From The Archive

10 Fake Photos of Hurricane Sandy That Went Viral

Among the stunning photos of Hurricane Sandy, a number of fakes also went viral.

The 10 Most Beautiful Libraries in the United States

We already looked at libraries in all the major continents, but there were so many great ones in the United States that the article featuring libraries in North America had to leave many beautiful buildings out. Now’s the time to share some of the stunnin

11 Epic Controversies in Dinosaur Naming

Naming a dinosaur is no easy task. Beneath the apparent mess of prolonged syllables and technical jargon, a vast array of unexpected factors—from politics and religion to wordplay and spelling—can dictate which dino moniker gets officially recognized and

What Makes Something an Antique?

Every time you watch Antiques Roadshow, you probably wonder: Just how do we know what items are antiques?

25 Fun Size Facts About Classic Halloween Candy

Yesterday we took an impromptu field trip to a magical place called Economy Candy on the Lower East Side. The place was packed with people, candy, and nostalgia. (In addition to the goodies below, I bought three packs of 1987 Topps baseball cards.) Here a

The Life And Times Of The MGM Lion

The famous mascot of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer is not one lion, but five lions. These are their stories. Slats

8 Celebrity Tactics For Responding to Fan Mail

In the days before the Internet, writing a letter to a celebrity and sending it out via snail mail was almost a rite of passage. Nearly everyone did it. As a kid, I wrote letters to my favorite athletes requesting autographs, and was always thrilled—and a

The Social Security Number, A Biography: Part 3

The Social Security Office in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress. We’ve already talked about the birth of the Social Security Number, its form and function, and early assignments. Now, we’ll look at how the SSN went from simpl

7 People Who Died and Left Their Fortunes To Strangers

It's not unusual for wealthy people to leave part or all of their wealth to family and friends. It's extremely rare, however, that people leave estates and fortunes to complete strangers. Here are seven of those exceptional people. 1. An unnamed wealthy

The Social Security Number, A Biography: Part 2

Social Security office in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. Last time, we looked at the birth of the Social Security Number, why it was needed and how it was structured. Once the form and function of the number was settled,

6 Flight Attendants Gone Wild

They're authoritative, courteous, and could win an Olympic gold in Complimentary Beverage Pouring. But flight attendants have baggage, too. Read on for 6 first-class examples of flight attendants who brought their own turbulence to the job. 1. Attention

The Social Security Number, A Biography: Part 1

Wikimedia Commons My grandfather on my mother’s side is named Joseph. His son is also named Joseph. Not Joseph Junior. Not Joseph II. Just Joseph. They’re both just Joseph [Last Name], which sometimes makes traveling with them a headache. Not long after

Creating The Walking Dead's Creepy Zombies

Gene Page/AMC Forget the humans—the most compelling characters on The Walking Dead, which has its third season premiere tonight at 9pm on AMC, are obviously the zombies. These shambling, flesh-hungry undead are the creations of special effects makeup art

11 Long Celebrity Marriages That Ended in Divorce

When some celebrity couples divorce, it's not at all surprising (here's looking at you, Kim and Kris). But when couples like Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito announce they're divorcing after 30 years of marriage, it comes as a true shock. We really thought t

Paul McCartney in 1967, following his creative breakthrough

11 Creative Breakthroughs People Had in Their Sleep

Some people dream about falling off buildings. These 11 creative people, on the other hand, had dreams that changed the world.

The 100-Million-Year-Old Spider Attack Frozen in Time

Researchers have found an ancient piece of amber that shows a spider preying on a wasp caught in its

10 Clever and Creative Costumes for Halloween

Every year, people amaze me not only with their ideas, but with their talent and dedication at bringing the best costumes to life for Halloween (and other occasions). I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! 1. Ecce

The Stem-Cell Breakthroughs That Won the Nobel Prize

Two scientists who each made a major discovery — four decades apart — share the science world's prestigious

A Brief History of "Battle of the Network Stars"

Television viewers of the late 1970s who craved a combination of amateur athletics plus celebrity skin (mixed together with more cheese than a Wisconsin souvenir shop) had to look no further than Battle of the Network Stars. Inspired somewhat by ABC’s pop

Attention College Scribes Who'd Like to Write for mental_floss...

Years ago we had this thing called College Weekend, where we'd turn mentalfloss.com over to our college-going readers on occasional Saturdays and Sundays. They were eager and talented and willing to work for t-shirts (and a few bucks). I don't remember wh

11 Bizarre Old Contraptions That Promised to Improve Your Looks

1. Nose

10 Legendary Monsters of Europe

There are monsters all around us -or at least the legends of monsters. Last week we saw some of the monsters of Asia. Now here are some of the scariest monsters of Europe. 1.

The West Coast EPCOT That Never Was

EPCOT opened 30 years ago today. Here's a look at the proposed West Coast version from a story Stacy originally posted last

5 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets From Cheers

Thirty years ago tonight, an ensemble comedy set in a Boston bar debuted on NBC. Cheers didn't exactly set the Nielsens on fire at first, but luckily the network gave the show a chance to find its audience. Thanks to consistently great scripts (Kurt Vonn

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