%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20684.6%2068.1%22%20style%3D%22enable-background%3Anew%200%200%20684.6%2068.1%3B%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cg%3E%0A%09%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M444.1%2C29.3h-17.4v14.5h17.4V29.3z%20M36.4%2C68.1l29.3-50.8V0H50.4L32.9%2C36.8L15.5%2C0H0v68.1h16.7V45.8l12.4%2C22.3H36.4z%0A%09%09%20M49.1%2C68.1h16.6V23.4L49.1%2C52.1V68.1z%20M76.6%2C68.1h45V53.8H93.3V41.6h21V27.1h-21V14.8h28.3V0.1h-45V68.1z%20M175.6%2C68.1h17.3v-68%0A%09%09h-16.5v40.3L150%2C0.1h-17.6v68h16.7V27.7L175.6%2C68.1z%20M235.8%2C14.8h15.4V0.1h-47.4v14.7H219v53.2h16.8V14.8z%20M290.3%2C45.9h-17.1%0A%09%09l7.5-15.6h2L290.3%2C45.9z%20M298.7%2C68.1h18l-32.2-68h-5.7l-32%2C68h18l3.3-7.1h27.1L298.7%2C68.1z%20M325.2%2C68.1h46.2V53.8h-29.6V0.1h-16.7%0A%09%09V68.1z%20M423.7%2C14.8h27.2V0.1H407v68h16.7V14.8z%20M462%2C68.1h46.2V53.8h-29.6V0.1H462V68.1z%20M564.8%2C34.1c0%2C10.7-7.2%2C19.2-18.5%2C19.2%0A%09%09c-11.4%2C0-18.5-8.5-18.5-19.2s7.1-19.2%2C18.5-19.2C557.6%2C14.9%2C564.8%2C23.4%2C564.8%2C34.1%20M580.6%2C34.1c0-19-14.2-34-34.3-34%0A%09%09c-20.2%2C0-34.3%2C15-34.3%2C34c0%2C19%2C14.1%2C34%2C34.3%2C34C566.4%2C68.1%2C580.6%2C53.1%2C580.6%2C34.1%20M604.8%2C20.5c0-4.1%2C3.3-6.2%2C6.7-6.2%0A%09%09c4.4%2C0%2C6.6%2C3%2C6.6%2C6.6h14.7C631.8%2C9.1%2C625.1%2C0.1%2C611%2C0.1c-12%2C0-21.7%2C9.3-21.7%2C20.6c0%2C10.9%2C5.9%2C15.9%2C16.7%2C19.8%0A%09%09c5.2%2C1.8%2C11.5%2C3.2%2C11.5%2C8c0%2C3.3-2.4%2C5.5-6.4%2C5.5c-3.6%2C0-6.6-3-6.6-6.7h-15.2c0%2C11.5%2C7.9%2C20.8%2C21.8%2C20.8c12%2C0%2C21.6-9.3%2C21.6-20.6%0A%09%09c0-10-5.3-16.4-16.7-19.8C610.6%2C26.1%2C604.8%2C25.3%2C604.8%2C20.5%20M670%2C20.9h14.7C683.8%2C9.1%2C677.1%2C0.1%2C663%2C0.1c-12%2C0-21.7%2C9.3-21.7%2C20.6%0A%09%09c0%2C10.9%2C5.9%2C15.9%2C16.7%2C19.8c5.2%2C1.8%2C11.5%2C3.2%2C11.5%2C8c0%2C3.3-2.4%2C5.5-6.4%2C5.5c-3.6%2C0-6.6-3-6.6-6.7h-15.2c0%2C11.5%2C7.9%2C20.8%2C21.8%2C20.8%0A%09%09c12%2C0%2C21.6-9.3%2C21.6-20.6c0-10-5.3-16.4-16.7-19.8c-5.4-1.6-11.3-2.4-11.3-7.2c0-4.1%2C3.3-6.2%2C6.7-6.2C667.7%2C14.4%2C670%2C17.3%2C670%2C20.9%0A%09%09%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
by David Axe For millions of people in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, the U.S. Navy no longer conjures up images of war games and nuclear submarines. Instead, the sight of American sailors means one thing: free medical
by Tim Farrell The ancient Greeks were obsessed with sculpting the perfect male form. But when their civilization died out, bodybuilding died with it. It took a Prussian strongman named Eugen Sandow to bring it back. During the Victorian era, a bulgin
by Robert Isenberg In the aftermath of the Cold War, Bosnia became a red-hot battleground teetering on the edge of destruction—until one man and his family dug their countrymen to
By Maggie
By Erik Sass If you're looking to make an unforgettable getaway, let Winston Churchill, Geronimo, and the slave who mailed himself to freedom show you the way. 1. How to Become the Subject of a Country
by David GoldenbergFor centuries, philosophers claimed that the ability to make tools separated man from beast. But in 1960, a young wildlife researcher named Jane Goodall told her boss, anthropologist Louis Leakey, that she'd witnessed chimpanzees stripp
Our 9th annual '10 Issue' hits newsstands this week. To celebrate, here's an article from last year's edition.By Maggie Koerth-Baker Get ready for a little kiss and tell. From the smooch that changed a law to the peck that launched a religion, these are t
Our 9th annual '10 Issue' hits newsstands this week. To celebrate, here's an article on the Vatican from last year's edition. By David
By Maggie Koerth-Baker The hottest thing about chili peppers isn't the way they taste; it's everything else they can do for you. 1. They Strangle
This article originally appeared in mental_floss magazine. If you're in a subscribing mood, here are the
by Alisson Clark Sure, they did their fair share of burning and looting. But who knew pirates were ahead of our Founding Fathers when it came to good
by Tim Farrell Forget magazine clippings and newspaper headlines. If you really want to put your finger on the pulse of American culture, just flip through an edition of the Joy of Cooking. The ubiquity of the Joy of Cooking is staggering. More than 18
By Eric
by Elizabeth Lunday If you want to paint a saint, it's best to hire a sinner. Artist: Caravaggio Sins: murder; punching a monk in the gut Religious art in the late 16th century had become pretty standard stuff, full of beautiful Madonnas, chubby cheru
by Jack
By David Clark As the economy sputters, everyone's looking for new ways to save on food. So, we've collected a whole bunch of no-budget meal ideas for those of you daring enough to scrimp. 1. Tree
by Mark S. LongoThe Vikings, Columbus, the Pilgrims "¦ they all arrived here by ship. So it stands to reason that some of the phrases we use today were born on the high seas. While sources differ on the roots of many sayings, others have a clear path to t
This article originally appeared in a 2006 issue of mental_floss magazine. Songwriters have found inspiration in all sorts of places, from transvestites to team tennis titans. Maggie Koerth-Baker has read between the liner notes to find out for whom 8 fa
This article originally appeared in the Jan-Feb 2005 issue of mental_floss magazine. by Mark S. Longo Everyone goes through a rebellious phase. You know, that moment when daddy's little girl decides that booze, boys, and the beach are a lot more fun tha
By Mark Fischetti "When we weren't flying, we zipped on our leather flight jackets, crowded around the blackjack tables of the Tonopah Club, drank ourselves blind on rotgut, then staggered over to the local
This article was written by Sam Kean and originally appeared in the 'Future of Sex' issue of mental_floss magazine (March-April 2008). If humans can train (or genetically engineer) themselves to harness pheromones, sexual attraction in the future may dep
by Tony
If you think the Internet came out of Silicon Valley, that NASA planned the first satellite to orbit Earth, or that IBM created the modern computer, think again. Each one of these breakthroughs was conceived at RAND, a shadowy think tank in Santa Monica,