mental_floss Blog » Will

a mental_floss worksheet: Paint-By-Numbers Brain Anatomy

Will — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:47:21 +0000

As a wrinkly gray blob, the brain is a pretty funny-looking organ. But inside your brain lurk bits and pieces of neuroanatomy with equally amusing names, whether absurd, rude-sounding, or just plain fun to say. So print out this worksheet, pick up a paint set, get the blood flowing through your circle of Willis, and focus your basal ganglia with our Paint-By-Numbers Brain.

Missing Persons Alert

Will — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 12:02:44 +0000

mental_floss is seeking information that will lead to the discovery of eight prominent people who have vanished in the annals of history. Solve these mysterious disappearances by locating their last names in the word search puzzle in our Missing Persons worksheet. If you uncover all eight names, the FBI (Floss Bureau of Investigation) will reward you with the title of Master Word Sleuth.

Need the answers? They’re here.

a mental_floss worksheet: Reverse the Curse

Will — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:25:10 +0000

It’s Opening Day! Time to buy some peanuts and Cracker Jack (or at least some soy nuts and rice cakes).

Baseball is full of legends, and plenty of legend. But can you tell truth from fiction? Download and print out our “Reverse the Curse” worksheet so that you and your friends can determine which of these around-the-bases stories belt it out of the park, and which ones whiff at strike three.

Batter up!

St. Patrick vs. Samuel L. Jackson

Will — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:44:33 +0000

With St. Paddy celebrations coming up this weekend, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to celebrate the work of history’s two most legendary snake annihilators, St. Patrick and Samuel L. Jackson. In case you’ve already forgotten, Jackson kicked some serious snake butt in the 2006 Internet phenomenon/box office flop Snakes on a Plane. Your challenge in this mental_floss worksheet is to decide which statements apply to St. Patrick (circle the shamrock), which apply to Samuel L. Jackson (circle the Royale w/ Cheese) and which apply to both (circle both). It’s tougher than you think.

And feel free to share any St. Patrick and Samuel L. facts we may have forgotten.

Answers here.

This week’s worksheet for geniuses: Under the Sea

Will — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 04:44:41 +0000

It’s time for all you geniuses to tackle this week’s mental_floss worksheet.

Instructions: Avast ye, matey! Prove your maritime mettle by drawing a line from the picture of each ill-fated ship to the point on the map where she currently rests under the sea. So drop anchor and pick up a pen, sailor. The time has come to see if ye is a captain or a cabin boy.

Click here if you’re up for the challenge and here if you’re up for the answers.

And as always, we’d suggest printing out this worksheet and taping it to your office/cubicle/dorm wall. Enjoy!

Save yourself with these hangman puzzles

Will — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:07:06 +0000

There’s only one way to cut yourself loose from the noose: solve these six hangman puzzles about notable hangings and receive a stay of execution from the gallows!

Thanks to Alex Scordelis for writing these puzzles. By the way, in case you missed the last two worksheets, here’s one and here’s the other. If you’ve got a fun idea for a mental_floss worksheet, e-mail it to tips(at)mentalfloss(dot)com. Write “Worksheet Idea” in the subject line. If we use your idea, we’ll send you a free mental_floss t-shirt of your choice.

The answers to the World’s Geekiest Crossword Puzzle

Will — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:30:23 +0000

Here’s the puzzle I put up the other day (from this post) and here are the answers I promised. How’d you do?

The World’s Geekiest Crossword Puzzle

Will — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:46:10 +0000

In order to solve this crossword puzzle, you’ll need to know a bit of Klingon, Elvish, Furbish, Esperanto and a handful of other constructed languages. In fact, all of the solutions are in constructed languages. Thanks to Kevin Kosbab for becoming fluent in each language just to put the puzzle together. And for those of you who for some reason haven’t mastered these tongues, we’ve got a handy little word bank to help you. I don’t think I’ve said “word bank” since 3rd grade. Here’s the downloadable pdf, so you can print this sucker out. I’ll be back with the answers tomorrow. Good luck!

How To Love Like a Genius

Will — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:24:08 +0000

For the past 5 years, mental_floss has been on a mission to help our readers live like geniuses. So, just in time for Valentines Day, we thought we’d put together a little worksheet to help you LOVE like geniuses. The worksheet includes strategies employed by smarties like Einstein and Dorothy Parker. Your mission is to match each genius to the romantic strategy he/she perfected. So click here to open the printable version. I suggest you tape it to your office/cubicle wall to let everyone know just how smart a lover you are.

World’s 10 largest nations will see Parkinson’s cases double in 25 years

Will — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:34:07 +0000

While there’s certainly been significant progress in the fight against infectious disease around the globe, a study recently published in Neurology points out another category of disease that many developing nations are not prepared to fight – non-communicable chronic diseases, such as Parkinson’s. The study focused on Western Europe’s 5 largest countries and the 10 most populous nations worldwide and found that the number of individuals with Parkinson’s will likely grow from around 4.1 million to around 8.7 million by 2030.

The growth in chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s is one of the unfortunate byproducts of development. Economic growth and the corresponding improvements in health care and education are increasing the life expectancy of individuals in the developing world. In terms of the rise in chronic diseases, the key factor is not overall population growth but rather the number of people over age 65 and thus at risk of developing Parkinson’s and other chronic conditions. Furthermore, as income grows, so too does health care spending which, in turn, increases the duration of illness and the overall number of people with a particular disease.

The researchers explain that developing countries are likely to take a big economic hit because of the costs associated with treating a larger population with chronic illnesses. It’ll be interesting to see if governments and charitable groups begin spending more to combat these diseases.