Over the retiring 20 years , the curious - minded author , editor program , and Divine on Team Mental Floss have endeavored to dig up and share with our readers some of the most amazing taradiddle and little - love facts we can find . But it ’s also deserving noting that Mental Floss itself — from its beginnings as a print magazine to the launch of our Webby Award - winning web site — is also filled with its own fun bits of account . Like the fact that it was conceived of in a Duke University dorm or the unexpected role that both Ralph Nader and Courteney Cox play in contribute the publication some interior care . As we observe our twentieth day of remembrance throughout 2021 , here are thing you might not have bed about the very site you ’re reading right now .
1 . Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur came up with the idea for Mental Floss as pupil at Duke University .
Mental Floss ’s origins go all the manner back to when Mangesh Hattikudur and Will Pearson were entrant living in the same Charles Francis Hall in a Duke University dorm . “ There were just a bunch of really fun , smart people in that hall , and every evening , after our classes , we ’d do back and get into ridiculous discussions , ” Hattikudur says . They would talk about what they ’d learned that day and have “ bellyachingly curious ” arguments over things like which dinosaur was the sexiest . “ We would find a fashion to both argue about it and come out smarter at the end , ” Hattikudur remembers . “ And often , we would n’t stop hang out until like 2:30 , 3 ante meridiem ”
Many of those conversations were fuel by the one - off classes Pearson and Hattikudur were have . Pearson , who was a huge devotee of making lean , maintain binder of fact and things he wanted to know , and draw a bead on to one day write his own not bad list of knowledge in book form . by and by , they get hold themselves in the cafeteria speak about the book Pearson want to write , and the future tense that were in front of them . “ We were talking specifically about how , once we leave behind college , we were just go to be on this path to endeavor to be successful at whatever we were doing , ” Hattikudur says . “ And you come home tired from you ’re like just working long hour . Where ’s the quad to check ? And that ’s when we stumbled into this idea : What if we send a magazine to your planetary house , and it was just there for you — and you ’d welcome it , like a friend ? That joyousness of memorise from each other , and hearing the story that your professor would tell you at a bar or else of in the schoolroom — that entire feeling was what we wanted to capture . ”
“ Really the conversation started around : It would be so fun if you could just take a small bit of everything and feel like — even as a non - major or a nonspecialist in that family — that you could learn some of the most interesting thing from each of those dissimilar disciplines , ” Pearson says . “ And you ’re in the best spot to do that in the world — you’re at a university with all these smart professors and grad students and people who have dedicate their lives to these subjects . And so part of it was also just inspire by this idea of being capable to learn a little bit of everything , knowing you may never be an expert on any of those things . ”
It was the conclusion of their soph yr , and the theme for Mental Floss magazine had just been have . “ We had n’t rent any journalism family , but I ’d had a nifty experience on my high school paper , and we were just cocky and naïve , ” Hattikudur sound out . “ I think if either of us had known anything about the cartridge line of work , we would n’t have think twice about it , but it was strictly like , ‘ Oh yeah , we can do this . Why not ? ’ It also came up at a time when we were trying to figure out what our majors were . Law school was my backup , but I did n’t bed what I wanted to do . And then I mean , if we could get off with this , like , scam of endeavor to package information and transport ourselves and just make ourselves happy , it would be deserving indulge in . ”
They began going around to professors and grad student , enter them to write for the magazine ; their fellow students John Cascarano and Milena Viljoen also stepped up to help . ( Lisako Koga would by and by issue forth on board for the first prescribed matter and serve as graphics film director . ) Pearson served as editor - in - chief , with Hattikudur taking the persona of executive editor .
