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Erin McCarthy

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.
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
... READ ON
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'
... READ ON
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
... READ ON
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
... READ ON
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
... READ ON
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
... READ ON
17 Bright and Colorful Facts About Lisa Frank
You know you had the panda stickers. And the unicorn Trapper Keeper. And the cat stationery set.... READ ON
New Species of Carnivorous Plant Discovered in Facebook Photos
Facebook can be used for so much more than stalking your exes. Like, for example, making a scientific discovery.... READ ON
Remembering the Eastland Disaster on its 100th Anniversary
... READ ON
The Science Behind the Nearly Escape-Proof Rooms in 'Race to Escape'
All that stands between a team and a $25,000 grand prize is a series of challenges that, when solved, will unlock a door.... READ ON
8 Fascinating Facts About Seashells
Marine biologist Helen Scales’s 'Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells' is packed full of interesting facts about seashells and the creatures that create them. Here are just a few you can use to wow fellow sunbathers this summer.... READ ON
18 Creepy Facts about 'Arachnophobia'
This skin-crawling classic turns 25 today.... READ ON
These Teenagers Just Don't Get Encyclopedias
“[Encyclopedias were] Google way back in the day,” one boy says. “It was the worst of times.”... READ ON
19 Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Facts About the Harry Potter Books
Philip W. Errington’s 'J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography 1997-2013' sheds a light on the editorial process of this beloved series... READ ON
15 Vintage Photos of Nuns Doing Normal Things
They're just like us!... READ ON
The Science of 'Self/Less'
The movie hits theaters today.... READ ON
5 Gorgeous Old Pictures of Seashells
From a new book by the American Museum of Natural History.... READ ON
This is the Brain of the Man Who Shot James A. Garfield
... READ ON
11 Insane Aquatic Toys You Can Buy
Forget pool noodles and squirt guns—these aquatic accessories will help take your water activities to the next level (provided you can afford them...).... READ ON
Watch This Vending Machine Make Pizza
News broke today that Sprinkles Cupcakes will install New York City's first 24-hour cupcake ATM at its Upper East Side location next week. The unit has a 760 cupcake capacity and can dispense up to four sweet treats at a time. That's pretty cool—but not as cool as a vending machine that makes fresh pizza in under three minutes.... READ ON
New 'Harry Potter' Play Coming to the West End in 2016
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will open in London next year.... READ ON
This is What Happens When a Python Tries to Eat a Porcupine
But this meal, the snake's last, was not something as mundane as an impala.... READ ON
15 Post-Harry Potter Revelations from Pottermore
Since J.K. Rowling launched Pottermore in 2012, she's been steadily revealing secrets of the wizarding world.... READ ON
Tips and Tricks for Conquering Bad Breath
... READ ON
28 Historical Photos of Dads Doing Dad Things
Happy Father's Day!... READ ON
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©2018 Mental Floss, Inc. All rights reserved. Mental Floss® is a registered trademark owned by Felix Dennis. mentalfloss.com is a trademark owned by Felix Dennis.