Erin McCarthy

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Erin is the Editor-in-Chief of MentalFloss.com. Previously, she covered everything from natural disasters to bridge engineering to the science behind sci-fi movies for Popular Mechanics magazine. When she's not editing or writing, you can find her karaoking, reading non-fiction, watching Investigation Discovery and hockey (go NYR!), or hanging out with her cats, Oliver and Pearl.

17 Secrets of a Competitive Eating Champion

Yasir Salem is a seasoned competitive eater, ranked #11 in the world. Here's how he does it.... READ ON

11 Brilliant Gifts for the Cat Lover in Your Life

Not sure what to get the ailurophile in your life? Here are a few suggestions for lovers of all things cat—and their favorite felines.... READ ON

11 Brilliant Gifts for the Harry Potter Fan in Your Life

These presents are so magical, they’ll have wizards and Muggles alike crying “Accio gifts!”... READ ON

20 Things You Might Not Have Known About Hamilton

Why George Washington's death was cut, and more...... READ ON

The Snacks-by-Mail Company Graze Turns Snacking into a Science

When they’re delivered, the boxes look almost like a regular package: Plain brown cardboard, small enough to fit in the mailbox. But these boxes aren’t regular packages, because inside, there are snacks.... READ ON

12 Things You Won't See on Display at The Field Museum

Earlier this year, mental_floss visited The Field Museum to take a peek at the institution's research collections; here are a few things we saw behind the scenes.... READ ON

Plot for Harry Potter Spin-off 'Fantastic Beasts' Revealed

Get the scoop on what to expect from J.K. Rowling's first-ever screenplay.... READ ON

10 Fascinating Facts About Your Microbiome

No man is an island, but every man and woman is an ecosystem.... READ ON

This Limited Edition Bottle of Patrón Costs $7500

For the boozehound who has everything.... READ ON

12 Things You Didn't Know About Sarah Vowell

The author tells us about her musical beginnings, dirty laundry, and love of index cards.... READ ON

13 Retro Halloween Party Activities for Your Spooky Shindig

6 Inventors Killed by Their Own Inventions

Sometimes brilliance comes with a price.... READ ON

11 Tips for Carving a Better Jack O'Lantern

Forget two triangles and a toothy grin; this Halloween, take your jack o'lanterns to the next level.... READ ON

Official Art and Plot Synopsis for 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' Revealed

As Rowling promised, it’s not a prequel, but a story about Harry and his youngest son—and it seems that all is not well after all.... READ ON

22 'Hamilton' Lyrics, Explained

After centuries of being best known as the guy who was killed by Aaron Burr, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical, 'Hamilton,' is bringing the achievements of the "10-dollar founding father" front and center.... READ ON

The Craziest Myths the MythBusters Have Tackled, According to the MythBusters

To celebrate the new season of MythBusters (check out the epic sizzle reel here) premiering this Sunday at 8pm ET/PT on the Discovery Channel, we asked hosts Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, Grant Imahara, Kari Byron and Tory Belleci to pick the most insane myths they’ve ever tackled in their decade of busting. Here's what they said.Jamie... READ ON

9 Spooky Spells from an Icelandic Book of Sorcery

'Sorcerer's Screed' was first published in 1940.... READ ON

7 Gorgeous Old Illustrations of Sea Creatures

The ocean is full of incredible creatures vying for our attention. The Rare Book Room at the American Museum of Natural History is giving them the spotlight they deserve... READ ON

12 Fun Facts About Dollywood

I spent last weekend running around Dollywood, the amusement park created by country singer Dolly Parton. In addition to have a ton of fun, I learned a ton when I was there—not just about Parton, but about the area, too. Here's a sampling.... READ ON

5 Deliciously Illegal Food Crimes

Think smuggling and heists are just for drugs, jewels, and art? Think again. Here are five instances of food-related theft.... READ ON

Spend the Night in Paris's Bone-Filled Catacombs

Lodging website Airbnb isn’t hurting for unusual accommodations, but none of them have the spook factor of its latest listing.... READ ON

How NASA and Ridley Scott Collaborated to Make 'The Martian'

After a moment of disbelief ("I said, 'The Ridley Scott?!’"), James Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division, didn’t hesitate. “I said, ‘Yes! I’ll clear my calendar!’”... READ ON

