Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, severe bacterial infections were one of the major causes of human deaths throughout the developed world. We all have probably used antibiotics at some point in our lives to treat an infection.

Before the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, people died from otherwise small scrapes and cuts through complications of infection. In the modern antibiotic era, being sick is now seen as an inconvenience. Really, who wants to be ill longer than necessary?

But bacteria do more than cost us sick days. They can still kill us despite the discovery of these modern drugs. Bacteria are smart and are figuring out ways to resist antibiotics. There are many infections that currently cannot be treated with any antibiotic, killing tens of thousands of people each year in the United States alone.

Even knowing that unpleasant fact, some bacteria go overboard, not content to give us a flu-like illness. These are the artists of death. So read on . . . because that dirty door handle in the public restroom will never seem the same again.

10 E. coli Hemorrhagic Colitis

E. coli are bacteria that can really make for a crappy day. These bugs usually live in the intestinal tract, minding their own business. They are excreted in fecal matter. One exceedingly bad breed of E. coli makes a chemical called “Shiga toxin.” This is not a character that anyone wants hanging around in his guts.

A human might pick up these bacteria by consuming poorly treated food or water contaminated by excrement. In countries that lack proper water sanitation facilities, this is definitely a problem.

Once in the body, Shiga toxin–producing E. coli get to work causing a lovely disease known as hemorrhagic colitis. Essentially, this means the bacteria will cause such bad, bloody diarrhea that the victim, if untreated, can poop himself to death through severe dehydration, kidney damage, and blood loss.

Treatment includes rehydration with oral and intravenous fluids until the body rids itself of the bacteria.^[1]

9 Scarlet Fever

A common killer in the 18th and 19th centuries, scarlet fever still makes its rounds today. It terrorized centuries of humans and was known to kill entire groups of children in families. Many well-known individuals throughout history lost loved ones to this disease, including Charles Darwin, who lost at least one child to scarlet fever.

This disease is caused by a group of bacteria known as group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. Scarlet fever often begins with a sore throat and a fever, commonly known as strep throat. As it progresses, it causes a red, bumpy rash that spreads in a head-to-toe manner, causing the victim to have a red, or scarlet, appearance. In addition, it causes a red, bumpy, strawberry-appearing tongue.^[2]

Scarlet fever can cause throat abscesses, heart problems, and kidney problems, leading to death. It is easily treated today with antibiotics but still causes death and long-term injury to victims who do not receive adequate and early treatment.

8 Tuberculosis

If there was one disease that evoked fear in our ancestors at the turn of the 19th century, it was pulmonary tuberculosis, the most common form of the disease. However, it is an ancient sickness, with Egyptian mummies having been found with tuberculosis lesions on their skeletons. This disease has killed quite a few famous people, including Franz Kafka and Henry David Thoreau.

The microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of all forms of tuberculosis. The most common form, pulmonary tuberculosis, involves a bacterial infection of the lungs. Untreated, the bacteria become walled off in the lungs and can remain dormant for years.

Active infections may lead to a wide variety of pulmonary symptoms, including a bloody cough, weight loss, and trouble breathing. The most severe infections allow the bacteria to spread to other body parts, including the kidneys and skeletal system.^[3]

Acutely and chronically ill individuals lost large amounts of body weight fighting this infection, leading to a frail and wasted appearance. As a result, tuberculosis was also known as “consumption” and “the white death.” Treatment includes anywhere from six months to years of antibiotics.

7 Tetanus

Also known as “lockjaw” or “the grinning death,” tetanus is a dramatic illness to behold. It was a noted complication of infected wounds in the Napoleonic Wars. Spread via dirt or contaminated soil, tetanus is caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani.

This bacterium earns its specialization in death and destruction via its neurotoxin called tetanus toxin. This toxin binds irreversibly at the junction between nerve cells and muscles, which results in the characteristic and dramatic muscle spasms of the disease.

Individuals affected with tetanus undergo severe whole body muscle spasms strong enough to cause locking of the jaw, grinding of teeth, an involuntary smile, and involuntary muscle spasms strong enough to break bones, including the spine. Death can result from paralysis of the respiratory muscles, making breathing impossible, or secondary infections.^[4]

Without proper medical care, tetanus is a deadly disease. Treatment includes medications such as skeletal muscle relaxers, antibiotics, antitoxins, immune globulins, and supportive care to survive this deadly infection. A tetanus infection is considered a medical emergency.

