I thought it was a mirage the first time I saw it. I was driving through the wastes of the Mojave Desert, two hours from anywhere, when off in the shimmering distance appeared the silhouettes of a hundred parked jetliners. I pulled off and tried to get closer to them, but a mean-looking perimeter fence keeps onlookers far away. All I could do was stand and stare, wondering what the hell this massive armada of airplanes was doing here, silently baking in the 110 degree heat. For years afterward I’d ask people what they knew about it, and I kept hearing the same thing: the place has been on lockdown since 9/11, and they won’t let civilians anywhere near the boneyard. But last week my luck changed — I met a very nice fellow who works there, and with a minimum of cajoling on my part he agreed to take me beyond the high-security fence and show me around. Of course, I brought my camera.

(If you’re interested in getting prints of any of these photos, they’re available here.)

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The latest issue of mental_floss magazine is now on newsstands and nightstands. Now it’s time for another edition of The $50 Challenge.

On Wednesday at 3pm Eastern Time, we’ll post ten questions straight from the pages of the magazine—stuff you’ll need to have the mag in front of you to answer. The first person to submit the correct answers for all 10 questions to flossychallenge@gmail.com wins a $50 gift certificate to the mental_floss store.

What’s that? You won’t be available to partake in our little contest at 3pm Wednesday? No worries. We’ll award free mental_floss t-shirts at random to three other people who submit the correct answers before noon on Thursday.

So if you haven’t picked up your copy yet, you still have a couple days. (Here’s what to expect.) I’ll meet you back here Wednesday at 3!

Cheers finished a lowly 77th in the ratings after its first season in 1982-83, performing poorly against Simon & Simon and Too Close for Comfort in its 9 p.m. Thursday time slot. Both Paramount and NBC believed in the show, however, and their tenacity certainly paid off. Cheers ended after 11 seasons, but only because Ted Danson decided to call it quits.

1. Why Sam Malone was originally a football player

The final two actors in contention for the role of ex-jock-turned-bar-owner Sam Malone were Fred Dryer and Ted Danson. The show’s original concept called for Sam to be a retired football player, and Dryer seemed perfect since he had spent 13 years as a defensive end in the NFL. But while Fred was new to acting, Ted had accumulated a handful of TV and film roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. When Danson won the role, the back story was changed to make the character a former relief pitcher to better match Danson’s physique. Ted later revealed that he’d spent two weeks attending a bartending school in Burbank to prepare for his audition, only to find that (like most bartenders) most of his mixology was performed below sight level of the bar, out of camera range.

DID YOU KNOW? Fred Dryer appeared on a few Cheers episodes as TV sportsman Dave Richards. In real life, Dryer tried his hand at sportscasting after leaving the NFL, but decided he wasn’t cut out for it. Although he missed out with Cheers, Fred embarked on his own long-running TV series a couple years later: Hunter.

2. The Secret Behind the Crack in the Bar

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Think quickly about what types of insurance you have. Health (if you’re lucky), renter’s/homeowner’s, car, and maybe a few other policies, right? If you think you’ve got as much coverage as you could ever need, think again. What happens if you get bitten by a werewolf? In fact, there are many other facets of your life you could be insuring. Here are a few of our favorites.

1. Body Parts

Celebrities are often known for a single physical feature, so it seems natural that they would want to protect their livelihoods by insuring these innate gifts. Enter the world of body part insurance. In this market, insurers, most notably Lloyd’s of London, offer policies that pay out if something mars the precious body part. Keith Richards’ fingers, Mariah Carey’s legs, silent film star Ben Turpin’s crossed eyes, and Dolly Parton’s breasts were all rumored to have been covered by hefty policies at one time.

So are these policies worth it? After all, how often do peoples’ eyes uncross? A 2006 piece on Slate’s always-terrific Explainer says no. While these policies are great for building up publicity and media buzz (after all, who wouldn’t want to talk about Mariah Carey’s billion-dollar legs?), the policyholders would be just as well off with general disability insurance. These traditional policies would also pay off if an injury or other misfortune ruined the body part and kept the star from being able to work, but the rates would be lower. As a publicity stunt, though, it’s hard to beat affixing a price tag to your famous appendages. (more…)

The Geekiest (slash, most awesome) Pants… Ever?
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The Curious History of Contraception – amazing (and sometimes slightly horrifying) moments in birth control, plus a look into the future.
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From Jan in the “What the…?” category (as CNN would put it), two brothers act out a turkey hunt. I don’t know why this exists but I’m glad it does. The guy who plays the turkey is pretty good, no?
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Some mind-boggling photo manipulations that turn everyday snaps into stunning works of art.
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The iPhone Ad You’ll Never See (but should).
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Adidas turns 60 – here’s a retrospective of the classic sneakers (especially for you sneak-o-philes …. I know you’re out there!) Can someone do my work for me – what does adidas stand for (if anything)? In middle school we had some ideas … (as middle schoolers do).
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Another pop icon has a birthday to celebrate – Hello Kitty is turning 35, so CNET’s “Gadgettes” had a ‘Hello Cougar‘ contest … (Thanks Scott!)
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From the Annals of Amazing Dog Talents, 8 Canines You’ll Wish Were Yours.
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In case you were wondering … how many people are in space right now?
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In case you weren’t obsessively refreshing mentalfloss.com all week, here’s what you missed:

