Mental Floss

ALL STORIES

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Sure, you know that bees pollinate our crops and give us honey. But there's so much more to these buzzing insects than that.

Lucas Reilly






Yum.

The soft vanilla or chocolate swirl, popularized by Dairy Queen and other franchises, just doesn’t meet strict government guidelines for ice cream. But it’s still delicious.

Nick Keppler


They could still bug you at the beach.

Despite the name, some of these beachside pests aren’t even insects at all, though they could still hop up during your summer vacation in more ways than one.

Rudie Obias










Signs of an earthquake.

From a surprise temblor in the Mississippi Valley to colossal ruptures and tsunamis around the Pacific Ring of Fire, these are some of the biggest earthquakes in modern times.

Julie Fogerson


Grab your magnifying glass.

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Ellen Gutoskey