When you hear the phrase 10 more incredible, you might picture space rockets or skyscrapers, but nature has been quietly out‑smarting us for millennia. From the sleek skin of a shark to the humble termite mound, the animal kingdom offers a treasure trove of engineering marvels that scientists are copying to build better, greener, and more efficient technology. Let’s explore ten astonishing ways Mother Earth has already given us a high‑tech edge.

10 More Incredible Inspirations From Nature

10 Sharkskin And Air Travel

Sharks have earned a fearsome reputation not just for their razor‑sharp teeth but also for the ultra‑smooth skin that lets them slice through water with barely a ripple. Their surface is covered in microscopic, tooth‑like structures called dermal denticles, each bearing tiny grooves that channel water and dramatically cut drag.

That very design sparked a flurry of “aha!” moments among engineers. A trio of researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Society studied sharkskin up close and invented a special paint that mimics those denticle grooves. When brushed onto a stencil and sprayed onto an aircraft’s skin, the coating recreates the shark’s drag‑reducing surface. The scientists estimate that coating every plane on Earth with this paint could spare up to 4.48 million tons of fuel each year.

9 Schools Of Fish And Wind Farms

Watching a school of fish dart in perfect harmony is like seeing a living, breathing fluid dynamics demo. Researchers believe that each fish rides the wake of its neighbors, conserving energy by exploiting the flow patterns generated by the group.

Inspired by this collective efficiency, Professor John Dabiri’s team at Caltech built vertical wind turbines that mimic fish schooling. When clustered, the turbines feed off each other’s airflow, boosting overall power output far beyond that of solitary, conventional windmills. Follow‑up studies at Stanford, Johns Hopkins and the University of Delaware have confirmed the same energy‑saving benefits.

8 Humpback Whales And Turbine Blades

Humpback whales aren’t just massive; they’re also masters of fluid mechanics. Their massive flippers sport a series of bumps called tubercles, which act like tiny winglets, letting the whales slice through water with minimal drag while maintaining superb maneuverability.

Engineers transferred that principle to wind‑energy technology. Professor Frank Fish of West Chester University led a team that added tubercles to turbine blades, producing a design that not only reduces drag but also captures wind at lower speeds. The venture, now known as Whalepower, is dedicated to refining turbine and fan designs based on these whale‑inspired contours.

7 Geckos And Power Adhesive

Ever envied a gecko’s ability to scamper up walls as if gravity were optional? The secret lies in millions of microscopic hairs—setae—on their feet, which generate weak van der Waals forces that let the lizards cling to virtually any surface.

Translating that natural grip into a product, three University of Massachusetts Amherst graduates launched Geckskin, a reusable super‑adhesive that can hold up to 317 kg (700 lb) on a smooth wall. The material has earned praise from CNN, Bloomberg and The Guardian, which dubbed it “flypaper for elephants.”

6 Bats And SmartCanes

Bats navigate the night with echolocation, emitting high‑frequency sonar pulses that bounce off obstacles and return as echoes, painting a mental map of their surroundings.

Taking a cue from this biosonar, researchers at India’s Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi devised the SmartCane. The device mounts on a standard white cane and emits bat‑like ultrasonic bursts. When the waves hit an object and bounce back, the SmartCane vibrates, warning the user of potential hazards.

While commercial options such as the Ultracane already exist, the SmartCane aims to democratize the technology by offering a comparable solution for roughly $50, a fraction of the Ultracane’s $1,000 price tag.

5 Beetles And Water Harvesting

In the arid Namib Desert, the beetle Stenocara gracilipes has evolved a remarkable way to drink fog. Tiny, glass‑like bumps on its back collect moisture from the mist, which then slides down channels toward its mouth—a lifesaving trick that occurs only a handful of times each month.

Scientists have tried to mimic this natural fog‑harvester. The British Ministry of Defence explored fog‑collecting tents and roof tiles in 2001, while UK‑based start‑up NBD Nano, founded by four biology‑savvy graduates, is developing a self‑filling water bottle modeled after the beetle’s shell. By 2012 they were prototyping a market‑ready version.

