Is budgeting your holiday spending a tricky proposition? Look no further. We've collected more than 2,000 questions from the early mental_floss archives to bring you mental_floss Trivia: Brisk, Refreshing Facts Without the Ice Cream Headache. The reader-friendly layout gives you the answers on the spread immediately following the questions - no annoying flipping-to-the-back-of-the-book to get your score. At more than 850 pages, you'll enjoy hours of reading and sharing pleasure! To celebrate 12/12/12,... READ ON
MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters/LandovWater is the key ingredient in the mixture. It’s also treated with guar gum and/or clay as thickeners, to turn the liquid into a “blanket” and keep it from evaporating in the heat or being blown away before it hits the drop zone. Those thickeners also help to cover more... READ ON
Of the many specialty items made for space travel, food was obviously a top priority. NASA commissioned several different companies to come up with freeze-dried snacks that the men could nosh on while in orbit, and the Whirlpool Corporation’s contribution was Neapolitan ice cream in a pouch. Coconut fat, sugar, milk solids and other ingredients were freeze-dried, ground and compressed into tasty cubes that were then coated with a layer of gelatin.“Astronaut ice cream" only went on one space... READ ON
Image credit: Temptation CandyIn 1924, the Akron Candy Company in Ohio had developed a small, spherical hard candy on a stick whose size was perfect for children, but could be enjoyed by adults as well. When it came to naming the confection, sales manager I.C. Bahr came up with “Dum Dums” because he thought it was a phrase that could easily be uttered by children. Simple, colorful, and inexpensive, Dum Dums soon became an... READ ON
The conclusion to our two-part exclusive interview with Trace Beaulieu, formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and now with Cinematic Titanic Read yesterday's part one... READ ON
A two-part exclusive interview with Trace Beaulieu, formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and now with Cinematic... READ ON
Call us morbid, but we've always wondered whether a decapitated head can still see for any length of time after being severed. Fortunately, we discovered that we aren't the first people who've scratched their heads over this curiosity. In the early 19th-century France (back when being guillotined was more or less a rite of passage), a series of scientists investigated the question. They concluded that decapitated heads continued to respond to external stimuli for several seconds after, um, parting from... READ ON
Years of expansion and multiple franchise relocations have made the NHL a much different league than it was just two decades ago. Since the NHL season begins tonight, let's see if you can name all 30 current NHL teams. We don't need city or state names, just the team names. Give it a shot! Take the Quiz: 30 Teams, 5... READ ON
5 Questions: Boys Behaving Badly
Lesser-Known Founding Fathers
The winning word at the 1940 National Spelling Bee was "therapy."
