Mental Floss
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Home for all things curious, including surprising facts; answers to life's big questions; and untold stories from history, science, pop culture, and beyond.

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Joined February 2009
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Hello, #Halloween lovers… Mental Floss is putting your knowledge on all things spooky to the test for our Trick or Trivia quiz competition! Enter to be in the running to win a $200 Barnes & Noble gift card. The competition lasts for 13 nights of Halloween, beginning October 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Don’t miss it!
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The Real-Life Serial Killer That Might've Inspired Dexter's Dark Passenger bit.ly/4yRlPoK

The Real-Life Serial Killer That Might’ve Inspired Dexter’s Dark Passenger

Brazil’s most notorious killer of killers has been called the real Dexter for years, but 'Dexter's' creator tells a different origin story.

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The Moody English Rock Band That Helped Inspire Lydia Deetz in 'Beetlejuice' bit.ly/4zVPHS2

The Moody English Rock Band That Helped Inspire Lydia Deetz in ‘Beetlejuice’

Winona Ryder’s character’s signature style has become iconic over the years—but it didn’t start with her.

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8 Old West Slang Words That Deserve a Cowboy Comeback bit.ly/4A7x11S

8 Old West Slang Words That Deserve a Cowboy Comeback

These frontier expressions are fixin’ to ride their way back into your vocabulary!

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The Medium Who Wants You to Be Nicer to Ghosts bit.ly/4zjaUoZ

The Medium Who Wants You to Be Nicer to Ghosts

For Rebekah Carmichael, author of the book 'The Not-So-Scary Guide to Ghosts,' ghosts aren't something to fear at all.

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During Da de los Muertos, Marigolds Have a Special Role bit.ly/4jIXKNd

Why Are Marigolds Displayed During Día de los Muertos?

The room smelled like fragrant copal and fresh flowers. Candles covered the ofrenda, alongside photos of loved ones and plastic monarch butterflies. A child’s n

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8 Expressions Our Grandparents Used That Are Disappearing bit.ly/4BHGXRh

8 Expressions Our Grandparents Used That Are Disappearing

Language is always in flux, with different phrases and slang coming and going. Similar to inside jokes and cultural references, what was commonly said in one ge

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The 'Friends' Characters' Salaries, Then and Now bit.ly/48uKd4N

The 'Friends' Characters' Salaries, Then and Now

The show spent ten seasons talking about money but never once said what anybody made.

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10 Winona Ryder Movies Every '90s Kid Is Due for a Rewatch On bit.ly/4BxRJJB

10 Winona Ryder Movies Every ‘90s Kid Is Due for a Rewatch On

‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Heathers’ made her famous, but the decade that came next is the one worth a second look.

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Why Are Marigolds Displayed During Da de los Muertos? bit.ly/4jIXKNd

Why Are Marigolds Displayed During Día de los Muertos?

The room smelled like fragrant copal and fresh flowers. Candles covered the ofrenda, alongside photos of loved ones and plastic monarch butterflies. A child’s n

mentalfloss.com
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Why Do Leaves Change Color? bit.ly/47Pkunz

Why Do Leaves Change Color?

As days shorten and temperatures drop, broadleaf trees pull off a colorful chemical vanishing act.

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What Was Trick-or-Treating Like in the 1950s? bit.ly/4zh2xKB

What Was Trick-or-Treating Like in the 1950s?

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."

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What Dating Was Like 100 Years Ago bit.ly/4A3WFo8

What Dating Was Like 100 Years Ago

Decades before dating apps and DMs, romance followed courtship rules, and some dates required a chaperone … until the 1920s.

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What the Night Before Halloween Is Called Across America, Mapped bit.ly/4zbXCKR

What the Night Before Halloween Is Called Across America, Mapped

From Mischief Night to Devil's Night, different states across America call the night before Halloween by very specific names rooted in the night's history.

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Why Do Werewolves Transform During a Full Moon? bit.ly/4idFydx

Why Do Werewolves Transform During a Full Moon?

Werewolves have been a part of cultural mythology for hundreds of years, reflecting the enduring fascination with the idea of “a person transformed into a wolf

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Why Do Vampires Sleep in Coffins? bit.ly/4Bwfr9b

Why Do Vampires Sleep in Coffins?

Where the monster folklore stems from.

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20 Movie Stars of the '90s Who Disappeared From Hollywood bit.ly/47HmjTx

20 Movie Stars of the ‘90s Who Disappeared From Hollywood

While some have experienced resurgences in their acting careers, others have remained totally out of the spotlight.

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Ancient Italian "Miracle Wheat" Found in Attic Could Help Farmers Withstand Drought bit.ly/4knrPC5

Ancient Italian "Miracle Wheat" Found in Attic Could Help Farmers Withstand Drought

An Italian farmer recognized the mysterious grain he discovered in a passage in the Bible. It may also offer an unexpected solution for struggling farmers.

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The Artist Who Taught Bob Ross His Famous Painting Technique bit.ly/4it2W5v

The Artist Who Taught Bob Ross His Famous Painting Technique

One of the undeniably positive effects of the TikTok era is that, through the vague mysteries of the "algorithm," fresh generations have been introduced to the

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The Statue of Liberty Was Originally a Different Color bit.ly/3W6nKZa

The Statue of Liberty Was Originally a Different Color

The iconic monument made its public debut on October 28, 1886, but it wasn't green.

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The Bizarre TV Role That Almost Made Matthew Perry Pass on 'Friends' bit.ly/4BuxJHN

The Bizarre TV Role That Almost Made Matthew Perry Pass on 'Friends’

The world would be much worse off if we'd never had Chandler Bing, and so it's also become a little bit sadder since Matthew Perry passed away three years ago.

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