Jon Mayer

Joined: Aug 21, 2019

Jonathan Mayer is a writer, producer, director and editor, and the Managing Producer at Mental Floss video. His work has been produced by Upworthy and Hatched, and has been written about by Splitsider/Vulture, Jezebel, the Frisky, and Laughspin. His most recent digital series, Aliens, was chosen for screening in SeriesFest and the Catlyst Story Institute Festival.

A photo illustration of Violet Jessop in front of the Olympic (left) and Titanic (right); she survived the wrecks of both ships—and the Britannic.

Everything about a rotary phone would probably be very confusing to kids today.

When “Midnight’s Children” was released in 1981, The New York Times pronounced that “the literary map of India is about to be redrawn.” Here’s what you should know about the novel that introduced the authorial voice of Salman Rushdie.

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

Nabokov’s controversial 1955 novel, which was rejected by multiple American publishers, features multiple allusions to Edgar Allan Poe and references a real-life kidnapping.

Weird but fascinating facts about everything from the guy who dragged cars with his nipples to frogs shedding (and eating!) their own skin.

The humble bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich is a more recent phenomenon than you might think.

‘New York Times’ restaurant critic Pete Wells once said the humble bacon, egg, and cheese was “designed to satisfy practical needs rather than voluptuary desires.“ But is that selling the sandwich short?

The history of pizza is packed with myths and misconceptions—but it sure is delicious.

The history of pizza is a large pie—half Margherita and half lies. Let’s take a bite out of pizza’s past, covering styles from Neapolitan and New York to Sicilian and St. Louis and beyond.

Which offbeat attraction do you want to visit?

Let’s take a roadtrip through the country, with stops at a self-flushing latrine, a collection of human brains, and much more.

The cover of 'My Brilliant Friend' by Elena Ferrante.

'My Brilliant Friend' kicked of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series and inspired an HBO adaptation.

From acrophobia (the fear of heights) to zuigerphobia (the fear of vacuum cleaners), there are plenty of things to be scared of—rationally or otherwise.

Nope, Rhode Island is definitely not part of New York.

We debunk one myth about each state in the U.S., from the Rocky Mountain not-so-high of Colorado to New Mexico. That’s right, New Mexico.

Here’s (at least) one interesting way station each of these common words made on its journey to the present day, whether it’s an analysis of the Latin roots, a hypothesis about a proto-Indo-European origin, or a pivotal change in meaning.

The choices were made with a healthy dose of humility.

Which food has done the most to shape human development? Like a lot of interesting questions, it’s kind of impossible to answer.

Jon Mayer

Joined: Aug 21, 2019

11 Amazing Historical Coincidences

One Misconception About 64 Different Animals

13 Sounds Today’s Kids Have Probably Never Heard

11 Facts About the Animals of Chernobyl

10 Fascinating Facts About Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’

97 Facts About Generation X

12 Fascinating Facts about Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’

100 Facts That Will Make You Go “WTF”

The Delicious History of the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich

A Brief History of Pizza

The Coolest Offbeat Attraction in All 50 States (and Washington, D.C.)

10 Facts About ‘My Brilliant Friend’

41 Fascinating Phobias, Explained

1 Misconception About Each of the 50 States (and D.C.)

The Interesting Etymologies of 71 Everyday Words

4 Foods That Shaped Human History