On Friday, Tony LaRussa won the third World Series championship of his 33-year Major League managing career. Today, he decided to hang up the dusty old uniform and go out on top by retiring from baseball.

When LaRussa thinks back on his illustrious career, he’ll have a lot of amazing memories to reflect on: this year’s amazing playoff run, the earthquake-plagued 1989 World Series, managing all-time greats like Pujols and Eckersley.

But I’m sure what he’ll think back on most fondly is this 1980 appearance on the game show To Tell the Truth, where he gets one over on Dick Van Patten, Kitty Carlisle and company.

At the beginning of the month, we asked for photos of your best Halloween costumes — the geeky ones, the nerdy ones, the ones of which you’re particularly proud. After sifting through all the e-mails, we’re proud to present our readers’ best Halloween costumes. Enjoy!

(40 photos is a lot for one post, so we’ve paginated it as a courtesy to those of you with slower internet connections.)

Sheila S. (second from left) and friends, who know that a “group costume is infinitely more fun,” spent one Halloween as Odlaw, Wizard Whitebeard, Wenda, Woof, and—of course—Waldo (Wally). “Costumes were complete with accessories (scroll, binoculars, cane, etc.), and Woof even had a personalized dog tag reading ‘If found please return to Waldo’.”

Amanda M. and her boyfriend dressed up as Jamie and Adam from MythBusters.

Reader Jessica V., at left, knows how to turn lemons into lemonade: “I’m going through chemo right now which means I don’t have any hair, so I figured what better time to rock a Borg costume?” We couldn’t agree more, Jessica. At right is reader Jen B., who made her great Stargate Jaffa Serpent Guard costume from cardboard.
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My girlfriend and I have been watching FX’s new horror-drama American Horror Story for the last few weeks (we agree that it’s OK, and any shortcomings are made up for by the presence of Mrs. Coach Taylor and Ruth Fisher).

In just a few episodes, it’s been made very clear to the audience that numerous people have been killed and maimed in the haunted house that the show’s main characters live in. It’s been mentioned that the characters’ real estate agent was obligated by law to disclose that people had been murdered in the house. I’ve seen this brought up in other haunted house stories before, but it’s not a consistent trope.

It is true, though? Do horror writers ask us to suspend our disbelief about too-broadly drawn characters and the paranormal, but not real estate law? If you’re buying a haunted house, does anyone really have to tell you?

Ghoul Disclosure
The answer is no. And yes. And sort of. It all depends on the where the house is and the way the laws are worded there.

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Julia Suits has assembled a book filled with ads for real prank machines used in fraternal lodges in the early part of the 20th century, complete with an introduction by David Copperfield. This volume is extremely appropriate for readers of mental_floss, as it’s full of trivia on weird inventions, the history of pranks, and a very special form of Americana. The book is bizarre and hilariously perverse, packed with clippings from catalogs sent to the high muckety-mucks at the Modern Woodmen of America, Masons Shriners*, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and all manner of secret societies. And what did these catalogs contain? Crazy, dangerous, occasionally xenophobic pranks!! What could possibly go wrong? (Check the chapter “See You in Court!” for more on what actually went wrong.)

These catalogs were where a secret society leader turned to buy the machines used to haze AHEM, initiate new members of his order. It’s an utterly fascinating glimpse into the minds of these men (and they were men, these being fraternal orders), and hints at a world that’s vividly weird (lots of gags involving goats) and dangerous (many of the inventions involve gunpowder and/or electrical current). Here’s a snippet from page 120, under the heading “Bang! Crash! Splat! The Mechanicals”:

In the nineteenth century, DeMoulin catalog no. 11 offered a revolver for $1.50. A gun was a casual item back then; accidental shootings, especially among small children, were as common as the stubbing of a toe. A Kansas City newspaper bemoaned, “Another babe killed while playing. Guns are dangerous pieces of furniture and must never be allowed into the hands of children.”

Citizens could shoot guns within the city limits, but they were encouraged to be careful and not fire when people were asleep…that was considered rude. Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show were at their peak of popularity, perhaps inspiring shooting matches, which were a ubiquitous sight at picnics, dances, and fairs.

Gunpowder was also a household item and dynamite sticks were literally a dime a dozen at the general store. How could a guy blast a stump or take out a pond full of fish without it?

And what was a town square without a cannon? A cannon without a sense of humor? To wit:

A cannon firing a salute, discharged early, sending the steel rammer hissing up Main Street, tearing two big holes through the hotel.

-The Oakland Independent,
Burt County, Nebraska, 1899

And here’s a creepy Halloweeny video demonstrating “The Pledge Altar,” a DeMoulin device circa 1914. The initiate kneels in front the altar, and then….

