the mag

Follow @mental_floss

Unearthing Richard III: The Luckiest Find in History

All it took to locate the bones of Richard III was 500 years, a psychic vision, and a grassroots movement.... READ ON

10 Old English Words You Need to Be Using

If you learn just a few words in Old English, be sure to include the one that means "lying awake before dawn and worrying."... READ ON

15 Spooky Halloween Traditions and Their Origins

Halloween is coming, and it's not enough to have the best costume and the spookiest decorations on your block. You can share these sweet facts, too.... READ ON

15 Forgotten Summertime Activities We Need To Bring Back

Summer is here and it’s time to enjoy the sunshine. Ditch your TV, shut down social media, and go outside to try these summer activities from yesteryear.... READ ON

Questions You Didn't Know You Needed Answered

Browse our dossier of questions that have probably come to you in the shower. (Including why thoughts often come to you in the shower.)... READ ON

The 14 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time

History's greatest hoaxes are proof that with effort and a little luck, you can fool a lot of the people, all of the time.... READ ON

Welcome to the Body Farm

Beyond the border of an ordinary parking lot lies the most cutting-edge graveyard in the world … and a hands-on lab for cops and forensic anthropologists.... READ ON

How Sandra Day O'Connor Beat the Odds, Ruled the Court, and Became the Most Powerful Woman in America

For 191 years, the United States Supreme Court was an all-boys’ club—until an Arizona cowgirl stepped in.... READ ON

The Time Baby Ruth Sued Babe Ruth

When the Sultan of Sweet sued the Sultan of Swat, everyone paid attention.... READ ON

Grover Cleveland’s Deadly Secret

After weighing his options, Cleveland chose surgery, under one condition: The operation had to be conducted in total secrecy.... READ ON

The Art of Power: How Louis XIV Ruled France ... With Ballet

Instead of an iron fist, King Louis XIV ruled with his dancing shoes.... READ ON

10 Delightfully Strange Patents

Human ingenuity knows no bounds—as these patents show.... READ ON

How 'Rocky' Turned the Common Man Into a Hero, and Sylvester Stallone Into a Star

When Sylvester Stallone was told there were no parts for him, he wrote his own.... READ ON

How One Pilot's Sweet Tooth Helped Defeat Communism

The code name for the American mission: Operation Vittles.... READ ON

10 Nutty Proposals to Save the Planet

Necessity is the mother of invention. But a little kookiness could preserve Mother Earth.... READ ON

10 Ways the Bicycle Moved Us Forward

How two little wheels spun a revolution in dating, fashion, medicine, and space travel.... READ ON

10 Quirky Families That Still Rule the World

You’d never confuse them for the Rockefellers. But you also wouldn’t have curling without ’em. Or Kikkoman soy sauce.... READ ON

A California Dream

California’s third-largest city by area is an urban-planning disaster, a sprawl of empty grids that aspired to become a megacity—and failed. But as the desert works to reclaim the land, it’s become a mecca of another kind.... READ ON

10 Ways Beauty Gave History a Makeover

Want to topple a politician or inspire a nation? We’ve got (beauty) tips for you.... READ ON

10 Times $10 Changed It All

Never scoff at the life-altering power of a single Hamilton.... READ ON

10 Services You Never Knew You Needed

How Veronica Osogo is Giving Kids the Upper Hand with Tennis

Veronica Osogo knows tennis as more than just a sport. For her, it’s a tool to teach kids about health, fitness, discipline, independence, and the value of a good education. The 39-year-old tennis champ and Kenyan native founded the Zion Zone Tennis Foundation, an organization that engages children in the slums of Nairobi. Here, Osogo tells us about her success on and off the court.... READ ON

How Madeline Sayet is Transforming the Way We Think About Shakespeare

As resident director of the arts organization Amerinda, 26-year-old Madeline Sayet is building a better future for Native American performers, helping them land more diverse and complex roles. Her latest endeavor: creating indigenous and feminist retellings of Shakespeare. Here’s how she’s banishing stereotypes while breathing new life into the Bard.... READ ON

