Comedy is supposed to be hilarious. However, it has become deadly at times and led to the loss of lives. People have perished while watching comedic acts, or the entertainers themselves have died during their performances. Sometimes, the comedians have been murdered for wisecracking in ways that were offensive to certain individuals or groups.

Comedians have been killed by criminal gangs and terrorist organizations over their quips. At other times, the humorists were interrogated or threatened with jail time over jokes that the government considered a threat.

10 The Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge Disaster

On May 2, 1845, hundreds of people gathered along the banks of River Bure in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, to watch a clown sitting in a barrel as it was drawn by four geese across the river. Nelson the Clown worked for William Cooke’s Circus.

Around 300–400 people had climbed onto the Great Yarmouth suspension bridge to get a better view of the clown as he sailed past. This quickly proved disastrous as the structure could not support the massive weight. Its cables snapped, throwing everybody on the bridge into the water.

A massive rescue operation began, and survivors were taken to Vauxhall Gardens. Every medical person in town was summoned to the garden to treat the survivors.

Rescuers soon started to retrieve the bodies of the dead from the river. Some had simply drowned. The rest had become stuck underwater after being smashed by the bodies of other victims or the parts of the bridge that had fallen on them.

In all, 79 people died. The youngest were two years old, and the oldest was 64. Fifty-eight of the dead were 16 years old or younger.^[1]

9 An Audience Laughed As A Comedian Died Mid-Performance

In April 2019, comedian Paul Barbieri (stage name Ian Cognito) died during a live performance at The Atic bar, Bicester, UK. At first, the audience did not realize what was happening and continued laughing, thinking that Ian was only pretending to be dead.

Curiously, Ian had joked about dying in front of the audience that night. He said, “Imagine if I died in front of you lot here.” He also wisecracked about recovering from a stroke and discovering that he only spoke Welsh. Ten minutes later, he sat on a stool on the stage and appeared to faint. The audience laughed, thinking it was part of the performance.

Ian’s body remained on the stool until compere Andrew Bird approached. Bird expected Ian to awake from his pretentious coma with a joke but was surprised to find the comedian unresponsive. First aid was administered, and an ambulance was called. However, the medics declared Ian dead at the scene.^[2]

8 Mexican Comedian Murdered After Insulting Crime Boss

Seventeen-year-old Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales, who was also known as El Pirata de Culiacan (“The Pirate of Culiacan”), was a popular comedian in Mexico until he was murdered by a Mexican cartel boss whom Rosales had insulted.

The cartel boss was 51-year-old Ruben Oseguera Cervantes (aka El Mencho), the leader of the local but dangerous Jalisco Nueva Generacion (“Jalisco New Generation”) crime cartel. El Mencho is a feared and ruthless crime boss famous for murdering people over unconfirmed rumors.

Rosales had posted a comedy video in which he said, “El Mencho, peel my c—ck.” The joke didn’t go over well with El Mencho, and he ordered Rosales’s death. Rosales was drinking at a bar in Jalisco (El Mencho’s turf) when he was murdered.^[3]

Before his death, Rosales had posted on his Facebook and Instagram pages and asked his fans to come over for a drink. Some heavily armed non-fans soon arrived and shot at Rosales 15 times. The bar manager was also hit by a stray bullet.

7 The Nazis Forced A Jewish Comedian To Tell Jokes At Gunpoint

Max Ehrlich was a Jewish actor, author, director, screenwriter, composer, and comedian who lived in Germany before World War II. Unfortunately, his fame could not save him when the Nazis clamped down on Jews during World War II. In fact, it almost got him killed.

Ehrlich was captured and transported to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. A Nazi officer recognized him and ordered him to tell funny jokes or he would be shot to death by an SS firing squad.

Ehrlich probably made the Nazis laugh and was spared the bullet. However, his jokes could not save him from the gas chamber. He was gassed to death on October 1, 1944.^[4]

6 Iraqi Comedian Murdered Over His TV Show

Iraq turned into a chaotic wasteland after Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003. Murders, bombings, assassinations, and similar terrorist acts quickly became the norm. Journalists were a major target of these attacks.

In November 2006, actor, producer, and comedian Walid Hassan became a victim of these murders. Before his death, he hosted a comedy show called Caricatures on Iraq’s Al Sharkiya television. On his show, Hassan often mocked the US military, Iraqi politicians, and the Sunni and Shia insurgents.^[5]

One of the groups became angry enough to order his kidnapping. On November 21, 2006 (some sources say November 20), some men cornered and attempted to kidnap Hassan on the streets of Baghdad. Hassan was shot and killed as he tried to escape.

5 Al-Shabab Murders Somali Comedian For Mocking Their Activities

In 2012, Somali comedian Abdi Jeylani Marshale was murdered by Al-Shabab terrorists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Before his death, Marshale often mocked Al-Shabab on radio and television for using child soldiers and suicide bombers and killing defenseless civilians.

Eventually, Al-Shabab issued a death threat to Marshale. He fled to neighboring Somaliland but returned when he thought the dust had settled. He was leaving the radio station where he worked when he was cornered by two Al-Shabab henchmen armed with pistols. They shot Marshale in the head and chest several times.^[6]

4 Comedian Murdered For Mocking Mexican Drug Lord And Not Repaying A Debt

Francisco “Paco” Stanley was a popular Mexican comedy show host until he was murdered in June 1999. He was waiting for a friend outside a restaurant when two men sprayed him with heavy gunfire. Stanley received four shots to the head. A colleague and bystander were also killed while two more bystanders were injured.

Police later discovered cocaine in Stanley’s pocket and in his blood. Eventually, his death revealed a large conspiracy and the involvement of drug cartels in entertainment. Apparently, Stanley’s murder was ordered by crime boss Luis Ignacio Amezcua Contreras over some debts owed by Stanley.

In 1996, Amezcua Contreras had loaned $65,000 to Stanley to launch a television and music production studio. The drug kingpin also frequently sold cocaine to Stanley, who used part of it and sold the rest to other top show hosts. However, Stanley often made jokes on his comedy show that the drug lord considered to be insulting.

The displeased Amezcua Contreras later recruited Mario Rodriguez Bezares (aka Mayito), Stanley’s cohost, to help with the murder. Bezares was mad at Stanley because he often directed insulting jokes at Bezares during the show. Besides, Amezcua Contreras had promised Bezares the production company and was willing to forgo the debts.^[7]

Bezares was the reason that Stanley was waiting outside the restaurant where he was murdered. They had gone for a meal and were about to leave when Bezares delayed them. Bezares engaged in a series of ridiculous schemes, including pretending to have a limp, just to keep Stanley waiting. Bezares was in the lavatory at the time that the killers arrived.

3 Writer Interrogated By The Secret Service Over Joke About Kidnapping The US President’s Daughter

in 2009, Daniel O’Brien, the head writer at a humor website, wrote a piece about kidnapping the daughter of a US president. It was titled “6 Helpful Tips for Kidnapping the President’s Daughters.”

O’Brien soon received a phone call from Special Agent Mike Powell of the Secret Service. The agent had a friendly chat and directed O’Brien to speak with some other agents. O’Brien met with the other agents and was interrogated about his satirical article for two hours. At that time, he was asked if he was involved with terrorist groups.^[8]

O’Brien later had the article deleted from the website. However, it appeared to be too late as he was secretly put under surveillance. As of 2014, he was often asked to step aside for a search at US airports.

2 Johnny Depp In Soup Over Joke About Assassinating President Trump

In 2017, Johnny Depp came under heavy public backlash after he jokingly asked, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” (The last time was in 1865 when John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.)

Public outrage soon followed the inappropriate joke. Later, the Trump White House also issued a statement condemning Depp’s remarks and requesting that other Hollywood stars denounce it, too.

However, Johnny Depp is not the only actor that has come under fire for making jokes suggesting the assassination of a US president. A month earlier, Kathy Griffin had to apologize after posing for a photograph with a bloodied prop head of President Trump.^[9]

1 Venezuelan Comedian Flees Country After Receiving Death Threats

Nacho Redondo is a radical Venezuelan comedian. He is famous for making highly controversial political jokes that are often considered insulting. His offensive jokes have caused public backlash, online outrage, boycotts, and extensive criticism.

The Venezuelan government had enough of Nacho after he made a political joke about a race between a man with one leg, a man with no legs, and a communist. The government sued him over the joke. He also received lots of death threats. Nacho escaped to Mexico right before his trial started.

Nacho is just one of the many comedians from Venezuela who have found themselves under attack from the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelan comedians generally avoided making political jokes before 2014. However, they changed their minds as the country went into a decline.

