Just because a band or artist doesn’t actually exist in real life doesn’t mean they can’t make great music. Films are full of fictional musicians whose songs are sometimes so catchy that they reach the actual charts. Really, this isn’t all that surprising, considering these songs are often penned by successful musicians.

To qualify for this list, not only do the songs have to be written specifically for a movie, but they can’t be performed in the film by someone who has a high-profile career as a musician in real life. So you won’t find “Shallow” from A Star is Born (2018) or “The Climb” from Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) on this list.

Related: Top Ten Musical Moments from Musical TV Shows

10 “Through the Trees” by Low Shoulder

In Jennifer’s Body (2009), the troubles of the titular character (played by Megan Fox) start when the indie rock band Low Shoulder takes her into the woods and sacrifices her to Satan. The ritual turns Jennifer into a demonic man-eater, but it gives Low Shoulder the success they were chasing, launching their song “Through the Trees” into the limelight.

Amy Driscoll-Dunning—head of Fox Searchlight at the time—suggested Test Your Reflex (now known as Wildling) as a band that could write a song that sounded like Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars.” The band’s frontman, Ryan Levine, was given the song’s title and first few lyrics, which were written by the film’s writer, Diablo Cody. Levine added the rest of the lyrics and the riff, with keyboardist Andrew Ampaya adding the piano track and strings.

In the film, Adam Brody plays Low Shoulder’s evil frontman, Nikolai, and he lip-synced to Levine’s vocals. Levine also appears in the film, though, as Low Shoulder’s guitarist, and his bandmate Sal Cortez plays the drummer. The bassist and keyboardist are played by actors Juan Riedinger and Colin Askew.^[1]

9 “Pretend to Be Nice” by Josie and the Pussycats

Although “Sugar, Sugar” (1969) by The Archies is the most famous song released by a fictional band comprised of characters from Archie Comics, that tune wasn’t written for a movie. Many years later, in 2001, Josie and the Pussycats burst onto cinema screens with an entire album of songs.

The band is formed of Riverdale residents Josie McCoy (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody Valentine (Tara Reid), and Valerie Brown (Rosario Dawson). The three actresses provided backing vocals, but Kay Hanley from Letters to Cleo provided the main vocals for Josie. The tracks were written and produced by a variety of musicians, including Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne, Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go’s, and Adam Duritz from Counting Crows.

The band’s first single, “Pretend to Be Nice,” was written by Schlesinger. The song hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the movie, and while that success wasn’t matched in real life, the soundtrack of the movie was pretty popular. Not only did it reach No. 16 on the Billboard 200, but it was also certified gold.^[2]

8 “Nobody Like U” by 4*Town

Pixar’s Turning Red (2022) is set in 2002 and follows 13-year-old Mei as she starts turning into a red panda. But Mei doesn’t let that get in the way of going to a 4*Town concert. The boy band has three songs in the animated film: “1 True Love,” “U Know What’s Up,” and their biggest hit, “Nobody Like U.”

The songs—which mimic the sound of *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys—were written by Billie Eilish and her older brother Finneas O’Connell (who often writes and produces for his sister). The members of the band—Robaire, Jesse, Aaron Z., Aaron T., and Tae Young—are voiced by Jordan Fisher, O’Connell, Josh Levi, Toher Ngo, and Grayson Villanueva.

“Nobody Like U” had a life beyond the movie, peaking at No. 49 on the Hot 100 and even being performed live by some of the voice actors. At the 20th Unforgettable Gala, Levi, Ngo, and Villanueva were joined on stage by Will Jay and Raymond Ortiz—who filled in for the two missing members—to perform “1 True Love” and “Nobody Like U.”^[3]

7 “Garbage Truck” by Sex Bob-Omb

Music is a huge part of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) due to the titular main character’s (Michael Cera) band, Sex Bob-Omb, competing in a competition to win a record deal. Director Edgar Wright said that he “had this idea that each of the fictional bands within the film should have a different artist doing them. So it was sort of like casting.”

Beck wrote the songs for Sex Bob-Omb, and the actors playing band members had to learn how to sing and play their instruments—aside from Cera, who already knew how to play the bass guitar. Although the opening title track, “We Are Sex Bob-Omb,” won the 2010 Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Song, “Garbage Truck” is the fan favorite (if Spotify numbers are anything to go by).

Other artists who wrote music for the film include Metric, who wrote “Black Sheep” for The Clash at Demonhead, and Dan the Automator, who wrote “Slick” for Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha).^[4]

6 “Drive It Like You Stole It” by Sing Street

Sing Street (2016) is set in 1985 in Dublin and follows teenage boy Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) as he starts a band with his classmates. Among Sing Street’s soundtrack of Duran Duran, Hall & Oates, and The Cure are a few songs by the titular fictional band themselves. Although U2—which was formed in Dublin—was originally going to help with crafting Sing Street’s sound, writer and director John Carney said that “our schedules didn’t match up. I think they were on tour, and we were shooting back at home, and it didn’t work out on a timeline.”

Instead, Gary Clark, the frontman of Scottish band Danny Wilson, took on the role, with help from Carney, plus Ken and Carl Papenfus from Relish. The musical peak of the film is the fantasy scene where Sing Street performs “Drive It Like You Stole It” in the style of Back to the Future’s Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Both the San Diego Film Critics Society and the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association gave the film awards for its music.^[5]

5 “Fever Dog” by Stillwater

The soundtrack of Almost Famous (2000) features an impressive roster of artists—including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, plus the fictional band Stillwater. It even won a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Based on the life of writer and director Cameron Crowe, the plot sees a teenage boy with journalistic aspirations follow a rising rock band, Stillwater, on tour in the ’70s. Stillwater’s sound was crafted by a number of musicians, including Nancy Wilson from Heart and Peter Frampton. As well as penning Stillwater’s hit “Fever Dog” with Crowe, Wilson also played rhythm guitar for the group. The guitar skills of Stillwater’s Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) are actually down to Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready.

Although Stillwater’s success didn’t immediately crossover into the real world, in 2021, the Stillwater Demos EP scored the No. 95 spot on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart.^[6]

4 “On the Dark Side” by Eddie and the Cruisers

When adapting P.F. Kluge’s 1980 novel Eddie and the Cruisers into a movie, director Martin Davidson knew that he needed to find the right band to write the music. He hired Kenny Vance from Jay and the Americans to help track down a suitable Jersey bar band. Vance came up with the goods, presenting John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, who were reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Although most of the onscreen band is comprised of actors, the saxophonist of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, Michael “Tunes” Antunes, was cast in the movie. The main song from the 1983 film, “On the Dark Side,” proved to be a massive hit, reaching No. 7 on the Hot 100, while “Tender Years” made it to No. 31.^[7]

3 “Walk Hard” by Dewey Cox

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) is a parody of the music biopic genre, but even though it’s a comedy, John C. Reilly (who plays Dewey Cox) said, “We never wanted to lose the listenability of the songs.” The main character and his ever-evolving musical style draw from a huge variety of artists, including Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Bob Dylan. 40 songs were recorded, with around 33 of them making it into the final movie.

Dan Bern and Mike Viola wrote many of the songs, but for the titular song, “Walk Hard,” submissions were open, with Marshall Crenshaw’s song being chosen. Reilly not only sang and played guitar on the tracks, but he also received writing credits for a handful of them, including “Walk Hard.” He even performed the songs live on the Cox Across America tour.^[8]

2 “That Thing You Do!” by The Wonders

Back in the mid-1990s, Tom Hanks was looking for a song for his movie That Thing You Do! (1996), which follows a band called The Wonders and their rise to fame in the mid-1960s.

Adam Schlesinger—who a few years later found fame with Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom” (2003)—heard that Hanks and his team were asking for demos that sounded “like an American band that was blown away by The Beatles right after they arrived and was trying to imitate them.” Schlesinger loved ’60s pop and rock, so he wrote a song in a couple of days, recorded it with two friends, and sent it in, describing it as “a shot in the dark.”

Hanks loved the track and hired Schlesinger to co-produce the song, as well as his friend Mike Viola, who sang on the demo, to provide vocals for the finished tune. Although the song didn’t make quite as much noise as it does in the movie, it did reach No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[9]

1 “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” by Spinal Tap

Perhaps the most famous fictional band is Spinal Tap, who started out on TV, but in 1984, the band starred in This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner. The film follows the band as they embark on a hilariously disastrous tour, with the majority of the dialogue being improvised. The main band members are Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins, Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls—all of whom wrote and performed the songs themselves.

Spinal Tap has a large discography for a parody band, with some of their most popular songs being “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight,” “Stonehenge,” and “Big Bottom.” They’ve also played many live shows, going on tour and even performing at prestigious venues such as Wembley Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall. As for chart success, two of their songs have made it onto the Hot 100: “Break Like the Wind” hit No. 61, and “Back From the Dead” hit No. 52.^[10]

Pope Alexander VI is often considered the most evil man ever to hold the papal office. He fathered seven children, helped his son Cesare invade Italy, poisoned his enemies, and held orgies inside the Vatican. His son and daughter were also lovers.

Today, he and his family—the infamous Borgias—are viewed as one of the most evil organizations in all of history. And yet, this family is responsible for some of the greatest contributions to human society. There are people and works of art that changed society so drastically that a world without them is almost impossible to imagine—and we owe every one of them to history’s most evil Pope.

10 Machiavelli’s The Prince

Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of the most famous political treatises ever written. Leaders from Napoleon to Mussolini and even Bill Clinton have all studied Machiavelli’s ideas on how to lead a nation.

Machiavelli, though, was studying Cesare Borgia, Alexander VI’s son, who led a conquering army into northern Italy. In the early 1500s, Machiavelli worked with Cesare and wrote letters of fawning adoration about him.

It was watching Cesare Borgia in action that inspired Machiavelli to write The Prince, which is based on Cesare’s tactics and ideas of politics. Since then, the history of the world has been shaped by men who have read the book.

9 The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is probably the most influential work of art in the world today. It lures crowds of thousands to the Louvre to get a glimpse of it. But it wouldn’t have existed without the Borgias.

During Cesare Borgia’s invasion of Italy, Leonardo da Vinci worked as his chief engineer. Cesare gave da Vinci a passport ordering all who were shown it to obey da Vinci’s demands. Cesare also sent da Vinci through the Apennine Mountains—the area which would become the backdrop of the Mona Lisa.

Da Vinci started the painting in 1503 while still in Cesare’s employ. Although it took the notoriously slow da Vinci years to finish, the Mona Lisa would never have been created without the creative freedoms and inspiration the Borgias gave him.

8 The Borgia Apartments

Da Vinci and Machiavelli’s works were saved from Pope Julius II’s purge of everything associated with Alexander VI because they worked slowly. Their artwork wasn’t finished until after Alexander VI’s reign had ended, so they kept their place in the history books.

Others, like the painter Pinturicchio, were not as lucky. Commissioned by Pope Alexander VI to decorate his apartments, Pinturicchio filled them with works that were masterpieces in their day. They were dotted with fake jewels to create a unique, three-dimensional feel and filled with extravagant, religious imagery.

Then they were locked up and covered in black paint for nearly 400 years because they belonged to the Borgias. No one could see the artwork until 1889 when the Vatican finally reopened the apartments.