6 Meningococcal Meningitis

A nervous system infection is never fun. In meningococcal meningitis, the lining of the brain or spinal cord becomes infected with a bacterium known as Neisseria meningitidis. It still occurs today throughout the world but is most common in sub-Saharan Africa.^[5]

Meningococcal meningitis commonly presents as a nervous system infection or as a blood infection. In the former case, the person may have fevers, headaches, neck stiffness, visual changes, and vomiting. In the case of blood infection, the person may develop a purple rash and bleeding into the skin and organs. This infection is deadly, but vaccines have made this disease much less of a threat than it once was.

5 Anthrax

It may surprise many readers to know that anthrax is not just the name of a heavy metal band but also a disease and potential weapon of bioterrorism. Anthrax (caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis) is not content to be limited to one body system. Instead, it can be found in three main infectious forms: inhalational, cutaneous (infecting the skin), and gastrointestinal.

Anthrax is considered to be a potential biological weapon because its spores can be transmitted through the air and inhalational anthrax is deadly. It was used in 2001 to contaminate US mail envelopes.

In the cutaneous form of anthrax, an ulcerating lesion develops. As long as it is contained and treated without spreading, this is a milder form of the disease.

The inhalational form, however, is a bigger problem. Once inhaled, anthrax first causes flu-like symptoms. Later, the victim begins to feel chest pain and shortness of breath. Within days, almost all patients who progress with this form of the disease die of blood infections. If caught early enough, the disease can be treated with antibiotics.^[6]

The gastrointestinal form of anthrax is not pleasant, either. It is obtained from eating undercooked meats. In this type of anthrax, ulcers can form anywhere in the infected portion of the gastrointestinal tract—from the mouth to the anus—which can lead to serious bleeding.

Anthrax can also infect the brain and spinal cord. Due to its many potentially deadly forms, anthrax has set a high bar of expectations for any band bearing its name.

4 Leptospirosis

Unlike other diseases, leptospirosis can be unassuming in terms of its symptoms. Coiled and spiral types of bacteria called Leptospira cause leptospirosis. It is rare in the United States and can be spread from animals to humans, often through animal urine.^[7]

The symptoms of leptospirosis are vague. An infected person can have no symptoms at all. In other cases, symptoms include yellowing of the skin and kidney failure, leading to death. The latter form of the disease is more severe, and the syndrome of this infection was described as Weil’s disease.

3 Syphilis

Sexually transmitted infections are becoming more common in the United States. Whether dating apps or changing culture is to blame, there’s no doubt that we all need to be careful in our sexual encounters.

As a sexually transmitted disease, syphilis (aka the “great imitator” for its wide variety of presentations) has a long history of shame. Countries often blamed each other for the disease, attributing it to the “other” population. Outbreaks in wartime decades were common across populations. Famous figures were not spared, and it is suspected that Vincent van Gogh and Beethoven may have contracted this sickness.

Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum and occurs in three stages, known as primary, secondary, and tertiary. In the primary phase, an ulcerating lesion (chancre) appears, usually on the genitals. The lesion may resolve or may never be noticed.^[8]

As the disease progresses, the patient will develop flu-like symptoms and enter into the secondary stage. A widespread rash may appear, along with hair loss, headaches, and liver inflammation. The disease may lie dormant for up to 30 years, in which the late or tertiary phase will develop.

In this final phase, the patient may develop disfiguring lesions, heart problems, a central nervous system infection, and even insanity in a condition known as “general paresis of the insane.”

2 Toxic Megacolon Associated With Clostridium difficile Colitis

Diarrhea is not just an embarrassing reason to miss work. While most of us have probably had a passing case of diarrhea from a number of causes, it’s safe to say that many people have not had the sort of intestinal infection that causes a condition known as toxic megacolon.

In this condition, the intestines become infected and swollen and the patient becomes very ill. In the most serious cases, the intestines can become so swollen that they burst, requiring emergency surgery. Although many different bacteria can cause toxic megacolon, Clostridium difficile is a deadly cause of toxic megacolon.

Infection with Clostridium difficile occurs when the deadly bacteria overwhelm the normal bacteria in the gut of a person. If left untreated, it can cause serious intestinal inflammation and swelling. Severe cases of toxic megacolon, even without perforation, have been known to result in almost total intestinal resection to save the life of the patient.^[9]

1 Necrotizing Fasciitis

Also known as “flesh-eating bacteria,” necrotizing fasciitis is nothing to laugh about. Although the bacteria do not actually eat the flesh, they do infect the tissue and underlying structures which leads to tissue death and sloughing. Many different types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis.^[10]

It was first described during the US Civil War in a rapidly progressive series of cases in which individuals had necrotizing fasciitis of the genital region. A multidisciplinary team, including a surgeon to cut away the infected tissue, is almost always necessary, and amputations may occur.

