Cover Story:

Around the World in 80 Years



We don't know exactly what you did to deserve this, but your parents have had you committed to Earth for 80 years to life, with no time off for good behavior! Well, as long as you're here, you might as well try to make the most of it. From binge-drinking milk with adolescent Dinkas to scaring Australian spirits away from your newborn, mental_floss is providing you with an age-appropriate, cultural-events field guide to fitting in across the globe. We're hoping it'll help your sentence go by a little quicker.
scatter_brained:

Fear


by John Green
Who's afraid of the big bad scatter_ brained? In the early spring of 2004, mental_floss sent fact-finding expert John Green out into the wild to do some research. At his request, he was outfitted with plenty of garlic, some silver bullets, a traveling priest and fistful of money (mostly singles). Twenty-one days later, this journal of monster facts and phobia research was all we could find. But it was pretty well edited and jam-packed with really interesting fear-based trivia, so we quit hunting for him and printed it. As for John, we're guessing he'll show up when he gets hungry.
right_brain:

What's the Difference? The Sports Edition


by Christopher Connolly
Movie theaters are always overcrowded, the snacks are too expensive, and the floors are sticky. Sure, you might get to see a movie that changes your day, or even your life, but why not spend your time with 10 movies that actually changed the world? And, hey, you don't even have to sit through any annoying previews.

6 Tricky Song Lyrics You'll Never Get Wrong Again


by Christopher A. Smith
Hell hath no fury like being in a car with a passenger-seat pal who sings along with the radio and screws up all the words. It's the cardinal road-trip sin. If you or someone you love suffers from this embarrassing habit, there is help. You don't have to live like this any longer.

Feel Art Again: Paul Cézanne's Life After Death


by Robert Cumming
You know you're a great artist when Picasso, Matisse and Henry Moore all have one of your paintings up on their studio walls for inspiration. But you know you're a really great artist when your most famous and paradigm-shifting work involves some pears and a basket. Read on as mental_floss art interpreter Robert Cumming explains what's so special about painting a bowl of fruit.
left_brain:

8 Brilliant Science Screw-Ups


by Eric Elfman
Are you a hopeless slob? A klutz? A serial procrastinator even? Well, instead of reveling in the purgatory of self-help, why not get out and embrace the worst in yourself? Maybe even to marketable effect! The following are 8 proud scientists who lazed, partied, misbehaved, and missed deadlines — only to stumble onto genius as a result.

Brew Romance: How Caffeine Works


by Marshall Brain, HowStuffWorks
When you were trying to make it through that early morning board meeting, it helped you stay awake. When you drank too much at the company Christmas party, it sobered you up. And when you wrote that term paper in college in only 48 hours, it made your ridiculous thesis seem brilliant. Caffeine has always been there for you. Isn't it time you showed it just how much you care, by really getting to know more about it?

Going Mendel: Genetic Weirdness That Would Stump the Monk


by Emily Chung
If both your parents are African-American, but you came out looking well, Vietnamese, chances are you're adopted. But if you're convinced they haven't been lying to you all this time, and you're searching for the genetic evidence to back it up, look no further. mental_floss glances past Mendel's pea patch to dig up all sorts of genetic evidence to bolster your (flimsy) case.

Essential Physics for Parties


by William S. Kirby
Mark it down in the history books, folks. We found a way to use 'physics' and 'party' in the same phrase (while keeping a straight face!). Better yet, we put them together in an article and came up with a way to crush beer cans using something other than your forehead.
plus_the usual departments:
[the_book]

Richard Wright's Native Son



[10]

Nautical Origins of Phrases



[know_your dough]

What is Keynesian Economics?



[underground_education]

How England's Culinary Crimes Led to War



[the_dead guy interview]

Nikola Tesla



[the_quiz]