7 The First Painting Of A Native American

The Resurrection, one of Pinturicchio’s works, was particularly notable because it was the first painting of a Native American. Created in 1494, only two years after Columbus landed in the New World, it was likely the first view many Europeans had of an inhabitant of the New World.

Columbus wrote descriptions of the people in America in his journal, which he tried to keep a closely guarded secret. But that would have made its way into the hands of the Pope. According to modern scholars, Pinturicchio’s artwork shows every sign that he was given access to Columbus’s private journal and did his best to recreate what was written down.

6 The Spanish Conquest Of America

The history of the world would have been incredibly different if Spain had not colonized the Americas. As the conquistadores swept through the newly discovered continent, entire nations were wiped out and replaced by the Spanish Empire. The European colonization of the Americas had begun.

None of this would have happened without Alexander VI. When Columbus returned to Spain in 1493, Pope Alexander VI rejected the claims of other nations and issued a papal bull that gave the New World to Spain.

In return, the Spanish announced that all indigenous people of the Americas had to convert to Christianity or be forced into slavery, a law that led to the extinction of countless people and the extraction of a fortune from the New World.

Even though this might not have been a good thing, Alexander VI’s decision has shaped the geography and balance of power across the world ever since.

5 The University Of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen, one of the top universities in the world, has fostered five Nobel Laureates. None of them would have received the educations they did without Alexander VI.

In 1495, King James IV petitioned Alexander VI to issue a papal bull calling for the construction of a school in Scotland. James hoped to improve the educational standing of the country. Alexander VI agreed, and the school opened its doors.

Since then, it has grown so much that the original King’s College is just one old building in the center of a large campus. But the school never would have existed without the influence of the Borgias.

4 St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica is considered one of the holiest Catholic shrines and one of the most beautiful works of architecture on Earth. The building is placed upon what is believed to be St. Peter’s burial grounds. The Roman Emperor Constantine first set a cathedral on the site, but it was through the patronage of Alexander VI that the current one got its home.

Though the Church’s most famous architect is Michelangelo, St. Peter’s Basilica was planned by Donato Bramante, a member of the Borgias’ entourage. Bramante had close ties to Alexander VI, who helped foster his career and had him design cathedrals around the country.

Alexander VI persuaded Bramante and Michelangelo to work together on the new St. Peter’s Basilica, although it wasn’t completed until well after Alexander’s death.

3 The Modern Depiction Of Christ

When we picture Jesus Christ today, we usually think of a white man with long, straight, brown hair and a well-kept beard—an image that doesn’t exactly fit a Middle Eastern Jew.

Some have pointed out that the image does, however, fit someone else perfectly: Cesare Borgia. The paintings of Christ from the Renaissance look so much like the paintings of Cesare Borgia that some people have suggested that the paintings of Jesus Christ in our local churches may actually be paintings of Cesare.

With the Borgias’ close ties to the art world, the possibility of Cesare posing as a model while Michelangelo was painting Christ doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Granted, there isn’t much hard evidence for this, but the similarity between the paintings is so striking that it’s been noticed more than once.

2 Raphael’s Portrait Of A Lady With A Unicorn

In Raphael’s oeuvre is a mysterious painting of a blonde woman holding a baby unicorn. For a long time, this woman was unidentified. Now the woman is believed to be the daughter of Alexander VI’s mistress and, in all likelihood, his illegitimate child.

It’s a theory that fits nicely. Alexander VI was an avid patron of Raphael’s work, so it’s not too shocking that Alexander may have commissioned a painting of his daughter from Raphael.

However, when Julius II purged all Borgia art from the Vatican, he replaced it with new works of his own—works that he commissioned through Raphael. This led to Raphael creating the Vatican’s “Raphael Rooms,” which are often considered his masterpieces.

Some even think that Julius’s hatred of Alexander fueled Julius’s desire to become a patron of the arts in his own right. This would have had a major cultural impact as Julius II is often considered one of the greatest patrons in history.

1 The Modern European Monarchy

The Borgias aren’t really gone. The family lives on and holds as much power as ever, but we might not realize it. Alexander VI’s daughter, Lucrezia, has been linked as a direct ancestor to an astonishing number of European leaders, including the current kings of Spain (pictured), Bulgaria, Belgium, and Portugal.

Major historical figures are direct descendants of the Borgias. For example, England’s King Henry IV was the great-great-nephew of Cesare Borgia, making the Borgia blood a major part of the English monarchy.

Descendants of the Borgias live in almost every royal family in Europe today—meaning that the Borgia legacy hasn’t ended. Their names have changed, but they are still inside some of the most powerful homes throughout history, influencing decisions that have shaped every part of today’s world.

Mark Oliver is a regular contributor to . His writing also appears on a number of other sites, including The Onion’s StarWipe and Cracked.com. His website is regularly updated with everything he writes.

Casting is among the most scrutinized aspects of adapting books. Authors often provide vivid descriptions of their characters. Weight, height, age, and nationality are all important to paint that picture. As a result, fans have a firm idea of how their favorite figures ought to look. Not everyone has the same idea, though.

In certain adaptations, the characters don’t resemble their book counterparts in the least. Taking such liberties may seem like deliberate disrespect from the filmmakers, but it’s not the end of the world. These changes can sometimes lead to great things. The alternative actors may be compelling in their own right, bringing out the characters’ best qualities and letting viewers connect with them on a new level. They might even be superior to the original text. Because of that, we should strive to keep an open mind, even with our favorite stories. A pleasant surprise could come any time.

Related: 10 Manga to Anime Adaptations That Need to Happen

10 Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone

Despite his young age, Jesse Stone is among the more damaged Robert B. Parker protagonists. The 35-year-old detective is physically imposing, but his drinking problem costs him his marriage and his job at the LAPD. Now serving as the police chief of a small New England town, he seeks recovery and redemption. That groundwork leads to an exceptional portrayal.

Tom Selleck brilliantly plays the downbeat detective in several TV movies. His huge height helps to intimidate, and his charisma lets him subtly showcase the character’s tragic layers. The regret is all over his face, but you also sense an iron resolve to do right by himself and the townspeople. This poignant performance always draws you in. The only caveat is that Selleck is about 20 years too old. That difference may seem like a huge distraction, but it’s easily overlooked, given the compelling drama onscreen.^[1]

9 Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit revolves around a group of Dwarves and their daring quest, and Thorin certainly looks like a leader with a daring scheme. Though still Dwarf height, he’s tall for his race and has a regal air thanks to his royal lineage. At the same time, he’s clearly past his prime, sporting an aged face and a long, white beard. Oddly enough, his big-screen version is the opposite.

In Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, Richard Armitage plays the wayward king. While still older than most of his companions, his flowing locks are black with only a few streaks of gray. In addition, his beard is only a few inches long. Luckily, he compensates through sheer gravitas. His deep delivery conveys disarming pathos with every line, and his slow body language betrays years of heavy hardships. Above all, he has the intense eyes of someone with lifelong ambition. You truly believe that he needs to embark on this journey, which is precisely what Thorin calls for.^[2]

8 Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg

A prominent part of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher tales, Yennefer is simultaneously imposing and appealing. The eternal love of the titular monster slayer, this sorceress is the epitome of classically commanding beauty. Her features are nearly perfect, possessing the purity of youth and the structure of maturity. Topping things off are her black hair, pale skin, and piercingly purple eyes. These traits combine into an impossibly alluring image.

At first glance, the 2019 TV series deliberately deviates from that image. Anya Chalotra’s British-Indian heritage means she lacks Yennefer’s pale complexion and violet pupils, and she seems a little too young to convey the character’s decades of experience. To everyone’s surprise, though, she completely owns the role.

Going into the backstory lets her show the sorceress’s deep-seated emotional turmoil, and she continues hinting at that rawness even as the character matures. At the same time, she carries herself with all the grace, power, and cynicism that you’d expect from Yennefer, and she does so without driving viewers away. Blending those contrasting qualities is the greatest challenge with this heroine, and Chalotra accomplishes it beautifully.^[3]

7 Rufus Sewell as Tom Builder

Tom Builder’s background determines both his name and appearance. A principal figure in Ken Follet’s The Pillars of the Earth, he’s a lifelong mason. That career has given him an immense stature and a strong build. Despite his nonviolent profession, he’s the most physically imposing person wherever he goes. In casting this hero, the filmmakers focus on other aspects.

Rufus Sewell steps into Tom’s shoes for The Pillars of the Earth miniseries. He looks about average size and doesn’t tower over anyone. On one hand, this lessens his credibility as a career stoneworker. On the other hand, you can still see that experience in his demeanor. He ably channels the quiet intelligence needed for this precise line of work, and his striking eyes imbue his lines with the renewed passion Tom feels upon starting the story’s revolutionary building. Most importantly, he holds the paternal warmth that you’d want in this blue-collar family man. Sewell makes you believe he’s this man through subtle nuance. For such deep-set aspects, that approach is appropriate.^[4]

6 Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe

A British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe is the image of rough riding. He’s spent his life as a rogue and has the unscrupulous appearance to match. His angular bone structure, facial scar, and black hair add up to an unfriendly image. That image suits the chip on his shoulder, but it also makes his casting more surprising.

For the series of TV movies, Sean Bean steps up as Sharpe. He doesn’t look nearly as mean as the novels describe; his hair color isn’t even the same. On the upside, he’s always convincing as a man of action, and he flawlessly portrays the character’s inborn anger and resentment of authority. In fact, he’s so appealing as this flawed hero that Cornwell admits to hearing Bean’s voice when writing the character. You couldn’t ask for a better seal of approval.^[5]

5 Katee Sackhoff as Vic Moretti

Victoria “Vic” Moretti may be another damaged cop, but she’s also an invaluable member of the team in Craig Johnson’s Longmire novels. Previously based in Philadelphia, she was ostracized after becoming a whistleblower. She now seeks a fresh start in Wyoming, where she sticks out like a sore thumb. Caucasians and Native Americans make up the region’s population; Vic comes from an Italian family. That’s clear from her name, but it apparently wasn’t clear to the casting director.

Katee Sackhoff—with her white skin and blonde hair—is the furthest thing from an Italian. Nevertheless, she effortlessly embodies the exiled cop. She has a weathered quality about her, which suits the heroine’s tragic background. This persona makes her a hard figure, but she’s never cold. You can still empathize with her plight, and you don’t deny she cares deeply for her allies. Those characteristics are difficult to blend, but Sackhoff’s success with similar roles lets her do the same here.^[6]

4 Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein

This mad scientist is infamous in fiction, but his true appearance may surprise you. The ambitious protagonist of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein hails from a Swiss family and spends his years studying alchemy. He wants to discover the elusive elixir of life—a goal that constantly fuels his experiments. He eventually animates a makeshift human, but that reckless action actually stems from the impetuousness of youth. Frankenstein achieves this milestone soon after his college years. When adapting this iconic tale, though, most filmmakers portray the young academic as an older soul.

One example comes in the form of Peter Cushing. He holds the role throughout Hammer Film’s Frankenstein franchise. Not only does he sport his native British accent, but his angular appearance and calculating demeanor are a far cry from the energetic youth found in Shelley’s novel. However, he compensates with chilling precision.

