February 2008
Tong Lashing →
Dean Tong is an “internationally known family rights and forensic consultant on child abuse, domestic violence, and child custody cases.” He has appeared on stupid Dr. Phil and awful Nancy Grace as an expert on false abuse accusations, which you can read all about at his site, abuse-excuse.com.
That experience is going to come in handy, because:
Cops near Tampa responded to the home of Dean...
Plane vs. Conveyer Belt: Hell Yeah the Plane... →
Last night the Discovery show Mythbusters settled a longstanding debate: whether an airplane on a conveyer belt (running at the same speed, but in the opposite direction as the plane) can take off. The short answer, as liveblogged by Jason Kottke:
HELL YEAH THE PLANE TAKES OFF
It’s a curious problem. As a thought experiment, it seems (at least to me) like the plane shouldn’t take off, since...
Blog of Glory →
Was it a sign that while flossing last night, my gums started bleeding? No but really: as of tomorrow I’ll be handing in my mental_floss jersey, perhaps to resurface at some point, in some avuncular (why not?!) capacity. So to celebrate the new era, here’s a pensive shot of my parents’ husky (who is looking for a home if you live in MI–and preferably on a lot of land) & here are some random...
January 2008
Shut Your Psych Hole →
Two weeks ago Dr. Phil quasi-apologized for talking about visiting Britney in the hospital, but the media frenzy surrounding her latest psych ward commitment has proven too great a temptation for the good doctor to resist:
“I don’t think [Spears’ current hospitalization] surprises anybody. All I’ve ever tried to do is help. By that I don’t mean doing therapy, because I don’t do that anymore, but...
Classic Quizzes →
By “classic,” I mean “not new.” But while you wait for the Monday launch of our new daily lunchtime quiz, here are three from the archives you might enjoy.
The (Scientific) Truth about Double Dipping →
If you’re curious whether or not you should be indulging in the communal cheese dip at this year’s Super Bowl party, one scientist has some answers for you.
Whether or not the infamous George Costanza “double-dipping at a funeral scene” had an impact on your snacking habits, according to this terrific NY Times piece, the clip definitely affected Prof. Paul L. Dawson. A food microbiologist at...
Weekend Genius Challenge #17A: Like Sandwiches... →
Kara and I have had an impossible time picking a winner for our most recent Weekend Genius Challenge, where we asked you to chime in with your more unusual (but easy-to-make) sandwich concoctions. Here are three things I have to say to all of you sandwich-makers out there:
1. There are other flavors of jelly besides grape.
2. I’m not very happy to see that someone other than my grandfather eats...
Thank God It’s Friday: 6 Reasons to Love Dragnet →
Many of today’s crime dramas owe a debt to Dragnet and its creator, Jack Webb. This week, let’s take a closer look at the man, the legend.
1. It started with a documentary (sort of)
John Rudolph “Jack” Webb became fascinated by the intricate, behind-the-scenes details of police investigations while working on the 1948 film-noir He Walked by Night. The movie was based on a real-life murder...
Ink-oherent →
Soccer “star” David Beckham, last seen sporting a t-shirt with his wife Victoria’s naked, airbrushed body on the front, has decided to make things more permanent by having her image squirted into his very flesh:
The marking on his left forearm depicts Posh as a naked angel surrounded by stars and is the first to feature a picture of her.
The seven-inch tattoo winds around a previous design...
Counterprogramming the Super Bowl →
The Super Bowl is a magical time for sports fans. The NFL crowns its champion, and if we’re all very lucky during the commercials, we might get to see Jay Mohr address a Diet Pepsi can like it’s a person. However, it’s also a wonderful time to love any sort of TV programming. Since Fox’s first major counterprogramming of In Living Color in 1992, other networks have been airing content to try to...
The Sine Wave of Funny →
Have you ever heard a super-repetitive joke that seemed kinda funny at first, but the longer you watched it, the funnier it got? When I first noticed this principle at work in a certain kind of (generally absurdist) comedy years ago, I invented a little pseudo-academic classification to explain the phenomenon: I call it the sine wave of funny. Here’s how it works:
There’s a certain ineffable...
