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A lot of exciting things happened in the mental_floss universe in 2011. Here are the 15 we could remember.
1. We Helped Solve a Back to the Future Mystery
Back in August, we threw out a question for discussion:
"Is it ever explained why Marty hangs out with Doc Brown? He's just in Doc's house to start the movie and it's just implied that they're good friends." —Brett Savage
Back to the Future co-creator Bob Gale was kind enough to respond:
Okay, from the horse’s mouth (yes, I’m the horse — er, co-writer, co-creator): We never explained it in the movie. But the history of the characters that Bob Zemeckis and I created is this… For years, Marty was told that Doc Brown was dangerous, a crackpot, a lunatic. So, being a red-blooded American teenage boy, age 13 or 14, he decided to find out just why this guy was so dangerous. Marty snuck into Doc’s lab, and was fascinated by all the cool stuff that was there. when Doc found him there, he was delighted to find that Marty thought he was cool and accepted him for what he was. Both of them were the black sheep in their respective environments. Doc gave Marty a part-time job to help with experiments, tend to the lab, tend to the dog, etc. And that’s the origin of their relationship. — Bob Gale
This was all very exciting, but someone over at Slate thought the whole thing was a (bizarre) hoax:
"No one on the Internet knows you're a dog, or whether you're really Bob Gale ... I've seen enough Internet hoaxes to say I'll wait for a picture of him holding a sign that says 'Yes, it's me' with today's newspaper before I buy it completely."
Our new best friend Bob Gale, with whom I'd emailed before posting his original comment to make sure he wasn't, in fact, a dog, was willing to oblige:
2. We Acquired an Office Eel
And in just a few short months, that office eel made the masthead:
Not sure how veteran office dog Leo felt about this. But Leo was the star of our New Year's card.
Watch this rivalry play out in 2012.
3. We Watched Ransom Riggs Become a Pretty Big Deal
Ransom Riggs had been writing for mental_floss since 2006, and we knew it was only a matter of time before he got too big and famous for us. This year, his debut YA novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, made the New York Times Best Seller List, and it sounds like Tim Burton might direct the Miss Peregrine movie. Ransom is also turning his popular Talking Pictures series into a book. We promise we'll guilt him into coming back and contributing an occasional photo essay or short film in 2012. For now, you can follow him on Twitter: @RansomRiggs.
4. We Made a Cameo on Curb Your Enthusiasm...
Sadly, Larry David didn't draw any swastikas inside us.
5. ...and Bored to Death...
6. ...and Nikki Sixx's Twitter Account
We're hoping to collaborate on something in 2012. Maybe a Christmas album.
7. We Gave My 2-Year-Old Daughter Her 15 Minutes (Well, 3:55) of Fame
Last January, I posted a clip of my two-year-old playing with her U.S. Presidents placemat alongside our "can you guess the president by his placemat portrait?" quiz. Gawker re-posted the video, and soon it showed up on the Yahoo! and AOL homepages and The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
A few weeks later, Charlotte appeared on Rachael Ray for Presidents' Day.
Here's her segment. She's recently turned her attention to counterfeiting.
8. We Joined Forces With Melissa & Doug
We're teaming up with educational toy giant Melissa & Doug for a mental_floss children's line. Coming soon!
9. We Filled Over 12,000 Orders This Holiday Season
A week before Christmas, the elves in our Ohio office announced that they'd filled 10,000 orders this holiday season. Co-founders Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur and e-commerce guru Renier Fee dispatched themselves to Cleveland with cake for a surprise "thank you for not going crazy during all this madness!" party.
So let's give it up for Amy, British Melanie, Cathy, Cheryl, Dana, Elizabeth, Kathy, Katie, Young Melanie, Mo, Paul, Marvelous Melanie and Toby, who ended up filling over 12,000 holiday orders. You guys deserve two cakes.
And I wish I could share a cake with all 12,000 of you who shopped in the mental_floss store these last couple months. This is one of those situations where the phrase "we couldn't have done it without you" is entirely appropriate.
10. We Were Named One of the (90) Best Twitter Accounts
The good people at BuzzFeed made a list of the Top 90 Best Twitter Accounts, and we made the cut. Thanks for all the retweets and #FollowFriday love! If your New Year's Resolution includes learning lots of random facts (or following more interesting people on Twitter), @mental_floss would be happy to have you.
11. We Partied With Flossers in Memphis, Indy, Columbus, Durham and Birmingham
The Mental Floss Trivia Show made several stops across the country in 2011. Rumors are swirling that we'll be on the road again in 2012. (I'm looking at you, Austin.)
12. We Put Out Our 10th Anniversary Book
13. We Joined the Dennis Publishing Universe
Back in March, our little media empire became part of Dennis Publishing, making it possible to find funding for important endeavors. Such as...
14. We Made George Washington's Eggnog
15. We've Decided to Listen to Everyone
These are the three questions we're asked most often:
• When will you get a mobile version of the website?
• Why don't you guys publish the magazine monthly?
• Why aren't you releasing any apps?
All three of those things will be addressed at some point in 2012. We also hope to follow the eggnog recipes of several other historical figures this year. Thanks for the support, and for making it all the way to the bottom of our self-indulgent year-in-review!