When you hear the phrase 10 worms used by people, you might picture garden soil or fishing gear. In reality, worms have slithered into far‑more unexpected corners of our lives – from high‑tech silk to weight‑loss curiosities. Below, we crawl through each of the ten most fascinating species and reveal how they help (or sometimes haunt) humanity.

10 Worms Used By Humans: An Overview

10 Night Crawlers

The world of beauty products has long borrowed from nature, and one of the most unusual ingredients comes from earthworm droppings. After these wrigglers tunnel through soil, they excrete nutrient‑rich castings that are harvested and blended into anti‑aging creams. Manufacturers claim these worm‑derived castings deliver copper peptides, auxins, kinetins, humates and cytokinins, which together hydrate skin, firm tissue, stimulate collagen production and encourage healthy cell growth.

Night crawlers are among the most ubiquitous earthworms, thriving in gardens across the globe. Two main varieties dominate the market: the European night crawler, which tops out at about 7.6 cm (3 in), and the larger Canadian night crawler, which can reach a whopping 36 cm (14 in). Both are prized for multiple purposes, from fishing bait to composting to feeding pet reptiles.

European night crawlers are often employed as live bait, compost enhancers, and even as a food source for turtles and lizards. Their Canadian cousins are especially valued by anglers because they stay alive for up to five minutes underwater, their wriggling motions enticing even the wariest fish.

Believe it or not, the castings left behind by night crawlers are a commodity sold online. Suppliers collect, screen, and quality‑check the feces before storing them in moist, aerated conditions for shipment to cosmetic labs worldwide.

In addition to their skin‑care benefits, the worm castings are said to contain a cocktail of growth‑promoting compounds. Users of these products report smoother, more supple skin and an overall boost in the skin’s ability to repair itself.

9 Bloodworms

Bloodworms, named for their vivid scarlet hue, dwell at the bottom of freshwater and marine environments. Their bright color and high protein content make them a favorite snack for virtually every fish species, which is why they’re a staple in the aquarium trade.

Fishermen also prize bloodworms as premium bait. Roughly 121,000 tons of these marine worms are harvested each year, generating an estimated $7.5 billion in global revenue—more than triple what the U.S. sushi industry pulls in annually.

From a price‑point perspective, bloodworms are among the most expensive seafood items. A half‑kilogram (one pound) of live bloodworms can cost upwards of $80 in the United States, roughly four times the price of a lobster dinner.

8 Flukeworms

Consuming raw or undercooked freshwater fish that harbor liver flukes can lead to a chronic condition known as liver fluke disease. Approximately 35 million people worldwide are infected, suffering inflammation of the bile ducts and gallbladder that can linger for two to three decades.

The parasites are most prevalent across Southeast Asia—including Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, eastern Russia and China—where an estimated 15 million Chinese are affected. While many carriers remain asymptomatic, severe cases feature fatigue, abdominal pain and a heightened risk of bile‑duct cancer.

Surprisingly, researchers have discovered a silver lining: flukeworms produce a specialized growth factor that encourages new blood‑vessel formation and tissue repair. The worms appear to secrete this factor to accelerate healing in their host, even as they feed on blood cells.

Scientists are now attempting to isolate this growth factor from the worm’s harmful components. The goal is to develop a wound‑healing vaccine that could treat chronic ulcers—especially those linked to diabetes—while also neutralizing the parasite’s carcinogenic properties.

7 Butterworms

Butterworms are the larval stage of a Chilean moth that is considered an agricultural pest outside its native range. Strict import rules keep them from establishing populations abroad, and low‑level radiation is applied to shipped larvae to prevent them from pupating and reproducing.

What sets butterworms apart is their strong, fruity aroma, which makes them irresistible to many fish species. Anglers often use them as bait for bass and panfish, where the scent and vivid coloration draw in even the most finicky feeders.

Beyond fishing, the same aromatic appeal makes butterworms a popular food source for reptile enthusiasts. Geckos, iguanas and other lizards readily accept these worm‑like treats, appreciating both the taste and the visual stimulus.

6 Mealworms

Mealworms have taken the concept of “homegrown food” to a whole new level. These beetle larvae are being farmed in kitchens worldwide as a sustainable protein source that rivals beef in nutritional value without the environmental toll of livestock farming.