The government clamped down on these comedians, forcing other humorists to make political jokes as a form of protest. These days, comedians consider their quips as part of a rebellion against the government. The authorities have also stepped up their campaign against humorists making political jokes, forcing several comedians to flee the country.^[10]

In 2014, a comedy show hosted by Luis Chataing was suspended from television because it mocked the government. Luis accused the government of threatening and blackmailing the television station to suspend his show. However, the government denied issuing any threats.

If you’ve ever been fired before you know it’s not always the easiest pill to swallow. Most of us would disagree with an employer when it comes to reasons for being fired, though there are of course situations where it’s warranted. If you steal, do your job poorly, leave early and so on, your dismissal may be wholly justified. And there are a few other reasons that are weird and unpredictable that can lead to losing out on work. It happens to people in Hollywood as well, and some of their firings just boggle the mind.

10. Rick Moranis was Fired From The Breakfast Club For a Russian Accent

The Breakfast Club has become a classic example of ’80s cinema and one of director John Hughes’ most beloved films. The simple tale of a group of five misfits spending a Saturday together in detention seemed to capture not just a zeitgeist, but something that transcended the time and related to audiences even decades later. 

Apart from the central cast there are really only two other characters in the film. The chief antagonist is the brilliantly portrayed Principal Vernon and then there’s also the janitor character played by John Kapelos. His character doesn’t do a lot in the movie but he does have a couple of memorable scenes. And the character nearly went to Rick Moranis.

Moranis, best known for movies like Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, was cast in the role until John Hughes fired him. According to legend, Hughes was stoked to have Moranis on board but for mysterious reasons, Moranis refused to play the character as written. Instead, he portrayed him with an over the top Russian accent. And that wasn’t all.

When Moranis arrived on set, he had gold caps on his teeth and had cut his hair. The studio saw the dailies and hated it. Hughes didn’t want to tell Moranis, but the studio didn’t want to waste time with him so they fired him. 

9. David Herman Got Fired on Purpose From MADtv

MADtv never quite hit the heights of SNL but it was one of the longest running competitors of the sketch comedy series and featured several performers who are still big in the comedy scene today. 

One performer, David Herman, is maybe best known outside of the show for his work in the movie Office Space, where he plays a character named Michael Bolton who hates the office printer. Herman was locked into a contract with the TV show that prevented him from being in any projects outside of the show and he had a problem with that.

Herman wanted to do other projects, so he needed to void his contract and void it he did. He began to do his table reads for the show by shouting all of his lines. And he kept it up until producers got so sick of him they fired him. Since then he’s gone on to have a fairly successful career as a voice actor. 

8. Dan Aykroyd Fired JT Walsh For Being in a Movie About John Belushi

Back in the 1980s and ’90s, character actor JT Walsh appeared in a number of memorable roles in films like A Few Good Men and Sling Blade. While many people enjoyed his body of work, that wasn’t true of everyone. Including, apparently, actor Dan Aykroyd.

In 1990, Aykroyd was making the movie Loose Cannons, an action comedy that also starred Gene Hackman. Walsh was hired to play a cop named Weskit but Aykroyd went out of his way to make sure it never happened. Walsh had recently starred in the movie Wired, a biography of John Belushi. Aykroyd and Belushi were famously close friends and performed as the Blues Brothers together and Wired didn’t always portray Belushi in the kindest light. As a result, Aykroyd was holding a grudge and had Walsh replaced. 

7. Chris Hansen Got Fired After Being Caught on Camera Cheating

For a few years, Chris Hansen was remarkably famous for his To Catch a Predator stings, where he would work with law enforcement to set up would-be pedophiles and catch them on camera trying to meet up with underage victims. To this day Hansen is still used as a meme when someone online is being creepy, even though To Catch a Predator ended in 2007.

Because Hansen spent so much of his career setting up hidden camera stings, it became bizarrely ironic that he lost his job with NBC entirely in 2013 after being caught on hidden camera cheating on his wife. 

It was the National Enquirer that took Hansen down, but NBC didn’t want to deal with the potential black eye of keeping the man on staff so they canned him once the story came to light. 

6. Daniel Benzali was fired from Murder One For Pooping at Home

The show Murder One was a serious legal drama that came from the infamous Steven Bochco. It starred a man named Daniel Benzali who was very serious and powerful in the role. He was critically lauded for his work but, nonetheless; the man was fired. Why fire such a good actor? Steven Bochco has the answer.

Benzali came to work late every day. An hour late, according to Bochco. And on a TV show set, that’s a huge issue. These shows cost a lot of money and that’s a huge waste if it happens every day.

Bochco confronted Benzali about being late to ask if there was a solution. Benzali admitted the problem was he had a long commute, but he couldn’t leave the house until he pooped. That was literally his reason.  Bochco suggested he come to work and then poop but Benzali resisted, stating he could only go at home. 

Benzali refused to get up earlier to allow for him getting to work on time. Bochco even offered to get him an apartment right across from the lot. But the actor wouldn’t do it. So, they fired him.

5. Jay Thomas was Fired from Cheers for Insulting Rhea Perlman

The sitcom Cheers featured an ensemble cast of classic characters that were beloved by fans. Carla, the waitress portrayed by actress Rhea Perlman, was known for an acerbic wit and a surly but oddly lovable demeanor. Perlman was well-liked in the role and it’s hands down what she is most well known for to this day. That said, not everyone was as stoked by the role as the fans.

Actor Jay Thomas had a recurring role as Carla’s boyfriend and later husband Eddie Lebec. The characters got married and only a short time later the character was killed by a Zamboni. While that’s a goofy ending it made some people wonder why they had Carla get married only to have her husband die so soon after. The plan was never to kill Eddie, but Thomas brought it on himself.

Thomas was doing a radio show discussing his role on the show and started making jokes about how disgusting it was that he had to kiss Rhea Perlman. Series co-creator James Burrows said Thomas was fired immediately for his comments and then the character was killed off.

Thomas maintained that he wasn’t fired for that reason at all, but the show’s creator may have more standing to determine what the truth was. 

4. Richard Gere was Fired From a Movie For Getting Mustard on Sylvester Stallone

Richard Gere was a pretty big name in Hollywood for years, even if we don’t see him much anymore. And, of course, Sylvester Stallone still is. The two of them were signed up to star in the movie Lords of Flatbush together back in 1974. Offscreen, however, things were not going well.

According to Stallone, things were already a little sour because Gere was taking fight scenes too seriously. The cast breaks for lunch and Gere has a half chicken covered in mustard that he proceeds to spill all over Stallone’s pants. Stallone elbows him out of the car they’re sitting in, and the feud resulted in a choice for the director – Stallone or Gere. Gere got fired.

The feud long outlasted their brief stint together and there have even been rumors that persist to this day that Stallone started the infamous Richard Gere gerbil story, which Gere himself apparently believes is how things went down..

3. Damon Wayans was Fired From SNL for Sabotaging a Sketch

SNL has seen dozens upon dozens of comedians perform as cast members over the years and some obviously last longer than others. Some leave the show on their own terms but others are summarily and mercilessly fired for going against the wishes of producer Lorne Michaels. Damon Wayans was one of those people.

Wayans had been in seven episodes of the sketch comedy series. He was already having a problem with how he was being featured, not getting much to work with and being put into situations he felt were racially offensive, such as being asked to simply stand on stage in a thong holding a spear.

In his final sketch, a Miami Vice parody, Wayans was portraying a detective. Wayans said that, after rehearsal, Michaels told him he looked like a pimp in the suit, he needed to put on a cop uniform. And that was it. 

Wayans already hated the sketch, which he didn’t think was funny, so when it came time for the live performance, he played the cop as flamboyantly gay, just bowling over the whole scene.

After it was over, Michaels fired him on the spot, which Wayans admitted was the right move since what he did wasn’t funny, it was just out of anger.

2. Russell Brand was Fired For Dressing like Osama bin Laden the Day After 9/11

Russell Brand is mostly known for his podcast and political takes these days but once upon a time he was a comedian and even worked for MTV. In fact, he worked for MTV right until September 12, 2001. 

The day after 9/11 which, even if you weren’t around at the time you can imagine, was one hell of a serious day for people all around the world. Brand showed up for his gig at MTV dressed like Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader who was ultimately responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the deaths of 2,996 people.

Word is Brand was high as well, and he’s admitted to having drug issues in the past, but the mix was definitely not one that was going to guarantee him work at the end of the week. 

1. Michael Buble Was Fired From the X-Files for Stealing a Hot Dog

Long before Michael Buble was a spokesman for flavored fizzy water or a latter day crooner, he was an actor. Or he tried to be, anyway. The man hit a setback or two the likes of which most actors avoided. 

