This week, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges, which complicates his bid for reelection next week. But as this list of crooked leaders proves, power and corruption are old friends.

1. Good Ol’ Boss Tweed

The undisputed poster child for graft and greed in American politics, Boss William Tweed raised corruption to an art form. As a member of New York’s Tammany Hall, Tweed and his cronies, including Mayor Fernando Wood, ran New York in the Civil War era as their own private money factory. Tweed once bought 300 benches for $5 each, then sold them to the city for $600 a pop. And that’s just the tip of it.

The building of City Hall was a clinic in graft: the city was charged $7,500 for every thermometer, $41,190 for each broom, and $5.7 million for furniture and carpets. One carpenter even received almost $361,000 for a single month’s work. And although he was crooked as a dog’s hind leg, Tweed does get a bit of credit from some historians for under­ taking many important projects that improved life in New York (albeit at enormous financial gain to himself). Tweed’s illicit profits were said to be in the range of $200 million, and that was in the 1860s! The law eventually caught up with the Boss, though, and he died in prison in 1878.

2. President Grant’s Cronies

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As you will be reminded countless times in the coming week, when you cast your vote in next Tuesday’s presidential election, you’re not taking part in a nationwide popular vote, but rather helping decide who your state’s Electoral College delegates support. There are all sorts of arguments for and against using this system rather than picking a winner based solely on the national popular vote, but for the moment, it looks like the Electoral College will be sticking around for a while. So what do you need to know about the least-fun college this side of the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals?

What are the Electoral College’s admissions policies?

Different states choose their electors in different ways. Some states have nominations for electors during party conventions, while others choose their electors in primaries. In Pennsylvania, the campaigns choose their own electors. The only real things that can disqualify you from being an elector are holding a federal office or having engaged in some sort of insurrection against the U.S. government. Chosen electors are generally loyal party members who can be counted on to cast a ballot that’s in line with their state’s popular vote.

Where’s the Electoral College’s campus?

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It’s often been observed that the human body is something of a wonderland for bacteria — vast colonies of which live on your skin, in your mouth, and inside your intestinal tract, which is home to one of the densest bacterial populations on Earth. It’s the latter which has been the focus of an ongoing and intensifying battle in guts across America; in this age of antibiotics, strains of dangerously immune “superbugs” are proliferating, and when they find their way inside a host, they can be tough to get rid of. What results is tantamount to a war inside you — between the “good” bacteria and the “bad” — inside a vast-but-tiny universe that doctors are only beginning to understand.

His name is Dr. Johannes Aas, and he’s a gastroenterologist. Not long ago, a patient of his was battling a nasty infection that wouldn’t go away, caused by a potent and largely antibiotics-immune bacterium called C. difficile. It’s inside many of us, but is usually kept in check by the population of beneficial intestinal bacterium, or flora, which digest our food and provide nutrients to the body. But if the balance of this ongoing battle is tipped — say, by a dose of antibiotics which kills the beneficial flora but not the C. difficile — then the bad guys can take over, producing a toxin that causes serious diarrhea and over time can destroy the colon lining. In other words: bad news. (more…)

Oh, the world of yesteryear musicals! Strangers break into spontaneous song and dance in the street, and naturally, everyone knows the lyrics and choreography. If wanting to live in that world is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Whether you saw the original productions (or, more likely, a revival), or own the film versions on worn-out VHS tapes, true fans know that The Golden Age of Broadway (c. 1943-1968) blessed us with classic, yet sometimes ridiculous tunes. How well do you know your soundtracks? Test your knowledge of musical theatre lyrics by taking our quiz!

Take the Quiz: The Golden Age of Broadway Musicals

A big part of the fun on Halloween is to dress your children in costumes you would never wear yourself. Sooner or later, they will rebel and let you know in no uncertain terms that they will not be seen in public in your fantasy getup. Even if they aren’t embarrassed, there may be vision or mobility problems with an elaborate costume. So make those fantasies happen while your child is a helpless infant, unable to say no.

Don’t they look adorable when they’re about to be cooked? You’ll find this lobster costume at Amazon. Cookware not included. As for the recipe, you’re on your own. Babies don’t have any costume mobility problems when they have a parent to carry them around, whether in their arms or a cooking pot!