I am a healthcare provider and an entrepreneur. In my free time, I like to exercise and enjoy the outdoors.

Artists across generations and continents have breathed new life into old buildings while preserving their historical integrity through a process dubbed “adaptive reuse.” Though their architectural features are typically maintained, their purposes often shift dramatically: cathedrals become concert halls, windmills become wineries. This list takes a look at 10 of the weirdest and most wonderfully repurposed buildings.

10 From Theatre to Bookstore: El Ateneo Grand Splendid

Book lovers and Broadway nerds, rejoice! Hidden in plain sight on a lively avenue of Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. The building first opened its doors as the Teatro Gran Splendid in 1919, hosting an eclectic array of performers, most famously “King of Tango” Carlos Gardel. Ten years later, the theater underwent its first renovation and became the first cinema to show sound films in Argentina. Upon being threatened with demolition at the turn of the 21st century, the former theater was leased to Grup Ilhsa.

Today, the Grand Splendid’s architectural grandeur has been maintained—or as many may argue, enhanced—to spotlight books instead of performers. El Ateneo Grand Splendid pays homage to its musical legacy, with live piano performances serenading readers as they browse shelves and sip coffee. The frescoed ceilings, sumptuous velvet curtains, and abundant ornamentation of the theater make this bookstore a resplendent escape for bibliophiles, thespians, and architects. ^[1]

9 From Church to Skatepark: Kaos Temple

What was once a spiritual haven for Christians of Llanera, Spain, has become a colorful sanctuary for skaters. The Church of Santa Barbara was built by architect Manuel del Busto in 1912 but soon found itself deserted. After being abandoned for almost a century, the space was reprised in 2007 by the Church Brigade, a collective that transformed the former church into an indoor skatepark.

In 2015, Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel was commissioned through a crowdfunding campaign to paint the church in his distinctive geometric style. Today, bold colors and kaleidoscopic depictions of humans, animals, and nature ornament the building’s original domed ceilings and walls. Where once were pews are now halfpipes and ramps to provide indoor refuge to skateboarders in one of Spain’s rainiest regions. The original façade of the Church of Santa Barbara remains, housing the skatepark’s interior amalgamation of neo-Gothic detail and vibrant contemporary art. Kaos Temple blends old and new to appeal to artists and athletes alike. ^[2]

8 From Railway Station to Museum: Musée d’Orsay

Best known for its expansive collection of Impressionist paintings, Paris’s Musée d’Orsay has another peculiar pull: The museum’s foundation initially served as a train station. The 20th-century station’s artfully anachronistic design can be attributed to a collaborative effort between French architects Émile Bénard, Lucien Magne, and Victor Laloux. Located on the Left Bank of the Seine, it was built to transport visitors to the Paris Exposition of 1900.

After being deemed unsuitable for the increasingly mainstream use of longer trains, the building served several purposes beyond the architects’ original intentions. Before the museum’s inauguration in 1986, it was used as a World War II mailing center and set for several popular films, such as Orson Welles’s The Trial. Today, the Musée d’Orsay’s stunning construction and exhibits by Monet and Renoir have made it one of the world’s most popular museums, with well over a million annual visitors.^[3]

7 From Grain Silo to Rock Climbing Gym: Upper Limits Rock Gym

Bloomington, Illinois, hosts the perfect outing for athletes and agricultural enthusiasts: cylindrical rock climbing walls inside 65-foot-tall (20-meter) grain silos. They transformed the abandoned set of four silos to develop an experience that is both unique and sustainable. Utilizing the foundation of the previously deserted structures, the gym is powered by solar panels. In addition to the interior climbing walls, routes have been added to the 115-foot-tall (35-meter) exterior.

Once a giant in the global grain market, rural Illinois’s skyline is still dotted with silos and grain bins. Rock climbing is just one of several unusual purposes the state’s renovated silos serve. Originally a grain bin in Alvin, IL, the Has Bin Guest House has been converted into a charming bed and breakfast. Meridian Nursery similarly repurposed a Rockford silo to host intimate events in a nontraditional rustic setting.^[4]

6 From Cathedral to Bookstore: Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen

This 13th-century Catholic cathedral in Maastricht, Netherlands, was repurposed several times over the past seven centuries before settling on the sprawling bookstore it hosts today. After being consecrated in 1294, the building served as a religious sanctuary for half a millennium. Following the 1794 invasion of the Netherlands, however, the gothic church’s cavernous interior appealed to French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte as a strategic—if excessively ornate—storage space. In more recent history, the cathedral was used for bike storage.

