Mental Floss

POP CULTURE

The McDonald's Quarter Pounder is turning the big 5-0 in 2021.

If you're celebrating a 50th birthday or anniversary this year, you're in excellent company. From the first e-mail to McDonald's Quarter Pounder, 1971 was a year full of change.

Scott Beggs, mentalfloss .com




The exterior of Los Angeles's Cecil Hotel, as seen in Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021).

The Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles is one of those iconic landmarks that is as famous for what goes on behind closed doors as it is for its once-regal architecture and Art Deco interior.

Scarlett Harris




Stanley Tucci feels right at home being photographed at Rome's Hotel Eden.

Stanley Tucci is truly a renaissance man. He’s an actor, a writer, a director, a producer, a cookbook author, a viral cocktail connoisseur, and now, the host of his very own food show—'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.'

Olivia Truffaut-Wong
Zak Bagans and his Ghost Adventures team.

For more than a decade, 'Ghost Adventures' has been spooking up the airwaves of the Travel Channel, "capturing groundbreaking proof of the paranormal" on camera in hundreds of haunted destinations around the globe. Now he's sharing some of the show's behi

Sean Hutchinson






Amy Winehouse performs at Lollapalooza on August 5, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.

Contemporary music has become a constantly expanding repository of classics whose origins sprung up from their most painful and profound experiences, the relationships that dominated portions of the artists’ lives, or just chance encounters that lodged in

Todd Gilchrist


Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in 1999's Notting Hill.

When it comes to the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, opinions differ widely. But if you’re from Washington, you might be partial to ‘10 Things I Hate About You.’

Ellen Gutoskey
Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder in Superman II (1980).

In 1979, the cast and crew of 'Superman: The Movie' gathered again to finish making the highly anticipated sequel, 'Superman II.' Behind the scenes, however, the set was boiling with tensions and one-near fist fight.

Matthew Jackson




Mariska Hargitay and Joe Biden in a 2016 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

'Law & Order: SVU' is known for its shocking twists, but in 2016 the show featured a surprise of a different variety: A cameo appearance from then-VP Joe Biden.

Rebecca OConnell