HISTORY

A crowd on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

12 Fascinating Facts About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art has the world's oldest surviving piano, its own floral artist, and plenty of armor—even if those metal buttons aren't around anymore.

Harris & Ewing via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

1932: U.S. Army Kicks U.S. Veterans Out of Washington

The story of the 1932 Bonus Army protest.

29 Games Nobody Plays Anymore

You’ve played blind man’s bluff and hide-and-go-seek. You have Marco Poloed, hot potatoed, and I-Spied. But you’ve probably never had to pull a peg out of the ground with your teeth because your knife wasn’t as sharp as the others, or tried to knock a met

9 Things You Didn't Know Were Paid for by a Lottery

Most of us think of lotteries—with their cornucopia of scratch tickets and nine-figure jackpots—as creations of modern America. But they've been around for centuries, and have served as a popular method for raising funds for various causes and public work

Adam Jones, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

When Dentures Were Made From the Teeth of Dead Waterloo Soldiers

After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, looters, scavengers, and even surviving soldiers began pulling the teeth from dead soldiers left on the battlefield.

13 Cultured Facts About Masterpiece Theatre

Viewers loved ‘Upstairs, Downstairs.’ Alistair Cooke hated ‘Poldark.’

The Strange (and Smelly) Story of Performance Farters

Flatulence has always been funny.

25 Things You Should Know About Tel Aviv

21. The city hosts the largest Gay Pride parade in Asia and the Middle East, drawing a crowd of nearly 200,000.

Allies Complete Gallipoli Evacuation

The First World War was an unprecedented catastrophe that shaped our modern world. Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 218th installment in the series.

The Science of Life and Death in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Professor Sharon Ruston surveys the scientific background to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, considering contemporary investigations into resuscitation, galvanism, and the possibility of states between life and death.

Houghton Library, Harvard University // Public Domain

Show & Tell: An Antique Love Token From a Broken Heart

Intricate, decorated "puzzle purses" were a feature of late 18th and early 19th century American courtship.

12 Rapid-Fire Facts About Ping-Pong

Over the centuries, an English parlor game gradually transformed into a global sport.

How New York City’s Tenement Museum Recreates the American Immigrant Experience

Mental_floss photographed some of the museum’s artifacts during its annual SNAPSHOT night—the one night a year cameras are allowed inside the museum—then talked to head curator David Favaloro about the work that went into creating each exhibit.

Fingerprint Analyses of Medieval Seals May Provide New Insights Into Old Crimes

Historians at the University of London and Aberystwyth University are launching a three-year study called Imprint, which will examine wax seals dating from the 12th through 14th centuries.

Roman latrines in modern-day Libya. Image Credit: Craig Taylor

Ancient Roman Sanitation Efforts May Have Made Things More Gross

A researcher says the Romans’ dedication to cleanliness may have inadvertently created fertile conditions for parasites.

How Starter Jackets Came Unraveled

David Beckerman decided he was done peddling plaid golf pants. The 1966 University of New Haven graduate had been a salesman at a Duckster sporting goods store when he realized that the bland clothing on the racks held little interest for casual sports fa

Pre-Viking Village Discovered Beneath Norwegian Airport Site

The excavation turned up several trash piles filled with ancient goodies.

300-Year-Old Ship Surfaces in Old Town Alexandria

The vessel was discovered by construction workers, who were breaking ground for a brand-new hotel.

Shakespeare's First Folio Is Going On Tour

The Folger Shakespeare Library has announced that copies of the First Folio will visit all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico as part of a Shakespeare celebration.