Lucas Reilly

Joined: Nov 21, 2012

Lucas proudly worked on mental_floss magazine for four years, where he served as a senior editor. For two years, he worked as a longform feature writer for the web. He's embedded with professional eclipse chasers in Nebraska, interviewed feudal lords in Britain, hunted for buried treasure in Virginia, and once profiled a man who had tried to turn into a goat. Chances are, you can find him at the library.

Bright ideas come to us in the shower for a reason.

Discover some of history's most hilarious—and unforgettable—controversies that were caused by farts, including regime changes in Ancient Egypt and more.

There was a time when a kilt could get a person in a lot of trouble.

In 1746, tartan kilts were outlawed in Scotland. That ban would help the garment become world-famous.

For the past century, the quest to break the Beale Ciphers has attracted the military, computer scientists, and conspiracy theorists. All have failed.

Did the great poet really build a tomb for a household pest?

Over the past 900-plus years, more than 30 monarchs have called Windsor Castle home. It has also been the site of several royal weddings—including Prince Harry's 2018 nuptials to Meghan Markle.

It’s 123 years old. Oh, and it’s still edible.

The court of Kublai Khan, a rival to Kaidu.

Delve into the history of Khutulun, the 13th-century Mongolian princess—and descendant of Genghis Khan—who challenged marriage suitors to wrestling matches.

It's twice the length of the Hoover Dam, but it was only discovered with the help of satellite imagery.

King Henry with Cardinal Wolsey, circa 1528.

Discover how King Henry VIII and other members of the Tudor nobility handled going to the bathroom in the mid-1500s. (Spoiler: There was velvet involved, but it still wasn’t pretty.)

The spelling is a bit peculiar at times, too.

How well do you really know the U.S. Constitution? Discover things you might not have realized about this influential document, like its dictator-friendly loophole.

Johann Sebastian Bach was buried in an unmarked grave in 1750. Nearly two centuries later, a doctor identified the composer’s bones from skeletal evidence of “organist’s disease.”

The Dame of Sark, Sibyl Hathaway, in March 1953.

Dame Sibyl Hathaway protected her people with the unlikeliest of weapons: Feudal etiquette, old-world manners, and a dollop of classic snobbery.

Lucas Reilly

Joined: Nov 21, 2012

13 Fascinating Facts About Bees

The Reason Why Our Best Ideas Come to Us in the Shower

The Optimal Time to Dunk an Oreo, According to Science

15 Times That Animals or Inanimate Objects Went to Court

7 Explosive Fart Controversies

How Scotland’s 35-Year Kilt Ban Backfired in Spectacular Fashion

The Quest to Break America’s Most Mysterious Code—And Find $60 Million in Buried Treasure

The Dubious Legend of Virgil’s Pet Fly

11 Surprising Facts About Windsor Castle

The Story Behind the World’s Oldest (Pet) Ham

The Mongolian Princess Who Challenged Her Suitors to a Wrestling Match—and Always Won

Behold! The World’s Largest Beaver Dam

A 16th-Century Guide to Pooping at King Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace

21 Things You May Not Know About the U.S. Constitution

The Phony Disease That Helped Researchers Identify Bach’s (Purported) Body

How the World’s Only Feudal Lord Outclassed the Nazis to Save Her People