Mental Floss

POP CULTURE

New Orleans bounce artist 5th Ward Weebie raps as women from the audience twerk onstage at Tipitina's in 2014.

Though twerking may have gone viral—and been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013—thanks to Miley Cyrus, the dance's origins date back nearly two centuries.

Maureen Monahan


imgur.com/6B8Ez

The production logos that cap off a TV show don't just tell you who made the show—they're also a glimpse into the creator’s sense of humor and personality. Here are the stories behind a few logos you might recognize.

Rudie Obias




Getty Images

Could it be true? That the summer’s biggest hit is not really a Robin Thicke original? There's controversy brewing over “Blurred Lines.”

Stacy Conradt


HBO

In 2003, 24-year-old machinist Juan Catalan faced the death penalty for allegedly shooting a key witness in a murder case. Catalan told police that he couldn’t have committed the crime, as he was at a Dodgers game at the time. When police didn’t buy his a

Ethan Trex




Zannaland.com

When Walt Disney’s daughters were young, they loved a little book about a magical (and slightly sadistic) nanny named Mary Poppins. He promised them that he would someday make a movie out of the series, and 20 years later, he delivered. But it was no easy

Stacy Conradt




Getty Images/Simpsons Wikia/Erin McCarthy

You know how you occasionally hear an awesome turn of phrase and immediately think, “That would make the best band name? These people did the same thing, but the difference between us and them is that they actually went on to name a band.

Stacy Conradt
Flickr user PACsWorld

Today is the beginning of the four-day comic book and pop culture convention universally known as San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). Every summer since 1970, fans gather in the sunny city to experience the very best in pop culture.

Rudie Obias
The Single-Minded Movie Blog

The use of miniatures in these films is so subtle that we’re still kicking ourselves for believing that cars can fly, and that cities were harmed in the making of these movies.

Erik Sofge


Collider

Not all actors are reluctant to reprise famous performances for smaller audiences. Here are six who inhabited signature roles without film cameras rolling.

Jake Rossen






Getty Images

But the crop of current Hollywood stars that appear in This is the End are hardly the first to play an embellished version of themselves on the big or small screen.

Aly Semigran
Amazon

Many pilots have a lot of star power behind them, either in front of or behind the camera. But just because a pilot has some clout to it doesn’t mean it will be picked up for an entire season run. Here are 10 high-profile TV pilots that didn’t make it to

Rudie Obias