Mental Floss has been one of my favorite magazines for about four years now. It only comes out every two months, but it is just chock full of all kinds of weird information. Sarah and I fight over who will read it first. And then later we say, Oh, I read somewhere about X, and the other will say, yes, I saw it in Mental Floss too.
A bunch of friends and I used to do the Mental Floss Quiz of the Day which is good random trivia fun. And I think that’s how I learned about the magazine.
So the magazine is designed to be read in easily digestible nuggets. None of the articles are overlong. Even the cover article, which tends to run for several pages, is broken down into bite-sized sections. And each and every article makes you go, Huh or WOW.
The magazine even starts out great. On their copyright page they list their errata which they call Mental Flaws. And their corrections are just as funny as the rest of the magazine. I think they had one issue with no Flaws and they were very excited about it.
Next comes the ubiquitous letters. This also contains the occasional feature of Readers and Their Famous Friends, which shows pictures of readers celebrities (pretty much the only celebrities they ever talk about). This is followed by the letter from the editor. Neely Harris (I have yet to determine if Neely is a boy or a girl and I’m not going to look it up either, somehow it’s more fun trying to imagine) is very funny and always sets a good tone for the magazine.
The first section is Scatterbrained. It features tiny paragraph-sized pieces of information that (tenuously) stick to a topic. This month’s is gum, and we learn all about how Wrigley created gum (and how he successfully marketed it) and also that Chicza Organic Gum is fully biodegradable (it doesn’t contain plastics (!) like others do). They also clear up the myth that it takes seven years to digest gum (nope, it just goes out with the trash). So, the next section is called Big League Chew, even though it doesn’t really have anything to do with gum. Rather, it is about food at baseball games. The third one is The MacGyver Fact-Check (see, MacGyver uses gum a lot) and they fact checked 4 of MacGyver’s escapes from low to high plausibility. How cool is that?
They have fun with the next section: the No Budget Diners Guide which gives recipes for such delicacies as Tree Bark, Bugs, Leather and Dirt. Just in case the economy has really got you strapped.
A new feature is a worksheet where they have some quizzes that are well, silly, Like: Fictional Characters’ Actual College: Where did Turk and JD from Scrubs go to school?
The next section of the magazine is RIGHT BRAIN. For those of you who don’t know your left from your right, here’s a handy chart. This section delves into a classic work of art, be it a book, a film, a painting or in this case a musician..(Louis Armstrongs’ work with The Hot Five). Educational and fun! (I finally learned why he was called Satchmo). The other one in this issue is Great Christian Art by Really Lousy Christians. Who knew that Caravaggio murdered someone? I also learned a lot about Rossetti’s Virgin Mary paintings which are very cool and which I’ve never seen before. And of course, Salvador Dali.
The LEFT BRAIN section covers science. In this case, 3 Mind Boggling Questions about the Nature of Life…Answered. (Do we have alien DNA inside our body? Answer: Yes). The next story was so interesting I was thrilled to have read it. The Navy is sending floating hospitals to various countries providing necessary and free health clinics. I never knew that and I only wish that we would spend more of our military budget on it!
The cover story is usually a sampling of 5 or 10 (they love the number ten and every year have a “10 Issue” (10 Vatican Secrets Exposed!; 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Somali Pirates!; 10 Technologies We Stole from the Animal Kingdom)) items of note. This issue’s 5 Gutsiest Leaders is a fascinating (and amusing) look at 5 world leaders who we probably don’t think about enough (like Lula da Silva President of Brazil).
The last big section is called Spinning the Globe where they take a 50 cent tour (and throw in lots of unusual facts) about a different country. This month is Panama, last time was Wales (learn the longest town name!)
And speaking of Quizzes, the end section always has a 25 question quiz full of utterly random nonsense (with your scoring being 0-10: Pretty Good; 11-15: The Best; 16-20: The Worst and 21-25: Also Pretty Good.)
Some regular features have been Know It All, in which A.J. Jacobs from Esquire samples some words from his book The Know It All (we’re up to X already!). There has also been a Six Degrees of Separation by Ken Jennings. And The Back Page features random things. This issue has Lightning Round Lists; others have Interviews with a Dead Guy. Basically, just more tidbits to fill you up before the next issue.
It is such a great publication. Perfect for anyone who likes trivia. And, they have lots of other great things for sale too: games, books and fantastic T-shirts. My favorite is at the right.
So, of all the periodicals I’ve mentioned, this is the one that I think everyone should get. Support the Smarts! (even the ads are for smart things). And leave the magazine lying around when you have company…everyone will want to read it!
Original mention in Periodicals Page:
Mental Floss. Wow, what a great magazine! Its for smart people everywhere. Digestable articles about everything imaginable. Your IQ jumps three points with each issue. And, they have a quiz of the day as well.
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