Mental Floss

LISTS

"The best movies begin with an / encounter and end with someone setting someone free."

Poems have helped to create some of the most poignant scenes in movies—think of W.H. Auden’s "Funeral Blues" in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral,' or Elizabeth Bishop’s "One Art" in 'In Her Shoes.' Movies, in turn, have inspired some spectacular poems.

Keith Johnston






Pictured: The 1980s.

In the 1980s, shopping malls across America hosted everything from video game demonstrations to fans screaming for Patrick Duffy.

Jake Rossen


Tom Hanks appears during the 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball benefiting the Children’s Diabetes Foundation.

You know that Tom Hanks is an Oscar-winning actor, and that he recently played Fred Rogers on the big screen. But did you know that he's actually related to Mr. Rogers? (And to Abraham Lincoln, too.)

Dana Rose Falcone




RuPaul hosts RuPaul's Drag Race.

From its humble beginnings on Logo TV to its current status as an awards show darling (19 Emmys and counting), 'RuPaul's Drag Race' has been on our TV screens for over a decade now.

Meg Fozzard






(L to R) Law & Order stars Jerry Orbach, Angie Harmon, Sam Waterston, and Jesse L. Martin pictured in 1999.

Though NBC called it quits on 'Law & Order' in 2010, after 20 seasons and more than 450 episodes, the series lives on in reruns and spinoffs. In fact, it's probably playing somewhere on TV right now.

Randee Dawn






Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox go head-to-head in HBO's Succession.

Audiences and critics have been captivated by the deeply dysfunctional—and bleakly hilarious—antics of the Roy family on HBO's hit series 'Succession.'

Sarah McGrath