When I was a kid with a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), sometimes my games wouldn't load. But I, like all kids, knew the secret: take out the game cartridge, blow on the contacts, and put it back in. And it seemed to work. (When it failed, I'd ju

POP CULTURE
Some of America's best-known game show hosts are actually Canadian -- including Alex Trebek, Monty Hall, and Alan Thicke. But in Canada, the game show landscape has featured plenty of painfully weird ways to win a few bucks (sorry, Loonies). Here's a ru
Many great rock songs have been the result of a lyricist finding inspiration in the pages of a book.
In 1999, Karen Herman interviewed Fred Rogers for the Archive of American Television. The resulting nine-part (roughly four-and-a-half hour) interview spans the career of the man we've come to know as Mister Rogers. Throughout, Rogers conveys the same g
From A-Z, here are the full names of some of your favorite mononymous stars—and the reasons they dropped the rest of their names.
Super-hero comics have provided some brilliant cliffhangers over the decades. Choosing 10 of the best, most significant cliffhangers is a tough job, so let's narrow it down to the "Big Two" comic book companies, Marvel and DC Comics. Between them, they ha
Apple uses secret internal code names for many of its products before they're released. Over the years, they've come up with some really weird ones—including one that led to multiple lawsuits.
I know I’m only about a decade late, but I recently, finally, watched the entire run of The Sopranos. Tony and his crew get their hands into plenty of different moneymaking schemes, but throughout the series one character or another (Tony, Richie Aprile,
Image credit: Flickr user AJ Cann Pocket-sized multitools are a dime a dozen, but the Swiss Army Knife is an icon. Its name is shorthand for versatility and its cross-emblazoned red handle has gone to the North Pole, to the top of Mount Everest, to the d
Van Halen is back! Featuring David Lee Roth and three Van Halens, the band has reunited for a North American tour, and their new record was released just three days ago. So I thought I'd take a look back at the band's infamous early-1980s tour rider*, t
The Short Answer: No one knows, but the search has been interesting.The Long Answer: Getting a pink slip usually means you're fired.
Here's a little-known fact: January 4 is National Trivia Day! Let's celebrate with some of our favorite facts, pulled from our Amazing Fact Generator and the @mental_floss Twitter
They’re not the most beautiful songs, or the most musically important. In fact, a few could literally drive you nuts. But the following tunes have made a difference somehow.
David J. Peterson is one of many conlangers: people who invent languages. His most recent work is the Dothraki tongue shown in HBO's "Game of Thrones"; the spoken language had to be invented for TV because it's rendered in English in the "Song of Ice an
To make your Monday complete, I present you with a variety of videos featuring animals playing video games, along with analysis of whether they are good at the games. BEHOLD: 1. Real Lizard Eats Virtual Ants A bearded dragon plays "Ant Smasher," an A
From The Beatles to Lady Gaga, some of the music world's biggest names are responsible for some of the holiday season's biggest clunkers.
By the 1963 Christmas season, The Beatles were already the biggest musical stars in the history of British entertainment. Which makes their live "The Beatles Christmas Shows" of 1963 and 1964 even more bizarre.
On January 23, 1957, the Wham-O toy company began producing their first Frisbees. But the flying plaything's history goes back even 20 years earlier, to a couple of bored teenagers.
The death of a show's character has become fairly commonplace nowadays, but it wasn't always that way.
Ever wonder how teenager Marty McFly got friendly with the highly eccentric and middle-aged Doc Brown? 'Back to the Future' co-writer Bob Gale has the answer.
Phil Spector was best known for developing a new production style and murdering Lana Clarkson by gunshot wound. Here are five musical artists he also threatened with a gun.
From chasing down a robber to carrying the Olympic torch, Alex Trebek was just as impressive in real life as he was on the small screen.
If you grew up in the pre-MP3 era, chances are you had at least one go-round as a member of Columbia House’s mail-order music club.