Mental Floss

NEWS

Participating in Dry January means that no booze at all is to pass your lips for the entire calendar month of January. Here's how it started.

Mike Rampton
Barbie and Ken are just two members of the Barbie bunch.

From Celine Dion’s “erotic motorcycle” to the crafty female platypus who faked a pregnancy in order to bust out of the Bronx Zoo, 2023 was full of some pretty great stories.

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Cooking kids was not a tradition (but sending strange cards was).

For many Victorians, parties, dancing, and festive spirits were staples of New Year’s celebrations. Yet there were many other odd, quaint, and charming customs that for the most part are no longer with us.

Keith Johnston








Cheers!

As midnight approaches on December 31, more than a few of us will pop open a bottle or two of champagne to help ring in the New Year. Here are a few nuggets you can share with fellow revelers.

Ethan Trex




Bessie Coleman, David Bowie, and Martin Luther King Jr. all have January birthdays.

Some of our favorite figures from history, literature, music, pop culture, and more were born in the first month of the year. Do you share a birthday with one of these famous folks?

Miss Cellania




Remember when your high school reading list included ‘Atticus,’ ‘Fiesta,’ and ‘The Last Man in Europe’? You will once you see what these books were renamed before they hit bookshelves.

Stacy Conradt