Here’s a scene you’ll probably see this summer: you’ll be at a barbecue or picnic, enjoying nice, fresh in-season tomatoes, and you might make an offhand comment about tomatoes being your favorite vegetable. Almost immediately, some know-it-all will pipe up with, “Tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables!”
No one would blame you if you told your pedantic guest, “Wow! Thanks for correcting me! It’s clear now why everyone enjoys your company so much!” That response is a bit aggressive, though, so try this one instead: “Actually, according to the Supreme Court, tomatoes are vegetables. I’m just trying to keep this picnic nice and legal.”
Yes, the Supreme Court has weighed in on the “Are tomatoes fruits or vegetables?” debate, and the justices came to a firm conclusion: tomatoes are veggies. Let’s take a look at how this momentous decision came to pass.
The jumps are incredible, but they’re also so technical that one seemingly insignificant motion can drop a skier on his tail. Given that the skiers can fly up to 50 feet in the air and come down on a 37-degree grade, it seems like just going out and trying a new trick would be a good way to break your neck. That’s why you’ll need one unexpected piece of equipment if you want to start training for aerials: a towel.
Click the image to read the full Mental_Floss post.
Mental_Floss has a series of cool time-lapse videos.
We’re more than halfway through February, yet spring seems so far off for most of us covered under layers upon layers of snow. Personally, I wish we could just hit the fast forward button to about the the middle April. While time may not work that way, video does. In that regard, tonight’s Late Movies feature a series of time-lapse clips to tide you over until it warms up.
Click the image above to see the other 10 videos. The topics include: - Washington DC Snow Storm - Guy driving from LA to New York - A colony of ants devouring a dead gecko - A history of everything - Trapped in an elevator - Passing through the Panama Canal - Street artist - From Larvae to Butterfly - Artificial beauty time lapse by Dove - Cityscapes
The antiques world was rocked (okay, more like gently bumped) when a recent episode of Antiques Roadshow estimated a woman’s collection of carved Chinese jade objects at $710,000 to $1.07 million. Either figure would make it the highest-appraised item in Antiques Roadshow history. Unfortunately, when the woman actually sold the items at auction, she only got $494,615. Why the discrepancy? It’s complicated — read about it here if you want the blow-by-blow from real antiques experts. Meanwhile, below I have collected the Top 10 Antiques Roadshow valuations (actually 11 items, as there’s a tie for second place), courtesy of YouTube user Ultranothing. The jade still comes in first as I’m counting by valuation, despite its later actual sale value being lower than predicted.
Click the roadshow logo above to see the top 10 valuations on Antiques roadshow.
Now that it’s January, it’s time to prepare for two things: the NFL playoffs and terrifyingly low wind chill reports. What does it really mean when my weatherman is telling me that it feels like minus-20 in Chicago, though? Is there a wind chill thermometer somewhere, or is he just using a mathematical formula? Let’s answer these and some of the other pressing questions about the ubiquitous winter statistic.
Click the image above to read the MentalFloss blog post.
I can’t begin to imagine how hard it would be to leave my family for months at a time, especially if my destination were Iraq or Afghanistan. And I don’t know how I could deal with my wife being deployed overseas. These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. They’ll also make you want a dog. To commemorate Veterans’ Day, here are some overjoyed dogs greeting returning soldiers.
Click the image to see the 10 videos of a soldier being greeted by his dog. The page also includes a video of soldiers being reunited with their children. I am including that one here.
Mental_Floss has a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Quiz.
On August 9, Regis Philbin and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? return to prime-time on ABC for a special two-week run. To celebrate, here are twelve million-dollar questions from past episodes. We can't offer you any lifelines, and if you get them all right, we're not going to pay you the $13,040,000 (or the 20,000,000 rupees) that these 12 contestants earned. But you have our permission to daydream about what you'd buy with that money for the rest of the afternoon.
Have you ever wanted to know what really goes on at the American Library Association’s annual conference? Well, me neither. I have never imagined that it was a place to spend my vacation time. Well, maybe I was wrong. Click on the image above to read the Mental_Floss post and watch the three videos. And if you are tempted to laugh, don't. You might get shushed.
The secret lives of librarians took center stage at the American Library Association’s annual conference earlier this month. There was dancing, there were costumes, there was music, and, of course, there were book carts. They practice their routines in hallways and parking lots, ready to compete in the 5th annual Library Book Cart Drill Team Championship, sponsored by library supply company DEMCO.
