Mark Mancini is a freelance writer currently based in New Jersey. Over the years, he’s covered every subject from classic horror movies to Abe Lincoln's favorite jokes. He is particularly fond of paleontology and has been reporting on new developments in this field since 2013. When Mark's not at his writing desk, you can usually find him on stage somewhere because he loves to get involved with community theater. And if you ever feel like trading puns for a few hours, he's your guy.
Recent Contributions
Astronauts have been playing live music on the International Space Station since it's been in space. One even impressed the late, great David Bowie with his rendition of "Space Oddity."
By Mark Mancini
Played by Mandy Patinkin, the swordsman Inigo Montoya is one of the most beloved characters in 1987's "The Princess Bride." Here's a little quiz for his merry band of fans, young and old.
By Mark Mancini
Bayes' theorem describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event. Sounds intimidating, but we'll walk you through it.
By Mark Mancini
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Often confused with the venomous coral snake, which advertises its toxicity through bright bands of color, the milk snake is harmless to humans.
By Mark Mancini
The late Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska was the first woman to lead a dinosaur excavation expedition — into Mongolia's Gobi Desert no less. And her volumes of research provide most of what we know today about the evolution of modern mammals.
By Mark Mancini
This quiz is all about people who ate people for our morbid amusement in movies, shows, and songs. Hannibal Lecter, Sweeney Todd, Dr. Frank-N-Furter — the gang's all here. Now can someone pass the ribs?
By Mark Mancini
Before there was Pokemon, there were POGs. This little round disc game was all the rage on playgrounds across the globe. Even Bart Simpson played. Did you?
By Mark Mancini
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What do you get when you make an astronaut and his robot pals watch some of the worst movies ever made? Comedy gold, that's what. Find out how much of a diehard you are with our "Mystery Science Theater 3000" quiz!
By Mark Mancini
They've become commonplace in Hollywood moviemaking, but green screens aren't just for big-budget films. They're popular with vloggers and YouTubers now, too.
By Mark Mancini
It might seem that the constant rushing of water over a falls would keep it from freezing, but that isn't always the case. Check out the science behind the phenomenon of the frozen waterfall.
By Mark Mancini
The Earth is split up into 24 time zones based on longitudinal lines. But those lines all converge at the North and South poles, so what's the time there?
By Mark Mancini
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Red squirrels have a big attitude, which might have to due with their small size. They have to act big. And they do so with noisy and aggressive behavior.
By Mark Mancini
You use solenoids every day without ever knowing it. So what exactly are they and how do they work?
By Mark Mancini
During the last ice age, northern Kentucky was a swampy wetland teeming with mega-mammals.
By Mark Mancini
These lizards love to climb and can thrive on a diet that doesn't include live insects.
By Mark Mancini
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It covers more than 30 percent of the planet, and is home to all kinds of sea creatures. What other facts make the Pacific Ocean so amazing?
By Mark Mancini
Known by the nickname "Mesozoic Cow," the African dinosaur Nigersaurus taqueti has also had its face compared to a vacuum cleaner.
By Mark Mancini
All of the planets in the solar system are named for Greek gods, except Earth. So where did the name come from?
By Mark Mancini
Fossils of just 12 individual Archaeopteryx, a winged dinosaur that live during the Jurassic, have ever been found. Aside from the rarity, what else makes this unique dinosaur so special?
By Mark Mancini
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A simple math problem may seem to some of us like an inscrutable pile of numbers and symbols, just waiting to trip us up. PEMDAS to the rescue!
By Mark Mancini