2. The nameMental Flosscame from a poster on Hattikudur’s cousin’s wall.
Pearson recalls that they were trying to come up with a name for a month before Hattikudur uttered the phrasemental floss , which he call in from a bill poster he had seen in his cousin-german ’s room when he was a tyke . “ My first cousin was into punk bands and stuff and nonsense like that , ” he says . “ I think he had some sort of cartoon on his paries that said ' genial floss . ' And I call back thinking it was funny and interesting , and as we were endeavor to reckon out what [ the magazine ’s name ] was , something trigger that . "
Says Pearson , “ We require , in either one or two words , to be able to say that something was wise , but also that something was playful . And from the very beginning , we wanted to create this spirit that it did n’t take itself too seriously . And so to me , that name kind of accomplished all of that . As shortly as he enunciate it , that was the last of the argumentation . I know that were dozens of other figure we sort of jotted down , but nothing really gel . There was nothing that was ever even skinny to being the name until this one come in up . "
Which is not to say the name was a hit with everyone else . When Pearson and Hattikudur went to run across with the chairman of Duke to recount her about the magazine , she loved the mind . “ But the name is way off , ” Pearson recalls her articulate . “ I really call back that you should consider calling this cartridge clip something likeConversations . ”
“ Obviously she was a splendid woman and a great university president , from everything I can remember , ” Pearson says . “ But I ’m so glad that we were like , no — we’re not trying to create the predictable university interdisciplinary journal . What we ’re trying to make is something that feel , as Mangesh sometimes describe it , like cultivation meets pop culture , trying to find some mode to produce this little bit of hybrid of entertainment and education . ”
Still , it was n’t the last time they would hear criticism about the nameMental Floss — more on that in a bit .
3. Ralph Nader helped create early buzz around Mental Floss on the Duke campus.
Planning for Mental Floss ’s entry “ campus issue ” begin in earnest their junior yr . Hattikudur was study abroad , while Pearson appease on campus to swot up funds and enlistee masses to write for the magazine . Hattikudur recollect doing as much brainstorming and recruiting as he could remotely , and when he come back to campus , he talked about this magazine that he and his supporter were going to start . “ And people were like , ‘ You have in mind Mental Floss ? Ralph Nader was on campus . And he was talking about it . ’ ”
Nader , then speculate a presidential trial , had add up to Duke to make a spoken communication . “ Apparently Will snuck up to the podium before he got on , wrote a little Federal Reserve note about what Mental Floss was , and then just … peaced , ” Hattikudur suppose . “ And Ralph Nader , for the first , like , 10 minutes of his manner of speaking , talked about this new powder store that was make out to campus . So there was all this bombilation about it . It was incredible . ” ( read Pearson , “ I tried to do the same thing withJane Goodall , but then somebody was like , ‘ Jane Goodall does n’t have sentence for this . ’ ” )
4. When the campus issue of Mental Floss was done, the team cracked open some grape soda.
The encyclopedism bend for making the campus government issue was huge . “ Nowadays anybody who buys a Mac can plan a magazine , ” Pearson say . But that was not the grammatical case in the former 2000s . Duke had a special number of computers with the computer programme necessary to design a magazine ( in this guinea pig , Pagemaker ) , so they often found themselves place together the issue in “ a keep room in one of the student construction , ” Pearson state . “ Most of the fourth dimension it was in the middle of the dark , cause we did n’t usually get one of the prescribed time slots that the other magazines would get . ”
The squad swear on Microsoft Encarta images for the campus event . “ We could never show it anywhere else because we truly did pull Microsoft Encarta images for the campus yield , ” Pearson says . As for the cover : “ It ’s vicious . It was bad , but also great . Cause it was so speculative . ” Headlines included " What the Funk ? ! ? Learn to Dig James Brown , " and " Giant Heads Galore : What ’s the Deal with Easter Island ? " It come up out in Spring 2000 , and the team distributed 3000 copies .
When the effect was done , they celebrate with a grape vine soda and Cheetos political party because " a wine and Malva sylvestris party just felt too sophisticated for us , " Pearson tell .
5. “Mr. Magazine” provided an early assist to Mental Floss.
Mental Floss experience an early boost from " Mr. Magazine , " a.k.a Professor Samir Husni . “ First , we Googled ‘ how to launch a magazine ’ and then order his book , Launch Your Own Magazine , ” Hattikudur says . “ Will somehow find his address , and when he responded , we were so excited and dance around the room singing ' Husni Husni Husni ! Husni Husni Husni ! ' He was such a Brobdingnagian help and supporter . ”
When they sent him the campus issue , Hattikudur say that " he basically took a penitentiary and slash every page and said : ' This is irksome ; this is boring ; this is deadening ! ' He told us he believe in us and our idea , but that we ’d have to prove we could make something interesting . Then he ’d make some intros to facilitate us get into bookstores . It was really humbling , but an incredible education . He told us we had to sell the concepts better , and punch it up and give every varlet a million entering points — captions so good it would make you desire to record the article . And we spend our entire aged year trying to make something we could be gallant of … with Lisako and Cascarano ’s and a cluster of our friends ’ assist . "
After the magazine plunge in 2001 , Husni listed Mental Floss in his roundup of “ What ’s New What ’s Hot . ” From Mr. Magazine ’s verbal description , it ’s clear that some thing stay on the same at Mental Floss nearly two decade later : He celebrated the powder magazine ’s inclusion of “ every eccentric of trifle you could maybe necessitate or want to jazz ” present in “ an odd yet interesting fashion . ”
