The Best New Magazine

In an age of books "for dummies" and "complete idiots," Mental Floss is a magazine that makes you "feel smart again." Let's face it, some of those "dummies" books are pretty good, but you wouldn't display them in your home or read them on the train. By contrast, I openly read Mental Floss in public and place the latest issue on my coffee table.

The magazine combines a cheeky sense of humor with a wealth of information. I loved the recent "Y Files issue." "Why is yawning contagious?" "Why do people yell 'Geronimo' before jumping?" "Why does the United States print $2 bills?" Mental Floss delivers the answers. Trivial pursuit may leave you wondering "why" about an answer, but Mental Floss never does.

The current "swimsuit issue" is a blast. It's not exactly titillating, but it is stimulating. The sight of Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt in swimwear is enough to turn your attention to the articles.

There's no magazine I'd recommend more highly.

Geeks, trivia buffs, & all who want to be informed read this

If you want to know more but don't have a lot of time to read, subscribe to Mental Floss. I first heard about it in a segment on NPR. It made me curious so I bought an issue that night and was instantly hooked! I went online and ordered not only a subscription for myself, but one for a friend's birthday as well (and have it on my Christmas list as a good gift for numerous others).

The magazine is fast and easy to read and chock full of bite-sized morsels of information,the sorts of things we all want to know. I even saw an issue of it being read on the show "Friends," this season. Recently, one of my monthly issues sat on my coffee table, when a friend's husband picked it up and began reading it. His wife and I heard very little out of him for the next thirty minutes other than an occasional "Wow" or a "That's really interesting" or a "Did you know?" because he had been instantly absorbed into the Mental Floss World. You should be,too.

The Best Thing In My Mailbox!

I have subscribed to "Mental Floss" from the very beginning, and now look forward to each new issue anxiously. Founded just a couple of years ago by two former college roommates who wanted a fun, hip, urbane magazine to make them smarter with style, "Mental Floss" has become a huge success, and is one of the few new magazines that debut each year that is actually prospering.

Each issue is loaded with information on interesting topics, from how common (or very uncommon) things work, to odd and unknown histories and biographies that you will not find anywhere else (and if you did, certainly not in as condensed and succinct a form as you will find here.) Without exception, the writers are literate, knowledgeable, and good humored.

The things that you don't know will amaze you after reading this magazine. Try "Mental Floss", and I am willing to bet that you will be hooked. I know I am.