Climate change is a contentious issue in the world today with many arguments about its cause and how we should deal with it. It wasn’t just recently, though, that climate change was important. Much of our history was influenced by it.

10It Shaped Our Evolution

Numerous findings indicate that great leaps and bounds in human evolution coincided with radical changes in the climate. For instance, three million years ago, the first modern Homo species emerged around the time that Africa began to dry out, changing from a wooded landscape to the grasslands we know today. As the flora of Africa changed, we had to adjust ourselves from primarily climbing trees to walking across vast areas.

Another consequence of Africa drying out is a change in our diet. Before, we didn’t have to go very far to find our next meal. But droughts required more cunning on our part to find food, and we had to adjust our palates to whatever we could gather, causing considerable changes to our ancestors over time.

9It Accelerated Stone Age Innovations

There are two different schools of thought when it comes to the effects of climate change on our Stone Age ancestors. One theory, which became widely popular after being announced in 2013, is that climate change would have made such drastic changes to our ancestors’ lives that they were forced to innovate so they could fight against nature. The other theory, only recently put forth, states that it wasn’t the drastic changes in environment that spurred innovations but rather experimentation during good times.

The evidence for the first theory is found in Africa where 30,000–280,000 years ago, Homo sapiens started to develop symbolic expression, tools, and jewelry during times of wildly varying climates. However, findings in 2016 suggest that while the period when many of these innovations took place was a chaotic time for the climate, our ancestors may have just been developing independently. Climate change certainly played some part in Stone Age innovations. What we don’t know is to what degree.

8Climate Change Led To Man’s Early Migrations

Early humans originated in Sub-Saharan Africa, and for much of the time after they first emerged, there was no possible way for them to leave. 70,000 years ago, northeast Africa was a wasteland that would have prevented anyone from crossing the area into the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. However, the time when our ancestors are first known to have left Africa coincides with a drastic change in the climate that would have allowed for far more vegetation and food, which would have permitted them to migrate to other areas.

In some places, glaciers would have prohibited migrations, but after a change in the climate, many began to melt, opening up passages like the land bridge that once existed in what is now the Bering Sea connecting Siberia and North America.

7The Rise And Fall Of Mesopotamia

12,000 years ago, Mesopotamia became the cradle of civilization because the vast majority of our earliest cultures emerged from there. After our ancestors migrated to the area, they found it was fertile due to favorable climate circumstances. While much of the area is now arid, it would then have been perfect for our ancestors to lay down their roots.

However, around 6,000 years ago, several civilizations in the Fertile Crescent were abruptly abandoned, most likely due to sudden droughts in the region. During the first half of the Holocene epoch, which continues today, Mesopotamia was the center of civilization, but conditions abruptly changed again, causing the cradle of civilization to lose importance as North Africa and Europe rose.

6Climate Change Destroyed The Southwestern Native Americans

The Anasazi tribe was the most advanced Native American culture we’ve discovered. They inhabited southwestern America, which today is an arid death trap for humans. During the time of the Anasazi, though, it was an oasis because 3,000 years ago, the region was cooler.

The Anasazi thrived for centuries, but a drastic change around AD 300 forced them to abandon their empire. The same can be said of the Pueblo Indians who are most famous today for their cliff dwellings. Around AD 700, the Southwest became inhabitable again, bringing on the rise of the Pueblo, but 650–450 years ago, the climate shifted again, bringing the Pueblos down. After the fall of the Pueblos, the region was never inhabited by another tribe.

5Droughts Brought Down Several Empires

Due to climate changes, several powerful empires have fallen apart. Egypt, mostly desert today but for around the Nile River, was quite fertile in the past, allowing Egypt to become one history’s greatest empires. From 1250–1100 BC, though, severe droughts caused the empire’s collapse, and while conditions did improve over time, they never recovered.

The same can be said of Ancient Greece, which lost its power due to a 300-year drought from 1200–850 BC. Starting in AD 250, droughts throughout the Roman Empire brought it to its knees.

4Climate Change And Genghis Khan

After Rome’s decline, the infamous Genghis Khan took his place to strike fear in the hearts of vulnerable countries. However, if it weren’t for a favorable climate, Khan may have never been able to create his vast empire.

