# Anybody else read mental\_floss? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 20, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290 "2007-08-20T20:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/1 "2007-08-20T20:12:26Z")
I got the new issue today and it is excellent. Does anybody else read this magazine? ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/2 "2007-08-20T20:15:07Z")
I’ve seen it in the bookstore and thought about subscribing. You recommend it then? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/3 "2007-08-20T20:52:00Z")
Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/4 "2007-08-20T20:53:24Z")
I buy every issue when it hits the newsstand; really ought to subscribe. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/5 "2007-08-20T23:10:49Z")
I’ve read several issues at the public library. It suggests what _Reader’s Digest_ would have been like had it been started by people with a **Straight Dope** sensibility. [The site](http://www.mentalfloss.com/) gives an idea of what to expect if you pick up a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/6 "2007-08-21T00:41:12Z")
I read it but I think it’s being mis-marketed. It presents itself as a magazine for highly intelligent people but it’s really just a collection of trivia items. It’s interesting and I enjoy it, but I don’t consider it to be particularly intelligent. ---
**Author:** ![bubble\_pop\_electric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@bubble\_pop\_electric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubble_pop_electric)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/7 "2007-08-21T00:48:05Z")
It appears to have a lot of lists, though. I like lists. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/8 "2007-08-21T00:50:16Z")
I subscribe, and I really like it. It’s a lot of fun to read and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s definitely worth the subscription price. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/9 "2007-08-21T02:11:30Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I read it but I think it’s being mis-marketed. It presents itself as a magazine for highly intelligent people but it’s really just a collection of trivia items. It’s interesting and I enjoy it, but I don’t consider it to be particularly intelligent. [/QUOTE] A lot of people seem to think intelligence is just having a large store of trivia. That, and using big words for no apparent reason. (A German accent used to help, but not so much anymore.) ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/10 "2007-08-21T04:54:00Z")
I subscribe. It’s like knowledge junk food. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/11 "2007-08-21T05:43:04Z")
I don’t read it, but I’ve browsed the website. I usually hit [Neatorama](http://www.neatorama.com/) almost daily, and they run items from it. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-read-mental_floss/416290/12 "2007-08-21T12:18:53Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] A lot of people seem to think intelligence is just having a large store of trivia. That, and using big words for no apparent reason. (A German accent used to help, but not so much anymore.) [/QUOTE] But the magazine isn’t just about mere trivia. It’s more like a shallow treatment of deep subjects. It shoots for that middle ground between the random uselessness of most trivia books and the highfalutin’ snobbery of special-interest magazines, and it usually hits its target. M\_F won’t get you through your PhD dissertation defense. But it will keep you from looking like a jackass at the next pretentious cocktail party. Robin