Mental Floss

NEWS



A great white shark.

Shark attacks are extremely rare. But they do occasionally happen, and some species are more likely to be behind the kill than others.

Lorna Wallace


When life gives you lemons, return to the dealership.

Cars aren’t a piece of fruit, so how did they come to be associated with lemons? Discover how this slang term got adopted in the automotive world and what it really means.

Jake Rossen








The lore behind America's favorite ballpark snack is pretty fascinating.

Discover the curious origins of America’s favorite ballpark snack and why it’s called a “hot dog” to begin with. (Spoiler: It doesn’t involve any literal dog meat.)

Lauren Dana


Most Pride celebrations in the U.S. occur in June.

Since 1970, the LGBTQ community has marked June as Pride Month, in part to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a watershed moment in LGBTQ history when patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid.

Skylar Baker-Jordan








The dish really doesn't have anything to do with primates.

Monkey bread—a sticky pull-apart pastry that’s typically made from canned biscuit dough—is a sugary, cinnamony treat that has nothing to do with primates.

Sam Hindman


Hey, little guy.

From the long legs of the jerboa to basically everything about the duck-billed platypus, evolution has taken some weird turns.

Bethel Afful