Mental Floss

LISTS



David Bowie, a.k.a. Ziggy Stardust, poses for the cover of his 'Pin Ups' album in 1973.

In showbiz, personality goes a long way. Personalities go even further. From Ziggy Stardust to Sasha Fierce, artists have used alter egos as a means of stepping outside of themselves, if only momentarily.

Kenneth Partridge




Despite what you may have been told, eating eggs won’t send your cholesterol levels through the roof.

Here are seven somewhat harmless food myths that have been drilled into our heads for so long that we don’t even realize they’re fake.

Jeremy Glass








Ellen Pompeo stars in Grey's Anatomy.

'Grey's Anatomy' is the longest-running primetime medical drama on TV. Not bad for a show that creator Shonda Rhimes didn't think would get picked up for a second season.

Stacy Conradt


Your favorite authors got support, words of wisdom, and sometimes tough love from their moms.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, read up on the women who provided support, inspiration, words of wisdom, and tough love to some of your favorite novelists, as seen in Mental Floss’s new book, 'The Curious Reader: A Literary Miscellany of Novels & Novelists,' out M

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Reg Birkett/Keystone/Getty Images

Everybody has a quirk or two—and that number goes way up for those in creative fields. Here are six writers and artists whose strange habits fueled their work.

Parvathi Sajiv






L to R: Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, and Ellie Kemper star in Bridesmaids (2011).

In 2011, 'Bridesmaids' silenced chauvinists who believed that men had the monopoly on laughs and spearheaded a wave of female-fronted comedies. It also turned Melissa McCarthy into a bankable leading lady.

Jon O'Brien