Mental Floss

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Col. Benjamin O. Davis (left), commanding officer of the 332nd Fighter Group, and Edward C. Gleed, group operations officer, stand in front of a plane in Ramitelli, Italy, in March 1945.

The first African American pilots to serve in the United States military, the Tuskegee Airmen helped the Allies win World War II and put the U.S. armed forces on the road to integration.

Mark Mancini




Don White/iStock via Getty Images

In 1985, a botched drug smuggling operation by former narcotics officer Andrew Thornton led to a bear discovering 40 packages of cocaine in the woods. Now, the bizarre story of the drug kingpin and "Pablo Escobear" is being made into a movie.

Michele Debczak


Naming a cat "Whiskers" is like naming a baby "Fingertips."

Apart from being the feline equivalent of a fancy mustache, what are cat whiskers for? As it turns out, multiple things.

Ellen Gutoskey


Stephen King can bring the scares.

The master of modern horror has made readers jump out of their chairs for decades thanks to excerpts like these, which are best read after dark.

Jake Rossen
Charlie Chaplin in The Circus (1928).

“Cut to the chase” is a slightly friendlier way of telling someone to get to the point, but old Hollywood filmmakers meant it literally.

Ellen Gutoskey
Rami Malek once handed out his headshot as part of takeout orders.

Actor Rami Malek has earned acclaim for his roles in 'Mr. Robot' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' But his first credited work was something he had to pay a fee to get.

Jake Rossen








The forbidden fruit.

As far as dog toys go, tennis balls aren’t exactly the safest kind. Here are the risks (and how to avoid them).

Ellen Gutoskey
JohnnyMad/iStock via Getty Images

Whether they boast a long life expectancy or a high number of lottery winners, these states qualify as lucky.

Michele Debczak
ML5, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

You probably had Sea-Monkeys as a kid without knowing what they were or where they came from. The short version? Sea-Monkeys were a get-rich-quick scheme that actually got someone rich quick—but the long version is worth sticking around for.

Jake Rossen








In 1968, a Minnesota insurance salesman named Ralph Plaisted was sitting in a bar, talking to a friend about snowmobiles. His friend said that if snowmobiles were so great, he should be able to ride one to the North Pole. Plaisted accepted the challenge.

Jake Rossen