Jake Rossen

Jake Rossen

Joined: May 6, 2013

Jake Rossen is a senior staff writer for Mental Floss.

You can avoid a situation like this.

Are Christmas Trees Dangerous to Pets?

Green space Japan set to test world's first wooden satellite | REUTERS

The First Wooden Satellite Is Headed To the International Space Station

Grandfather clocks often become family heirlooms.

Why Is It Called a ‘Grandfather Clock’?

Are the flags flying for Memorial Day or Veterans Day? Sometimes, it's tough to say.

What’s the Difference Between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?

A whole lot of foreshadowing in these pages.

7 Obscure Literary Devices

How many have you come across?

How All 50 States Got Their Names

Some state name origins are obvious—but others pose an etymological mystery.

Halloween is a thing again in Des Moines.

Des Moines, Iowa, Will Let Kids Trick or Treat on Halloween for the First Time Since 1938

Begging for candy on October 31 was banned after kids set one too many fires.

A raccoon being less than cute.

A 911 Call About a Raccoon Invasion Is a Good Reminder Never to Feed Wild Animals

Where there is one hungry raccoon, there are likely dozens, as one unfortunate woman found out.

There are actually multiple versions of this iconic sticker.

A Brief but Fascinating History of the ‘I Voted’ Sticker

The origins of those ‘I Voted’ stickers you see everyone rocking on Election Day go back to the 1950s in the United States, but the design everyone recognizes most was created by Janet Boudreau in the late 1980s.

McFlurry desserts can prove elusive.

‘Free the McFlurry’: The McDonald’s Machines Can Now Be Fixed Quickly, Thanks to Government Ruling

It was once literally illegal to tamper with a broken McFlurry machine. Not anymore.

Mel Wiley vanished in 1985.

Mel Wiley, the Ohio Police Chief Who May Have Authored His Own Demise

In 1985, Chief Wiley went for a swim and was never seen or heard from again. What he left behind shocked his community.

A dramatization of a fiendish cheese thief.

A Lot of Cheddar: London Thieves Make Off With $400,000 in Artisanal Cheese

A scammer posing as a supermarket buyer is now in possession of 22 tons of high-grade cheese. Profiting from it is another story.

Buying a home in these states might prove to be a long-term win.

The 3 Best States to Buy a Home in the Next 5 Years, According to Real Estate Experts

Two states are expected, but the other might surprise you.

Cacti are not welcome in one German town.

Such Pricks: A German Town Has Banned Cactus From Government Buildings

The mayor in ‘Footloose’ banned dancing. The mayor of Plettenberg has banned cactus.

Bram Stoker's bibliography just got richer.

A Long-Lost Short Story by ‘Dracula’ Author Bram Stoker Has Been Rediscovered After 130 Years

The tale was composed as Stoker was working on his iconic vampire.

All right, that's enough of that.

A New Zealand Airport Just Instituted a 3-Minute Time Limit on Hugs

The move, which is intended to speed up drop-offs, has been criticized as ‘tyranny.’