Mental Floss

HEALTH

Eating seafood is getting riskier.

Mercury in seafood is another growing concern thanks to global warming.

The extra cap isn't entirely for show.

Deodorant sticks often come with one outer cap and one inner cap, but the purpose of that extra inner cap isn’t really clear.

Does this image of overlapping multicolored rings remind you of anything, hm?

Condoms in the Olympic Village have been a tradition—and a public health service—since 1988.

Great Britain's Kieran Bird at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It's to get the blood flowing—or is it?

An Olympic swimmer sports circular bruises from cupping therapy.

In events where success or failure can be measured in tiny increments, it’s not surprising athletes will turn to any potential advantage. But does cupping actually work?

Transorbital lobotomies have now entered the chat.

These gory yet fascinating reads delve into the weirdest chapters of medical history, from the dancing plague of 1518 to the bizarre saga of Typhoid Mary.

A century-old law keeps American sunscreen from offering the best UV protection possible.

According to one study, only 11 of 20 American sunscreens tested met EU standards.

Don’t let heatstroke ruin their fun in the sun.

Every pet owner should learn the signs of overheating and the best ways to prevent it.

If you’re eating a healthy and balanced diet, you may not need extra vitamins.

Too much of anything, even a helpful or healthy thing, can hurt you. Medication? Definitely. Water? Absolutely. Exercise? You bet. Vitamins? Quite possibly.

Don't crack open a cold coffee before you check the label.

The word to look for on the label is ‘Snapchill.’

Pills come in orange containers for a clever reason.

Those orange bottles are no accident—they were specifically designed to keep both medications and people safe.

Figure it out, stat!

Figure it out, stat!

Instant noodles can bring instant pain.

Denmark’s food agency believes Samyang's ramen is too hot for Danes to handle.

William McKinley (first row, center) and his wife, Ida (to his left), meet with the Flower Delegation.

Unwilling to leave his ill wife's side during a presidential campaign, William McKinley decided to run for president from his front porch.

When nature calls, NYC’s public restroom map answers.

A new Google Maps layer shows NYC’s public restrooms, while the city promises to build or renovate 82 facilities. The initiative’s name? “Ur in Luck.”

Land Sickness can be just as unsettling as seasickness.

Seasickness happens when a person’s body struggles to grow accustomed to a boat’s motion patterns, causing them to feel unsteady and often nauseated. But land sickness happens in reverse.

Cook, don't rinse.

Rinsing raw poultry creates more problems than it solves.

Some of them had no choice.

From the Founding Father who stuck whalebone where he shouldn’t have to the only known woman to have given herself a C-section.

A Rocky Mountain wood tick.

American dog ticks, blacklegged ticks, and Lone Star ticks can all spread devastating diseases. Here's a map of where these ticks live.

This tick probably couldn’t wait to dig into this person’s skin.

There are several precautions you can take to keep ticks at bay this summer.

After journaling your feelings, try shredding them.

Instead of anger management classes, all you may need is a pen, some paper, and a trash can.

Here's hoping this one is crisp.

A mushy pickle isn’t always a sign the food has gone bad. Here’s how to tell if your pickles are no longer safe to eat.

The vast majority of tonsillectomies are performed on children.

The surgical extraction of the tonsils was a hallmark of a 1950s childhood, but now the operation is not nearly as common.

Patient portals unfortunately aren't yet of the teleportal variety.

Here’s everything you ever wondered about ‘stat’: its meaning, its origins, and whether ER doctors really shout it all the time.