Mental Floss

WRITING

A woman reading a braille book.

Invented by Louis Braille in 1824, the tactile braille system has helped blind people read and write for nearly 200 years.

Kelli Finger




There's a multitude of pencil types out there.

Almost every syllabus, teacher, and standardized test requires a No. 2 pencil. Are there other choices out there?

Bryan Dugan










Zora Neale Hurston in a portrait by Carl Van Vechten.

Writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston’s literary legacy is a class apart. Here are some facts you might not have known about the author of “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”

Sohel Sarkar










'To Kill A Mockingbird' author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007.

Before winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 1960 novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' Harper Lee worked as an airline ticket agent.

Andrea King Collier