Erin McCarthy

1 month ago | 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.

1 month ago | 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?

1 month ago | 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.

1 month ago | 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.

2 months ago | mentalfloss.com | Erin McCarthy |Erin Mccarthy

Since 1987—two years after the Titanic wreck was discovered—seven trips have been made to the ship's debris field, and more than 5500 artifacts have been salvaged. Here are a few of them!An Alligator PurseVials of PerfumeA Bronze CherubA Bejeweled BraceletThe Deck BellLogometerSheet MusicA Piece of the HullA Bowler HatFirst-Class and Third-Class ChinaA Wool VestMargaret "Molly" Brown's Necklace (Maybe)1.