Mental Floss

WORDS

This onion is upset.

Let’s hope no one tells you, “Eres tan feo/a qué hiciste llorar a una cebolla” on your next trip abroad.

You’ve likely heard at least one tale that starts with the line.

‘Once Upon a Time’ appears in many fairy tales and stories. The phrase has a long history and a practical narrative purpose.

Theodore Roosevelt was all about Big Stick Diplomacy.

Roosevelt launched one of his most famous sayings at the Minnesota State Fair in September 1901—just two weeks before he became president.

You contain multitudes.

Code-switching goes beyond language—here's what it means and why it happens.

A lot of people misinterpret these famous quotes.

Quotes like “one bad apple,” “money is the root of all evil,” and “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” have been entirely misinterpreted.

Freeze!

Study up on this breaking terminology so you know what you’re talking about you’re watching the sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Painting showing Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin presenting the first draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, both 'pursuit' and 'happiness' had secondary definitions that change the meaning of the iconic quote.

Great White North

As brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie on ‘SCTV,’ actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas made ‘hoser’ popular—and there are plenty of theories about the word’s origin.

Chris Evert at the 1978 Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Chris Evert’s tennis bracelets made tennis bracelets a thing. But the origin story gets mistold quite often.

Every Bart Simpson "Eat My Shorts"

This cheeky euphemism was kicking around years before Bart ever used it on “The Simpsons,” but it prompted some significant backlash in the early ‘90s.

Pretty unsavory!

Sadly, ‘PU’ isn’t an initialism for “Pretty unsavory!”, “Putrid, ugh!”, or even “Please use (deodorant)!”

1978 Life Cereal Mikey Likes It Commercial

The classic 1970s TV commercial is one of the most famous of all time, but no one ever actually utters its most quoted line.

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan promoting 'The Wizard of Oz'

In the 1980s, the U.S. Navy carried out a futile search for the “real” Dorothy.

Everyone from lexicographer Samuel Johnson to Prime Minister Winston Churchill has used the phrase—but where does it come from? Why a black dog?

Illustration Vikings arriving at Normandy in the 9th century, circa 1911.

The Vikings had a lot of ways to call out people for being lazy.

Why are the backs of the lower legs called ‘calves’?

Humans share some of their body parts’ name origins with fish, cows, and dolls.

They’re just joshing around.

The word dates back to the mid-19th century, and has taken many forms.

Having second thoughts about not wearing socks.

Brides or grooms with second thoughts are said to have chilly extremities. The origin of the phrase has a little something to do with poker.

Albert Einstein is credited with more famous quotations than he actually came up with.

Is Einstein's definition of insanity world-famous or just a myth?

Queen Elizabeth II sometimes went by Sharon.

When she was trying to fly under the radar, Queen Elizabeth II went by the name ‘Sharon.’

These iconic brands were almost called something else entirely. Can you figure out what it was?

Break out the dictionary and start counting.

It’s complicated—and there are more questions than answers.

In his House Divided speech, Lincoln feared the outcome of the Missouri Compromise would be civil war.

In his famous 1858 speech, Abraham Lincoln warned that only civil war would resolve the issue of slavery in the U.S. He wasn’t wrong.

It's a cheeseburger, we know.

Here's how the hamburger came by its misleading name.