It’s time for another whimsical Tuesday Turnip Google search wherein I type a random phrase and we see what kind of interesting factoids “turn-up.”

Today I typed in “the most popular is,” unearthing all kinds of odd trivia, though were I to reprint it here, I think you’d find it mostly the kind of insipid reading that makes the phone book feel like a page turner. That said, I did find the following three lengthy entries (at least for the Turnip) worthy of your time. So in breaking with our short bulleted tradition, here ya go:

After reviewing Stephen Fry’s ‘The Ode Less Travelled’, a book about how to write different types of poems, it got me thinking; What are the main types of poetry people are searching for online? The most popular is love poetry (1,668 searches per day).

Japan publishes the five most popular daily newspapers in the world according to circulation figures. The most popular is Yomiuri Shimbun with a circulation of 12,246,000. The Japanese buy more newspapers than any other nationality. From a thousand Japanese adults, on average 649 buy a daily newspaper. In Britain, which is second in the world to Japan in terms newspaper readership, only 393 adults per thousand buy a newspaper. [For a complete list of the top publications of the world, check out ifabc.org.]

Several styles of swing dance are done at Saturday Night Swing, but the most popular is Lindy Hop. Lindy Hop is the most popular form of swing dance in such places as Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City. Lindy Hop is the joyful playful musical exuberant and improvisational swing dance style from the 1930s and 40s which is popular again today. The modern revival of Lindy Hop (after the dark ages of social partner dancing in the 60s) started in the 1980s and reached Canada (starting in Toronto) in late 1995. There are different styles of Lindy Hop and always were, but, as Malcolm X said, “Any two people who can Lindy at all can Lindy with each other.” (Malcolm X was an avid Lindy Hopper and air steps keener in the Swing Era before he became a leading figure in the civil rights movement – in this quote he is of course probably referring to a lead and a follow.)

Perhaps in an effort to combat the Pop-Tart-flames-of-death effect, which was hugely viral back when Mentos-and-Diet-Coke was just a glint in EepyBird’s eye, Kellogg’s recently introduced mint chocolate chip Pop-Tarts that are meant to be eaten frozen instead of blow-torched. (They join Cookies n’ Creme, Hot Fudge Sundae, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Vanilla Creme, Chocolate Fudge, and Strawberry Milkshake in the pantheon of frozen goodness unholy unhealthiness.)

The new Pop-Tarts taste okay, but what really excites me is the fact that the company is creating pastries with superhero powers from the Marvel Comics universe. They shoot flames! They freeze! The variety based on Sue Storm is already available in this part of the country — I can send you a bag for ten bucks.

Today, it’s gloomy in New York. It’s been like this for days now, some queer stretch of the August blues, and there’s not much to say about it other than it’s only slightly worse than the human clambake that typically occurs on the streets this time of year. Days like these, staring out the window into the gray menace, one feels an acute desire for transcendence, for a reminder of what man is capable of at his best, when he’s not busy diddling his fiddle or drinking himself dumb. So I bring to you four individual acts of genius.

First stop: JUGGLING! That’s right, my panda bears! Juggling! Chickity-check this out:

Nuts, right? How does he do it?! Dance and juggle and occasionally lip-sync, all at once? That’s it, I’m pre-booking him for my unborn children’s Bar Mitzvahs.

Now, this one I’m not so sure about. It’s a Nike ad starring Brazilian soccer star (and world-class smiler) Ronaldhino. Watch it and let me know what you think: is it a hoax, sort of like LeBron James’ Powerade commercial where he makes all those shots from the opposite side of the court, or are his feet really possessed of laser-like precision? I’m feeling charitable today, so I’m going with the latter, but tell me if I’m being snowed. It’s happened before.

I find this one below particularly impressive because this kid is neither a superstar or a demigod, like the two above. (Yes, the juggler is a demigod. Watch it again and try to disagree with me. Try.) This kid is just a dork, like you and me, but mostly you — and he pulls off an extraordinary trick. Is it all by sense of touch? Can he see through his blindfold? Again, I’m left with more questions than answers.

And no list of human greatness would be complete without… a young Geraldo Rivera, baked out of his gourd. Note the ‘stache.

Anyway, sorry to disappoint, but I’m going to be on a different continent next week and will be unable to post. I’m pretty sure there’ll be a substitute poster, so be sure to show him [editor's note: or her, ahem] the same respect you do me. I’ll see you in two weeks. I love you.

mental_floss readers have done many things to express their loyalty over the years. We’ve seen great pictures of fans reading the magazine at the South Pole. A group of soldiers sent pictures after enjoying the mag in one of Saddam’s former palaces. And there have been a few expressions that aren’t fit for describing on a family-friendly blog. But this is the first floss-inspired tattoo I’m aware of (besides my mom’s). Here’s what our favorite person of the week had to say:

A heart? Too soft. A fairy? Not nearly hard enough. Tattoos are meant to make statement. After reading last year’s “10 Latin Phrases You Pretend To Know,” I realized the maxim “Memento mori” was the perfect basis for my first tattoo. There’s nothing like the icy scythe of death hanging over your head to get you going in the morning.

