Mental Floss

11 Things You Should Know About Rosh HashanahThe first Rosh Hashanah supposedly occurred in the Garden of Eden. But what does this important Jewish holiday involve today?

11 Companies With Innovative Benefits For ParentsBecause childcare responsibilities extend beyond the newborn phase.

How 5 Super-Rich Places Got Such Fancy Names1. Martha’s

6 Short-Lived Countries That Don't Exist AnymoreRulers and nations have come and gone throughout history. Some of them have been important, leaving behind a legacy that affects us to this day; others, like the ones on this list, vanished almost as quickly as they started.

Holy Foreskin! A Brief History of Stolen Catholic RelicsLast week a 900-year-old heart that allegedly belonged to St. Laurence O'Toole was stolen from a cathedral in Dublin. Although Rev. Dermot Dunne pointed out that the heart is “valueless” to others, the thief seems to have targeted the relic specifically, prying open the iron cage that held it while leaving more expensive items untouched. While this might seem odd, the pilfering of Catholic relics has been going on for centuries. Misappropriating

8 Old-School Diseases Making a ComebackHumanity spent the last hundred years virtually eradicating some of the planet’s most unpleasant diseases. But in the past decade some of them have started showing up again in increasing numbers of people. Here’s why. 1. Scarlet

6 Times <em>The Onion</em> Had People Completely FooledEvery now and then those misunderstandings have real world consequences.

60% of People Can't Go 10 Minutes Without LyingLie detector image via Shutterstock There are two things you can say for sure about human beings: our opposable thumbs make us great at using tools, and we are all big, fat liars. By age four, 90% of children have grasped the concept of lying, and it just gets worse from there. Just how bad is it? According to a 2002 study conducted by the University of Massachusetts, 60% of adults can’t have a ten minute conversation without lying at least once. But even that number makes it sound better than it

9 Ways Facebook Is Changing People's LivesPan Xunbin / Shutterstock Facebook has over 800 million users, and researchers and pollsters have been busy studying them. Here are some of the ways the site is impacting people's lives and changing their behavior. 1. You Might Be Addicted If you're on Facebook, could you go 24 hours without checking your page? According to polls, 80% of users couldn’t. And for a little over a third of the site’s users, it's even worse. One study found that the need to check your Facebook page is more powerful

11 Eponymous Brands and the People Behind ThemVidal Sassoon passed away this week at the age of 84. He was an artist who revolutionized the way women dealt with their hair, created the “bob,” and believed that women should be able to just wash their hair and still end up with a great style, rather than needing to go to a salon constantly. Starting in the 1950s, Sassoon opened a chain of salons and sold his hair products worldwide. In honor of him, here is a look at 11 other men whose famous brands they named after themselves. 1. Adolph

11 Countries Where Same-Sex Marriage is LegalEleven other countries have already legalized gay marriage. Here are their stories.

How Did King Edward VIII Meet Wallis Simpson?© Bettmann/CORBISIn the 1930s, how would a middle-class Baltimore divorcee become romantically involved with the man who would be King of England? It always comes down to who you know. And Wallis Simpson knew how to climb the social ladder very effectively. She started at a young age. While at school, she befriended a member of the Du Pont family. Her stepfather was the son of a prominent Democratic party boss. And during her first marriage to Earl Winfield Spencer, Jr., an alcoholic Navy pilot of

11 Things You Might Not Know About Income Tax© David Woo/Corbis Every American’s least favorite day of the year is just around the corner. In commiseration, here are some things you might not know about the income tax. 1. More People Think It’s Okay to Cheat Taxes are never popular, but recently they have gotten even less so. In 2011, 16% of Americans said it was acceptable to cheat on your taxes, up from 13% in 2010. The number of people who said cheating “as much as possible” was fine doubled to 8%. Researchers blame this increase

What Made People Think Dewey Defeated Truman?Truman isn’t just gleeful in that famous photo because he won the election, but because it was egg on the face of a paper he hated, the Chicago Tribune. The paper had a conservative bent, disapproved of most of his policies, and had once even called him a “nincompoop” in an editorial.The Tribune was suffering under the weight of a strike, which meant its morning edition needed to go to press much earlier than in other election years - even before the polls

