Staff Biographies:

(people to blame)

William E. Pearson El Presidente
Will is the obsessive compulsive oddball that every staff must have (at least he likes to think so). For as long as he can remember, Will has eaten M&Ms two at a time, always the same color, one on each side of the mouth. "It makes both sides of the mouth equally happy," he says. When he was twelve years old, Will began making lists of everything on his mind. World capitals, incredible works of art, great moments in sports history, left-handed Hollywood stars with tall pets ... you name it, he's got the list. But don't let his membership in the obsessive compulsive club fool you. Although he prefers to live by the rules, as most with OCD do, he's not afraid to make new rules when he's tired of the old ones (which is why we have mental_floss). Will co-founded mental_floss with Mangesh Hattikudur while both were still students at Duke.

Mangesh Hattikudur VP of Stuff
The so-called vegetarian bearing the Indian moniker specializes in slinging ink across the page. With enough ammunition in his vocabulary to slay the gods, or at least irritate them a good deal, Hattikudur hypnotizes, mesmerizes, fantasizes, jazzercises, exorcises and super-sizes through prose. When he's not dreaming and scheming for the floss, Mangesh loves movies, comic strips, PEZ dispensers, doodling, cooking puppies and leaving out commas wherever inappropriate.

Neely Harris Editor-in-Chief
You can take the girl out of Alabama, but you can't take Alabama out of the girl. After four years at Duke University, Harris felt the lure of SEC football, barbeque, and suffocating humidity calling her home. With an English degree under her belt, Harris landed a job working as the managing editor of various trade magazines for Cygnus Media in Birmingham. During her time there, she read about a fellow Duke grad who had come back home to start a magazine (apparently, the BBQ sirens call to Will, as well). She sent him an email and the rest is history. When she's not working, Harris is trying to convince her Northern friends of Birmingham's inherent coolness-an undertaking they find suspect in light of her obsession with frequent flyer miles and her penchant for showing up on their doorsteps unannounced.

Winslow Taft Senior Art Director.
Winslow Taft's skills and credentials in the design field (a design degree from Samford University and a post-grad teaching gig there, thankyouverymuch) came as a great relief to the mental_floss co-founders, seeing that the magazine's editor hired him based solely on her obsession with this full name, Cyrus Winslow Taft, Jr. ("It just sounds so dreamy," she kept saying.) Outside of work, Taft's hobbies include rock climbing, playing Norm Abram to his bachelor pad (which he insists the staff refer to as "The Ski Lodge"), working on other work, working on more work, and trying to make excuses to stop working. While at work, Taft's hobbies include interjecting "your mom" into responses whenever possible, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and perfecting the art of making fun of his editor's toe-thumbs.
(p.s. YES, he is related to the president, and NO, he hasn't been stuck in the bathtub)

Jenny Drapkin Senior Editor
Sometimes, when Jennifer sees a little boy standing on the edge of the subway platform, she imagines him falling onto the tracks and rescuing him just before the train comes. Concentrating on this scenario helps keep her mind off the pigeons, which are scary. (At the 181st street A-train stop, they live ten stories below the surface of the earth. How is this possible?) Jennifer first moved to New York six years ago before attending Columbia School of Journalism, and since then, she has written for The Village Voice, The Smithsonian, The Week, and Psychology Today. In fact, she majored in psychology at Yale, where many lab rats died so that Jennifer could grow up to become a journalist.

Terri Dann Associate Designer
In her short life thusfar, Terri has been a renegade Catholic schoolgirl, a failed social worker, an uninspired thespian, an Asian Studies minor, an accidental recipe writer for a major grocery chain, a graphic designer, an artist's model, a voice-over stand-in, a catering chef, a mandolin player, and a budding Birmingham socialite. And those are just the Halloween costumes. She has been Art-Monkeying her way around Birmingham for several years now, and is looking forward to a new role as wife to the awesomest man in the world.

Melanie Maloney VP, Planning & Operations
The Queen of Customer Service and honorary den mother for the team, Melanie keeps everyone on track with her incredible energy, large brain and obsessive attention to detail. Her former life in executive positions in global companies has prepared her well for the 24/7 lifestyle of mental_floss. When she isn't working, she's busy spoiling Murphy, riding her bike or reading the works of the Booker Prize winners.

Toby Maloney VP, Business Development
A lifelong media junkie, who had the good sense to marry Melanie, Toby has the perfect job. It allows him to spend every minute of every day dreaming of ways to have mental_floss on the tip of everyone's tongue. Unless you have several hours, you probably don't want to make the mistake of asking him: "So, how's mental_floss doing?"

Kara Kovalchik Research Editor
Kara amazes friends with her ability to be fascinated by absolutely nothing. A lifetime trivia enthusiast, she can while away hours browsing through an almanac or surfing the 'Net (usually when she's supposed to be doing something else). Her penchant for accuracy means that she tends to preface sentences with "I'm not one to correct, but…" which made her and husband Sandy a keen choice to pick nits before each issue of mental_floss hits the stands.

Sandy Wood Research Editor
In addition to checking our material, Sandy updates our Web site, composes facts for various sources, cleans the fridge when it's cluttered and does those tasks that no other member of the Floss Factory would dare touch. He and wife Kara also hosted an online pop culture trivia game for seven years. Sandy thinks he knows enough about everything to BS his way through, and although we know better, he's all mental_floss can afford right now.

Emmitt Office Dog (Birmingham)
If the crazy white eye doesn't scare you, the way he sleeps on his back will.

Tweak Office Cat (Detroit)
This odd feline has the amazing ability to predict exactly where you want to sit (and steal it before you have a chance).