Mental Floss

NEWS





Jay Leno once lost control of The Tonight Show thanks to Howard Stern.

Drunk guests, network censorship, and being preempted by tennis are just a few of the reasons some TV show hosts decided to walk off their own sets.

Jake Rossen




Selena live in concert in 1994.

By the time of her tragic death at the young age of 23, Selena Quintanilla—better known simply as Selena—was already an American icon.

Nili Blanck
Marten Bjork, Unsplash

Sugar plums didn't originally contain plums, and their name once doubled as a not-so-sweet euphemism.

Michele Debczak








SUHAIMI ABDULLAH/GETTY IMAGES

From Samuel L. Jackson's background as an activist to the origin of his R-rated catchphrase, here are some things you should know about the world's highest-grossing movie star.

Michele Debczak
Viggo Mortensen in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises (2007).

Since the earliest days of cinema, gangsters have been the characters we’ve both loved and loved to hate. Here are 20 of the genre's best movies.

Todd Gilchrist




Janelle Monáe performs at the State Theatre in Minneapolis in 2018.

In music, there are artists, original artists, and then there’s Janelle Monáe. Since breaking out a decade ago with her debut album, 2010's 'The ArchAndroid,' Monáe has been unstoppable.

Mimi Kenny




Pixabay, Pexels

Even if you're used to seeing your cat throw up, don't ignore it: It could be a sign of something serious.

Michele Debczak
“It’s a food that kept ancestors alive. It’s a survival food, but it’s also one of colonization and subjugation.”

Fry bread contains only four ingredients—flour, baking powder, salt, and water—but behind this extraordinarily simple recipe is a complex, and tragic, history.

Ashley M. Biggers