Mental Floss

From The Archive



ThinkStock

There are things in the world that are too small to perceive directly, but that doesn’t mean we can’t measure them. Here are 11 teeny units of measurement used to describe tiny things.

Arika Okrent


ThinkStock

Sometimes the secrets are ancient and shrouded in mystery. Sometimes they're the result of business and culinary wrangling. But they all add a new, deeper dimension to that sauce you slop on your plate.

Clay Wirestone


ThinkStock

Yes, today's Halloween. But we bet you didn't know that on October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in the Union. Let's celebrate with 19 facts about the Silver State.

Amanda Green


ThinkStock

Hauntworld.com has scoured the country for the scariest and weirdest haunted houses from coast to coast. Here are the attractions they've deemed most likely to make you pee your pants.

Stacy Conradt
Thinkstock

If you’re a passionate reader, you’re always on the hunt for the next book that will totally engross you. We’ve pinpointed some that are worth the old drop-everything-and-read treatment.

Editorial Staff

You already knew everyone on this list was brilliant and accomplished in his or her chosen field. What you might not have known is that they were also truly devoted to their less publicized passions.

Editorial Staff
Alison Jackson/Snopes

It takes a certain combination to make an internet hoax/myth/meme take flight. It must be just credible enough to be possible, usually paired with a small “wow! cool!” factor. Below are 10 popular untruths that have misled thousands.

Therese Oneill




iStock / mariusFM77

Dried prunes can be juiced by steaming or simmering them to rehydrate them, running them through a strainer to remove the pits, seeds and skin, and then adding more water to the resulting paste.

Matt Soniak


Corbis, Peay Designs

We’ve shown you some of the best costumes from the last few Halloweens. Do you remember what you pulled on in 1993, though? We combed through old newspapers to find the top costumes from the 80s and early 90s. Anybody slip into one of these?

Ethan Trex


istock

Modern technology has changed the American classroom in many ways, as have parental attitudes. Here are some elementary school essentials that are either long gone or starting to disappear from the classroom.

Kara Kovalchik
Ubooly

It’s not exactly earth-shattering news: Kids have short attention spans. But innovator and designer Carly Gloge has been able to use that universal truth to fuel innovation.

Stacy Conradt


Can you spot the hidden message?

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.

Jason English


Getty Images

Since no one can predict how famous a baby might turn out to be, the first words of the famous are often left unrecorded. But that doesn’t mean they are always lost to history.

Arika Okrent


Facebook.com/DullandBoring

As you’re constantly reminded every holiday, you can’t choose your siblings—unless you’re a municipality. Then you can seek out a sister city .

Miranda Kaplan


Mary Katherine Morris Photography

Because it makes the cocktail so much better! Adding eggs to shaken drinks is a tradition that dates back more than a century. Besides novelty, the egg white gives your cocktail a rich, creamy texture and a beautiful foamy cap.

Clair McLafferty
ThinkStock

“Stand beside her, and guide her,” we sing in “God Bless America.” Come to think of it, most nations of the world are referred to in the female gender. Why is that?

Kara Kovalchik