Shaunacy Ferro

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Shaunacy Ferro is a senior staff writer for MentalFloss.com. Her work has previously appeared in Fast Company, Popular Science, and Architect magazine, among others. She lives in Brooklyn and spends most of her free time taking photos of her cat.

All the Roads That Lead to Rome

Both Rome, Italy and Rome, Georgia.... READ ON

How Do Antarctic Scientists Eat Fresh Eggs?

It involves a party.... READ ON

This App Teaches Students Ancient Japanese Calligraphy

The Hentaigana app is designed to help modern students decode ancient handwriting.... READ ON

NASA Visualization Shows How Space Weather Ripples Across the Solar System

The Sun is constantly emitting particles that make their way around the solar system.... READ ON

A Map of the World, Drawn With Just One Line

In Joseph Berkner's view, borders should connect rather than divide populations.... READ ON

Now You Can Calculate the Worth of Your Spare Time

How long would you stand in line for $100?... READ ON

8 Ready-For-Departure Facts About Modern U.S. Travel

Hopping in the car to go somewhere for Christmas? You’re far from alone.... READ ON

The Best Way to Give Directions, According to Linguists

Lead with a landmark.... READ ON

A Sponge That Plugs Gunshot Wounds, Now Approved for Civilian Use

The FDA just approved the use of a device that uses sponges to staunch the flow of bleeding from gunshot wounds.... READ ON

First Puppies Born Through IVF

A beagle at Cornell successfully gave birth to the seven puppies conceived through in vitro fertilization.... READ ON

Posting a Status Update? It’s Probably Out of Envy, Study Says

A new study of German college students finds envy often drives social networking.... READ ON

Autocorrect Your Way to New Vocabulary With This App

The Words U keyboard will suggest new words based on "personas" like "The English Aristocrat."... READ ON

An Architecture Firm Wants to Bring Ice Skating to the Middle of the Thames River

NBBJ proposes installing foldable ice rinks in the middle of the London river.... READ ON

Cockroaches Can Communicate Through Gut Bacteria

The cockroach microbiome is responsible for the insects’ ability to find friends, a new study finds.... READ ON

Slacktivists Aren’t Completely Useless, Study Argues

Participating in social movements exclusively online helps spread the message, even if you don’t actually attend any of the protests.... READ ON

What Traveling Through LAX Looked Like in the '80s

John Brian King's portraits capture the timeless, bleak boredom of airports—and some great early '80s fashion.... READ ON

Meal Deliveries Can Reduce Older People's Loneliness

A new study finds that daily meal deliveries reduce loneliness.... READ ON

The First Penis Transplant in the U.S. Planned for Soldier

Johns Hopkins University surgeons are planning giving a soldier wounded in Afghanistan a working penis within a year.... READ ON

How to Save a Bottle of Spoiled Wine for Just One Cent

Now that bottle of Two-Buck Chuck can last FOREVER.... READ ON

Scientists Are Studying the ASL Equivalent of the Philadelphia Accent

Signers have regional accents, too.... READ ON

Cats Invaded Australia in the 19th Century, Study Finds

A genetic analysis of Australia’s feral cats suggest that cats probably made their way to the continent during the period of European exploration.... READ ON

A London Design Studio Will Teach You to Get Drunk on Your Own Tears

Drown your sorrows with cocktails flavored with your tears.... READ ON

Cross-Stitched Planets Launch Crafting to a New Nerd Level

Out of this world!... READ ON

Watch LEGO Sisyphus Push His Boulder Till the End of Time

So tired.... READ ON

Engineering Students Build a Personal Flying Machine in Singapore

It won’t take you very far, though. It can only stay aloft for about five minutes.... READ ON

Rare Photos of the Wreckage of a Pearl Harbor Seaplane

Archaeologists have been trying to take images of this wreck for 20 years.... READ ON

Laser Scans Reveal Ancient Buddha Statue Is Balding

Scans of the Great Buddha of Nara show it has only half of the “rahotsu,” or curls, on its head as ancient sources claimed.... READ ON

Scientists Create a Stretchy Biosensor Out of Chewing Gum

It was successfully used to sense bodily motions like breathing.... READ ON

Modern Peaches Predate Human Agriculture

Scientists have found fossilized peach pits from more than 2.5 million years ago, and their pits are essentially identical to modern varieties.... READ ON

Borrow Someone Else’s Dog With This App

Not everyone has time to be a full-time dog-walker, but now you can borrow a furry friend for short periods online.... READ ON

Blood Vessels Found in an 80-Million-Year-Old Fossil

The leg bones of a 30-foot-long duck-billed dinosaur had been hiding an exciting secret for millions of years: they still contained blood vessels.... READ ON

Lots of People Think Complete Nonsense Is Profound, Study Finds

Where do you fall on the bulls**t receptivity scale?... READ ON

Relive the Glory of Autumn Colors in This Video

Take a break to for this virtual tour of Croatian and Slovenian nature.... READ ON

Garlic Can Make Your Body Odor Smell Sexier

A study finds that dudes who eat more garlic smell more attractive and less intense to the ladies.... READ ON

You Can Live in Your Own Personal Hobbit Hole

It's energy-efficient, too.... READ ON

There Is No Difference Between Male and Female Brains, Study Finds

An analysis of 1400 human brains finds that most people have some mix of stereotypically “male” and “female” brain features.... READ ON

Read Historic Fairy Tales from 19th Century Ukraine

Including stories like “The Ungrateful Children and the Old Father Who Went to School Again.”... READ ON

There’s Probably a Hidden Tomb in King Tut’s Burial Chamber

Archaeologists put it at a 90 percent chance. But who does this secret tomb contain?... READ ON

Spider Webs Are Chock Full of DNA from Devoured Insects

A new study on the genetic material from spider webs finds that there’s more to them than we'd once thought.... READ ON

Slick App Reveals All the Invisible Data Signals Around You

The Architecture of Radio visualizes invisible signals from cell towers, satellites, and radio networks.... READ ON

Feast Your Eyes on What Microscopic Ocean Plants Look Like From Space

Trippy!... READ ON

Incredible Up-Close Views of Seeds

Cattails have never looked so glamorous.... READ ON

Why Does This YouTube Star Eat the Apples in Chernobyl?

YouTuber Bionerd23's videos from the Exclusion Zone aim to show viewers how safe the nuclear disaster site can be these days.... READ ON

Turn-of-the-Century Germany in Color Photographs

Beach days looked a lot different back then.... READ ON

An Arkansas Phone Booth Got on the National Register of Historic Places

It is one of the earliest phone booth designs specifically for outdoor use.... READ ON

A Dutch Solar Bike Lane Produced Enough Energy to Power Homes for a Year

Over the course of a year, one Dutch town's solar bike lanes have performed even better than expected.... READ ON

People Who Use Standing Desks Sit More at Home, Study Finds

Don’t feel too bad about not hopping on the standing-desk trend.... READ ON

In Denmark, You Can Walk Across the World on a Giant Grass Map

Take a midday stroll across the world.... READ ON

IKEA Furniture Concept Would Let You Charge Your Phone With Hot Pans

Make this happen, IKEA!... READ ON

Ancient Worm Gets Named After Black Flag Frontman Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins is the namesake of the muscular Rollinschaeta myoplena.... READ ON

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