Jake Rossen

Jake Rossen is a senior staff writer for Mental Floss.

12 Facts About Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr., the Atlanta native who became one of the most important figures in the civil rights movement, helped unite a divided nation.... READ ON

A Single Page of Original Spider-Man Art Just Sold for $3.36 Million

A page showing off Spider-Man's goth look from 1984—courtesy of an alien symbiote that would later become Venom—just set a record for original comics art.... READ ON

Why Does Taco Bell Keep Taking Nacho Fries Off Its Menu?

When it comes to making their wildly popular Nacho Fries widely available, Taco Bell is nacho friend.... READ ON

New on Throwback Video: Pizza Hut's BOOK IT! Program

Pizza Hut's president had an idea to get kids flocking to libraries and book fairs: Give them some free pizza.... READ ON

6 Celebrities Who Have Appeared on Court Shows

Luminaries like Bea Arthur and Johnny Rotten have gone before TV judges to settle their small claims affairs. (Though not, unfortunately, against one another.)... READ ON

LA's Biggest Mansion Is $295 Million—But You Can't Move in Just Yet

The 105,000-square-foot home has 21 bedrooms, a nightclub, a salon, and a moat. Mortgage payments are a reasonable $1,354,000 a month.... READ ON

Why Do We Use ZIP Codes?

The five- to nine-digit code that gets letters to their destinations started with a man who would become known as "Mr. Zip."... READ ON

11 Secrets of Truck Drivers

They still use CB radios, but mostly just to talk trash. They also can't pick up hitchhikers (but you probably already guessed that).... READ ON

COVID Concerns? Use the CDC's Online Self-Checker

The CDC's online screening tool can help you differentiate between the variety of respiratory illnesses swarming the country this winter.... READ ON

11 Infamous '90s School Bans

From slap bracelets to finger-sized skateboards, these are the distractions that filled teachers' desk drawers in the '90s.... READ ON

The Best Movies on Hulu Right Now

From 'Ammonite' to 'Pig,' Hulu has a variety of modern and classic movies alike in every genre to keep you entertained for hours.... READ ON

The 12 Best TV Shows on Amazon's Prime Video Right Now

From 'Panic' to 'Fleabag' to 'The Boys,' Amazon's streaming service has something binge-worthy for every taste.... READ ON

Cadbury Is Hiding Creme Eggs Worth Thousands in UK Stores

The chocolate confectioner is going full Wonka and promising prizes of up to $13,500 for people who unwrap a special half-white chocolate egg.... READ ON

Taco Bell Wants to Sign You Up for a Monthly $10 Taco Subscription

The chain is looking to become the Netflix of tacos, with a $10 pass earning consumers the right to redeem a taco every day.... READ ON

The 15 Most Boring Movies of the Past 20 Years

A sampling of IMDb reviews has netted a list of recent movies that put audiences to sleep, including a disappointing Nickelodeon adaptation, a killer doll, and Jar-Jar Binks.... READ ON

Amelia Earhart Once Designed a Clothing Line

Amelia Earhart was a pioneer in the air, but she also had a knack for progressive women's clothing in a line she designed.... READ ON

20 Facts About Generation X

The generation born between 1965 and 1980 loves nostalgia, has a ton of student debt, and hates cooking.... READ ON

How to Re-Test Yourself for COVID-19 After Isolation

Guidance around at-home testing before and after isolation for coronavirus is murky. The CDC is trying to fix that. Emphasis on trying.... READ ON

The Most Popular Movie the Year You Were Born

Some people keep newspapers from their year of birth. Other people will want to know if 'Boss Baby' sold the most tickets that year.... READ ON

Why Doesn't James Bond Use an iPhone?

Legendary spy James Bond doesn't appear to be an Apple operative, preferring the relatively obscure Nokia brand instead.... READ ON

A History of the Disco Ball

Before the disco ball was part of 1970s dance culture, it was the hottest thing the 1897 Charlestown electrician's union had ever seen.... READ ON

Why Do People Kiss at Midnight on New Year's Eve?

End-of-year smooching has roots in the parties of ancient Rome, but Thomas Edison had a part to play, too.... READ ON

What Happened to Olive Garden's Never Ending Pasta Bowl?

The promotion allowed patrons to consume as much pasta as they wanted for $10.99. This turned out to be a questionable business policy.... READ ON

'Winnie-the-Pooh' and Other Creations Are Entering the Public Domain

You want more 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'? Because this is how you get 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.'... READ ON

A Rampaging Squirrel Attacked 18 People In a Small Welsh Village

Stripe, a disturbed squirrel, was said to have chased people and pets down streets and bit them hard enough to draw blood before finally being captured.... READ ON

Why Do We Count Down to the New Year?