6. Pearson and Hattikudur created the first official issue of Mental Floss during their senior year.
With the campus issue under their belts , and their senior year on the purview , Pearson and Hattikudur set their sights on the newsstand . “ After the campus issue , I do n’t know why we were like , ‘ Oh yeah , we should take this national right after this , like , embarrassment of an issue that was all Encarta effigy , ” Hattikudur say . But they were regulate , and get down securing resources and avail from organizations like Big Top Newsstand Services , which helped stick in the magazine to bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders .
“ That was a huge part of it for us , because those kind of newsstand were looking for what they saw as like self-governing or even oddball issue of all different form , ” Pearson pronounce . “ They give us a nip — they say , ' Let ’s impress these and put them out there and see how they do . ' Books - A - Million was another boastful early hero for us . ”
Creating the topic was n’t easy . They often receive themselves at Kinko ’s when they could n’t get admittance to the school ’s computer , and spend all night working on the issue after classes during the sidereal day . “ I was basically nocturnal that semester , ” Hattikudur says . “ I ’m a night owl anyway , but I would work until , like , 7 a.m. I had an 8 a.m. class that I ’d go to , and then I ’d sleep from 9 a.m. to whenever . And that ’s just how we functioned to get the issue to the newsstand . ”
Once the issue was finish , they sent it , on zip disks , to RR Donnelley to be print — only to be told they had n’t properly linked the files . They went back for forth with the company three times before get it right . ( Thankfully , the printing machine was patient . ) “ When we finally got it print , we were so thrilled and so glad , ” Hattikudur says . “ But we did n’t know to put any authors ' bylines on the tabular array of contents . And so people were mad about that . We also did n’t realize that you had to put the price by the UPC code , so all these magazine got sent back to Will ’s dining room tabular array , where he and his family put toughie prices on these magazine so that they could go to newsstands . ”
It was a mo of a rocky road , but at last it ante up off : 8000 issues were distributed across the country , and sold 60 pct of copies available on newsstands . “ We had no thought what it would do , but it was such a perfect convulsion for that bookshop audience , ” Pearson says . “ A lot of people discovered it . And part of what I ’m so thankful for from those former issue is that I think readers saw it . I think they roll in the hay the idea and loved where we were trying to go , and I candidly think they were like , ‘ I bang this is n’t a great magazine yet , but I love the hope of it , and I ’m willing to support it . ’ ”
Suddenly , people were subscribing . “ We were give $ 20 , and we were like , ‘ Oh , well , this can serve us produce the next magazine , ’ ” Pearson recalls . “ Not that it was a not bad business strategy , because if it did n’t work , you then owe these people their money back . But luckily , it did work out . That take into account us to then start building a lilliputian bit of Johnny Cash to start producing future publication . ”
The Pearsons ’ dining elbow room table answer an important map at this level , too : “ My parent ' dining way became the subscription fulfillment centre , ” he says . “ I would get a couple of intern from the local high-pitched school . We were literally putting the magazines in envelopes and mail them out , because we did n’t make out how to do it any other way , and we would send these matter off from there . ”
The clip would n’t get its first real office , in Birmingham , Alabama , until payoff five . " It was in an old dentist situation , and the Muzak was never turned off , " Hattikudur says , " so it was always at a low level humming in the background , which we ’d have saltation party to late at night . " According to an result of the cartridge , the part " in effect function[ed ] as a clubhouse , fully fit out with yapping dog … make - your - own - work hours , andno rules . "
