Mental Floss

LISTS

Can you spot the famous solo artist in this picture?

Michael Bolton, Cyndi Lauper, and Tori Amos are all more famous as solo stars these days—but they’re just some of the musicians who also spent time in bigger bands.

Jon O'Brien
Bill Paxton, Tom Hanks, and Kevin Bacon star in ‘Apollo 13’ (1995).

'Apollo 13'—the dramatization of the 1970 space program crisis that kept the world on its seat—was the third highest-grossing film of 1995, and remains one of the most faithful depictions of NASA operations ever put on film.

Jake Rossen




Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins in a promotional shoot for ‘Big.’

From big-hearted comedies to freaky slashers, these are the movies that most effectively harnessed the possibilities of trading places.

Jon O'Brien




A massive thunderstorm turns the sky dark over a field in Sweden.

Storms are used to set an ominous tone in spooky stories, even as they bring much-needed relief to parched fields or distressed humans on a hot day.

Dennis Mersereau








ElementalImaging/E+ via Getty Images

Sure, you know that bees pollinate our crops and give us honey. But there's so much more to these buzzing insects than that.

Lucas Reilly








Signs of an earthquake.

From a surprise temblor in the Mississippi Valley to colossal ruptures and tsunamis around the Pacific Ring of Fire, these are some of the biggest earthquakes in modern times.

Julie Fogerson