The ritual of marking time until the new year hits is a relatively recent phenomenon. It also has a lot to do with NASA.... READ ON

Cat Artist Louis Wain Has an Exhibit at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind

Wain became famous in Victorian England for his exaggerated depictions of anthropomorphic cats, which he continued even after being declared certifiably insane.... READ ON

A Kid Saved a Person From Choking and Another from a Fire the Same Day

Davyon Johnson's quick thinking saved a classmate from choking on a bottle cap and an elderly woman from a house fire—and he still came home in time for dinner.... READ ON

McDonald's Is Being Forced to Ration Fries in Japan

McDonald's is turning away customers asking for medium or large fries at its 3000 Japan locations for the greater good.... READ ON

A Time Capsule Under Richmond's Robert E. Lee Statue Has Been Opened

The time capsule dates back to 1887 and was thought to contain an image of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin. Conservators found something else instead.... READ ON

The World's Most Expensive Cocktail Costs $22,600

The Diamonds Are Forever drink at the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo is a tall order of excess—but just think of the bragging rights.... READ ON

8 Facts About "Super Dave" Osborne

The late Bob Einstein's alter ego, faux-stuntman “Super Dave” Osborne, was famous for his cartoonish sketches—but a tank nearly crushed him for real.... READ ON

Homer Simpson's 10 Most Expensive Medical Bills

Homer Simpson, the accident-prone patriarch of 'The Simpsons,' has suffered so many health crises that his uninsured medical bills reach into the nine figures.... READ ON

When Jimmy Carter Was Exposed to Dangerous Levels of Nuclear Radiation

In 1952, Carter—then a Naval officer—was lowered into a nuclear reactor to avert a disaster. His urine became radioactive.... READ ON

The 25 Best Cities for Single People

If you're single and ready to mingle, you're better off doing it in Seattle than in Glendale. Here's why.... READ ON

What Is Aldi's 'Aisle of Shame'?

Grocery chain Aldi has inspired devotion for one specific section of its stores that shoppers obsess over and make bird sounds in. Really.... READ ON

The Animal Most Likely to Kill You in Each State

Being bitten or kicked by a large, hoofed animal is most likely to spell the end in many states.... READ ON

How To Locate Your Parked Car With Google Maps

If you're prone to blanking on where you parked, Google Maps has a nifty feature that will make wandering aimlessly around parking lots a thing of the past.... READ ON

Simple Ways to Save Money on Gas

Gas prices at the pump might have you thinking about switching to a bicycle. But there are ways to save on fuel, and we've got some of the best.... READ ON

10 Bizarre Retro Doll Features

From farting in bathtubs to demonic dolls that whisper, these retro playthings were unwelcome gifts under the tree.... READ ON

Ed Lowe, the Inventor of Kitty Litter

With kitty litter, Ed Lowe changed how cats and humans bonded. But not everyone understood the idea: One woman tried feeding it to her cat.... READ ON

Sleigh vs. Sled: What's the Difference?

You might call anything you use to shoot down a snow-covered hill a sled, but there are some things that separate the two. Like reindeer.... READ ON

This 1306-Legged Millipede Has the Most of Any Animal

Found 200 feet below ground in Australia, 'Eumillipes persephone' has 1306 legs to scamper around with.... READ ON

This Napping Technique Used by Salvador Dalí Might Unlock Creativity

The method involves falling asleep only fleetingly, at which point your brain might be better prepared to tackle a creative problem. (Like a surrealist painting.)... READ ON

Band Aid: The Controversial History of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'

Band Aid's charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" enlisted everyone from Sting to Bananarama, but its efforts to help the Ethiopian famine didn't go exactly as planned.... READ ON

Why Ghost Stories Were a Victorian Christmas Tradition

"It is a genial, festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood."... READ ON

What Is a Christmas Pickle? Why Do People Hang Them on Trees?

Every family has its own holiday traditions. Maybe they open Christmas presents after dinner. Some might hang stockings up for their pet. Others might hide a Christmas pickle ornament in their tree.... READ ON

The Most Mispronounced Words of 2021

It's been a rough year for buzz words: Nothing is more cheugy than not being able to properly pronounce 'cheugy.'... READ ON

France Has Approved a Plan to Renovate Notre-Dame and People Are Upset

The 2024 re-opening of Notre-Dame Cathedral could see modern artwork and mood lighting added to the 850-year-old structure, which some critics worry could reduce it to "kitsch."... READ ON

Toy Crazes That Erupted in Violence

Every so often, a hot toy comes around that seems to strip shoppers of their humanity and turn toy aisles into crime scenes.... READ ON

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