While some may find charm in rusted-out iron or steel material—think a beloved old bicycle or decorative railing—most find it to be an insidious sign of damage and instability. You probably ...

Shipwrecks continue to be a source of fascination for maritime historians and the general public alike. The image of a once-powerful vessel claimed by the sea is a testament to human fallibility ...

Coffee has a language all its own. / Tara Moore/GettyImages Thanks to the proliferation of Starbucks, independently-owned coffeehouses, and expensive home machines, getting your hands on a ...

What's in a name? A lot of pronunciation mistakes. / Courtesy of WordFinderX Many people know the awkwardness that comes with mispronouncing a person’s name, or having one’s own name mangled.

Let’s see how well you know your literature. / Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision/Getty Images (woman), ahmad agung wijayanto/Shutterstock (question marks) When it comes to citing novels, opening ...

These days, we use ‘GOP’ to refer to Republicans—but that wasn’t always the case. / Carol Yepes/GettyImages You’ll often hear the Republican Party called “the GOP.” The initialism ...

The signed archetype of the U.S. Constitution now up for auction. / Brunk Auctions If you’ve ever wanted to own a rare signed copy of the U.S. Constitution, now’s your chance. On September 28 ...

More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are currently on the national waiting list for an organ transplant. Sadly, the chronic shortage of donated organs means that over 6000 patients every year die ...

Rare Rembrandt painting sells for more than a million dollars / KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source Estate sales usually involve families letting go of various household items like dinnerware and ...

Like all great things, this classic snack doesn't last forever. / Paul Taylor, Stone Collection, Getty Images; Justin Dodd, Mental Floss (background) Popcorn is a pretty wild kind of treat if you ...

He wants you to learn about the symbol’s history. / swim ink 2 llc/Corbis Historical/Getty Images (Uncle Sam); Justin Dodd/Mental Floss (question mark) Uncle Sam—clad in red, white, and blue ...

Gammer Gurton’s Garland was the title of a landmark collection of nursery rhymes first published in England in the early 1780s. Compiled by an English antiquary named Joseph Ritson, the book ...