Mental Floss

POP CULTURE

Tom Hanks appears during the 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball benefiting the Children’s Diabetes Foundation.

You know that Tom Hanks is an Oscar-winning actor, and that he recently played Fred Rogers on the big screen. But did you know that he's actually related to Mr. Rogers? (And to Abraham Lincoln, too.)

Dana Rose Falcone








RuPaul hosts RuPaul's Drag Race.

From its humble beginnings on Logo TV to its current status as an awards show darling (19 Emmys and counting), 'RuPaul's Drag Race' has been on our TV screens for over a decade now.

Meg Fozzard






(L to R) Law & Order stars Jerry Orbach, Angie Harmon, Sam Waterston, and Jesse L. Martin pictured in 1999.

Though NBC called it quits on 'Law & Order' in 2010, after 20 seasons and more than 450 episodes, the series lives on in reruns and spinoffs. In fact, it's probably playing somewhere on TV right now.

Randee Dawn


Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox go head-to-head in HBO's Succession.

Audiences and critics have been captivated by the deeply dysfunctional—and bleakly hilarious—antics of the Roy family on HBO's hit series 'Succession.'

Sarah McGrath


What kid wouldn't want an Alien toy?

After 'Star Wars,' toy company Kenner thought they had another sci-fi hit with 'Alien.' No one seemed to consider the problem of selling toys for a film that could have gotten an X rating.

Jake Rossen






Not even the star power of Daniel Craig could save The Golden Compass (2007).

From 'It's a Wonderful Life' to 'Battlefield Earth,' these box office turkeys proved that it can take just one major flop to send a studio down the dreaded path of bankruptcy.

Jon O'Brien
(L to R) ROBERT SHEEHAN, JUSTIN H. MIN, ELLIOT PAGE, TOM HOPPER, DAVID CASTAÑEDA, and EMMY RAVER-LAMPMAN STAR IN NETFLIX'S THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY, WHICH LANDED IN THE NO. 10 SPOT.

One committed number-cruncher spent the last year monitoring Netflix’s top 10 list every day to see which shows reigned supreme.

Ellen Gutoskey