If you’re only going to subscribe to one magazine, we obviously think it should be ours. But if there’s room in your magazine rack for multiple titles, perhaps you’ll consider one of these. I asked various members of the mental_floss family to recommend one magazine. Here’s what they came up with.

The Believer

The Believer is an outgrowth of the McSweeney’s empire, a lit mag for grownups, but a lit mag nonetheless — it’s about books and writing, with occasional digressions into film and music. Unlike most publications about books, The Believer has a twist: they only publish positive reviews. Want to read someone ripping XYZ Author a new one? Go elsewhere. The reviews are actually a very small part of the magazine (a few pages per issue), with the rest taken up by interviews (typically the “writer talking to another writer” or “musician talking to a visual artist” variety), historical oddities, writers writing about being writers, profiles of obscure people, and the excellent column “Sedaratives” (only rarely penned by its original author Amy Sedaris, this is a postmodern advice column; this month’s column is by Judd Apatow).

I continue to mourn the conclusion of “Stuff I’ve Been Reading,” the long-running and fairly self-descriptive column by Nick Hornby, which was collected in the three (highly recommended) books Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, The Polysyllabic Spree, and Shakespeare Wrote for Money.

Representative article description: “‘Close Encounters of the Metafictional Kind.’ Tough lessons in life and literature learned from Bret Easton Ellis’s appearance at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square.” If this sounds interesting to you, just subscribe right now and get on with it. If it sounds precious (and/or you hate McSweeney’s as a concept), run. Far.
– Recommended by Chris Higgins, regular contributor to mental_floss magazine and mentalfloss.com

The New York Times Magazine

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With the long Fourth of July weekend coming up, I bet at least some of our _flossy readers are headed to an amusement park to celebrate with roller coasters, cotton candy and water slides. So to give you some food for thought while you’re waiting to ride the Scrambler, here are a few random facts about the parks that keep us entertained.

1. The word “fun” is used in more amusement park names than any other descriptor, at least according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (and if anyone knows, they would). Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun are the first ones that come to mind for me.
2. Cary Grant was a stilt-walker at Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park for a while in the ‘20s. He learned the skill while touring with a vaudeville-style troupe in England; he also learned how to dance and tumble.

3. Disney World was nearly located in St. Louis, Missouri, which would have been awesome for me. But legend has it that August Busch, Jr., of Anheuser Busch, ruined it for me. Supposedly when he heard of Disney’s plans for a family-oriented park with no alcohol readily available for tired parents, he ridiculed Walt and said it was the dumbest thing he had ever heard. Walt shrugged and decided that maybe St. Louis didn’t want his business. Now, this is just a story. There are lots of reasons Florida was chosen to host Disney World instead of St. Louis, but you have to admit this one is more fun.

4. If a sex-themed amusement park sounds a little off-kilter to you, you’re not the only one: just last month, China shut down “Love Land,” a theme park with demonstrations, naked sculptures and enormous replicas of genitals, and a display about the history of sex. The park hadn’t even opened yet when it was mysteriously demolished over the course of a weekend in May. (more…)

Wilt Chamberlain. The mere mention of the Big Dipper’s name evokes images of hoops dominance and romantic impossibilities. The man who once scored 100 points in a single game and claimed to have bedded 20,000 women was a fairly enigmatic figure, though, as his huge athletic gifts made him something of a loner throughout his career. As we continue our new series of five things you didn’t know about famous people, let’s take a look at Wilton Norman Chamberlain.

1. He Wasn’t Just Great At Basketball

Although Chamberlain is most known for his exploits on the basketball court, he was no athletic one-trick pony. As a high schooler he was intensely interested in track and field, and he continued this passion when he went to college at Kansas University. While at Kansas, Chamberlain won three straight Big Eight high jump championships, ran the 100-yard dash, and could hurl the shotput up to 56 feet.

After his basketball career ended in 1974, the Big Dipper picked up a new hobby: volleyball. That year he became a board member of the International Volleyball Association, a fledgling pro coed volleyball league that only lasted until 1979, and brought his intimidating 7’1″ frame to the Seattle Smashers’ front line. Chamberlain’s presence brought enough attention to the league that the IVA’s All-Star game was televised. (Of course Wilt won the MVP of the game.) His contributions to volleyball earned him a spot in the sport’s Hall of Fame.

2. He Nearly Boxed Muhammad Ali

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Wade Davis is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence (an awesome-sounding job that I kinda want) and an anthropologist. He travels worldwide, living with indigenous people and documenting their cultures. In this TED Talk from 2003, Davis talks about endangered languages and endangered cultures — cultures are being lost at an astounding rate (at least in 2003, one human language was going extinct every two weeks). Further, he shares his vision of the ethnosphere, “humanity’s great legacy” of culture, and gives fascinating examples of how it’s being lost in small pockets of dying culture around the world.

Representative quote: “every language is an Old-Growth Forest of the mind.” If the talk is too heady, just tune out and watch the National Geographic photos.

It’s only June, but our Chagrin Falls (Ohio) office is already gearing up for the holiday season. Part of that gearing up is clearing room for all the new t-shirts we have up our sleeves. To free some shelf space, we’ve put certain t-shirts on sale for $12, such as “Beethoven: The Original Deaf Jam” and “Kinetic Energy: Pass It On.”

To see all the $12 shirts, visit the Outlet section of the mental_floss store. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. So order now or you’ll have to make your own “Karl Marx: Sharing Is Caring” shirt.

My wife and I were talking about all the high-profile celebrity deaths of late, when she mentioned one I somehow hadn’t heard about: Jeff Goldblum. “I just saw Jeff Goldblum on the Colbert Report,” I said. “What do you mean he’s dead?”
“Someone at work told me,” she said. “Google it.” Turns out that “Jeff Goldblum dead” is the third most popular search on Google right now — and it isn’t true. Fans of the Tall Guy can breathe easy: he’s just fine. But there’s a death report floating around the internet, which reads thusly:

Actor Jeff Goldblum died while filming a movie in New Zealand early this morning – June 26, 2009.

