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The Mensa Bulletin

The Mensa Bulletin is the national magazine for members of American Mensa, published 10 times a year with combined issues in April/May and November/December. Our membership dues include a subscription to the Bulletin.

In addition to the member-generated content and photos, each issue includes a “question of the month” in which we ask members to share their thoughts (in 250 words or less) about a general-interest topic like “What invention would you want to cease to exist?” We’re posing these questions and more to Mensans — they don’t have to be professional writers to contribute, but they do have to be members of Mensa.

Mensa Bulletin cover

Current members: Access the latest issue of the digital Bulletin.

If you have a business you want to promote to Mensa members, why not advertise in the Mensa Bulletin? If you’re a Mensa member, you’ll receive 30% off the advertising rates. Learn more about advertising with American Mensa.

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What’s the Mensa Bulletin all about?

Here is an idea of some of our monthly content and a sample of the articles you can expect:

The Q Word

In 1976, American Mensa established the first Special Interest Group for LGBTQ+ Mensans. Founded as GaySIG and later called Gay & Lesbian SIG, we are now named QueerSIG. This latest name change marks a critical inflection point toward greater inclusion of American Mensa’s LGBTQ+ members.

By NGUYEN PHAM, QueerSIG Vice Chair
Driving Farce

You'll relish this frank take on the driving motivations behind what we drive ... and who knew, Oscar Mayer has an entire Weinerfleet!

By BY CHERYL LAURENT | ILLUSTRATED BY KIRSTEN WAHLQUIST
Film's Best Friend

With new indie feature The Year of the Dog, Mensa moviemaker discovers the gravitas of canine thespians and how finding purpose and making connections can heal.

By Rob Grabow
Wilderness

Out of darkness comes hope, and out of hope comes an unexpected passion and renewed sense of life ... if he can keep himself alive long enough to enjoy it. Rocket scientist/Star Trek writer/safari warrior/author Chester L. Richards asks: Is nature out to kill us? Maybe not. But someone is.

By CHESTER L. RICHARDS
Fundraisers, Food Drives, Honor Roll, and Integrity

The Mensa Honor Society launched in 2013, the brainchild of then-Gifted Youth Specialist Lisa Van Gemert, to recognize Young Mensans ages 10 to 18 who use their intelligence to benefit humanity and encourage other YM’s to do the same.

By Molly Bundschuh, Gifted Youth Programs Manager
Real Simulations

We might not be living in the Matrix, but that doesn’t make you real. If an advanced civilization could program our reality, could it not also make a physical model?

By Paul McKinley
Mom's Traveling Handkerchief

I remember Mom often retelling her biggest travel adventure. One time, she took an overnight train from Buffalo to Cleveland. Her most memorable tale from that journey was being able to sleep using her suitcase for a pillow. I often think of her when I am about to fall asleep on an intercontinental flight and say to myself, “Yes, Mom, we do travel well.”
 

By Dorothy Baldwin Wicker, Ph.D. • Illustration by Kirsten Wahlquist
Moonglow Road

Garth had always been proud of his cleverness in fooling people. In his teenage days, he had shoplifted frequently and gotten away with it. He had bragged to his friends about it. That was in another place and time. Now he was on to bigger and better things.

By Lois Conway • Illustration by Amanda Mattison
The Psychedelic ’60s Saved My Life

In the 1660s, I would have been burned at the stake for being a witch. In the 1760s, I would have been committed to Bedlam. In the 1860s, I would have been consigned to the role of old maid housekeeper (unpaid) for a male relation in need of domestic help. Mercifully, I grew up in the 1960s.

By Katherine Kerestman • Illustrations by Roksanna Keyvan
You Gotta Crawl Before You Can Fly

For 60 years, NASA's crawlers have rolled around their space vehicle cargo like a human standing on a short legged coffee table supported by four giant tortoises.

By Gilbert Chan
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