Mental Floss

CITIES

iStock.com/Warren_Price

New York City Has Officially Banned Foam Takeout Containers

Say goodbye to packing peanuts and foam coffee cups, too.

iStock

Vienna Named World's Most Livable City for the Ninth Year in a Row

See where your city falls in Mercer's annual city ranking.

iStock.com/Alexander Mozgovets

Inside the Coldest City in the World, Where It Snows 270 Days a Year

Norilsk is among Russia's coldest, richest, and most polluted places—and 175,000 people call it home.

iStock.com/Lana2011

New Website and App Helps Set Up Homeless People With Housing

Lease Up lets caseworkers search for affordable housing like they would on a regular real estate site.

iStock.com/finwal

The 20 Safest Cities in America, Mapped

Personal safety wasn't the only factor considered.

iStock/Makidotvn

Lexington, Kentucky Residents Can Pay Parking Tickets With Canned Goods

The “Food for Fines” program allows one wrong to make a right.

HBO

Game of Thrones MetroCards Are Coming

They're the perfect accessory for a commute that feels like traveling across the Seven Kingdoms.

A plume of spoke from the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on November 8.

Smoke From California Wildfires Has Reached the East Coast

Wildfire smoke can travel for thousands of miles.

iStock/RoBeDeRo

How Are Balloons Chosen for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Money talks—and floats.

iStock.com/Wenjie Dong

Why 1 Million People Live in Cold War-Era Bunkers Under the Streets of Beijing

For many, living dozens of feet underground in a windowless bunker is the only way to scale the social ladder.

iStock.com/DenisTangneyJr

Attention Remote Workers: Tulsa Will Pay You $10,000 to Move There

Plus, discounted rent, a membership at a coworking space, and other perks.

iStock.com/Nikada

The Philippines Is Spending $14 Billion to Build a 'Pollution-Free' City Near Manila

Manila suffers from traffic and pollution. So the government decided to start from scratch.

iStock.com/adamkaz

Where Do I Vote? The Simple Way to Find Your Polling Place in Every State

Don't wait until the last minute to look this up.

iStock.com/Pierdelune

America's 10 Spookiest Cities to Haunt this Halloween

Where to go for Halloween parades, ghost tours, and haunted houses.

A well-read rat is still a nuisance.

These Are America's 50 Most Rat-Infested Cities

Find out which U.S. cities have the biggest rat problems. Spoiler alert: The top spot did not go to New York.

Beryl, Kickstarter

Mountable Laserlight Projector Creates a Personal Bike Lane for Cyclists

It's an innovative—and hands-free—way to let drivers (and pedestrians) know you're coming.

iStock.com/LUNAMARINA

America's Fastest Growing City Might Surprise You

No, it's not in California or New York.

iStock

The Top 20 Coffee Cities in the U.S.

Five are in California.

iStock

The World's 10 Most-Visited Cities (And What It Costs to Spend a Day There)

Dubai is popular, but pricey. Maybe that's why more people opt for Bangkok.

iStock

A New Animals-Only Bridge Is Catching On With Local Wildlife Near Seattle

The $6.2 million project is scheduled to be complete next spring.

iStock

These 15 American Cities Have the Most Open Jobs Paying at Least $100,000

Not every city on the list comes with an equally high cost of living.

iStock

The Most Fun Cities in America, Ranked

The data proves it: Las Vegas really is the best place to let your hair down.

iStock

Toronto, 'Raccoon Capital of the World,' Is Fighting Its Trash Panda Problem ... and Losing

The city's raccoon-proof trash bins don't exactly work as intended.

Michael Swigart, Flickr // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

15 U.S. Town and City Names With Unusual Backstories

While many towns in the U.S. were named after historical figures or nearby topographical phenomena, some monikers have origin stories that are a little more unusual.