His immense intellect shows in his articulate delivery and penetrating gaze. You buy him as an academic who knows his subject’s significance. That factor makes him both scarier as a villain and heartbreaking as a tragic figure. Cushing consequently emerges as the best Frankenstein ever put to screen. Considering how many interpretations we’ve seen, that’s saying a lot.^[7]

3 Ben Barnes as Caspian

Caspian X is a pivotal prince in The Chronicles of Narnia. Though technically a member of the invading Telmarines, he sides with the locals and liberates the land from the would-be conquerors. Given his accomplishments, it’s easy to forget that he’s just a preteen boy. With blonde hair and a small frame, he’s the picture of prepubescent naivete. However, he and the rest of the Telmarines (originally European pirates) see a notable change in translation.

In 2008’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, these guys are given a much darker complexion akin to conquistadors, many of them played by Latino actors. Thus, Ben Barnes doesn’t resemble the book’s Caspian at all, with differences ranging from his black hair to his older age. That said, he’s arguably more interesting. He still has a youthful drive, but he also imbues the lost prince with uncertainty and emotional volatility. His Caspian is a troubled soul who’s trying to find his place and right the wrongs done to him. A person in his position would naturally have that same attitude, lending an unexpected authenticity to this fantastical figure.^[8]

2 Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga

This Spanish hitman is one of James Bond’s deadliest adversaries. Though employed by many seedy factions in Ian Fleming’s novels, Scaramanga takes center stage in The Man with the Golden Gun. His expert marksmanship lets him live lavishly despite his young age. He’s only in his thirties, and his red hair is in a crew-cut style. Aside from his tall height, he’s not what you’d imagine from a seasoned assassin.

By contrast, Christopher Lee fits snugly into that image. He obviously has the monumental height, but he also sports black hair with gray streaks—slicked back with nary a strand out of place. These facets distinguish him from his book counterpart, but he nails the villain in all other areas. His sinister presence is perfect for a killer with no conscience. In addition, he has the classy charisma of a disciplined hitman.

This is the type of guy who shoots you between the eyes and casually cashes the check. Beneath the surface, though, is a genuine love for killing; it’s an art form for him. That cold passion is almost too intimidating. When Roger Moore’s Bond comes out on top, you don’t buy it for a second. Lee does his job and then some.^[9]

1 Ray Winstone as Beowulf

Since his pivotal poem, Beowulf has stood tall as the prototypical hero. This Swedish warrior combats all manner of monsters through sheer strength, guile, and force of will. He’s a bear of a man—taller than everyone else with the muscle to match. He’s exactly what you’d imagine when picturing a conquering champion.

Among many other things, the 2007 film takes a few liberties with its casting. Ray Winstone assumes the mantle of Beowulf. He’s not exactly brimming with muscle, and his delivery barely hides his Cockney accent. That said, it also carries an electric conviction. He exudes authority and power, giving him firm command of every scene. Plus, the performance capture format lets him look like the strong warrior that the poem describes, and he confidently carries himself to match that body type. Capturing a larger-than-life hero is no small feat, but Winstone is more than capable of that daunting task.^[10]

Louis XVI (1754–1793) is generally known mainly as the French king who was guillotined when his country fell into chaos during the French Revolution in the late 1700s. The French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution, Enlightenment ideals, economic problems, and conflict between the aristocracy and bourgeoisie. It resulted in mass executions, upheaval, and the end of absolute monarchy in France. But for all his faults, the weak-willed, indecisive King Louis XVI made great strides for progress and human rights—despite uncontrollable circumstances that almost guaranteed his failure.

10 Religious Tolerance

While the Catholic Church remains one of the wealthiest institutions in the world today, it was even more powerful hundreds of years ago. In France, those of non-Catholic faiths such as Judaism and Protestantism were not legally recognized or given civil rights until the late 1700s.

Louis XVI changed this with his 1787 Edict of Tolerance (aka the Edict of Versailles). His signing of the Edict granted non-Catholics in France the right to nondiscrimination based on their faith and civil status so that they could register marriages, births, and deaths and own property.

Full rights for Protestants and other non-Catholics weren’t enforced until Code Napoleon in 1804, but Louis XVI’s Edict of Tolerance was a huge step forward for their civil rights.

9 Supported The American War For Independence

Again on the right side of history, King Louis XVI gave great support to the American independence effort, and France’s backing was instrumental in the US victory.

In 1778, he backed the Treaty of Alliance, which stated that France would ally with the US if Britain declared war. He also let Britain know that France acknowledged the independence of the newly-formed US. When Britain consequently declared war four days later, Louis sent aid and arms across the Atlantic to the American rebels. French officers were also recruited to join the Americans, including the Marquis de Lafayette.

Other ways that France helped the Americans included sending uniforms, a secret loan, providing naval support, and sending troops to supplement American forces over four years from 1778 to 1782.

8 Abolished Serfdom On Royal Land

While serfs weren’t quite as low in status as slaves—they did have the right to own property—they were the lowest social rung of the feudal ladder, and when land was sold, they were sold with it. They had no freedom of movement.

There was vocal opposition to the perceived inhumanity of serfdom, particularly from famed Enlightenment writer Voltaire. In 1779, Louis XVI abolished serfdom on all land under royal control in hopes that this would encourage other landowners to do the same.

Serfdom was fully abolished in France when the feudal rights of the nobility were taken away on August 4, 1789, by the National Constituent Assembly.

7 Encouraged Exploration

Louis XVI played an important role in supporting French exploration of the world during the late 18th century.

The king was fond of the book The Voyages of Cook and wrote A History of the Exploration of the South Seas, which was published in 1791. Dissatisfied with France’s lack of knowledge of the southernmost parts of the globe, he decided in 1785 to send out an expedition with two Navy ships, La Boussole and L’Astrolabe, and chose Captain La Perouse to lead the round-the-world voyage. Louis was intimately involved with the voyage, choosing crew and setting its objectives (setting up new trading posts, meeting new peoples, and mapping the world).

The voyage came to a tragic end in 1788, when the ships sank off Australia, killing all 227 people aboard, but it was hugely important for all the data sent back from each port, which is now kept in Versailles.

6 Abolished Torture For Confessions

In another display of tolerance, Louis XVI abolished the use of torture to extract confessions in French courts.

Torture was a commonly used tool in Western criminal courts for 600 years, from around 1250 to the 19th century, but was criticized for its inhumanity and because of the consequent unreliability of confessions. John Langbein said that with torture, “no safeguards were ever found which could protect the innocent and guarantee the truth. The agony of torture created an incentive to speak, but not necessarily to speak the truth.”

Louis XVI decreed on August 24, 1780, the abolition of one kind of torture, known as la question preparatoire. Later, in 1788, he abolished torture prealable. Torture preparatoire was used to extract confessions from suspects on trial who might have been innocent, whereas torture prealable was used before executions to get the names of accomplices from convicts on death row.

5 Damage Control

While France undeniably underwent huge upheaval during and after Louis XVI’s reign, it is a testament to the unlucky king’s efforts that he managed to keep the country together for that long.

Firstly, Louis was never supposed to be king. As the third son of the dauphin of France (heir apparent to the throne), there were two people in line before him for the throne after his grandfather Louis XV—his older brother and his father. But his brother, who was always favored, died aged nine, when Louis was seven. Four years later, his father died, leaving only 11-year-old Louis to assume the throne, which he did at age 19 when his grandfather died in May 1774.

Secondly, the political climate in France was ripe for revolution, and there was little anyone could have done to change that. France’s loss in the Seven Years War under Louis XV left it in serious debt. An unexpected flurry of crop failures in the 1780s caused severe shortages of bread. The ancient tax system was deeply unfair, with the common people bearing the brunt of the cost while the nobility were free of responsibility. Finally, the ideals of the Enlightenment began to really take hold at this point and caused revolutionary thinking.

Louis XVI was perhaps the unluckiest French king in history.

4 Tried To Help The Poor

With France in debt and the middle and lower classes suffering from poor harvests, Louis XVI tried to make the tax system fairer. He tried to get the nobility to pay more taxes so that the burden wouldn’t be entirely on the poor people of the country, but the nobility refused and even managed to get some of the Third Estate (the commoners) on their side. Despite his theoretical absolute monarchy, the uncooperative nobles stopped Louis from making crucial tax reforms.

The nobles caused plenty of problems in the lead-up to the Revolution, as well. For example, they were supposed to pass up most of the tax money that they got from peasants on their land to the king, but they tended to keep most of it for themselves; only a third of the tax from the gabelle (salt tax) made its way back to the king.

3 Abolished The Labor Tax

In yet another example of the lowly status of French peasants in the mid-1700s, they were required to do 14 days of forced, unpaid labor to build and repair the country’s roads. True to form, Louis XVI and his finance comptroller, Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (who happened to be friends with Voltaire) ended the corvee en nature and replaced it with a land tax, which angered the nobility.

Angering the nobles in efforts to please and help the commoners was a theme of Louis XVI’s reign. He wanted to be loved by his people, but the nobles were a force to be reckoned with.

2 Promoted Enlightenment

In a Europe with still-low literacy levels (approaching 50 percent for French men in the late 1700s), Louis XVI was a shining example of intellectualism, and he tried to pass it on. He reportedly had one of the most impressive private libraries of the time (with 8,000 books) and was fluent in French, English, and Italian and was outstanding in Latin, astronomy, history, and geography.

The late king founded a school of medicine in Paris in 1774, then known as L’Academie et le College de Chirurgie, (Academy and School of Surgery), now known as Universite Paris Descartes. He was also a patron of the arts, commissioning beautiful pieces like Jacques-Louis David’s Oath of Horatii and supporting US poet Joel Barlow’s epic The Columbiad.

1 Abolished The Death Penalty For Deserters

Louis XVI never could have guess how ironic the fact that he abolished the death penalty (for army deserters) would become when he was guillotined decades later during the Revolution.

In keeping with his liberal style, Louis gave unusual leniency times to army deserters and took away the threat of capital punishment. This was part of a push to instill some initiative in his soldiers rather than having an army of robots. This decision may have been influenced by the important play Le deserteur (The Deserter), written in 1769 by Michel-Jean Sedaine.

Elle blogs at elleloughran.blogspot.ie and is on Twitter @frizzyroselle.

These days, much of the history of the Americas before Europeans arrived has been lost or forgotten. This is a shame because the great civilizations of Central America hold stories as epic and intriguing as those of Ancient Greece and Rome. Take the cities of Tikal and Calakmul, which spent four centuries locked in a titanic struggle with twists and turns straight out of Game of Thrones.

10The Rise Of Tikal

The classic Mayan civilization stretched from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, and northern Honduras. This was difficult terrain, prone to drought and soil erosion. Yet here the Maya built one of the great civilizations of ancient America, mastering writing and mathematics. (They arguably invented zero before anyone else).

Unlike the Aztecs or Toltecs, the Maya were never united in one empire. Instead, they formed a squabbling network of city-states, not unlike ancient Greece. Warfare was limited and somewhat ceremonial. Trade was extensive.

The cities of Calakmul and Tikal grew particularly wealthy. Both dominated large areas of fertile territory and had access to chert mines. They traded in jade, obsidian, feathers, and other tropical luxuries, and their priests and merchants grew rich on the profits. During the reign of King Chak Tok Ich’aak, Tikal surpassed Calakmul and reached new heights of splendor and prestige.

