Mental Floss

WEIRD

wikimedia commons

It was September 27, 1726, and Mary Toft was going into labor. The 24-year-old peasant, who worked in hop fields of rural England, called out for her neighbor, Mary Gill. Gill rushed inside Mary’s house and found her squirming in pain. Then something unus

Lucas Reilly


Wikimedia Commons

When Mary Ellis died in 1828, her family buried her in a peaceful patch of woods near a bend in the Raritan River. She’s still there, but the trees are long gone—her body now rests in the middle of a movieplex parking lot.

Lucas Reilly


BookofJoe.com

Western cultures often frown on the practice of eating insects of any sort. But for reasons ranging from health and wellness to eco-friendliness, foodies the world over have tried punching up everyday dishes with creepy-crawly ingredients. Hey, at least t

Mark Mancini




Facebook.com/TheQueensEnglish

Stirling Council had a problem. The A811 road between Stirling and Loch Lomond, Scotland, was suffering from too many speeding drivers breaking the 30mph speed limit on the stretch of tarmac around Arnprior, a small village.

Chris Stokel-Walker


ThinkStock

According to forest rangers who were led to a hilltop grow site by under-the-influence animals in Italy, deer who’ve consumed marijuana plants are “unusually frisky” and “abnormally high-spirited.” This got us wondering what kind of effect marijuana had o

Matt Soniak


Getty Images

Since the late nineteenth century, analgesic drugs have been available to the masses to alleviate general pain, including that caused by headaches. While that might not always do the trick, it sounds a lot better than these alternative treatments from his

Chris Stokel-Walker




Wikimedia Commons

A miniature desert blankets 40 acres of land just a stone’s throw west of Freeport, Maine. An uncanny contrast with the state’s sweeping trees, the dunes (dubbed the “Desert of Maine”) are a geological curiosity—and Mother Nature’s way of reminding us tha

Lucas Reilly
Taco Bell

No matter what your opinion is on the waffle taco, one thing's for sure: It’s not the weirdest fast food to ever cross a counter. Here are 11 other fast food oddities that chains once tried out—but a little warning to Taco Bell: none of them lasted long.

Stacy Conradt






Thinkstock

Most people’s fundraising experience ends at running a race for charity or selling candy for a good cause—but if you really want to go big with your efforts, you need to think outside of the box. Here are a few of the weirdest charity stunts ever performe

Jill Harness


Wikimedia Commons/Thinkstock/Bryan Dugan

Summer's here, and for many of us that means the season of squirt guns and Super Soakers is upon us. But this American pastime goes back much further than most of us realize, for these beloved water pistols have enjoyed a long history predating even the C

Mark Mancini
Playwright Tennessee Williams.

President Zachary Taylor died after eating iced milk and cherries. He's hardly the first person—or the last—to meet his or her demise from eating or swallowing something suspicious. Here are 10 others.

Stacy Conradt