In the late 1100s, intense drought devastated Mongolia just before Genghis Khan’s reign, but from 1211–1225, unusually heavy rainfall and a favorable climate caused Mongol lands to become fertile, allowing the thousands of horses the Mongols possessed to become well fed and able to carry on the military campaigns against Asia and Europe. Conversely, while the fertile lands of Mongolia stimulated their rapid expansion, it kept Khan out of China during his lifetime because the Chinese during the Southern Song Dynasty also flourished from the warm climates and had enough resources to keep Khan at bay. While a favorable climate change enabled Khan to become powerful, he himself left a mark on the climate because he took enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to offset a year’s worth of gasoline today.

3The Spread Of The Black Plague

The Black Plague ravaged the populations of Asia and Europe, killing off 25 million people from 1347–1353. Its spread is blamed on rats, but research now suggests black rats were not found in some areas hit by the plague.

During the time of the plagues, the world underwent a climate change known as the Medieval Warming Period, and rodent populations decrease during warmer times, so the plague bacteria would have to find another host. They turned to humans. Such fluctuations are still present in Asia today, supporting this theory.

2Climate Change Let The Spanish Empire Subjugate The Americas

Unbeknownst to the Spanish conquistadors who first began their conquests in Western Hemisphere, the climate of the Americas allowed them to take over without much resistance. They arrived at the perfect time because native civilizations were deteriorating due to severe droughts.

The Mayans reached their apex from AD 440–660 when wet conditions allowed them to flourish, but from 660–1000, the Mayans underwent extensive severe droughts that ravaged their empire. By the time the conquistadors arrived, the Mayans were unable to defend themselves. The Aztecs too underwent a decline due to a mega-drought that struck them in the 16th century. When they were conquered in 1519, there were 25 million people living in modern-day Mexico. A century later, there was just 1.2 million.

1Climate Change And Islam

The early history of Islam during the seventh century coincides with much of the Middle East languishing from climatic stress. The various nomadic tribes who inhabited Arabia were hit hard by the droughts, and the only way to survive was to be member of a tribe; to be exiled meant certain death.

In AD 615, when Muhammed was spreading Islam in Mecca, many of his followers were kicked out of their tribes, forcing them into the harsh climates that would have killed them had Muhammed and his acolytes not formed their own tribe in AD 622. Many social constructs at the time were built around the climatic stress experienced in the Middle East, which were eventually adopted by the followers of Islam. As conditions worsened, Islamists spread north, creating a massive empire. The need to keep ahead of the dire conditions around them created the foundations for the Islam we know today.

+Further Reading

Throughout the history of the planet, the global climate has changed dramatically (and sometimes incredibly rapidly), bringing with it fascinating changes. Here are some other lists about this ongoing process:

10 Animals That Surprisingly Benefit From Climate Change
10 Archaeological Sites Suffering From Climate Change
10 Conspiracy Theories About Weather Modification
10 Archaeological Discoveries Made Possible By Global Warming

Gordon Gora is a struggling author desperately trying to make it. He is working on several projects, but until he finishes one, he will write for for his bread and butter. You can write him at [email protected].

Dinosaurs continue to fascinate us. Every now and then, we discover a fossil that reveals some new facts about their lives—for example, their diets, injuries, or habitats. However, some fossils also reveal evidence of diseases that affected dinosaurs. Yes, these animals had their own illnesses, too, just like every other living creature out there.

The diseases ravaged the dinosaur population and even killed a good number of them. Many of these illnesses are still around today, and some even affect humans, which sort of makes the whole thing more interesting. We also included some early reptiles that lived around the time of the dinosaurs.

10 Dandruff

A 125-million-year-old dinosaur is the oldest creature known to have suffered from dandruff. That dinosaur is the microraptor, a small carnivore that was the size of a modern crow. Scientists have also found evidence of dandruff in two more dinosaurs, the beipiaosaurus and the sinornithosaurus. Both were about two times larger than the microraptor.

The researchers discovered evidence of dandruff by chance while studying how dinosaurs shed their feathers. They found that some parts of the feathers of the fossils contained corneocytes. This was a big deal because corneocytes are also formed when dandruff appears on human skin.

The researchers did not call it dandruff because corneocytes and dandruff were believed to only form on skin and not feathers. The researchers also found that dinosaurs shed their feathers in small bits—just like modern birds—and not in larger pieces as they would have expected for their size.^[1]

9 Cancer

Dinosaurs had their fair share of cancer, too. This was revealed by a study led by Bruce Rothschild of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio. Rothschild and his team made the discovery after scanning 10,000 dinosaur fossils stored in several museums across North America with an X-ray machine.

