Mental Floss

NEWS



Gordon Parks Smoking a Pipe

Renaissance man Gordon Parks made an indelible mark on nearly every art form in midcentury America, from photography to filmmaking.

Scott Beggs


Fortune cookies have a surprising history.

From their surprising origin to the unique recipe, fortune cookies have a rich and fascinating history worth exploring. 

Anne Taylor












The Hope Diamond is beautiful—and some also believe it's cursed.

From chairs and cars to mummies and creepy paintings, these supposedly cursed things are said to bring death, doom, or just plain old bad luck upon anyone within reach.

Ellen Gutoskey, Kristy Puchko




Cane toads: Australia's invasive amphibians.

What is likely the world's largest cane toad—dubbed Toadzilla—weighed just shy of six pounds when it was found in Australia.

Mark Mancini




What does the word 'the' mean, anyway?

It’s the most frequent word in the English language, accounting for around 4 percent of all the words we write or speak. But what the word 'the' means is surprisingly complicated.

Arika Okrent