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No doubt you remember getting Columbia House packets in the mail. Eight CDs for a penny? What minimum wage-earning kid wasn’t stoked about that? Ethan Trex over at mental_floss has uncovered the details behind how the mail-order powerhouse managed to make money on the deal. There are also surprising nuggets like these:
In March 2000, the 60-year-old Parvin admitted that he had used 16 post office boxes and his own home address to fleece Columbia House and BMG out of 26,554 discs during a five-year span in the ’90s. He pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud.
Congrats
to our friends over at mental_floss:
they're now bazillionaires with sexy friends. Stan Diel of The Birmingham
News explains:
“Last August, Mr. Dennis was reading the latest issue of The Week when he spotted an apparent free ad for Mental Floss, which he'd never heard of,” The Journal writes. “An opponent of free ads, he placed an angry call to The Week's president, Steven Kotok, who told Mr. Dennis the ad was part of a fruitful partnership under which the two publications shared mailing lists.”
Mr. Kotok then took Mental Floss back issues, T-shirts, books and some financial details to Mr. Dennis' estate on the Caribbean island of Mustique. Impressed, Mr. Dennis summoned Messrs. Pearson and Hattikudur to his office in New York, and the roots of the deal were established.
Link | In depth article at WSJ (behind a paywall, so just google "British Publisher Buys Mental Floss") - Thanks Jason!
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We just love to quote our favorite movies. Think you’ll do well when someone else picks the films? That’s the challenge in today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss. You’ll be given a movie quote, and you have to decide what movie it’s from. Simple! I scored 80%, far better than the current average. Link
Our pal mental_floss is coming out with a new game called Split Decision that promises to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys – and better yet, they’re looking to give 25 copies away to those who promised to throw parties around the game and take photos:
To nominate yourself, send an email to splitparties@mentalfloss.com and let us know what your party would entail. Here are some top-of-head examples:
You and your friends will play the game while dressed as lesser-known presidents from the 19th century. Another option: chicken suits.
You’ll invite minor celebrities—or cardboard cutouts of minor celebrities—to play.
You’ll play multiple rounds in multiple states, in front of multiple “Welcome to…” signs.I’m sure you guys will have 25 better ideas. Can’t wait to hear them!
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Our pal mental_floss is having another trivia hunt: over the course of 5-days, they will present a trivia challenge – the first to submit the right answers will win a $100 shopping spree in their store.
Check it out: Link – Thanks Jason!
