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Mental Floss
Although our ancestors had managed to invent the wheel millennia prior to the good ol’ days of Ancient Egypt, it wasn't until that civilization arose thousands of years later that the human race began to understand the mysteries behind the circle. Our mod
Roma Panganiban|
Pi, the mathematical ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is a universal constant—much like our global love for pizza. As we celebrate one of the most beloved circular foods this Pi Day, here’s a look at some favorite pizza toppings around t
Roma Panganiban|
In 2008, an international team of scientists was trudging through the forests of Vietnam’s Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park when they found a frog they didn’t recognize. Actually, no one recognized it, at least not formally. It was new to science and the speci
Matt Soniak|
After establishing the theory of relativity as a founding principle of modern physics, Albert Einstein turned his thoughts to higher matters: home appliances.
Roma Panganiban|
When we imagine the creation of an object, be it a light bulb or an iPad, we typically imagine a sole inventor, toiling away in a room to build it. But it's never that simple.
Erin McCarthy|
Any child can tell you that banning something is almost a surefire way of piquing an interest in it. Some governments, however, decided that banning these unusual things was an easy fix for their problems.
Caisey Robertson|
The customer is always right, as these 11 companies learned the hard way.
Andrew Moseman|
A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles is a wonderful place to search or browse through the wordy history of our neighbors to the North.
Arika Okrent|
It makes sense that R.E.M., a band whose lyrics are often cryptic, would find inspiration for a song in the mysterious circumstances surrounding a physical attack on newsman Dan Rather.
Bill DeMain|
Miss Cellania|
Let’s take a look at the origins of some of the baby basics on every new parent’s baby shower registry.
Rob Lammle|
Chris Higgins|
Mark Mancini|
Eighteenth-century mathematician William Jones had a problem with pi—namely, it didn’t exist yet. At the time of his working and teaching in the field of mathematics, there was no term for the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, despite the
Roma Panganiban|
Erik Sass|
Chris Higgins|
Royce Wilmot|
Having more than one actor portray the same character happens more often than you’d think on many popular TV series. The reason behind the switcheroo is not always explained to the viewing public, which means of course that we automatically assume the act
Kara Kovalchik|
"Murder, He Says" gives a killer-diller run-down of all the hep words of the day, served up with some serious zest. About half of these terms have fallen out of use, but a bunch of them have lasted. Many of them got their start in the jazz world.
Arika Okrent|
Modern plastic surgery encompasses both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, and has a history that goes much further back than our modern movie stars and beauty obsessions.
Arallyn Primm|
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