Latest

Article

Mr. T Puts Down the Gold

According to an article in yesterday's Mirror, Mr. T (formerly of A-Team, Rocky III and 1-800 Collect fame) is starring in a new TV Land reality show, but has abandoned wearing his trademark gold chains on the program. Amazingly, the change came about because of the devout Christian's experiences helping victims during last year's Katrina relief efforts. Coming across far more eloquent than he ever has in any script, the actor was quoted as saying, "I stopped wearing the gold as of last... READ ON

Article

Magic Cans

Beer drinkers have been dreaming about self-cooling cans for years now. And it looks like they're finally going to get what they've been begging for - a can that drops a beer's temperature by 30 degrees Fahrenheit in three minutes! Tempra Technology has partnered with Crown Holdings, one of the biggest beverage-can producers in the world, to make this amazing can available in the coming months.... READ ON

5 Questions: The Devil Made Me Do It

Article

Lettuce Pray

I thought I'd post another installment of fun facts generated by searching a random phrase. Last week, if you recall, our random phrase was "One out of every 200 people" "“ which yielded all this wonderfulness. Today's random phrase is "piece of lettuce" "“ and here's what we learn: According to this site: "A flight attendant [at Delta Airlines] noticed the piece of lettuce that was used to decorate their food was often wilted and... READ ON

Article

He's been walkin' the streets at night, just tryin' to get it right

From McSweeney's, Notes on "Sweet Child O' Mine," as delivered to Axl Rose by his editor: She's got a smile that, it seems to me—Why equivocate? You weaken your point by framing this as a mere personal observation instead of a fact. Reminds me of childhood memories—Redundant. You either have a memory or you're reminded of something. You're not reminded of a memory. Heavy-metal fans won't stand for such writing, my friend. ... Finally, Axl, I think we might have had a misunderstanding... READ ON

Article

Bush's potty mouth

Y'all see that Bush was caught using the S-word today? (I'm using y'all since I know mental_floss started in Bama). My personal favorite cussing by a public figure is Gen. Patton's obscenity-laced speech. It's crazy. The movie with George C Scott cleaned it up beyond... READ ON

Article

Armchair Field Trip: Ogunquit, Maine

I just got back from a sunburned weekend in the twee little town of Ogunquit and thought I'd share a few things I learned: * If anyone tries to tell you that "Ogunquit" means "beautiful place by the sea" (which happens to be the town motto) tell them to Ogun-quit it: The word, from the Western Abenaki Indians, means "coastal lagoon." * That doesn't mean Ogunquit isn't a beautiful place by the sea -- in the early 20th century, its cliffs were the subject of paeans from well-known painters, including a... READ ON

Article

Very brief history of Lebanese-Israeli conflict

You may have seen this in one of the morning papers but there's an AP write-up on the history of the Lebanese-Israeli conflict. It's a very brief article but worth the read if you're just looking for the basics. One quick fact from the article: Because Israel and Lebanon have never signed a peace accord, the countries remain officially in a state of war that has existed since 1948 when Lebanon joined other Arab nations against the newly formed Jewish state.... READ ON

Article

Foreign Accents, Brain Damage and Madonna

I was thumbing through edits this weekend of mental_floss' upcoming Med School in a Box (kudos to Mary and her husband Tim for churning out such a wonderful project!), when I came across a fact that completely intrigued me. I mean, *ahem* there were plenty of facts in there that intrigued me, but I found the one on Foreign Accent Syndrome particularly fascinating. Apparently, the condition is the result of a rare, highly localized stroke that "strips the patient of her native accent and instead leaves her... READ ON