Here’s a quiz that would have been more appropriate on November 5th (the day Doc Brown invented time travel). The Back to the Future trilogy made a generation of kids crave hoverboards, roof-hinged car doors, and Huey Lewis cassette tapes. Turn the time circuits on and see how well you remember Hill Valley, circa 1985. (And 1955. And 2015. And 1885.) Perhaps you’ll pick up a few fun facts about the franchise along the way.

Take the Quiz: Back to the Future

It was 19 years ago this week (can you believe it’s been that long?) that the Milli Vanilli lip-synching scandal came to a head – the duo were stripped of their Grammies after it was revealed that they didn’t sing a single note on the Girl You Know It’s True album. But they were hardly the first to pull one over on the music-minded: hoaxes and trickery have been going on since

1. Platinum Weird. It’s the greatest band that never existed. In 2004, Kara DioGuardi (yep, the American Idol judge) and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics got together to write some songs for the Pussycat Dolls. Somehow, it resulted in songs that sounded like Fleetwood Mac. You can see how two wouldn’t exactly mesh. Instead of scrapping the whole thing, Interscope Records chairman Jimmy Iovine told them to forge ahead with what they were doing. This involved creating a band to go with the songs and a making a whole backstory about what the band did in the ‘70s and how they eventually collapsed. A bunch of artists were in on the joke as well, recording clips reminiscing about the greatness of Platinum Weird. Contributors included Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Stevie Nicks and Christina Aguilera. When Rock Legends, a Behind the Music-type show, appeared on VH1, the network came clean about the band’s origins (or lack thereof).

2. The Masked Marauders. Can you imagine a supergroup of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger? Rolling Stone editor Greil Marcus could, so he created it for a review. Except none of the real artists were actually involved, and the record wasn’t actually made. The review was hysterical, noting that Paul McCartney jammed with himself on the bass and piano simultaneously, and Bob Dylan had developed a killer bass voice which he displayed by singing “Duke of Earl.” People freaked out and the letters started rolling in – when would the album be released? So, naturally, an album was created. Impersonators were hired and The Masked Marauders LP was released in November of 1969. It spent 12 weeks on the charts and sold more than 100,000 copies. The public was let in on the joke (if they hadn’t already gotten it) when they bought the album – several references were made to the sham in the liner notes and in one of the songs.

3. Grunge speak. In 1992, The New York Times ran a piece about the proliferation of grunge music, and asked a Sub Pop Records sales rep if there was some grunge slang that they should know about. Irritated by the question and the attitude toward grunge (kind of like the Times was checking up on a remote tribe that the world didn’t know about), the sales rep made up a string of words off the top of her head, including “big bag of bloatation,” “cob nobbler,” “lamestain,” “swingin’ on the flippity-flop” and “wack slacks.” She said they meant, respectively, drunk, loser, uncool person, hanging out and ripped jeans. You can read the whole list (and the whole article) here (The Times got her record label wrong).

4. An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin. According to this book, the funerary violin was an musical genre that was ousted by the Vatican in the mid-19th century and has rarely been spoken of since. It’s a work of fiction – there is no such thing as that particular genre – but it’s hard to categorize it as such, since it’s written like a dissertation on the subject. And the author is quick to defend his work, saying that it’s not necessarily a hoax, but that he intended to “expand the notion of musical composition to encompass the creation of an entire artistic genre, with its necessary accompanying history, mythology, philosophy, social function, etc.”

5. Adélaïde Concerto. No doubt if an undiscovered piece by Mozart suddenly turned up – especially a 10-year-old Mozart – it would cause great excitement in the musical world. And it did. Too bad the piece was actually written by Marius Casadesus. He even forged a title page that showed “Mozart” had dedicated the piece to Madame Adélaïde de France, King Louis XV’s daughter. It was suspected that Casadesus was behind the work for many years (he had claimed that he merely ‘edited’ it) but it wasn’t confirmed until he admitted it himself in 1977.

6. The Handel Concert and the J.C. Bach Concerto. Um, no wonder Marius Casadesus forged the Mozart piece – it ran in the family! His brother, Henri Casadesus, wrote these pieces and claimed they were by Handel and Bach (and there’s a third unconfirmed piece as well).

7. Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber. If someone told you that Mozart wrote a little ditty whose title translates to something like, “Lick (or Kiss) me in the ass fine well and clean,” I bet you would think they were putting you on. But it’s true. Mozart had a bawdy sense of humor. But it’s still part hoax – or part misunderstanding, perhaps. Although Mozart likely wrote the lyrics, scholars have uncovered that the tune itself was probably written by Wenzel Trnka.

I considered some of the more recent lip-synching incidents of late – Britney, of course, and Ashlee Simpson on SNL. But those girls didn’t hire someone else to do the singing for them entirely, so I decided they didn’t count. If you can remember another scandal of Milli Vanilli-like proportions, be sure to remind us of them in the comments!

