1. 5 Classic Poisons and the People Who Used Them, by Miss Cellania
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2. The Quick 10: If 10 Fast Food Joints Had Stuck With the Original Plan, by Stacy Conradt
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3. R2-D2, GOB Bluth & Other Fictional Folks Who Stopped by Sesame Street, by Joe Hennes
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4. Was There Really a Granny Smith? 9 Fruit & Veggie Origins, by Ethan Trex
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5. Worth More Dead Than Alive: 5 Famous Grave Robberies, by Rob Lammle
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6. How Superman Defeated the Ku Klux Klan, by Mark Juddery
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7. Strange Geographies: The Forgotten High School of Goldfield, Nevada, by Ransom Riggs
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8. The Quick 10: 10 Really Bizarre Soap Opera Plots, by Stacy Conradt
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9. Can Boat Captains Really Marry People? by Matt Soniak
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10. One Sweet Severance Package & Other Tales of the ABA, by Keith Law

See Also: October’s Most Popular Stories

If you’re the kind of person who likes doing things and you live within commuting distance of New York, get this on your calendar: the first Mental Floss Trivia Show will be held on Sunday, December 6th at 7pm. This (extra) special event will take place at the Galapagos Arts Space in Brooklyn.

Come show off your trivia prowess, win moderately-sized prizes, and meet some of the mental_floss gang.

We’ll share more details as the big day approaches. You just go ahead and clear your schedule.

1. A few years ago, we replaced our old radiators with baseboards. The guy we hired to do the work was a friend of a friend, and he was very nice and chatty. He told me all about his son—a wide receiver for Texas A&M. The details were impressive and crazy specific: “Last week he set the school record for receiving yards by a sophomore.” “He’s a bit undersized, but with the success of guys like Wes Welker”—then with the Dolphins and not very well known—”he might have a better chance of getting drafted in a couple years.” “He’s on the track team, too—Big 12 champion sprinter as a freshman!” He was such a proud dad.

Of course, he made the whole thing up. I Googled the man’s son—not because I didn’t believe him, but because I absolutely believed him, and I wanted to root for his kid, too. There was nobody by that name on the Texas A&M football team. Or at Texas A&M. Perplexed by the lie, I kept searching and found out the kid was an athlete. On his high school track team. Junior Varsity. Couldn’t find anyone else comparing him to Wes Welker, though.

People lie about stuff all the time. “I didn’t get your email!” “I’m not cheating on you with your brother!” “I did not eat your sandwich!” You can (probably) understand those. But what’s the most bizarre, completely unnecessary lie you’ve ever been told?

2. Did your college or high school have any non-traditional graduation requirements, either official or unofficial? I’ve heard stories about mandatory swimming classes, required because years ago the dean’s son drowned.^{[citation needed]}

I graduated from Duke, where unofficial requirements included driving backwards around the traffic circle, wandering around the semi-secret underground tunnels, and several I probably can’t discuss on a relatively family-friendly website. How about you?

3. I’ve got the Yankee parade on right now. It’s entertaining to watch the local TV reporter fail to interview almost every prominent player. (”Derek! Derek! Derek Jeter! Over here! Oh well. Class act!” / “Mariano! Hey! How are you, bud! Woo! What a guy!”)

I’m not much of a parade guy, on TV or otherwise. Perhaps this is because my hometown was parade crazy. Little League parades, Cub Scouts parades, Winter Wonderland parades, We-Promise-Not-To-Use-Drugs parades. Is every town like that? What’s the oddest parade you’ve attended or marched in?

[See all the previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]

One of my favorite ways to waste time at work is to read a quote from Steven Wright or Mitch Hedberg, then ask my co-workers to guess which one said it. (We have quite a time down here.) With this quiz, you can play along at home.

Take the Quiz: Wright or Hedberg?

Moments after the Yankees won their 27th World Series, we threw together this quiz (first suggested by David Israel). How many World Series MVPs do you remember from the last 15 years? Think you can name them all in 5 minutes?

We just need last names, and there are 16 possible answers because the award was shared by two pitchers in 2001. Good luck!