4 Sea Sponges And Solar Panels

At first glance, the orange puffball sponge seems like a simple marine creature, but it harbors a hidden talent: extracting silicon from seawater to build its porous skeleton. This natural silica production could inspire cheaper, greener solar‑cell manufacturing.

Typical solar‑panel fabrication relies on high‑temperature, low‑pressure processes that are energy‑intensive. Daniel Morse’s team at UC Santa Barbara discovered that the sponge’s enzyme silicatein converts dissolved silicic acid into silica spikes, a low‑energy pathway.

By swapping seawater for liquid zinc nitrate and replacing silicatein with ammonia, the researchers reproduced the sponge’s silica‑forming reaction in the lab, applying it to photovoltaic cells. Though still experimental, the method promises a more affordable route to solar power.

3 Wood Wasps And Space Drills

Space‑age drilling faces a trio of problems: bulk, sluggish speed, and high power draw. Traditional Earth‑style drills also tend to float away in micro‑gravity, making them unwieldy on spacecraft.

The solution comes from the female wood wasp, or horntail wasp, which uses a needle‑like ovipositor to bore into solid wood without harming itself. In 2006, four University of Bath scientists proposed a space‑drill modeled after that ovipositor, arguing it could pierce rock with minimal power and mass.

Professor Julian Vincent, who led the biomimetics team, noted that the biggest hurdle was convincing space agencies to adopt the novel design, as engineers often favor proven technology over fresh concepts.

2 Butterflies And Glare‑Free Screens

The glasswing butterfly’s wings are covered in irregular nanoscopic structures that scatter incoming light, dramatically cutting glare. German researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology uncovered this property in 2015, publishing their findings in Nature Communications.

If the technique can be transferred to smartphone displays, users could finally read their screens comfortably under bright sunlight, eliminating the familiar squint‑and‑shade routine.

1 Termites And Green Buildings

Termite mounds across Africa are architectural marvels, built entirely from earth and engineered to regulate temperature and ventilation. Their north‑south orientation captures low‑angle sun at the base while shielding the interior from peak heat, and a network of vents opens and closes to funnel warm air upward.

Architects worldwide have borrowed this passive climate control for human structures. Zimbabwe’s Eastgate Centre, designed by Mick Pierce, mimics termite ventilation, forgoing conventional HVAC systems in favor of fans and vents that maintain comfortable indoor temperatures year‑round.

Writer Tiffany, a Southern‑California freelance journalist, notes that these bio‑inspired designs showcase how nature’s time‑tested solutions can lead us toward a more sustainable built environment.

In this fascinating roundup of 10 ancient humans, we explore how our prehistoric predecessors might outshine today’s elite sports stars. Author Peter McAllister wrote a book called Manthropology: The Science of Why the Modern Male Is Not the Man He Used to Be. It’s a fact‑based, humorous look at why modern men are inferior to their historical counterparts in almost every way possible.

10 Ancient Humans Who Could Beat Modern Sports Icons

10 Usain Bolt vs. Ancient Australians

Usain Bolt clocked 100 metres (328 ft) in a blistering 9.69 seconds at the Beijing Olympics, translating to a sprint speed of roughly 42 km/h (26 mph). Yet fossilized tracks dated around 20,000 years ago from Australia reveal that ordinary members of that era could already manage about 37 km/h (23 mph) while sprinting barefoot through soft mud. If those ancient runners were equipped with modern spikes, a proper track, and systematic training, they could have pushed their top speed to roughly 45 km/h (28 mph).

These Pleistocene Australians boasted elongated limbs and leg bones that were 40 % denser and sturdier than those of today’s humans. As nomadic hunters who needed to chase down prey, speed was an essential survival trait. Their environment, populated by swift kangaroos and emus, demanded rapid movement. While fossil footprints are scarce and likely not left by the fastest individual, the average modern human tops out at about 24 km/h (15 mph), which is 18 km/h (11 mph) slower than Bolt. Assuming the ancient tracks represent an average runner, a Pleistocene Aussie equivalent of Bolt could have surged to a staggering 63 km/h (39 mph).

