Mental Floss

From The Archive

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The long tradition of bullying means a long list of words for bullies, many of which are lost in the mists of time. Though some words show traces of the wide-ranging history of bully—which originally was a tear of endearment—most of the following terms wo

Mark Peters






iStock

If you’ve got credit card debt, student loans, or car payments, it can be tough to know where to start when it comes to reducing your debt.

Editorial Staff


Bobamnertiopsis via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain 

You may be familiar with Murphy’s Law and the Peter Principle, but the world is full of wisdom distilled into simple rules for understanding life, human nature, and the world around us.

Miss Cellania










Kjoonlee via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Every writing system represents speech a little differently, and no system is completely faithful to how words are actually pronounced. For over a century, the International Phonetic Alphabet has tried to remedy this situation by providing a way to accura

Arika Okrent