Digging for Comedy Gold →
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiHyVQod4HU
Jezebel drew my attention to the new Bravo show Millionaire Matchmaker, which follows a dating service that pairs really rich men with really hot women.
Patti Stanger, the CEO of the Millionaires Club and star of the show, is a complete psycho hose beast. But pretty entertaining in her total self-unawareness. She rails on the quality of the...
Feel Art Again: “An Enchanted Cellar with Animals” →
Today is “Inspire Your Heart with Art” day, perfectly coinciding with our Thursday edition of ‘Feel Art Again.’ To inspire your hearts, I’ve chosen a drawing, “An Enchanted Cellar with Animals,” by the Dutch artist Cornelis Saftleven.
1. The Saftleven family was a family of artists. Cornelis’ father and his two brothers were also painters. While Cornelis was, at one time, a pupil of his father,...
15 Recent Presidential Elections: A Matter of... →
As you know, it’s Zach Kanin week here at the _floss. Here’s a wonderful excerpt from his new book, The Short Book, that looks at the last 15 elections in feet and inches. (Winning presidents are in bold.)
U.S Presidents and Their Opponents Since the Ubiquity of Television
1948 Harry S. Truman (D) 5’ 9”
Thomas E. Dewey (R) 5’ 8”
Difference 1”
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 5’ 10 1/2”...
No “She Bangs” This Season, I Take It? →
The judges on American Idol have a bit of a double standard when it comes to contestants on their show being sex symbols.
Would-be Idol Bruce Dickson interviewed last week that he was planning to save himself for marriage and wanted his first kiss to be after his “I do’s.” However, he was given the kiss-off with Randy’s advice to “kiss some girls” before auditioning again next year.
However,...
January 31st, 2008 →
Stranded at the airport? Don’t forget Rule 240. You could be flying out on time with another airline.
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Research just in time for your Superbowl party! A science class tests the bacterial contamination of double-dipping. The results: yucky.
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Caution: Slippery when wet! A collection of swimming pool accidents all wrapped up in one funny video.
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2007 Federal Tax Law Changes. It happens...
Consequences of a less than punctual life →
I’ve encountered my fair share of punctuality stories–tales of extreme punishments & horrid ultimatums. I’ve even lived through a few of my own–like the time I was ten minutes late to high school volleyball practice & the coach just smiled and told me to take a seat in the bleachers while the rest of the team ran “suicide sprints” as punishment. There was nothing quite like that; I could...
Odds/Ends →
• Next week, we’re launching a lunchtime companion to Sandy & Kara’s wildly popular daily quiz. The new mid-day quiz will be posted here on the blog every weekday at 11:30am EST. Your regular quizmasters will be Sandy Wood, Kara Kovalchik, David Israel, Jason Plautz and Brett Savage, with special appearances by Stacy Conradt, Ethan Trex, Chris Weber, Matthew Smith, Terry Fernandes, and...
She’s Not a High Schooler in Real Life, She Just... →
Hayden Panettiere got all indignant around a 17-year-old paparazzo, lecturing him:
“You should be getting an education, not running around with cameras.”
This from a homeschooled 18-year-old who has been around cameras her entire life. Her parents put her in commercials before she turned 1, and she was starring in soap operas by the time she was 5.
So how’s college treating you, Hayden?
The mental_floss Interview: Grant Pace, Bud Bowl... →
Grant Pace grew up in Kansas City, attended SMU, and later wrote the very first Bud Bowl ads. He is now the Executive Creative Director at Conover Tuttle Pace in Boston.
mental_floss: How did the idea for the Bud Bowl come about?
Grant Pace: It was truly a team effort. Our client August Busch had told our agency, DMB&B in St. Louis, that he wanted to “own the Super Bowl” the upcoming year....
