Artist Rebecca Ward constructs fun works of art that redefine the architectural space she’s working in. Using nothing but electrical tape with vinyl adhesives, Ward has created works of art in a wide range of spaces, from a gallery in Texas to a Kate Spade flagship store in Tokyo. Check out the 12 images below and let us know if you’ve ever experienced her work in person. What’s it like? Does the room smell of electrical tape?  I’ve always found it to have a strong, interesting aroma, so I’m curious.

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It’s time for a new Wednesday Wordplay challenge here at the mentalfloss.com Brain Game. Good luck!

ONE of the four words in the following list is misspelled. Identify the culprit:

IMAGINARY
INCIDENTALLY
INDISPENSIBLE
IRRELEVANT

Were you staring at our abs? That’s because today’s 5 Question quiz is: Juiced Up

Can your feelings of love show up on an MRI scan? You betcha, especially if those emotions are made into a competition.
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Whitney Houston’s Road to Ruin. She may have had the voice of an angel, but an angel was not what she wanted to be.
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A London man may have set a new world record for the heaviest living human. He weighs 812 pounds; do you know anyone who can top that?
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China will finally stop assigning government-related surnames to orphans. Not that there’s anything wrong with family names like “State” or “Party,” but they do tend to point out a child’s background for the rest of her life.
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The producers of the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter have released both a US trailer and an international trailer. For some reason, we expected a comedy, but the movie seems to take itself rather seriously.
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Reverse Things is a video of various actions shown backwards, creating order from chaos. It looks like it was a lot of fun to produce, too.
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Here are some pictures of cats who look like, dress like, or are possibly Photoshopped to resemble pandas. So you get two adorable critters in one!
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An Open Letter to Hollywood: stop blaming piracy and make films worthy of cinematic experience.
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A charter school in Cincinnati is paying high school students to show up and stay out of trouble. Research shows that such plans can work well if they are implemented properly.
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Dirty Campaigning in the Roaring Twenties: Herbert Hoover vs. Al Smith. Mudslinging is nothing new, not that that makes it any more pleasant.

GLEN ARGOV/Landov

Is there anything Listerine can’t do? An article from 1888 recommended the product — then primarily a surgical antiseptic — “for sweaty feet, and soft corns, developing between the toes.” But that was only the beginning. Here are some of the many claims — some legitimate, some not — associated with the mouthwash over the years.

1. It gets rid of dandruff!

True? Maybe. It’s never been debunked, and many people swear it’s cheaper and more effective than expensive dandruff shampoos. Want to try for yourself? Dump a capful of the original formula and douse your head with it after your shampoo. Let it sit for five minutes, then rinse. Repeat for a week. Make sure you don’t have any sensitive skin or cuts on your scalp, because that’s going to sting a little. Or sting a lot. Or make you cry for your mama.

If your problem is that your rabbit has dandruff, you’re in luck. The 1937 ad states, “Rabbits with dandruff were cured of the disease only on the sides which were treated with Listerine.”

2. It fights colds and sore throats!

True? Not so much. Listerine proudly advertised that a quick gargle could help guard against a “mass invasion” of germs until the Federal Trade Commission put a stop to it in 1976. After ruling that Listerine didn’t prevent or alleviate illness, the FTC made the company run a line in the next $10.2 million worth of advertising that said, “Contrary to prior advertising, Listerine will not help prevent colds or sore throats or lessen their severity.”

3. It will save women approaching “tragic thirty” from damning spinsterhood.

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Each week Miss Kathleen provides links to a variety of stories about libraries, authors, and books. If there’s something noteworthy going on in your local library, leave us a comment!

A 3-D painting? Why yes, it’s true, and the subject is definitely worthy. You guys MUST watch this video! (Warning: It autoplays.) Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.
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Oh, how I do love books! And oh, how I do love a cute little purse. Finally—my two favorite things (well, nearly) combined! Etsy, I love you most of all.
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Have you got something to share with the public? Would you like to learn something from a master? Well, at one Utah library, you can be, or check out, a human book! Such a cool idea! What would you like to talk to folks about?
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Happy Valentine’s Day, _flossers. Instead of the usual roundup of love songs (or worse: breakup songs), I thought we’d get a little gory this year. Thus, I present you with six awesome scenes of people getting their hearts ripped out.

The Simpsons

In this 1992 episode titled “New Kid on the Block,” Bart falls for Laura Powers. She doesn’t really feel the same way.

The Sword and the Sorcerer

Though this film has gone on to become a cult classic, Variety gave it a negative review. (more…)

Heart image via Shutterstock

Love is in the air today, and images of two-lobed hearts are all over everything: candy, cards, decorations, you name it. That the heart is symbolic of love and passion isn’t surprising. Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, including Aristotle, thought the organ was the center of all emotions. Why the heart symbol you see everywhere in February doesn’t look anything like an actual human heart is a little less clear, though.

The symbol goes at least as far back as the 1400s, when it appeared on European playing cards to mark one of the red suits, and it may even be older than that. The shape is pretty much a mystery, though. There are a few different hypotheses to explain it, but none of them have been confirmed.

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If you’re a fan of chalky candy (I am!), you’ve probably noticed that Necco’s Sweethearts Conversation Hearts have gotten a bit of an overhaul in the past couple of years. Not only are the flavors different, to the chagrin of many, but the sayings have joined the rest of us in the 21st century as well.

It’s not the first time the conversation has changed. In the mid-’90s, the basic Sweethearts were given a small update to get rid of some of the outdated sayings, but replacement gems like “Fax Me” and “Beep Me” quickly became obsolete again. Then, throughout the naughts, Necco added a handful of themed sayings every year. For example, 2009 was a cooking theme, which resulted in sayings such as “Top Chef” and “Table 4 Two.” The hearts got a total overhaul in 2010 when Necco let candy connoisseurs vote on 10 new sayings for the first time in the company’s history. The winners included “Tweet Me” and “Text Me,” among others that aren’t technology-oriented.

If Tweeting and texting don’t trip your trigger, though, here are a few more interesting sayings from a post that originally ran last Valentine’s Day.

1. “Forks.” Before you start wondering why Necco has decided to pay tribute to utensils, you should know that this one is from the Twilight-themed Conversation Hearts that hit stores in 2009. In case you’re not a Twi-hard, Forks is the name of the town where most of the action takes place.

2. “Mommy Issues.” This one comes to you from BitterSweets, a line of candy that includes themes such as Dumped, Dejected, Dysfunctional. Other awesome sayings include “U left seat up,” “Aging Poorly,” and “Pwned! Meh.”

3. “Nice t***.” Whoops. (more…)

All the seats in the CVS waiting area were taken last night, so I waited for my prescription by the display of life-affirming books. That’s where I came up with and wrote down this quiz, and where my furious scribbling made everybody nervous. Are these titles songs from Guns N’ Roses albums or books featured by the checkout counter in CVS?

Take the Quiz: GNR or CVS?