the Maumee River and Lake Erie meet, giving Ohio a significant economic advantage for shipping.
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1. Clear some room on your bookshelf. Later this fall, we’ll be releasing our first hardcover book: The Mental Floss History of the World. As part of the promotional tour, I’ve been told that Mangesh and I will be hosting a pub trivia night in November somewhere in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I don’t have a good feel for how many readers live within commuting distance of Brooklyn, or what percentage of that population would consider spending their Tuesday evening answering questions from strangers in a bar. But let us know if you might drop in. I don’t have a fear of public speaking, but I have a fear of speaking to an empty room.
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We’re all familiar with kleptomania, egomania, and maybe even a little nymphomania. Personally, I’ve run into quite a few pseudomaniacs (pathological liars) and at least three people afflicted with theomania (belief that one is a god). I’m a self-admitted bibliomaniac (book fanatic) and phaneromaniac (obsessive nail biter). But there are countless manic predilections that most people haven’t encountered. Here are 10 to sate your infomaniacal (flossy) tendencies.

1. Aboulomania: Of all the maniacs I meet, I definitely hope none of them are pathologically indecisive. There’s nothing worse than that. Then again, maybe there is. I’m just not sure. At any rate, aboulomania is a known symptom of bipolar disorder, major depressive episodes, brain damage or tumors, and mercury toxicity… I think. Yes, that’s right. Well, probably.

2. Clinomania: In the 19th century, women were being diagnosed with the catchall condition hysteria like nobody’s business; more often than not, the cure involved extended periods of bed rest in addition to any number of ridiculous treatments. This practice created a society rife with women obsessed with staying in bed, most of whom remained bedridden for months without any physical symptoms of illness. While it may sound appealing to some, long-term bed rest can cause blood clots, bedsores, kidney stones, muscular atrophy and pretty intense boredom.

3. Doramania: I used to tell everyone about my little girl’s insatiable Dora-mania. Thank goodness PETA didn’t hear me; she is not obsessed with owning furs, she just loves that super-cool exploradora. To their credit, PETA has outed many a suspected celebrity doramaniac in their annual Worst Dressed List, including 2008’s winners losers Aretha Franklin, Lindsay Lohan, and Kate Moss.

4. Empleomania: This year the empleomaniacs are running loose in the streets, campaigning night and day to ease the fixation on holding a public office. (more…)

Early on the morning of September 1, Roz Savage became the first woman to row, alone, from California to Hawaii. The voyage of 2,600 miles took her 99 days, 8 hours and 55 minutes. During the trip she was in surprisingly regular contact with the outside world, equipped with high-tech gear including a satellite phone, iPod loaded with audiobooks, water-proof speakers, video/still camera, and a solar panel rig to power everything (read more about the boat and the gear). In total, Savage packed a reported $80,000 of electronic equipment on the journey, which made it possible (at a cost of $1.50/min via the satellite phone) to update her blog, including photos and even videos, from the middle of the Pacific.

But the media coverage from her boat didn’t end with text, photos, or even video. Savage managed to record forty podcasts (iTunes link) from the water as well. They’re well worth a listen (despite the occasional satellite phone connection problems), and are sponsored by Audible (who also provided her with the audiobooks she listened to on the journey). It’s an amazing thing being able to keep in touch, at least via this technological remove, with a person who’s on a solo journey across the ocean.

Here are some highlights from Savage’s blog:

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If you missed our Penultimate Spinal Tap Quiz go check that out before taking this one. It’s a good warmup for this Ultimate Tap knowledge tester, which, of course, in addition to being harder, also goes to 11!

Take the Ultimate Spinal Tap Quiz