Mental Floss

NEWS

Villa Baviera was originally a Germany colony known as Colonia Dignidad.

Inspiring to imagine but nightmarish to live in, these failed communes have become cautionary tales in hubris and ego. 

Colin Scanlon








Fabbriche di Careggine, a sunken town in Italy, emerges from under Lago di Vagli reservoir.

Forget Atlantis (which probably doesn’t exist)—we’re taking a trip to 10 real cities that ended up underwater.

Erin McCarthy




The red, white, and blue.

Read on to discover which American president wanted to be a concert violinist, which carried a dictionary around in his pocket, who burned his official White House portrait, and why Joe Biden's dog made history.

Corinne Cummings




Fragments of the Coligny calendar.

Cultures throughout history have come up with their own unique ways to track the days, months, and seasons.

Jane Alexander




Be prepared to bring your own.

Hotels readily give guests soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and even sewing kits. But why don’t we get tubes of toothpaste when we check into a room? The answer is kind of complicated.

Garin Pirnia