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Mental Floss
Throughout the centuries, the patronage system has allowed for the redistribution of wealth from the business class to the creative class—the members of which were often assumed to be starving and in need of such redistribution. The basic conceit is that
Jo Piazza|
1. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957) / Ed Wood (1994) By any standard, Edward Wood, Jr. was not a particularly good filmmaker. His films had highly noticeable continuity errors, backgrounds that wouldn't stay still, and flying saucers that were clearly mad
Orrin Konheim|
For everyone who’s ever been unhappy with the way they look in a picture or on video, there’s almost always someone there to try and comfort them by pointing out that the camera “adds ten pounds” to its subjects.Sometimes this just excuses actual flabbine
Matt Soniak|
In the 1980s, U.S. and Canadian media were up in arms over Dungeons & Dragons and the problem of teen suicide.
Chris Higgins|
You know Tim Curry as the deliciously devious Doctor Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. You might recall him as Wadsworth, the freakishly fast-talking butler in Clue. And you no doubt remember him from Stephen King's miniseries It as the r
Stacy Conradt|
1. Daniel Auber, La Muette de Portici Auber’s five-act opera (the title translates as The Mute Girl of Portici), regarded as the earliest French grand opera, was a revolutionary work in the most literal sense. It debuted in Paris in 1828, but it was its
Bill DeMain|
Remember that kid in elementary school who would eat anything for a quarter? It turns out he wasn’t just trying to make up for a lack of personality to make friends or get attention. He was preparing himself for a career in show business. Thanks to the ri
Danny Gallagher|
When characters are gay or lesbian - or have had some significant same-sex experiences - screenwriters sometimes sidestep those facets of their stories entirely when it comes to the big screen.
Brian Abrams|
Fancy yourself a logophile ... and didn't have to look up "logophile"? See if you know these 12 words for common things.
Amanda Green|
American cartooning began well before 1937, the year Walt Disney’s full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuted to astonished audiences. In fact, American animation started as an offshoot of vaudeville, and moved into the theater t
Dave Gonzales|
From cloaks banned by Augustus Caesar to dog-toting hand muffs, here are some of the more interesting moments in the history of winter wear.
Melissa Berlant|
Wikimedia Commons Early nightfall can change our moods from sweet to sour, and we've already found ourselves sleepier toward the end of the workday. If you find winter takes a toll on your mood, check out what it did to one of the world's most famous poe
Danny Groner|
Last month, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft turned 8—which means that kids who started playing it when they were in middle school are now graduating from college. (Excluding the serious players, who will probably need a couple of extra years to
David W Brown|
Getty Images You have to love a Wikipedia page bearing the goofy warning label: "This page contains material that is kept because it is considered humorous. Please do not take it seriously." That's how the brilliant Wikipedia:Deleted articles with frea
Chris Higgins|
Poinsettias are as indispensable to Christmas as evergreen trees and mistletoe. Every year, they come out of the greenhouses and off the store shelves into our homes, and every year, some well-meaning but factually-challenged aunt or family friend warns u
Matt Soniak|
In 1931, a Western Union official said that "there can be no apology for contact." Six years later, the word was number four on a list of the 10 most "overworked" words.
Arika Okrent|
“Enola Gay” Written by Andy McCluskey (1980) Performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (better known as OMD) The
Bill DeMain|
President Lincoln's funeral train in Philidelphia near the start of its 13 day journey from Washington to Springfield. Photo courtesy of After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, his body was taken from Washington, D.C., by train to be laid in a t
Matt Soniak|
When you sidle up to your sweetie for a smooch beneath the mistletoe this year, try not to think too much about the provenance of the plant's name. It's hardly the most romantic thing. The name mistletoe comes from the Old English mistletan (mistel, "mis
Matt Soniak|
The commercial Christmas card as we know it originated in London in 1843. That winter, Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant who helped organize the Great Exhibition and develop the Victoria and Albert Museum, decided he was too busy to write individual Christm
Matt Soniak|
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