Some people can become so devoted to their favorite specific pizza toppings, that many online ordering apps allow you to preset your preferences with the expectation they’re never going to change.

Granted, pepperoni and mushroom with extra cheese never fails to satisfy. But if you’re feeling adventurous, try ordering one of these regional-specialty toppings that might totally change your pizza perspective.

1. TRUFFLES // NEW YORK CITY

Fall is truffle season, and New York’s restaurants and pizzerias love to take full advantage of the fluffy fungi to add flavor. As supplies are shipped through the city’s artery of eateries, you’ll find several locations that add the shaved delicacy to pies. Yelp reviewers are fond of Song E Napule in Greenwich Village.

2. LOBSTER // BOSTON

It’s no great surprise that crustaceans who were occupying the coast just a few hours prior to being served are going to be a town specialty. But Boston does a great job incorporating shellfish on their Italian-inspired wares, too: One of the most notable dishes is at Scampo inside the Liberty Hotel, where chef Lydia Shire takes a thin crust pizza and douses it with heavy cream, garlic, and the meat of an entire two-pound lobster.

3. PROVEL CHEESE // ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

If you think you’ve tried every possible cheese variety on your crust, you might have missed St. Louis’s proprietary variation: Provel, a highly-processed blend of Swiss, provolone, and cheddar. Gooey, waxy, and thick, it can be found at area chain Imo’s, which also doubles as the cheese’s distributor.

4. CRAB // BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

While other area pie shops toss crab on their menu, no less an authority than Zagat declared Matthew’s Pizza’s crab deep dish pie to be well worth a road trip. It’s pizza so good that it helped fuel writer David Simon through a stint producing HBO’s The Wire. Simon once said “it’s unlike anything that calls itself pizza anywhere in the world.”

5. FIVE-SEED // LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Order the five-seed pie at The Fridge in Lancaster and you’ll get served up a pizza with a blend of sesame, pumpkin, and sunflower, along with sliced dates.

6. SALAD // LOS ANGELES

It seems like a cliché: of course image-obsessed L.A. would spare calories by dousing their pizzas with lettuce. But looks can be deceiving. Grey Block Pizza uses bagel dough as a crust for their trademark salad pizza, topping it with a heaping layer of romaine, chopped vegetables, and lemon-infused feta. It’s thick, crunchy, and has no ability to spare your waistline.

7. BARBEQUE // MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

Barbeque chicken pizza is everywhere, but if you want it done right, head to Memphis and opt for the pork. Coletta’s takes a standard crust and drowns it in pulled pork and their signature barbeque sauce. The pies are so good that Elvis Presley kept a running tab he’d have Colonel Parker (his manager) pay off monthly. If you’re not local, they’ll be happy to ship it to you.

8. MASHED POTATO // NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

New Haven was already renowned for its pizza before the proprietors of Bar decided to take the concept of comfort food to a new level. Their mashed potato pizza is topped with light, whipped spuds and bacon bits.

9. UNCOOKED, A.K.A. OHIO VALLEY STYLE // STEUBENVILLE, OHIO

While some bloggers have compared this practice to topping pizza with a Lunchables box, there’s no denying it’s an intriguing take on preparing a pie. Pizzerias in Steubenville are fond of cooking the dough and then adding uncooked cheese and toppings post-mortem, allowing the heat from the crust to slowly melt the cheese or using a takeout box to effectively steam-cook the top.

10. KANGAROO // SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

The adventurous meat lover may want to venture to Sydney, where local establishments like the Heritage Hotel offer pies topped with rich kangaroo meat. Slices of ‘roo tenders are marinated in a pepper and onion olive sauce. If that’s too tame for you, the Hotel can also serve up a Salt Water Crocodile slice.

Instead of making fun of crazy cat ladies, a new exhibit at Los Angeles’s Animal Museum wants to celebrate them. As The Washington Post reports, the museum recently launched an exhibit, “Crazy Cat Ladies,” that looks at the history of human-feline companionship and pays homage to ailurophiles in film, literature, and pop culture. 