Yet Chak Tok Ich’aak’s success was also at the root of his downfall. Even as Tikal’s palaces and monuments rose more splendid than ever before, the city’s wealth attracted attention from far beyond the Mayan lands. In the distant highlands of central Mexico, powers vast and cool and unsympathetic regarded Tikal with envious eyes and slowly drew up plans against it.

9The Invasion

Over 1,000 kilometers (600 mi) from Tikal in the Valley of Mexico near what is now Mexico City, an immense and mysterious city rises. We still don’t know who built it or how to read their language. We don’t even know its real name. The Aztecs, who wandered awed through the ruins a millennium later, dubbed it Teotihuacan, “the place where men become gods.”

It’s understandable that the Aztecs were impressed because Teotihuacan was huge. Its population was well over 100,000, making it easily the largest city in the Western Hemisphere at the time. Its monuments were gargantuan: The Pyramid of the Sun is one of the largest ever built, and the Pyramid of the Moon is only slightly smaller. The Street of the Dead runs for 2.5 kilometers (1.5 mi) between the main temples. Its warriors roamed far and wide, distinguished by their unusual shell goggles and the obsidian mirrors strapped to their backs.

Immigrants from all over Central America flocked to Teotihuacan, turning it into a melting pot of different cultures and languages. From atop the pyramids, a priestly class occasionally carried out human sacrifices. The city’s political structure remains subject to debate, but by the AD 370s, it seems to have been under the control of a powerful figure known as Spearthrower Owl. In 378, he watched as his army marched out of Teotihuacan and headed east for Tikal.

8‘Fire Is Born’

Spearthrower Owl didn’t accompany the army himself. Instead, it was commanded by a general the Maya called Siyaj K’ak’ (“Fire Is Born”). They also dubbed him “Ochk’in Kaloomte” (“Lord of the West”), reflecting his origins in Teotihuacan. Mayan cities quailed as his army passed, and at least four of them seem to have recorded the event in murals depicting elaborately costumed and heavily armed Teotihuacano warriors. They easily stand out compared to the Maya, who are depicted in simple breechcloths and headdresses.

In January 378, Siyaj K’ak’ appeared in Waka’, a town just west of Tikal. Exactly eight days later on January 14 (8.17.1.4.12 on the Mayan calendar), he arrived in Tikal. In their helmets and goggles, the warlike Teotihuacanos must have been a fearsome sight and Chak Tok Ich’aak was apparently unable to mount any meaningful resistance. Siyaj K’ak’ forced his way into the palace that very same day, and King Chak Tok Ich’aak “entered the water” of the Mayan afterlife. We can assume that he was either quietly murdered or encouraged to commit suicide.

Siyaj K’ak’ presumably had the dead king’s family murdered as well. (They certainly disappear from the historical record immediately afterward). His soldiers also broke or damaged all of Tikal’s preconquest monuments and inscriptions. A year after the invasion, Spearthrower Owl’s son came down from Teotihuacan and was crowned the new king of Tikal.

7Building An Empire

While Spearthrower Owl’s son sat on the throne, Siyaj K’ak’ continued to expand his new empire. Shortly after the conquest of Tikal, the city of Uaxactun seems to have been overrun and made part of the Tikal kingdom. Stelae in the city depict heavily armed Teotihuacan warriors, and historians believe these show Siyaj K’ak’ conquering the city. Archaeologists found five murdered noble women and children buried beneath one of the stelae—the slaughtered family of Uaxactun’s last king.

In 393, Siyaj K’ak’ marched into Rio Azul, a city in what is now Guatemala. Clearly, the Maya remained no match for his goggled warriors. An altar depicts the sacrifice of eight members of the city’s old ruling class, and Rio Azul became subject to Tikal. This was a huge victory since Rio Azul lay on the River Hondo, a crucial trade route to the Caribbean coast. The city’s conquest secured this route and allowed Tikal to suck trade away from rival cities like Calakmul.

At some point, Siyak K’ak’ also seems to have installed a new ruling family in the famed Mayan city of Palenque. As a new Mayan calendar cycle approached (the year 9.0.0.0.0 was in 435 AD), it seemed that Teotihuacano-Tikal was poised to dominate the entire Mayan world.

6Tikal Consolidates Power

Spearthrower Owl’s son died in AD 411, and Siyaj K’ak’ presumably passed away a few years earlier. The new king of Tikal was Spearthrower Owl’s grandson, Siyaj Chan K’awiil II, who tried to consolidate the new kingdom by appealing to his Mayan subjects. His monuments and murals depict him in Mayan dress and emphasize his Mayan mother. Even his name was taken from an earlier Mayan ruler of Tikal rather than his Teotihuacano ancestors.

But that doesn’t mean he tried to hide his central Mexican roots. While Siyaj Chan K’awiil had himself depicted in Mayan costume, he kept Spearthrower Owl’s glyph on his crown. In several monuments, Siyaj Chan K’awiil sits in Mayan dress while the spirit of his father looks on wearing full Teotihuacan military gear. This must have been an effective propaganda campaign: “I’m one of you,” the monuments declared, “but remember the power I have behind me.”

Meanwhile, “New Tikal” continued to expand. In 426, Siyaj Chan K’awiil raised a warrior known as K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ to the rank of king and sent him to seize the city of Copan in what is now Honduras. K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ also conquered the city of Quirigua, giving the Tikal-Copan entity control of the entire Motagua Valley. Under Siyaj Chan K’awiil’s immediate successors, Tikal continued to expand and consolidate its dominant position. And it seemed the other Mayan cities could only look on in fear and jealousy.

5The Star War

Today, the temples of Calakmul rise like icebergs out of the immense jungles of Campeche. But in its heyday, the city ruled one of the largest and most powerful Mayan kingdoms. It was the home of the Kaan dynasty, a particularly long-lasting and resourceful family of priest-kings who had relocated to Calakmul after their ancient power base at El Mirador went into decline.

After the Teotihuacanos arrived, the Kaan watched helplessly as they were eclipsed by the rising power of Tikal. (The conquest of Rio Azul was a clear attempt to cut Calakmul out of the rich Caribbean trade routes). But as time passed, the Maya began to master central Mexican weapons like the spear-thrower and Tikal’s warriors began to lose their mystique.

But Tikal remained too large and powerful for Calakmul to challenge head-on. So a Kaan ruler known as Sky Witness decided to outflank it instead. Doubtless appealing to Mayan solidarity and jealousy of the Teotihuacanos, Sky Witness constructed a delicate alliance of Mayan cities surrounding Tikal. The noose was complete by 556 when Tikal’s most powerful vassal, the huge city of Caracol, betrayed it to join the alliance. Between Calakmul in the north and Caracol in the south, Tikal was caught in a pincer.

After years of strangling Tikal, Sky Witness decided to finish it. In 562, Calakmul and Caracol launched a “Star War.” This was basically the Mayan equivalent of total war: The aim was to completely crush the opposing state. Their combined armies overran Tikal, defaced its monuments, and ritually sacrificed its king. It was a huge victory. But things weren’t over yet.

4The Wrath Of Kaan

The Kaan were unimaginably ancient and power-hungry. From the great city of El Mirador, they had been at the forefront of the preclassic period of Mayan history, and now Calakmul looked set to dominate the classic period. After defeating Tikal in 562, they installed a puppet king and an onerous peace agreement. For the next century, no new monuments were permitted in Tikal and much of the city’s wealth was siphoned off to Calakmul.

Shortly afterward, the Kaan destroyed Rio Azul, cementing their control of the Rio Hondo trade. They also probably attacked Copan, whose monuments were destroyed or defaced during this period. The Kaan ruler Scroll Serpent lead a huge expedition to distant Palenque where he executed the king, a descendant of the ruler put in place by Siyaj K’ak’ all those years ago. No challenge to Sky Witness’s alliance was allowed. When the city of Naranjo tried to leave the alliance to attack Caracol, the Kaan ransacked it and tortured its king to death.

But Tikal’s size and resources meant it remained a potential threat, and the Kaan watched it like a hawk for any sign of defiance. In 629, Tikal tried to found a new city at Dos Pilas. In response, the Kaan invaded and forced the ruler of Dos Pilas (the king of Tikal’s own brother) to become a vassal of Calakmul instead. But they were never able to fully destroy Tikal, which remained a sleeping giant waiting to be awakened.

3Tikal Turns The Tide

In 682, a new king rose to the throne in Tikal. Jasaw Chan K’awiil was possessed by an iron determination to restore Tikal’s power. As a child, he had seen his father humiliated by Calakmul and Dos Pilas. But he also sensed that the Calakmul alliance was weakening. As soon as he took the throne, he began work on giant monuments and inscriptions, the first in Tikal for over a century.

Tikal’s situation was precarious: The city was still surrounded by the great ring of the Calakmul alliance, including El Peru in the west, Naranjo in the east, Dos Pilas and Caracol in the south, and Masaal and Calakmul in the north. Faced with this formidable league, Jasaw Chan K’awiil decided on a bold roll of the dice. Bypassing the smaller cities, he launched a surprise attack on Calakmul itself. In 695, his army “brought down the flint and shield” of Calakmul and won a dramatic victory.

Jasaw returned to Tikal covered in glory and held a great triumph on the anniversary of Spearthrower Owl’s death. A carving of the event from Tikal’s royal palace shows Jasaw bedecked in full Teotihuacan military gear, looming triumphantly over an imprisoned Kaan lord being prepared for sacrifice.

With Calakmul on the back foot, Tikal’s rulers set about dismantling the alliance that hemmed them in. Jasaw himself subdued Masaal in the north while his son, Yik’in Chan K’awiil, defeated El Peru and Naranjo in a single year-long campaign. Yik’in Chan K’awiil also launched another attack on Calakmul itself, capturing and sacrificing the Kaan ruler.

However, Dos Pilas in the south remained stubbornly defiant, defeating a Tikal invasion force in 705. That must have particularly hurt because Dos Pilas was still run by a distant branch of Tikal’s ruling family.

2A Tropical Cold War

With the alliance broken, Calakmul watched jealously as Tikal’s wealth and power grew. But neither city was ever able to completely destroy the other. This period of Mayan history has been compared to the Cold War, with the two superpowers warily watching each other and engaging in numerous skirmishes and proxy wars.

For example, Tikal had been allied with Copan since it was conquered by K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ (see entry 6). K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ had also conquered the city of Quirigua and made it a vassal of Copan. But in 738, the Kaan encouraged Quirigua to revolt. With support from Calakmul, the Quiriguans seized and decapitated Copan’s king, severely weakening Tikal’s most important ally.

Such proxy wars became increasingly common as Tikal and Calakmul repeatedly invaded neighboring cities to put friendly rulers on the throne. Without confronting each other directly, their fortunes ebbed and flowed and the records of neighboring cities are full of nervous mentions of the two titans. Teotihuacan had long since declined, and Spearthrower Owl was forgotten in the Valley of Mexico. But in the Yucatan, his descendants fought on against the ancient snake glyph of the Kaan.

