Issue Contents

May-June 2007: Big Ideas: The World's Headiest Concepts

Cover Story:

Big Ideas: The World's Headiest Concepts Shrunk Down to Size

by Mary Carmichael and Maggie Koerth-Baker
Big Ideas lurk in the wild. Whether it's chaos theory scaring butterflies into causing tornadoes or game theory mysteriously wooing the stock market in its favor-it's a dangerous intellectual world out there. Fortunately for you, we've tamed everything from string theory to existentialism and made them fit for a petting zoo.

Features:

How to Become a Superhero in 5 Easy Steps

By Chris Connolly
Dust out those phone booths and get your cape back from the cleaners! Cutting-edge science is providing hope for the all-too-common man.

When Opposites Attack: Artistic Rivalries that Got Ugly

By Elizabeth Lunday
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. But between Handel's duel and Gabriel Garcia Marquez getting punched in the face, we learned that some artists are happiest using both.

Crouching Tigresses: Why Women are Lining Up to Become Part of Sri Lanka's Biggest Terrorist Organization

By Eric Furman
As mental_floss discovers, a terrorist organization is one place where it'd still be nice to have a glass ceiling.

scatter_brained:

Elvis

By Kelly Ferguson, Jeff Fleischer, Chris Higgins & Ransom Riggs
Finally, a Scatterbrained fit for a King! You already love him tender, just wait 'til you learn about his friendship with Liberace and his ability to down a pound of bacon in one sitting. There's so much exciting Elvis dirt here, it's like seeing those gyrating hips for the first time.

right_brain:

Masterpieces:

Ayn Rand's:Atlas Shrugged

By Greg Barnhisel
Alan Greenspan is a huge Ayn Rand groupie, and the U.S. economy is basically one huge Alan Greenspan groupie. So, doesn't the success of your portfolio hinge on you reading this article?

left_brain:

Mad Scientist: Gunther Von Hagens

By Maggie Koerth-Baker
20 million people have seen the BODY WORLDS exhibit-meaning 20 million people are still wondering what kind of brilliant-but-twisted weirdo turns cadavers into art. mental_floss investigates.