Mental Floss

MF EXPLAINS IT ALL

Some male lions simply don’t have manes. What’s up with that?

Climate can cause a big difference in how much hair a lion grows.

No stool pigeons here.

Pigeons aren’t known to be particularly talkative birds.

The regal turkey.

The loose flesh that hangs from a turkey’s neck isn’t the most attractive part of the bird—to humans, at least.

Cleaning a porta potty is no walk in the park.

To keep porta potties (relatively) clean, sanitation workers require special equipment and a strong stomach.

He’ll probably be fine.

When it comes to superstitions about bad luck, indoor umbrellas are right up there with broken mirrors and black cats.

Modern office machines are made to fit a certain size of paper.

The letter-sized standard actually has roots in the 1660s, when paper was made by hand—and Herbert Hoover had something to do with it, too.

Use of the word ‘placebo’ in a medical context is more recent than you might think.

What is a placebo? Technically, a Latin phrase meaning ‘I will please.’ It’s also a Catholic prayer and a clever insult.

A cosplayer dressed as Freddy Krueger during Comic Con.

Wes Craven didn’t intend for his classic horror film villain to look like he was headed to a Christmas party.

Hawaii is home to a number of lava tubes.

Caves and volcanoes don’t often go hand-in-hand in our imaginations, but the second most common type of cave in the world is made from the power of volcanoes.

Scare crows may deter crows and blackbirds, but you'll have to make some modifications for them to really work.

iStock.com/Tracey Patterson

The "creme" in Oreo cookies isn't really cream at all, but does that make Oreos vegan? The answer is complicated.

The ancient art of sword swallowing may seem like some sort of elaborate trick—but it’s very, very real (and very, very dangerous).

Punts in the bottom of wine bottles.

The dent (or “punt”) in the bottom of a wine bottle served an important function centuries ago, but it’s there for different reasons today.

Watching a scary movie can definitely send shivers down your spine—but why?

You’re watching a scary movie or the music swells during your favorite song—the shiver up and down your spine is your body responding to a range of emotions.

They haven’t always been enemies.

Their (often literal) blood feud is a relatively modern creation. So how did vampires and werewolves end up at each other’s throats?

Semisopochnoi Island (right).

To find the easternmost point in the United States, look west.

Why so slow?

You know planes cover hundreds of miles per hour. So why doesn't it look like they do?

How and when to wash jeans is a debate for the ages.

Some denim devotees never wash. Others find that disgusting. The head of Levi's weighs in.

Koalas do kind of look like bears.

If you were an 18th-century settler in Australia with no knowledge of marsupials, you just might decide to call a koala a ‘bear,’ right?

The answer lies in their chromosomal makeup.

Can you get out of the country in one day? Yes, but it won't be pleasant.

Prepared horseradish sometimes requires more preparation.

Prepared horseradish and horseradish sauce aren’t the same thing.

Are you not up to snuff when it comes to knowing the origin of ‘up to snuff’? We can help you with that.

Are you not up to snuff when it comes to knowing the origin of ‘up to snuff’? We can help you with that.

Hello, Beantown.

Among nicknames like “The Athens of America,” “The Cradle of Liberty,” and “The Hub of the Universe,” “Beantown” sounds very out of place.