Mental Floss

THE '90S

We apologize in advance for getting "Macarena" stuck in your head.

Los del Río's “Macarena” became the second longest-running number one in Billboard history, shifted 14 million copies, and sparked a dance craze that spread everywhere from the Olympics to the Democratic National Convention.

Jon O'Brien
A crew of cozy Calico Critters.

Calico Critters—or Sylvanian Families, as they're known outside North America—took the toy market by storm in the 1980s.

Zoë Randolph


Lisa Loeb in 1994.

You may not remember some of these songs from the films for which they were recorded; you may have forgotten about some of these songs (or movies) entirely. But each one captures a very specific moment in the life cycle of the films, the artists, the deca

Todd Gilchrist




The kid in you is getting excited just looking at this picture.

That famous Toys "R" Us jingle that you can hum from memory? One of the world's most successful authors helped write it.

Anne Taylor


Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Napster forever changed the way we listen to music. Here are 11 facts about this industry-changing computer software.

Kristy Puchko








(L to R) Law & Order stars Jerry Orbach, Angie Harmon, Sam Waterston, and Jesse L. Martin pictured in 1999.

Though NBC called it quits on 'Law & Order' in 2010, after 20 seasons and more than 450 episodes, the series lives on in reruns and spinoffs. In fact, it's probably playing somewhere on TV right now.

Randee Dawn


Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in 1999's Notting Hill.

When it comes to the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, opinions differ widely. But if you’re from Washington, you might be partial to ‘10 Things I Hate About You.’

Ellen Gutoskey






Selena live in concert in 1994.

By the time of her tragic death at the young age of 23, Selena Quintanilla—better known simply as Selena—was already an American icon.

Nili Blanck
The cast of Cop Rock—in a rare moment of not singing about law and order.

There’s a time and a place for a jaunty Hall & Oates pastiche, but—as the creators of 'Cop Rock' discovered the hard way—it’s probably not in the middle of a self-described “baby merchant” getting caught in a child abduction sting.

Jon O'Brien
Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin in House Party (1990).

Reginald Hudlin's 'House Party' proved to Hollywood that the growing interest in Black cinema seen in the late 1980s was no mere fad.

Faridah Gbadamosi