Mental Floss

BIG QUESTIONS

Thinkstock

We’ve all heard it before: A deafening squeal coming from the speakers at a concert or event that causes everyone in the audience to plug their fingers in their ears and shout, “Make it stop!”

Sean Hutchinson
ThinkStock

Winter is officially here, and for those of you at more northern latitudes, you know what that means: snow and ice. And while walking in a winter wonderland is certainly wonderful, slipping and sliding can mean some nasty injuries.

DeAnna Kerley
Thinkstock

Birthday cakes have been a tradition since the Ancient Romans were around, and celebrating someone’s birth with a delicious pastry seems pretty logical. But have you ever wondered who the first pyromaniac was to light a cake on fire?

DeAnna Kerley






Thinkstock

There’s only one thing in this world shaped like an egg. Not exactly spherical, not exactly an oval, it’s kind of hard to describe what an egg looks like. “Asymmetric tapered oval”? Sure, why not.

DeAnna Kerley


ThinkStock

The concept of the “Happy Hour” isn’t merely a marketing strategy, and the history of hitting the sauce at half price has a surprisingly strong—if not varied—connection to American history.

Sean Hutchinson
Thinkstock

If, for whatever reason, you long to wed somebody who’s already departed for the great beyond, your local government might just be willing to oblige … depending on where you live, and if you meet certain criteria.

Mark Mancini






ThinkStock

You’d think that if you lived on a small cul-de-sac with only four houses, it would be simple: The house numbers would simply be one, two, three and four. But Government is not about “simple.”

Kara Kovalchik


Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

If you’ve ever shakily stepped onto the ice at your local skating rink, you are intimately familiar with the fear of falling on slippery ice. But what makes ice so slippery in the first place? Interestingly enough, scientists are still trying to figure th

DeAnna Kerley


ThinkStock

It happened to me just this morning, when I was fiddling with my closet doors, trying to get them back on their tracks so they would slide correctly. As one door fell off and slammed into the other, my response was automatic. “Aye yai yai, these doors!”

Will McGough


ThinkStock

There are two questions that have haunted wannabe astronomers for decades: “Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?” and “Does it have anything to do with the delicious candy bar?”

DeAnna Kerley




ThinkStock

For some time now, we have known the basic outline of the story of “dude.” The word was first used in the late 1800s as a term of mockery for young men who were overly concerned with keeping up with the latest fashions.

Arika Okrent
ThinkStock/Erin McCarthy

If you’ve ever seen a cat wiggling around in its sleep, or come across three different-sized beds after eating porridge in a bear family’s inexplicably furnished home, you’ve probably wondered if animals are capable of dreaming.

Alex Watt