The researchers found that 29 of the 97 tested hadrosaur bones contained cancerous tumors. To be clear, not all tumors are cancerous. These were considered cancerous because they closely resembled tumors found in human cancer patients.

Researchers do not know why the hadrosaur often ended up with cancer. However, they think it was because of the conifers eaten by these animals. The conifer is a plant with needlelike leaves that is known to contain cancer-causing chemicals.^[2]

8 Malaria

Malaria has been killing living organisms since the time of the dinosaurs. In fact, some researchers like George Poinar Jr., an entomologist (a scientist who studies insects) from Oregon State University, even think it killed dinosaurs.

Interestingly, this version of malaria was transmitted by flying insects that were probably not mosquitoes. Researchers know a now-extinct midge, a small flying insect that lives in riverine areas, did transmit this earlier version of malaria 140 million years ago. However, they also suspect that sand and horseflies also transmitted malaria.

These flying insects would have bitten the dinosaurs, which they probably considered a major source of blood, the way the female Anopheles mosquito considers humans its primary source of blood today. The flies infected the dinosaurs with an extinct version of malaria called Paleohaemoproteus burmacis.

While the malaria definitely made the dinosaurs sick, Poinar does not think it could have made the dinosaurs go extinct.^[3]

7 Cataracts

There is no hardcore evidence that dinosaurs had cataracts. However, the theory was suggested by L.R. Croft in his book, The Last Dinosaurs. In fact, he says the widespread formation of cataracts made dinosaurs go extinct.

Croft claimed that these creatures started suffering from cataracts when excessive heat and dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the Sun caused global warming. The dangerous radiation also caused dinosaurs to develop cataracts, which later led to blindness. So many dinosaurs went blind that they soon went extinct after becoming unable to fend for themselves.

Croft argued that mammals and reptiles did not go extinct because they cleverly avoided the Sun and switched to hunting in the dark. However, the dinosaurs continued roaming during the day.

However, a lot of people do not think that dinosaurs went extinct after developing cataracts. Natural selection would have made the dinosaurs develop some form of protection against the dangerous radiation. Besides, the whole theory seems weird.

But that is what you get when you ask an ophthalmologist like L.R. Croft why dinosaurs went extinct.^[4]

6 Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis that affects humans today. It sets in when the slippery cartilage at the ends of bones wears out, causing the harsh bone joints to come into direct contact with each other. This causes friction between the ends of the bones, which soon wear out. Pain sets in at this point.

Researchers have discovered that the Caudipteryx, a small flying dinosaur that was just as big as the modern peacock, suffered from this condition, too. In fact, the dinosaur, which lived 130 million years ago, is the oldest creature known to have suffered from osteoarthritis.

Researchers made the discovery while studying the ankle bones of several birds and flying dinosaurs held in Chinese museums. They discovered that 3 of the 10 fossils of the Caudipteryx had the condition. However, researchers do not know why the dinosaur was susceptible to the condition. Interestingly, many small modern birds also suffer from osteoarthritis.^[5]

5 Osteomyelitis

In 1997, researchers exhumed the remains of a Lufengosaurus huenei that lived 170–200 million years ago. They observed that the ribs of the dinosaur were somewhat abnormal. Several parts were missing, indicating that it had suffered some injuries before its death. However, the researchers did not really deliberate on the cause of the injuries and just kept it in storage.

Two decades later, researchers restudied the fossil and determined that the rib injuries were caused when the dinosaur was attacked by a larger predator that was trying to eat it. The team could not confirm the identity of the predator. However, it would have been huge considering that the Lufengosaurus huenei was also enormous. It reached 6 meters (20 ft) in length and weighed almost two tons.

The Lufengosaurus huenei got away from the predator but with a terrible rib injury that soon got infected with some deadly bacteria. The bacteria caused pus to form inside the rib bones, resulting in a deadly bone disease called osteomyelitis.

In humans, osteomyelitis is caused by Staphylococcus aureus. However, the researchers did not confirm whether the bacteria also caused the bone disease in dinosaurs. Nevertheless, the disease could have caused severe fever, fatigue, and nausea in the dinosaur, subsequently leading to its death. Some of the bacteria could have escaped into the brain, making the animal’s demise swifter.^[6]

Curiously, the dinosaur could have still had the condition even if it was not bitten. The bacteria could enter its body some other way and travel into its rib bones through its blood.

