Shaunacy Ferro

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Shaunacy Ferro is an associate editor at Mental Floss. Her work has previously appeared in Fast Company, Popular Science, and Architect magazine, among others. She lives in Brooklyn and spends most of her free time taking photos of her cat.

The Next Job Getting Taken Over by Robots? TV News Anchor

Say hello to Erica.... READ ON

Better Sit Down for This: Japan Wants to Modernize Its Squat Toilets for the Tokyo Olympics

The government wants to make sure its international visitors don't find any surprises on their bathroom trips.... READ ON

Good News: Being Lazy Can Be Good for the Environment

If you're spending all of your time at home with Netflix, you probably aren't driving too much.... READ ON

Why the Soundtracks to Games Like 'Mario' or 'The Sims' Can Help You Work

Video games are designed to get you in the zone, and listening to their soundtracks can help you focus outside the game, too.... READ ON

Gold Worth Millions, Salvaged From a 19th-Century Shipwreck, Is Going on Display in California

And you can buy some of it.... READ ON

What Will We Eat on the Way to Mars? Poop, of Course

No one said space travel was going to be delicious.... READ ON

See a Squirrel? These Citizen Scientists Want to Know About It

The Atlanta-based team behind the Squirrel Census wants people to know more about their bushy-tailed neighbors.... READ ON

You Can Now Download Thousands of Vintage Movie Posters in High Resolution

The University of Texas at Austin has a huge collection of film posters from the 20th century, and they’re being digitized.... READ ON

Elon Musk May Soon Be Selling a $600 Flamethrower

Musk first teased the idea of a flamethrower on Twitter in 2017.... READ ON

Smoking Just 1 Cigarette a Day Can Significantly Damage Your Health, Study Finds

New research shows that cutting back just isn't good enough.... READ ON

Can You Decipher the Playful 1817 Letter Jane Austen Sent to Her Niece in Code?

Shortly before her death, the author sent her 8-year-old niece a New Year's greeting—written entirely backwards.... READ ON

Local Reporter May Have Found the Burned Remains of the Last American Slave Ship

The ship arrived in Alabama in 1859 in defiance of a law that prohibited importing slaves to the U.S. To hide the evidence of its illegal venture, its captain burned and sunk the ship, and its wreck has been lost to history. Until now.... READ ON

The Perfect Way to Roast a Potato, According to Math

If you're chopping your potatoes into even quarters before tossing them in the oven, you're missing out on a whole lot of crisp.... READ ON

3 Easy Ways to Curb Your Smartphone Addiction

Research shows that being constantly tethered to our phones makes us unhappy, but it's hard to break the habit. Here are three super-simple ways to minimize your stress without missing a text.... READ ON

The Entire Plot of Back to the Future in One Handy Chart

This is heavy!... READ ON

5 Things to Know About Amazon Go, the Company's Fully Automated Convenience Store

Amazon Go might be the future of shopping.... READ ON

There May Be an Ancient Reason Why Your Dog Eats Poop

Fido's gross behavior could have helped its wolf ancestors stay healthy.... READ ON

Why the Film You're Watching on HBO Might Not Be the Whole Movie

Aspect ratios matter.... READ ON

This 1940 Film on Road Maps Will Make You Appreciate Map Apps Like Never Before

It was a much more adventurous process than you'd think.... READ ON

Buckingham Palace Was Built With Jurassic Fossils, Scientists Find

The British palace's limestone is riddled with mineralized microbes from 200 million years ago.... READ ON

Stop Your Snoring and Track Your Sleep With a Wi-Fi Smart Pillow

It's made to keep you from snoring, track your sleep, and let you jam to music without your partner hearing.... READ ON

Learn to Tie a Tie in Less Than 2 Minutes

Goodbye, clip-ons!... READ ON

Forget Horns: Some Trains in Japan Bark Like Dogs to Scare Away Deer

Japanese researchers are getting creative to reduce the number of deer killed on train tracks.... READ ON

Mysterious 'Hypatia Stone' Is Like Nothing Else in Our Solar System

"These latest results are opening up even bigger questions about its origins."... READ ON

5 Scrapped Designs for the World's Most Famous Buildings

In an alternate reality, the Arc de Triomphe would have been a three-story-tall elephant statue.... READ ON