Critics may balk at the idea of eating worms, but Livin Farms’ founder Katharina Unger likens them to “land shrimp.” She even notes that people allergic to shellfish should approach mealworms with caution, as the insects share some of the same allergenic proteins.

Livin Farms markets compact desktop hives that let users raise mealworms on kitchen scraps. The hives maintain a controlled microclimate, and LED indicators flash when the larvae have reached harvest size.

When prepared, mealworms offer a nutty flavor and a crunchy texture, making them a versatile ingredient for everything from protein bars to snack mixes. Their low carbon footprint and high feed‑conversion efficiency position them as a promising solution for future food security.

5 Red Worms

Vermicomposting (composting with worms) is a convenient way to dispose of organic waste. Homegrown compost is great for feeding and nurturing plants. This organic garbage disposal recycles food waste into garden soil conditioner by letting worms simply live as they normally would.

While many earthworm species can help break down waste, red wigglers excel at the task. Unlike night crawlers, which need supplemental food, red worms thrive on kitchen scraps alone, and under optimal conditions their population can double every ninety days.

All organic material naturally goes through the process of decomposition over time. But the process is significantly hastened by the nutrient‑rich vermicompost. Farmers can also predetermine the manure content. Feeding the worms with eggshells results in a calcium‑rich end product. Meanwhile, feeding them with coffee pulp leads to fertilizer rich in phosphorus and potassium.

Other red worm foods include tea bags, bread, all fruits apart from citrus, vegetables, grains, and cereals. It is also advisable to avoid feeding meats, dairy products, fats, and oils to the worms. Moisture plays an important role in the well‑being of worms, and 240 milliliters (1 cup) of water per day is recommended.

4 Fly Larvae

Italy may be famous for pizza and pasta, but Sardinia has a culinary curiosity that will make most tourists squirm: casu marzu, a cheese teeming with live maggots. The cheese’s fermentation is driven by fly larvae, which break down the fats and proteins, turning the curd into a soft, almost liquid substance.

Some diners choose to remove the maggots before eating, while others eat the maggots while they’re still moving. The cheese is considered unsafe once the maggots die, so it remains a controversial, illegal food within the European Union.

Beyond the cheese, maggots have a medical claim to fame. Maggot therapy involves cultivating sterile fly larvae and applying them to chronic wounds. The larvae secrete enzymes that liquefy dead tissue, then ingest the debris, effectively cleaning the wound from the inside out.

These secretions also produce antibacterial compounds that kill a range of harmful bacteria, making maggot therapy a powerful alternative to conventional antibiotics for stubborn infections.

3 Hookworms

Hookworms are tiny parasites that pierce human skin with tiny barbs, then journey via the bloodstream to the lungs. From there, they travel up the trachea, are swallowed, and finally settle in the small intestine where they latch onto the wall and sip a few drops of blood each day.

While residing in the gut, hookworms cleverly modulate the host’s immune response. They dampen overactive immune activity without shutting it down completely, which can inadvertently protect against autoimmune disorders.

In 2011, a pharmaceutical company launched a trial to see if controlled hookworm infection could reverse autoimmune conditions. The study showed no statistical difference between the worm‑treated group and a placebo group.

Nevertheless, anecdotal reports exist of individuals experiencing relief from allergies, hay fever, and Crohn’s disease after hookworm exposure. The downside includes occasional diarrhea and abdominal cramps, which may outweigh any potential benefits.

2 Silkworms

Silkworms entered human history roughly 8,500 years ago in ancient China, where people first learned to unwind the cocoons into a lustrous fiber. This precious silk was initially reserved for royalty, and its production secrets were fiercely guarded for millennia.

The craft spread to Korea by AD 300, later reaching Japan, and eventually Europe after monks smuggled silkworm eggs under the orders of Emperor Justinian. Over centuries, sericulture blossomed across the continent.

Modern science has taken silkworms a step further, genetically engineering them to spin spider‑silk proteins—something spiders can’t do in large farms because they’re cannibalistic. The resulting silk is stronger than steel and can absorb over 100,000 joules of kinetic energy.

