1. 19 Famous People Who Started as Extras, by Eddie Deezen
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2. 12 Wonderfully Useless Flyers, by David K. Israel
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3. 11 Amazing Thank You Notes Sent by Famous People, by Adrienne Crezo
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4. 10 Words With a ‘Q’ (But No ‘U’) Accepted in Words With Friends, by Jamie Spatola
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5. 11 Ill-Conceived TV Spinoffs That Almost Happened, by Kara Kovalchik
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6. What Disneyland Looked Like in 1957, by Chris Higgins
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7. 10 Excellent Bookstore Cats, by Miss Cellania
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8. The Time in 1972 We Found Pyramids on Mars, by Calli Arcale
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9. Feline Physics: Why Cats Can Survive Falls From Great Heights, by Bill DeMain
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10. Which Came First: Orange the Color or Orange the Fruit?, by Matt Soniak

On Fridays, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. On to this week’s topics of discussion…

1. If you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s Day date, New York’s Department of Environmental Protection has a suggestion. Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn is offering Valentine’s Day tours. (“Whoever shows up is welcome to a Hershey kiss,” the plant superintendent told The Daily News.) Have you ever taken someone or been taken somewhere creative (or awful)? What’s the strangest place you’ve been on a date?

2. If you had the power to rename one product, what would you choose (and what would you name it?) Maybe there’s a name that doesn’t make sense, or sounds awkward.

3. It’s been a while since we last played What Are You Reading? (And do you recommend it?)

4. I found this faded novelty mug in the back of my closet, which I picked up in 2002 after the Beltway snipers were caught.:

I have moved three times since then, and magically the ridiculous mug has followed me. What’s the oddest novelty cup or plate in your kitchen?

[Have a great weekend! See all the previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]

During Richard Nixon’s presidency, members of his staff compiled a list of political opponents. As White House counsel John Dean put it, the purpose of the list was to “use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.” In addition to the original list of 20 “enemies,” Nixon’s staff put together a larger collection of political opponents, which Dean presented to the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973. This list included various politicians, journalists, business leaders, celebrities, and institutions. Think you can figure out who was on those lists? Let’s find out.

Take the Quiz: Were They On Nixon’s Enemies List?

Cupcake image via Shutterstock

On the 11th day of each month, we post (roughly) 11 ’11 lists’ on various topics throughout the day. Because February 11th is a Saturday and we’ll be setting up the mental_floss booth at the New York Toy Fair that day, we’re moving the elevensanity to Friday. Don’t freak out.

We’ll put up the first list shortly after midnight.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Last summer we ran a profile of Taylor Wilson in mental_floss magazine. Today the kid was at the White House!

Here’s what he was doing there, according to WhiteHouse.gov:

President Barack Obama hosts the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 7, 2012. Taylor Wilson, 17, of Reno, Nevada, conducted research on novel techniques for detecting nuclear threats and developed an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and highly sensitive system capable of detecting small quantities of nuclear material.

We’re getting a ton of search traffic on “Taylor Wilson” right now, so here’s a link to that article:

Mad Scientist of the Month

by Judy Dutton

At 10, he built his first bomb. At 14, he made a nuclear reactor. Now he’s 17…

Read the full story: Who’s Afraid of Taylor Wilson?

Back in 1933, the first issue of Time Magazine featured Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the House. You shouldn’t be expected to know this. But perhaps you’ll do better with some of these magazines. Can you figure out who was pictured on the inaugural cover?

Take the Quiz: Who Was on Issue #1?

They say it’s an honor just to be nominated, but do people really remember the nominees? How many of the Best Picture nominees from 2008 through this year can you name in 10 minutes? (When we say “2008,” we mean the Academy Awards that were held in 2008, so those movies came out in 2007. We’re including the winners. And we’re including this year’s nominees.) Good luck!

Take the Quiz: Name the Best Picture Nominees Since 2008

More here. We’ll do this again for the Oscars, the Opening Ceremonies, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thanks for all the (approaching 5,000 as of midnight) retweets! Oh, and here’s what will happen to all that ‘Super Bowl XLVI Champions!’ Patriots gear.

1. From Text Neck to Hogwarts Headache: 6 Injuries for the Modern Age, by Kathy Benjamin
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2. What Happens to the Losing Team’s Pre-Printed Championship Shirts?, by Matt Soniak
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3. 5 Reasons Teenagers Behave the Way They Do, by Kathy Benjamin
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4. How Apple’s “1984″ Ad Almost Never Aired, by Chris Higgins
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5. 6 of the Oldest Trees in the World, by Haley Sweetland Edwards
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6. 11 New Uses for Old Churches, by Colin Perkins
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7. On the Origin of Groundhog Day, by Miss Cellania
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8. This Girl Can Say Any Word Backwards, by David K. Israel
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9. 15 Offbeat Holidays You Can Celebrate in February, by Laura Turner Garrison
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10. You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here. (by Rob Lammle)

On Fridays, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. On to this week’s topics of discussion…

1. We’re in the middle of this big site redesign, and one of the crucial things to consider is how the comments should work. What I like about the current system is the simplicity — you don’t have to log in, you don’t need to flash your Facebook credentials, anyone can read the comments. But there are certainly limitations. You should be able to reply to other comments, or get notified when someone responds to yours. Perhaps a preview/edit function. Voting comments up or down? Not sure how I feel about that. So I’d love to hear your preferences. What kind of commenting system would you prefer? Also, any suggestions for sites that do the comments just right would be helpful.

2. David Choe was all over the news yesterday. He’s the street artist who accepted stock instead of cash to paint murals at Facebook’s first headquarters, and he stands to make $200 million the day of the IPO. While you probably never turned down cash for $200 million in stock, have you ever been paid in something other than money? In high school, I once shoveled the yard of an elderly woman who paid me in fruitcake, ladies mittens and PDQ Chocolate mix. Not my best negotiation.

3. Rumors are swirling about a possible Back to the Future musical. What movie would you be most excited to see adapted for the stage?

4. You might be holding or attending a Super Bowl party on Sunday. Perhaps you’ve been to an Oscar-viewing party. If you’re into politics, maybe a debate-watching party is something you’ve attended. What are some other TV events that have inspired your friends to throw parties?

[Have a great weekend! See all the previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]