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Mental Floss
Every country has eerie tales of monsters from hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. There are many such stories from Asia; here are a few of those monsters you might want to tell the kids about the next time you have a campfire on a dark and spooky
Miss Cellania|
Because being a secret agent isn’t cool enough, spymasters tend to build elaborate headquarters buildings with really great nicknames. Here are a few headquarters known for their vodka martinis, Aston Martins, and Walther pistols.1.
David W Brown|
Wikimedia Commons “The dream of a great poet.” “A fairy tale.” “Delirious ravings.” “Moving crust disease and wandering pole plague.” “Germanic pseudoscience.” In the early 20th century, all these terms—and dozens of other equally colorful ones—were
Matt Soniak|
There are many examples of traditions that build camaraderie in the military, but few are as well-respected as the practice of carrying a challenge coin—a small medallion or token that signifies a person is a member of an organization. Even though challen
Rob Lammle|
You've probably heard by now that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has a new book releasing this week, and it is definitely not for children. But Rowling isn't the first well-known author of kids' books to take a stab at writing for adults. Here are 12 o
Adrienne Crezo|
Before a ship slides from its berth into the water, it must first get hit on—by a bottle of booze, usually champagne. Here’s the lowdown on the history and physics of smashing some bubbly and launching a ship
Matt Soniak|
Maybe you’ve heard a bad bottle of wine being described as “corked.” This is the fault of TCA, a chemical compound that contaminates wine barrels and corks, giving vino an odor similar to Grandma’s dirty basement or a wet dog. Corked wine isn’t pleasant,
Matt Soniak|
In the wild, giant panda mating occurs just as nature specials would have you believe. There’s intense competition for each female, and the dominant male will mate with her several times to ensure success. And that strategy works: Wild female pandas gener
Erin McCarthy|
When I was a kid with a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), sometimes my games wouldn't load. But I, like all kids, knew the secret: take out the game cartridge, blow on the contacts, and put it back in. And it seemed to work. (When it failed, I'd ju
Chris Higgins|
On Earth, we get snow, rain, fog, hail, and sleet, and all of them are basically the same thing: water. For a true change of weather, you need to go to other worlds. Here's a tour of what to expect on a trip through our solar system. Mars: Dry Ice
Calli Arcale|
To see if these Office-endorsed locales are all they’re cracked up to be, I ventured on a tour-de-Electric City, Michael Scott-style.
Julia Davis|
Roboticists and medical researchers are working on real machines to take over the functions of human organs.
Miss Cellania|
Photo: avlxyz on Flickr The origins of most diner phrases are shrouded in mystery or lost to history, and different regions and restaurants use different terminology for the same items, but this list should give you an idea of what's going on when you he
Matt Soniak|
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a big place, and understandably the upkeep is a little more complicated than that of any typical suburban home. That's why Fanny Lemira Gillette, famed housekeeping guru and mother of the inventor of the safety razor,  and Hugo
Adrienne Crezo|
In the early 1950s, Donald Snyder was serving time in New York’s Green Haven Correctional Facility for auto theft. He escaped, but police were almost immediately on his trail. Snyder decided he would take a hostage that he could use to bargain his way out
Matt Soniak|
You lie down to get some sleep after a long night of drinking, and the room seems to be spinning uncontrollably. Why does this happen?
Matt Soniak|
On November 16, 1940, an unattended wooden toolbox was discovered on a windowsill in the Consolidated Edison Company building at 4 Irving Place in Manhattan. The headquarters of the utility giant is huge, taking up an entire block, and it was bustling tha
Matt Soniak|
Behind every good war are many good women. Using their feminine (and in at least one case masculine) wiles, the following five spies would make James Bond proud.
Floss books|
Installment #36: In 1912, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece conspired to attack the Ottoman Empire and divide its European territories; the Balkan League, as their loose alliance was known, came together through a series of secret meetings between t
Erik Sass|
Looking for a way to liven up your Saturday night? Here’s a complete idiot’s guide to throwing a 155th birthday bash for America’s largest-and-in-chargest commander-in-chief: the great William Howard Taft. 1. The Food Almonds, almonds, and more almonds. S
Julia Davis|
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