Mental Floss

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HIPAA gives patients rights, but some of them are misunderstood.

The legislation prevents health care providers from disclosing medical information about patients, but the fine print is worth paying attention to.

Jake Rossen
















Media24/Gallo Images/Getty Images

If you remember the Berenstein Bears or the movie 'Shazam' starring Sinbad, you're a victim of the Mandela effect.

Michele Debczak


Hulton Archive/Getty Images

School has come a long way since the 19th and 20th centuries. From corporal punishment to lunch to recess, here are just a few ways school was different a century ago.

Meredith Danko




BrAt_PiKaChU/iStock via Getty Images; MTV Networks, Public Domain // Wikimedia Commons

Although MTV has more recently become synonymous with reality TV and cheap clip shows, there was a time when the network truly did live up to its name. And it all began at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981.

Jon O'Brien


Pencils have a long evolutionary history.

French engineer Nicolas-Jacques Conté created what is considered the modern pencil, though many have since made improvements.

Tasia Bass