7. Albert Einstein became Mental Floss’s mascot—but he wasn’t an intentional pick.
The first newsstand return of Mental Floss cartridge features the iconic , spit - out photo of Albert Einstein on the cover . From there out on , the scientist seem on many a Mental Floss covering fire , becoming kind of a mascot . But that was n’t necessarily what the co - founders had planned . “ We were judge to find a way to communicate the disembodied spirit of this magazine publisher and just racking our brainiac on what to do with it , ” Pearson withdraw . “ There was an article on Einstein in the issue , and we found that Graeco-Roman double of Einstein lodge his clapper out . Here ’s one of history ’s greatest geniuses at a moment where he ’s not taking himself too severely . So we settle to apply that . ”
For the second issue ( which featured the first show of the classical mental_floss logotype , design by Christine Hoover ) , a.k.a . the Genius Issue , they parody the top of the Beatles’sAbbey Road , with the musicians replace by the likes ofStephen HawkingandMark Twain . “ We decide to throw Einstein in the mix again , ” Pearson say . “ And that sort of became a thing where we were like , ‘ Oh , perhaps we could do this . That could become like our Playboy bunny or ourNewmanor whatever it may be to be able to put on every result . ’ ” ( For the record , therewasan official mascot , draw and quarter by Hattikudur , but he did n’t last past the third event . )
8. The magazine came out at a challenging time for the industry.
Pearson and Hattikudur put the first issue on newsstands in May 2001 with architectural plan to publish quarterly . They think in their theme , but that does n’t entail they did n’t experience moments of dubiety . It was n’t an easy meter to be in the print business organization . The Lucy in the sky with diamonds - com house of cards had just burst , “ so all the money that had been swamp into print , and all these defective ideas that had been backed by easy money , suddenly all of that vanished , ” Hattikudur say . “ And then on top of that , we put out our first real issue , finally like scrounged up the funds , sent the 2nd issue to the pressman , got on newsstands , and 9/11 happened . I just think , like , ‘ I do n’t know that this matter is cash in one’s chips to come through in this clip . ’ ”
At that time , Hattikudur was a habitual watcher of Charlie Rose , “ because it was the only place you could hear editor in chief speak about how they made their magazine , ” he says . He recollect find out an episode featuring Oliviero Toscani , the originative director ofTalkmagazine — an interview that left Hattikudur in " total angst . " His takeaway was that no magazine would succeed in the new world of the net without things like millions of dollars in financing , immense backers like Miramax , or a superstar editor , " and that ’s what we were compete against on the newsstand and in endeavor to get any press for our mark merchandise , " he says . “ I think think , like , ‘ We are f***ed . How are we get to pull this off ? ’ ”
Not long after , Felix Dennis — the cat behind lad mags likeMaximandFHM , as well as the periodicalThe Week — appeared on Charlie Rose . Dennis had a much different take . Rather than a superstar editor in chief and getting financial backing by sell a ton of ads , Dennis believed that a small squad who created a mathematical product they believe in and had a genuine connection with an audience was what would make a magazine successful . “ That in reality gave me a hatful of trust that we were onto something , ” Hattikudur order . “ It is strange that 10 yr later we sold Mental Floss to him . ”
9. The staff worked part-time jobs—and put in their own money—while making early issues of the magazine.
A lack of traditional funding entail that both Pearson and Hattikudur had to lick part - time jobs — Hattikudur wait tables , Pearson substitute teaching — while making the early issues of Mental Floss . Hattikudur recalls working six - and - a - half day a hebdomad . “ I ’d go from my waiting table occupation to working at a video store , just being on my feet all daytime , ” he says . “ And at the end of the twenty-four hours , I ’d come home and work on the magazine . The energy that you have at that age for something you really believe in and want to do is singular . ” The cute half - day he had off was devoted to studying up on other magazines and brainstorming for Mental Floss : “ I would go to a falafel place that was at Duke , this place called International Delights . The one meal I induce to treat myself to was falafel and this really angelical Coke , and I would just read magazine and study and brainstorm . ” They put their own money into the magazine publisher , too .
“ The number of ‘ nos , ’ and ‘ this is a dreaded ideas , ’ and ‘ it ’s just too hards ’ that we got along the way were not unimportant , ” Hattikudur says . But still , they keep on at it — and according to them , there was no one big moment when they knew that Mental Floss was go to succeed .
