Mental Floss

NEWS

Historian Liz Hallam Smith shows off the a-door-able opening in the wall of Westminster Hall.

Earlier this week, England’s Parliament announced that a secret door had been discovered in the walls of Westminster Hall. Inside, historians found “graffiti” left in 1851 by a bricklayer who was “fond of Ould Ale.”

Ellen Gutoskey






Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist (1982).

From 'The Wizard of Oz' to 'Poltergeist,' these movies were so troubled that they've developed a reputation for being cursed.

Michele Debczak




Steve McQueen drives a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback in Bullitt (1968).

The car chase is a time-honored, frequently practiced piece of the language of action cinema, and the rise in digital wizardry in filmmaking has only helped to bolster its place on the big screen. Still, not all car chases are created equal; here are some

Matthew Jackson










Bob Dylan performs a concert at the Warfield in San Francisco, California, in 1979.

The phrase “ripped from the headlines” doesn’t just apply to 'Law & Order' episodes. Songwriters throughout the history of popular music have drawn inspiration from real-life tales of murder and mayhem.

Kenneth Partridge