18 Stylish Facts About Anthropologie

You might have bought a dress on its website, or paged longingly through its catalog, or rifled through its quirky offerings in store—but there’s probably still a lot you don’t know about Anthropologie.... READ ON

8 Tips for Packing Your Car for a Camping Trip

By following these tips, you can quickly and painlessly load up a car, no matter what you’re packing for.... READ ON

The Beetles that Work at Natural History Museums

Scientists put these bugs to work in museums doing exactly what they do in nature.... READ ON

25 Spirited Facts About American Girl Dolls

A detailed history of your favorite childhood dolls and books.... READ ON

The 6 Dirtiest Places in Airplanes and Airports

Surprisingly, bathrooms were actually cleaner than many other places.... READ ON

Gorgeous Double Exposure Animal Portraits You'll Want for Your Wall

The Lost Book of Titian Peale, America's First Lepidopterist

Titian Ramsey Peale II went to his grave in 1885 believing that his life’s greatest work would never be published. It finally has been.... READ ON

Scientist Uses Vegemite to Conduct Electricity

The yeast-extract spread contains ions and water, which makes it a good conductor of electricity.... READ ON

How to Make Your Own Sriracha 'Caviar'

23 Mighty Facts About 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'

For three years in the mid-1990s, kids across the country tuned in six days a week to watch five teenagers from Angel Grove transform into superheroes.... READ ON

Your Favorite Scientists as Paper Dolls

Featuring everyone from Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla to Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing.... READ ON

Grumpy Cat to Get Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds

“This is truly an honor,” she said. “I hate it.”... READ ON

15 Hilariously Terrible Reviews of Wonderful Museums

It’s impossible to please everyone.... READ ON

10 Facts About Krakatoa's 1883 Eruption

This eruption—one of the most powerful and devastating eruptions in modern history—had effects worldwide.... READ ON

NASA Releases Adorable 'Little Planet' Selfie of Mars Rover

5 Delicious Nutella-Based Dessert Hacks

Need to satisfy your sweet tooth? Look no further than Peggy Wang’s new book, Dessert & Booze Hacks, which provides 75 recipes that are as easy as they are delicious (which is to say: very).... READ ON

Building a Puking Robot—For Science

Norovirus infects as many as 21 million people each year—and scientists are building vomiting machines to figure out how it spreads.... READ ON

You Can Buy Buffalo Bill's House from 'The Silence of the Lambs'

Are you a fan of creepy fictional serial killers? Are you also in the market for a new home? Well, you're in luck.... READ ON

Here's Some Concept Art for the Ghostbusters Ride that Never Happened

Kids of the ‘80s would have killed to be a Ghostbuster—and they almost got the chance.... READ ON

9 Facts About Climbing Mount Meru—And Making a Documentary Out of It

Meet the Tritensil, a New and Improved Version of the Spork

"No, it's not the best fork, it's not the best knife, and it's not the best spoon," designer Scott Barwick confesses. "But the spork is a very difficult design problem, and we've tackled it as best we can."... READ ON

Bizarre-Looking New Species of Anglerfish Discovered

Most deep-sea anglerfish look like creatures from another world, but this new species takes things to a whole new depth of strangeness.... READ ON

Now You Can Eat Crackers Made of Giant Isopods

Not sure what to get the adventurous foodie who’s tried everything from bugs to rotted shark meat? Kazutaka Hasegawa has an idea for you: Crackers made from Bathynomus giganteus—a.k.a. the creepy-but-also-kinda-cute giant isopod.... READ ON

Watch a Computer Program Sing '90s Power Ballads

There's a New Harry Potter Movie Coming! (But It's Not About THAT Harry Potter)

In a bizarre bit of news hitting just as the Boy Who Lived turns 35, we’re getting another Harry Potter movie—just not the Harry Potter movie most of us were were hoping for.... READ ON

35 Things You Might Not Know About Harry Potter

Bone up on your Harry Potter history.... READ ON

Gorgeous Images of Killer Whales from Above

Researchers are using unmanned aerial vehicles to take gorgeous—and scientifically useful—video of northern resident killer whales.... READ ON

'Little Women' is Getting a "Gritty" TV Reboot

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