Warfare became increasingly common and frantic across the region. As Calakmul’s sphere of influence receded, Dos Pilas lost control of its vassals and the Petexbatun region descended into complete chaos. The people of Dos Pilas tore down their temples to build defensive walls while the ruling family (still distant relations of Tikal’s kings) fled to the fortress of Aguateca, guarded by a mighty ravine. At Punta de Chimino on Lake Petexbatun, the people built a formidable network of walls and moats. But the fighting was terrifyingly intense, and both Aguateca and Punta de Chimino were stormed and destroyed.

Meanwhile, both Calakmul and Tikal continued to grow. The city of Calakmul alone now housed more than 120,000, with larger numbers in its surrounding kingdom. But there were already signs of decline. As the centers struggled to hold on, things were falling apart.

1The Great Collapse

Beginning at the start of the ninth century AD, the classical Mayan civilization dramatically collapsed. The great cities of the lowlands lost most of their population or were abandoned entirely, to be swallowed up by the jungle. The great dynasties vanished, and monuments and temples fell into ruins. Mayan civilization continued in the north in trading towns like Chichen Itza, dominated by merchants rather than autocratic priest-kings. But the era of sprawling cities and huge building projects was over.

The reasons for this collapse remain one of the great mysteries of history. We now know that it coincided with a period of sustained drought, which almost certainly played a role. Probably the land could no longer sustain the huge population. Tikal, for example, built huge reservoirs to keep the city going through the four-month dry season. But years of low rainfall would have defeated even Mayan ingenuity. However, drought alone can’t explain the collapse—the cities of the north lasted far longer than those of the lowlands, even though the north was much drier.

Whatever the reason, the collapse finally ended the 400-year conflict between Tikal and Calakmul. Locked in their titanic struggle, the two cities probably never saw it coming. The war almost certainly sapped the Mayan ability to respond to the catastrophe facing them. Calakmul was one of the first cities to go, losing all cohesion by about AD 810. Tikal held on for another 50 years, but eventually, it was abandoned, too. The sons of Spearthrower Owl and the Kaan dynasty disappeared from history.

After the collapse, a small population hung on in Calakmul and occasionally erected crude monuments in imitation of their ancestors. But the writing inscribed on them was nonsensical. They no longer remembered how to write.

Great and powerful families have ruled over countless lives since the first civilization was born. There are empires that have stretched across continents and held power over billions of people.

Over the last 100 years, though, almost all of those empires fell. Revolutions around the world have cast out the people who once held that power, stripped them of their wealth, and left them to fend for themselves. Today, heirs to those empires live in ways that are incredibly humbling—and a little bit strange.

10 The Last King Of Rwanda Lives Off Food Stamps In Virginia

King Kigeli, the last king of Rwanda, ruled his nation for a mere nine months before a Hutu revolt in 1959 forced him into exile.

Today, 79-year-old Kigeli receives food stamps and lives in government-subsidized Section 8 housing in Virginia. To get by, he sells knighthoods into the kingdom of Rwanda to anyone willing to pay. Most of his neighbors have no idea that he was once the king of an African country.

Still, Kigeli insists on being treated like a ruler. For example, he refuses to drive himself anywhere. His chauffeur holds the title of Kigeli’s chancellor, although this dignitary has to make ends meet with a part-time job selling mattresses at Sears.

9 The Last Prince Of Italy Was Charged With Pimping

When the Italian monarchy was abolished in 1946, the royal family was forced into exile, forbidden to return for 54 years. Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the heir to the throne, was forced to live away from his country and the power his family had enjoyed—and it didn’t turn out well.

In 1978, he inexplicably decided to point a rifle out of his yacht and blindly fire at the darkness. He accidentally hit and killed a German tourist. Vittorio spent 13 years fighting a manslaughter charge of which he was eventually acquitted.

When he reappeared in Italy, he soon found himself working as a pimp for the Sicilian Mafia and was caught supplying prostitutes to its high rollers. The charge finally landed him behind bars.

To his credit, Vittorio keeps his head up. After getting his first taste of prison food, he declared, “In Italy, you can eat well everywhere.”

8 The Last King Of Egypt Shot Two Lions In A Zoo

Although Fuad II was technically the last king of Egypt, he only “reigned” as an infant during 1952–53 after his father, King Farouk, was forced to abdicate in a coup. From 1936 to 1952, however, King Farouk was the last king to actually rule Egypt. Farouk enjoyed all the luxuries of royalty, but it left him a bit disconnected from everyday life—and common sense.

Near the start of World War II, Farouk was plagued with a recurring nightmare in which he was chased by a lion. Troubled, he called his wisest adviser, El-Maraghi, and asked what his dream meant. “You will not rest until you have slain those lions,” El-Maraghi told him.

Farouk took his advice—literally. He grabbed a gun, walked to the local zoo, and shot two lions dead in their cages. Then he returned home and told El-Maraghi what he had done.

El-Maraghi spent the rest of the day explaining to the king what a metaphor is.

7 The Last Emperor Of China Lived As ‘Prisoner No. 981’

Pu Yi became emperor of China when he was two years old. He lost his title three years later, but he was kept in such seclusion inside his palace, surrounded by servants who played out a fantasy kingdom, that he didn’t find out that he wasn’t the emperor for a full 10 years.

He got his position back when Japan made him the emperor of the puppet state of Manchuria. When Japan surrendered, though, Pu Yi was sent to a Chinese prison. He expected to be killed.

Instead, he was sentenced to tend vegetables in a prison. There, he was forced to live as a commoner under the label “Prisoner No. 981.”

Pu Yi was a model prisoner. He impressed the Communist Party enough that they actually let him go. He spent his last years in freedom, working part-time as an assistant gardener.

6 The Emperor Of Korea Manages A Home Shopping Network

Korea no longer bestows the title “Emperor” on the heads of its royal family. If they did, though, it would be held by Yi Won, the adopted son of the last ruler, Yi Gu. In 2005, Yi Gu died and the royal family chose to pass the title to Yi Won.

Before, though, Yi Won wasn’t living as a prince in a castle. He was the general manager of Hyundai’s Home Shopping Network. The Korean royalty today doesn’t pass much on to their children, so the crown prince had to make ends meet by hawking goods through mail order catalogues.

Yi Won’s job, though, was actually lucrative compared to the rest of his family. Another candidate for the throne, Yi Seok, currently runs a liquor store in the US.

5 The Heir To The Ottoman Empire Is A Retired Librarian

For 622 years, the Ottoman royal family ruled an empire that spanned three continents. Then, in 1924, the family was given a one-way passport out of Turkey and told not to return.

Prince Bayazid, the current heir to the throne, wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that he was the heir to a dynasty. So he lived a lot like anyone else. He had to fight to get a job at the New York Public Library. Initially, the library ignored the application because it had a foreign name—until Bayazid begged for the job.

When they realized he could speak 15 languages, the library made Bayazid a translator. But he often wasn’t allowed to put his name on his work because the library was worried that a Turkish name on Armenian documents would upset people.

Bayazid worked at the library for 45 years before he retired. He still lives in New York.

4 The Nepalese Royal Family Ended In A Murder-Suicide

In 1990, the Kingdom of Nepal started to come to an end when the People’s Movement put strict limitations on the royal family’s power. It was the crown prince, though, who brought the kingdom to a crashing halt—in a horrific way.

Prince Dipendra had fallen in love with a woman named Devyani Rana whom he had met in England and intended to marry. His family, however, did not approve. His mother threatened to pull him out of the line of succession if he married her, and fights between family members escalated.

On June 1, 2001, Dipendra picked up a gun and massacred 10 members of his family before turning the gun on himself. In the process, he wiped out the entire royal family and its main line of succession. Nepal’s monarchy was abolished shortly afterward.

3 The King Of Cambodia Is A Professional Ballet Dancer

Norodom Sihamoni never wanted to be king of Cambodia. As a young man, he studied cinematography, going to North Korea in pursuit of a better education—which says a lot about the state of Cambodia.

His true passion, though, was ballet. Sihamoni left for France and became a respected dancer, performing classical pieces in theaters until he was called back to the palace. His father had abdicated the throne, and feeling it was his responsibility, Sihamoni took his place on the throne.

Today, Sihamoni is a figurehead with no power. International news has described him as a “puppet king” while the people of Cambodia reportedly describe him as “sad, lonely, and abandoned.” Sihamoni has no children and no heir, and it is expected that the Kingdom of Cambodia will die with him.

2 The Heir To India’s Mughal Empire Lives In A Slum

The fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire built the Taj Mahal, and at their peak, the empire ruled over one-quarter of the world’s population.

Today, the current claimant to the throne is Sultana Begum, the great-granddaughter-in-law of the last Mughal emperor. She married the male heir, Bedar Bukht, who lived in hiding out of fear that British imperialists would have him killed. Bukht sold charms and talismans, earning a wage that Begum called “too meager for survival.”

Since Bukht’s death, Begum has been living in a shack in a slum where she runs a tea shop. She also receives a political pension of 400 rupees a month—the equivalent of $6.

1 The Emperor Of Japan Is An Expert On Goby Fish

In all the world, only one man still enjoys the title of “Emperor”: Emperor Akihito of Japan. Even Akihito, though, is nothing more than a figurehead with a few ceremonial duties.

To pass the time, Akihito studies goby fish. Using a biological lab inside his Imperial Palace, he spends most of his time examining the fish and writing his observations.

Today, Akihito is one of the world’s leading experts on goby fish. He has published 38 peer-reviewed scientific studies on the topic and recently contributed 350 pages on one suborder of goby fish to a book.

With no real power, it’s reasonable to assume that even his position as emperor will fade soon. The Japanese empire will crumble to dust and be swept away, like the ends of countless empires before it.

+Further Reading

The higher you are, the further you have to fall! Here are some recommended lists from the archives for further reading on this fascinating subject:

10 Wild Adventures Of Former Royals
Top 10 Pretenders to the Thrones of Europe
10 Mysteries Surrounding Royal Children
Top 10 Scandals That Rocked Royal Families
10 Mysteries And Secrets Surrounding British Royalty

Though their skills and ingenuity are often underrated by more modern minds, our ancient forebears were quite adept at construction, building structures that have stood to this day. Here are 10 such examples.

10Saint Hripsime Church
AD 618

The first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, Armenia is home to several revered sites of the religion. One such building is the Saint Hripsime Church, built in the seventh century. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and rightfully so, the church was commissioned to replace a mausoleum which had been erected in honor of Saint Hripsime.

Hripsime played an important role in Armenia’s Christian history, for she was a devout believer. Around AD 300, she lived in a Roman monastery as a hermit, along with 35 other women. Eventually, after fleeing the affections of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Hripsime ended up in Armenia, where her beauty caught the eye, and fury, of the pagan Armenian king Drtad. When she refused, King Drtad had Hripsime and all her female companions tortured and killed. Later, after he had successfully converted the Armenian king to Christianity, St. Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church, built the first chapel to honor Hripsime.

9The Jokhang
AD 639

Generally considered the most sacred temple in Tibet, the Jokhang is a Buddhist temple located in the capital city of Lhasa. Though the exact date of its construction is up for debate, AD 639 is as good an estimate as you’re going to find. According to Tibetan legend, their king at the time, a man named Songtsan Gampo, got married to two different women: Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and Princess Wencheng of China.

