mentalfloss.atavist.comMental Floss — Atavist

Made with Atavist. Make your own. {{_author.profile_name}} Published in {{publication.profile_name}} {{_author.profile_name}} Published in {{publication.profile_name}} {{_labelForMenuItem(item.menu_item)}} {{_labelForMenuItem(submenu_item)}} Published August 26, 2016 A California Dream California’s third-largest city by area is an urban-planning disaster, a sprawl of empty grids that aspired to become a megacity—and failed. But as the desert works to reclaim the land, it’s become a mecca of another kind. Mental Floss Published June 28, 2016 The Great Library Rescue of Timbuktu Protecting one book is easy. Saving 377,000 fragile historic documents from gun-toting vandals hell-bent on erasing centuries of knowledge? That takes a different type of hero. Mental Floss Published June 28, 2016 An Interview with a Guy Who Tried to Become a Goat Wouldn’t life be simpler if you could trade places with an animal? British designer and author Thomas Thwaites wanted to find out. Mental Floss Published June 28, 2016 The Man Who Saved the Skyscraper Fazlur Khan and the idea that would turn architecture on its head. Mental Floss Published June 24, 2016 Dispatches from Kenya's Coolest Safari Out in the field at a cutting-edge conservancy Mental Floss Published June 8, 2016 The Little-Known Story Behind “Do the Right Thing” Spike Lee’s paradigm-smashing film about an explosive New York City summer still reverberates. By Matt Haber Published June 8, 2016 The Great Smoky Mountains' Incredible Firefly Light Show The stunning displays of these rare bugs are a tourist attraction today. But 20 years ago, one woman had to prove they existed. By Jen Doll Published May 5, 2016 Meet America’s Greatest Obituary Writer Forget about the funny pages. If Kay Powell wrote for your paper, you dove straight into the death notices. By Margaret Eby Published March 31, 2016 How to Raise a 165-Year-Old-Cat Bacon, Champagne, and 3-D movies? Why one Texas man thinks he’s uncovered an unlikely formula for feline longevity. By Christina Couch Published March 31, 2016 The Boy Who Saved Batman The true story of a 14-year-old comic book fan from New Jersey, and the dream he wouldn’t let die By Camille Dodero Published February 17, 2016 Air Jordan III: The Shocking Story of the Greatest Shoe Jordan Never Wanted Michael Jordan was about to ditch Nike — until an inexperienced designer created the shoe he’d always dreamed of. By Foster Kamer Published February 10, 2016 The Photographer Who Captured America’s Dark Side By documenting the little things, Robert Frank changed an entire nation’s image of itself. By Lucas Reilly Published February 10, 2016 True Confessions of a Bat Biologist Conducting research in the world’s newest country yields a new genus and unimagined dangers. By DeeAnn Reeder As told to Jed Lipinski Published February 8, 2016 Monet Employed a Water Lily Duster! But that’s not the most radical thing about the Impressionist master’s best-known work By Elizabeth Lunday Published January 12, 2016 Secrets of the MIT Poker Course Can a little calculus make a total novice into a gambling pro? by Nick Greene Published December 22, 2015 59 Random Entries from Mental_Floss Magazine’s Definitive* List of the 500 Most Important People in History (*It’s actually highly subjective, and includes at least five goats.) Published December 22, 2015 The Most Amazing Lie in History How a chicken farmer, a pair of princesses, and 27 imaginary spies helped the Allies win World War II By Lucas Reilly Published December 22, 2015 The Insane 6-Day, 500-Mile Race That Riveted America Even though the competitors were just ... walking. By Matthew Algeo Published December 22, 2015 Charles Dickens and the Spontaneous Combustion Truthers In the 1850s, heated words were exchanged over this controversial topic. By Sam Kean Published December 10, 2015 The Katniss Everdeen of 1912 How Helen Holmes invented the modern action hero: a woman who kicks ass at her job. Jake Hinkson Published December 10, 2015 The Ultimate Underdog Tale: A History of “Rocky” Sylvester Stallone was told there were no parts for him. So he wrote his own. Jake Rossen Published December 4, 2015 What If Literary Characters Had Lifehacks? 7 Classic Conundrums That Could Have Gone Differently by Nick Greene Published December 4, 2015 The Bizarre True Story Behind “The Talented Mr. Ripley” Patricia Highsmith’s most memorable supervillain was inspired by a chance encounter. But how fictional was he really? By Jen Doll Published November 4, 2015 The Badass Lady Pilot Who Revolutionized the Art of Food Writing With a name like Clementine Paddleford, she should have been unforgettable. So why don’t you know who she is? by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie Published November 3, 2015 How James Patterson Will Save Literature The campy king of the airport kiosk has quietly become the patron saint of libraries. By Camille Dodero Published September 14, 2015 8 Genius Ideas That Are Changing the Way We Eat From cheese, to chocolate, to crickets—and everything in between. We like to think of the platypus as a superhero of the animal kingdom. It takes the best elements of the duck, the beaver, and the otter and rolls them into one egg-laying, venom-possessing badass: a creature so remarkable that when researchers first discovered it, they thought they were being pranked. Our annual Platypus Awards honor ideas that draw from disparate fields to form something worthy of a double take. It’s not just these little ideas that captivate us, but also their world-changing potential for awesomeness. This year, we honor nine innovators who are turning our notions of food upside down. We all need to eat. But these trailblazers are demonstrating how, with a little ingenuity, the grub before us also has the power to right social wrongs, bring communities closer, and, potentially, save the world. Now that’s something to chew on. mental_floss magazine...