9 Samuel Wanjiru vs. Native Americans

Kenyan marathon legend Samuel Wanjiru shattered the Olympic record in Beijing 2008, finishing in 2 hours 6 minutes 32 seconds. Imagine, however, a late‑19th‑century Mojave Native American joining the race; Wanjiru would likely have settled for silver. The Mojave engaged in a vigorous desert game akin to kickball, sprinting along the Colorado River while propelling a wooden ball ahead of them.

This relentless activity burned an astounding 17,000 calories in a single day—nearly double the energy expenditure of Tour de France cyclists. One Mojave individual reportedly covered 322 km (200 mi) within a 24‑hour span. By comparison, Greek ultra‑marathoner Yiannis Kouros holds the modern 24‑hour record at 304 km (189 mi), achieved in spikes on a track and without the threat of wolves or rattlesnakes.

8 Kerri Walsh Jennings vs. Pleistocene Aborigines

The Pleistocene Aboriginal peoples would have been formidable volleyball competitors, not only because of their Bolt‑like speed or lanky frames that modern basketballers admire, but also thanks to a distinctive physical advantage: longer arms. On average, they possessed an extra 10 cm (4 in) of wrist length compared to contemporary humans.

For a volleyball star like Kerri Walsh Jennings, extended arms are a game‑changer. An underhand serve benefits from longer arms by generating greater ball velocity, while an overhand smash gains both speed and reduced airtime thanks to the extended reach. Moreover, those extra centimeters provide a broader defensive radius, crucial for counter‑attacking opponents’ serves.

7 Olympic Rowers vs. Athenian Oarsmen

If you assume today’s Olympic rowers are the pinnacle of rowing prowess, think again. While modern athletes can glide their shells through water at impressive speeds, the ancient Greeks fielded oarsmen who could outpace any contemporary rower by a wide margin. In 427 B.C., an Athenian trireme— a warship powered by 34,000 oarsmen—completed a 340‑km (211‑mi) voyage to Lesbos in just 24 hours.

When modern rowers attempted the same feat in a reconstructed trireme, they could only sustain the ancient speed for a few seconds, managing a peak of roughly 9 km/h (5.6 mph). Historical accounts suggest even a modest Athenian crew could maintain 14 km/h (8.7 mph), a pace beyond the aerobic capacity of today’s elite rowers. This implies that Athenian oarsmen possessed an innate, superior aerobic endurance.

6 Wladimir Klitschko vs. Australopithecus

Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko may appear intimidating, yet the diminutive Australopithecus would likely have bested him in a boxing bout. Despite standing roughly 60 cm (2 ft) shorter than Klitschko, Australopithecus shared physiological traits with chimpanzees—creatures that possess four times the muscle strength of humans. Chimps have been documented deadlifting 272 kg (600 lb), and a female chimp once pulled an astonishing 572 kg (1,261 lb) with a single hand.

In a ring scenario, a chimp—or its Australopithecus ancestor—wouldn’t need to deliver a knockout punch; a single, powerful swing could easily toss a heavyweight over the ropes. Moreover, these early hominins were swift and agile, allowing them to land decisive blows while larger, slower fighters like Klitschko or the legendary Rocky Marciano would be left stumbling.

5 Jan Zelezny vs. Ancient Greeks

While German javelin prodigy Matthias de Zordo may sound like a 1960s B‑movie villain, the 24‑year‑old was eclipsed by Jan Zelezny’s 1996 world record of 98.48 m (323.1 ft). Yet even Zelezny would fall short of the ancient Greeks, whose Olympians hurled javelins beyond 150 m (492 ft). It’s worth noting that the Greeks employed lighter spears and a leather throwing thong that added roughly 10‑25 % to their distances.

In the early 1800s, Australian Dalleburra Aboriginal men could launch hardwood spears 110 m (361 ft) unaided. British sports educator Lieutenant Colonel F. A. M. Webster, himself a national champion javelin thrower, reported that early‑20th‑century Turkana men of East Africa routinely out‑threw him by several meters using traditional spears.

4 Viktor Ruban vs. Mongol Archers

Ukrainian archer Viktor Ruban secured gold in Beijing by landing five bullseyes out of twelve arrows from a distance of 70 m (230 ft). In stark contrast, during the era when archery meant life or death, Genghis Khan’s warriors could strike a tiny red flag positioned 150 m (492 ft) away. One elite Mongol archer famously felled a flying duck with a single shot, and another reputedly hit a target 536 m (1,759 ft) distant.