4 Septic Arthritis

The hadrosaur, a herbivorous duck-billed dinosaur, seemed to be one unfortunate creature that suffered from a myriad of diseases. Besides cancer, it also suffered from septic arthritis, a severe condition that could have caused pain in its joints.

Unlike the osteoarthritis we mentioned earlier, septic arthritis is caused when germs travel through the blood to reach the joints. Septic arthritis can also be directly introduced into the joints during injury. In either case, it causes severe pain in the joints, sometimes immobilizing them.

Researchers discovered evidence of septic arthritis in dinosaurs while analyzing the elbow fossil of a hadrosaur. They found three unusual growths at the joints which were caused by septic arthritis. Scientists could not confirm how the hadrosaur ended up with the disease. However, they believe that it was so painful that the animal had difficulty walking.^[7]

3 Intestinal Worms

Dinosaurs suffered from several parasitic worms, including tapeworms and trematodes. Researchers do not know how long these tapeworms became, but they think they could have reached 30 meters (100 ft), which is actually small when talking about dinosaurs. Tapeworms reach over 24 meters (80 ft) in humans.

It is almost impossible to find evidence of parasitic worms in dinosaur bone and skin fossils because the worms probably died and decayed after the demise of the dinosaur. However, we can determine the kinds of worms that lived in dinosaurs by analyzing the coprolites (poop fossils) of the dinosaurs. Coprolites sometimes contain worm eggs or cyst samples.

This was how researchers George Poinar and Arthur Boucot discovered the first evidence of dinosaur worms in 2006. The poop belonged to an unidentified carnivorous dinosaur that lived somewhere in modern Belgium. The researchers found evidence of trematode and nematode worms along with a protozoa suspected to be Entamoeba.^[8]

2 Tooth Decay

The Labidosaurus hamatus (aka the lipped lizard) is one extinct creature we have probably never heard of. It was a 1-meter-long (3 ft) reptile that lived around the time the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. However, it is popular for other reasons. It is the earliest creature known to have suffered from toothache and decay.

We discovered this a few years ago when Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto Mississauga led a team of researchers to scan the lower jaw of a fossilized Labidosaurus hamatus. They discovered that the creature had suffered from severe tooth decay that caused it to lose a good number of teeth.

Researchers do not know how the jaw got infected even though they think it had to do with the animal’s diet. The Labidosaurus hamatus was an omnivore. However, its main diet consisted of plants. Herbivores and omnivores with a predominantly vegetarian diet often have teeth specialized for chewing.

This was a major disadvantage for the Labidosaurus hamatus. Excessive chewing wore down its enamel, leaving the nerves inside the teeth exposed. The nerves got infected with bacteria, causing the damaged tooth to develop an abscess. This caused a painful toothache and, consequently, tooth decay.^[9]

1 Tuberculosis And Pneumonia

Pneumonia and tuberculosis predate even dinosaurs. The earliest evidence of the lung diseases was found in the Proneusticosasiacus, a marine reptile that lived over 245 million years ago.

Researchers made the discovery after performing an X-ray analysis of a Proneusticosasiacus fossil. They discovered that some of its ribs were abnormal. Injury, cancer, fungi, and scurvy were initially suspected until the team narrowed it down to pneumonia and Pott’s disease, a lethal form of tuberculosis that often affects the bones.

The researchers discovered that the reptile had suffered from the infection for months or even years until it died. However, other scientists say that the fossil really belonged to a Cymatosaurus, a marine reptile that is closely related to the Proneusticosasiacus.^[10]

The Proneusticosasiacus and Cymatosaurus are closely related to another reptile called the nothosaur. This creature lived and bred on land but hunted in water, just like the seals of today. Interestingly, modern seals are the likeliest marine mammals to end up with tuberculosis.

Death, the great equalizer, is an inevitable fate cast upon the human race as we are brought into this world. Every breath may well be our last. At times, death comes quicker than others, ravaging large populations swiftly and without mercy. In modern times we’ve seen the horrors of a deadly disease tear apart our culture, families, and societal norms.

Devastating at first, we are now seeing the changes this earth-shattering virus produced. More people are working from home and are connected more than ever via the internet. Also, who doesn’t love food delivered right to their doorstep? While seemingly novel in modern times, it is not the first time the loss of millions of lives carved out a path of progress.

So here are 10 ways massive death tolls have affected human society.

10 Mosquitoes, the Louisiana Purchase, and a Free Haiti

After attempting to quell the first successful slave revolt in the world on the island of Haiti, Napoleon Bonaparte signed off the Louisiana Territory to Thomas Jefferson and the United States, while Haiti became the first independent black nation in the western world.

St. Domingue, as it was called then, had a massive amount of mosquitoes. Many fatalities were caused during the 1791 Haitian Revolution due to diseases such as yellow fever and malaria. General Charles Leclerc, Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother-in-law and commander of the French forces on the island, estimated that 100-200 men were dying a day due to yellow fever.

On November 2, 1802, Leclerc would die of the disease. In addition, over 24,000 colonialists died—out of the 40,000 there—due to the brave efforts of Haitian freedom fighters and the effects of yellow fever. The island had an overwhelming population of 500,000 slaves at the time, and 100,000 of them would die fighting for their independence. Many of them were immune to the disease, instead dying during the brutal fighting. Napoleon cut his losses before their independence in 1804, selling the 828,000-square-mile (2.14-million-square-kilometer) colony of Louisiana to America for $15 million in December of 1803. It still stands as one of the cheapest land deals in world history.^[1]

9 The Black Plague Brings Economic Power to Lower Classes

The Black Plague, Yersinia pestis, spread from the shabby, worn-down docks of Italy to the frost-bitten plains of Russia between 1347 and 1351. Fleas carried the disease from rodents to humans, and in its wake, nearly 20 million people died. Some estimates hike that number even further up to 28 million. While this catastrophe laid waste to a vibrant yet conflicted, flourishing society, it paved the way for an even more prosperous social structure to emerge.

Before the Black Plague, nine out of ten common folk made their living as farmers. Crops were generally of poor quality due to the high demand of the aristocracy. Over-fallowing of the soil led to poor conditions and crops. After the plague, nearly three-fourths of the European population was decimated, including the landowning class. Yet the land prospered. It became healthier as grain stocks now overflowed and fallowing was needed less.

A smaller population also meant higher wages for those who survived, and in turn, many peasants demanded greater economic satisfaction. Cash crops such as olives, grapes, apples, pears, and hops became more common as farmers started attending to their own profits. A mercantile class emerged, forging the early elements of the middle class. This new class of peasants greatly enjoyed their newfound freedoms, and once unheard of in medieval Europe, rebellions began to emerge.^[2]

8 The Black Plague Ushered in Higher Education

Many nuns and holy men passed away due to the Black Plague. Since medicine and general knowledge were lacking at the time, the Catholic Church sent these holy servants to heal the sick with the power of God in hospitals and infirmaries. This, however, only decimated their numbers as they were not immune to the disease, despite their faith in the Lord.

In order for the Church to recoup its losses and train more clergymen quickly, many universities were founded for the first time. In addition, many educators passed due to the bubonic plague, and education standards plummeted. Civic-minded members of the upper class often founded centers of higher education to tackle both issues. For example, Trinity Hall of Cambridge University was founded in 1350 by the Bishop of Norwich, William Bateman.^[3]

7 The American Civil War and U.S. Industrialization

With over 600,000 casualties, the American Civil War represents the largest loss of American life on United States soil. The agricultural and primarily slave-based economy of the southern states fell apart, and the industrial north took control of the once-divided nation. Due to industrial progress and the laissez-faire attitude of American economics, railroad lines quickly sprang up across the country.

The post-war economy boomed as many southern workers moved north for work, and the cloistered wartime economy came to an end. Soon the United States was outproducing many western European nations. Coupled with continuous waves of immigration and a larger workforce, this led to large amounts of exports to other nations via foodstuffs, raw materials, textiles, and crafted goods. While the legacy of the Civil War did not end racial tensions in the United States, and industrialization led the world to the effects of climate change we see today, it did power progress. And this created many of the modern amenities we often take for granted.^[4]

6 The Ambulance Emerged from the American Civil War

In 1864, the United States Congress created the Union Army Ambulance Corps to swiftly whisk wounded soldiers away from the battlefield to safety. While not the first ambulance service to be used in world history, the first civilian ambulance service being created in London in 1832, it was the beginning of the modern ambulance that continues to save countless lives today.