“ Every day , we would get up , and we loved this so much that it was all we wanted to go on , " Pearson says . " It was all we wanted to think about . And every day we just sort of inch this whole thing forward . And with each government issue , it would get a little bit better . We act upon at it for a year or so . We looked back and substantiate how far we ’d come . There was no moment that made it leap in any direction . ”
or else , he depict “ little jumps”—likeThe Washington Postcovering Mental Floss , or the powder magazine appearing onFriends(more on that in a bit)—that “ would give us a small number more exposure , a small bite more credibility . ”
For Hattikudur , those picayune second included multitude who ’d been at other publication coming to make for for Mental Floss . “ When Neely [ Harris ] come in on , she ’d actually been an editor somewhere , " he says . " When every individual who come on after that had like some literal education or some actual intellect for being there . Once you get multitude who are more talented than you believing in you , and fall in your team like that , each one of those feel like a vote of confidence . ”
10. Mental Floss’s early investors left their jobs to take an active role in the magazine.
A twelvemonth into making Mental Floss , Hattikudur and Pearson began searching for investors , and they created a marriage offer that emphasise Felix Dennis ’s take on the powder store diligence . “ It utter aboutThe Week , and how it was a magazine that at the clock time said they ’d have six pages of advertising , ” Hattikudur tell . “ Because restricting the ad number to six pages made the page more worthful — it was really about the connexion between the user and about creating something that felt like serve . ”
The duo found Toby and Melanie Maloney , who believed in their visual modality . “ When Toby and Melanie come on as investor , " Hattikudur says , " that was a really heavy moment for us . " Most investors stick to induct their money into a new venture , but the Maloneys gave Mental Flossa lot morethan hard cash : They leave their corporate gigs so they could have a more active role in the cartridge clip ’s direction and ramp up its product . " When I ensure the product and the business plan , I got very unrestrained , " Toby Maloney say at the time . " We ’re excited about its electric potential . We ’re realists , too , and we know that this will take a lot of effort . But we ’re entrepreneurial at heart and look forward to doing something unlike . " The Maloneys played an dynamic role in Mental Floss until it was sold to Felix Dennis in 2011 .
11. A personal approach helped the magazine succeed.
On the subject of reader mail service , Hattikudur says that " The notes from readers , even when they were correcting us , were so gentle ! " But that wasn’talwaysthe eccentric . Neely Harris Lohmann , who dish up as editor - in - chief from 2001 to 2011 , recalls trading word with some fervent defenders of Sasquatch . " In our cover floor for The Hoaxes Issue ( book 2 , Issue 6 ) , we included thing like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot , of course , " she told us in an email . " Well , that really irked the folks at the Bigfoot Believers Society of America . I got my first piece of hatred mail in response , which run to an online exchange ( such a rookie mistake ! ) , which led to more hate post . " One subject field line read , " you’re able to be unseasonable , but do you have to be so smug about it ? ”
She also recalls when a subscription was denied to an inpatient at a Texas prison because it apparently contained “ fabric on the context up and military operation of criminal scheme , ” Lohmann recalls . " Our wonk work party back at Floss headquarters ride that street cred for a while . "
12. Mental Floss was purchased by Felix Dennis’s Dennis Publishing in 2011.
In 2011 , London - base Dennis Publishing , establish by poet and altruist Felix Dennis , boughtMental Floss . Dennisexpressedone exceptional concern about buying Mental Floss — its name . “ We were so mad to meet him , ” Hattikudur says , “ and the first affair he told us was : ‘ I read four of your magazines . I ’ve get to say , Mental Floss is the worst f***ing name in the history of publishing . ’ ” The understanding , Pearson recalls he told them , was because " ‘ nobody else in the creation knows what the f * * * dental floss is , ’ talking about other culture and people not floss . And we did discover that with interlingual rendition of our books . ”
Dennis did ultimately decide to purchase Mental Floss , and was a great supporter of the magazine until his death in 2014 . Mental Floss became a digital - only publication when the print magazinefoldedin 2016 ; Pearson and Hattikudur themselves left a year afterwards . " At some point , we were hiring hoi polloi who liked reading Mental Floss growing up , " Hattikudur suppose . " It was like , ' I conceive we aged out of this . ' " read Pearson , " Somebody that was like , ' Yeah , I loved the reading this in middle school . ' And I was like , ' Oh God — it ’s sentence for us to move on . ' " They went to How Stuff Works — whose chief executive officer was an former assistant of the clip — to make podcasts . ( Pearson and Hattikudur are now COO of Podcasts and SVP of Podcasts , respectively , at iHeartRadio . )
Dennis Publishing owned Mental Floss until 2018 , when it wasboughtby Minute Media .
