Mental Floss
  • AMAZING FACTS
  • BIG QUESTIONS
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • #TBT
    • MOVIES
    • MUSIC
    • POP CULTURE
    • TV
  • HISTORY
    • HISTORY
    • ARCHAEOLOGY
    • BAD OLD DAYS WITH A.J. JACOBS
    • BIOGRAPHIES
    • KING TUT
    • TITANIC
  • LISTS
    • LISTS
    • BOOKS
    • FOOD
    • LANGUAGE
    • WORDS
  • LIVE SMARTER
    • LIVE SMARTER
    • HEALTH
    • SMART SHOPPING
    • TRAVEL
    • HACKS
    • FUN
  • QUIZZES
    • QUIZZES
    • KENNECTIONS WITH KEN JENNINGS
    • BRAINTEASERS
  • SCIENCE
    • SCIENCE
    • ANIMALS
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • SPACE
  • ALL STORIES
  • NEWSLETTER
      Mental Floss

      INVENTIONS

      The technology isn't quite this advanced.

      Coming Soon: Lickable TV Screens

      Smell-O-Vision never quite caught on. Will “Taste the TV”—a flatscreen you can lick—have more success?

      Ellen Gutoskey

      Without Ed Lowe, we might not be so friendly with cats.

      Ed Lowe, the Inventor Behind Kitty Litter

      With kitty litter, Ed Lowe changed how cats and humans bonded. But not everyone understood the idea: One woman tried feeding it to her cat.

      Jake Rossen

      What do they know?

      Common Misconceptions About Robots and Artificial Intelligence

      Where does robotics end and artificial intelligence begin? Can your robot vacuum take over the world? Answers to those questions and more.

      Ellen Gutoskey



      Innovation meets farting.

      Create Some Cool Fart Licks With This Guitar Pedal Tuned for Toots

      An enterprising Kickstarter campaign has introduced a fart pedal for guitarists. You'll never look at "Wind of Change" quite the same way again.

      Ken Ossea, Jr.


      Professional boxer and culinary enthusiast George Foreman in 2001.

      Knockout: When Famed Boxer George Foreman Traded His Gloves for a Grill and Sold the Sizzle

      When George Foreman was approached to become a pitchman for a low-fat grill in 1994, he had a quick answer: No.

      Jake Rossen


      Brian Mueller (super soaker), New Africa (light bulb and seat belt), Feng Yu (duct ape), los_jan (toilet), non123 (Walkman), 3DMI (Hubble), Areeya_Ann (birth control pills) // Shutterstock; Julia Lemba (backgrounds) // iStock via Getty Images Plus

      The Stories Behind 20 Inventions That Changed the World

      From blood banks and barcodes to the Super Soaker and the pizza box, here are the fascinating stories behind inventions that changed the world.

      mentalfloss .com


      Pencils have a long evolutionary history.

      Who Invented the Pencil?

      French engineer Nicolas-Jacques Conté created what is considered the modern pencil, though many have since made improvements.

      Tasia Bass
      PREVNEXT
      Mental Floss
      ABOUT
      CONTACT US
      NEWSLETTERS
      PRIVACY POLICY
      COOKIE POLICY
      TERMS OF SERVICE
      ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT
      SITEMAP

      © 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved