The Andy Griffith Show (TAGS) premiered on television on October 3rd, 1960. That means Sunday will mark the show’s 50th anniversary! There are events scheduled all over the country (and on TV) to celebrate this milestone. In the series’ eight-year run, we got to know the residents of Mayberry as if they were our own neighbors. Meet some of these characters, and catch up with the actors who played the parts, in this article I wrote for mental_floss.
The Limburger Cheese War. Stinky or not, it was a matter of pride and honor between postmasters who wouldn’t back down.
A cold snap where I live made me face the fact that summer is over. October is looming, a month chock full of bizarre happenings. However, even when you take Halloween, baseball, and various harvest festivals out of the picture, there are still a lot of weird and wonderful events to enjoy in October. Running in the snow? Jumping off a bridge? Racing an outhouse? It's all in this list I posted at mental_floss.
The Origins of Life. Bob Hazen and other scientists believe that the first life on earth arose through hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor, and shows how organic chemicals can come together to produce amino acids and proteins.
Hostage Drama Played Out By Fingers. A classic story, with no dialog, no text, no acting, and props that cost about a dollar total.
In The Beginning: Star Wars. A look at the various influences that inspired George Lucas.
A pet ferret is a laugh a minute. More than one pet ferret means constant giggles for as long as you can stand them! Find out what I man with this collection of videos I posted at mental_floss.
The Best of Redneck Engineering. What you lack in funds for spare parts, you can always make up for in resourcefulness. (via Gorilla Mask)
The first generation to grow up playing video games is now feathering empty nests, and plenty more gamers are buying and filling homes. Furniture and home decor companies keep adding designs catering to video game lovers, and those with a bit of time and creativity keep designing and building their own! A really dedicated gamer could furnish the entire house this way, but it’s more likely you’d want to add just one or two game touches to your home to honor that side of your personality. See ten ways to do that in this list I posted at mental_floss.
The 80 million people of the Baby Boom generation are both blamed and credited for the way America is today. And they still have a chance to save or destroy the economy.
Every September 22nd, we celebrate Elephant Appreciation Day! To show our appreciation, here’s a look at some of the amazing things elephants do, from water-skiing to painting portrits, in an article I wrote for Neatorama.
A lizard riding on a wind turbine. On purpose.
The news that quadruple amputee Philippe Croizon swam the English Channel over the weekend reminded me of so many people I’ve written about, that I had to look in my files and bring you another inspirational list of people who are labeled as disabled in one way or another, but who still accomplished exactly what they were not supposed to be able to do. Read about them in this article I wrote for mental_floss. Previous articles in this continuing series are linked at the bottom of the post.
Patience Worth: Author From the Great Beyond. A 17th-century spirit became a bestselling author in the 20th century via Ouija board. (via Boing Boing)
Both Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are holding rallys in Washington DC on October 30th. Which side are you on?
International Talk Like a Pirate Day is Sunday, so I compiled some songs and videos to set the mood ahead of time, in this list I posted at mental_floss. Arrrr!
5 Fictional Stories You Were Taught in History Class. You have to admit they were good stories, which is why we remember them and pass them along.
You hear about cases of smugglers who traffic in slaves or illegal immigrants as cargo, often with horrific outcomes. But there are a few stories of people who shipped themselves by mail or cargo carrier which turned out relatively happily, in this article I wrote for mental_floss. Do not attempt this yourself.
Serious Baby Talk. A cute toddler discusses Billy Idol, global warming, everyday stress, and cats.
Bewitched was an American television series that ran from 1964 to 1972. The premise was that a witch (Samantha Stephens) married an advertising executive (Darrin Stephens), but in order to blend in with “mortals”, Samantha had to keep her supernatural powers secret. However, neither she nor Darrin could control her wacky relatives -particularly Samantha’s magically meddling mother Endora! In most episodes their cover was nearly blown, but the couple explained away the most ridiculous situations as a “demonstration” of a creative new advertising campaign. Learn some things you didn't know about the series in this article I wrote for Neatorama.
5 Worries Parents Should Drop, And 5 They Shouldn’t. The real odds of what terrible things could happen are quite different from the horror stories you see on the news. (via Metafilter)
Without science, there would be no science fiction. Here are some stories of real life researchers whose work was the inspiration for literature and eventually the Hollywood treatment. Read about a few of them in this article I wrote for mental_floss.
Evan Roth compiled classic internet gifs into a 9.5-minute video.
Recent headlines at reddit proves that hell must indeed be frozen over.
The theme from the video game Tetris is one we’ll always recognize. It’s an 8-bit version of the old Russian folk song Korobeiniki. Tetris just made it into a worldwide favorite. Now people everywhere want to play the song on any instrument they can find! See quite a few in this collection of videos I posted at mental_floss.
30+ Weird, Geeky and Cool Wedding Cakes. If you want your wedding day to be memorable, give them a cake they’ll talk about for years to come!
Almost anything can be made into a fish tank IF you’ve got the room, the money, the time, and the dedication to make it work. If you don’t, you can enjoy a dozen projects others have put their hearts into for a beautiful display of fish, in this list I posted at mental_floss.
The Lost Cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The nickname “Big Ben” is specifically for the clock’s hour bell (officially named the Great Bell), the largest of the five bells, but in common use also refers to the clock faces and the tower itself. I was once caught using the term incorrectly and made it a point to research the names of the bell, clock, tower, and building -and their history as well. You'll get all that in this article I wrote for Neatorama.
The Clavin. A literary gem from the place where everybody knows your name.
Sometimes very private people wish to withdraw from the world, and they have that right. Yet some cases may be more than just personal choice. When there is a lot of money at stake and a very few people have access to an elderly recluse, the temptation to take complete control may be too much to resist. Still, the privacy issues surrounding such cases make investigations difficult. Read about some famous cases in this article I wrote for mental_floss.
Debunking Etymological Myths. A grammarian sets us straight on some word origin stories we've heard all our lives.
Go Where? Sex, Gender, and Toilets. What minimalist restroom signs say about how men and women are perceived. (via Metafilter)
Drill Teams come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Some have a gimmick (lawn mowers, strollers, book carts) and some must rely on talent, practice, and discipline. We have some of each in this collection of videos I posted at mental_floss.
George Eastman House is the repository for many of the early tests made by the Eastman Kodak Company of their various motion picture film stocks and color processes. The Two-Color Kodachrome Process was an attempt to bring natural lifelike colors to the screen through the photochemical method in a subtractive color system. First tests on the Two-Color Kodachrome Process were begun in late 1914. Shot with a dual-lens camera, the process recorded filtered images on black/white negative stock, then made black/white separation positives. The final prints were actually produced by bleaching and tanning a double-coated duplicate negative (made from the positive separations), then dyeing the emulsion green/blue on one side and red on the other. Combined they created a rather ethereal palette of hues."(via Nag on the Lake)
If you find yourself yearning for a fresh dose of websites featuring something different and bizarre that you’d never think to look for yourself, you’ve come to the right place. That is, of course, after you’ve read everything new at mental_floss! Here’s another round of blogs that focus on one very specific subject and still manage to update on a regular basis, in an article I posted at mental_floss.
Are these squeaky toys on springs, or is at a chorus line of excited otters? Get your insulin out and be prepared for a cute overdose.
There's a very specific ritual for sharing a beer in Peru. Beer was once brewed in New Zealand to treat scurvy. And brewers like to drink at work in Denmark. These and lots of other facts about beer in countries around the world are collected in a new post I wrote for Neatorama.
Animal Name Origins.