The “Oops” Heard ‘Round the World (Or Not) →
In the last week, I have managed to burn one knuckle on each finger, two fingertips, the palm of one hand and the back of the other. My hands, more or less, look like I washed them in napalm. I could, of course, blame all this on the fact that I’ve had to use the deep fryer at work more often than usual the last few days, but even if I didn’t go anywhere near a tub of boiling oil, I’m sure I would...
Shorts That Don’t Suck, Vol. III: Arty Edition →
For those of you who’ve been waiting breathlessly for my third installment of “Shorts” (the first two are here and here), sorry it’s been so long! (It takes us awhile to find enough non-sucky shorts to fill a whole post!) This time we’ll be featuring films of a different breed: a foreign film, some music-based work and some concentrated weirdness by David Lynch, all of which is awesome.
And hey,...
The Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee →
During spring break at MIT in 1966, Peter R. Samson saw this quote on the back of a New York City subway map:
“A Flushing youth, who wanted his money’s worth, rode all lines of the subway on a single token. With doubling back as needed, the trip totaled over 400 miles - more than the train journey from New York to Pittsburgh. It took him 25 hours and 36 minutes.”
This set in motion Samson’s...
Dietribes: Strawberries →
A truly international fruit, the modern strawberries we feast upon today come from an accidental hybrid of North and South American species by way of Europe in the 18th century, although many varieties of the plant were enjoyed as far back as ancient Greece and Rome. Here are some facts and figures relating to this most beloved berry:
1. William Butler (1535-1618) once said, “Doubtless God...
Scour Archives, Win Book →
Who wouldn’t want a Graceland-themed pop-up book?
Even better, who wouldn’t want the chance to tell your friends you won a Graceland-themed pop-up book in a slightly ridiculous mental_floss contest? ($40.00 value.)
The good people at Quirk Books have kindly sent us a copy of Chuck Murphy’s Graceland: An Interactive Pop-Up Tour to give one lucky mental_floss reader. Here’s a summary:
More...
Caption Contest No. 6 - Zach Kanin →
As promised, today we have a very special guest cartoon kindly donated by Zach Kanin. If you missed my conversation with him about his new book The Short Book, make sure you check that out here. As he mentioned in the interview: “One of my main responsibilities [at The New Yorker] was to narrow down the caption contest entries. For those who don’t know, on the back page of The New Yorker there is...
January 30th, 2008 →
National Geographic has an interactive look at The Brain. You can study it, stimulate it, and scare yourself over its possible malfunctions.
* Jabberwocky Daddy. There are many dad-related words and phrases in popular use, including news ones you don’t know (yet).
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The Invasion of the Christmas Island Red Crabs. 150 million of them, every year, right on schedule.
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Should you buy a hybrid...
Impromtu jury duty →
Judging from Maggie’s How To Get Out of Jury Duty & David’s dispatches from jury duty (maybe: “How to Get Into Jury Duty”?), we at mental_floss definitely haven’t shied away from how to cope with the litigious life. I haven’t actually had to/had the pleasure to serve on a Los Angeles jury yet, but I did cast the syndicated “Jury Duty” television show last year…Maybe there’s some viable...
Best Placement of a “Y” Since the Village People →
Yesterday Holly told you about Victoria Beckham’s new “Protect the Skin You’re In” t-shirts to raise money for skin-cancer research. Courtesy of the Daily Mail, here’s her husband (That Guy We’re Supposed to Care About Even Though He’s a Professional Soccer Player) wearing one of the shirts:
It’s certainly a good cause, and an even better PhotoShop. But considering the message… shouldn’t it be...
Feel Art Again: “In a Shoreham Garden” →
This past Sunday marked the 203rd anniversary of Samuel Palmer’s birth. The British Romantic painter had visionary experiences as a child, which influenced his works. “In a Shoreham Garden” is different from most of his other paintings, with a more modern, less mystical, feel. For today, I’ve prepared a few _flossy facts about Samuel Palmer.
