Mental Floss

ALL STORIES







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


Composite sketches of D.B. Cooper.

The man going by D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane in 1971 and got away (almost) without a trace. Now, new evidence has been uncovered that might point to his identity.

Erika Berlin
Concept albums are alive and well in the 21st century.

Some people love the concept album—and some love to hate them. But chances are you’ve listened to songs from one or two of them in your life.

Kenneth Partridge








Charles Dickens is just one person who left a mark on the holiday season.

Historical figures like Charles Dickens, Thomas Nast, Washington Irving, and even Queen Charlotte all helped create Christmas as we know it.

Jane Alexander
Can you decipher this twisted tune?

It’s time to play Tune Twist, where we translate the lyrics of popular songs into multiple languages and then back into English. Can you figure out what the song is, or who performed it?

mentalfloss .com
Hip-Hop, Squatch, and the BrooklyKnight have all been retired.

Some of these former mascots were beloved—and some have been gladly forgotten.

Meredith Danko