Seventeenth‑century Carib archers could hit an English half‑crown coin at 76 m (250 ft). Modern Olympic archers typically train about 40 hours weekly, whereas Mongol archers logged roughly 80 hours, beginning their regimen at the tender age of two. By seventeen, they would have amassed an estimated 64,000 practice hours—far surpassing the 10,000‑hour benchmark often cited for achieving elite status. Contemporary archers wield high‑tech carbon‑fiber recurve bows equipped with sights and stabilizers, yet the Mongols mastered horseback archery without such aids.

3 Ilya Ilyin vs. Neanderthals

Kazakhstan’s weightlifting powerhouse Ilya Ilyin captured gold at the 2014 World Championships, but a Neanderthal would have dwarfed his performance. Male Neanderthals boasted roughly 20 % more muscle mass than modern humans, granting them a strength advantage of 126‑138 % over us. Ilyin’s clean‑and‑jerk topped out at 242 kg (534 lb), with a combined total of 432 kg (952 lb). By contrast, a top‑tier Neanderthal, given identical training, could have managed a clean‑and‑jerk of 309 kg (681 lb) and a total of 554 kg (1,221 lb).

In the women’s division, Chinese lifter Zhou Lulu set a 75‑kg (165‑lb) world record with a combined 328 kg (723 lb). Yet the strongest female Neanderthal could have lifted a staggering 475 kg (1,047 lb), eclipsing the current men’s heavyweight record. Female Neanderthals were 145 % stronger than today’s women and possessed 10 % more body mass than the average European male. Their shorter arms would have further amplified their lifting capacity.

2 Javier Castellano vs. Mongol Riders

Javier Castellano topped the earnings chart in 2014, raking in more than $25 million, and in 2013 amassed over $26 million. While Genghis Khan’s Mongol warriors didn’t earn comparable fortunes, they could outpace any modern jockey in a straight‑line dash. For the nomadic steppes dwellers, riding felt as natural as walking. A fully equipped Mongol could cover 130 km (81 mi) in a single day, traversing rugged mountains and arid deserts.

Genghis Khan leveraged these riders to relay messages across his sprawling empire. When his grandson Kublai Khan fell out of favor with the nomads, the empire’s dominance waned, underscoring the strategic importance of these unparalleled equestrians.

1 Javier Sotomayor vs. Tutsi Men

High‑jump legend Javier Sotomayor cleared a world‑record 2.45 m (8 ft 0 in) in 1993—a remarkable feat that still stands unrivaled. Yet his achievement pales beside the daily jumps of 19th‑century Rwandan Tutsi men, for whom leaping over one’s own height signified true manhood. Many Tutsi were naturally tall enough to impress NBA scouts, and they routinely vaulted over 2 m (6 ft 7 in).

One Tutsi reportedly achieved a staggering 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in) without any formal training or technique coaching. If taught the Fosbury Flop—the mid‑air wiggle that adds extra height—a Tutsi jumper could easily surpass 3 m (9 ft 10 in), dwarfing modern Olympic records.

Crispin Andrews is a freelance writer from England. He writes about science, technology, popular culture history, sports, and the unexplained.

When medical science was still in its infancy and there was no proven cure for most infectious scourges, the best advice physicians could offer was the Latin maxim Cito, longe, tarde – “Leave quickly, go far away, and return slowly.” This ancient counsel captures the desperate reality of the top 10 historic measures people resorted to when faced with a raging epidemic.

Top 10 Historic Ways Explained

From stinky concoctions to elaborate border controls, our ancestors tried everything they could imagine to keep the dreaded pestilence at bay. Below we rank the most out‑of‑the‑ordinary strategies, preserving the quirky details and vivid anecdotes that made each method memorable.

10 Smells

Miasma theory, the belief that foul air and offensive odors caused disease, put a huge amount of faith in the power of scent to ward off illness. Authorities even fined Londoners in 1357 if they left any rank animal products or dung in the streets, hoping that cleaner air would stop the spread.

