The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 25, 2003

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Eye on Einstein
By Cristina Rouvalis

You might get smarter just lounging on the beach — if you are flipping through mental_floss magazine, that is.

This quirky magazine was dreamed up by two recent Duke University graduates, Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur, who used to stay up in the dorm debating philosophy and movies and whether the stegosaurus was really the best-looking dinosaur. Now they are packing such seemingly useless facts into their magazine, designed for people who want to sound smart at parties but don't have time to do the research.

With Albert Einstein as its cover boy and packed with short sassy articles (a recent article instructs how to tell the difference between a Monet and a Manet), mental_floss is getting a buzz.

A publicity coup: Courteney Cox Arquette was seen reading the magazine on two episodes of "Friends" this year. The product placement was orchestrated by Toby Maloney, a Natrona Heights native who lives in Cleveland. Says the 54-year-old Maloney, a primary investor, "In a world where magazine covers often feature cleavage, crooks and celebrities, mental_floss stands out."

Another typical topic: Somewhere between 20 and 30 things you didn't know about Japan (but who's counting?).

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