Mental Floss

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For children of a certain age, there are few things more amazing than blowing out a birthday candle only to have it relight—as if by magic!—soon after the flame has been extinguished.

Nick Greene




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What does it really mean when the weatherman says it feels like minus-20 today? Is there a wind chill thermometer somewhere, or is he just using a mathematical formula? Let's answer these and some of the other pressing questions about the ubiquitous winte

Ethan Trex






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The most common distinction between hair and fur that people tend to make is usually between you and your pet. You have hair on your head, and your dog Fido has fur all over its body. Easy enough, right? Wrong.

Sean Hutchinson










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The popular image of a witch, which you can see everywhere right now in the form of Halloween costumes and decorations, is a woman with a pointy hat and warty nose stirring a cauldron or flying on a broom. How did that odd choice of transportation get tie

Matt Soniak
David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

The phrase, "What's the deal with..." is so synonymous with a specific brand of '90s observational comedy, I bet you just read those words in Jerry Seinfeld's voice. It's funny because he always said it! Or did he?

Nick Greene