mental_floss » Terri Dann

The 5pm Quiz: Sherlock Holmes

Terri Dann — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:00:12 +0000

Since Arthur Conan Doyle first created the detective in 1887, Sherlock Holmes has been paraded on the big screen, parodied, dissected, but most of all beloved by millions. There are dozens of official fan societies and countless offshoots. So there have to be some loyal mental_floss readers out there who can don their deerstalker hats and solve this one in no time flat. After all, it’s elementary.

Take the Quiz: The Game’s Afoot

Our Weekend in Review: Decatur Book Festival & Dragon*Con

Terri Dann — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:40:43 +0000

It was a busy Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, and the mental_floss staff was smack in the middle of the action. Not only were we rockin’ the mental_floss booth at the Decatur Book Festival, but we were able to sneak away for a little fun at Dragon*Con on Saturday night.

For those unfamiliar with Dragon*Con, it is the largest Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention in the U.S. It takes over a whopping 3 convention-sized hotels in downtown Atlanta, and it is the see-and-be-seen event of the year for fans. Attendees dress in movie-worthy costumes and party all night. Here are just a few pics from our short time there—after all, we had another full day of Book Festivalling on Sunday, too.

The Joker takes on a fully functional animatronic R2D2.

Here I am with Rorschach of the blockbuster movie Watchmen.

Animated series The Venture Brothers comes to life at Dragon*Con: Doctor Venture with his arch-nemeses The Monarch and his wife Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.

On the way out, I took a detour through Bat Country with the guys from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

And here are _floss co-founder Will Pearson and my husband Ben enjoying the quietest moment we had at our booth at the Decatur Book Festival.

If you were at either Dragon*Con or at the Decatur Book Festival (or both, lucky you!), tell us your best stories in the comments!

We’d love to take our show on the road. At what other festivals would you like to see the mental_floss gang? Leave a comment with the link and maybe we’ll meet you there.

The 5pm Quiz: Sherlock Holmes

Terri Dann — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:00:54 +0000

Last Christmas, Sherlock Holmes celebrated his 121st birthday. Since Arthur Conan Doyle first created the detective in 1887, Sherlock Holmes has been paraded on the big screen, parodied, dissected, but most of all beloved by millions. There are dozens of official fan societies and countless offshoots. So there have to be some loyal mental_floss readers out there who can don their deerstalker hats and solve this one in no time flat. After all, it’s elementary.

Take the Quiz: The Game’s Afoot

“Big in Japan,” Tacos, and a Chance to Win a Terrific New CD

Terri Dann — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:02:00 +0000

So it seems Thursday night was a big night for music among the mental_floss staff. The NYC staff partied at the well-publicized New Amsterdam Records blowout in Brooklyn. For the Birmingham flossers, our event was much less publicized, but no less fun. We got to wine and dine (ok, beer and tacos) one of our favorite magazine contributors *and* meet a famous musician as a bonus. Frequent contributor Bill DeMain was in town to perform an acoustic set with singer-songwriter David Mead at the coffee shop conveniently located across the street from our office. Bill and David have been collaborating on two new albums, one of which, Almost and Always can be yours if you read on. We got the lowdown on the new album, what it’s like to *actually* be “big in Japan,” and their upcoming album of kids’ songs that should be out later this year.

At the coffee shop, Bill and David put on a heartfelt show for entirely too small a crowd. They debuted a few songs from “Almost and Always” (amazing) and played a few older songs of David’s that are personal favorites of mine. It hurts to part with this new CD, but we’ve got to share the love somehow. So if you’re a fan of Bill’s work for mental_floss, don’t miss this album. You can hear his sweetly emotional lyrics sung in David’s honeyed Nashville twang — the perfect album for the long summer nights coming just around the corner.

To win, you ask? First person to leave the title of Bill’s debut column for mental_floss in the comments wins the CD. Hint, it was one of the 2008 issues. Don’t win it today? Check it out at davidmead.com.

