Issue Contents

Mar-Apr 2007: The 20 Greatest Mistaikes in History

Cover Story:

The 20 Greatest Mistaikes in History

by Maggie Koerth-Baker
Welcome to another ecsiting issue of dental_floss! Normally, we pride ourselves on being 100 percent error-free, but not anymore. These days, we're throwing caution to the water and letting our feet down-and we owe it all to this liberating cover story on the greatest mistaikes of all-time. From the geologist who claimed there were no diamonds in South Africa to America's great experiment (and greater failure) with Prohibition, we had no idea you could screw up this worsely and still be famous. All bets are off-and so are our spellcheckers. Immortality, here we came!

Features:

How Biodiesel Works

By howstuffworks.com and Maggie Koerth-Baker
With buzzwords like "cheap," "clean," and "plentiful" plastered on biodiesel pumps, fuels based on vegetable oils and animal fats seem poised to replace boring old gasoline. But is biodiesel really the much-hyped wunderfuel that Willie Nelson and company brag about? Or does it come fully leaded with its own set of problems? Take a closer look as HowStuffWorks explores the makings and the myths of America's great green hope.

Noam Chomsky: An Exceedingly Paranoid Attempt to Objectively Explore One of Academia's Most Controversial Figures (Without Eliciting Hate Mail)

By Hank Green
Depending on who's ranting about him, Noam Chomsky gets pegged as an intellectual, a leftist, a linguistic genius, a government threat, or a dorm-room hero. And yet, very few people are actually familiar with his work. As if doomed to some "Cheers"-like netherworld where everybody knows your name but nobody knows why, Chomsky's fame eclipses all knowledge about him. Until now, that is. Tune in as Hank Green exposes one of the world's most notorious minds-and every smoking gun on his resume.

Bubble Trouble: The Not-So-Sweet History of Champagne

By Eric Furman
We usually try to keep things light and bubbly around here, but sometimes the facts just won't let us. So we weren't totally surprised when a fizzy little piece on champagne's history morphed into an outrageous tale of civil wars, royal antagonism, and vengeful treaties. Hey, history can be pretty brut-al. But don't despair; this is one story with an ending that sparkles.

scatter_brained:

Hair

By Jeff Fleischer, Chris Higgins, Ransom Riggs & Greg Veis

right_brain:

Masterpieces:

Paul Gauguin's "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

By Elizabeth Lunday

left_brain:

5 Deadly Animals (That Might Just Save Your Life)

By Maggie Koerth-Baker and Laurel Mills

spinning_the globe:

50-Cent Tour:

France

In The Cannes: An American's Guide to the World's Most Prestigious Film Festival

plus_the usual departments:

10

Food Origins

[know-it-all]

The Letter 'M'

[the_dead guy interview]

Andy Warhol

[the_quiz]

Six Degrees of Ken Jennings:

Pie and Pi

By Ken Jennings