Mental Floss

INTERNET

“Gaslighting“ is the most commonly searched term in the U.S.

If you’ve ever looked up the definition of “gaslighting,” you’re not alone.

Video games don’t have to make your blood pressure spike.

What better way to learn about cozy games than by playing one?

Think twice before depending on AI news summaries.

AI has made major strides in recent years, but it still struggles with accurate news summaries.

Doomscrolling isn‘t fun or productive.

Break free from doomscrolling and explore the internet differently with WikiTok.

There‘s a FasTrak toll scam running rampant.

Received a text about unpaid tolls? You may be the target of a new phishing scam.

Baking and food items were most popular.

From heart-shaped waffles to bathtubs, see what your home state is searching for this Valentine’s Day.

And they lived happily ever after...

One Elvis Presley tune has become a wedding staple.

No cable? No problem.

Catching the Super Bowl used to be a pain without cable. Now it's (almost) effortless.

TikTok is driving another eBay frenzy.

Those with TikTok withdrawal can get their fix. For a price.

Poppy Napping Underwater on the Poppy Cam

Meet Poppy, the newest baby pygmy hippo that‘s stealing hearts.

Earth has played host to an untold number of human-made borders over the years.

What was going on around the globe in 4000 BCE? This map shows you.

If you’re looking for a sign to quit social media, here it is.

Are you sick of social media? You can get paid to walk away from it for 30 days.

The European grocery shopping method is taking TikTok by storm.

Shopping like they do in Europe may reduce food costs and waste.

Changing your default browser in Google Chrome is no hassle.

Prefer Google Chrome but not the Google search engine? That’s no problem.

You don’t need to change out of your pajamas to expand your horizons.

The internet is a valuable educational resource, especially when it comes to these topics.

“Treat” is probably one of the more popular buttons.

According to viral videos on TikTok and Instagram, pet dogs are expressing their demands using button boards instead of barking. But is the communication legit?

Y2K led to a lot of hypothetical scenarios involving mass panic, failing banks, and eating squirrels.

Buy a water bed—you might need to drink it.

The Apple iPhone 3G allowed users to shoot videos and upload them directly to YouTube. The 15-year-old videos still exist.

A new bot collects videos that were uploaded to YouTube directly from people’s iPhones, bringing viewers back to a time before Instagram.

‘Snackfishing‘ refers to creating and posting fake food products (typically via Adobe Photoshop) on social media to gain attention.

The Instagram page UK Snack Attack always discloses when a product is a snackfish, but many viewer don’t read the captions.

Gen Z isn’t as tech-savvy as you might assume.

Think members of Gen Z are lazy slacktivists? Think again.

Adorable or terrifying?

Are time out dolls cursed? People in certain corners of the internet seem to think so.

Brain rot can be a consequence of too much TikTok.

The phrase for being terminally online is not flattering, but it is Oxford’s Word of the Year.

The ”Reset Suggested Content” feature will be a much-needed change to the app.

Meta is currently testing a new feature that will give users a fresh start.

The online database covers nearly all the fossils discovered in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s open-access fossil database makes it easier for scientists to collaborate.