Babies can be dressed as everyday objects. Well, maybe a whoopie cushion isn’t an everyday object at your house like it is in mine, but you can find this and more commonly found items to dress your baby in, including candy bars, fruit, pizza, and a Little Tree Car Freshener at Prank Place. Incidently, I found a half-dozen ways of spelling “whoopie” while tracing this costume to its source.

Not having to use your legs for walking opens up possibilities for Halloween costumes that older children and adults cannot use. This jack in the box costume is fine for a baby to be carried in.

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We’re back with another 5-day trivia hunt!

To remind you of the rules: Every day this week, I’ll be presenting a specific challenge. Your job: come up with the answers and hold onto them! Why? Because on Friday, you’ll need them to solve a short puzzle. The first person to email in the correct answers and successfully show how you arrived at them (thus the title: How Did You Know?) wins a choice of any t-shirt and book from our store.

As with last month, we’re also adding some special prizes this time around for those who come really close, but don’t get all the answers in time. We’ve previously awarded some shirts and books to a couple contestants who impressed us with charts, diagrams, and other complex methods of recording and organizing the clues/answers. So we’ll be on the lookout for the creative among you, as well. This is all to say: it pays to play whether you nab the grand prize or not. And remember, we’re also giving away a really big, sa-weeet prize to any winning contestant who can defend the title three months in a row. Details on that as they develop, if they develop. (Avery Dale, Ken Laskowski and Colin Utley are our current champions. You can read about them here.)

As with previous How Did You Know? posts, comments have been turned off, but I definitely encourage you to work in teams like our present champions did. Write your friends, send around each daily challenge, conspire, work together, whatever it takes to make sure you’re armed with the right answers going into Friday’s puzzle.If you missed Day 1, check that out here.

Today we’re playing Name That Tune. Each of the following pages has a tune in need of a name. So go to it and remember to check back tomorrow morning for your next challenge.

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Thanks to all who entered our 12th Caption Contest. Now it’s up to you all to pick the winner, after the jump you’ll find our favorites.
Drop your vote in the comments below and may the best caption win! (Remember: one vote per person please.)

click cartoon to enlarge

And the finalists are…

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Three college football linemen – Tank, Tiny, and Toad - earned spots playing for different semi-pro football teams. One of them plays for the Mustangs, one for the Piranha, and one for the Vultures. One wears jersey #63, one #68, and one #75. Based on that information, and the following clues, can you figure out which lineman plays for which team (and which jersey number he wears)?

1. The number on the Piranhas jersey, which is not Toad’s, starts with a six.
2. The number on Tank’s jersey is evenly divisible by three.
3. Tiny, who doesn’t play for the Mustangs, wears jersey number 75.

HERE is the solution.

Luddites and the Original Rage Against the Machine. The Industrial Revolution was bad news for a lot of people.
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The game Distopix is supposed to challenge your concentration and reaction time. I had fun playing it, but it kept running away from me!
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A cat gets a little too friendly while she’s licking her chihuahua friend. We all have to set personal boundaries.
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How Sir Ernest Shackleton saved the 27 men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1915-16. “The greatest leader that ever came on God’s earth, bar none.”
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The amazing Bickford, a robot built out of disposable razors! This is what you call cutting edge technology. (via Dark Roasted Blend)
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Electoral maps for every US presidential election. Note how the red and blue states have flip-flopped over the past hundred years.
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The Haunted Hospital. Waverly Hills Sanatorium has been a TB hospital, a nursing home, a failed religious monument, and now a paranormal investigation site.

Last week, mental_floss co-founder Mangesh Hattikudur proposed to his lovely girlfriend, Lizzie. It’s hard to turn down one of America’s Coolest Entrepreneurs Under 30, so they are now engaged.

This is exciting for numerous reasons. First, of course, there’s the genuine happiness of the couple. In addition to being the driving creative force behind the _floss, Mango is one of the finest people you’ll ever meet. They deserve each other (and not in the negative way that phrase is often used). Second, this should cut back on the number of emails I receive from Mangomaniacs who want me to put in a good word for them.

Third, it gives us a reason to post a celebratory sale. Everything in our store (excluding subscriptions) is 15% off. Just visit the mental_floss store and enter the code “shesaidyes” during checkout. In one way or another, a portion of the proceeds will help support the nuptials. Here’s a sample of what’s for sale:

(Congrats, Mangesh & Lizzie!)