The first hospital civilian ambulance service was offered by a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1865. In 1869, a former Union Surgeon, Edward B. Dalton, started a service out of Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Due to the economic boom and industrialization following the Civil War, American ambulance services quickly grew and set the bar for hospital transportation to this day.^[5]

5 The Vietnam War Ended the World Economy’s Dependency on Gold

Before 1944, the world economy was based on the price of gold. After WW2, the United States held the highest amount of gold reserves in the world, roughly three-fourths of the world supply. When the International Monetary Fund was founded in July of 1944, it was formed to help war-torn European nations recover from the devastation of WW2 and counteract hyperinflation that emerged due to wartime costs. Countries could redeem U.S. dollars for gold at $35 an ounce, stabilizing a formerly shaky economic system.

Due to the high cost of the Vietnam War—$141 billion in 14 years supporting both American troops and the South Vietnamese army—a devalued dollar, and a competitive market, there was an influx of U.S. dollars within the world system. By 1971, American President Richard Nixon had imposed wage/price controls and ended the world’s reliance on the U.S. dollar, essentially ending the gold standard.

Currencies of the world floated against each other as they still do today. Two million Vietnamese lives were lost during the war, along with 58,000 American casualties. The war is largely seen as the first American military loss in world history. It permanently changed the world’s economy and marked the downfall of America’s most prosperous period.^[6]

4 From World War II Nazis to the Moon

On June 20, 1945, Dr. Wernher Von Braun was brought to the United States to assist American scientists in developing intercontinental ballistic missiles. Van Braun, however, was a former Nazi officer, a part of the Nazi party since the 1930s, and an SS officer. The Nazis devastated the population of Europe, killing an estimated 17 million people in their efforts to “cleanse” human society during and leading up to WW2. However, Von Braun was deemed valuable to the U.S. government for inventing the V2 rocket, the first sub-orbital cruiser missile in world history.

Charges against his war crimes were diminished in an effort to further American prowess across the globe. He was one of many scientists brought into the U.S. scientific community in a secret maneuver by the CIA known as Operation Paperclip. Over 500 scientists were brought to the United States to combat Soviet technology following the war. Eventually, this would lead to the founding of NASA and the implementation of the V2 rocket in the Apollo 11 spacecraft. On July 16, 1969, man landed on the moon for the first time—thanks to this notorious war criminal.^[7]

3 The Atomic Bomb Helped Create Toyota and Hitachi

Before World War II and the horrors of the atomic bomb, Japan’s economy was controlled by ten major companies known as “Zaibatsu.” They had been in existence since 1868, when 70% of Japan’s population was agricultural, using large tax revenues to fund their enterprises.

When Japan accepted the terms of the Postdam Agreement and an unconditional surrender on August 10, 1945, over 200,000 people had died due to the release of two atomic bombs on the island nation. During the American reconstruction of Japan, the Zaibatsu was disintegrated, and free-market capitalism flourished. Companies such as Toyota and Hitachi emerged and brought us the technological wonders we continue to enjoy today.^[8]

2 WWI Solidified Women’s Right to Vote in America

World War I acted as the final straw for women across the globe during the start of the 20th century. Men were away at war, and women took their place across factories and workplaces around the world. It added fire to an already growing movement. Women in various countries demanded equality for their efforts and the right to vote.

In the years following the deadliest war in world history, with somewhere between nine and ten million wartime casualties, women in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Austria, and the Netherlands gained this right and much more.^[9]

1 Volcanic Eruption of Pompeii and Western Art & Culture

The destruction of Pompeii claimed over 16,000 lives in total, encasing over 2,000 villagers of the small Italian town eternally in ash. Abandoned until 1748, the rediscovery of the ruins in Pompeii uncovered the beautiful classical buildings of the city. This led to an explosion in Neoclassical, Greek, and Italianate architecture around the world.

Stucco, a distinct discovery within the ruins of Pompeii, became more commonly used among Western buildings. Most noted as being used by Scottish architect Robert Adam, it is still used to this day in many Western homes. This and other archaeological excavations helped to spur the Greek revival cultural movement that many western countries lived by throughout the 1800s.^[10]

Can any animated show claim to be more influential than The Simpsons? At this point, it may be the most influential TV show period, animated or otherwise. And whether you love or hate the “new” Simpsons, you can’t deny that the show has been a powerhouse of comedy for over 30 years now. But beyond wacky hijinks, the Simpson family has found ways to have an effect on the real world as well, sometimes in ways more shocking than you might think.

This is an encore of one of our previous lists, as presented by our YouTube host Simon Whistler. Read the full list!