mental_floss - September.October 2013
English | PDF | 68 pages | 20.7 mb

COVER STORY
35 25 of Your Most Pressing Questions
How does your nose adjust to bad smells? When are we going to ditch the penny? And just how long is a TwinkieΓÇÖs life-span?

FEATURES
47 The Legend of The Oregon Trail
When three student teachers needed a way to connect with students, they changed video games forever.
52 The Sweetest Revolution
Ice cream trucks donΓÇÖt just dish out push pops and sundaes. They democratized dessert by bringing the treat of kings to the common man.

DEPARTMENTS
SCATTERBRAIN
11 Breakfast: Why pancakes are always round, the genius behind the Eggo waff le, JFKΓÇÖs favorite morning meal, and the Quaker Oats manΓÇÖs dirty secret
RIGHT BRAIN/LEFT BRAIN
25 What made EinsteinΓÇÖs brain so special?
28 Paint-by-number: a business masterpiece
30 How to earn your PhD in Batman
32 Can doomed species save each other?
BE AMAZING
19 Making change at the U.S. Mint
20 AvocadosΓÇÖ disturbing etymology
21 A.J. Jacobs ties down historyΓÇÖs corsets.
22 BootleggersΓÇÖ tips for beating Prohibition
23 The real magic wordΓÇöitΓÇÖs not please
GO MENTAL
60 The holy grail for denim collectors
61 Become a brilliant morning person.
63 Our 60-second primer on North Korea
64 The mental_floss quiz
65 Which defunct NFL team are you?