The Animal Museum (formerly known as The National Museum of Animals & Society) bills itself on Facebook as “the first museum of its kind—anywhere—dedicated to enriching the lives of animals and people through exploration of our shared experience.” It was founded in 2010, and recently moved into a brand-new space in downtown L.A.’s Arts District. On December 3, 2016, the revamped museum will officially celebrate its grand opening.

The Animal Museum is currently in a soft-opening period, and “Crazy Cat Ladies: A Celebration of Kitties and Their Champions” is one of its inaugural rotating exhibits. According to the museum’s website, the display aims to “take a magnifying glass to the myths and stereotypes surrounding this legendary figure, and provides viewers with a heartfelt insight into today’s modern cat lady and gent.”

The display includes a replica of a fictional crazy cat lady’s living room, cat-themed knickknacks and art, and plaques emblazoned with feline facts. (Example: “One in four Americans feed stray cats, so many of us have crazy cat lady tendencies!”) Feline fanciers can submit their true-life cat rescue stories to be featured in the exhibit, or download an official “Crazy Cat Ladies” exhibition coloring book [PDF] from the Animal Museum’s website. As for dog-loving patrons, they can enjoy an exhibit that showcases portraits of celebrities with their rescued pets.

[h/t The Washington Post]

Want to add a little extra gleam to your chompers before the holidays kick off? Amazon is running a series of promo coupons on Crest’s popular line of tooth-whitening products to help make those pearlier whites a little less pricey. If you’re a fan of Crest’s 3D Luxe White Strips, a box of 20 Professional Effects treatments and two 1 Hour Express treatments is just $38.99 after an on-screen $5 coupon. A box of 14 treatments of Glamorous White Whitestrips is even easier on the wallet, with an on-screen coupon dropping the price all the way to $24.13, a $20 savings over the list price of $44.99. 

If you’re not ready to take the Whitestrip plunge yet, Amazon’s also dropping the price on Crest 3D Luxe Glamorous White whitening toothpaste. Clip the on-screen coupon to cut the price all the way to $4.95 for a two-pack of 4.1-ounce tubes, over 40 percent off the list price of $8.51. 

On the other hand, if you want to hit your mouth with some serious whitening firepower, Amazon is also cutting $10 off the price of a bundle pack of 10 No Slip Whitestrip treatments and a handheld whitening light. Crest boasts that the light offers dramatic improvements over Whitestrips alone, with positive results that last for up to $36 months. After the on-screen coupon, the price of the set is down to $109.95. You’ll be smiling more confidently than ever before! 

Buy at Amazon: Crest 3D White Luxe Whitestrips Professional Effects – 20 Treatments and White Whitestrips 1 Hour Express – 2 Treatments Teeth Whitening Kit for $38.99 after on-screen coupon (list price $67.99)

Buy at Amazon: Crest 3D White Luxe Whitestrip Teeth Whitening Kit, Glamorous White, 14 Treatments for $24.13 after on-screen coupon (list price $44.99)

Buy at Amazon: Crest 3D White Luxe Glamorous White, Vibrant Mint Flavor Whitening Toothpaste – 4.1 Oz Ea, Twin pack for $4.95 after on-screen coupon (list price $8.51)

Buy at Amazon: Crest 3D White Whitestrips with Light, 10 ct. for $109.95 after on-screen coupon (list price $124.95)

Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers, including Amazon, and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Good luck deal hunting!

Still unknown to many American moviegoers, Danish enfant terrible Lars von Trier has nonetheless had a successful career provoking and entertaining art-house audiences worldwide. From the depressing musical Dancer in the Dark (2000) to the sex-obsessed Nymphomaniac (2013), von Trier knows what pushes people’s buttons. And it all started, really, with 1996’s Breaking the Waves, his fourth feature but the first to gain international attention. The strangely touching drama about religion, love, and sex was released 20 years ago. Let’s dive in and examine its secrets. 

