Mental Floss

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Ever wondered why a secret advantage is called an "ace in the hole"? Discover the 19th-century poker origins behind this iconic idiom.

Paul Anthony Jones








A medieval stone gargoyle on the exterior of Germany's Gothic Freiburg Minster.

Long before it described cathedral arches, spooky novels, or head-to-toe black clothing, calling something "Gothic" was a major insult. Here is how Renaissance art critics turned a Germanic tribe’s name into a centuries-long slur.

Jane Alexander