Mental Floss

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Men prevent a vampire rising from its grave in a Romanian cemetery in this 19th-century illustration.

The belief in real-life vampires predates Bram Stoker’s legendary novel ‘Dracula.’

Grab your magnifying glass.

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Moisturized. Happy. In their lane.

There is a good reason why baby carrots tend to be slimier than their full-sized counterparts—and it has to do with the white stuff you sometimes see on the outside of them.

‘De integritatis et corruptionis virginum notis.‘

The macabre practice is known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, and the motivations behind it include everything from punishment of criminals to doctors wanting symbolically meaningful covers for their medical tomes.

It's bad when even your Halloween bucket is upset.

Test your knowledge of the best and worst Halloween candies in this timed quiz.

Counting sheep, unfortunately, isn't the cure.

Historical cures for insomnia were sketchy at best and outright dangerous at worst. Fortunately, modern medicine has discovered a few techniques that can help those suffering from insomnia.

The fast food chain's much-loved Halloween pails are back for 2023.

Boo Buckets are back for 2023, and here’s how you can get your hands on the McDonald’s Halloween buckets that kids have been getting hyped up for since the 1980s.

Which shrubs are plant parents most interested in?

Which plant is most-searched in your state?

A police car guards a section of a Los Angeles freeway cracked by the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake in 1994.

A future mega-earthquake in the Pacific Northwest could lead to the “Big One” along the San Andreas fault in California—or vice versa—according to clues found in sediment cores.

See if you can decipher this twisted tune.

It’s time to play Tune Twist, where we translate the lyrics of popular songs into multiple languages and then back into English. Can you figure out what the song is, or who performed it?

Overgrown lawns? Goats can fix that.

Dozens of them are chomping away at Jay Peak Resort.

Watching these shows will help get you in the right state of mind for snoozing.

You might see some old favorites on the list—but other shows might surprise you.

Shag carpet: the flooring choice of swingers.

Shag was once synonymous with ’70s cool. Now we loathe it. How did that happen?

This one goes out to Rebecca Yarros‘s fans.

A card game based on the fantasy series can be yours.

You probably learned them at some point.

This quiz challenges you to name all the U.S. state capitals as fast as possible.

What does the world crave for breakfast?

Eggs and bacon might be your go-to, but that‘s not the case for everyone.

The posthumous trial of Pope Formosus.

It’s hard to defend yourself when you’re dead.

Let’s see how well you know your horror.

Red cars are bold, but are they really targeted by cops the most?

It turns out there’s another, much less flashy shade that has a higher chance of getting flagged.

Sometimes you should skip the vinegar.

You can use vinegar to clean some household items—but not all. Read on to avoid potentially costly mistakes.

Trunk-or-treat will probably be in a parking lot near you this Halloween.

Rather than go door-to-door, a lot of kids these days get their Halloween candy by going car-to-car.

Good thing these places are fake.

From Springwood to Cuesta Verde, these fictional places serve as settings for some of the best horror movies of all time.

The Sawzall in action.

The origin of the multipurpose saw's catchy name, explained.

Just when you think they can‘t get any cuter.

See which pet costumes people are most excited for this Halloween.