1. Unsettling Old Photos of the “Living” Dead, by Ransom Riggs
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2. 13 Bizarre Stipulations in Wills, by Ethan Trex
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3. 11 Famous Illeists, by Scott Allen
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4. The Quick 10: Nine Women Who Inspired Beatles Songs (and one song not inspired by a woman), by Stacy Conradt
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5. Trivial Pursuit Trivia, by Kara Kovalchik
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6. 8 Alternative Fantasy Leagues, by Ethan Trex
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7. The Top 20 Jewish Comedians, by David K. Israel
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8. How Does Scratching Relieve an Itch? by Matt Soniak
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9. 10 Pigs We Love, by Miss Cellania
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10. The Late Movies: Very Public Cellphone Disruptions, by Ransom Riggs

[See last week's most popular stories.]

If you have an itch, you scratch it. Scratch and itch; they go together like peas and carrots and everyone—humans, apes, dogs and cats—knows it. What we didn’t understand for a very long time was the physiological connection between the two—why a good scratch relieves a bad itch.

A study by a group of neuroscientists at the University of Minnesota recently explained the itch-scratch link.* The group hypothesized that the relief mechanism doesn’t take place along the nerves of itchy skin, as had been thought, but deep in the central nervous system, in the same area that the itches themselves are communicated. Previous studies showed that neurons in the spinothalamic tract (STT)—a sensory pathway originating in the spinal cord that transmits information about pain, temperature and touch to the thalamus—were activated with the application of itch-inducing chemicals, and these are the neurons that send itch sensations to the brain.

In the new study, the UM researchers implanted recording electrodes in the spinothalmic tracts (STT) of macaques monkeys (the STT is at the base of the spinal cord; most STT neurons respond to pain and some to both pain and itch). Then researchers injected itch-inducing histamines into the monkeys’ legs and watched as the STT neurons fired. They then scratched the monkey’s itchy legs with a device that mimicked the feel of monkey fingers, and the firing rate of the STT neurons dropped rapidly.

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From 1955 to 1957, then-Senator John F. Kennedy chaired the Special Committee on the Senate Reception Room, which was formed to decide which former Senators would have their portraits featured there. Kennedy made clear that they were not looking for “the five greatest” Senators—simply “five outstanding persons from among all persons, but not a living person, who have served as Members of the Senate since the formation of the Government.” [Here's Kennedy's speech on the subject.]

Do you know which five Senators were chosen by Kennedy’s Special Committee?

Take the Quiz: The Senate Reception Room

[Anyone ever been? Here's a great photo tour from a former tour guide.]

Everyone knows the video game classics – you can’t go wrong with Mario, Zelda, or Donkey Kong. But there are some games out there that make you really wonder what the publisher was thinking when they green-lighted the idea. Although, to be fair, a couple of plumbers wandering around in a fantasy world jumping down pipes and talking to human toadstools doesn’t sound very profitable either… At any rate, here are 10 video games I thought were particularly strange.

1. Grey’s Anatomy: The Video Game. IGN sums this up perfectly and eloquently with one word: Seriously? It’s apparently a collection of mini-games that includes such thrillers as ripping up photographs, flicking away doubts and, yes, surgery (that part might actually be pretty cool). Seems slightly unnecessary.

2. Ninjabread Man. The name totally made me laugh, but the game is definitely… half-baked, if you will? Yes, you’re a gingerbread man with throwing stars and a machete, which is sweet. But according to all of the reviews, the gameplay is terrible, the graphics are abysmal, and the bugs are rampant. But still… it’s a murderous pastry! How often does that happen?? Oh, wait…

3. Bible Buffet. This was for the NES circa 1993. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with games that reference religion. But I don’t really understand the food reference. Evil food is out to get you, and you’re armed only with utensils to ward them off (and nary a spork in the bunch). And according to the reviews, the most religious reference you’ll get in this game is the title, so color me ultra confused.

4. Speaking of weird food-based games… BurgerTime. The entire premise of the game is to build sandwiches while avoiding tyrannical eggs, pickles, and hot dogs (cleverly named Mr. Egg, Mr. Pickle, and Mr. Hot Dog). Despite the incredibly strange premise, this sucker is ridiculously addicting. Between this and Marble Madness, I lost a good chunk of my childhood to the NES. I can hear the music in my head right now. And I think you should too. (more…)