The book’s subtitle is The Curious World of the DeMoulin Brothers and Their Fraternal Lodge Prank Machines–from Human Centipedes and Revolving Goats to Electric Carpets and Smoking Camels. It focuses on the DeMoulin Brothers & Co. (as well as a few competing companies); the DeMoulin Brothers produced the most elaborate hazing devices on the market, and their catalogs are works of art (indeed, the illustrations alone are worth the price of admission — see below for some samples). There’s an extensive section of the book devoted to “Factory Goats”; one example being The Ferris Wheel Goat: “This is one of the best Goats on the market, and is made so simple, that it is impossible for it to ever get out of order. It has a Goat body fastened securely in the center of two wheels. The harness is put on a candidate who is strapped on the Goat and wheel so he cannot fall. There are many tricks about this Goat. …” Many tricks, indeed. I won’t spoil them, but let’s just say many of the tricks involve hazing some dude while he’s riding the mecha-goat (ideally blindfolded).

Through her research for this book, Suits started Tweets of Old (which I starting digging back in 2009) — a site and Twitter/Facebook/RSS feed of historical amusements found in newspapers. A sample:

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When the 14-minute long short film known simply as Michael Jackson’s Thriller came out back in 1983, it forever revolutionized the music video industry. And, while you’ve likely seen it dozens of times in the 28 years since its release, you may never have seen what went into making it. Luckily, the web contains a number of videos detailing the production of the King of Pop’s crowning achievement.

This video contains rare footage of legendary producer Quincy Jones discussing the making of the video on the phone with Jackson – as well as the odd delight of watching Jackson casually interacting in full zombie makeup.

This video shows director John Landis calling the shots on set and details Jackson’s transformation into a werewolf in the film – a process that included taking a full facial cast, affixing inflatable foam latex balloons to his face, and applying extensive makeup, false teeth and gigantic yellow contacts. (more…)

I was at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art yesterday and there was some construction going on. When I inquired, I learned that Los Angeles is soon to enter the Guinness Book for largest boulder ever transported in modern times.

Apparently, a 340-ton, 21 1/2-foot-high granite boulder will sit on steel rails in the construction zone picture in my photo above. A 456-foot-long, ramp-like slot in the ground, descending to 15 feet deep, will run beneath it. The rock will appear to levitate above people walking through the underground channel. From the LA Times:

Because of its size and weight, bringing what LACMA calls “the monolith” to the museum is an intricate, complex, potentially dangerous and very expensive process that has required more than a year of logistical preparations. It’s one of the heaviest objects to be moved since ancient times, says museum director Michael Govan.

A custom transporter that will likely be 200 feet long and almost three freeway lanes wide is presently being constructed, as well. It will travel to LACMA at night, on closed roads and at less than 10 mph, led by a police escort. The approximately 85-mile journey, normally a one and half hour drive, will take a circuitous route lasting a week to 10 days.

My takeaway? This whole thing ROCKS! – big-time.

Decorating for Halloween can be a lot of fun, but it can also get down right expensive, especially if you want a lot of variety. Fortunately, if you have a bit of crafting expertise and a little extra time on your hands, you can always try making your own Halloween decorations from some of these fun online tutorials.

Cute Plush Ornaments

If you’ve ever wanted to decorate a tree around Halloween time the way you do around Christmas time, then you’ll enjoy these felt plushies. Paper and String has the patterns, so all you need is a bit of felt, some stuffing, and thread, and you too can have adorable ornaments in no time.

Spooky Window Silhouettes

Looking for something to spice up your bland windows this Halloween? With only a little black butcher paper and these patterns from CraftZine, you can make your own awesomely terrifying window silhouette displays.
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Please pay attention while traveling today, and keep an eye out for all those excited kids (and adults) who will be out and about for the Halloween holiday. To make sure you’re alert, here’s a new Monday Math Square at mentalfloss.com Brain Game. Good luck!

The nine white squares inside the main red grid should be filled with the digits 1 through 9. Each digit should appear only once in this main grid (the red square). Place the digits 1 through 9 in their correct spots so that the mathematical equations work both across and down.

All of us here at mental_floss wish you and yours a safe and happy Halloween. Today’s multiple-choice 5 Questions quiz: Boo!

Android Dreams. A lovely time-lapse video of Shinjuku, Tokyo, set to the Blade Runner soundtrack.
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13 Most Bizarrely Shaped Islands on Earth. They all look like wonderful places to live, at lest from the air.
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YouTube is ready to get into the TV business. They will gradually roll out 100 new channels of original programming, so you never have to leave the computer.
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Vintage Kids in Halloween Photos. Amid all the modern hype, some things never really change.
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In the modern world, you can wear a “virtual costume.” Just sport the proper QR code, then anyone who cares can see you in costume on their device of choice.
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10 TV shows with the best Halloween specials. Sitcoms love the opportunity to break out of their formula and do something weird and different.
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The 1986 film Big Trouble in Little China didn’t make much sense. Even star Kurt Russell was completely confused, and he allegedly read the script!
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A bear in a zoo leads a group of children in a group dance. Or maybe he was just asking for their picnic basket.
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The NCAA has unveiled a reform package for college athletes in which they get some spending money and security. Some say the changes are too little to do any good.
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7 Burning Halloween Questions: Answered! Now you’ll know why you do the silly things you do on this silly holiday.