His new brides brought with them a statue of the Buddha, and Gampo was delighted and sought to build a temple to house the Chinese statue. Stoked by jealousy, Princess Bhrikuti demanded one for her statue, and the Jokhang was constructed. Further legends about the temple say it was built on the bed of a dried-up lake, itself above a sleeping demoness whose heart was imprisoned by the construction of the Jokhang. Though it has undergone significant expansion and renovation since it was first built, most of the core parts of the temple date back to its original construction.

8Arch Of Titus
AD 82

Like many of the greatest feats of early architecture, the Arch of Titus was built to honor a man and, in this case, that man was the Roman Emperor Titus. Though his reign was brief, lasting only two years, Titus was considered a good ruler, as well as a renowned military commander; he was responsible for capturing Jerusalem and destroying the Second Temple. The Arch of Titus commemorates that feat, with the south panel depicting Titus and his men taking spoils from the Jewish people. The north panel illustrates Titus’s own triumph granted to him thanks to his victory.

Located on the Via Sacra (“Sacred Road”), it was constructed by Titus’s younger brother Domitian after he succeeded his brother in AD 81, and the Arch of Titus became a model for future arches, most notably the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. And, although it’s known as a triumphal arch, many similar constructions honor things besides military victories, including the building of city infrastructure.

7Seokguram
AD 774

Seokguram, or the Seokguram Grotto, is a hermitage built on the slopes of Mount Toham in Korea, containing within its walls a rather large statue of the Buddha. Designated a World Heritage Site, it was built in the eighth century by Prime Minister Kim Dae-seong, who wished to honor his parents, both of his current life and his previous life. (The nearby Bulguksa Temple was built for the same reason, filial duty being what it is.)

Unfortunately, Kim died before either one of his projects was completed, missing out on the innate beauty of their design, especially the sculpted devas, bodhisattvas, and disciples, which are widely regarded as some of the finest examples of East Asian Buddhist art. Unfortunately, thanks to the deleterious effects of weather, as well as the constant threat of clumsy tourists, the interior of the grotto has been sealed off with a glass wall.

6Dhamek Stupa
AD 500

For centuries, rulers in ancient India had been honored by having their remains encompassed by a large rounded structure known as a stupa. Once the Buddha came around, he decreed that enlightened ones should be honored in the same way. One of the oldest in the entire country is the Dhamek Stupa, located just outside of Sarnath, a city in the northeast of India. (The word stupa is Sanskrit for “heap.”)

The Dhamek Stupa was built under the guidance of one of India’s greatest kings, Ashoka, a man responsible for the propagation of Buddhism across the continent. It’s also one of a handful of monuments built to honor the Buddha, with the Dhamek Stupa marking the spot believed to be where the Buddha gave one of his earliest sermons.

5The Royal Mausoleum Of Mauretania
3 BC

Located near the famed city of Algiers in Algeria, the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania was built for two of the last rulers of the ancient kingdom of Mauretania, Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II. (Their son Ptolemy was the last ruler.) It is no coincidence the mausoleum bears a striking resemblance to one built by the Roman Emperor Augustus, for Juba II wished to create a sign of his allegiance to Rome.

Known by several different names, including “the tomb of the Christian woman” thanks to a cross-like shape on a false door, the mausoleum has suffered a great deal of misfortune throughout the centuries. Vandals and thieves destroyed or stole much of the ornate decorations once littering the grounds, and various rulers have tried to destroy it. It wasn’t until Emperor Napoleon III declared it a site to be protected in 1866 that the mausoleum was finally safe. However, since it was declared a World Heritage site in 1982, several factors, including poor maintenance and endless vandalism, have put this marvel of early architecture at risk of being destroyed.

4Ponte Sant’Angelo
AD 134

Constructed under the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian, better known for the wall he had built to mark the northern limit of Britannia (as well as keeping out those darn Celts), the Ponte Sant’Angelo is a still-standing bridge located in Rome. Originally known as the Pons Aelius (“Bridge of Hadrian”), the name was changed sometime in the Middle Ages, after the Archangel Michael was said to have appeared to Pope Gregory the Great in AD 590.

One of the finest bridges still standing in all of Rome, the Ponte Sant’Angelo was built to connect the Campus Martius, a public square in ancient Rome, to Hadrian’s mausoleum, which is now known as Castel Sant’Angelo. In addition, the original Roman statues were replaced in the following centuries, with angelic statues designed and mounted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1688.

3Treasury Of Atreus
1250 BC

Sometimes called the Tomb of Agamemnon, the Treasury of Atreus is a tholos, a beehive tomb built in Mycenae, Greece. Perhaps the greatest feat of Mycenaean architecture still standing, the tomb’s builder is unknown, with the legendary Mycenaean king Atreus or his son Agamemnon commonly cited as ordering the construction.

The Treasury of Atreus, along with one other tomb at Orchomenus, is unique in that a side-chamber is connected to the main vaulted chamber. Though the true purpose may never be uncovered, a prevailing thought is that less illustrious family members had their bones collected there.

2Greensted Church
11th Century

Not only is the Greensted Church the oldest wooden church still standing, it might even be the oldest wooden structure in all of Europe. To be fair to buildings such as the House of Bethlehem in Switzerland, much of what is left of the Greensted Church is much newer than the original construction date. In fact, the only things that remain are the tree trunks which form the nave.

Its most prominent feature, the tower, was added sometime in the 1600s, with various construction and reconstruction happening in the centuries afterward. Though not particularly noteworthy when compared to other places of worship, the Greensted Church did host the body of Saint Edmund, England’s first patron saint, for a night.

1Brihadeeswarar Temple
AD 1010

One of the largest temples in India, Brihadeeswarar Temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is located in Thanjavur in the eastern part of the country. The oldest temple made completely of granite (nearly 130,000 tons), the temple is also known as Rajarajeswaram, named for the Chola king Rajaraja I who is believed to be behind its construction.

A World Heritage Site, along with two other Chola temples, Brihadeeswarar Temple is an incredible feat of engineering. In fact, the Shikharam (“crown”) at the top of the temple was carved from a single stone and weighs over 80 tons and sits atop a tower 30 meters (100 ft) high.

+Further Reading

The accomplishments of our ancestors are made even more striking by our own seeming inability to build anything of quality these days! Here are some more lists from the archives that show off the amazing talents of those who have gone before us:

10 Mysterious And Enthralling Buildings Older Than Stonehenge
10 Awe-Inspiring Buildings You Won’t Believe We Tore Down
10 Intriguing Structures And Their Bizarre History
10 Most Famous Unfinished Buildings
10 Fascinating Historic Architectural Features

We write history as a battle between heroes and monsters. But even the darkest shade of black retains a glimmer of light. Although the people on this list deserve their labels as history’s worst monsters, every one of them has done some good—and many in ways that still affect our lives today.

10 Joseph Stalin Doubled Russia’s Life Expectancy

Joseph Stalin ruled with an iron fist that terrorized Russia. He is responsible for the wholesale slaughter of 20 million of his own people. Life under Stalin, the statistics suggest, must have been brutish and short.

In reality, though, it was the exact opposite. During Stalin’s reign, the average Russian life span more than doubled from 32 to 68 years.

Before the communist revolution, Russia’s people lived horrid, peasant lifestyles. Stalin played a major role in getting them out of that. He introduced a series of five-year plans that worked wonders.

Under Stalin, employment doubled, industrial output increased by 40 percent, and the country experienced an annual growth rate of 18 percent. Free health care and education was granted to everyone, and diseases dropped to record lows.

9 Genghis Khan Had Surprisingly Progressive Policies

Genghis Khan and his army swept through Asia, ruthlessly murdering, raping, and pillaging in any city whose population refused to kneel. By the end of his reign, he had wiped out nearly one-fifth of the world’s population and conquered almost a quarter of its land.

Life was horrible for his enemies. But for the people living in Genghis Khan’s empire, things were actually pretty good. The Mongolian Khans ensured complete religious freedom for all of their people and let Buddhist and Muslim leaders rise to the highest levels of Mongolian government.

Genghis Khan also started one of the first international postal services. His network sent mail from Russia to China and was so massive that it established 1,400 postal stations in China alone.

The countries he conquered flourished economically because of the new opportunities Mongolia afforded them. Since these countries were allowed religious and cultural liberties, their cultures flourished, too.

8 The Nazis Were Trailblazers In Animal Rights

The Nazis were surprisingly benevolent when it came to animals. You may have heard that Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian. As it turns out, Joseph Goebbels shared Hitler’s sympathy for animal suffering and introduced surprisingly humane policies that still affect the way we treat animals today.

The Nazis passed a number of laws to make animal deaths as painless as possible. They dictated specific ways to prepare lobsters and crabs to reduce their suffering and set up a whole series of rules on how livestock could be butchered.

They were also the first government to ban vivisection, the practice of dissecting live animals for research. Today, that practice is strictly controlled in most developed countries—a social change we owe to the Nazis.

Unfortunately, the Nazis didn’t show the same sympathies for human beings as for animals.

7 Pope Alexander VI Saved Thousands Of Jews

Pope Alexander VI has been immortalized as the evil pope. He was the patriarch of the House of Borgia, the infamous family known for their hedonistic orgies, violent cruelty, and abuse of Alexander VI’s papal power.

To Jewish refugees, though, Alexander VI was a hero. In 1492, when Jews were expelled from Spain, 9,000 starving and exiled people made their way to the Papal States. Although others had turned the Jews away and abused them, Alexander VI invited them in and granted them protection and freedom of religion.

Other forces tried everything they could to change his mind. Still, Alexander VI kept the Jews safe under his care. There’s reason to believe that Alexander VI only did this to make Spain mad. Whatever his motives, a lot of people owe their lives to the head of the Borgias.

6 Aaron Burr Was A Champion For Women And The Poor

Today, Aaron Burr is best known as the vice president who killed founding father Alexander Hamilton in a duel. The story seems especially bizarre because it’s hard to understand how Burr got his position in the first place.

As it turns out, Burr was insanely popular before he shot Hamilton. In fact, so many people wanted him to be president that he almost accidentally stole the election from Thomas Jefferson.

The people loved Burr because he fought for their rights. In those days, only landowners could vote, but Burr helped enfranchise the poor through a loophole. He set up land co-ops where poor people could register as property owners and vote.

He was a champion of women’s rights, too. His daughter, Theodosia, was famous for being incredibly well-educated, and Burr was an ardent supporter of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

5 Mao Tse-tung Brought Peace To China

Mao Tse-tung killed more of his own people than any other leader in history. During the Great Leap Forward, his policies brought about the deaths of over 45 million people in four years.

Other than the starvations and imprisonments, though, life under Mao was actually more peaceful than it had been in a long time. Before Mao, Chinese history was filled with violence and brutality. Shortly after the dawn of the 20th century, the country fell into its infamous Warlord Era. Nearly as soon as the country started to calm down, the Japanese invaded, and that war was followed by yet another civil war.

When Mao came to power, though, the wars finally stopped—and China hasn’t endured a full-scale war since. They have sent soldiers off to support other countries and to quell rebellious states, but the rise of the People’s Republic brought a long-awaited era of peace to China.