1. IT WAS INSPIRED BY A CHILDREN’S BOOK.

As a child, Lars von Trier loved a picture book called Guldhjerte (Goldheart), about a little girl who goes into a forest and ends up giving away everything she has to others, leaving her with nothing. “It seemed to express the ultimate extremity of the martyr’s role,” von Trier said. “Goldheart is Bess in the film.”

2. A COMPUTER PROGRAM HELPED IT GET FINANCED.

Unsurprisingly, von Trier was having trouble finding financial backers for his 158-minute movie about a slightly dim woman who talks to God and has sex with strangers in order to heal her paralyzed husband. His luck changed when an organization called the European Script Fund built a computer program to analyze submissions for their “artistic and commercial relevance.” To von Trier’s surprise, his Breaking the Waves screenplay “got top marks” and was funded. “It must have had all the right ingredients: a sailor, a mermaid, a romantic landscape—all the stuff the computer loved,” the director said.

3. HELENA BONHAM CARTER DROPPED OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE.

Von Trier said the well-known actors who were approached to play Bess “didn’t want to lay their careers on the line” with a movie that’s “a strange mix of religion and sex and obsession.” He didn’t name any others, but he did say that Helena Bonham Carter—then best known for her roles in A Room with a View (1985), Hamlet (1990) and Howards End (1992)—was going to play Bess but quit just as production was beginning because of the physical and emotional demands of the role. 

4. EMILY WATSON HAD NEVER BEEN IN A MOVIE BEFORE.

The London-born actress had ample stage experience with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but she’d never acted on film. She described it in a Criterion DVD bonus feature interview as being “like falling off a cliff, but falling off a cliff backwards.” Her performance earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. 

5. THE MOVIE GOT WATSON KICKED OUT OF THE QUASI-CULT SHE BELONGED TO.

Watson grew up in what she described as “a kind of quasi-religious cult,” and was technically still a member of it when she was cast in this film. “When I accepted the job, I was ostensibly cast out,” she said. “I was told, ‘Go your undignified way.'”

6. IT CONDEMNED A TALENTED CINEMATOGRAPHER TO HELL.

“Anthony Dod Mantle, you are a sinner and you deserve your place in hell.” So says the stern minister at the funeral scene glimpsed in the first half of the film. If the name Anthony Dod Mantle sounds familiar, that’s because he’s now a well-known cinematographer who won an Oscar in 2009 for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. He was a location scout for Breaking the Waves.

7. STELLAN SKARSGÅRD TOOK A NEW APPROACH TO PLAYING JAN.

The Swedish actor, then 45 years old, told an interviewer that he wanted to play Jan in a way that was different from other characters in love that he’d played. “Normally when I play a person in love, I mix the love with a little narcissism, a little selfishness—all those things we all have in us that are the reason that nothing is ever pure. But this love had to be absolutely pure. That is the key, his longing for pure emotions.”

8. EVERYONE WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT WORKING WITH LARS VON TRIER.

The Danish provocateur had a well-earned reputation for being too controlling with actors. “He really made his film at home at his desk,” said Skarsgård, “and then he just executed what he had already decided, which meant there was no room for the actors to expand in their roles.” (After seeing von Trier’s Element of Crime (1984), Skarsgård famously said, “I’d like to work with this director when he gets interested in people.”)  Watson, who had never made a film, had to trust a man she didn’t know, but she said it was a positive experience. “He’s very odd,” she said. “But then—you know, he’s an artist. We’re all odd. He’s just really quite odd. But so what?”

9. THE ACTORS WERE ALLOWED TO IMPROVISE, BUT MOSTLY DIDN’T.

By the time he made Breaking the Waves, von Trier was comfortable enough with the process to stop moving the actors around like chess pieces and let them make their own acting choices. “If there was anything we wanted to change, we were allowed to change it,” Skarsgård said. “But most of the lines were so well written that they stayed.” (That’s especially impressive considering von Trier, a Dane, was writing dialogue for English-speaking characters from rural Scotland.) The speech that Bess’s sister-in-law gives at the wedding was written by the actress, Katrin Cartlidge, but von Trier’s script otherwise remained pretty much intact. 

