Mental Floss

BIG QUESTIONS

Prunes are a constipated person’s friend.

Prunes—the shiny, sweet dried fruits—are both exploited and ridiculed for their laxative properties. But do they really make you poop?

Kate Horowitz
Mmmm... cake!

Don't let the name fool you: Urinal cakes are most definitely not meant to be eaten. So what are they, and what do they do?

Shaunacy Ferro








Not something a driver wants to see in their rear-view mirror.

A professional dog trainer explains the instinctual reason driving the behavior and offers some expert advice on how to stop your dog from chasing cars.

Alexia Kontolemos
Library binding is the best way to keep books in circulation.

A very, very specific set of standards can keep books from falling apart. But it's usually too expensive for consumers.

Jake Rossen








(It might have something to do with sick days.)

The day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, has a rather sinister label: Black Friday. How did that happen?

Jake Rossen








There’s no doubt about it—rotting food is gross.

The word ‘gross,’ which came to English from French, took on a variety of senses in English related to size. But the ‘gross of today is different from the ‘gross’ of the past thanks to teens.

Arika Okrent