4 Saddam Hussein Guaranteed Education And Medical Care To All

At the turn of the 21st century, Saddam Hussein was one of America’s greatest enemies. A powerful, dangerous man who had committed unbelievable atrocities, Hussein would have done much worse if he could’ve gotten his hands on the right weapons.

However, he also invested in some major developments that massively improved daily life in Iraq. Under Saddam, Iraq developed some of the best universities and hospitals in the Arab world—and every one of them was free. Literacy rates skyrocketed under Hussein—from 52 percent to 80 percent in just 10 years.

Of course, all the imprisonment and torture left enough of a sour taste in his people’s mouths for them to tear down his statues and celebrate his death. But many Iraqis reading about his fall in the newspaper could understand what they were reading because of Saddam Hussein.

3 Pol Pot Is Loved By Cambodian Farmers

During his reign in the 20th century, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge wiped out more than three million people, nearly half of Cambodia’s population. Although most people hated Pol Pot, some reports say that the farmers loved him.

Before Pol Pot, the country was led by a man named Lon Nol, who was infamous for his corruption. When the Khmer Rouge overthrew Lon Nol, the United States took his side and bombarded the Cambodian countryside with bombing raids.

When Pol Pot took over, he gave some of the poor rural people a lot more power. Farms that had belonged to private landowners were broken up and given to families, giving the poor a lot of control and new opportunities.

Although his account is controversial, writer Israel Shamir claims that he has spoken to Cambodian farmers and they view Pol Pot as a hero who gave them land.

2 Women’s Rights Advanced By Leaps And Bounds Under Gadhafi

Colonel Muammar Gadhafi was a monster. When the people of Libya finally rose up against him, he showered his own subjects with bombings, opened fire on protestors, and violated every law of war in his violent onslaught against those who stood against him.

Before all that, though, he actually had some incredible social policies. Gadhafi was a major proponent of social equality. He brought free, compulsory education for both men and women to Libya, along with free medical care for all. He even tried to set up free housing for everyone, although he wasn’t able to achieve that dream.

Women, in particular, blossomed under Gadhafi. They gained new opportunities in every industry, and several high-powered women made their way into Gadhafi’s government, military, and “Amazons,” his elite group of female bodyguards.

1 Ivan The Terrible Opened Up Trade Routes That Revitalized Russia

Ivan the Terrible massacred his own people in bouts of paranoia and even killed his own son. Ivan believed that everyone was conspiring to get rid of him, and he exacted revenge in horrible ways on the people he feared.

Perhaps we’re lucky, though, that nobody actually got rid of him because Ivan the Terrible did some great things for Russia. He opened up an early constitutional monarchy, letting the provinces elect their own officials to office.

He also opened up trade routes with England and Holland that improved life for a lot of people. Peasants could use the routes to move to better lands, and the economy significantly improved with increased trade.

Peter the Great would later use Ivan’s trade routes to turn Russia into a major power. Ivan’s developments let Peter bring about reforms that completely changed Russian life. So perhaps the secret behind every Great’s success is the hard work of the Terrible.

The great white shark is a powerful beast. Even so, it has its fair share of enemies and freak accidents. Humans remain a constant danger, but there are times when sharks get themselves into trouble. They choke on chow, jump into boats, and botch hunts.

Sometimes, they have little control over what preys on them. There is a mysterious brain fungus, and orcas treat them like a snack. The lucky few encounter the good side of people—when the public and experts do everything they can to rescue a shark that came in second.

10 Mother Of 14

Early in 2019, a pregnant white was caught under mysterious circumstances near Taiwan. The fishermen claimed that it was an accident, but she produced a sizable profit at the local market. A taxidermy company bought the carcass for nearly $2,000.

While she was being sliced open at the fish market, the butcher pulled 14 pups from her two wombs. This was a record for the species. The mother herself was a looker. At over 4.7 meters (15 ft) long, the enormous specimen was very close to giving birth when she was caught.^[1]

For scientists, the capture was bittersweet. Great whites are classed as a vulnerable species, and the loss of a pregnant female is a big one. But the rarity of the catch, a pregnant great white, was worth its weight in gold for research. The photographs that documented the mother and the pups provided material to study, especially on the condition and feeding habits of the young. (They ate unfertilized eggs in the wombs.)

9 The Failed Hunt

In 2015, a great white felt like having seagull for lunch. It noticed such a bird sitting on the sand at Cape Cod. Delighted, the shark made a rush for it and promptly beached itself.

Shocked beachgoers watched the 2-meter-long (6.6 ft) predator sail into trouble. It got stuck in a shallow puddle where sympathetic individuals applied CPR from a distance, so to speak.

Great whites must filter water through their gills constantly. They do this to breathe the oxygen in seawater. Thanks to a bucket line, the shark was repeatedly doused by volunteers. Although it kept breathing, the juvenile male only had a limited amount of time to survive this way. Luckily, the harbormaster arrived before it was too late and towed the youngster back out to the sea.

A marine biologist happened to be nearby when the animal beached. Before it was released, the man tagged the shark with a tracking device. It may have missed out on lunch, but at least the shark encountered a rescue mob and will now do his bit for science.^[2]

8 Mysterious Infection

Shark strandings are often a seasonal thing. However, in the last few years, so many sharks perished that researchers knew something was terribly wrong. Mark Okihiro, a California fish pathologist and shark death expert, examined hundreds of sharks from different species. Most of the mysterious deaths pointed to a brain infection, something unheard-of in sharks a few years ago.

In 2017, a great white shark landed on Okihiro’s table. Beachgoers noticed the young shark in shallow water near Santa Cruz. They put it back in deeper water, but the animal was clearly disoriented and died shortly afterward.

Okihiro found that an infection had caused a fatal brain hemorrhage. By then, the researcher expected to find signs of meningitis. Displaying similar symptoms, the previous sharks were determined to have died from the meningitis-causing Carnobacterium. But there was no sign of it in the great white.^[3]

Soon, hundreds of sharks of different species died the same way in San Francisco Bay. Eventually, Okihiro identified a fungus as the killer. However, the exact nature of the fungus and why it is so deadly to sharks remain elusive.

7 Fatal Exhibition

In 2016, the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium gave in to nagging visitors. Located in Japan, the aquarium had received persistent requests to display a great white shark. When a shark was accidentally netted near the southwest coast, the institution took it home.

The great white shark is not a goldfish. It is an exceptionally difficult species to maintain in a captive environment. It needs to be constantly on the move to harvest oxygen from the water and to regulate its body temperature.

The aquarium proudly announced that it was successfully keeping the 3.5-meter (11.5 ft) male alive. Three days later, he was dead. The shark had refused all food since its capture. Even so, it appeared healthy and cruised around with the aquarium’s other sharks.

At one point, the male suffered some sort of collapse, sinking to the bottom of the tank. He passed away after the staff tried to resuscitate him with oxygen. The aquarium said they would investigate the cause of death, but activists were certain that the stress of the capture and captivity was too much for the shark.^[4]

6 The Turtle Incident

In 2019, a fisherman heard his fellow catchers joke over the radio about a shark. They said it was swimming around with a giant turtle in its mouth and could not spit it out.

At first, Greg Vella did not take them seriously. He continued with his job as a tuna wrangler near Japan. However, the following day, he saw the evidence for himself. Caught in some netting was a large great white. Inside the predator’s mouth was a giant turtle.

By this time, the shark was dead, having apparently choked on its awkward meal. There was also a chance that the great white had died for another reason. Feeling ill, it may have regurgitated the last thing it ate. It was not clear what had happened, but the incident was uncommon.

Turtles of this size are big because they are survival experts. Normally, sharks avoid them. For the persistent predators, turtles have a special maneuver—turning themselves in such a way that their shells make for an impossible swallow. Yet this one got chowed. Kudos to the shark, but it may have ended both their lives.^[5]

5 A Shark Called Fluffy

In 2017, a shark went on an adventure. Unintentionally perhaps, but the juvenile great white surely experienced a unique trip. It involved rocks, an ocean pool, an aquarium tank, and a boat ride.

In September, the 1.8-meter-long (5.9 ft) predator was found thrashing on the rocks on Manly Beach in Sydney. Experts from Manly Sea Life Sanctuary decided to move him to a nearby ocean pool. This was to allow the shark to recover from its stranding ordeal.

While there, the sanctuary’s life science manager jokingly told some kids that the predator’s name was “Fluffy.” A lot of people were present to hear it, and the name stuck.^[6]

After resting for a few hours, Fluffy spent the night at the aquarium. He was not alone. Throughout the night, divers remained in his tank to make sure that he did not injure himself in the confined space. The next day, the shark enjoyed a boat ride into deeper waters to lessen his chances of stranding again.

4 The Boat Breach

In 2017, Terry Selwood planned to fish for snapper off the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Instead, a great white shark jumped into his boat. The creature’s fin brushed against Selwood’s arm and tore off the skin. Small surprise as sharkskin consists of scales that look like tiny teeth. The shark also reportedly knocked him over.

It was not a pleasant experience for the predator, either. It was around 3 meters (9 ft) long, while the boat was scarcely bigger. The shark was stuck and eventually died. After Selwood was picked up by marine rescue, the great white had to be removed with a forklift.

Shark experts said the jump was not an attack on Selwood. The leaps seen on documentaries are provoked. The filmmakers drag meat at high speed to get the sharks to leap.

Selwood himself was not in the water. He claimed that no fish were near the surface, the only reason that sharks typically breach. It might have followed Selwood’s bait. Two other explanations include jumping in for an unknown reason or being hooked and reeled in like a regular fish. Without a necropsy (animal autopsy), this incredibly rare incident might never be explained.^[7]

3 Orcas Snack On Them

Great white sharks are mighty predators, but they quickly clear out when killer whales arrive. The reason is grisly. Orcas love to snack on shark livers. This behavior has been recorded off the coast of Australia and San Francisco. Both species also live off the western coast of South Africa. In 2017, three great whites were found on the beach there within four days.

Necropsies showed that their livers were gone. A few weeks later, a fourth shark was found in the area minus its liver, stomach, and testes. It was a big guy, measuring 4 meters (13 ft) long. Like the others, he had been eviscerated and left for dead by another predator.

Although nobody had witnessed the killings, the wounds and the short time between the deaths are consistent with orca predation. There are reasons why a shark’s liver is a delicacy. First, the thing is enormous. Second, it is packed with fat. This nutrient-rich liver is like an energy bomb and could be why orcas love it. Killer whales have a high metabolism and need dense nutrition to function.^[8]

2 The Australian Disappearance

Researchers attached a tag to a great white in 2003. Then the female was released near southwestern Australia. The tag was meant to record depths and temperatures. In 2014, it was found on the beach 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) away from where it was originally attached to the shark.

The shark was gone. When the data was reviewed, it suggested a dramatic incident. Around four months after the tag was attached, the shark made a sudden dive. She reached a depth of 580 meters (1,903 ft). The temperature shot up from 8 degrees Celsius (46 °F) to 26 degrees Celsius (78 °F).

Clearly, the shark’s abrupt downward move was an attempt to flee something. The rise in temperature was likely the stomach temperature of whatever was brave enough to eat the almost 3-meter-long (9 ft) great white.

