From The Archive

Carrie Brownstein Rules at Everything

Our conversation with the indie rocker turned Portlandia star, who's working on a new album and really good at ping-pong.

100 Years on a Dirty Dog: The History of Greyhound

Greyhound has been busing Americans around for a century. It's hard to believe that after all these years, the company is still riding high.

11 Hidden Messages in Company Logos

When Wendy's redesigned its logo in 2013, the company insisted the word "MOM" in the collar was unintentional. But plenty of other logos contain messages that were very much intended.

It's Complicated: 5 Puzzling International Borders

Most of us think of international borders as invisible, but clear-cut, lines: stand on one side, and you’re in one country; stand on the other, you’re in another country. But here’s a list of five international borders that, for one reason or another, are

The Very First Issues of 19 Famous Magazines

These magazines have come a long way since Volume 1, Issue 1. Here's what they looked like way back in the beginning.

Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

11 Famous Works of Art That Were Never Actually Completed

Artists and writers can't always bring their works to grandiose completion. Here are a few that left us hanging.

How to Build an Ice Hotel

Lapland’s storied IceHotel, the world’s largest and longest-running luxury hotel made entirely of frozen water, is a little more involved than those bootleg igloos you constructed as a kid!

8 Conspiracy Theories and What They Get Right

Grab your tinfoil hats. It’s time to get paranoid about mind control, CIA agents in the media, and other conspiracy theories with small grains of truth behind them.

10 Photos of Celebrities Jumping for History's Most Persuasive Photographer

You may be familiar with the iconic Philippe Halsman image of Salvador Dali in mid-air with flying cats, disembodied arms, and floating furniture. But did you know that the Latvian-born photographer created an immense portfolio of jumping celebrities and

3 Heartbreaking Tales of "Freaks"

By Adam Horowitz In 1749, G.L.L. de Buffon introduced an influential classification system in his book, Varieties of the Human Species, Of Monsters. "Monsters", as human anomalies were labeled at the time (as if the term "˜freaks' weren't offensive enou

2 Rather Curious Fad Diets

Weight loss is a common topic, as any number of ads, articles, news segments and infomercials are likely to let you know. We are all aware that if we cut our intake and hit the gym, we'll lose some of that excess padding. But what if eating in moderation

Calculating the Moby Quotient

If you spent your musically developmental and formative years in the basement of a college radio station, you know the satisfaction that comes from championing some unknown alterna-electro funk band from Portland. With this satisfaction comes the devastat

4 Ways to Become a Diabolical Genius from the Comfort of Your Home

If your name is Angus MacGyver, all you need to lay waste to life's obstacles—from hotwiring a moped to breaking out of a heavily guarded Soviet prison—is a tube sock, a jar of mayonnaise, and a roll of duct tape. If you're anyone else, you'll

Our Ten Favorite Facebook Groups

Until yesterday, 'I Read Mental Floss' was our favorite Facebook Group. Then Evan Schiller showed us these. 1. Group Name: "I feel bad when I see kids on a