For those unable to keep their surroundings odor‑free, the alternative was to mask the smell with perfume and sweet fragrances. Yet the most infamous aromatic remedy came from a group of four thieves who concocted a potent vinegar mixture of herbs, spices, and garlic. They called it Four Thieves Vinegar, believing its strong smell would protect them while they looted plague‑stricken homes. When caught, the thieves surrendered the recipe to avoid hanging.

9 Masks

Some plague‑fighters turned to olfactory defenses for more noble reasons. Medieval physicians who tended the sick often wore distinctive beaked masks, which to modern eyes look like bizarre bird‑hats. In reality, these were the Hazmat suits of the Middle Ages.

The doctors also donned waxed aprons to keep blood and other fluids from soaking through their garments, and leather gloves to avoid direct contact with patients. Crystal lenses in the masks allowed clear vision while shielding the eyes from droplets. Most importantly, the beak was packed with pungent herbs and spices, under the belief that the terrible smells of the infected caused the disease. Some physicians even chewed garlic while examining victims, hoping its odor would purify the air they inhaled.

8 Fires

When personal protection proved insufficient, city officials tried to cleanse entire urban atmospheres by lighting massive bonfires. The heat and smoke were thought to purify the air and drive disease‑causing miasmas away.

During the Great Plague of 1665, London’s Lord Mayor ordered every resident to amass enough combustible material to keep a fire burning nonstop for three full days and nights. Citizens obeyed, and the streets were left empty save for those tending the flames and ensuring sparks didn’t ignite nearby homes. The diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the city awash in firelight, yet the effort failed to stop thousands from dying.

Oddly, smoking was once considered beneficial to health, as the tiny “bonfire” of tobacco in a pipe was thought to cleanse the lungs.

7 Kill Cats

Amid the Great Plague, London’s authorities also decreed a culling of cats and dogs, mistakenly believing that eliminating these animals would curb the disease. In reality, the plague was spread by rats and their fleas, so removing feline predators may have unintentionally prolonged the outbreak by allowing rat numbers to swell.

Cats have historically suffered during crises. In 18th‑century France, crowds would capture cats in nets or cages and hoist them over fires, believing their ashes offered protection against witchcraft and brought good luck.

Nonetheless, cats could indeed carry fleas that harboured the plague bacterium, so the extermination effort had a grain of logic, albeit a misguided one.

6 Bloodletting

Bleeding patients was a favorite pastime of physicians for centuries. The ancient doctor Galen championed bloodletting so fiercely that his colleagues mocked him, recalling a tale where he tried to bleed a fever out of a patient and the floor was awash with blood, prompting the quip, “You really slaughtered that fever.”

Later physicians refined the practice by attaching leeches to the body, allowing the sanguine parasites to draw blood in a relatively painless manner. Women known as leech finders would wade into shallow waters, letting the creatures latch onto their bare legs, then selling the engorged leeches at a premium.

Modern medicine now advises against bloodletting for most ailments, though leeches have made a scientific comeback in microsurgery to improve circulation in reattached limbs.

5 Quarantine

Ships were notorious breeding grounds for disease in the Middle Ages, with cramped decks fostering rapid transmission. Recognizing this, the Republic of Venice instituted a groundbreaking protocol in 1448: any vessel arriving in port had to remain anchored for forty days before its crew and cargo could disembark.

This forty‑day waiting period gave rise to the term “quarantine.” The number itself resonated with the biblical motif of a 40‑day period of purification, such as Jesus’ fast in the desert. Modern epidemiology notes that the average interval from bubonic plague infection to death is about 37 days, making Venice’s precaution remarkably prescient.

4 Cordon Sanitaire

Sometimes entire empires erected barriers to keep the pestilence out. In 1770, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria established a cordon sanitaire along her frontier with the Ottoman Empire, a defensive line that remained intact for 101 years without a single plague outbreak in Austrian lands.

The 1,600‑kilometre (1,000‑mile) border was manned by soldiers stationed within musket range of one another. Travelers and goods could only cross at designated checkpoints, where they were held for health inspections. In peaceful times, individuals were monitored for 21 days; during active Ottoman outbreaks, the observation period extended to 48 days.

