Erin McCarthy

Nashville, New York

Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Mental Floss

editor-in-chief, @mental_floss. she/her

Articles

History Vs. Bonus Episode: Theodore Roosevelt Vs. Christmas Trees

3 weeks ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

Mental Floss has a new podcast with iHeartRadio called History Vs., about how your favorite historical figures faced off against their greatest foes. Our first season is all about President Theodore Roosevelt. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts here, and for more TR content, visit the History Vs. site. It’s 6:45 a.m. on Christmas morning, 1902, and Theodore Roosevelt’s children—Alice, Ted, Kermit, Ethel, Archie, and Quentin—are pounding at the president’s bedroom door.
History Vs. Podcast Bonus Episode: Theodore Roosevelt vs. Bigfoot

3 weeks ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

Erin McCarthy: Hello and welcome to a very special bonus episode of History Vs., a podcast from Mental Floss and iHeartRadio about how your favorite historical figures faced off against their greatest foes. I’m your host, Erin McCarthy, and today, we’re going to be exploring a tale Theodore Roosevelt wrote about in his book The Wilderness Hunter, a memoir of his time on the frontier, which was published in 1893.
History Vs. Bonus Episode: The Statue

3 weeks ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

One thing that happens when you make a Theodore Roosevelt-themed podcast is that whenever there’s TR-related news, you get a ton of messages about it. Which is exactly what happened to me when news broke that the American Museum of Natural History had asked for the equestrian statue of TR that stands outside its Central Park West entrance to be removed. The request comes at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the streets to protest police brutality and systemic racism.
History Vs. Episode 5: Theodore Roosevelt Vs. Language

3 weeks ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin Mccarthy |Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

Have you ever looked at a word—like although, for example—and thought: There are just too many letters in this word? If so, congratulations: You have a little something in common with Theodore Roosevelt, author of more than 30 books and 150,000 letters. You know who else thought there were just too many letters in English words? Philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. In 1906, Carnegie created, and financially supported, the Simplified Spelling Board.
Learn Amazing Facts About Historical Escapes with Arturo Castro

1 month ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

The actor just wrapped up a podcast called ‘Greatest Escapes’—and now he’s dropping amazing facts about those escapes and more on the latest episode of Amazing Facts with Mental Floss. Arturo Castro has some questions for Violet Jessop. The actor—who you might know from Broad City, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, The Menu, or “that time I played a tastebud in [that] one commercial about toffee”—featured the nurse and stewardess on his podcast, Greatest Escapes.
Why Do We Say “Uncle” When Admitting Defeat?

1 month ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

One theory says it comes from an Irish word; another says we have the ancient Romans to thank. But the joke is on those theories, because the real story is more complicated than that. Perhaps you’ve been forced to say it while getting noogies from a bully on the playground. Or maybe you’ve heard it used in a movie where one character roughing up another insists that they “say ‘uncle’,” or admit defeat, before they’re set free. But why uncle—why not aunt or mom or some other authority figure?
Learn Amazing Facts About Women Scientists With Kari Byron

Mar 18, 2025 | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

Plus, the former MythBusters host and co-founder of the National STEM Festival tells us what emerging tech she thinks kids today won’t be able to live without—and what we can expect from the podcast she’s launching with fellow MythBuster Tory Belleci. Kari Byron has done some pretty weird things in her career. “I have been locked in a coffin with scorpions … I have jumped offa100-story building,” she says. “I stung myself with a jellyfish.
Who Created Karaoke?

Mar 6, 2025 | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

We have two innovators to thank for our ability to scream-sing Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” in front of a group of strangers. Despite what you may have heard, karaoke isn’t Japanese for “tone deaf.” The word is a portmanteau of the Japanese kara, or “empty,” and oke, the shortened form of okesutora, meaning “orchestra.” But who came up with this delightful concept, anyway?
How Do Two-Way Mirrors Work?

Mar 5, 2025 | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

And how you can tell a two-way mirror from a standard one. It’s a familiar scene from every police procedural: In one brightly lit room, a perp is being questioned. In an adjacent room, officers watch the proceedings in near darkness, downing cup after cup of coffee. Between the rooms is a two-way mirror, which allows the officers to watch the suspect’s questioning without being seen. But how is that even possible? Traditional vs.
15 Gene Hackman Quotes

Feb 27, 2025 | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

The actor and author offered some sage wisdom over the years. Gene Hackman—who was found dead at his house alongside his wife in February 2025 at the age of 95—had a long, prolific career. After retiring from acting, he kept busy by writing novels from his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here are some bon mots he said over the years, on everything from how he chose his projects to the joys of writing.