How Shannon Xinjing Lee is Turning Eggplants Into Electrocatalysts

Here's what led her to this groundbreaking discovery.... READ ON

How Two College Students Are Changing the Game By Preventing Sports Injuries

Founded by two college athletes, BioMetrix is creating wearable technology that detects a body’s weak spots, then coaches the user on how to stay in the game.... READ ON

How 18-Year-Old Anya Pogharian is Reinventing the Dialysis Machine

She’s still too young for med school, but she just might transform health care.... READ ON

How Jasmine Twitty is Making History as a 25-Year-Old Judge

Jasmine Twitty is the youngest person ever to be sworn in as a judge in Easley, South Carolina.... READ ON

How Kegan Schouwenburg is Creating Print-Your-Own Shoes

Customers use the SOLS app to capture images of their feet; two weeks and $99 later, individualized insoles crafted from NASA-grade nylon arrive at their doorstep.... READ ON

How Jordyn Lexton is Making Grilled Cheese Give Back

Jordyn Lexton parlayed her culinary passion and a desire to help troubled youth into Snowday Food Truck, a business with a mission as impressive as the inventive grilled cheeses it serves up.... READ ON

How Trisha Prabhu is Curbing Cyberbullying

Two and a half years ago, Trisha Prabhu began work on ReThink, an anti-cyberbullying app that prompts adolescents to reconsider messages they’re about to text or post. Here, the 15-year-old Illinois student explains how she created a product that could maybe, finally make the Internet a safe space for teens.... READ ON

How Emily Graslie is Reinventing Museum Education

Graslie tells us how she became the first-ever chief curiosity correspondent for Chicago’s Field Museum, where she’s tasked with introducing natural history to a new generation.... READ ON

How to Make the Perfect Egg Cream

The simple truth behind the milk shake's cousin from New York City.... READ ON

10 Food Products That (Thankfully) Flopped

From Celery Jell-O to chocolate French fries, here are 10 foods that didn't have a very long shelf-life.... READ ON

Secrets of the MIT Poker Course

Can a little calculus make a total novice into a gambling pro? Mental Floss did the homework and took a trip to Atlantic City to find out.... READ ON

10 Tips to Beat the Odds at the Casino

A former card counter, dealer, and casino floor manager shares his secrets—and explains why the best paying machine is always the ATM.... READ ON

The Surprisingly Cool History of Ice

Until two centuries ago, ice was just an unfortunate side effect of winter. But in the early 1800s, one man saw dollar signs in frozen ponds.... READ ON

6 Destinations Where Just Getting There is the Fun

Come along for the ride!... READ ON

59 Random Entries From Our Definitive* List of the 500 Most Important People in History

*It’s actually highly subjective, and includes at least five goats.... READ ON

How Morticians Reinvented Their Job Title

Crafting the right euphemism for funeral directors was a formal (and laborious) undertaking.... READ ON

10 of History's Most Power-Hungry Cats

While everyone else was napping, these ambitious housecats set their sights on Senate seats, space exploration, and world domination.... READ ON

See the World With a Free Copy of mental_floss Magazine!

Pop Culture Syllabus: Robots

If you're wondering when we'll get robot maids, 'The Jetsons' was set in 2062.... READ ON

9 Child Prodigies (Who Actually Ended Up Doing Something)

The road from kid genius to adult dud is a well-traveled one. But if you or someone you love happens to be a budding brainiac, don't despair.... READ ON

14 Confessions of a Book Cover Designer

Art director Keith Hayes knows we're all guilty of judging a book by its cover.... READ ON

How Will the Universe End?

The short answer is: Not with a big bang.... READ ON

20 Writers On Their Must-Have Desert Island Read

It's no surprise that the Harry Potter Series comes up more than once.... READ ON

9 Writing Tools That Helped Create Legendary Works

The method for putting words to the page is as unique as every writer.... READ ON

Clementine Paddleford: The Badass Lady Pilot Who Revolutionized the Art of Food Writing

With a name like Clementine Paddleford, she should have been unforgettable. So why don’t you know who she is?... READ ON

12 Moments in the History of the Solo Jazz Cup

You've seen it a million times, but did you ever wonder why? Here's how this beloved little cup came to be.... READ ON

6 Things Zombies Actually Eat

A closer reading of the literature proves the menu for your next zombie gathering is more complicated than just "brains."... READ ON

Popular on Mentalfloss