Mental Floss

The 25 Dirtiest Cities in America, Mapped How did your city (or the one nearest you) fare?

How did your city (or the one nearest you) fare?

How a Misunderstanding Spawned a Medieval Mummy-Eating Fad Eating centuries-old mummies was a hot health trend in medieval Europe.

In the Middle Ages, Egyptian mummies were prescribed as treatment for myriad conditions. Europe’s fascination with Egypt—combined with a mistranslation—are to blame for the misguided health fad.
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Why Does ’Phony’ Mean Fake? The origins of the term come from the Irish word for “ring.”

Conmen are the reason the word exists.
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America‘s Favorite Gas Station Snacks, Mapped See if your state prefers salty or sweet snacks when hitting the road.

Beef jerky, Skittles, and Rice Krispies top the list of the country’s favorite road trip treats.

The Chrome Extension That’s Rekindling the 432 Hz Music Conspiracy Some believe that tuning our music to 432 Hz rather than 440 will make it sound better—and make us feel better. What gives?

Some believe that tuning our music to 432 Hz rather than 440 will make it sound better—and make us feel better. What gives?
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‘Animal Crossing’ Fan Builds Massive LEGO Island Filled With Hidden Features This “Animal Crossing” player’s “42-acre” LEGO island is a miniature masterpiece.

This “Animal Crossing” player’s “42-acre” LEGO island is a miniature masterpiece.

The Dark Theories Behind the “London Bridge Is Falling Down” Nursery Rhyme There are a handful of sinister suggestions—ranging from a Viking invasion to human sacrifice—about the rhyme’s inspiration.

People have speculated the nursery rhyme references everything from Viking invasions to human sacrifice.
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6 Historical Showgirls You Should Know The Kelly sisters of 'Chicago' are fictional. But the Dolly Sisters were real.

There’s more than one way to live the life of a showgirl. Here are some versions from history.
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The 10 Items You’re Most Likely to Forget While Packing for a Trip How many of these items have you inadvertently left behind?

How many of these items have you inadvertently left behind?
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How a Cheating Scandal Shook the World Stone Skimming Championships Modified stones were discovered during a recent tournament, rocking the sport to its core.

Suspicious stones marred the latest installment.
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But first, test your knowledge of the statehood order with a quiz.
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8 Strange Dark Days Throughout History What caused some of these ominous events still remains a total mystery.

What caused some of these ominous events still remains a total mystery.

Why Do Cats Dip Their Paw in Water Bowls? Cats sometimes act like a bowl of water is something to approach with extreme caution. There’s a reason for it, though.

Cats sometimes act like a bowl of water is something to approach with extreme caution. There’s a reason for it, though.
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Avoid This Airline If You Don't Want to Be Bumped From Your Flight Traveling is stressful enough. Getting bumped from a flight makes matters worse.

Whether traveling for vacation or work, the last thing you want is to be bumped, or “denied boarding.”

What It Means When Ground Beef Is Red on the Outside and Brown on the Inside Brown hues aren‘t always signs of spoilage.

Ground beef that’s brown in spots may look odd, but will it make you sick?

15 Tales of Women Ghosts Whether born of folklore or a historical tragedy, each of these ladies has a haunting tale.

Their restless spirits still roam the world—some less menacing than others.
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The 20 Most Commonly Confused Word Pairs in America, According to Google Data If you’ve ever Googled any of these words to figure out the difference between them, you are far from alone.

If you’ve ever Googled any of these words to figure out the difference between them, you are far from alone.

Where Did the Term ‘Up to Snuff’ Originate? Are you not up to snuff when it comes to knowing the origin of ‘up to snuff’? We can help you with that.

Know your stuff about ‘up to snuff.’
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Here's What the 'A' Button Does in Your Car Worried about pressing strange buttons in your new car? Us, too. But you'll probably like this one.

The button deactivates a controversial feature in modern cars.
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The First ’Titanic’ Movie Came a Month After the Disaster—And It Starred a Survivor The first dramatization of the ‘Titanic’ wreck featured a survivor playing a fictionalized version of herself and a love interest named Jack.

Dorothy Gibson dramatized her real-life rescue from the wreck, but it came at a cost.
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4 Ways Jane Austen Was a Proto-Feminist Icon There’s a great deal of feminist inspiration to be taken from the author’s novels, life, and legacy.

Feminism as we know it today didn’t exist in Austen’s time—but there is still a great deal of feminist inspiration to be taken from the author’s novels, life, and legacy.

12 Historical Speeches Nobody Ever Heard For every speech, there are a bunch of versions that ended up in the shredder.

For one reason or another, these statements ended up on the writer’s room floor.
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America’s Top RV Destinations, Mapped The spots were ranked based on factors like total number of campgrounds, amenities, and local livability.

The spots were ranked based on factors like total number of RV parks, amenities, and local livability.
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No, it’s not the pesticides.
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The Surprising Origins of the Male and Female Symbols The ♂and ♀ symbols initially had nothing to do with representing human sex or gender.

The ♂and ♀ symbols initially had nothing to do with representing human sex or gender.

9 Museums Where You Can Spend the Night If you ever dreamed of being Ben Stiller in “Night at the Museum”, we’ve got the next best thing.

If you ever dreamed of being Ben Stiller in “Night at the Museum”, we’ve got the next best thing.

13 Scientific Terms You’re Probably Misusing ‘Venomous’ versus ‘poisonous.’ ‘Hominin’ versus ‘hominid.’ Scientific terms can be confusing to non-specialists—so here's how to use them correctly.

‘Venomous’ versus ‘poisonous.’ ‘Hominin’ versus ‘hominid.’ Scientific terms can be confusing to non-specialists—so here's how to use them correctly.
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10 Products That Come With Lifetime Warranties Tired of sock holes and dull kitchen knives? Some companies are looking out for you.

Buying from certain brands is a great investment.
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Why Do Seagulls Hang Out in Parking Lots? Apparently, gulls love french fries as much as we do.

Apparently, gulls love french fries as much as we do.
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39 Colors You’ve Probably Never Heard Of A vast vocabulary of words have been invented, borrowed, and accumulated over the centuries to describe almost every color and shade imaginable.

These colors of the rainbow don’t get quite as much publicity as ROYGBIV, from puke to Isabella.


(One of those two hues has a pretty sickening backstory, and it’s probably not the one you think.)
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