Neurologist Oliver Sacks prefers Bach to Beethoven — I’m just the opposite. But enough about me, let’s talk Sacks. Dr. Sacks volunteered to have his brain scanned while listening to each composer’s music. What’s interesting is that listening to Bach has a visible effect on his brain, which isn’t present when listening to Beethoven — more regions of the brain “light up” to demonstrate his engagement with the Bach. What’s particularly remarkable is that even when Sacks doesn’t consciously know which composer he’s listening to, his brain still prefers Bach and activates just as it does with the known-to-be-Bach pieces (as seen on a brain scan) when listening. Watching the fascinating video below for a clip from NOVA’s “Musical Minds” show, which first aired last year. After the jump, you can watch the whole NOVA episode (in six pieces, but it should auto-play through) on YouTube.

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The Photo: While you probably recognize the iconic photo of Elvis meeting Nixon in 1970, you might not know the exact reason for the visit. Elvis desperately wanted to become an undercover agent. Concerned about increased drug use in America, he petitioned Nixon in a handwritten letter proposing he be named a “Federal Agent at Large.” Elvis wrote, “I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and I am right in the middle of the whole thing, where I can and will do the most good.”

The Visit: Elvis then showed up at the White House unannounced, packing two handguns—one for protection, the other as a gift for the president. After some thinking, officials let him inside with both guns in tote. (more…)

Ever wonder what it takes to get your name permanently affixed to a dish? It doesn’t hurt to invent a new delicacy that people just can’t stop eating, but for some people it’s just been a matter of being in the right place at the right time—and complimenting the chef on a job well done. Here are nine foods named after people, including Margherita pizza, Graham crackers, and nachos (yes, nachos).

1. Chicken a la King

While some stories trace the savior of leftover chicken’s roots back to London’s Claridge Hotel or the famed restaurant Delmonico’s, one particular tale is widely accepted. As the story goes, a chef named George Greenwald ran the restaurant at the ritzy Brighton Beach Hotel in Brooklyn around the turn of the 20th century. Greenwald liked to experiment in the kitchen, and one night he turned out a special chicken dish for the owners of the hotel. The proprietor and his wife adored the dish and encouraged Greenwald to add it to his menu. Greenwald was so delighted that his boss liked his new creation that he named it after the hotelier: E. Clark King.

2. Graham crackers

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Due to our readers’ violent demands (and by violent demands, we mean polite emails)—and for those of you who weren’t allowed to read Judy Blume—we’ve put together the ultimate Beverly Cleary quiz. How much do you remember about Ramona and the kids from Klickitat Street?

Take the Quiz: Beverly Cleary

Stonehenge is impressive, but pales in comparison to the massive stone pillars Mother Nature gave us. The real stories of how they came to be are as fascinating as the legends that people use to explain unusual rock formations.

England: Brimham Rocks

The Brimham Rocks near Nidderdale, Yorkshire Dales, England are said to have been carved by druids, but they date back to around 320 million years ago when the Yorkshire area formed from sand and other materials washed down from Norway and Scotland, leaving an area known as the Millstone Grit. Later glaciers carved the land down, leaving the strangely-shaped stones exposed, in the period from roughly 73,000 BC to 10,000 BC. The rocks now stand at a little less than 30 meters tall. Some rocks resemble animals or human faces, and have been named for their appearance or for the local legends that grew up around them. The Brimham Rocks area is owned by the National Trust and is open daily for visitors. Image by Flickr user floato.

Canada: Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island, Ontario gets its name from two rock formations on its eastern shore. A local legend says that two lovers from warring tribes eloped to the island and were somehow turned to stone. A profile of a face is visible on one of the stones if you view it at the right angle. The island is part of The Fathom Five National Marine Park and is a popular tourist destination. Image by Thesofa.

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The nine squares inside the main red grid should be filled with the digits 1 through 9. Each digit should appear only once in the mail grid. One of these numbers (the 2) is already provided for you. Place the other digits in the correct spots so that the mathematical equations work both across and down. Remember your algebraic rules when solving the problems… multiplication and division should be solved first, then addition and subtraction. Good luck!

Reprogramming brains with algae DNA and lights sounds like an evil plan for world domination. In this case, the aim is to cure patients of debilitating diseases.
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Twilight: Three Wolf Moon. In case you don’t get the joke, the backstory is here.
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The murders that inspired the book In Cold Blood happened 50 years ago this week. Here’s a look back at the crime, the book written about it, and how the town of Holcomb, Kansas dealt with its notoriety. (via Metafilter)
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7 Badass Vikings. Funny how a few bloodthirsty berserkers can give an entire ethnic group a bad name.
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A drunk bridesmaid, a bride with a nosebleed, and a disastrous pole dance attempt. Now that’s what you call a wedding to remember!
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National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen made friends with an Antarctic leopard seal. It was mostly a one-way relationship, as the seal considered him to be helpless and not-too-bright.
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7 Famous Phrases Famous People Own. Oh, you can say them, but you might get a bill afterward.

They’re the songs you can’t get out of your head, no matter how hard you try. Even though you know every word by heart, you can’t remember the name of the band. Some one-hit wonders are a result of passing fads — Rick Dees’ “Disco Duck,” for instance — while others represent careers cut short by untimely death (Blind Melon’s “No Rain”). Most of the time, however, one-hit wonders are bands that hit the top of the charts once but could never recapture the magic.

Cornershop: “Brim Full of Asha”

Simple, catchy and maddeningly repetitive, this is a song that won’t leave your head for days after you hear it.

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