Although she could have been cannibalized by another great white, the culprit was probably a killer whale. An orca is the only other predator that could kill a great white, and an orca’s stomach temperature matched the tag’s records. A shark’s temperature would have been cooler.^[9]

1 Beer Can Beach Shooting

In 2018, a shark was found on California’s Beer Can Beach. At first, the reason for the 2.7-meter-long (9 ft) predator’s death was unclear. In fact, a news crew reported that the great white appeared uninjured.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) did a necropsy and found .22-caliber bullets inside the animal. The wounds were not obvious, but one bullet had severed the spinal cord and killed the shark.

California law requires a special permit to hunt this vulnerable species. Since that had not been done, CDFW opened a criminal investigation. A few days later, an anonymous tip named the commercial fisherman who had shot the shark.

Investigators followed the advice on where to find the boat. During an inspection, they found several fishing violations on board. When questioned, Vinh Pham blamed another crew member for the shooting, but officers found the firearm in Pham’s truck. Tests matched the bullets to the rifle.

Eventually, Pham confessed. His reason for shooting the shark? It annoyed him that the creature had swum too close to his nets. Pham was convicted in 2019, fined $5,000, and placed on probation for two years.^[10]

Great Britain’s rich and colorful history has been a host to some of the best-known mysteries across the world. Just looking at England alone—the cases of Stonehenge, The Princes in the Tower, and Jack the Ripper have been endlessly analyzed and debated over the years.

As interesting as these classic cases are, however, there are plenty of other historical British mysteries that deserve a second look—from the strange death of a medieval king to a handful of unsolved Victorian murders.

10 The Assassination Of Robert Pakington

Robert Pakington has the unfortunate distinction of possibly being the earliest victim killed by a handgun in London. Pakington was a merchant with political ambitions, becoming a member of Parliament in 1533 and again in 1536. Politically, Pakington represented the interests of his fellow merchants, and he was also a critic of the Catholic clergy.

On a misty morning on November 13, 1536, Pakington woke up at 4:00 AM to go to church. The church was somewhere across from Pakington’s house. While the merchant was crossing the street, he was shot and killed. Neighbors confirmed hearing the gun, but nobody actually saw the murder or its perpetrator.^[1]

Pakington’s murder shocked the city, all the more so due to the weapon used in the crime. Despite the mayor’s offer of a hefty reward, nobody was ever captured or charged. Later historical chroniclers, such as the Protestant John Foxe, tended to pin the murder on Catholic elements, with Foxe claiming that Pakington was assassinated on the orders of a priest.

9 The Murder Of Janet Rogers

When Janet Rogers agreed to help her brother William Henderson on his farm near Perth, Scotland, it was only supposed to be a temporary job. Henderson had just fired a domestic servant, and Rogers would fill her place until another worker could be found. In March 1866, only three days after her arrival, Rogers was murdered in Henderson’s kitchen with an axe.

Henderson was the first person to find his sister’s body. Police considered the farmer a suspect, and they arrested him with one of his workers, a plowman named James Crichton. However, the possibility that Henderson was the killer was weak because he’d been at a farmer’s market in Perth at the time of the murder. Both men were eventually released, yet Crichton was later arrested again.^[2]

With a lack of physical evidence, the case against Crichton was flimsy. His trial ended in an acquittal, but William Henderson never stopped believing that Crichton was the culprit. One plausible theory suggests that Crichton tried burglarizing the farmhouse, but when he stumbled on Rogers in the house, he struck her with an axe and fled.

8 The Disappearance Of Francis Lovell

As one of King Richard III’s closest friends, the nobleman Francis Lovell was a dedicated ally during the final years of the Wars of the Roses when Richard III and his Yorkist supporters fought for the English throne with Henry Tudor and the Lancastrians. In August 1485, the civil war took a decisive turn when Richard III died during the Battle of Bosworth Field, making his rival Henry Tudor the new king, Henry VII.

Even after Richard III’s death, Lovell stayed loyal to his old friend’s cause. In 1486, Lovell came out of hiding to take part in a rebellion against Henry VII.

When that revolt failed, Lovell took up the cause of the pretender Lambert Simnel, a boy pushed by the Yorkists as King Edward VI, the “true” new king of England. During the Battle of Stoke Field, the Yorkists and their boy king were soundly defeated, and it is here that Francis Lovell disappears from history.^[3]

While it’s known that Lovell escaped the battle, his whereabouts have remained a mystery. It was said that he might have retreated into a cave or perhaps fled abroad. On the other hand, he might never have left England. As a matter of fact, in 1708, a skeleton never identified was uncovered in a hidden part of Lovell’s house.

7 The Murder Of Fred Atkins

In the early hours of September 22, 1881, police officer Fred Atkins was assigned to patrol the district of Kingston Hill in London, a neighborhood then plagued by burglars. While walking his beat, Atkins was suddenly shot multiple times, taking wounds in his chest, abdomen, and left thigh. The gunshots attracted the attention of a mansion’s resident and housekeeper, who discovered Atkins lying on their front steps.

Atkins was hurt badly. But he was still able to talk, stating that he hadn’t seen or heard anybody on his beat. Unfortunately, Atkins was too fragile to move to a hospital, and the young policeman died soon after his attack. A lantern and chisel were found outside the mansion where Atkins had collapsed, and a window on the building was also missing its iron bars.

Investigators believed that Atkins must have been ambushed by a burglar while conducting his patrol. With few leads to follow, authorities were never able to bring Atkins’s murderer to justice. Since 2012, a plaque honoring the memory of the murdered officer has stood outside a pub in Kingston Hill.^[4]

6 The Murder Of Georgina Moore

Georgina Moore was only seven years old when she vanished in London on December 20, 1881. The little girl had eaten lunch at a family friend’s house and was last seen heading back to school. When Georgina didn’t come home afterward, her parents organized a search effort. Despite looking all night, Georgina’s father, Stephen, couldn’t find a trace of her.

A boy at Georgina’s school reported seeing her with a woman whom the police believed was Esther Pay, an acquaintance of the Moores. Pay denied any involvement. But as the weeks passed by, she often asked Georgina’s parents whether there’d been any updates on the case. Nearly six weeks after Georgina’s disappearance, the girl’s body was found in a river.

An autopsy determined that Georgina had died on December 20 as a result of being strangled. Suspicions mounted against Esther Pay, especially when it was revealed that Stephen Moore once had an affair with her and that Esther still seemed bitter that Moore broke it off.

While Pay was brought to trial for Georgina’s murder, she was ultimately acquitted. It still hasn’t been established whether Pay might have murdered Georgina or whether an accomplice or somebody else was responsible.^[5]

5 The Death Of King William II

On August 2, 1100, the English king William II went hunting in southern England’s royal New Forest. Among his party was Walter Tirel, a courtier, and the king’s brother Henry. Soon after the hunt began, the news spread that William had been shot and killed by an arrow in the heart.

At the time, hunting was a dangerous activity, and few people doubted that William’s sudden death was unintentional. Tirel swore that it was an accident. But afraid that he might be held accountable, he ended up leaving England for France. Meanwhile, William’s brother declared himself King Henry I.

While modern historians believe that William was killed accidentally, others have speculated that something more sinister was afoot. There have been numerous theories about William’s death—from the bizarre accusation that William was murdered by a pagan fertility cult to the more grounded suggestion that the hostile king of France had masterminded everything.

Whatever the reason, it was very convenient for the ambitious Henry I, who just happened to be with his brother that fatal day.^[6]

4 The Innocence Of Elizabeth Fenning

Until 1861, an act of attempted murder could warrant the death penalty in England. This was the charge on which Elizabeth Fenning, a servant convicted of trying to murder her employer and his family, was hanged in July 1815. Fenning’s execution provoked a scandal, and many people believed that she had been wrongly accused.

Fenning lived in London, where she worked as a cook for a man named Orlibar Turner. On March 21, 1815, Fenning, Turner, and two other members of the household became terribly sick after eating some dumplings that Fenning had made. Although everybody recovered and the cook became the sickest of the bunch, Fenning was accused of trying to poison the Turners.

An analysis of the dough in the dumplings found arsenic in the mix, a sign taken that Fenning must have been the poisoner. While Fenning repeatedly maintained her innocence and there was only circumstantial evidence, the law determined that she was guilty anyway.

Years later, a man on his deathbed in Essex is said to have confessed to the crime. The details are vague, but the supposed culprit claimed that he resented his uncle, “Mr. Turner,” and had slipped poison into some dough when Fenning wasn’t in the kitchen.^[7]

3 The Disappearance Of Urban Napoleon Stanger

The German-born Urban Napoleon Stanger was a baker who set up business in London in 1870. Stanger’s shop did well and was popular among other Germans. On November 13, 1881, the baker never showed up to work. After his disappearance, Stanger’s employee Felix Stumm hastily took over the bakery.

When Scotland Yard was called in, officers searched Stanger’s house to no avail. They dug up his backyard, checked under his floorboards, and inspected his ovens. While the officers did recover some bones, these were shown to have belonged to a small animal.

Stanger was untraceable. His worker Stumm seemed awfully suspicious, especially considering that he’d gone drinking with Stanger and some friends the night before his boss vanished.

Stumm was never proven to have been involved with Stanger’s disappearance, but he was caught using Stanger’s name on securities. The law found Stumm guilty of fraud and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. His boss, Stanger, was never seen or heard from again.^[8]

2 The Death Of Owain Glyndwr

England had conquered Wales in the late 13th century, putting an end to the country’s independence. While there were some minor rebellions afterward, the strongest threat to English rule erupted in 1400 when the Welsh nobleman Owain Glyndwr declared himself the Prince of Wales.

Welsh laborers, students, and soldiers all flocked to Glyndwr’s army, launching a rebellion that would last over a decade. Even though Glyndwr was ultimately defeated, he still had many sympathizers.

Living as an outlaw after 1410, Glyndwr went into hiding and disappeared. Sightings of him continued for years. But according to the medieval Welsh historian Adam of Usk, the great rebel leader died in 1415.^[9]

The circumstances of Glyndwr’s final years are murky, and the locations of his death and burial have been debated for centuries. After his disappearance, Glyndwr became a national symbol, a mythical king that legend said would someday return to lead Wales to independence.

1 The Murder Of George Burrington

The English official George Burrington served two terms as governor of North Carolina. The first was from 1724 to 1725, and the second from 1731 to 1734. During his oversight of the colony, the hot-tempered Burrington made a number of enemies. In fact, his first term ended in a dismissal after a judge reported to the British government that Burrington had tried to break into his house.

Following his dismissal, Burrington demanded a duel with his successor, Sir Richard Everard. When Burrington came back into office in 1731, it wasn’t long before he alienated and insulted many of his fellow officials with his crude and unruly behavior.

This second term also ended in a dismissal, with the result that Burrington returned to England. In 1736, the retired official claimed that an assassination plot had been hatched against him during the last stretch of his governorship.

Burrington’s retirement was a comfortable one, but his life ended violently and mysteriously. On February 22, 1759, the former governor’s body was found in a canal in Westminster.

As his pockets were turned inside out and there wasn’t money on him, it was thought that Burrington had been robbed and murdered. His walking stick was also damaged, indicating that Burrington didn’t go down without a final fight.^[10]

Tristan Shaw is an American writer who enjoys folklore, literature, and history. You can follow him on Twitter.