Ross Benes, Mental Floss

Ross Benes

Mental Floss

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • Mental Floss
  • Business Insider
  • FiveThirtyEight
  • The Nation
  • American Prospect
  • Quartz
  • HuffPost
  • Esquire
  • Digiday
  • Poynter
  • and more…

Past articles by Ross:

10 Truly Bizarre Animal Penises

The animal kingdom features a wide variety of penises that vary in shape, size, and function. Here are some of the most unusual of them. → Read More

US TV advertisers will spend close to $20 billion in this year's upfronts

US TV advertisers will increase their upfront TV spending by 7.6% this year to $19.90 billion—this assumes a continuing recovery from the pandemic. → Read More

What Democrats Can Learn From Nebraska’s Shift To The Right

Eight years ago, fresh off passing the Affordable Care Act, Democrats controlled the Senate. And it was Ben Nelson, the two-term Democratic senator from Nebrask… → Read More

Nebraska’s Last Blue Electoral Vote?

Omaha gave Biden an electoral vote. The GOP wants to make sure that never happens again. → Read More

Taking Back Rural America

Democrats have faltered in rural areas for many years now. A new book offers a road map to reverse the trend. → Read More

9 Surprising Facts About the Scientific Study of Sex

The scientific study of sex is much more exciting than an awkward sex ed class. Even if it means learning the truth about how many calories you actually burn when things get hot and heavy. → Read More

9 Surprising Facts About the Scientific Study of Sex

The scientific study of sex is much more exciting than an awkward sex ed class. Even if it means learning the truth about how many calories you actually burn when things get hot and heavy. → Read More

10 Surprising Facts About Animal Sex

Homo sapiens do not have a monopoly on strange sex. Peculiar mating rituals are prevalent throughout the animal kingdom. → Read More

Nebraska’s Hidden Progressivism

Despite GOP dominance in the heartland, a unique legislature, grassroots activism, and some forward-looking ballot measures have made for more nuanced politics in this red state. → Read More

Porn could have a bigger economic influence on the US than Netflix

You shell out $11 for Netflix, $15 for movie tickets, and $25 for cheap NBA seats. But how does America's porn obsession fuel the economy? In 2012, respondents to an XBIZ poll estimated the industry makes about $5 billion a year. According to Alex Helmy, founder and publisher of adult-entertainment trade publication XBIZ, that figure... → Read More

Porn Has Been A Favorite Conservative Scapegoat For Over A Century

Porn doesn't cause school shootings, but blaming America's ills on smut is a well-worn tactic. → Read More

In Nebraska, a House Undivided May Fall

How Governor Pete Ricketts took over Nebraska’s unicameral legislature. → Read More

toronto raptors News

Get the latest news about toronto raptors on Esquire. Get the latest headlines from the brands that you care about. → Read More

With GDPR looming, DSPs are under pressure to adapt

With the GDPR being enforced in May, DSPs will need to figure out how to target users without relying on personal data. → Read More

IAC saved $10 million by moving its data to the cloud

Cloud storage isn’t sexy, but it’s often cost-efficient. → Read More

How Facebook’s feed purge could expose publishers to fraud

With Facebook deprioritizing publishers in its news feed, some publishers may turn to traffic resellers to make up for the clicks they’ve lost. → Read More

Lingua programmatica: The IAB is trying to standardize ad tech’s messy terminology

The IAB is trying to standardize ad tech lingo so that advertisers spend less time relabeling data sets. → Read More

Apple News shows promise delivering traffic but won't make up for Facebook shortfalls

Apple News has been a nice traffic booster for news publishers, but lifestyle pubs feel left out. → Read More

How publishers are applying ads.txt beyond its original purpose

Publishers are using ads.txt to organize inventory reports they share with advertisers, drive programmatic direct deals and shop for vendors. → Read More

Ad retargeters scramble to get consumer consent

With Apple making moves against ad tracking and the GDPR being enforced in May, retargeters are desperately trying to get consent to track users. → Read More