Buble was cast in an episode of The X-Files as an extra on a submarine. Not a big role by any means, but he was just trying to get his footing in the acting world. He does appear in the episode briefly, but he was fired from the set as well. The reason? Hot dog thievery.

Turns out craft services aren’t for everyone all the time. There was a table of food on location and Buble was hungry, so he got himself a hot dog.But the table was reserved for principal actors, meaning that hot dog belonged to Mulder or Scully. 

Someone from craft services pounced on Buble and even threatened him with a career blacklisting for his actions. 

The Billboard charts can be a funny thing, making certain musical acts appear bigger or smaller than they actually are. Some of the most notorious supposed “one-hit wonders” such as Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, or Soulja Boy technically charted two top-10 hits. On the other hand, some of the most legendary musical acts of all time surprisingly had only just one U.S. top-10 hit throughout their entire career.

While the charts measure the weekly popularity of songs and albums, some aspects of music business success prove harder to quantify. An act can sell out arenas and stadiums, prove a lasting cultural influence, become a household name—but often, those accolades accrue over the long term, rather than manifesting in short-term sales and airplay figures.

Here are iconic bands and stars who, despite their enduring status, surprisingly only had one top-10 single hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Related: Top 10 Tragic One-Hit Wonders

10 Weird Al Yankovic

You used to know him from his oversized glasses and mustaches, then you knew him from his shoulder-length hair and Hawaiian shirts. The master spoofer has remained relevant and part of the cultural firmament for almost four decades through his continual parodies of popular songs. His most recent tour, titled the Strings Attached Tour, included a full symphony orchestra backing. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and star of Broadway’s Hamilton, even called Weird Al his childhood hero.

Parodying the gangsta rap track “Ridin’ Dirty” by Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone, Yankovic’s biggest song is 2006’s comparatively intellectual “White & Nerdy” at #9. While the original song referenced run-ins with the cops and fancy cars, Yankovic’s lyrics referenced MIT, Dungeons & Dragons, action figures, Stephen Hawking, the infinitely repeating mathematical concept of pi, Minesweeper, the computer coding language Pascal, vector calculus, the Star Trek language of Klingon, pocket protectors, the high school chess team, and the Renaissance Faire.

Mimicking Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” shot for shot, Yankovic’s next biggest hit was 1983’s early-MTV-era parody “Eat It,” reaching #12. His fellow gangsta rap parody “Amish Paradise,” spoofing “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio featuring LV, peaked at #53.^[1]

9 Metallica

Despite their last six consecutive albums all topping the chart, most recently 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, James Hetfield’s and Lars Ulrich’s pioneering heavy metal band was always a little too loud for singles chart success. While they can be trusted to sell out arenas on their world tours, their biggest song was 1996’s “Until It Sleeps,” which reached #10, in fact, preventing the listener from getting much sleep.

Their next closest songs included 1991’s “Enter Sandman” at #16 and 1992’s “Nothing Else Matters” at #32. Often named one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time, 1986’s “Master of Puppets” was only released as a promotional single for airplay and not a commercial single for purchase, making it ineligible to chart under rules in place at the time.

Still, the band earned their own standalone installment of the musical video game series Guitar Hero, one of only three groups afforded the honor—along with Aerosmith and Van Halen.^[2]

8 Johnny Cash

The Man in Black wrote simple songs, sung simply, connecting viscerally with audiences and turning him into a legend… but not necessarily on the singles charts. His biggest hit, 1969’s “A Boy Named Sue,” settled for the runner-up slot on the weekly Billboard chart behind “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones.

Another Rolling Stone—not the band, but the magazine—ranked Cash’s “I Walk the Line” as the greatest country song of all time, calling it “the defining moment for country’s most iconic figure.” Yet it only peaked at #17. Other iconic hits included 1963’s “Ring of Fire” reaching the same position, while 1968’s “Folsom Prison Blues” stalled out at #32.^[3]

Cash’s song “I’ve Been Everywhere” detailed all the places he’d been on his life’s travels, but a trip to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart never appeared on the itinerary.

7 Grateful Dead

Fronted by Jerry Garcia, the perpetually touring band was primarily famous for their massive hours-long live shows and the cult following of “Deadheads” that resulted.

The band’s biggest hit was 1987’s “Touch of Grey” at #9, while their next closest was 1971’s “Truckin’” at #64. Their lead singer’s legacy lives on through the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor Cherry Garcia, the company’s second-biggest seller of 2020, behind only Half Baked. Although based on their names, both flavors seem like ones Garcia would have enjoyed in life.

Another fun fact: the band also financially sponsored Lithuania’s 1992 Olympic basketball team since the team otherwise couldn’t afford to travel to the competition. The team wore tie-dyed uniforms in the band’s honor and ended up winning the bronze medal behind the slightly more famous U.S. Dream Team.^[4]

6 Oasis

Featuring Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey on drums, the band led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher notched eight chart-topping songs in their native United Kingdom. About 2.5 million people sought tickets for the band’s 1996 concerts at Knebworth House, more than four percent of the UK’s population at the time. But while they were undoubtedly big in the United Kingdom, they weren’t quite as huge on this side of the pond.

Their biggest U.S. hit, “Wonderwall,” peaked at #8 in 1996. Their next highest hit, “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” reached #55 that same year. Various singles which topped the British charts, including “Some Might Say,” “All Around the World,” “Go Let It Out,” and “Lyla,” failed to even crack the top 100 in the States.

Today, the Gallagher brothers aren’t even on speaking terms. In an interview with the magazine GQ, Noel said of Liam, “He’s the angriest man you’ll ever meet. He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.” ^[5]

5 Pink Floyd

Led by Roger Waters, the band was named for a portmanteau of blues acts Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Between “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall,” the band claims not one but two of the 50 bestselling albums of all time. Only a few other acts can make the same claim, such as The Beatles and Whitney Houston.

Yet Pink Floyd’s album-oriented rock often proved unfriendly for radio station airplay, with radio’s focus on tight melodies versus the band’s long meandering instrumentals and solos. The group actually topped the chart with “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” in 1980. The next closest they came to replicating that success was 1973’s “Money” at #13.

Though their albums’ success arguably came at the expense of their singles chart success, they still ended up rolling in the “money” anyway. ^[6]

4 Garth Brooks

Country music would occasionally top the all-genre Hot 100 chart during the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. But by the ‘90s, the parallel takeovers of rap, pop, and hip-hop essentially prevented country music from reaching its prior success on that metric. As a result, the single biggest country act since 1990 only earned one top-10 song. And here’s the craziest part: it wasn’t even with a country song.

While Garth Brooks was a force to be reckoned with on the albums chart, including spending a stunning 18 weeks at #1 with 1991’s album “Ropin’ the Wind,” his highest-charting song was 1999’s “Lost in You” at #5. The pop ballad, featuring little to no recognizably country elements, was technically credited to “Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines” during a brief and bizarre vanity project where Brooks pretended to be an alter ego, even though everybody knew it was him.

Brooks’s next biggest song was 2001’s “Wrapped Up in You” at #46. In January, he performed “Amazing Grace” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration despite being a Republican. “I might be the only Republican at this place,” he said about the inauguration, which also included performances by artists including John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, and Lady Gaga, “but it’s about reaching across and loving one another.” ^[7]

3 The Who

Almost every other Super Bowl halftime show act has earned multiple #1 hits, plus even more top-10 hits. Although The Who felt every bit as massive as some of those other headlining acts, perhaps even bigger in some cases, this was never quite reflected on the singles chart. Led by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and originally named The Detours, their success relied more on the album chart. The group pioneered the concept of the concept album with such storytelling releases as Tommy and Quadrophenia.

The group’s biggest song, “I Can See for Miles,” reached #9 in 1967. Their next closest hits included 1970’s “See Me, Feel Me” at #12, 1971’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” at #15, and 1969’s “Pinball Wizard” at #19. Perhaps just as important for their modern cultural legacy, they were parodied on The Simpsons as a band called “The Whom.”

Still, the actual band’s lack of a chart-topping song disproves Abbott and Costello’s claim that “Who’s on first.” ^[8]

2 Led Zeppelin

Despite notching six chart-topping albums between 1969 and 1979, the band was never quite as commercially successful on the singles chart.

The band, which coined the catchphrase “get the led out,” was originally called the New Yardbirds. They changed their name after a conversation among the members about how the nascent group’s attempts at stardom might “go down like a lead balloon.” Led by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, they changed “balloon” to “zeppelin” and altered the spelling of “lead” to “led” so people wouldn’t pronounce the word to rhyme with “need.”

