Every one of the 50 U.S. states has its own two-letter postal abbreviation. Exactly 15 state postal abbreviations begin with the FIRST and LAST letters of the name of the state they represent. An example is LOUISIANA, whose abbreviation is “LA” (the first and last letters in “Louisiana.”) Name as many as you can of the other 14 U.S. states whose names meet this criterion. In case you need the list of all 50 states for today’s puzzle: ALABAMA, ALASKA, ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO,... READ ON
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has identified 54 planets that are close enough to their stars so that conditions for life are possible. The SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) turned their antennas to the most promising candidates for a listen. * The Drinking Bird, a Scientific Toy for the Ages. After 55 years, it still fascinated us to find out how it works. * Here are 83 Gut-Busting Restaurant Challenges for Free Food, but only if you eat it all, and usually within a time frame. This... READ ON
YES! You can play this challenge/contest without knowing a thing about the weekly hunt! It’s sort of a one-off – a stand-alone if you will. Will you? Answer the Level 3 bonus-round question correctly and you may win your pick of anything you want from the neatoshop (valued under $25). Ready? Set. GO! Oh, and don’t forget, even if you’re not the winner, you still need to solve the challenge to compete for next week’s Day 5 final... READ ON
With the addition of Splash Mountain and recent revamp of Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, not to mention other parks’ thrill rides like Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest, I think Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is often overlooked. It’s a speedy little coaster ride, but it’s not going to drop you from dizzying heights or spiral you in a series of upside down loops. I think that’s part of its charm. Hope you enjoy part three of your vicarious Disney vacation – come back tomorrow to learn... READ ON
See more Puppies Wearing Hats Eating Bacon Sharing... READ ON
It’s an all-new 5-day trivia hunt! Co-puzzle Master Josh Halbur and I are happy to bring you the next How Did You Know? sponsored by our friends over at neatorama.com. Here’s how it works: Every day the rest of this week, we’ll be presenting two challenges at noon ET. They’ll be very similar to the kinds of puzzles you’ve come to expect from me and Josh, and, yes, they will feed into the Day 5 puzzle, as normal. Each evening, at 8pm ET, we’ll be putting up a third challenge loosely based on... READ ON
It’s Think Thursday here at the mental_floss Brain Game, and time for another Really, Really Bad Rebus. Decipher the following rebus to find the title of a popular film from the last few years. Good luck! Here is... READ ON
Ten-year-old Maria Aragon sang Lady Gaga’s new song and got 12 million YouTube views in one week. Listen and see why. * Some monkeys have enough self-awareness to realize when they don’t know an answer, and will tell us if we make it worth their time. It appears that uncertainty is not an exclusively human trait. (via J-Walk Blog) * The 50 Greatest Opening Title Sequences of All Time. For some of these movies, it’s the only part worth remembering. * Allie Brosh at Hyperbole and a Half has a new post... READ ON
Some of you might recall Ethan’s awesome Slogans of Cheap Beers quiz, posted some moons ago. In that spirit, see how many brands you can recognize in this cute video from YourFavoriteMartian, Ray William... READ ON
5 Questions: Now with "Wings"
How Many Vice Presidents Can You Name in 10 Minutes?
After a 2011 vote, Toyota announced that the official plural of Prius was Prii.
