In 2010, retired heavyweight Mike Tyson appeared on Animal Planet.

As a pigeon racer.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fired a pierogi mascot for ripping the team on Facebook.

A Norwegian cross country skier blamed failing to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics on watching too much porn.

A Phillies fan purposely threw up on a man and the man’s daughter during a game.

An NFL executive asked a draft prospect if his mother was a prostitute.

Baltimore Orioles player Brian Roberts missed the last six games of the season with concussion-like symptoms after hitting himself in the helmet with a bat in frustration after a ninth-inning strikeout.

Joslyn James, one of Tiger Woods’ mistresses, complained that Woods led her to believe she was the only one in his life…other than his wife.

And thus was the sanctity of adultery compromised.

We come today not to salute the last 12 months as much as shake a finger at the sky and blame it on the heavens.

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As we welcome 2011, enjoy some New Year music and memories. And use a designated driver!

Happy New Year

Rhe DeVille updated her 2009 song to usher in 2011.
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World’s Happiest Penguin

The world’s happiest penguin dances to Auld Lang Syne as the snow falls. It’s a Happy Feet New Year!
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This week we’re counting down some of the top mental_floss quizzes of 2010. Enjoy!

This quiz should be no problem if you remember the old McDonald’s commercials. Or, I guess, if you’re a fast food addict. Simply name the seven ingredients that make up a Big Mac, as told by McDonald’s.

Take the Quiz: Big Mac Ingredients

If you plan to ring in the new year with a little bubbly and you feel the need to get all impressive by, say, opening the champagne bottle with a large hand knife, then look no further. Wired’s How-To Wiki has you covered with step-by-step instructions on this very trick. They even provide these handy video demonstrations – which showcase varying levels of success in pulling off this fancy flourish. Don’t say you weren’t warned:

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This week we’re counting down some of the top mental_floss quizzes of 2010. Enjoy!

Back in July, Airplane! turned 30. In honor of the big day, we put together a quiz that focuses on the word puns, word play and “oh, my word!” moments that helped turn the film into a classic.

Take the Quiz: Don’t Call Me Shirley

One of our New Year traditions is to kiss someone at midnight. No pressure there, right? A kiss is a great way to start out a new year on a high note, and here’s the science behind it. (via The Intersection)
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Ripley’s Says 2010 Was ‘Another Unbelievable Year’ – Believe It or Not! You can believe these weird stories from the past year -they were published by well-regarded news sources.
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New Years on TV: 342 Holiday Specials, Episodes, Movies & Marathons. Except for the traditional ball drop, I’ll be spending my holiday with the Criminal Minds marathon! (via The Daily What)
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Many blogs listed their best or most popular posts of the year in the past few days. Here’s a list of those lists with a lot of reading material in just a few clicks.
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All the other year end lists are listed in this list from Fimoculous: everything from the best movies of 2010 to the strangest pet names of the year.
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Forecasts for the year 2011, predicted back in 1931. Some were hilariously off but others were eerily prescient.
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10 Unusual Traditions for Ringing in the New Year around the World. Be sure your yellow underwear is clean!

Our retail store in Chesterland, Ohio, will be closing at 1 today. Doors open again at 10 on Monday.

Happy New Year!

The most famous New Year’s Eve “drop” is the 11,875-pound icosahedral geodesic sphere that descends the flag pole at One Times Square in Manhattan. But New York isn’t the only place where objects are dropped on New Year’s Eve (and no, we’re not counting your drunken uncle’s trousers in this list). Here’s what folks elsewhere around these United States will be watching as they count down the remaining seconds of 2010:

1. Georgia’s Peach

Atlanta’s Peach Drop draws about 100,000 people downtown every year, while several million more watch it from the comfort of home via the America One television network. The 800 lb. peach, which is repainted and refurbished every year, is made from Fiberglas and foam, the same materials used to manufacture most commercial surfboards.
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Whether you plan to quietly ring in 2011 on the couch or you’ll be partying like a rock star in Times Square, tradition dictates that Dick Clark should help you celebrate. Since 1972, his New Year’s Eve special — now officially titled Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest — has delivered live coverage of the first moments of a new year. Here’s a selection of clips of Dick’s countdown through the years.

1973

The first broadcast of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve began on December 31, 1972.

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David Milz is the king liar of 2010 – at least according to the Burlington Liars’ Club. Time describes the club this way:

“The liars’ club began back in 1929 as a fun way to honor the creativity and humor of well-worked exaggeration. Lifetime membership costs just $1, and anyone can submit their own lies for free (no, really). It’s based in Burlington, near Milwaukee, and numbers some 2,500 members around the world.

Here’s the big whopper that earned Milz this dubious honor:

“I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met.”

Several people have pointed out that this line isn’t a Milz original, but rather a a well-known joke by the subversive comic legend Steven Wright. So, did Milz lie about this being his lie? It would seem rather fitting.

Check out more winning lies from the past.