Mental Floss

THE '80S









Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Jean-Claude Van Damme—a.k.a. The "Muscles from Brussels"—has had a long and storied career full of highs and lows, including the time he threw a papaya at a producer's head.

Jake Rossen






Cornellier, Wikimedia// CC BY-SA 4.0

In the first edition of "Throwback," our all-new YouTube series, we take a deep dive into the bizarre history of Sea-Monkeys and Harold von Braunhut, the man who created them—then funneled the millions he made into illegal activities.

Alvin Ward










Queen's Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and John Deacon pose in London in 1973.

What's in a name? A lot if you're a popular music band. So imagine if Radiohead was still On A Friday? Or Ozzy Osbourne was still performing under the name of his mother’s favorite talcum powder? The stories behind these groups’ original names are curious

Erika Wolf