Mental Floss

NEWS

Mental Floss

In the final bonus episode of The Quest for the North Pole, we travel to far northwestern Greenland to see the changing Arctic firsthand. Along the way, we'll see amazing wildlife, get frostbite, and realize how lucky we are not to be man-hauling thousand

Kat Long


An enviable spread.

Are N95 masks reusable? It depends on a few factors—here’s how to tell when yours is ready to be replaced.

Ellen Gutoskey














ZIP codes hold the answer to getting you your junk mail as quickly as possible.

The five- to nine-digit code that gets letters to their destinations started with a man who would become known as "Mr. Zip."

Jake Rossen
Illustration of Ansault pear from "The Pears of New York".

From Ansault pears to passenger pigeons, you'll likely never find these delicacies from days past on a menu ever again.

Michele Debczak


Watercolor drawing of the leg of a patient, age 50, who had scurvy for 12 months' standing.

Scurvy’s mysterious cause wasn’t identified until the 20th century. Here are a few facts from the disease's long and miserable history.

Kat Long




Tech Decks were classroom nuisances, brah.

From slap bracelets to finger-sized skateboards, these are the distractions that filled teachers' desk drawers in the '90s.

Jake Rossen


More than one donkey has been involved in a crime.

Whether they were guilty of having potty mouths or stealing shoes, these animals found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Kerry Wolfe