Ocean Waves Are Powerful Enough to Toss Enormous Boulders Onto Land, Study Finds

Strong winter storms in Ireland in 2013 and 2014 were able to hurl 600-ton boulders right out of the sea.... READ ON

This 1907 Vision Test Was Designed for People of All Nationalities

As an optometrist working in turn-of-the-20th-century San Francisco, George Mayerle encountered plenty of immigrant patients who weren't comfortable reading Roman scripts. So he made a whole new test for them.... READ ON

Make Your Own Ship in a Bottle With a New LEGO Set

It's based on a design a LEGO fan spent three weeks building.... READ ON

This $6000 Toilet Warms Your Seat, Plays Music, and Flushes on Command

You’ll never have to touch your toilet again.... READ ON

App Syncs Your Lights and Computer to Create the Perfect Mood Lighting

Make mini-light shows tailored to your favorite video games, music, and movies.... READ ON

Logging On to Public Wi-Fi Networks Is About to Get More Secure

A new type of Wi-Fi encryption is coming your way in early 2018, and it will make logging onto public Wi-Fi a lot safer.... READ ON

Scientists Accidentally Discover Ancient Hepatitis B in a 16th-Century Mummy

They thought they were studying the earliest evidence of smallpox, but found a different disease altogether.... READ ON

A Rare Apple Lisa 1 Computer Is Up for Auction on eBay

There are only between 20 and 100 of these early computers left in the world, and you could own a functioning one (for $55,000).... READ ON

On Sale: The Safest House in America, Complete With Hidden Command Center

This house has so many amenities you may be perfectly happy riding out the apocalypse there.... READ ON

A Man-Made Mountain in Finland Serves as an 11,000-Tree Time Capsule

Between 1992 and 1996, artist Agnes Denes built a mountain.... READ ON

Take a Look at The Ideas Scrapped From Famous Pixar Movies

<em>Toy Story</em>, <em>Inside Out</em>, and <em>Up</em> could have looked a lot different if Pixar had gone with their initial impulses.... READ ON

Your Roomba Will Soon Be Able to Find Your Home's Wi-Fi Dead Zones

An update to the iRobot app will allow high-end robot vacuums to map Wi-Fi strength across the house.... READ ON

Scientists May Have Found a Cure for Deadly White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

The spread of the devastating fungal disease could potentially be halted with portable UV light sources, a new study suggests.... READ ON

Can You Figure Out Why the Turtles Bulge in This Optical Illusion?

Psychologist Akiyoshi Kitaoka studies visual illusions, and he posts some mind-boggling ones to Twitter.... READ ON

Mount Vernon’s New Theater Gives You a Front Row Seat to the Revolution

Mount Vernon's new 4D theater lets guests experience the sights and sounds of the American Revolution in a whole new way.... READ ON

That Hilarious Story About Taft Getting Stuck in His Bathtub? It’s Not True

He did, however, have another embarrassing—and very real—bathtub incident.... READ ON

The School Book That Pioneered Funny Cat Pics 100 Years Before Lolcats

Why don't all elementary schools teach kids to read using cats that yell "I am the Queen!"?... READ ON

9 Towns Across the World With Christmas-Themed Names

You'll be surprised where the town of North Pole is located.... READ ON

Bake Like a Literary Hero With 3 Recipes From Emily Dickinson

The poet was also a skilled baker.... READ ON

5 Great Chrome Add-Ons You Should Install Now

Browse to your full potential.... READ ON

The Healthiest States in the U.S., Mapped

Different states have wildly different healthcare systems.... READ ON

Can You Find the Money in Santa’s Sack in This Hidden Image Puzzle?

Ho ho—hold on. When did Santa get rich?... READ ON

Inside the German Town Where Advent Is the Main Attraction

Gengenbach is serious about its Christmas countdown.... READ ON

Researchers Pore Over the Physics Behind the Layered Latte

Fluid dynamics has never tasted so good.... READ ON

A Limited Edition, Handwritten Manuscript of The Great Gatsby Can Be Yours for $249

The manuscript reveals how the classic book was rewritten and reworked throughout the writing process.... READ ON

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