Preliminary reports from New Zealand Police officials indicate that the actor fell more than 60 feet to his death on the Kauri Cliffs while on-set. Specific details are not yet available.

The accident occured at aproximatly 4:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +12). Additional details and information will be forthcoming.

New Zealand, in recent years has grown in populariaty as a backdrop for Hollywood producers because of it’s scenic and rugged landscape.

Recent movies filmed in New Zealand include The Lord Of the Rings, King Kong, and The Chronicles Of Narnia.

The spelling mistakes should’ve been a tip-off. The report was generated by FakeAWish.com, a celebrity death report generator in which you enter a celebrity’s name and the way in which he or she has (supposedly) died, and you get a fake death report. For instance, here’s a news report I created about Mr. Ed’s death in a luxury yacht accident off St. Tropez.

There are other “fake news” sites, too. Here’s a bit of breaking news about how Jason English is frightened of sheep. We’re here for you, Jason. Also, did you hear that George Bush was arrested for indecent exposure?

Considering how easy these are to create and how ridiculous they are, I can’t believe anyone fell for the Jeff Goldblum hoax. Are celebrity deaths suddenly catching, like swine flu? Let us know in the comments about any other celebrity death hoaxes you may have heard about.

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If you’ve ever taken to the skies, you probably know that each airport has its own unique code. In this quiz, select the three letter airport code for each city.

Take the Quiz: Airport Codes

There’s something exciting about unwrapping a new CD. The sense of anticipation, the smell of the packaging, the struggle with the sticky, impossible-to-open white anti-theft strip. But as music becomes increasingly electronic (in the downloadable sense of the word), gone the way of the liner notes. Sure, you can still pull up the cover art and a track listing, but booklets filled with lyrics and stories and artwork with hidden meanings have become more and more rare, leaving music junkies with just a little less to talk and discuss and argue over. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s a quick look into a few hidden gems plucked from the liner notes:

1. Radiohead Did NOT Create a Concept Album (Or Did They?)

1997′s OK Computer by Radiohead still holds up as one of their most brilliant works. While the members of the group insist OK Computer is not a ‘concept album’, there are recurring themes of consumerism and human apathy among the lyrics and highlighted by the album art. The liner notes also hold a variety of hidden gems left open for interpretation. The lyrics themselves have erratic spacing, leaving some to suggest that they represent images. For instance, the gaps in the lyrics for “Lucky” reveal a man getting out of a lake or a superhero, two lines found in the song itself. Also hidden in the liner notes? The band thanks Michael, Bill, Peter and Mike…the members of R.E.M.

2. John Coltrane Sings Poetry

In the liner notes of arguably Coltrane’s best album, A Love Supreme, there is a devotional poem written by the artist representing a conversation between Coltrane and God. The album is broken down into four movements, with part four being called “Psalm”. In this movement, Coltrane performs what he calls “musical narration,” playing the words of his poem without actually singing any lyrics. The poem ends with the cry “Thank you God. ELATION – ELEGANCE – EXALTATION – All from God. Thank you God. Amen.”

3. Pearl Jam Wants You To Read One Book

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1. With Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and MIchael Jackson passing away this week, I’ve heard dozens of references to the irrefutable “deaths happen in threes” rule. “Deaths ALWAYS happen in threes.” Really? The Wall Street Journal listed some examples last night:

• Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the “Big Bopper” all died together in a plane crash in 1959
• Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison all died in close succession in 1970-71
• In 2003, Johnny Cash, John Ritter, and Warren Zevon all died within the same week
• In 2005, King Fahd, Peter Jennings and Robin Cook died within a week of each other
• The following year brought the closely timed deaths of Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver
• Heath Ledger, Suzanne Pleshette and Brad Renfro all died within a week of each other in January 2008

OK, maybe not “ALWAYS.” For the myth of this theory to live on, there must be some better examples, right? I’ll add JFK, C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley, who all died November 22, 1963. Got any?

2. There wasn’t much interest in my Mo Willems quiz on Monday, but I did get a few emails from enthusiastic supporters of The Pigeon, Elephant Gerald, and Piggie. There must be a lot of smart parents in the audience – what are your favorite children’s books? My daughter and I have a library date this afternoon; maybe we’ll pick up a few of your suggestions. (She’s 11-months-old. So I guess I’m really looking for books her mother and I will enjoy.)

3. What is the best experience you ever had at a concert or sporting event?

4. Let’s pretend you’re the kind of person who would put your life on TV. What would be the name of your reality show?

Fire Station Blaze Embarrasses Firefighters

Firefighters in Waipahu, Hawaii responded to an traffic accident, but were called back to the station -because it was on fire! Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the firefighters were “chagrined”.

“The fire’s cause was attributed to unattended cooking,” Seelig said. “We, like everybody else, need to be careful and attentive when cooking.”

The fire caused approximately $25,000 in damage to the Waipahu fire station, mostly from smoke and heat in the kitchen, Seelig said.

The fire station kitchen, which was scheduled for a remodel, has been repaired.

Cows with Fewer Burps

Methane produced from a cow’s four stomachs contributes to the amount of greenhouse gasses released. Scientists in Canada are battling this trend by breeding environmentally-friendly cows that produce 25% less methane in their burps. The research is focusing on a gene that controls digestion in cattle. In addition, research shows that using a higher-quality feed which doesn’t ferment as long in the stomachs and growing cattle to market size faster will further reduce greenhouse gasses.

Monkey Urinates on Zambian President

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