Mental Floss

CELEBRITIES

Queen's Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and John Deacon pose in London in 1973.

What's in a name? A lot if you're a popular music band. So imagine if Radiohead was still On A Friday? Or Ozzy Osbourne was still performing under the name of his mother’s favorite talcum powder? The stories behind these groups’ original names are curious

Erika Wolf
Julia Stiles at the Golden Globe Awards in 2011.

Columbia University, Manhattan's Ivy League institution, boasts Alexander Hamilton, Barack Obama, and even Alicia Keys (sort of) among its former students.

Ellen Gutoskey








Walt Disney Pictures

If you were alive during the first half of the 1980s and lucky enough to have access to HBO, you've probably seen 'Midnight Madness' more times than you can count.

Jennifer M Wood








Vince Bucci, Getty Images

The 'Magnum, P.I.' and 'Blue Bloods' actor has had a career spanning six decades. He also batted for the Detroit Tigers in 1991.

Jake Rossen
L to R: Depeche Mode members Martin Gore, Dave Gahan, Alan Wilder, and Andrew Fletcher in Berlin in July 1984.

Few bands inspire faith and devotion like Depeche Mode. Over a career spanning four decades, the boys from Basildon, England, have redefined what electronic music can look and sound like.

Kenneth Partridge


George Rose, Getty Images

Versatile comic actor John Candy broke out in 1984's 'Splash,' but you might not know he was once targeted for a Sylvester Stallone movie.

Jake Rossen


Cary Grant is pictured in a publicity photo circa the 1940s.

Cary Grant reportedly took LSD more than 100 times and was prone to cutting the buttons off his dress shirts. Those two things are probably not related, but you never know.

Jake Rossen


Oscar Isaac stars in Joel and Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

From legendary auteurs like Martin Scorsese to newcomers like Barry Jenkins, moviemakers found new ways to amuse, shock, and thrill us over the past decade—making it a very good time to be a cinephile.

Eric D Snider


Photos.com/iStock via Getty Images

Queen Victoria was born fifth in line to the throne, which made her an unlikely ruler. But she ended up becoming the second longest-reigning British monarch.

Garin Pirnia
American ornithologist James Bond, circa 1974.

On January 4, 1900, a child was born in Philadelphia. His name was Bond. James Bond. He would grow up to become an ornithologist, and lived a fairly quiet, normal life—until someone borrowed his name.

Matt Soniak