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Mental Floss
There aren't many places where names are first come, first-served, but actors' unions are one of them. If you tried to register with one and found that someone was already actively using your name, you'd simply have to pick another one. It's likely not a
Stacy Conradt|
For those of you who take baths or are simply unconcerned with hygiene, let me explain the horror that is the “shower curtain effect.” You get in a nice hot shower first thing in the morning. You’re barely awake, but the womb-like confines offer the perfe
Matt Soniak|
In 1887, intrepid reporter Nellie Bly pretended she was crazy and got herself committed, all to help improve conditions in a New York City mental institution.
Bill DeMain|
Want to impress your friends with science? Okay, not so much "science" as cleverly constructed bar bets relying mostly on physics, human perception, and some chemistry? Okay, then I've got a video for you! In this quick YouTube video, Richard Wiseman s
Chris Higgins|
When the Civil War began, the Confederacy quickly found itself facing a pressing issue: fighting a protracted war is really, really expensive.
Ethan Trex|
“You can’t really pick how you’re going to be remembered,” Bobcat Goldthwait said last year on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. “I could cure AIDS, and my obit photo is gonna be me in a uniform going WAAAAAHH!” So what should we remember about the comedi
Brian Abrams|
In theory, yes. In practice, your journey through the planet might be hampered by the planet’s molten
Matt Soniak|
As civil war rages in Libya, many observers are calling for Qaddafi to step down and go into exile. This wouldn’t be the first time an oppressive leader has stepped aside in exchange for a relatively comfortable retirement abroad. We’ve compiled this hand
Erik Sass|
Since the early 1970s there’s been at least one 555 number callers can dial and get an answer—555-1212 is a standard number that rings directory assistance. The rest of the 555 numbers have largely gained fame as fake numbers in movies and on TV.
Ethan Trex|
Runners dressed as Forrest Gump, Elvis, Bozo the Clown and the Cat in the Hat all crossed the finish line in front of me at the Boston Marathon one year. So did a shirtless participant running backwards, possibly in search of a Nike endorsement. A magic
Bud Shaw|
Reader Cathy wrote in wondering what becomes of a donor’s DNA once it gets inside another person during a blood
Matt Soniak|
In 1993, former Creedence Clearwater Revival singer John Fogerty found himself at the center of a case being argued before the United States Supreme Court.
Ethan Trex|
Swedish blogger Ulrika Good posted a story about a king and his lion that captured the internet, and turned a Swedish meme into an international sensation. She later put up an English version to replace the rough Google translation many were using. King F
Miss Cellania|
During the Sicilian Mafia wars of the early 1980s, residents of Palermo feared the “white shotgun” or lupara bianca—a murder where the body disappears. If one offended the Corleonesi (a cartel from Corelone, a real place made famous by the fictional Godfa
Meghan Holohan|
Back when Australia was a penal colony, Macquarie Harbor, Tasmania, was the place that Britain sent criminals who were really bad… or really clever. On August 16th, 1829, one William Swallow -- a former sailor who used a long list of aliases -- led a grou
Erik Sass|
In the 1960s, Major League Baseball teams began giving away bats, balls, caps, and helmets to lure fans to the ballpark. As Mets vice president James K. Thomson told the New York Times in 1968, “People like something for nothing. Everybody comes to the fa
Scott Allen|
You may have a box of Duncan Hines cake mix in your cupboard, but you may not have known that, unlike Betty Crocker, Hines was a real person. Here are five things about the patron saint of powdered dessert mixes that might surprise you. 1. He Got His Star
Ethan Trex|
Reader Erin from Baltimore wrote in wondering why the water in her toilet bowl moves on windy days. This is one of those questions – like the one Jason asked about his dog’s popcorn-scented paws – that makes me pause and wonder if I’m getting trolled, or
Matt Soniak|
Tonight on NOVA, an in-depth scientific examination of Japan's recent earthquake, the subsequent tsunami, and the continuing nuclear incident. Entitled (perhaps indelicately) Japan's Killer Quake, the program shows plenty of footage that was new to me --
Chris Higgins|
"The brain is a very big place, in a very small space" -Carl Sagan, in the latest Symphony of Science song. More geeky scientific awe, communicated via music and imagery, from composer John Boswell. "Here is this mass of jelly you can hold in the palm o
Chris Higgins|
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