Mental Floss

STONES, BONES, AND WRECKS





The bow of the USS ‘Samuel B. Roberts,’ lying more than 4 miles under the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

These are the five deepest shipwrecks ever discovered, including the USS ‘Samuel B. Roberts,’ which went to the depths of the Philippine Trench during the Second World War.

Tim Brinkhof




Ancestral Puebloan ruins in Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.

Chaco Canyon was once the vibrant religious center of a Native American culture whose collapse long remained a mystery—until pack rat middens revealed an important clue. 

Jackie Mead


From this moment on, multiple entities have argued over ownership of the ‘Titanic’

The complicated legal case involving salvage rights to the RMS ‘Titanic’ continues, 40 years after the famous shipwreck was rediscovered.

Jake Rossen


Its value as the key that unlocked the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs is world-famous—but the turbulent history surrounding the Rosetta Stone’s discovery and translation is more obscure.

Jeff Wells




The spectacular Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.

The Inca stronghold of Machu Picchu has astounded and confounded visitors since it was unveiled to the wider world more than 100 years ago by an ambitious Yale professor.

Benjamin Lampkin








Divers have said that the RMS ‘Rhone’ is haunted.

Whether real wrecks or ghostly sightings, these ships bear stories of unexplained deaths, flying orbs, and screams from the depths of the sea.

Hollie Stephens