I *heart* Mental Floss

So I'm reading through the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Mental Floss this morning (in a desperate attempt to awaken my brain since I have to be charming for company today. They have a very thorough and clever article called How to Get Into Heaven, a summary of the world's major religions, along with a few offbeat sects. My absolute favorite part of this article is, naturally, the one on Christianity:

Christianity is more of a conglomerate of independent states than a cohesive nation. Think of it as two primary republics - Roman Catholicism and Protestantism - surrounded by small, satellite countries, the borders of which have been hotly contested. *edit* Today, they tend to view each other as the eccentric but well-meaning guy next door.

Under each religion they have Afterlife: At A Glance featuring currency, accessibility, dining, and accommodations. The dining category for Catholicism reads:

Expect large portions of meat (corned beef, sausage, goat) accompanied by equally large portions of carbohydrates (potatoes). Wash it down with beer. Friday is fish night.

I totally spewed my tea when I read that!

And for Protestantism:
Navigating this terrain gets confusin because Protestant pretty much just means "not Catholic." It encompasses everything from the Church of England (which is a lot like Catholicism, but without the Pope) to the sort of rural churches where you pass around rattlesnakes.

Oh, how I want to be on the writing staff for Mental Floss!

But my absolute favorite quote from this issue is in the 4 Things that Aren't Boring About Grammar article:

In the middle ages, grammar was considered the most important of the seven liberal arts because it provided the key to understanding the Bible, alchemy, and astrology - subjects that conferred a kind of magical power, or glamour. Yes, "glamour" is derived from "grammar."

SWEET!