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Mental Floss
“It was not my first published story, nor my last,” the writer recounted in a 1960 lecture, “but I have been assured over and over that if it had been the only story I ever wrote and published, there would still be people who would not forget my name.”
Erin McCarthy|
As humans take up ever more space and urbanize the untamed wilderness, the animals that call these places home have a tough choice to make: move on to someplace else or adapt to their new surroundings.
Matt Soniak|
It is true that some of these things can still be found, either old and faded on eBay or earnestly reproduced on specialty sites like The Vermont Country Store. But these products and deserve more; they have timeless appeal that would suit our 21st centur
Therese Oneill|
Somehow, one of Mental Floss' favorite Star Trek alums-turned-internet-sensations, George Takei, finds time to write Amazon reviews for products you never knew existed. And we're all so lucky that he does.
Hannah Keyser|
In the early days of mapmaking, plotting out the world was no easy task. It's not surprising that cartographers got some things wrong (it's probably more surprising how much they got right). One of the most widespread misconceptions in the 16th Century in
Erin McCarthy|
Just as we humans cling to our air conditioners and plunge our heads into the freezer in the summer months, koalas have found a source of relief from stifling temperatures.
Jessica Hullinger|
It's the reason all final group games are played simultaneously.
Nick Greene|
In his final days, Archduke Franz Ferdinand expressed forebodings about his journey to Bosnia to observe the empire’s annual military maneuvers.
Erik Sass|
Are the flight attendants talking about you? Know your airline industry lingo.
Editorial Staff|
As much as we like to think we're much more advanced than people in the Middle Ages, we’re actually not that different.
Emma del Valle|
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of author James Joyce’s Dubliners, a collection of short stories depicting the everyday trials and tribulations of the residents of his hometown. But getting the book on shelves was painful nine-ye
Sean Hutchinson|
Reader Scott from Vermont wrote to ask, “Why did the Nazis adopt the ancient sacred symbol of the swastika as their emblem?”
Matt Soniak|
Even if you know all the words, do you know what they were about?
Kara Kovalchik|
Thirteen of these etymological tall-tales, taken from word origins guide 'Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons,' are explained and debunked here.
Paul Anthony Jones|
We hear some songs so often on the radio that we automatically sing along with them, but how much of what we’re singing do we really understand?
Kara Kovalchik|
Not recently, of course. But what about their ancestors? The question is: Did the flightless birds of today, a family known as Ratites, evolve from flightless birds of yore or did their airborne ancestors lose the ability to fly over the millennia?
Hannah Keyser|
The tiny piranha's reputation can be traced back to a surprising source.
Ethan Trex|
Shel Silverstein bridged the worlds of adult and children's art, while becoming wildly popular in the process.
the mag|
There has been a lot of backlash with puppets in commercials lately. That wasn't always the case.
Roger Cormier|
Whiskey lovers tend to be particularly territorial about their spirit of choice. Here in America, these allegiances are especially present in whiskey culture.
Clair McLafferty|
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