1. First exhibiting at the Royal Academy at age 14,...
The Bud Bowl: A Definitive History →
On the subject of the greatest football dynasties of all-time – and yes, the New England Patriots have already cemented their place in this discussion – the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, 1980s San Francisco 49ers, and 1990s Dallas Cowboys likely all come to mind. You would be remiss, however, if you failed to mention a less heralded and, uh, less human team that dominated its competition in, quite...
Commander in Chef →
Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has announced her intention not to leave her children an inheritance, claiming she doesn’t want them to become spoiled:
“I am determined that my children should have no financial security. It ruins people not having to earn money.”
Right, except she herself is an heiress to the Lyons Corner House restaurant fortune. The former socialite was once fired from hosting a...
The Bible According to Google Earth →
Here’s a cool idea realized: a Sydney, Australia-based art collective called The Glue Society has re-created scenes from the Bible as if captured by Google Earth’s ubiquitous satellites. Says Glue Society’s James Dive: “We like to disorientate audiences a little with all our work. And with this piece we felt technology now allows events which may or may not have happened to be visualized and made...
The New Shapes of Garden Produce →
Last summer I found myself with a dozen pumpkins and no plans for what to do with them. I ended up giving some away, and using the rest for porch decorations. After a couple of hard freezes, they were ready for the compost heap from which they sprouted about a year ago. I retrieved some seeds (a messy job after the pumpkins go soft) because I have real plans for them this year. I’m going to...
Who Are the Top Amazon Reviewers? →
Slate recently ran an article asking Who is Grady Harp? — the short answer is, he’s one of the top “customer reviewers” on Amazon. But the long answer is a good deal more complex. Grady Harp is one just a few Amazon reviewers who reach the Top 10, reading excessive numbers of books and handing out lots of five-star reviews. The reviewers seem to scratch each others’ backs by voting on each others’...
Creatively Speaking: Zach Kanin →
It’s Zach Kanin week here at mental_floss, and I’m so excited about it, I’m going to lock the Caps and type that all over again: IT’S ZACH KANIN WEEK HERE AT MENTAL_FLOSS!
Zach’s responsible for many of the hilarious cartoons over at The New Yorker and has a funtabulous new book out called The Short Book: Tall Stories, Freakish Facts, & the Long & Short of Being Small in a Great Big...
January 29th, 2008 →
Top 60 Little-Known Technology Web Sites (actually 63). I found True Films to be fascinating; you may find something else that’s right up your alley.
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Most strokes occur when blood vessels in the brain get clogged. Doctors now have a tiny little vaccuum cleaner they can send in to unstop them.
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5 Nastiest U.S. Presidential Elections in History. If we’d only had TV back then, the ratings...
Elsewhere in ghost towns: Kolmanskop →
Every time all my favorite people leave town, you’re liable to find me whining about how “this place is a ghost town,” etc. That feeling either fades or it doesn’t, but if ghosts were sandmen, they’d be all over this town:
Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port of Lüderitz. In 1908, Luederitz was plunged into diamond fever and people rushed into the...
Britney Can Really Pick the Winners →
Barbara Walters announced this morning on The View that Britney Spears’s manager and sometimes boyfriend Sam Lufti called her to discuss Britney’s mental-health situation. He reportedly said Britney is receiving treatment for her “mood swings.”
Walters’s co-hosts on The View questioned whether he’s qualified to talk about this. Walters responded:
“I don’t know if anybody is telling the truth or...
Save the Whales (Sorry, Cows) →
According to the Reliable Source at the Washington Post:
Generation Y finally has its own Jane Fonda, and it is Hayden Panettiere… The bubbly 18-year-old starlet is kickin’ it ’70s style, snagging an arrest warrant for her face-off with Japanese dolphin hunters and raising the roof at a “Save the Whales Again!” rally yesterday in Dupont Circle…
But she really lit up when asked about the...