The mental_floss road show

Terri Dann — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:53:00 +0000

This weekend, the Birmingham crew spent two beautiful afternoons at Alabama’s Moss Rock Art Festival, spreading the mental_floss love. We met some hard core fans and answered the question “So what exactly is mental_floss?” more times than we can count. Between the holiday gift guide and our selection of t-shirts, none of our visitors walked away empty-handed.

MF co-founder/president Will Pearson also completed a very important business transaction with the Frog Prince, the details of which will probably be revealed in a tell-all book in the near future.

Thanks to everyone who came out and spent time with us! Now that we’ve perfected our pitches, we’ll be taking this show on the road – coming soon to a truck stop, flea market, or folk art festival near you.

When not working the flea market circuit, Terri Dann is a mental_floss designer.

Lunchtime Quiz: Sherlock Holmes

Terri Dann — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:30:46 +0000

This Christmas, Sherlock Holmes will celebrate his 121st birthday. Since Arthur Conan Doyle first created the detective in 1887, Sherlock Holmes has been paraded on the big screen, parodied, dissected, but most of all beloved by millions. There are dozens of official fan societies and countless offshoots. So there have to be some loyal mental_floss readers out there who can don their deerstalker hats and solve this one in no time flat. After all, it’s elementary.

Take the Quiz: The Game’s Afoot

‘Yes, I Lived Under a Rock’ Winners

Terri Dann — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:20:09 +0000

Oh, and how the floodgates of crippling shame opened. It’s a good thing that I was in the office alone when I read all the entries. I cringed, sighed, laughed until I cried, and finished feeling like I’d just left a group therapy session. Thank you to everyone who participated in our fabulous geekathon. I feel better knowing that there are so many people out there who had similar childhoods.

There’s no question in my mind who the winner is, and from reading the posts, many of you agree. Cynthia, there is no way that a free mental_floss t-shirt can TRULY make up for the psychic scars you must have gotten that fateful night. But we do hope it can be a badge you wear with pride. We’d also like to give holiday-bereft Holly one of our limited run “Vampires are a pain in the neck” shirts so she can celebrate Halloween in style this year. Holly, the staff of mental_floss would like to wish you a very happy Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, Birthday, Arbor Day and so forth. Also, a random shout-out to Loripop for making me snarf tea all over my keyboard. (If it makes your mother feel any better, I used to get Manny, Moe and Jack confused with Larry, Moe and Curly as a kid. I couldn’t figure out why we’d buy car parts from Stooges.)

So Cynthia and Holly, enjoy your shirts. (We’ll be in touch.) And the rest of you, take heart. Perhaps the geeks shall inherit the earth, after all.

The ‘Yes, I Lived Under a Rock’ T-Shirt Contest

Terri Dann — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:00:00 +0000

I had—oh let’s call it a sheltered childhood. Mine was a PBS-watching, classical music-listening family, which molded me into someone who can recognize Tchaikovsky and Masterpiece Theater at 30 paces, but made me incompetent as far as Pop Culture goes. I dimly remember someone named Madonna being pretty popular in middle school, but I couldn’t have told you much about her.

In my first few days of freshman year of high school, I was confronted with the magnitude of my cluelessness. I was sitting on the bus (already a black mark against me), when a boy who already oozed the confidence of one of the Popular plopped down next to me. “So,” he ventured conversationally, “what do you think of R.E.M.?”

Before I could filter it, I answered “Like, rapid eye movement? It’s ok, I guess.”

The ostracism was swift and permanent. It was senior year before I redeemed myself by falling in love with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, and yes, R.E.M.— all the bands that the serious music lovers in high school dug. By college, I had access to cable, and made up for lost time thanks to Nick at Night.

I won’t win any prizes at 80’s Trivia Night, but I can hold my own in conversation now without coming across as a colossal idiot. I take a perverse pride now in talking about my happy little under-a-rock childhood. And the best part is being adult enough now to sympathize with those others who crawled out from under their rocks like me, blinking in the harsh light of Pop Culture.

So your challenge is this: tell me your crawling-out-from-under-the-rock story. The one that makes my tender geek heart bleed the most will win a mental_floss t-shirt.

Terri Dann is an absolutely indispensable mental_floss designer. She’s responsible for the artwork on many of the t-shirts you’re hoping to win.