10. IT WAS TURNED INTO AN OPERA.

The trend over the last couple of decades has been to turn popular movies into Broadway musicals, but of course von Trier fans would have different ideas. Royce Vavrek, a Canadian writer who has loved Breaking the Waves since he saw it as a teenager, collaborated with composer Missy Mazzoli to produce an opera adaptation that premiered at Opera Philadelphia in September 2016. (It got good reviews.) Von Trier, an opera buff himself, gave his enthusiastic blessing to the project, but wanted no part in its creation: “My work was finished when the film was finished,” he said. 

11. THE FIRST DVD VERSIONS WERE BOWIE-LESS.

Each of the film’s chapter breaks features a song from the early 1970s (when the film is apparently set), with David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” attached to the epilogue. But licensing issues forced a change for the first home video releases, with Elton John’s “Your Song” substituted for the more expensive Bowie. It wasn’t until Criterion’s new edition in 2014 that “Life on Mars” was restored. 

12. IT’S STILL VON TRIER’S MOST SUCCESSFUL FILM IN AMERICA.

Breaking the Waves made $3.8 million at the U.S. box office, a solid showing for an independent film in 1996. In terms of tickets sold, none of von Trier’s subsequent efforts—including Dancer in the Dark, Antichrist, or Melancholia—have surpassed it. (Not in America, anyway. Dancer in the Dark made $35 million overseas.) Bonus fact: von Trier, who has a fear of flying, has never been to the United States.

Additional sources:
Criterion DVD bonus features

The Rube Goldberg machine formula leaves lots of room for creativity. Chain reaction contraptions have been built with everything from dogs to LEGOs, but no matter how elaborate they are they’re usually contained within a single time zone. This Rube Goldberg spotted by our very own Miss Cellania at Neatorama breaks that barrier through the power of technology. Using phone calls, text messages, and email, the project called Common Ground unfolds seamlessly across five cities. According to the team behind it, the art installation is about “connecting America through creativity and problem solving.” You can watch it play out in the video above.

[h/t Neatorama]

Header/banner images: iStock

This Veterans Day, make a difference in the lives of former military members. Just thanking a veteran can go a long way, but an act of kindness means even more. Here are 11 ways you can show vets that you appreciate the sacrifices they made.

1. PICK UP THE TAB FOR THEIR COFFEE OR MEAL.

The next time you see a veteran in a restaurant or standing in line for coffee, pick up the tab. You can do so anonymously if you would prefer, but a even a quick “thank you for your service” would mean a lot to the veteran. You don’t have to limit yourself to dinner or a latte—you could pay for a tank of gas, a prescription, or a cart of groceries.

2. DRIVE A VET TO A DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT.

Many vets, especially those who are infirm or disabled, have trouble making it to their doctor appointments. If you have a driver’s license, you can volunteer for the Department of Veterans Affairs (DAV) Transportation Network, a service provided by all 197 VA medical facilities. To help, contact the hospital service coordinator [PDF] at your local VA Hospital.

3. TRAIN A SERVICE DOG.

Service dogs are a great help to veterans with mobile disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorder, helping them rediscover physical and emotional independence. It takes approximately two years and $33,000 to properly train one service dog, so donations and training volunteers are critical. Even if you aren’t equipped to train a dog, some organizations need “weekend puppy raisers,” which help service dogs learn how to socialize, play, and interact with different types of people.

There are several organizations that provide this service for veterans, including Patriot Paws and Puppy Jake.

4. REPLACE ONE LIGHT BULB WITH A GREEN ONE.

The “Greenlight a Vet” project is a simple way to remind yourself and others about the sacrifices veterans have made for our country, and to show your appreciation to them. Simply purchase a green bulb and place it somewhere in your home—a porch lamp is ideal since it’s most visible to others. Nearly 5 million people across the nation have logged their green lights into the project’s nationwide map so far.

