Mental Floss

LISTS

A portrait of the scientists who found and examined the Piltdown Man skull (accompanied by a picture of Charles Darwin on the wall).

From forged artworks to fake mummies and even fraudulent orangutan bones, archaeological hoaxes fool scientists and stir the public’s imagination—until the culprits are forced to come clean.

Stacy Conradt






Caught in action.

Letting your cat walk across the counter can be pretty gross. We had a cat expert offer some advice on how to nip that habit in the bud.

Alexia Kontolemos


Ignorant people are everywhere.

Here are a few words for ignorant people you might want to add to your lexicon, from ‘wantwit’ to ‘dorkmunder’ to ‘ninnyhammer.’

Mark Peters








Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in 'Shaun of the Dead' (2004).

Edgar Wright's horror-comedy 'Shaun of the Dead' has become a cult classic over the years, and in honor of its 20th anniversary, it’s even coming back to theaters.

Matthew Jackson
Ryan Gosling in ‘Drive’ (2011).

Nicolas Winding Refn, who directed, doesn’t even have his driver’s license—and nine other things you need to know about this Ryan Gosling film.

Mike Rampton
A scanning electron micrograph of ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis’ particles (colorized red), the bacterium that causes TB.

Ailments as diverse as tooth decay and malaria have caused suffering for thousands, even millions, of years—and they’re not done with us yet.

Liz Langley


Everything from ‘Jolene’ to ‘Waterloo’ is hitting the big 5-0 in 2024. Give ’em a spin.

Kenneth Partridge