The Scandalous History of Arlington National CemeteryUPI/Kevin Dietsch /LANDOV Arlington is some of the most hallowed ground in the United States. More than 400,000 fallen servicemen and women are buried there and are honored with a service every Memorial Day. But despite its great importance, the cemetery has had more than its share of scandals over the last 148 years. Illegal Beginnings Arlington isn’t actually located in Washington, DC, but just outside it, in Virginia. That’s because the land was seized from Robert E. Lee’s plantation in

11 Wars That Lasted Way Longer Than They Should HaveThanks to lost paperwork, diplomatic technicalities, or just plain forgetting they had declared war in the first place, many countries remained in a state of war long after the actual fighting had stopped. 1. Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Republic – 2,134

5 Great Things With Unexpected DownsidesEvery cloud has a silver lining. We hate to rain on your parade, but it seems the opposite is true, too. Here are five allegedly good things that aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. 1. Being

4 Ridiculous Space Accidents (Where Everyone Survived)From wolves to lightning strikes, even the most well-planned space flights are often plagued by ridiculous accidents. Sometimes lots of them all in a row. And even more unbelievably, sometimes everyone involved lives. 1. Voskhod

7 Superpowers Available to ScientologistsLafayette Ronald Hubbard identified 57 areas that people who reached the higher levels of Scientology would be able to control. Here are some of the things he and the current organization’s leadership claim will make you unlike any people ever to come before. 1. Immunity from Physical

4 Royal Scandals Juicier Than Prince Harry's Strip BilliardsA few days ago, photos of Prince Harry cavorting naked with a blonde hit the web. While the prince has had his share of controversy in the past, including attending a party in a Nazi uniform and getting caught smoking weed, he has a long way to go to catch up to some of his scandalous relatives. 1. George

5 Things to Remember About Teachers for Back to SchoolEarlier this year you may have heard about a “War on Teachers,” where discussions of how little teachers work compared to how much they're paid got a lot of play in the media. With school starting again, let's take a closer look at our teachers. 1. They Don’t Do It for the Money Since more money is the way to motivate employees in most businesses, some school districts with less than stellar test grades have tried offering large bonuses to teachers if they get their kids to a higher level. In

11 Historical Geniuses and Their Possible Mental DisordersWhile it's impossible to be completely sure of a correct diagnosis of a historical figure, researchers have made educated guesses.

11 of the Richest People in HistoryThese men were up there in the 0.001 percent of their time—and they were all just a little bit bonkers.

4 Early American Politicians Rocked by Sex ScandalsGeneral David Petraeus resigned his position and ended any hope of a run for the presidency over a sex scandal. While his actions weren't appropriate, he was just carrying on a long tradition of powerful men in government ruining their careers for a roll in the hay. 1. Alexander

11 People Who Lived to Read Their Own ObituariesYou might think that the death of a famous person would be relatively easy to double check before reporting it—but you would be wrong. For hundreds of years, the news has been jumping the gun on the deaths of some of our most celebrated personalities, so these 11 all had the surreal experience of reading their own obituaries. 1. Mark

The Strange Origins of 5 Iconic FashionsMany of the basic fashions we take for granted today were popularized by people who were just a little bit bonkers.

5 Amazing Things People Buried in the DesertHeat, sand, and isolation make the desert a great place for treasure to hide.

6 Surprising Ways to Make Better DecisionsWhen it comes time to make a big decision in your life, you want all the help you can get. Fortunately, there are some completely random things you can do to increase your chances of making the right decision.

The Perfect Time of Day to Do EverythingWant to make your days happier, healthier, and more lucrative? Just follow this schedule.

14 Famous People Who Survived the 1918 Flu PandemicThe disease ultimately infected some 500 million people, and estimates put the death toll anywhere from 20 to 50 million.

