Mental Floss: Instant Knowledge (4 page)

(gone wrong)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, road trips, chatting up your bank teller

KEYWORDS:
Jesse James,
Ocean’s 11,
or crime doesn’t pay

THE FACT:
Despite a ridiculously well known cast of rascals, the Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid was one of the worst-executed heists in history.

It’s true, in terms of actual success this robbery was a total bust. But just take a peek at the culprits: legendary bandits Frank and Jesse James; Cole, Jim, and Bob Younger; and three lesser-known outlaws. Their target was Northfield’s First National Bank, which the gang settled on after casing a half-dozen other towns. Clearly, not enough casing, as the robbery couldn’t have gone worse. The bank’s cashier refused to open the safe, an alert passerby sounded the alarm, and townspeople killed two of the robbers as the rest escaped. A week later, a posse killed or captured all of the other outlaws except the James brothers, who escaped home to Missouri. It was the beginning of the end for 19th-century America’s most notorious bandits. Worse still? The entire take from the Northfield bank was a mere $26.70.

(a.k.a. The Trouble with Stubble)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, chatting up cat lovers, and questioning the Amish and other assorted bearded folk

KEYWORDS:
beard, stubble, or chin whiskers

THE FACT:
If you’re having trouble relating to your cat, perhaps you should think about shaving.

A study led by Fairfield University indicates that cats react negatively to men with long, dark beards. On the other hand, the fickle felines seem rather indifferent to short beards or unshaven men. In another study, Robert Bork’s distinctive partial beard caused disorientation and paralysis in some cats. Of course, now all we need is a study to figure out
why
cats don’t like facial hair. It will probably require a hefty chunk of grant money, but we’re certain it would be worth it.

(the Cambridge Casanova)

USEFUL FOR:
academic gatherings, impressing professors, and giving philosophy majors hope

KEYWORDS:
philosophy, Russell, or The Ladies Man

THE FACT:
One of the founders of analytic philosophy, at first blush Bertrand Russell sounds like a pretty dry guy. But you don’t get a nickname like the Cambridge Casanova by staying in on Friday nights.

Bertrand Russell had been orphaned at a young age, but before his father died, he instructed that young Bertie be raised agnostic—a decision that no doubt had some impact on the philosopher’s life. Plagued by bouts of depression as a young man, Russell quickly learned to cultivate a zest for life. In fact, this heavy-drinking, pipe-smoking professor was notorious for having affairs with his friends’ wives (on top of his four attempts at marriage!). He lived passionately, rejecting organized religion with his famous essay “Why I Am Not a Christian,” but spent his life pursuing social justice. He even flirted with runs for political office and did jail time for political protest (his last stint being at age 94!). Most notably, perhaps, Russell was a leading intellectual voice against nuclear weapons and the war in Vietnam.

(or playing your cards right MIT-style)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, MIT reunions, and chatting up anyone who loves that
Dogs
Playing Poker
picture

KEYWORDS:
blackjack, Vegas, or the phrase “the geeks shall inherit the earth”

THE FACT:
Most people say the house always wins, but in the 1990s there was good reason to put your money on MIT.

Blackjack is a beatable game—that is, if you can count cards well enough to know when the deck favors the player, not the house. And while solitary card counters are relatively easy to spot for most casino security outfits, it took them six years during the 1990s to tumble to the strategy used by a group of MIT students. Using card-counting
teams,
complete with diversionary players—the cavalier math-letes raked in millions. One player recounted walking from one casino to another carrying a paper hat stuffed with $180,000 in cash. Amazingly, the MIT ring was never actually caught in the act. Some members retired. A few others were ratted out by a team traitor and banned from the casinos, which learned a lesson about the concept of team play.

USEFUL FOR:
academic gatherings, impressing nerdy dates, and making small talk with art teachers

KEYWORDS:
This Old House
,
Trading Spaces
, or arts and crafts

THE FACT:
While many male birds use elaborate visual signals to pique female interest, bower birds take more of a Bob Vila approach to the practice.

To attract a mate, these Australian birds carefully craft elaborate structures, called bowers. Amazingly, though, these structures turn out more like love mansions than love shacks. Using everything from leaves, sticks, and feathers to manmade items such as paper, cellophane and glass, these birds construct sturdy tunnels, towers, and archways. Some bowers include roofed bridges connecting two towers, while others have groomed lawns made from moss.

Once the bower is completed, the male calls out to females in the area, who, if impressed with the male’s structure, will mate with him inside it. Interestingly, though, the bower only serves to show off the male’s strength and vigor. After the mating is over, he tosses it aside along with the girl’s phone number.