Take the Quiz: World Series MVPs

Throughout fifth grade, my social studies teacher quizzed us on dozens of flags from around the world. In the (almost) 20 years since, there has never been a practical application for this information. If you had a similar experience (or you’re just well-traveled), now’s your chance to flaunt that knowledge.

In today’s quiz, you’ll find 12 flags, including some of the more bizarre designs out there. Can you guess which country, state, territory or province it represents?

Take the Quiz: Flags of the World

1. The Origins of All 30 NBA Team Names
by Scott Allen

Why is a team in Los Angeles named the Lakers, and what’s a team called the Jazz doing in Utah? As another NBA season tips off, here are the stories behind the nicknames of all 30 teams.

2. 10 Awesome Homemade Halloween Costumes
by Miss Cellania

If you have the time and tools to make your own Halloween costume, all you need is a little inspiration to make it awesome, like these ten.

3. Scientific Reasons to Believe in Vampires, Werewolves & Zombies
by Matt Soniak

Let’s take a look at some of the real-world events and phenomena that may have inspired the creation of vampires, werewolves and zombies.

4. 8 Things Disney Parks Have Banned
by Alvin Ward

Disneyland may be the Happiest Place on Earth, but don’t think that means you can just waltz in and do whatever you want. Here are just a few of the things on which Mickey Mouse has dropped his hammer over the years.

5. Cast Away: 5 Amazing Stories of Messages in Bottles
by Rob Lammle

Whenever a message in a bottle is discovered floating in the ocean, it feels like something out of a fairy tale. Here are five stories of the almost unbelievable connections these messages have brought about.

6. Stormtroopers on Their Day Off
by David K. Israel

Here are a few highlights from a great photo gallery on WildAmmo.com.

7. Creepy Halloween Party Food
by Miss Cellania

When you plan your Halloween party, the food must be front and center. Try serving these, and your guests will be talking about your party for years. Warning: some images may be disturbing.

8. 9 Insane Torture Techniques
by David K. Israel

These torture techniques have been used in different parts of the world to kill, dismember, or otherwise cause inordinate amounts of pain. We promise: you’ll never use the word torturous the same way again.

9. Ultra Slo-Mo Video of Bullet Impacts
by Chris Higgins

This is weird and mesmerizing: ultra slow-motion video of bullets impacting various materials (glass, wood, metal, hollow-points on ballistics gel, and so on).

10. The Quick 10: 10 Smurfy Smurfs Facts
by Stacy Conradt

It was 51 years ago that The Smurfs were first introduced to our pop culture vernacular. To celebrate this mini-milestone, here’s a list of things you might not know about our little blue friends.

11. 11 Offbeat College Essay Topics
by Katie Naymon

As high school seniors across the country are hard at work on their college applications, let’s take a look at some of the stranger questions those wacky admissions officers have asked.

12. The Origins of All 30 NHL Team Names
by Scott Allen

Ever wonder what a Canuck is? How about a Blue Jacket? With a new NHL season underway, here’s a breakdown of how the league’s 30 teams got their names.

If you’re new to mental_floss, here’s what you missed in September and in August.

1. The Origins of All 30 NBA Team Names, by Scott Allen
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2. Stormtroopers On Their Day Off, by David K. Israel
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3. What Happens to the Losing Team’s Championship Shirts? by Matt Soniak
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4. 8 Things Disney Parks Have Banned, by Alvin Ward
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5. Our Readers’ Favorite Halloween Costumes, by all the readers who sent in pics
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6. The Origins of 7 Department Store Chains, by Ethan Trex
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7. 5 Famous Fires and the Lessons They Taught Us, by Kara Kovalchik
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8. 10 Reasons Why the Quidditch World Cup is the Best College Sporting Event, by Andréa Fernandes
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9. 5 Scary Places and the Legends Behind Them, by Miss Cellania
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10. What a Blockbuster Movie Can Do to a Small Town, by Miss Cellania
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11. All About Anne (of Green Gables), by Linda Rodriguez
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12. A Brief History of Swedish Fish, by Linda Rodriguez

See Also: September’s Most Popular Stories