Jason English
Our Next Book Giveaway: Secret Lives of Great Authors (Plus Yesterday’s Winner)
by Jason English - January 21, 2009 - 11:00 PM

secret-authors.jpgEarlier today in my “what our web friends are up to” post, we linked to AskMen.com’s “Top 99 Women of 2009″ list. For tonight’s contest, let’s pretend mental_floss was going to name one Top Woman and one Top Man of 2009. The celebrities who most embody the mental_floss spirit, if you will. (And if you’d like a copy of Secret Lives of Great Authors, you must.)

This contest will have two winners. The person whose suggestions ring truest to the staff wins the book. But I realize some of you are new to this site, and “which celebrities most embody the mental_floss spirit” is a pretty ridiculous question to expect you to answer. So a second copy of the book will be given away at random. You can justify your answers or let your names speak for themselves.

Our Latest Winner(s)

useless-info.jpgIt’s taken me all day to pick a winner in the Secret Society contest, so I’m giving up and declaring a three-way tie.

Congratulations to Anna (“The Secret Society of Spelling Shame”), Jake (“CLASSIC: Can’t beLieve Anyone Still wears that jerSey In publiC“) and JohnnyCat (“CHOLA: Canceled Has One ‘L’, America”). I was hesitant to pick two spelling-related societies, but JohnnyCat’s first order of business—”Take care of that apostrophe/comma mess in the acronym”—pushed him onto the podium. I love acronym humor. I only have one copy of The Book of Useless Knowledge, but I’ll email you three to work something out.

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (48)

  1. Top Woman: Winnie Cooper (I forget her real name — the math whiz from Wonder Years)

    Top Man: Toby Maguire (seems like he’d fit in)

    posted by Robbie on 1-21-2009 at 11:09 pm

  2. Woman – Anne Hathaway
    Man – Chuck Klosterman

    posted by Lisa on 1-21-2009 at 11:17 pm

  3. Top Woman: America Ferrera (ugly betty)

    Top Man: Jonathan Lipnicki (the kid from “Jerry McGuire”)

    Both represent characters that are maybe not the most popular or attractive but they are smart, unique, funny and endearing.

    posted by Megan Mc on 1-21-2009 at 11:27 pm

  4. Woman: JK Rowling – who despite not having an actual ‘Harry Potter’ book this year, nevertheless managed to expand its ‘universe’ with the publication of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

    MAN: Okay, I have two give it to TWO- Damon Lindeloff and Carleton Cuse… if only for the reason that tonight’s LOST season 5 opener once again made me go ‘WHAT THE….’ on too many occasions! So many references on this show that only a true Flosser would appreciate!

    posted by Amy on 1-21-2009 at 11:37 pm

  5. Top Man: Malcolm Gladwell

    In his books, he answers those questions that are an intrinsic part of our lives but which no one has ever answered before.

    Top Woman: Tina Fey

    Funny, quirky, intelligent, and with talents that do not limit themselves to one single area (she’s a writer, producer, actress, and comedian), she’s smart and a lot of fun.

    posted by Monika on 1-21-2009 at 11:39 pm

  6. Top flosser man: Charlie Kaufman, for Synecdoche, New York — anyone who can name a major film as both a reference to parts-to-the-whole and a horrible pun on an American city is Flossy and Mental.

    Top flosser woman: Olivia Judson, for her New York Times blog and her Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice for All Creation.Who doesn’t love a sexy scientist who likes to talk about sex??

    posted by David on 1-21-2009 at 11:53 pm

  7. Woman: Zooey Deschanel. She’s adorable, quirky, multi-talented, and seems the type that would love to read mental_floss

    Man: Matt Smith. He’ll be doing a lot of sitting about, but really. The Doctor embodies the strange but excited nature of mental_floss.

    posted by Sarah on 1-21-2009 at 11:57 pm

  8. Man: John Hodgman

    Woman: Amy Ryan

    posted by DougJ on 1-22-2009 at 12:02 am

  9. Woman: Sarah Vowell. C’mon, she wrote a book called “The Wordy Shipmates.”

    Man: J.J. Abrams. Curiosity created 2 currently running, amazingly smart, TV shows.

    posted by Q1Go on 1-22-2009 at 12:05 am

  10. Q1Go,

    I guess I really should’ve added JJ to my two MEN picks! :-)

    posted by Amy on 1-22-2009 at 12:24 am

  11. Thanks for the award, I offer a tip of the hat to Anna for the similarly themed society.

    Man: Bruce Springsteen; his new album is amazing, and his brilliance is eclipsed by his non-complexity.

    Woman: I think Hillary has finally found her groove.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 1-22-2009 at 12:33 am

  12. Jo Rowling: Not only did she end the year with the release of Tales of Beedle the Bard, but started off the year talking to true fans of her books. Her interview with the Harry Potter podcast PotterCast showed how much she cares about her fans and allowed her to answer questions fans of the books haven’t heard the answers to a hundred times before.