The First Time News Was Fit To Print, XXV →
In case you missed our first twenty-four volumes or the greatest hits edition, let me explain. Every Monday, we head into the archives of The New York Times to find first mentions worth mentioning. If you have a suggestion for next week, leave us a comment.
‘Politics of Fear’
September 29, 1968
Johnson Decries Politics of Fear
President Johnson called today for an end to hate and fear as...
Smoky Spice →
From hottie reader Cassandra, a tip about Victoria Beckham:
The most famous Spice recently teamed up with fashion designer Marc Jacobs for a line of t-shirts to benefit the Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group at New York University. The tees feature a naked Posh covered by the words “Protect the Skin You’re In,” and will sell for $10 at Marc Jacobs boutiques to raise money for the...
Your Valentine’s Day Gift Problem: SOLVED! →
We know how tough it is to buy a Valentine’s Day gift for that special nerdy someone. Sure, you could buy them another set of diamond encrusted spectacles, or that gold-plated pocket protector they’ve had their eye on, but why not prove your love with someone a little more thoughtful (and a lot less expensive): the mental_floss Valentine’s Day Special!
Not only will your big-brained Sweetie get a...
Now’s Your Chance To Plan My Trips (Boston,... →
If you asked my friends, they’d tell you I’m not very spontaneous. I mean, when it comes to little stuff – “Hey, it’s 6:30… want to go see a 7:00 movie??” – sure. But spontaneous as in “Hey, I found cheap tickets to Paris! What are you doing next weekend?” That’s definitely not me.
If you asked my husband, however, he would tell you that I’m way too spontaneous. As in, “Honey, on my day off...
Battlefield Earth →
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ
In response to the Tom Cruise indoctrination video made public recently, a group of anonymous hackers have declared war on Scientology via YouTube.
The techno warriors sound the siren for SPs — or “Suppressive Persons,” those who reject Scientology — to join them and vow to systematically destroy all that the religion cult stands for:
“Your choice...
Lie of the Tiger →
Sylvester Stallone, 61 years young, has admitted he used human growth hormone to get totally jacked for the new Rocky and Rambo movies. (And here I figured it was all push-ups and egg whites!) As he tells Time Magazine, HGH ain’t no thang:
“HGH [human growth hormone] is nothing. Anyone who calls it a steroid is grossly misinformed,” he says. “Testosterone to me is so important for a sense of...
Pictures From Our Readers: Their “Pants” →
Last week, we asked our ever-growing army of reader-photographers to send us pictures of their “pants,” which was our in-jokey way of referring to some funny, absurd or incongruous thing in their neighborhood. (Why “pants”? This post explains.) So this past weekend, flossers from all over the country scoured their ‘hoods, cameras in hand, and now the frequently-hilarious fruits of their labor are...
Quiz: Super Bowl Backup QBs →
With Tom Brady gimping around the West Village last week, there’s been a lot of talk about his backups, Matt Gutierrez and Matt Cassel. This got us thinking about other Super second-stringers who were just a heartbeat (or anterior cruciate ligament) away from the big game. How well do you know the men behind the men behind center? Here are fifteen questions to test your backup QB IQ.
Take the...
The Exhaust Burger →
Design Boom reported the results of the recent “Dining in 2015″ competition. The winners were a set of pen caps that double as tableware for eating at work, a leaf-shaped spoon, and ceramic salt-and-pepper shakers that you break open to use. Those and the other finalists are all very trendy, interesting, and listed for your browsing pleasure. But one shortlisted entry from Iran grabbed my...
J.J. Abrams on Tannen’s Magic Mystery Box →
J.J. Abrams, producer of TV’s Alias, Lost, and the movies Mission Impossible III and Cloverfield, gave a TED Talk tracing a thread connecting his creative endeavors: Tannen’s Magic Mystery Box. It’s a sealed box he bought from a magic shop decades ago, but has never opened. As Abrams says:
The premise behind the box was the following: $15 buys you $50 worth of magic — which is a savings.
Watch...