Peaking at #4, their highest charting song was “Whole Lotta Love” in 1970. Their next closest song, “Black Dog,” reached #15 in 1972. Other iconic tracks like “Immigrant Song” peaked at #16, while “Stairway to Heaven” wasn’t released as a commercial single, rendering it unable to chart under rules in place at the time.^[9]

1 Nirvana

As the ambassadors of grunge, the Seattle trio of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Kurt Novoselic redefined what rock music could sound like.

Named after a brand of deodorant worn by lead singer Cobain’s girlfriend at the time, Nirvana’s breakthrough hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” proved a cultural watershed. Everything about it stood in sharp contrast to the dominant sounds and looks of the era, from the nihilistic lyrics to the mumbled delivery to the band’s intentionally unkempt appearance in the music video. Rolling Stone named it one of the 10 greatest songs of all time and the only such song released outside the narrow 1958-71 window.

While the track reached #6 in 1992, the band’s next biggest hits, “Come as You Are” and “Lithium,” peaked at #32 and #64 that same year. Parent album “Nevermind,” with its iconic cover of a baby in a swimming pool chasing after a dollar bill, nonetheless became one of the biggest-selling and most heralded albums of all time. ^[10]

All these acts prove that slow and steady can win the race in the end. Will any more contemporary music acts win the contest for long-term cultural influence over their more immediately high-charting peers? Stay tuned for a few decades to find out.

Hate and fear aren’t just terrible because of the effect they have on our society—they’re easy, natural even. They’re deeply coded in every one of us, little switches saving us from coiled snakes on branches and the possible diseases brought to our camp by a foreign tribe. In this day and age, however, these once-necessary instincts often cause more trouble than they prevent. Still, it seems that suspicion, animus, and coercive control are an adjacent pandemic running amok all over the globe.

There are examples that, when learned about and kept in mind, offer a different point of view—an inoculation against hate, apathy, and nihilism, if you will. Here are 10 such stories: two jabs and 8 boosters against the darkness.

Happy New Year, Listversians—let’s hope 2022 gives us many more stories like the ones listed here.

Related: 10 Heartwarming Stories To Restore Your Faith In Humanity

10 The Lichfield Legend

“No good deed goes unpunished.” Sardonic cynicism aside, there is a practical method to overcome this possibility—just keep doing the good deed. This seems to be what one absolute gem of a young man in the Midlands of England has decided to do.

Eighteen-year-old Sebbie Hall from Lichfield, Staffordshire, found that the thought of people being unable to communicate during lockdown due to a lack of available tech really bummed him out. His first act of kindness was to donate his iPad to a close friend of his so they could communicate online. This selfless act snowballed, and to date, Sebbie has helped raise around $53,000 for good causes and directly helped around 2,000 people.

There has been an upside for Sebbie, too, aside from the warm glow of helping others; Sebbie has a rare chromosomal alteration that causes physical and learning disabilities—his daily random acts of kindness have boosted his confidence and helped with his verbal communication.^[1]

Some people are just good—and thank goodness for people like Sebbie.

9 Mind-Changer In Chief

People often feel as though they are their opinions, weaving their experience, rationalizations, and second-hand takes into their identity. Extreme, socially gauche/transgressive, and hateful ideologies are often the hardest positions to get away from when one becomes entrenched in such a lifestyle. Such positions, given the social pressure (and even legal status), will create circular logic around the core beliefs to keep individuals “on a side,” so to speak. Cults, for instance, work in a very similar way. That’s what makes Daryl Davis such an exceptional person.

Over the course of the last few decades, Davis has helped reform over 200 KKK members—simply by acknowledging their humanity and showing them that he, in fact, shares that humanity too. And playing a mean piano.

From convincing a “Grand Cyclops” to hand over his robes to working closely with the decentralized social media platform Minds as a consultant on “deradicalization” (as opposed to Twitter, which seems to rely on their executives’ super worldly “experience” in Silicon Valley and Ivy League schools), Davis has dedicated a huge chunk of his life to effecting actual change, not merely virtue signaling.^[2]

8 Lazy Teens? Not So Much

A group of high school kids stop jerking around and band together to do a good deed for someone in need—seems to be a plot from a mid-season episode of an early 1990’s teen sitcom. Thankfully, this kind of stuff does happen IRL…minus the laugh track and attractive 28-year-old woman pretending to be “the nerdy girl” in school.

Students in Bradford, Rhode Island, couldn’t abide the thought of 5-year-old Ryder Killam getting soaked through every school day. You see, little Ryder had to spend about 15 minutes exposed to the elements every morning as he waited for the bus. His dad hitched a patio umbrella at his bus stop, an accouterment that did little to protect Ryder from snow, hail, and rain. Local teens noticed the boy sitting in his wheelchair at the stop every morning (Ryder has spina bifida) and decided to build him a shelter. Ryder now gets to school without sodden clothes and a runny nose, allowing him to focus fully on his studies, really knuckle down, and truly listen to whatever his teacher is droning on about. Well, every story has a downside, I guess.^[3]

7 Generating Not Degradation

This is a nice, short, uplifting entry. Iconic red telephone boxes (and the far less iconic 1980s grey metallic ones) covering the length and breadth of Britain are quickly being repurposed instead of being let to slowly rust and decompose. Some have been turned into comfy little reading rooms for one, mini nightclubs, and even coffee bars. The main repurposing job seems to be defibrillator machine stations, a service that will hopefully save as many lives as the phone boxes did in the pre-cell phone days.

Now, some teens are intent on destroying them before they get reused (not-the-nice ones-from-Rhode-Island-who-build-bus-shelter-types). Who will win? Do-gooders who enrich our lives, or the memester sprogs who will fill the boxes with expanding builder’s foam or inflatable penises (whose exploits enrich some of our lives)? Let the games begin.^[4]

6 Prayers Answered…Very Quickly

One can understand (and obviously condemn) ideologically possessed asshats who burn down churches and cathedrals. One can even understand a group of edgy goths vandalizing a parish church with some black paint daubing of some sub-Hammer-Horror-movie slogans and symbols.

For lulz.

But who in their right mind would desecrate this charming little chapel in rural West Wales? That’s the thing—nobody with a “right mind” could do such an awful thing.

This wanton vandalism to the beautiful Capel y Grog in Mwnt, Ceredigion, in late 2021 shocked the local community. They quickly went about setting up a fundraising goal of £20k online, hoping they could restore their place of worship.

They hit their target after just three days. Senseless hate will never win against kindness and charity.^[5]

5 One Hell of a Tip

An often-overlooked positive facet of everyday life is good service from those who are paid to provide it. So when you encounter a person in a shop or a restaurant who treats you less like a guest or a customer and more like a friend or a family member, really caring that you “have a nice day,” it can be amazing.

That’s what Dunkin’ Donuts server Ebony Johnson did every single day. In a job that can, if seen as just a means to earn money to live, be a repetitive, unfulfilling drudge, Ebony used her time to spread kindness and enquire and learn about the people she served. To care. And one customer reciprocated in a big way.

Suzanne Burke placed an order at the drive-thru with Ebony every morning. They chatted and became friendly over a three-year period. When Ebony fell on hard times, getting evicted from her home in Mount Healthy, Ohio, Suzanne took the chance to pay her back for the years of friendliness, kindness, and joy that Ebony had provided her. She gave her a tip for the ages. Suzanne organized for Ebony to move into a new, fully furnished home with her three kids in time for Christmas.^[6]

4 Spreading the Luck

Playing the lottery is dumb. Unless you win the jackpot, of course. Unbelievable wealth, however, is often a dangerous thing to foist upon an unwitting individual. Almost nobody strategizes and conducts some financial planning while standing in the queue at the grocery store, ready to buy a ticket. Thus, many winners fall into a cycle of excess and squandering, leaving their mental and physical health in tatters.

You’ve probably heard the story before—young man from rough background wins lottery, spends it all on drugs, parties, and gambling, and *enter terrible outcome to end a sad tale*. You may also think it’s unreasonable to expect that a random, normal person should be expected to become a financial whizz simply because they could find themselves in the 1% (or even in the 1% of the 1%).

Hey, there’s always charity.

In 2018, Barbara Wragg of Sheffield, England, passed away. Nearly two decades earlier, she had won the National Lottery, a jackpot of £7.6 million. Over the period of this sudden wealth, she and her husband gave away around 70% of the winnings. She maintained a humble lifestyle (save a bigger house and a nicer car), using the cash as a buffer rather than a means of buying shiny, fast, or intoxicating things. The rest went to numerous charities.