10 Scientific Benefits of Being a Dog OwnerDogs make you happier and healthier, and they might even detect cancer.

11 Things Las Vegas Has Banned for Some ReasonLas Vegas lets its visitors get away with a lot. Gambling is legal. Walking down the street drinking a beer is legal. Prostitution is illegal but tolerated. It calls itself Sin City and promises that, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”Despite this, there are still some things you can’t do in Vegas. Here are eleven odd things the city has banned over the years.1.

5 Crazy Ways People Amused Themselves Before TelevisionBefore people had hundreds of channels, if they wanted to watch surgery or gawk at celebrity babies, they had to actually leave the house. Here are some of the ways people entertained themselves in the pre-TV era.

5 More Crazy Ways People Amused Themselves Before TelevisionLast month we discussed some of the strange ways people entertained themselves before television. Here are five more examples. 1. Mummy

The Ladies' Privilege: Encouraging Women to Propose on Leap DayWomen have made great strides toward equality over the past century. But when it comes to marriage proposals, it’s still typically the men doing the asking ... unless it's February 29th.

5 Silly Reasons People Decided to DuelFor thousands of years, men and women have risked their lives fighting duels for lofty reasons like honor, integrity, and justice. These are not those

10 Videos Spanning the Career of Whitney HoustonVocal legend Whitney Houston died yesterday at the Beverly Hilton. She was 48. Here are ten videos that encompass her

Why Can’t You Wear White After Labor Day?The unofficial—but widely-known—fashion rule can be traced back more than 100 years to some snobby millionaires.

6 Embarrassing Things We All Do—and WhyAdmit it: You've done at least one of these things before. Turns out, there's a scientific explanation for why.

15 Last Survivors of Famous EventsHere are 15 people who not only made history, but got to tell the tale for decades.

5 Reasons Teenagers Act the Way They DoFor everyone who is or was a teen, here are some scientific explanations for why they behave that way.

6 Amazing Animals That Practically Lived ForeverHere are six legendary animals that lived a lot longer than most pets.

6 Scientific Reasons Mondays Are the WorstHave a case of the Mondays? Here's why.

11 Book Burning Stories That Will Break Your HeartA warning to all bibliophiles: reading this might hurt.

7 Downsides to Being Left-HandedThe world has been out to get lefties for thousands of years. And while we no longer force 10% of the population to learn to write with their right hand or burn them at the stake as witches, the odds still aren’t stacked in their favor. 1. They Are Left Out of Studies As Northwestern University psychology professor Robin Nusslock told the Wall Street Journal, many studies about how the brain works specifically prohibit lefties from participating. Researchers do this because they know that left-handed

From Text Neck to Hogwarts Headache: 6 Injuries for the Modern EraOur shiny new gadgets (and one teen wizard) are proving once again that human beings are really easily breakable. 1. Text

26 Things You Might Not Know Were Named After PlacesFrom cheddar cheese to the tuxedo.

11 Things That Make You a Bad DriverYou might have passed your driving test with flying colors and never text while driving, but it turns out there are a lot more bizarre things that can affect how dangerous you are on the road.

10 Scientific Benefits of Being a Cat OwnerStudies have shown that just watching cat videos on the internet can boost a person's energy and create positive emotions—so it's no surprise that actual cat ownership has a number of benefits. Here are a few.

7 Ways to Divorce-Proof Your Marriage (Statistically Speaking)While these certainly aren't guaranteed (please don’t cite us in your divorce petition), here are some things science says will make you less likely to get

5 Apocalypse Scenarios Governments Have Actually AddressedFrom a Zombie invasion to a March Madness app infecting all our cellphones, governments are preparing for the worst. 1. A Zombie

5 Great Love Stories That Weren't All That GreatValentine’s Day annoys a lot of people. So here’s a reminder that some relationships that are considered the greatest love stories of all time were pretty messed up.

What Did Grover Cleveland Do Between Terms?After losing to Benjamin Harrison, Cleveland really thought he was done with government. But his wife thought otherwise.

11 Simple Ways to Improve Your MemoryWhether you want to be a Jeopardy! champion or just need to remember where you parked your car, here are 11 things you can do right now.

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