    John Green: Released Paper Towns and went on a Tour de Nerdfighting. A TOUR FOR NERDS! How much more evidence do you need?

    (Honorable Mention goes to Hank Green. I just liked Paper Towns too much to bump John.)

    posted by Caroline on 1-22-2009 at 1:20 am

  13. Woman: Emma Thompson- has a degree from Cambridge in English lit and wrote the very successful adaptation of sense and sensibility. She also plays interesting characters and makes smart career choices. I would like to have a beer with her and talk about anything.

    Man: Bob Dylan- some of the most amazing and relevant song writing…ever.

    posted by Lauren on 1-22-2009 at 1:23 am

  14. Woman (tie): Tina Fey for her ingenious impersonations of Sarah Palin, delivered with wit and sauciness. Also, to Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress who continues to fascinate the world with her beauty and brilliance of mind.

    Man: Stephen Colbert. Period.

    posted by Kathy on 1-22-2009 at 2:40 am

  15. Women (tie): Tina Fey, who was saucy and witty as Sarah Palin, and Aishwarya Rai, who continues to fascinate people around the world with her beauty and intellectual quirkiness.

    Man: Stephen Colbert. Seriously.

    posted by Kathy on 1-22-2009 at 2:44 am

  16. Man: Stephen Hawking (for being the worlds most awesome retiree)
    Woman: Mrs. Dubbyah Bush (for not laughing every time she looks at her husband)

    posted by Kate on 1-22-2009 at 2:45 am

  17. C’mon now… Obama for man of the year
    Hillary for woman of the year…

    posted by Vickey on 1-22-2009 at 6:17 am

  18. Top Woman: Sarah Brightman
    Top Man: Novak Djokovic

    posted by Nikki on 1-22-2009 at 7:17 am

  19. top woman: sarah brightman

    top man: novak djokovic

    posted by nikki on 1-22-2009 at 7:21 am

  20. Man: My dad
    Woman: My mom

    posted by Jake on 1-22-2009 at 8:23 am

  21. Top Man: Myron Rolle of Florida State University. Here’s a young man who is going to delay playing in the NFL to study at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship!

    Top Woman: Miss Cellania and here’s why. I started reading mental_floss and neatorama at the end of 2008. She consistently provides quality blogs and always picks up my day when I read her musings. Definitely top woman!

    posted by Scott on 1-22-2009 at 8:24 am

  22. Top Woman: Me, for entering a staggering number of book giveaway contests and never winning yet. Why does that make me a celebrity? If the girls from The Hills can do it, then by gum, so can I. Plus I’m smarter and dress better. It just screams recipe for success.

    Top Man: Jason English. Cause I will suck up for a book.

    posted by Caitlin on 1-22-2009 at 9:55 am

  23. Man:
    Andrew Friedman, GM of the Tampa Rays – for doing more w/ much less.

    Man/Woman: Anyone who went to the inventor of CNN’s election holograms – and smacked them.

    posted by Colin Perkins on 1-22-2009 at 10:04 am

  24. Man: Kevin Smith
    Woman: Sharon Stone

    posted by Melanie on 1-22-2009 at 10:27 am

  25. Top Man: John Hodgeman- funny in a way that Mental Floss readers would get.

    Woman: Mary Lynn Rajskub for her portrayal of Chloe O’Brien on 24. Mary Lynn is more attractive than her TV alter ego, while Chloe is brilliant and resourceful. Somebody you would want on your side if something went wrong.

    posted by Michael on 1-22-2009 at 10:33 am

  26. Man: Riddler from Batman. Sure he has lame jokes but he is a known entity AND he asks a lot of questions

    Woman: Paris Hilton. She is an enigma in that I still cannot figure out why she is famous and she has plenty of room in her vacuous melon to fill with Mental Floss information.

    posted by Scott-O on 1-22-2009 at 11:06 am

  27. Man: Edward Norton
    Woman: JK Rowling

    posted by lindseyu on 1-22-2009 at 11:35 am

  28. Tina Fey and Will Farrel

    posted by Jeff on 1-22-2009 at 11:35 am

  29. Man = Cecil Adams – In some respects, mental_floss and The Straight Dope are fighting the same fight

    Woman = Tina Fey – Smart/funny on so many different levels

    posted by John on 1-22-2009 at 11:46 am

  30. Man: Dr. Gregory House – Brilliant but whacked.

    Sarah Palin – Confident but….?

    posted by deej on 1-22-2009 at 11:58 am

  31. Man: Seth Rogen

    Woman: Definitely Tina Fey-i can’t argue there

    posted by Kaitlyn on 1-22-2009 at 12:10 pm

  32. Man: Jack Bauer – Because if you don’t give it to him, you’ll be dead in under three seconds.

    Woman: Jack Bauer – Because he wanted it twice.

    posted by Eric W on 1-22-2009 at 12:20 pm

  33. Man – Nerd Rocker Jonathan Coulton, because he’s delightful.

    Woman – Danica Keller, former child actor and author of MATH DOESN’T SUCK, for encouraging girls to enter the male-dominated field of mathematics.

