Mental Floss

LISTS

Drone image above the H.M.S. Erebus shipwreck.

Sunken vessels captivate us. They inspire grief, wonder, romance—and horror. Here are stories of famous ships that went under, leaving a changed world in their wakes.

Mark Mancini


Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy star in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

Nearly 40 years after introducing audiences to Max Rockatansky, director George Miller resurrected his dystopian series and created one of the most emotional action movies ever made with 'Mad Max: Fury Road.'

Scott Beggs




Current and former Chipotle employees let us in on a few of the chain's secrets.

Staffers at the Mexican-style food giant talk chain-mail work attire, stolen orders, and why 'soup burritos' are the worst.

Jake Rossen


Queen Elizabeth II in 2021.

From how they became the Mountbatten-Windsors to the last person in line to the throne, here's what you need to know about the British royal family.

Jonathan Mayer




Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah in The Mummy (1999).

Since 1932, 'The Mummy' has been one of Universal Studios’s most successful and enduring franchises—and the 1999 version starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz was no exception.

Todd Gilchrist


The Imperial Caucasus Egg, 1893.

Fabergé eggs have long been symbols of craftsmanship, prestige, and ultimately tragedy. They tell a story of the wealth, power, and decadence that would seal the fate of the Romanovs.

Paris Franz


Dolly Parton will always love you, but she doesn't love you love you.

Love songs are like Rorschach tests—or, to put it more romantically, puffy clouds. We hear in them what we want, and that leaves lots of room for misinterpretation.

Kenneth Partridge






Getty Images

Even the most cinematically inclined of us may not have heard of the debut films of some of today’s most well-known directors.

Kathleen Elise