shameless-self-promotion

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Free art from Banksy!

We've covered the British renegade graffiti artist Banksy a few times on our blog (I think this was our first entry on him). From walking into famous art museums and non-chalantly hanging his own pieces up, to sneaking into Palestine and painting dreamy images on the gigantic West Bank barrier, to stealthily climbing into the penguin exhibit at the London zoo and painting "we're bored of fish" on the walls, Banksy's work never fails to amuse. In any case, the artist seems to be at it again, albeit in an... READ ON

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[Your name here]

Michelle Collins is pointing her readers to a site that lets you impose your text on famous images, like the Einstein-at-the-chalkboard photo we blogged about all the way back in March. I'm more amused by the fake dictionary entries (and judging by Michelle's take, so is... READ ON

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Shameless plug: film by a flosser

It's casual Friday here at the _floss, so along with my usual interesting-fact-related posts, I'm throwin' in a shameless plug! I was recently hired by Nissan to make a film for their website. They asked me to make a short, fun piece abstractly interpreting the term "living room" (a slogan-of-sorts for their new minivan) -- without showing or mentioning cars in any way. If anyone cares to take a look at it, I'd love to get some responses: is it clear (or clear as mud) how this spot is, metaphorically at... READ ON

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Important Question for our Blog Readers (please help!)

We've been wrestling over the punchline for one of our 4 new t-shirts, and wanted to know what you thought. So, here's the shirt design as... READ ON
  1. FIND THESE T-SHIRTS AND MORE IN THE STORE!

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THIS WEEK'S CONTEST: Design our 5th Anniversary Cover already!

That's right, after 5 years of hard labor at the Floss Factory, the mental_floss cover team is ready for a breather. In fact, for just one cover, we'd love to sit on the bench and watch as our fans lend a hand in the process. That's why mental_floss has teamed up with the folks at Worth1000.com (a.k.a. the Rolls Royce of Photoshopping Contests), to let you design our cover. The theme of the issue is The Future (the future of medicine, the future of the environment, the future of... READ ON

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The shirts are here! The shirts are here!

Just in time for any Plutonian funeral festivities you may have planned (hey, he was the god of the underworld), our commemorative t-shirts are now in stock in our store. Not planning a party? Wear yours in protest at the next meeting of the International Astronomical Union, in 2009 in Rio. Available in dark gray in four sizes, from Pluto to... READ ON

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We have not yet emerged from mourning

I've still got the ninth planet galaxy's most famous iceball on the brain today, partially because I can't stop thinking about our fabulous commemorative t-shirt (have you pre-ordered yours yet? email us at tips-at-mentalfloss-com or leave a comment with your email address), and partially because of all the crazy things I learned last week while reporting this article on the solar system. Here are some assorted tidbits I found that didn't end up in the final story: Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has a... READ ON

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Buy a shirt, save the planet. (No, not our planet.)

We don't care what the International Astronomical Union thinks -- today, we're taking our cues from Yahoo News (which labeled the link for this Pluto story "http://...planet_mutiny") and officially declaring this blog a Plutocracy. We will be campaigning for Pluto's reinstatement from now until, well, until both the former planet and ours are set right again. You can join us and help our cause in two ways: 1. Write to the IAU here. 2. Buy our shirt commemorating Pluto's downfall -- just think what a... READ ON

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Mento Floss

The Mentos-and-soda geyser effect revealed a few months ago has now spawned a contest on YouTube. Eggheads that we are, we figured that to win we'd have to first understand the mechanisms of the explosion -- so we tracked down a science-fair style explanation: At first glance, it might seem as if a chemical reaction is taking place. Perhaps the Mentos are alkaline and the soda (despite its name) is acidic. That would make the whole thing a variation on my all-time favorite science bit: the baking soda and... READ ON

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Forbidden Friday: Seven Deadly Sins to Enjoy before Sunday

Today I'm in New York, my favorite city of sin (sorry, Vegas), so to honor my surroundings I thought I'd parcel out some goodies from our book Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits. First up, under the deadly sin of Pride, something Manhattanites know absolutely nothing about: World Leaders Obsessed with Their Own Images Mausolus: For 24 years, Mausolus ruled over the city-state of Halicarnassus in what is now Turkey, and he spent a lot of time... READ ON

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