Mental Floss

POP CULTURE



Lisa Loeb in 1994.

You may not remember some of these songs from the films for which they were recorded; you may have forgotten about some of these songs (or movies) entirely. But each one captures a very specific moment in the life cycle of the films, the artists, the deca

Todd Gilchrist


Chicken nuggets gained worldwide popularity via McDonald's, but their invention began with a poultry and food science science professor at Cornell University.

In 1981, McDonald's introduced the Chicken McNugget to the world and changed the face of bite-sized poultry bits forever. But it never would have happened if it hadn't been for food and poultry scientist Robert C. Baker.

Tasia Bass




Brothers Russell and Ron Mael in Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers (2021).

Over the past 50 years, brothers Ron and Russell Mael—a.k.a. musical duo Sparks—have been on the forefront of popular music trends, from glam rock to power pop to electronic music to new wave and beyond. Now they're the subject of Edgar Wright's first doc

Chelsea Spear


Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci

Acclaimed actor Tom Hiddleston is best known for his role as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but some people say his best performance is as a horse.

Jake Rossen






Pop Rocks caused an explosion of controversy.

Pop Rocks—General Foods' famously carbonated candy—flew off shelves in the 1970s, but rumors of exploding children brought the food fad to an untimely end.

Jake Rossen