Mental Floss

NEWS









Residents of London’s East End, circa 1900.

Grab your best china plate (a.k.a. mate) and feast your mince pies (otherwise known as your eyes) on these fascinating and delightful terms in this guide to Cockney rhyming slang.

Mark Peters














Two-toed and three-toed sloths? Not the same thing.

Why are sloths so slow? Discover these fascinating facts about sloths, from their unique anatomy to their surprising swimming abilities.

Emily Petsko


Virginia Woolf, Charlie Chaplin, and Ludwig van Beethoven could be considered nepo babies.

Plenty of nepo babies have earned their places in history. But it’s always good to acknowledge the doors open to people who have rich relatives—or whose dad knows the manager of a clogging troupe.

Ellen Gutoskey