Mental Floss Facts

30/11/2021

Did you know Robert De Niro turned down the role of Harry Lime in Home Alone?

On November 16, 1990, what appeared to be a fun-filled little family yarn about a kid left to his own devices at Christmastime and forced to fend off a couple of bungling burglars became an instant classic.

23/11/2021

Did you know lobsters p*e out of their faces? 🦞😲

No Mental Floss celebration—and no celebration of Mental Floss—would be complete without dropping a few fascinating facts and tidbits of trivia.

22/11/2021

A delicious bowl of stuffing...or is it dressing?

For carbohydrate lovers, nothing completes a Thanksgiving meal quite like stuffing ... or is it dressing? It depends on who you ask.

17/11/2021

When you sit down to dinner on the fourth Thursday in November, be thankful for these foods that weren’t a supermarket-trip away in 1621.

When the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people shared the first Thanksgiving in 1621, sweet potatoes, pie, and cranberry sauce were missing from the table.

12/11/2021

Is this Bloody Mary part of the problem or solution?

The hair of the dog is one of the oldest hangover cures still around today. But can it really save you from that pounding headache?

29/10/2021

Poster for a horror movie, or cute family photo from Halloween 1960?

Here are vintage photos of terrifying costumes from Halloweens past. Sorry in advance for the nightmares.

27/10/2021

The delicious defendant. 🍓

The most important story you'll read this week: A strawberry-loving consumer is alleging Kellogg's is using red food dye and dried pears to make people believe their Pop-Tart contains more strawberry than it actually does.

26/10/2021

8. Someone called the cops thinking Danielle Harris was really in danger while filming Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers 😱

Like its white-masked serial killer Michael Myers, the 'Halloween' franchise itself cannot be killed—for better or wose.

25/10/2021

According to one medium, the toy store was haunted by the spirit of a lovelorn farmhand. 👻

At the supposedly haunted Toy "R" Us in Sunnyvale, California, employees reported mysterious chills and toys flying off the shelves.

19/10/2021

To this day, no one knows what happened to Masterpiece.

Masterpiece the Toy Poodle was a prized pet. But despite his fame, his mysterious disappearance in 1953 remains unsolved.

15/10/2021

As lit jack-o’-lanterns beckon and monsters lurk in the shadows, we explore the origins of 25 frightful things that go bump—or boo—in the night. 🎃

From myths to literature to giant squid, here's how some of our favorite eerie creatures and legends got their start.

14/10/2021

Those little "seeds" are actually ovaries called "achenes." 🍓⁠

13/10/2021

250 participants watched all 30 movies while hooked up to heart rate monitors, so they could assess how pulse-pounding each program actually was...

The scariest horror movies of all time, from ‘Host’ to ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,’ will have your pulse pounding (literally).

12/10/2021

Among the biggest actors to almost make it: Cary Grant, Richard Burton, Michael Gambon, Burt Reynolds, James Brolin, Sam Neill, and Ewan McGregor. Hey, there's still time for some of them to make the cut!

Six decades, 25 films, six actors, and billions of dollars in box office later, and we're still talking about James Bond, his literary legacy, and his big screen adventures.

05/10/2021

Have a look—preferably under the covers and with a flashlight—at these 11 terrifying tales that actually happened.

Sorry to tell you, but killers really have crawled out of medicine cabinets to attack their victims.

29/09/2021

Monuments, statues, houses, cars, and even sneakers have been built out of spite.

Spite causes us to act in ways that might cause us to suffer but somehow still feels so good. Perhaps that's why people have built literal monuments to spite.

28/09/2021

Did you know beavers are romantics at heart? Dams are usually started by a young male looking for love or by a mated-for-life new couple. 🦫❤️

Beavers' ability to shape their environment is beyond impressive—but you already knew about the dam building. Let’s look at some other things that make beavers incredible.

22/09/2021

If an unverified gossip account on Instagram posts that your favorite celebrity couple just broke up, you might take that rumor with a grain of salt.

‘Take it with a grain of salt’ all (probably) started with Pliny the Elder, but he was talking about literal poison.

21/09/2021

From blood banks to barcodes and beyond, here are the stories behind 20 inventions that changed the world.

From blood banks and barcodes to the Super Soaker and the pizza box, here are the fascinating stories behind inventions that changed the world.

20/09/2021

“Sometimes there are really tense moments for us, where we're thinking this bear is going to win, then all of a sudden a dark horse—or a dark bear—appears as the fan favorite...”

Fat Bear Week in Alaska's Katmai National Park is like March Madness for people who would rather watch wildlife webcams than sports.

17/09/2021

With dozens of streaming services and TV series with feature film-level budgets and production values, this is the golden age of binge watching. Take our quiz to figure out what should be next for your couch time.

This is the golden age of binge watching. Take the What Should I Binge quiz from and for binge recommendations.

16/09/2021

The face that launched a thousand angry letters.

Chewing bubblegum, eating a chocolate bar, and sucking on a lollipop are among the many innocent joys of childhood. But if you found one of these controversial sweets in your kid's trick-or-treat bag, it might leave a sour taste in your mouth.

14/09/2021

Enter if you dare.

Spend this Halloween season with the best films from horror master Stephen King, and get paid $1300 for your bravery.

14/09/2021

For pet owners, the Roomba automated vacuum has been both a blessing and a curse.

Roomba's new vacuum solves a problem that's been plaguing pet owners for years: How to dispatch an automated vacuum and have it avoid smearing dog p**p around in the process.

13/09/2021

🥓🥓🥓

There's a German word for everything. 💬⁠