Whether you're looking to become invisible, swallow a sword, quit smoking, find Atlantis, get out of jury duty, buy the Moon, sink a battleship, perform your own surgeries, or become a ninja, our new book Be Amazing covers all the essential life skills! This week, we'll be excerpting a few lessons from the book.
YOU WILL NEED
"¢ 1 childhood dream
"¢ The technology to fulfill it
Tip: DON'T BE FOOLED BY IMPOSTERS
Frankly, we're still bitter at Robert Zemeckis. Not only did his 1989 movie, Back to the Future Part II, taunt us with its totally awesome hoverboard chase scenes, but the director himself went on to encourage rumors that the floating object of lust really did exist. Press interviews from the time record him answering questions about special effects with, "What do you mean, how did we do it? It's a real hoverboard. It flies. Michael just practiced a lot." But Zemeckis's cruel teasing didn't end there. When the 3-movie DVD set came out in 2002, it included a mock behind-the-scenes documentary detailing how Zemickis had ostensibly gotten real hoverboards from Mattel and featured scenes of movie crewmen "testing" the boards out in a field.
Tip: VISIT AN AUCTION
According to Ketzer.com, a movie memorabilia site, one of the main hoverboard props used in Back to the Future Part II was sold at a Christie's auction in 1991. Although on display for many years at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Beverly Hills, the board was auctioned again in 2000, this time to a private collector.
Tip: TURN TO SCIENCE
Want the new book plus a new mental_floss shirt for under $20? Here are the details.