Among many other causes, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, the Meningitis Trust, and Help the Aged all benefited from Barbara’s windfall. She also paid for 250 kids from Sheffield’s impoverished inner city to attend the local Christmas pantomime every year. When a group of WWII veterans couldn’t afford to visit Monte Cassino in 2004 for the 60th anniversary of the battle, in came Barbara.

Good things happening to good people will make goodness proliferate: “Winning the lottery changed our lives but not our persons.” May she rest in peace; God knows she deserves it.^[7]

3 The Life Ranger

“I’m the chotto matte man,” retired police officer Yukio Shige told Japan Today in 2014. “Chotto matte” means (roughly) “please wait a moment.” When you consider that this septuagenarian patrols a suicide hotspot on Japan’s coast, this simple, courteous phrase gains a huge weight.

“Please, wait a moment” saves lives. Yukio Shige saves lives.

But it’s more than that; he goes on to extrapolate as to his method in the article. “There’s only one way to deal with this,” Shige emphasizes to Shukan Shincho. “You yourself must help them get back on their feet, work with them to solve their problems. If they’re in debt, I take them to legal aid people; if they’re out of work, I take them to the Hello Work employment agency; if they’re homeless, I take them home with me.” If it’s trouble at work, he goes to the person’s workplace and tries to sort things out.

It’s not just about taking the time to consider waiting for a moment; Shige himself takes the time to actively help desperate individuals. Yukio Shige himself practices what he preaches—”Chotto Matte.” He’s willing to take the time too. He has a team of volunteers that patrol the Tojinbo Cliffs and runs a small hostel nearby. By 2017, it was estimated that 500 lives had been saved by his efforts. By now, many more will have been saved.^[8]

This is a man who holds that life is precious despite the inevitable suffering that occurs during its course.

Arigato gozaimasu, Shige-san

2 Olympic Silver, Kindness Gold

When Olympic athlete Maria Anrejczyk heard of a family who was struggling to raise funds to save their baby, she knew what to do. The Polish javelin chucker grew worried that the family of baby Milosz Malysa wouldn’t hit their goal of 1.5 million zlotych, the amount needed to get the infant life-saving heart surgery in Barcelona, Spain.

In an act of sheer selflessness, the athlete auctioned her Olympic silver medal. Half of the total goal had been reached already, and time was running out for baby Milosz. At the last moment, Polish supermarket chain Zabka offered the outlying amount for the medal. Milosz went on to get his surgery and, moreover, Maria got to keep her medal after all!^[9]

Maria added: “I will be eternally grateful. I have no words to express how happy I am.”

1 Mending Deep Scars

A man who spent a year in prison on a false charge proved himself a hero in 2020. After a jury finally acquitted Daylan McLee of pointing a gun at an officer during a traffic stop in Pennsylvania, he harbored some animus for law enforcement. Who could blame him? This didn’t stop McLee from saving a police officer’s life by pulling him from a burning squad car.

He could have stood and watched; he could have filmed it and posted it online. He could have just called for the emergency services and gone about his day. But Daylan stepped up, put his past experiences aside, and did as good a deed a person can do. Daylan McLee shows us that when we are willing to recognize the basic humanity inherent in all our fellow men, hate cannot prevail.

“I want people to start looking at people as Americans, and not, you know, ‘he’s white, he’s black, he’s Asian’—we’re people, and when we start realizing that, things should get better”—Daylan McLee, 2020. ^[10]

By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Some might look at paying it forward as a trivial or insignificant act, but gestures of kindness can create changes that last a lifetime. It’s often said that a hero’s strength isn’t measured by the size of their muscles but by the size of their heart.

The true test for each and every person on the planet is seeing if they will help someone else without the thought of receiving anything in return. The ability to help someone who can do nothing for themselves is the epitome of human kindness. Kindness is contagious, and here are 10 acts of kindness that were repaid exponentially.

Related: 10 Heartwarming Times Thieves Had Second Thoughts

10 Welcome Wounded Warrior

When a service dog was operating in an armed forces division, he was wounded in action. After undergoing extensive procedures to revive the exemplary pup, he exits the hospital alongside his commanding officer and owner. He is greeted by his fellow officers in uniform, lining the halls and walkways on either side. Even on the drive home, there are police cars and fire trucks all honking their horns and blaring sirens.

And when they pull up to the house, an even bigger hero’s welcome is waiting for him where it appears the whole town gathered to greet him and applaud his brave return. Welcome home, little pup, and thank you for your service.

9 Honoring Healthcare Heroes

It’s no secret that recent and current events have impacted quite literally every person on the planet. And no one has been more impacted or at risk than healthcare workers. Nurses, doctors, surgeons, and administrators risked their own health to provide the help that others desperately needed. Loved ones began spreading the word on social media, and displays of appreciation were organized to applaud these tireless workers.

The gratitude that unfurled was seen on a global scale. From towering apartment complexes flashing lights to NATO seamen clapping underwater, the cheers were heard around the globe. They boosted healthcare heroes with the vote of confidence and courage to keep going and keep helping the world.

8 A Samaritan Shoebox

A teenager from Idaho donated a shoebox of gifts when he was around seven years old. Eleven years later, he received a friend request from a woman in the Philippines. He discarded the request, positive that he didn’t know anyone there, and continued on with his life.

Sometime later, he received the friend request again and accepted just to see what was going on. The girl introduced herself, saying she had been the recipient of the shoebox. She proved she was telling the truth by recalling the photo of the boy he had included. The pair stayed in touch, and he even saved up money to fly out and meet her.

The friends fell in love and were married in 2014, and instead of asking for gifts, they asked each guest to bring a shoebox for Samaritan’s Purse to be donated. They have since made it a tradition to contribute each year to the charity that connected them so long ago.

7 Waitress with a Will

A diner waitress dealt with unpleasant customers all the time, but one man, in particular, was especially harsh. He was a diner regular. And by regular, I mean he regularly complained about the food, the service, the decor, just about anything and everything. But this waitress continued to serve the older man with a smile. She was kind and took his order despite his attitude and did what she could to improve his experience, even if he would never admit it.

One day, the waitress read in the newspaper that the regular customer had passed away. The man’s lawyer showed up the next day and stated that he included her in his will. The lawyer proceeded to produce fifty-thousand dollars and keys to a car. The waitress had just earned the tip of a lifetime, proving kindness doesn’t stop even when others are rude.

6 Walking for a Win

There are many different ways to show kindness. Sometimes acts of kindness include just showing up. Others include showing up to work on time. It’s an act of courtesy when others rely on you, even if it means waking up before sunrise and walking for miles.

That’s what one employee did to become the company’s most loyal, dependable, and hard-working car salesman. And when his employer found out, they gave him a car of his own so he would never have to wake up early or walk to work again. 

5 The GISHWHES Phenomenon

Before becoming an actor starring in CW’s Supernatural, Misha Collins grew up in a somewhat nomadic lifestyle with his mother and younger brother. He knew how to hitchhike and steal food by the time he was in kindergarten. But sleeping in tents and growing up poor didn’t make him poor in heart. Once he came into some money, he founded GISHWHES—the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen.

Over tens of thousands of participants pledge to complete random acts of kindness ranging from everyday activities to some obscure gesture of kindness. Even NASA has participated all the way from space!

GISHWHES holds a Guinness world record of being the largest scavenger hunt, and all proceeds go directly to the Random Acts charity.

4 Paratrooper Pizza Party

A retired paratrooper lived next door to a family where the father was deployed overseas. In typical fatherly fashion, this neighbor helped the family by mowing their lawn every Saturday. Life can be difficult, whether you’re in the military or not, but for those who are and for those whose loved ones serve, it can be an added layer of challenges to life’s demands.

And no one understands the sacrifices military families make better than this neighbor. This kind paratrooper even had pizza delivered to the family’s house when he knew the mother was at her wit’s end raising the couple’s four daughters. Even he would rather be dropped from an airplane rather than face ravenous hormonal girls. Pizza truly does make everything better.

3 I Scream, You Cry

When a group of kids wanted ice cream from a local shop, the clerk counted their coins, but they didn’t have enough. The shop owner told them the cheapest thing they could purchase with their dollar, and the kids agreed. She started to complete their order and gave them each a dollar in return. She figured they needed it more than her small business did.

Then, the kids gave her a one hundred dollar bill. That’s right, a Benjamin Franklin special. 

The owner refused, wondering if it was even their money to give since they couldn’t pay for the ice cream until she realized that they had slipped her a note, thanking her for her kindness. The store owner broke down in tears, and the kids went on their way with the ice cream.

