Mental Floss

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This scene depicts several Christmas traditions with long histories.

From expecting Santa to fill socks with gifts to eating cake that looks like tree bark, some holiday traditions are downright odd. But we can explain!

Stacy Conradt
See if you can figure out this twisted tune.

We ran the lyrics of a hit song through multiple languages, then translated them back into English. Can you figure out what the song is, or who performed it?

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Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in a remote location in Chile’s Andes Mountains on October 13, 1972—and those who made it through the crash would need to resort to desperate measures to survive.

Lorna Wallace








Foot pain and sprained ankles are just a few of the common problems affecting our ill-adapted feet.

From back injuries to difficult childbirth, here are six annoying parts of being human that you can blame on evolution.

Megan Gannon








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If you’re grandiloquent, then you like to use extravagant, high-flown words—precisely like the 50 verbs listed here, which either refer to everyday activities or else can be used in place of everyday words.

Paul Anthony Jones


They come in handy in more ways than one.

Whether you’re trying to get rid of wrinkles or reduce static electricity, dryer sheets can be useful in more ways than you might expect.

Rudie Obias