Mental Floss

LISTS

Kiss your pets under some artificial mistletoe.

Traditional Christmas plants like poinsettias, holly, and mistletoe can be dangerous for pets.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is one of the institutions fooled by an expert art forger.

Some of history's most notorious forgeries include a Vermeer that tricked a Nazi and a fake sculpture by Michelangelo.

‘Searching for Franklin,’ ‘The Indifferent Stars Above,’ and ‘Cannibalism.’

You might want to skip dinner after reading these.

A giant Santa statue in North Pole, Alaska.

From North Pole to Bethlehem to Eggnog, here are 14 places in the United States with names that will remind you of the winter holidays.

The Cleveland Spiders in 1890.

From the Macon Whoopees to the Piedmont-Westernport Drybugs and beyond.

These shows did way more than just provide entertainment.

How much do you know?

Dazzle your holiday party guests with these facts about Christmas movies, music, traditions, and more.

Peter Billingsley in A Christmas Story (1983).

The holiday classic—which could have starred Jack Nicholson as The Old Man Parker—has cemented its legacy as a Christmas classic.

English bulldog today and English bulldog circa 1930

These breeds aren’t what they used to be.

Eggnog is an old-fashioned holiday classic.

From traditional eggnog to boozy apple toddies, these old-fashioned holiday bevvies from vintage cookbooks will warm you up on winter days.

(L-R) Thomas Edison, Temple Grandin, and Charles Steinmetz .

You don’t have to follow science news to be familiar with Thomas Edison or Temple Grandin, who are just two of the many innovative scientists who have experienced disabilities and viewed them as assets.

Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (1990).

Discover these fascinating facts about "Home Alone," the John Hughes Christmastime classic about a couple of bungling burglars and a kid left behind for the holidays.

The Big Apple draws a big crowd every time the winter season hits.

Planning a holiday vacation retreat? Here are the top winter destinations to hit up, regardless of whether you prefer warm or cold weather.

Our closest evolutionary cousin, the chimpanzee.

‘Survival of the fittest’ is Darwin 101. But did you know that Charles Darwin didn’t actually coin that phrase? Let’s explore some common myths and misconceptions about evolution.

Merry birthday!

If moms had a choice, they wouldn’t go into labor around the holidays.

The turkey is always the center of attention on Thanksgiving.

From canned cranberries to the world's largest helping of mac and cheese, these fun food facts will wow your Thanksgiving guests.

The hustle and bustle around these events was next level.

Black Friday shopping may stress you out, but as these tragic shopping stampedes from history show, things could always end up looking a lot worse.

Use them while you're talking turkey.

Keep these tips in mind when discussing politics during the holidays.

Keep these tips in mind when discussing politics during the holidays.

Charles Dickens is just one person who left a mark on the holiday season.

Historical figures like Charles Dickens, Thomas Nast, Washington Irving, and even Queen Charlotte all helped create Christmas as we know it.

Hip-Hop, Squatch, and the BrooklyKnight have all been retired.

Some of these former mascots were beloved—and some have been gladly forgotten.

A white Christmas sounds perfect.

Northern states, such as Alaska and Minnesota, will likely see snow on Christmas.

Can you be nocent?

Solving the etymological mysteries of 'innocent,' 'disgruntled,' and other prefix-dependent words.

An exact replica of some of the drawings in Chauvet Cave, including the quartet of horses and a woolly rhinoceros.

The Chauvet Cave paintings are tens of thousands of years old and depict iconic animals that are now extinct. Even Werner Herzog was impressed.