Mental Floss

FACTS

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in a remote location in Chile’s Andes Mountains on October 13, 1972—and those who made it through the crash would need to resort to desperate measures to survive.

Lorna Wallace








Humphrey Bogart.

No, he wasn’t the Gerber baby, but he did serve as a model for another brand of baby food—and 19 other facts you need to know about this Hollywood heavyweight.

Lana Schwartz








Walter Matthau in a scene from 'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974).

Make a list of the greatest movies ever set in New York City, and it should include ‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.’ Discover more facts about the 1974 crime drama here, including how producers got the MTA to let them use real subway trains.

Matthew Jackson
James Baldwin.

August 2, 2024 makes the 100th anniversary of James Baldwin’s birth. Here’s what you should know about the ‘Tell It on the Mountain’ and ‘Giovanni’s Room’ author.

Kritika Agrawal


Beware of poop bombs!

Goats have accents, hippos sweat something that looks like blood, and mosquitoes love feet. In the latest episode of The List Show, host Erin McCarthy dives into 28 animal facts that are sure to make you go "WTF?"

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Alexandre Rodrigues in 'City of God' (2002).

Shot on location in Rio's poorest neighborhoods, ‘City of God’ used amateur actors from the community in many of its most famous improvised scenes, which are as evocative today as they were when the film first hit theaters in 2002.

Scott Beggs


The survivors of 'Lost.'

What began as a show about the survivors of a plane crash attempting to survive all alone on a tropical island quickly turned into something much different—and weirder.

Erin McCarthy
The Gen Z idol has been in the spotlight ever since her break-out role on Disney’s "Shake It Up."

From her status as a Kidz Bop alumna to the real meaning behind her name, there's probably a lot of facts about Zendaya that you don't know about.

Emily Malkowski