In 2005, the building was transformed by Dutch architects Merkx and Girod into a massive bookstore, its grand architecture and lavish interior design capitalized upon to draw lovers of history, art, and stories to its shelves. Now featuring three stories of bookshelves and walkways underneath stunningly preserved frescoes, the renovated church earned the 2007 Lensvelt de Architect Interior Prize and remains a popular destination for today’s locals and literary tourists.^[5]

5 From Jail to Luxury Hotel: The Liberty Hotel

Dark tourists who find themselves in Boston, Massachusetts, can spend a night in what used to be the storied Charles Street Jail. Constructed in 1851 according to the controversial Auburn penal system, the county jail once housed such inmates as activist Malcolm X and anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti. The overcrowded prison closed after almost a century and a half, but its rich history and charming architecture found a second life in The Liberty Hotel.

The ironically named Liberty Hotel opened in 2007, featuring almost 300 guest rooms alongside the original central rotunda. Guests can dine surrounded by portraits of prisoners at the aptly titled Clink and Alibi restaurants or take a walk in the former prison yard. Curiously, Boston’s Liberty Hotel is just one of several prisons transformed into hotels. Those interested in jail hopping can stay overnight in the former Het Arresthuis jail outside Amsterdam or at a Turkish Four Seasons housed in the former Sultanahmet Prison.^[6]

4 From Bullring to Hotel: Hotel Quinta Real Zacatecas

If the macabre history of Boston’s Liberty Hotel doesn’t strike your fancy, consider traveling to Zacatecas, Mexico, to spend the night in this 19th-century bullring-turned-hotel. Quinta Real Zacatecas hotel was constructed within the 1866 San Pedro bullfighting arena, also known as the Plaza de Toros, which hosted the sport for well over a century. In 1989, fourteen years after the Plaza’s final bullfight, the Quinta Real opened its doors.

Today’s visitors can appreciate the hotel’s preserved Spanish Colonial façade from the courtyard where the bullring once stood. And if your hankering to explore uniquely repurposed buildings hasn’t yet been satisfied, a ten-minute drive will take you to Museo Rafael Coronel. In one of the more niche renovations of historic religious buildings, this museum, housed in the former San Francisco convent, features more than 5,000 Mexican masks.^[7]

3 From Shopping Mall to College: Austin Community College’s Highland Campus

Central Texas students flock to Austin to live and learn within the walls of the former Highland Mall. Once anchored by a JCPenney store, the building is now characterized by its sustainable and tech-based approach to higher education. In a $46 million renovation effort, the 32,000-square-foot (2,973-square- meter) mall property has been transformed to accommodate nursing skills labs, kitchens, a television studio, and other modern facilities for hands-on education.

ACC’s newest campus champions a distinct suburban charm in its maintenance of quintessential mall features and the less traditional banana split sculpture marking the former food court.

The Highland Campus has bolstered the local economy and community by drawing young professionals to the campus’s surrounding area, which, paired with its sustainable design, makes it a compelling choice for the next generation of college applicants.^[8]

2 From Grain Silo to Museum: Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art

With their domineering form and non-malleable construction, grain silos seem to lend themselves less to adaptive reuse than many of the other repurposed structures on this list. Yet, from climbing walls to galleries, these agricultural hallmarks have been transformed into a number of cultural institutions, with one of the most successful being the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA).

The early 20th-century silos in Capetown, South Africa, were repurposed in 2014 by Heatherwick Studio to house the public, not-for-profit museum. The Zeitz MOCAA exhibits and preserves both temporary and permanent collections of contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora. The building, built upon a foundation of 42 hollowed-out silos, is a work of art in itself—one that, paired with its storied interior, has made the MOCAA the most visited art museum in Africa.^[9]

1 From Film Set to Theme Park: Popeye Village

This final list item transcends a singular building’s transformation. Built for the 1980 musical comedy Popeye, starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, this former film set has been repurposed as an amusement park. The Maltese village, inspired by the fictional hamlet of Sweethaven, comprised 19 wooden buildings which served as the stomping grounds for the live-action Popeye and Olive Oyl. Following Popeye’s lukewarm media response, the set was abandoned.

Rather than letting the prop village succumb to nature, local entrepreneurs converted the neglected set into a theme park, maintaining the colorful architecture to house water trampolines, restaurants, and a winery, among other attractions. Actors still walk the streets of Sweethaven as the comic book and cartoon characters, but for tourists and comic enthusiasts instead of the camera. Whether you have an appreciation for salvaged infrastructure or simply a soft spot for cartoon sailors, Popeye Village belongs on your Malta itinerary.^[10]