2 Cookies for Toothpaste

A homeless man asked for money, but the man he asked wanted to know what it would be used for. He replied that he thought about buying a box of cookies since he saw a coupon on it for toothpaste. Stunned by his honesty for not stealing the package of treats, he gave the man a hundred-dollar bill and asked him to come back with the change.

A few minutes later, the homeless man returned with his single package of cookies, and the gentleman let him keep the change, saying it was his now. The drifter began crying and said that he was planning to open a bank account and would put the money in there for safekeeping.

It doesn’t take much to make someone’s day or even turn their life around.

1 The Dancing Delivery Driver

Truck drivers are the backbone of the 21st century, especially during the holiday season. When one worker delivered a package to a house in the suburbs, a sign on the door invited him to play a game. All they asked was for the driver to do a dance, and he would get a gift.

At first, the driver didn’t want to, but the owner insisted. Once they performed a small rendition of the Cabbage Patch, the house owner directed the driver to look behind them at the gate surrounding their yard. On the pillar of the fence was a gift-wrapped box.

The driver took it off the column and unwrapped the present to find five different gift cards over one hundred dollars each. The driver couldn’t believe it was all for themselves, but the owner just wanted to show their appreciation for their hard work, long hours, and even their little dance.

Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo is widely considered to be literature’s greatest contribution to the revenge tale and was even inspired by one of the entries on this list.

Because we all seek justice when faced with wrongdoing, history is littered with tales of revenge. Here are ten examples of the greatest stories of vengeance from history.

10 Gruesome Acts Of Revenge

10 Anthony Ray Stockelman—Vengeance For Katie

On the 25th of January, 2005, ten-year-old Katlyn “Katie” Colman was abducted during her trek to a nearby shop. By 7:30 pm that evening, she was reported missing. After five days of intense searching, Katie’s body was found near a creek by an Indiana State Police trooper.

Initially, the police arrested Charles Hickman for the crime, but there were some inconsistencies with his story. DNA evidence eventually pointed the police in Anthony Ray Stockelman’s direction. He was arrested and charged with the abduction, molestation, and murder of Katie.

After being found guilty of the molestation and murder of 10-year old Katie Collman in 2006, Stockton was handed a life sentence. He avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to the crime. While this might appease some people for such a brutal act against someone so young, the family of Katie disagreed.

While serving his sentence, Stockelman was accosted by several inmates and forcibly tattooed with the words “KATIE’S REVENGE” spread very visibly across his forehead. As it turned out, a cousin of Katie was doing time in the same prison and took it upon himself to mark the child molester.^[1]

9 Genghis Khan—Conquest of the Khwarezmid Empire

In 1218 AD, Genghis Khan, the ruler of Mongolia, desired to form a peace and cooperation treaty with the leader of the Khwarezmid Empire, Ala ad-Din Muhammad. The Khwarezmian Empire sat to the West of the Mongol Empire, and Khan was content to work alongside his neighbor.

He sent a message seeking trade, which, in part, read, “I am master of the lands of the rising sun while you rule those of the setting sun. Let us conclude a firm treaty of friendship and peace.” Shah Muhammad reluctantly agreed to make peace with his neighbor, but it didn’t last for long.

Within a year, a Mongol caravan was taken, and the 500 people attached to it were massacred in the Khwarezmian city of Otrar. This brought forth the wrath of the one man nobody wanted to anger, Genghis Khan.

In 1219, and lasting until 1221, Genghis Khan and his Mongol Horde laid waste to the Khwarezmid Empire. Within two years, all remnants of his former neighbor were wiped from the face of the Earth, but he didn’t stop there. Once he defeated the Khwarezmid Empire, he spread out, conquering nearly all of Eurasia.

Had vengeance not compelled him to attack, it’s possible Genghis Khan wouldn’t have expanded his reach to become the largest contiguous land empire in history.^[2]

8 James Annesley—A Royal Kidnapping

James Annesley was born into royalty, but like many royals throughout history, his life was a bit tumultuous due to his spot in the line of succession. His mother was the daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normandy, but she was thrown out of the house, possibly due to infidelity.

His father, Lord Altham, rejected his son, casting him out into the streets, which is where things got dicey for James. He was kidnapped and shipped to Delaware, where he was sold into indentured servitude.

His abduction was the plot of his uncle, Richard Annesley, who wanted to remove James from the line of succession to claim the lands of the Earldom of Anglesey for himself.

James’ life was challenging, to say the least, but through it all, he managed to return to Ireland to lay claim to his birthright, challenging his uncle in court. His uncle attempted to paint James as an illegitimate child, but he eventually lost the case — after trying to assassinate James a couple of times.

Unfortunately, James died before he could receive his lands. Still, his success saw his uncle ridiculed in public, having lost everything to James, and he died within the year.^[3]

7 Aaron Burr—The Burr/Hamilton Duel

If there’s one politician who holds a great deal of infamy in the history of the United States over all else, it’s Aaron Burr. The man is well-known to have killed Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, while still in office as the 3rd Vice President of the United States.

That killing, which came via a duel, was the culmination of years of animosity between the two men. Burr saw it as exacting the vengeance he sought for years against Hamilton. Several incidents led up to their feud, but the nail in the coffin was the 1804 New York Gubernatorial Election.

Burr lost that election, and he placed a lot of blame on Hamilton, who he believed orchestrated a smear campaign against him. He addressed this to Hamilton, who replied in a letter that he “cannot reconcile it with propriety to make the acknowledgment or denial, you desire,” which only served to further infuriate Burr.^[4]

Burr hated the man for 15 years over perceived grievances. To resolve his anger, he challenged him to a duel, which was held in Weehawken, New Jersey, on the same spot, Hamilton lost a son three years earlier to a duel. Hamilton shot but missed Burr. The Vice President had no problem hitting his target.^[5]

6 The Nakam—Revenge For The Holocaust

There have been many genocides throughout history, but few have achieved the enormous infamy of the Holocaust. There were far fewer survivors than there were dead victims, and a group of those survivors came together, calling themselves the Nakam, or “Revenge” in Hebrew.

The Nakam consisted of around 50 Holocaust survivors. They had only one goal: find and kill any Germans and Nazis in revenge for the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. They were indiscriminate about the people they targeted.

The leader of the group, Abba Kovner, hatched “Plan A” to poison the water supply of Nuremberg, Weimar, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Munich, but was caught and had to chuck the poison before he could initiate his plan.

For “Plan B,” the Nakam targeted German prisoners of war held by the United States by poisoning bread with arsenic. They targeted bakeries that supplied prisons and poisoned 3,000 loaves of bread, targeting more than 12,000 Nazi prisoners. More than 2,000 German POWs were sickened, but no deaths resulted from the attack.^[6]

The group mostly dissolved after that, and they escaped prosecution. Still, some broke off to form other groups to continue their mission. When members were asked about their actions, the last thing they were was apologetic, though, they were sorry their attacks failed.^[7]

10 Peculiar Revenge Rituals From Around The World

5 Saint Olga of Kiev—The Destruction Of The Drevlian People

Not many people are sainted after almost obliterating an entire culture of people, but Olga was one of them. Olga married Prince Igor in 912 AD and became the Queen of Kievan Rus. In 945, Igor traveled to meet with a Slavic tribe called the Drevylans to demand an increase in tribute.

Not wanting to dole out more money to the monarch, the Drevylans decided instead to kill Igor, which earned them the wrath of Queen Olga. Attempting to make peace with Olga, the Drevlyans sent ambassadors and their choice for King to propose a marriage pact.

This was met with Olga burning the men alive and burying them in a ditch, but her revenge was not sated. Olga laid siege to their capital city, Iskorosten, and her fury was horrifying. The following year, the Derevlians offered tribute, hoping to end her campaign of death and destruction. She accepted three sparrows from each household.

She had her men attach rags dipped in sulfur to the bird’s legs, so when they returned to their nests, they set the town on fire. The result was the complete and total killing of the remaining Drevylians, and earning Olga the satisfaction of her vengeance.^[8]

4 Akku Yadav—Retribution For Monstrous Atrocities

Bharat Kalicharan, also known as Akku Yadav, was a bad man… a very bad man. He was an Indian gangster who took pleasure in numerous crimes, including kidnapping, raping, extorsion, murder, and robbing whoever he wanted in and around the central Indian city of Nagpur, Maharashtra.

He especially enjoyed handing down gang rapes against women as a warning to others. He often did this to girls as young as ten. He was a brutal sociopath who enjoyed killing and torturing people, but his story of vengeance isn’t for him — it’s for the women he victimized for a decade.

When a woman named Usha Narayane resisted Yadav, she organized a mob and burned down his home. Yadav — a career criminal — went to the police for protection, but it didn’t work out for him. He was captured and lynched by several hundred women who stabbed and stoned his body for a full ten minutes.