13. Mental Floss launched its YouTube Channel in 2013.
14. Mental Floss magazine appeared on a number of TV shows.
Mental Floss has had the honor of being the preferred reading material for a phone number of fictional type on television . The cartridge had a breakout tour onFriendswhen Monica Geller ( Courteney Cox ) was make out with the magazine in Central Perkduringthe 2003 episode “ The One With the Soap Opera Party . ” ( She was given the magazine by her then - husband , David Arquette , who toldEntertainment Weekly , " I got the clip from a friend . I thought it was so interesting , I overtake it on to Courteney . " She , in go , gave it to the show ’s publicity squad . ) On a 2011 installment ofCurb Your Enthusiasm , Larry Daviddisplayedhis questionable predilection for finer periodical when he pick another magazine out of a raft that contained one of our issues . We ’ve also appeared onThe OA(leading to at leastone fan theory),The Magicians , and an sequence ofThe Affair , where Dominic West collapsed near an exit just after being prod . " It ’s also been on30 Rock , Bored to Death , Nip / Tuck , " Hattikudur say , " and thatJodi Picoult movie[My Sister ’s Keeper ] where the kid decide to disunite her parents based on an clause in the mag ( I have n’t watched it , but pose a lot of texts about it ) . Among other home … "
But there was one Mental Floss clip movie cameo that did n’t happen . At one point , it was vulgar practice for films to quest permission to utilize a powder magazine on - screenland . Hattikudur recall one postulation for a movie with a scene featuring comic Bernie Mac , who would be getting a pedicure and complaining about all the out - of - date powder magazine at the salon . “ It wasBad Santa , ” Hattikudur says . He eagerly watch the movie hoping to espy the magazine , but unhappily , the scene got cut .
15. Mental Floss has had many notable contributors.
When perusing the bylines of some of your favourite Mental Floss articles , you might just slip up across a few familiar names you ’ve seen in Scripture , on TV , and at plenty of other distinguished outlets across the web . Among the renowned writers who have contributed to Mental Floss over the old age includeThe Fault in Our Starsauthor John Green ( who had bylines on web site and magazine before he begin host the YouTube channel ) ; Hank Green , an former writer for the magazine;Jeopardy!legend Ken Jennings , who pen Mental Floss ’s weekly Kennections quiz ; Jen Doll ( pull through the Date ) ; Sam Kean ( The Disappearing Spoon ) ; Maggie Koerth Baker ( Before the Lights Go Out : Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It conquer Us);The Year of Living Biblicallyauthor A.J. Jacobs , who wrote a tower for the mag called " Modern Problems " ; Deborah Blum ( The Poisoner ’s Handbook ) ; chef Alton Brown , who had a cooking pillar back in the print days ; Dana Schwartz ( And We ’re Off ) ; and Ransom Riggs ( Miss Peregrine ’s Home for Peculiar Children ) .
“ We see so much gift pass through this society , ” Hattikudur says . “ And we felt lucky that we got these hoi polloi . It was a element of the fact that we never had money . You had to go after people who were immature and gifted and ambitious . And the number of big name and industry experts and bestseller who came through is not minor . Kevin Roose write early in Mental Floss while he was still in college . James Hamblin was writing quiz for us before he had a job atThe Atlantic . Caity Weaver . They ’re literal , important people in the reality who somehow adjoin Mental Floss and got ensnared by us along the way . And it ’s joyous , you know ? Most of them do n’t even know me — I’ve watched these career and been thrilled by them . And the fact that like the people who did stick around shaped this thing into like something that was so much big and better than we ever could have … to be capable to pause for a second and bet back at who we got to play with is such a pleasure . ”
16. Mental Floss collaborated with National Geographic to air the first-ever live brain surgery.
In 2015,Brain Surgery Live with Mental Flossaired on National Geographic , broadcasting the first - ever live surgical brain procedure — and the patient , electricianGreg Gindley , was awake the whole prison term . Surgeons implanted electrodes in his skull for mysterious - brain - stimulation , or DBS , a treatment that can aid alleviate the symptom of Parkinson ’s and epilepsy . While Bryant Gumbel hosted , multiple camera peered into the medical squad ’s work and Gindley provided feedback to the surgeons . " The stimulation contain his microseism , and by the end of the live operating room he could sign his name and move his hands steady across an iPad on camera — material he had n’t been able to do for age , " Hattikudur says . Grindley was up and about just a few daytime after the routine .
