LONGFORM

The Final Days of John Lennon

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 1980, John Lennon was gunned down in front of his New York City apartment building by an obsessed fan. This is the story of the days leading up to that tragedy.

Rules for Murder: The Detection Club and the Evolution of the Murder Mystery

While the club initially formed as a social group for writers of detective fiction, it did have an official purpose: to uphold a rigid set of standards for crime fiction, and weed out any potential members who wouldn’t agree to meet them.

Photo illustration by Mental Floss. Image: iStock.

The 1925 Cave Rescue That Captivated the Nation

The epic effort to rescue Floyd Collins was a battle between heroism and folly, selflessness and selfishness, and life and death.

Arizona judge Sandra Day O'Connor testifies at her confirmation as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1981.

How Sandra Day O’Connor Beat the Odds, Ruled the Court, and Became the Most Powerful Woman in America

Discover how Sandra Day O’Connor overcame the odds to become the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Kay Powell has written some stunning obituaries.

America’s Greatest Obituary Writer

Forget about the funny pages. If Kay Powell wrote for your paper, you dove straight into the death notices.

Ambrose Bierce, the Dark Humorist Who Disappeared

"Bitter Bierce" had a sharp sense of humor. It may have gotten him killed.

The humble bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich is a more recent phenomenon than you might think.

The Delicious History of the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich

‘New York Times’ restaurant critic Pete Wells once said the humble bacon, egg, and cheese was “designed to satisfy practical needs rather than voluptuary desires.“ But is that selling the sandwich short?

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

The Most Terrifying Haunted Attraction in All 50 States

From Knotts Scary Farm to Eastern State Penitentiary, these haunted attractions are worth a visit this Halloween season.

This pair of men's black leather Blucher ankle boots from the 1840s was found under floor of an old military prison at Weedon, Northants, in 1939.

Lost Soles: When Concealed Shoes Kept Witches Away

The folk magic tradition of concealing shoes to trap witches probably started in the Middle Ages.

Artist’s rendition of Betty and Barney Hill’s alien encounter in the White Mountains.

Close Encounter: When Betty and Barney Hill’s Alien Abduction Story Shocked the World

In 1961, an ordinary New Hampshire couple claimed to have been abducted by aliens. Betty and Barney Hill's tale still reverberates through pop culture today.

Curtis Chillingworth, the Florida Judge Who Vanished From the Bench

Curtis Chillingworth was the most esteemed judge in Palm Beach County. But someone wanted him dead.

The history of pizza is packed with myths and misconceptions—but it sure is delicious.

A Brief History of Pizza

The history of pizza is a large pie—half Margherita and half lies. Let’s take a bite out of pizza’s past, covering styles from Neapolitan and New York to Sicilian and St. Louis and beyond.

The Girl With the Green Ribbon: A Grisly History of ‘Headless Woman’ Stories

Precursors to the story about the girl with the green ribbon were written by Washington Irving, Alexandre Dumas, and more famous authors.

Not every woman wanted alcohol to be banned.

Queens of Prohibition: The Wild Story of 8 Women Bootleggers, Moonshiners, and Rum Runners

These daring dames ventured into the underworld of contraband liquor.

Dee Snider defends artistic freedom during the 1985 PMRC Senate hearing on the perils of rock music.

Parental Advisory: When Tipper Gore Took on ‘80s Rock Music

Suggestive lyrics from bands like Twisted Sister led to the 1985 Parents Music Resource Center Senate hearing on whether musicians should be allowed to rock without parental supervision.

Before John Polidori’s ‘The Vampyre,’ the creatures were far from suave, sexy aristocrats.

The Wild History of the Tale That Created the Modern Vampire (And No, It's Not ‘Dracula’)

‘The Vampyre’ is largely forgotten today, but it upended centuries of vampiric lore 80 years before Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’—and from its spooky beginnings to its scandalous misattribution, its history was as dramatic as fiction.

Jacques Barraband, ‘Carolina Parakeet’ (1801)

The Curious Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet: An Avian Cold Case

The North American parrots vanished mysteriously in the early 20th century. Now scientists are closer to solving their disappearance.

How Jimmy Buffett Turned “Margaritaville” Into a Way of Life

The late singer's beach bum reputation helped him build a billion-dollar empire.

Tim Daly stars in 'In the Line of Duty: Ambush In Waco'

‘In the Line of Duty’: The Waco Movie Made Before The Siege Ended

In 1993, just 34 days after the Waco siege ended, NBC premiered 'In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco'—a TV movie greenlit, scripted, and largely shot while the tragedy was still unfolding.

30 Years Ago: When Alicia Silverstone and Aerosmith Ruled MTV

In 1993, a teenaged Alicia Silverstone changed the rules for video vixens everywhere with Aerosmith's "Cryin'"—and cemented her place in pop culture history.

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Killers of the Flower Moon.'

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’: The Grim True Story of the Osage Murders

'Killers of the Flower Moon' tells the story of the Osage murders, an especially bleak chapter of American history.

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum—but may have preserved a lost library of Epicurus's writings.

The Lost Library of Herculaneum: Unravelling the Scrolls That Mount Vesuvius Almost Destroyed

Historians were struck by the tantalizing possibility that this library might contain missing works of some of history’s greatest writers—works thought to have been lost forever.

The legend of Victorio Peak has been a source of obsession for almost a century.

The Enduring Enigma of the Victorio Peak Treasure

In 1937, "Doc" Noss found billions in gold in a New Mexico mountain peak. The only thing stopping his family from a windfall? The U.S. Army.

“An Erotic Motorcycle”: The Surprisingly Surreal Subtext Behind Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”

It involves one man’s obsession with Peter Pan, the Emily Brontë novel ‘Wuthering Heights,’ and Meat Loaf.