They rubbed chili powder in his face, hacked off his penis, and destroyed his corpse. Several women admitted to the crime, and while some were arrested, everyone was eventually acquitted. Yadav’s death was the culmination of years of monstrous behavior, which were finally avenged through his own brutal murder.^[9]

3 Queen Boudicca—The Iceni Rebellion

Boudicca was married to Prasutagus, who ruled the Celts as an independent ally to Rome until his death. Though he named his two daughters as heir to his throne to rule alongside one another, Rome decided on a different plan, and instead, the two girls were raped, and the Queen was flogged.

Rome’s treachery deservedly infuriated Boudicca, who turned her armies against the most powerful military entity in the world (at the time). Boudicca initiated the Iceni Rebellion against the Roman conquest of Britain in 60 AD, and her wrath spilled blood all over the British Isles.

In her fury, Boudica torched Londinium, which left a layer of charred debris more than half a meter thick. That layer can still be found beneath modern London. Her conquest continued against Roman towns. It’s estimated that she killed as many as 70,000 civilians in Londinium, Verulamium, and Camulodunum.

Unfortunately, Boudica’s rebellion failed, resulting in a disastrous famine and other problems throughout the island. Despite the failure of her rebellion, Boudica is remembered as a British Folk hero, making her something of a cultural symbol throughout the United Kingdom.^[10]

2 The Mossad—Operation WRATH OF GOD

In 1972, 11 members of the Israeli Olympic Team were killed by a Palestinian militant group called Black September in what has been called the Munich Massacre. The event was eventually documented in the television film Sword of Gideon in 1986 and the Steven Spielberg film Munich in 2005.^[11]

At the time of the killings, the Israeli people and their government were incited to fury, which is understandable. Israel responded to the attack by directing the Mossad, the National Intelligence Agency of Israel, to launch Operation WRATH OF GOD, which was an apt description of the vengeful operation.

WRATH OF GOD’s goal was fairly simple: assassinate the members of the Palestinian armed militant group Black September and others within the Palestine Liberation Organization. The Op was authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the autumn of 1972, and it is believed to have been carried out for two decades.

The Mossad was brutal in delivering its vengeance against the perpetrators of the Munich massacre. When they closed in on a target, they sent a letter to the family of the deceased, hours before carrying out an assassination. The letters read, “A reminder we do not forget or forgive.”^[12]

1 Pierre Picaud—Vengeance For Wrongful Imprisonment

There’s a good chance that Alexandre Dumas based Edmond Dantès on a 19th-century shoemaker in Nîmes, France named Pierre Picaud. In 1807, Picaud was set to marry a wealthy woman, but three of his so-called friends accused him of spying for England before he could.

Picaud spent the next seven years imprisoned in the Fenestrelle fortress. He wasn’t told of the charges against him until year three. While imprisoned, he dug a tunnel into an adjacent cell, where he befriended an Italian priest named Father Torre.

A year later, Torre lay dying, so he bequeathed a treasure hidden in Milan to his friend. When the French Imperial Government fell in 1814, Picuad was released. He spent the next ten years plotting his revenge against the men who sent him to prison — after collecting the treasure, of course.

Picaud killed or had one man murdered. He then went after his former friend Loupian, who married his former fiancée. He tricked the man’s daughter into marrying a criminal, who he had arrested, resulting in her death from shock.

He then burned down Loupian’s restaurant, leaving the man impoverished. In the end, he exacted his revenge on everyone who wronged him (and then some). History only knows the depths of his quest for vengeance, thanks to his deathbed confession.^[13]

Top 10 Times Animals Held Grudges Against Humans And Took Revenge

Thanksgiving is usually a time for watching parades and stuffing one’s face with turkey and cranberry sauce. But the United States has always taken pride in celebrating the very essence of this holiday. Thanksgiving is a time to help others, to embrace that community spirit and give a little back. Shelters provide warm places for the homeless. Charities raise money for many important causes. And families gather round the table to give thanks. Thanksgiving reminds us that the United States is a truly warm and welcoming place.

From emergency service workers to the volunteers who man the food banks, many ordinary men and women will spend this Thanksgiving helping others. So let’s take some time to celebrate just some of these wonderful people and their sacrifices.

See Also: 10 Ways The History Of Thanksgiving Is Nothing Like You Imagined

10 Saving a Baby’s Life

On Thanksgiving in 2011, firefighters arrived at the scene of a Brooklyn apartment that was engulfed in flames. The fire began when a careless smoker dropped a lit cigarette on a mattress. In a frantic bid to douse the fire, one of the residents attempted to move the mattress into the bathroom. =The plan failed spectacularly, causing the fire to spread even faster.

The New York City Fire Department arrived within less than three minutes. One of the teams set about extinguishing the fire, while the others started to pull survivors from the smoke-filled building. One of the occupants leapt from a third-story window onto the awning of the adjacent building. The man was trapped and covered in blood. Firefighter Matthew Hanley, of Ladder 122, retrieved the man.

Meanwhile, firefighters David Newberry and Richard Myers rushed into the apartment to rescue the remaining residents. Myers successfully extracted a man and a woman. Amid the ruins, Newberry discovered a young baby who was no longer breathing. Firefighters Andrew Hartshorne and Neil Malone worked with the EMT crew to administer CPR. The youngster, Josiah Alexis, remained lifeless for almost six nerve-racking minutes. Thankfully, the crew managed to bring Josiah back. “It’s like a song to your ears to hear that baby get its breath on its own,” said Malone.

It took the firefighters an hour to control the blaze. The entire family was taken to hospital and placed on ventilators. “Make no mistake about it, there’s five people alive today due to coordinated efforts of FDNY,” explained FDNY Deputy Chief Kevin Woods, “and that, on this Thanksgiving, we are very thankful for.”^[1]

9 Disabled Teen Fulfills Thanksgiving Wish

Drew Bell was born with spina bifida, a congenital defect that led to problems with the development of his spine. Over the years, the youngster has undergone a total of seven corrective surgeries. Drew can no longer walk and remains confined to a wheelchair. But this has not stopped him from living a normal life.

After enrolling at Keller High School in Texas, he decided to join the school’s 400-strong marching band. Drew served as one of the band’s trumpeters and formed a strong friendship with fellow marcher Kailey Summons. But there was one obvious problem. Drew could not maneuver his wheelchair and play the trumpet at the same time. When the band directors pitched the idea of another student helping Drew during his marches, Kailey immediately volunteered. The two practiced together from that day on. This meant that Kailey sacrificed the opportunity to play her own instrument during the school’s football “Spirit Shows.”

“I just did it to make sure he knew that he always had a place in the band, and he always will,” Kailey explained. The 18-year-old had other commitments, too. As the leader of the brass section, she had to perform uniform checks and organize the freshman performers.

In 2018, Drew got to fulfill his wish of appearing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kailey was initially set to perform alongside him. But Drew’s mother, Kimberly Bell, wanted Kailey to march like any other band member. So Kimberly stepped in to push her son instead. “I’m just thankful this worked out because I want her to shine and have her moment,” she explained.^[2]

8 Texting the Wrong Number

In 2016, Jamal Hinton was surprised to see an offer of Thanksgiving dinner pop up on his phone. “Thanksgiving dinner is at my house on Nov. 24 at 3:00pm. Let me know if you’re coming. Hope to see you all.” The woman claimed it was his grandmother. Hinton was skeptical. “Well, it was either the wrong number or my grandma learned how to use her phone,” Hinton mocked.

When the 17-year-old asked for a photo, it became clear that Jamal was speaking to someone else’s grandmother. Jokingly, he asked if a plate was still up for grabs. The faux grandmother, Wanda Dench, insisted that Jamal attend her Thanksgiving dinner anyway. So that’s exactly what he did.

The happy accident has now sparked a tradition. In 2018, the Arizona teen attended Thanksgiving dinner at Wanda’s for the third year running. He even brought pumpkin pie. Jamal and his partner intend to invite Wanda over for future Thanksgiving dinners, once they get their own place. After the media drew attention to the story, Kraft Heinz gave Wanda a year’s supply of Stove Top stuffing. She donated most of the stuffing to a local food bank.^[3]

7 Extending the Family

National Adoption Day is observed on the Saturday before each Thanksgiving. Many states take the opportunity to rehome as many youngsters as possible. Every year, hundreds of events are organized nationwide to raise awareness of the 400,000+ children currently in the foster care system.

