Mental Floss

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This dachshund wants you to know you're probably mispronouncing the name of his breed.

Dachshund is actually made up of two smaller German words (dachs, which means “badger,” and hund, which means “dog”) and it's not pronounced “dash-hound.”

Emily Petsko


Jhumpa Lahiri.

Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri, otherwise known as Jhumpa Lahiri, first came to prominence with her award-winning 1999 debut, the short story collection 'Interpreter of Maladies.' Here's what you need to know about 'The Namesake' author.

Jane Alexander




Sorry cat, the secret is out.

Cats do fart—but their flatulence is usually quiet. Veterinarians explain why.

Jake Rossen




Bounce at your own risk.

The toys on this list include "what were they thinking?" oddities—like a children's laboratory kit that included uranium—but also some seemingly innocuous recreational offerings.

Stacy Conradt


The facts of these ships is unknown.

The true fate of many of these ships will never be known, but speculation suggests that storms, piracy, mutiny, accidental bombing, and even the attack of a giant squid could be responsible for their vanishings.

Claire Cock-Starkey








Now you know how to sing the alphabet in a few other languages!

English isn’t the only alphabet, and not every alphabet will fit into “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Here are some other songs from around the world to help them learn their ABCs.

Arika Okrent