World’s Strangest

Some residents in the Upper Midwest were surprised to be shaken by an earthquake last night. The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake, which had an estimated magnitude of 4.3, was centered near Virgil, about 50 miles northwest of Chicago, at a depth of about three miles. There were no immediate reports of aftershocks… [...]

With all we’ve accomplished, it’s easy to forget that people aren’t always the dominant species. Here are eight stories of man-eating animals that remind us we really are still part of the food chain. 1. The Ghost and The Darkness Over nine months in 1898, two maneless, male lions allegedly attacked and killed over 140 workers [...]

The US Airways Airbus 320 that landed in the Hudson River just a year ago is for sale. In the story known as “Miracle on the Hudson”, Captain Sully Sullenberger brought the plane down with no loss of life only 23 minutes into the flight when a flock of geese jammed the engines. Now the [...]

Every Friday, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. Very casual. On to this week’s topics of discussion… 1. Well, it finally happened. Yesterday I mentioned to someone that I grew up in Denville, New Jersey, and [...]

“QUANTUM SHOT” #607Link – article by Avi Abrams (with some material by Antoine Van Hove) Imagine pedaling into the sunset, riding these cool machines Nothing like opening a new year with some fresh designs – it clears the minds, refreshes our vision, and simply makes for a great eye-candy. Today we will see some outrageous modern concepts, [...]

The New Jersey design firm Lovegrove & Repucci has created this graffiti-covered dinnerware set in the tradition of the Netherland’s Delft-style porcelain. It’s called “New York Delft” and in the links, you can can find an Antiques Roadshow spoof featuring the collection. Link via Make | YouTube Video | Image: Davies & Starr

We’ve been counting down the year’s most-read mentalfloss.com stories. First we rattled off #20 to #14. Then came #13 to #6. At long last, here are the five most popular stories of 2009. 5. Why Does Bottled Water Have an Expiration Date? by Matt Soniak Why do bottles of water have a “drink by” date when common sense [...]

(Video Link) Construction workers rebuilding the World Trade Center in New York City often have to spend half of their lunch breaks riding elevators up and down to buy lunch. But soon, a sub shop will come to them. The Subway restaurant company built an outlet out of shipping containers. A crane will lift it high [...]

Angelo Pericolo of New Jersey threw away what he thought was merely an empty disposable cup before his wife informed him the cup was holding her wedding ring. Unfortunately, the trash truck had already come and gone by this point, leaving the ring in a pile of almost 10 tons of garbage. Amazingly, the sanitation workers [...]

We’re all hunkering down here in the Midwest since a blizzard is supposed to be hitting us pretty much all day Tuesday and Wednesday. As blizzards go, it’s probably not a big one… just enough to close the Interstates, schools, and some businesses. There have definitely been far worse – here are 10 of them. 1. [...]