17. Mental Floss has won a number of awards.
What do the movieTitanic , Michael Phelps , and Mental Floss have in common ? They ’ve all come through multiple awards . Mental Floss has receivedfourWebby Awards , let in a People ’s Choice Webby in 2020 . We were also the lofty receiver of three ASME award nominations ; a Streamy ; some Digiday Awards ; and Library Awards , among others .
18. Mental Floss was meant to be a brand from the beginning.
These days , Mental Floss is first and foremost an information portal on the web — and sometimes still in print , as our2019 extra issueshows — but our brand has contact beyond the confines of your web web browser . We ’ve marketed liothyronine - shirt , calendars ( include a2021 desk calendar ) , a few add-in games , and a lot of books . For a metre , we even had a physicalstorein Chesterland , Ohio .
receive a placeable style — curious , quirky , and informative — that was useable beyond the printed or digital pageboy was no fortuity . " From the root , we acknowledge we wanted to take off a clip , and we wanted to do books , " Hattikudur says . " We wanted to do practical field trip . We wanted to do a website . If you look at the document outlining all the things we require to do , those are all thing we ended up doing . It was n’t like , ' Oh , we ’ll start a mag , and that ’ll be it . ' We set out to make a brand from the commencement . "
19. There were a few strange and incredible ideas left on the editorial floor.
As at any publication , Mental Floss has seen its fairish percentage of products and story mind that never fall out . When Pearson and Hattikudur pitched Mental Floss to Big Top , one included model was a " Fed Up People Issue " featuring " Cannibalism ’s Who ’s Who , " which ultimately was n’t made . They also made a bad Issue solely so they could do a Second high-risk Issue … but that Second Worst Issue never got made .
Hattikudur also wanted to create a intersection called Rational Putty , what he holler “ a full cousin to Silly Putty , but the most boring version — it would only come in one of four wearisome colors , like gray and beige , and would n’t do anything . ” ( " Never Wacky , Zany , Imprudent , or Childish ! " the proposed packaging explained . " Great For Your Inner Adult ! " ) The product cash in one’s chips nowhere . Another musical theme that run nowhere ? A bar mitzvah to celebrate when Mental Floss ferment 13 .
The cartridge also did a Fun issue , and the team had an idea that resulted in what is , in our opinion , one of the great what - could - have - beens in Mental Floss history .
“ We strain out to a youthful guy rope to be a Bard for the issue and draw up songs , ” Hattikudur says . “ He say , ‘ I have it off Mental Floss and I love money . I just need to recollect about it — I’m work on something else powerful now . ’ And … that was Lin Manuel Miranda . ” You experience , the guy who createdHamilton . “ He ultimately did n’t publish it , but we would have had some tap about that number of Mental Floss ! ” The mind finish up pass forth withCadamole , a.k.a . Adam Cole .
20. Mental Floss’s founders are not surprised the brand is still around 20 years later.
Twenty years since its first official way out hit newsstand , Mental Floss is still a roaring brand — and that success is no surprisal to its conscientious objector - laminitis . " Did I know on the button what it would look like 20 twelvemonth later , or what exactly what that would be ? No , " Pearson says . " There were scary moments and there were times when we were struggling just get to the next issue and things like that . But there really was n’t a instant where I was like , ' I wonder if this will make it . ' I palpate like there was always this irrational optimism around the hereafter of it . "
" We took $ 150,000 , essentially , from our investors , and then we never really got more money , " Hattikudur says . " There was a bit of pocket variety along the way of life , but until we sell it to Felix , we just prolong it . And that sorting of moil it out for that long just gives you the faith that this thing can retain . And the other thing is , we were spry about this from the scratch . We always figured , there ’s a panel plot , there ’s a serial of books . There ’s a line of products of t - shirts . We have it away that , whatever we were doing , there was another mode to make something body of work . So I never really like wonder it , though there were fate of times along the direction that Will and I would jest , ' Is this the year we go for to law shoal ? ' "
No discourtesy to attorney , but gratefully , for everyone who has worked at or revel Mental Floss in some form over the years — and been so much better for it — law schoolhouse never became a necessary . " The matter that I learned , move to work for my uncle in advertising the summer between high shoal and college , save advertizing for washing machines , is ' I can use all of this creativity to get multitude to care about one washing auto over another , ' " Hattikudur order . " When Will and I came up with idea of Mental Floss , the fact that we could pour all of that creativity into hoi polloi caring about eruditeness was just sensational . And that we got to do that as our job was just unimaginable . "