5. HELP SPONSOR AN HONOR FLIGHT.

Many of the veterans who fought for our freedoms have never seen the national memorials honoring their efforts—and their fallen friends. Honor Flights helps send veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Washington D.C. to see their monuments. You can help sponsor one of those flights for as little as $4.

6. WRITE A LETTER.

Operation Gratitude is an organization that coordinates care packages, gifts, and letters of thanks to veterans. You can work through them to send your appreciation to a vet, or volunteer to help assemble care packages. And, if you still have candy kicking around from Halloween, Operation Gratitude also mails sweets to deployed troops. They’re accepting deliveries until November 15!

7. VOLUNTEER AT A VA HOSPITAL.

Whatever your talents are, they’ll certainly be utilized at a Veterans Hospital. From working directly with patients to helping with recreational programs or even just providing companionship, your local VA Hospital would be thrilled to have a few hours of your time.

8. GET INVOLVED WITH THE VETERANS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

There are no doubt veterans in your community that could use help—but how do you find them? Contact the Local Veterans Assistance Program. They’ll be able to put you in touch with local vets who need help doing chores like yard work, housework, grocery shopping, or running errands.

9. HELP THEM WITH JOB TRAINING.

Adjusting back to civilian life isn’t always smooth sailing. Hire Heroes helps vets with interview skills, resumes, and training so they can find a post-military career. They even partner with various employers to host a job board. Through Hire Heroes, you can help veterans with mock interviews, career counseling, job searches, workshops, and more.

10. HELP BUILD A HOUSE.

Building Homes for Heroes builds or modifies homes to suit the needs of veterans injured in Iraq or Afghanistan. The houses are given mortgage-free to veterans and their families. You can volunteer your painting, carpentry, plumbing, wiring, and other skilled services—or you can just donate to the cause.

11. VOLUNTEER FOR A STAND DOWN.

The VA continually hosts Stand Downs, one- to three-day events that give much-needed supplies and services to homeless veterans. Vets can receive everything from food and clothing to health screenings, housing solutions, substance abuse treatment, and mental health counseling. They take place at various places across the nation all year long, so contact the representative in your state about when and how you can volunteer.

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8 Underground Rivers. The water still flows, if you can find it.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an ancient Pharaonic boat burial at Abydos, an ancient Egyptian religious center that sits about six miles away from the Nile River. As Sci News reports, the site dates back to the rule of Senwosret III (c. 1850 BCE), a 12th dynasty king who may have ruled Egypt for nearly 40 years. The find was recently announced in The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

An international team of archaeologists, working in collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities, excavated the site. Long ago, a boat was interred in a vaulted, underground building crafted from mud bricks. Inside the chamber, the walls are covered in 120 detailed drawings of Pharaonic vessels.

No full watercraft was discovered, but archaeologists found nine surviving cedar planks, indicating that it was once nearly 66 feet long. The vessel was buried intact, but was likely taken apart for its wood, and white ants consumed its remains. Archaeologists also found more than 145 liquid storage vessels buried inside the building.

Dr. Josef Wegner and his colleagues from the Penn Museum have conducted excavations at Senwosret III’s mortuary complex since 1994. The lavish funerary complex includes a mortuary temple, along with residences and facilities so workers could maintain the site. Long ago, the royal tomb was called the “Mountain of Anubis,” and the entire mortuary complex was referred to as “Enduring-are-the-Places-of-Khakaure-justified-in-Abydos.”

The boat burial was discovered about 213 feet from the pharaoh’s underground tomb. According to Wegner, its most intriguing feature is its boat drawings. “It is also clear there once were many more boats decorating the building’s vaulted roof,” Wegner wrote in Nautical Archaeology. “The incongruous situation of watercraft in the desert presents numerous questions and mysteries begging for explanation.”

Wegner theorizes that the boat tableau’s creators “may be people involved in the initial transport and installation of the vessel in the building. Possibly these were participants in the ceremonies, presumably mortuary in nature, that may have accompanied the boat burial,” he mused.

Wegner hopes to discover more boats as his team continues to excavate the site, along with other funerary objects of Senwosret III.

[h/t Sci News]