To ensure fabrics and wool weren’t contaminated, authorities placed them in warehouses where peasants were paid to sleep atop the bundles. If the sleepers emerged unharmed, the goods were deemed safe.

3 Whipping Yourself

In antiquity, plagues were sometimes blamed on Apollo’s invisible arrows. By the Middle Ages, however, many Christians believed the disease was divine punishment for sin. This conviction gave rise to the flagellant movement, where groups of believers publicly scourged themselves to atone for collective guilt.

In 1349, flagellants marched into London, naked and bleeding, each carrying a three‑tailed scourge with knots and occasionally sharp nails. They beat their own flesh in a theatrical display of penance, hoping the self‑inflicted pain would appease an angry God.

The same year, Pope Clement VI issued a papal bull condemning the flagellants, arguing that only the Church held the authority to forgive sins. Moreover, the large gatherings of bloodied bodies only served to accelerate disease transmission.

2 Mercury, Unicorns, And Goat Stones

The placebo effect is a potent force: when patients believe a remedy works, they often feel better, even if the treatment contains no active ingredient. In the past, physicians capitalized on this by prescribing exotic, costly substances that dazzled the wealthy.

Mercury, the only liquid metal at room temperature, fascinated doctors for its quicksilver properties. Some apothecaries also sold “unicorn horn” powder—likely the long, spiral tusk of the narwhal—promising miraculous cures.

Yet one particularly pragmatic doctor dismissed these extravagant cures in favor of a humble bezoar, a stone formed in the stomachs of goats and other ruminants. He proclaimed that this modest object could counteract the plague, offering a far more affordable alternative.

1 Live Chickens

In the 17th century, alongside snake‑based lozenges, some physicians turned to live poultry as a bizarre cure. The Black Death produced painful, swollen lymph nodes called buboes, and an Austrian doctor in 1494 suggested an unorthodox remedy involving roosters.

He instructed practitioners to pluck the feathers surrounding a rooster’s rear, then press the bird’s rump directly onto a bubo until the rooster died. If the first bird perished, another would be tried until one survived the ordeal.

The exact method of restraining the rooster remains unclear, but the practice persisted for centuries, likely evolving from an older Arabic technique where a chicken’s heart‑adjacent wound was placed over a venomous bite to draw out poison.

Most people have been told to “go with the flow” and “don’t rock the boat” their whole lives, but that advice isn’t always appropriate. History has shown that change is often brought about by the people who stand out and are abnormal—those who march to the beat of their own drum.

As it happens, being abnormal is a good thing. This list looks at how being abnormal can make your life better. It turns out you shouldn’t be like everyone else if you want to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

10 Tips for Success in Everything

10 Nonconformity Lets You “Be Yourself”

Our whole lives, we’re told to fit in and conform to the group — to not be different or stand out from the crowd. In some cases, this is good advice. Still, it has one major flaw: it prevents you from being yourself, and YOU are an individual who deserves to stand out for the things that make you different.

Nonconformity isn’t easy because the group mentality always pushes back against it, but that doesn’t make it wrong. The people who stand out as different tend to stand out in positive ways. Think of how Stefani Germanotta’s career flourished after she stopped conforming to the cookie-cutter standards of the music industry by spreading her wings to be who she truly is: Lady Gaga.

People have been standing out for all of history in this manner. A lot of them have enjoyed the benefits of expressing themselves for who they are. When someone has to hide the things that make them different (for fear of bullying or cancellation), they deny their individuality, which can be dangerous for their self-esteem and mental health—and dangerous for society!

Be who you are, even if that means you won’t be like everyone else. At the end of the day, that’s a good thing. You are a unique person, and everything that makes you who you are is special. Embrace that, and you will enjoy your friends, your family, your work, and your life in a much more enriching way than you have before.^[1]

9 Abnormality & Leadership Go Hand-In-Hand

If you think about the type of people who take leadership roles within a given group, they probably stand out as somewhat abnormal. Leadership is all about putting the group’s interest above your own, and that’s an antithetical viewpoint for most people.

The U.S. Army has a saying, “Lead from the front,” which essentially boils down to putting yourself in the line of fire to protect your Soldiers. Lead by example and ensure your Troops’ welfare is taken care of before your own are common phrases in the military. Still, not everyone can become a great leader.

