Mental Floss

BIG QUESTIONS

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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


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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






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You zip into Starbucks looking for a latte and a Wi-Fi connection. Your MacBook does a little dance and connects so you can go online. But how does it actually work? What’s the magic?

John Brandon
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This week, Major League Baseball released the schedule for the 2015 season. You may have noticed that it starts later and ends later than previous seasons, but each team still plays 162 games, just as they have for decades. But how did MLB arrive at such

Hannah Keyser