Brian Palmucci, a Massachusetts-based criminal defense attorney, knew for years that he would adopt a child. He witnessed vulnerable children entering the system for many reasons. Some parents became hooked on drugs. Others suffered from crippling mental health problems. So, on National Adoption Day 2018, Palmucci returned to his own courthouse and adopted a little boy, Michael.

That day, Brockton District Court united 37 children with new families. Nurse Shelly Sepulveda was there to adopt her sixth child, Kameron. The 9-year-old first met Shelly while he was in hospital battling a rare form of bone cancer. Kameron is now in remission.

A week later, Michael sat down to have Thanksgiving dinner with his new family. “We’re the ones that have been blessed with him, not really the other way around,” explained Allison Palmucci. “He’s changed our lives probably more than we’ve changed his.”^[4]

6 A Feast for the Homeless

It is no secret that California has a problem with homelessness. The authorities estimate that the Golden State was responsible for almost a quarter of all homelessness in the United States last year. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, almost 130,000 homeless people wander the streets of California. Tens of thousands of these people are veterans and young adults.

The Midnight Mission on Skid Row does what it can to help, preparing Thanksgiving dinner for thousands of homeless people each year. The mission also hands out other essential items, including hygiene kits, clothing, and blankets. Of course, many of California’s missions reach out to the needy all year round. They help combat homelessness, poverty, and drug addiction.

It is not unusual to see famous faces handing out Thanksgiving meals on Skid Row. Every year, actress Minnie Driver takes her son along to serve food. She hopes it will teach him to become part of the community and give back. In 2018, Kevin Hart’s daughter persuaded him to drop by on Thanksgiving. His family donated $50,000 to the mission and handed out food and care packages. “I will say I am happy to be a helping hand,” the comedian told the media. “But I think the people that were involved with the Mission on a daily basis… those are the real people that deserve the applause.”

Every Thanksgiving morning, thousands of Los Angeles residents participate in a charity run called the “Turkey Trot.” Adults enter the 5K and 10K trots, while the children take on the “Widdle Wobble” race. The Midnight Mission, which prepares over 400,000 meals annually, uses the proceeds of the run to pay for its supplies.^[5]

5 The 9-Year-Old Shoe Collector

Lynnea Montgomery has always wanted to help others. When Lynnea was just seven years old, she raised nearly $400 to buy clothes for the homeless. The Arizona girl then spent the next two years raising more money for her cause, even going so far as to use her own allowance.

Lynnea’s church would often donate clothes to the homeless around Thanksgiving. However, she noticed that they had received very few donations of shoes. So, the following year, Lynnea hatched a plan. She handed out hand-written flyers, asking Tucson residents to donate pairs of shoes.

The community came through. Nearly 200 pairs were donated over a six-month period. Lynnea even received several bags of shoes from L.A. Dodgers player Alex Verdugo. After washing any used shoes at the local laundromat, Lynnea spent Thanksgiving handing them out to the homeless. The fourth grader was joined by members of the Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, who had previously given her the Outstanding Volunteer Award. Lynnea spoke about what motivated her to keep doing charity work: “We’re not needy because we are rich as in we’re rich in God, so I know everything will come to me as God pleases, and I want that to come to others, and so I wanted to help others.”^[6]

4 Mattress Mack

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated vast swathes of southern Texas and Louisiana. The Category 4 hurricane inflicted around $125 billion of damage, dumping torrential rain across Houston and displacing nearly 40,000 residents. A staggering 70 percent of Harris County was under water. And the sheer weight of the floods caused Houston to sink two centimeters.

On the morning of August 27, Jim McIngvale waded through his waterlogged home to get ready for another day’s work. But the Houstonian businessman only saw the true scale of the destruction as he made his way to his furniture store. McIngvale, better known as “Mattress Mack,” was determined to help his community. He invited residents to join him at the Gallery Furniture store for food and shelter. He also dispatched his delivery trucks to rescue around 200 residents who were trapped.

When Thanksgiving came around, Mack hosted dinner for the people of Houston. Hundreds of volunteers prepared around 5,000 pounds of turkey and ham. They also served up cranberry sauce, cornbread, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pizzas, and hotdogs. A whopping 6,000 meals were served that day. Mack also paid for a group of first responders to fly out to Los Angeles and watch the Houston Astros play in the World Series.

Mack has used his wealth for many good deeds over the years. The 68-year-old has raised awareness of mental health issues, funded a mobile stroke unit, and donated furniture to local schools. Mack’s mantra is simple: “The essence of living is giving.”^[7]

3 The Theft that Rallied a Community

Volunteers at a food bank in Toledo, Ohio, were left in despair mere days before Thanksgiving 2017. The team arrived at the Cornucopia Food Pantry to learn that a bunch of crooks had stolen the charity’s only delivery trailer. The trailer was needed to ferry supplies to deprived community members. Without it, the volunteers were left dismantling each pallet of donations. They then had to load the items into their own cars, making the delivery process more difficult and time-consuming.

Executive Director Laura Marsh decided to post details of the incident on Facebook. She was quickly inundated with offers of help. “We started getting phone calls and phone calls and phone calls,” Marsh explained. “My phone was ringing until 2:30 in the morning from people that were interested in helping us.”

With help from the community, the Cornucopia Food Pantry was able to make all of their Thanksgiving deliveries. Local residents used their own trucks to deliver stocks of food and clothing. And a couple from Michigan donated $1,500 to fund a new loading ramp.^[8]

2 Haircuts for Turkeys

This year, barber Nate Rivera wants to make a pact with his clientele. The Kansas business owner says he will offer a free haircut to each customer who donates a turkey. The scheme, “haircuts for turkeys,” is designed to help families that are less fortunate.

Rivera, owner of N8’s Barbershop, understands that the costs associated with hosting Thanksgiving dinner can quickly mount up. Rivera needed a kidney transplant when he was a teenager, leaving his family with costly medical bills. Thankfully, friends and kindly strangers offered to pay for the Rivera family’s Thanksgiving dinner. “You can’t express how thankful I was for people that were wanting to be part of helping others without anything in return,” he said.

1,200 miles away, a Florida hairdresser is devising a similar plan. Casandra Raley will give free haircuts throughout Thanksgiving Day. The 24-hour haircut marathon is Raley’s way of showing appreciation to those who have supported her business. “I’ve been blessed to have clients in this community [who have] stood behind me and continue to come and help my business grow,” she explained. Raley will also provide free meals for her customers’ families and hand out bags of groceries.^[9]

1 The Paradise Firefighters

2018 was the year of California’s most destructive wildfire. The blaze, known as Camp Fire, was caused by a faulty power line above Butte County’s Poe Dam. The fire quickly spread via the dry scrubland, with powerful winds sweeping it into the town of Paradise. Within mere hours, the inferno had laid waste to the entire town. Other regions were badly affected, including Concow, Magalia, and Butte Creek Canyon. The fire tore through 153,000 acres of land, destroyed 18,800 structures, and claimed the lives of 85 people.

Thousands of firefighters were called upon to deal with the fire. The nighttime air turned blood red and was filled with ash and embers. Desperate escapees found themselves stranded on congested highways, watching as their own cars burst into flames. The windows of fire trucks were fitted with fire-resistant blankets. Cal Fire strike teams worked against the traffic to reach the ever-stalking wall of fire. Other teams made a last stand at a local gas station, forming a defensive line to protect fleeing motorists. The unfolding crisis raged for two weeks straight. Miraculously, the fire was halted through a combination of heavy rainfall and the tireless efforts of firefighters.

Even after the firestorm had died down, the emergency services continued their efforts. Over Thanksgiving, firefighters searched for survivors amid the smoldering ruins of Paradise. Cadaver dogs were deployed to sniff out any remains. Charities and churches orchestrated relief efforts, providing food and shelter to evacuees. And the Red Cross provided medical aid and fought to control an outbreak of the norovirus. As if that wasn’t enough, some of the firefighters even prepared Thanksgiving dinner for the victims of Camp Fire.

Cooks and volunteers from across the state descended upon Chico, situated 10 miles west of Paradise. There they assembled rows of stick burners and gas-assist grills. Organizers cooked around 7,500 pounds of turkey – enough to serve between 10,000 and 15,000 attendees. José Andrés and Guy Fieri coordinated the enormous banquet. The turkeys were brined at 8pm on the eve of Thanksgiving, and the cooking commenced at 5am. Thousands of meals were served to evacuees, first responders, and volunteers with the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Jim Irving was one of the firefighters who sacrificed his Thanksgiving to help prepare meals. He had already spent several grueling weeks battling Camp Fire. “To me this is almost like… I’d rather be here,” Irving said. “You know it’s helping other people and that’s part of what Thanksgiving’s about.”^[10]