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An 1802 cartoon by James Gillray illustrating some of the alleged "side effects" of the smallpox vaccine. Heritage Images/Getty Images Maybe you know that Edward Jenner is sometimes called the “Father of Immunology.” Maybe you know that Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine and declined to patent his invention. Maybe you’ve kept your finger on the pulse of...

‘Tis the season to spend some quality time with your loved ones and enjoy all sorts of festive fun from the comfort of your home. But that shouldn't mean any extra work on your part. That's why Mental Floss has teamed up with Pizza Hut to provide you with three holiday hacks that you can use to create...

Happy Holidays. In this special issue we are reprinting our top stories of the past year. This article first appeared online in our “Mind” issue in March, 2021. One autumn afternoon in the bowels of UC Berkeley’s Li Ka Shing Center, I was looking at my brain. I had just spent 10 minutes inside the 3 Tesla MRI...

Happy Holidays. In this special issue we are reprinting our top stories of the past year. This article first appeared online in our “The Edge” issue in October, 2021. I have a childhood memory of looking in the bathroom mirror, and for the first time realizing that my experience at that precise moment—the experience of being me—would at...

Happy Holidays. In this special issue we are reprinting our top stories of the past year. This article first appeared online in our “Mind” issue in March, 2021. The 21st century is a time of great scientific discovery. Cars are driving themselves. Vaccines against deadly new viruses are created in less than a year. The latest Mars Rover...

Paul McCartney is simply having a "Wonderful Christmastime" ... but are you? Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images When the docuseries The Beatles: Get Back premiered last month, the Internet came through with a host of great memes about toast, Ringo Starr's flatulence, and George Harrison’s decision to leave the band. But the funniest of the bunch, created by writer...

Cleanipedia 'Tis the season for ignoring your holiday to-do list and challenging yourself to another festive brain-teaser. This December, we've asked you to find the basketball among the Christmas ornaments and the happy elf in Santa's workshop. This new hidden-image puzzle from Cleanipedia features a present hiding in a cheery scene. Search the picture below and see how...

iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum-Wi-Fi Connectivity, Personalized Cleaning Recommendations, Works with Alexa, Good for Pet Hair, Carpets, Hard Floors, Self-Charging, Charcoal Grey Kick back and relax this weekend, and while you're at it, save a little extra on top-rated Amazon products like the iRobot Roomba 692, on sale for under $180, meaning you'll save over 40 percent on...

Sam Santos/Stringer/Getty Images The Matrix was an instant classic when it hit theaters in 1999. The movie pioneered new special effects, reaffirmed Keanu Reeves's status as a Hollywood icon, and brought the idea of living in a simulation into the mainstream. The film is so deeply embedded in pop culture that some younger viewers may be underwhelmed by...

Eumillipes persephone has legs and knows how to use them. "The first true millipede—1,306 legs long," Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports If scampering invertebrates give you pause, read no further. Everyone else—meet Eumillipes persephone, a newly discovered species of millipede with...