Peace and love,
Lanaly (Kauai, Hawaii)

Thanks Lanaly! So mental_floss fans, consider this a challenge. Can you one-up the “MEMENTO MORI” tattoo?

I’ve always been confused by the “picture says a 1000 words” phrase, mainly because my photography is considerably worse than my writing. I can write 1000 words on, say, swimming in mud and make it sound appealing, but it’d be hard for me to take a picture of it and make anyone want to dive in. I guess that’s why I’m so stunned by these insect pics. I’m not particularly interested in looking at insects (Mary’s post aside), but I just stumbled across these macro photos on the knuttz page, and the photos make the creatures look stunning. It almost makes me ashamed to own so many cans of Raid.

Link (via ettf).

For the anniversary, the most lyrical tribute I could find, from the 1920s.

RBK, DR, and JP: may next year be better than the last.

Taking a page from John Ashcroft, the city of Warsaw recently deemed a depiction of its own symbol — a half-naked mermaid featured in the city crest and two statues — “too erotic” to appear on publicity materials for an upcoming international conference. In the approved version of the image, the mermaid’s goodies will be covered with a sash.

The conference, by the way, is the Miss World pageant.

More about the Warsaw mermaid after the jump, as if that’s why you’re reading this.

(more…)

Tonight is my fantasy football draft. What used to be the geeky pastime of overzealous football fanatics has evolved into…well, the geeky pastime of more football fanatics.

Fifteen million Americans will join me this season. That means approximately 280 million people are shaking their puzzled heads. The reality is, fantasy sports has become a billion-dollar industry, with something for everyone.

If the NFL isn’t your game – and you’re not into college football, baseball, soccer, the NBA, NHL, golf, tennis, or NASCAR – try one of these alternate fantasy leagues:

+I’ve heard of midnight bowling, disco bowling, even nude bowling. But I can’t wrap my head around fantasy bowling.

+Fantasy Water Skiing. None of the risk. Or rush. Or fun.

+Ever heard of the Dew Action Sports Tour? Well, now we have the Fantasy Dew Action Sports Tour.

+We all know pro wrestling isn’t real. Therefore, Fantasy WWE makes perfect sense.

+While I can’t find an open league to join, there’s plenty of chatter around Texas High School Fantasy Football.

+With all the talk about cricket these days, of course there’s a fantasy league you can join.

+And here’s by far my favorite. Fantasy dog shows. Seriously. I don’t even have a comment.

Clearly, the whole fantasy concept can be (and is being) applied to almost anything. Does anyone have any suggestions? Fantasy Midterm Elections? Fantasy National Weather Service? Leave them in the comments. Maybe we can form a league.

If you like classical music, you know it’s hard to find a good radio station that plays a wide range of music, not just the usual Beethoven and Mozart hits. That’s where the Internet comes in handy, with so many live streams out there, ripe for the taking, for free.

One of my favorites is 90.5.1 FM, KUAT, put out by the University of Arizona. Just today, their schedule includes Hindemith’s Symphony, “Mathis der Maler,” Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Sibelius’s Karelia Suite… all worth clicking in for, I think.

If you like more traditional flavors, check out Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 in D, or “The Clock” as it’s often called, tonight at 10 pm PDT. It’s one of Papa Haydn’s twelve so-called “London Symphonies,” which were composed for his visits to the city between 1791 and 1795.

There’s a great story about another of his London Symphonies, Symphony No. 96, or “The Miracle.” As the legend goes, Haydn was conducting this piece at a concert at the King’s Theater in London, in February 1795. Everyone in the audience rushed the stage to catch a better glimpse of the composer and soon thereafter a chandelier in the back of the hall came crashing down, killing no one, because they’d vacated their seats!

That’s why it’s called The Miracle Symphony. Only problem is, musicologists now agree that it wasn’t Symphony No. 96 he was playing that fateful night, but rather Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major.

But, yeah, we told you so.

There’s a great story on false confessions over at Slate, by the way, which includes the following tidbit:

Several hundred people claimed to have abducted the Lindbergh baby, for example, and more than 30 confessed to the Hollywood “Black Dahlia” murder in the 1940s.

If you haven’t heard of the Black Dahlia, you will soon: It’s about to be a movie starring Hilary Swank, Scarlett Johanssen, Aaron Eckhart, and Josh Hartnett.