    posted by tsc on 1-22-2009 at 12:42 pm

  34. woman: Sarah Vowell

    man: Bill Bryson

    reason: They are both great writers who do lots of research on history, geography, and other trivia. Then they weave their knowledge into insightful and interesting stories.

    posted by Nicole on 1-22-2009 at 1:02 pm

  35. woman – the chick who sold her virginity on line OR Terry Gross from NPR

    male- Sully the pilot from Hudson landing it was the only good news I have heard in a while in this cynical world

    posted by adele on 1-22-2009 at 1:24 pm

  36. Man – Al Franken/Norm Coleman for providing a much needed post-election fix of interesting political news for the firmly addicted like myself

    Woman – Sarah Vowell for being the proper proportions of nerdy, funny and oddly attractive.

    posted by Sean O. on 1-22-2009 at 1:48 pm

  37. Man: DFW
    Woman: Feist

    posted by Gabe on 1-22-2009 at 1:52 pm

  38. Woman: Dorie McCullough Lawson. Have you read Posterity? It’s a collection of letters from great (flossy) Americans to their children.
    Man: Bill Bryson. Love him.

    posted by CaitlinJ on 1-22-2009 at 4:18 pm

  39. Top Man: Hugh Laurie (or Stephen Fry…both so brilliant)

    Top Woman: I must agree…Tina Fey

    posted by Amanda on 1-22-2009 at 4:21 pm

  40. I had a struggle with this contest. There are a lot of super people in our world who are really making a difference, so I decided to vote for the Top Woman & Man who have been participatine in the mental_floss book-giveaway contests.

    Top Woman: I’m giving my vote to “Caitlin”, who posted at 9:55 am today. She really wants to win. Or perhaps I should vote for “Kaitlyn”, who posted at 12:10 pm today. Is that the same “Kaitlyn”-from Louisiana-who I nearly had a date with? Hmmm… I can’t decide. They’re both deserving. It’s a tie!

    Top Man: What the hell… me. I’m a pretty cool guy.

    posted by Mike on 1-22-2009 at 4:50 pm

  41. Man- Chuck Norris

    Woman- Chuck Norris

    Because it’s hard to deny a man who can boil water with his own rage. And because the jokes never get old.

    posted by Jordan on 1-22-2009 at 5:19 pm

  42. Ok, this sounds sappy, but to Jake…all I want in this life is for my children to name me top something before I die! LOL

    And whatever happened with the date? Did I miss something?

    posted by Karen on 1-22-2009 at 5:36 pm

  43. Woman: Kristen Wiig. Have you seen her on SNL? She’s the best part of that show these days.

    Man: A.J. Jacobs. Because he and his books are awesome.

    posted by Rebecca W. on 1-22-2009 at 6:36 pm

  44. Top Woman: Michelle Obama
    Top Man: Ben Bailey (from Cash Cab)

    posted by Kath on 1-22-2009 at 7:36 pm

  45. Woman: Tina Fey
    She knows her politics, she’s smart and funny, and smartly funny. Even if she weren’t a terrific performer, she’d be a terrific writer. Luckily, she’s both. Interviews in Vanity Fair and the like show her as an intelligent woman who cares about sensible things, is a feminist, and knows just how to deal with fame.

    Man: Robert Downey, Jr.
    Seems like a smart man – he brought about his own comeback via some well chosen roles – and a quirky one who would probably get a kick out of a silly top ten list, or many of the articles on your site.

    posted by Lora on 1-22-2009 at 10:26 pm

  46. Woman: Sarah Palin- She was the victim of the Republican party. If they had won, she was their buffoon that would have distracted the public, since they lost, she is the scapegoat and “proves” that women are incompetent in anything other than cleaning, cooking, and making babies. That kind of sacrifice deserves credit.

    Man: Dick Cheney- The most pleasurable thing that has happened this year is the expiration of the Bush insurance policy, but anyone that could shoot someone with a shotgun and get him to say it was his fault deserves more than the money he got from having his cronies overpaid in Iraq.

    posted by Ralph B on 1-23-2009 at 12:30 pm

  47. Woman: Sarah Palin- She carried a huge load over the last year. If they had won, she would have been the republican buffoon for 4 years (someone had to do it once Short Pants (Bush) was out of the White House. Since they lost, she “proves” that women are good for cooking, cleaning, and making babies.

    Man: Dick Chaney- The recently expired presidential insurance policy (NOBODY wanted him to be president) has not benefited from one of the best sales jobs I have ever seen. Anyone that can shoot someone and get them to say it was their fault, deserves more that all the money Haliburton overcharged in Iraq.

    posted by Ralph B on 1-23-2009 at 12:38 pm

  48. Man: Dennis Miller- since only Mental Floss readers can understand his jokes.

    Woman: Natalie Portman- she is hot. ‘Nuff said.

    posted by Scott-O on 1-24-2009 at 2:40 pm

Comment

commenting policy