In the Beginning

Joined: Nov 21, 2012

The Origin of Traffic Lights

3 Foods With a Religious Connection

A Brief History of Staples

A Brief History of Braces

The Tone-Deaf Man Who Invented Karaoke

Given how many horrendous karaoke performances we've been subjected to, we weren't at all surprised to learn that the guy who invented the karaoke machine can't sing, can't read music, and plays the keyboards about as well as your average third-grader. S

Clothing Time: The Stories Behind 4 Famous Uniforms

This marks the first time we've lumped together priests, soldiers and Playboy bunnies in one article. Common element: they all dress for success. 1. School

Newspaper & Magazine Origins

Here's a look at the early days of some popular newspapers and magazines. We'll save the story of the humble dormitory origins of mental_floss for another time. The New York

The Origins of the Periodic Table

It's Elemental Contrary to schoolyard rumors, no one created the periodic table just to torture you—it all started with the elements. As early as 330 BCE, Aristotle created a four-element table: earth, air, fire, and water. (We'd sign up for a test

A Brief History of Breast Implants

To get the real story on fake breasts, let's open In The Beginning: A Mouthwatering Guide to the Origins of Everything and turn to the page on

The Truth About Lie Detectors

With the possible exception of politicians and small wooden puppets named Pinocchio, most people have a hard time lying with a straight face—and an even harder time lying successfully when their every move, breath, inflection of speech, and variatio

The Origins of Credit Cards, Checks, Coins and Bills

With the financial world in a state of flux, we thought now was a good time to explore the early history of credit cards, checks, coins and paper money. Credit Cards In the 1800s, you could pick your poison if you needed money: pawnbroker, realtor, frie

The Early History of LEGO

Simple, block-shaped toys have been around for hundreds of years, but it took a 20th-century Danish genius to invent the interlocking pieces we know today as LEGO bricks.

Pass the Knowledge: The Origins of Your Favorite Condiments

Next time someone asks you to pass the ketchup, mustard, mayo or Worcestershire sauce, you can wow them with your knowledge of the condiments. Ketchup The word "ketchup" comes from the Chinese "ke-tsiap," and if you're wondering why ketchup isn't used

The Early History of Bungee Jumping

Talk about a serious leap of faith. The first land divers plunged head first toward hard soil, all in the name of agriculture.

The Origin of Air Conditioning

Conceptually speaking, air conditioning has been around since the first primitive humans ducked into cool, damp caves to take refuge from summer heat. But aside from fans of various shapes and sizes, the technology of temperature control didn't progress b

A Brief History of Jeans

On this date in 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent for the process of putting rivets in pants, and modern jeans were born. But that's not the whole