Mental Floss

ALL STORIES









The 1795 time capsule buried at the Massachusetts State House was innocuous. But others were not.

Time capsules are buried, found, and opened fairly commonly. But when they were first gaining popularity at the start of the 20th century, their purpose was often far more nefarious.

Lorna Wallace
















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
Just a shot in the dark.

One theory suggests that we call liquor “spirits” because of alcohol’s association with one spirit in particular: the Holy Spirit. But there are other possible origins.

Ellen Gutoskey