It takes an exceptional person, or someone others may call “abnormal,” to become an outstanding leader. History is filled with inimitable leaders like General Saint Joan of Arc, George S. Patton, Gustavus Adolphus, Frederick II of Prussia, and many more. Every one of them stood apart from the rest and are remembered as brilliant leaders.

Of course, leadership doesn’t begin and end in the military. There are plenty of CEOs, politicians, managers, and people in other positions of leadership who stand out for being both abnormal and for being outstanding leaders. Odds are, you’ve worked with or for someone who fits that description at least once in your life.^[2]

8 You Can’t Replace Abnormality

When it comes to working within a group, being abnormal can bring job security. Suppose everyone within a group is the same. In that case, everyone in the group is easily replaceable with someone who shares those same traits. That’s not true of the person who stands out as being different.

If you spend your time going through the motions of your job without making any attempt to stand out, then you’re not someone the management necessarily wants to keep around. A great example of this comes from an unlikely source in the movie Office Space.

In the film, the main character stops conforming (and doing his job), but instead of being terminated, he’s promoted. Now, that movie isn’t grounded in reality. Still, it does show how nonconformity and an embrace of abnormality help an employee stand out.

If you are unique in your job, then you aren’t easily replaceable. You ensure job security and will likely improve your chances for promotion, so it’s always better to NOT be a cog in the machine. Stand out and stand up! Ensure people know just how abnormal you are and why your uniqueness makes you an asset to the organization.^[3]

7 Abnormal People Are Successful People

The word “abnormal” has some negative connotations. Still, if you think about the most successful people in the world, they are often abnormal in some way. Think of innovators like Elon Musk or entertainers like Cher and Elton John; every one of them is different in their own unique way, and they’re all successful.

Success for abnormalities isn’t limited to superstars and billionaires either. Thanks to sites like Bitchute (the free speech alternative to YouTube) and others, everyone has a platform that allows them to succeed because of what makes them different.

One of the best examples of this is Jeffree Star, who gained fame on the internet by being extremely different. His Youtube channel lets him show off what makes him different. He’s acquired a massive number of followers and succeeded in side-business ventures that wouldn’t have been possible had he not expressed himself as extremely different from others.

Star is now a millionaire, but had he not found an outlet to express himself, he wouldn’t have been able to stand out. Most people seek entertainment from people who don’t follow the rules, which can prove fruitful in and out of the entertainment industry. As a side note, unfortunately Mr Star made comments a decade ago that some people now consider were “racist” and while he has apologised publicly he may be next on the cancel-culture chopping board.^[4]

6 Abnormal People Walk Their Own Path

Being abnormal typically means that a person doesn’t do the same things everyone else does. This leads to breaking the norms of society, which can be good or bad, depending on the situation. If you stand out for being different, there’s a good chance you won’t do the same things other people do.

An article in Forbes titled, “Being the Odd One Out—Survival Tips to Being Different” explains this rather well:

“The mega-successful don’t play by the rules. They don’t conform to all of society’s norms. They don’t follow what everyone else is doing. They do their own things –- in their own ways. They make decisions that work for them. They set goals for where they want to go. They think out of the box firstly because they aren’t standard issue, and can’t fit into the regular packaging… but mostly because they like to.”^[5]

These traits tend to lead to success. Instead of going out every Friday night, you might be at home researching or working through a problem. You walk a different path, and when you do so according to your abnormality, you might just find yourself succeeding while the “pack” is left behind.

5 Abnormal People Are Often Emulated

When everyone within a group is the same, there is little room to grow. If someone transcends the group to stand out, it can lead to progress and evolution, but it can also lead to emulation. When an individual stands out for being different, their abnormal traits are often copied by the people in the group.

There’s a reason so many people have read Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules For Life or Franklin Covey’s The 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People. The book spells out seven habits successful people have employed and why they should be emulated. When those habits originate from an abnormal individual, and they almost always do, it’s not unusual for folks to copy them.

If you are that person leading the way with a new trait, you can expect others to copy you. These people are the trendsetters, and they are some of the most successful and abnormal people in the world.

What you want to do as an abnormal person is to bridge the gap from trend follower to trendsetter. Doing so isn’t easy (by any means), but embracing the thing that sets you apart from the rest of us will certainly help.^[6]

4 Abnormal People Have Abnormal Ideas, And That’s A Good Thing

Whenever a situation occurs in a group that requires a solution, people put forth their ideas on how to overcome it. When an abnormal person gets involved, they tend to provide solutions that are best described as being “outside the box” or having “colored outside the lines.”

You’ve heard the cliche more than enough, and everyone is told to try and come up with solutions that think outside the box. The reason for this is simple: thinking outside of the usual way of problem-solving offers up new ideas and concepts (or revives far better old ideas) that might lead to improvement.

This is often pushed in businesses, but it also works for individuals. Entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs have proven, time and time again, that thinking outside the box offers better ways of getting from point A to point B. Suppose you’re willing to solve those problems by trying something completely different. In that case, odds are you will benefit in the long run.^[7]

Creative problem-solving can take a concept like a video rental business (Blockbuster) and advance it with mail-in rentals (Netflix). Because Netflix managed to try something new, it successfully upended a business model that succeeded for decades. Because of that, Blockbuster is down to a single store, and Netflix became an international business superstar.

3 Abnormal People Make The Best Teachers

Throughout our lives, we are taught by a plethora of people. Unless you’ve been homeschooled your whole life (which is not such a bad thing), there’s a good chance dozens of people had an opportunity to shape your young mind. When you think back on all of those teachers, the ones who stand out are probably a bit… abnormal.

The best teachers are often the ones who employ different teaching methods or are utterly antithetical to the progressive teaching norm. Most of us have enjoyed a teacher like this at one time or another, and they don’t just teach us; they make a difference in our lives.^[8]

Abnormal teachers are all over pop culture in films like Dead Poet’s Society. Still, education isn’t the only place an abnormal teacher can shine. Training programs and motivational speakers often draw abnormal people, and they can inspire and lead others to follow similar paths.

Think of every motivational speaker you’ve watched online. They are all led by innovative people who stray from the pack. Folks like Tony Robbins and Oprah Winfrey all use the things that make them different to help others achieve success and happiness.

2 Abnormal People Change The World

Throughout human history, change has often been initiated by people who don’t follow the rules. Those in society who are different and strive to make change can significantly impact the people around them.

The standouts in history are often abnormal in many ways. Think of people like Nikola Tesla, Leonardo da Vinci, Oscar Wilde, and others who managed to alter the landscape of science, art, and literature. They each did this by breaking the mold, straying from the path, and being different.

Advancement often comes upon the backs of abnormal people whose work changes the way we view the world. Copernicus’ findings certainly did this in the 17th century and in our own time the likes of Keto advocate Gary Taubes (video above) is doing the same. While he has been much vilified by many for his work (mostly due to political and not health reasons), he’s helped us realise what a huge mistake the McGovern committee made and what a horrific health disaster the government’s food pyramid is (more on that in another up and coming list!)^[9]

It takes a lot of courage to stray from the path in this regard, but the people who have done it successfully are the ones we often remember as those who changed the world. If they’ve taught us anything, it’s that keeping on the path and being like everyone else doesn’t leave an indelible mark on history.

1 Accepting Your Abnormality Can Be Therapeutic

If you’re an abnormal person, there’s a good chance you’ve spent your life hiding it from other people. When we’re children, we hide much of our personality from our peers, and this carries into adulthood. This can create severe psychological problems leading to anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations.

Getting through childhood is never easy, but some adults have found a way to embrace the things that make them stand out, and it’s often therapeutic. While attending a convention, Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton was asked how he handled growing up and being called a “nerd” by a young fan in the audience.

He explained that while it isn’t easy growing up different, it does get easier as an adult. Wheaton has also discussed his struggles with anxiety and depression but has noted that his acceptance of what makes him different has helped him overcome and thrive.^[10]

When someone accepts who they are without conforming to the expectations of others, they often find that their lives are easier than they were before. Projecting who we think people want us to be instead of who we actually are is mentally exhausting (virtue-signallers beware!) While making that change is never easy, it’s often therapeutic.

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