One breakthrough product, dubbed “Dragon Silk,” has been used to fabricate lightweight armor for U.S. soldiers. The military funded the research with a $1.02 million contract, and the company continues to develop even tougher fiber variants.

1 Tapeworms

Tapeworms are flat, ribbon‑like parasites that live inside the digestive tracts of humans, dogs, livestock and fish. Infection typically occurs after eating raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal, but it can also spread through contaminated water or from person to person.

Once inside the host, the tapeworm latches onto the intestinal wall, absorbing nutrients directly from the host’s digested food. Some species can grow to astonishing lengths of 4.6–9.1 meters (15–30 feet) and live for up to twenty years.

While most people strive to eradicate tapeworms, a small subculture deliberately ingests them for rapid weight loss. The parasite steals nutrients, causing the host to lose 0.5–0.9 kg (1–2 lb) per week while still consuming calories.

After reaching a desired weight, patients pay roughly $1,500 in Mexico for a deworming drug to kill the tapeworm. However, the weight loss is often temporary; the parasite’s removal is typically followed by rapid weight gain, and the host may suffer vitamin deficiencies, a swollen abdomen, and in severe cases, death.

Many cultures throughout history have harvested the remains of both humans and animals for a bewildering array of purposes—clothing, weapons, rituals, medicine, and more. While you might not expect many of these practices to survive into the modern era, a surprising number of artists and entrepreneurs continue to repurpose dead (and occasionally living) bodies, refusing to let public outcry stop their unconventional creativity. This roundup of the top 10 artworks showcases the most striking, unsettling, and sometimes oddly beautiful ways people turn human tissue into art.

Top 10 Artworks Turning Human Remains Into Odd Creations

10 Jewelry

While the idea of having a diamond forged from a loved one’s ashes has already made headlines, bone and tooth jewelry offers a grittier alternative for those who want to wear the departed. Sunspot Designs, helmed by Columbine Phoenix, treats each piece like “homegrown ivory,” celebrating life rather than mourning death. Phoenix sources her macabre materials from educational suppliers who acquire surplus bones and teeth from schools or museums updating their collections, catering primarily to a gothic clientele with price tags that can climb up to $200 per item.

For the living who still have loved ones close by, there’s a curious niche market turning breast milk into wearable keepsakes. Over seventy companies, including Breast Milk Keepsakes and Mommy Milk Creations, will accept a small sample of a mother’s milk and embed it into beads suitable for pendants, earrings, or bracelets, typically costing around $80. The result is a personal, almost poetic, tribute that literally carries a piece of the giver.

Pop star Kesha once took fan devotion to an extreme by fashioning accessories out of her admirers’ teeth. In 2012 she launched a campaign asking fans to mail her a single tooth each; the response was overwhelming, yielding roughly a thousand teeth. She transformed the collection into a series of earrings, a headdress, several necklaces, and even a bra—proof that a supportive fan base can literally become part of the fashion runway.

9 Photography

Auctions often hide unexpected treasures for the art‑savvy, and one Michigan school auction proved no different. Francois Robert walked in looking for a few practical lockers, but the auctioneer’s rule—”what you buy, you keep”—meant he also walked away with a human skeleton tucked inside one of the units for a modest $50. The skeleton had previously served science classes and was wired to retain its shape, prompting Robert to swap it for a second skeleton before embarking on his project.

Robert’s vision turned the bones into a stark visual protest: arranging them into silhouettes of guns, grenades, tanks, planes, and knives, he produced a haunting photographic series entitled Stop the Violence. The work is unapologetically graphic, yet the bargain price of fifty dollars underscores how low‑cost procurement can yield high‑impact commentary on conflict.

8 Sculpture

Tim Hawkinson’s twin 1997 pieces, Egg and Bird, may look like ordinary representations at first glance, but a closer look reveals they’re constructed entirely from hair and fingernails—materials most of us would rather keep to ourselves. By employing these intimate, disembodied body parts, Hawkinson blurs the line between nature and artifact, prompting viewers to contemplate how our very own biology supplies the raw ingredients for artistic illusion.

The sculptures operate on a subtle level, inviting contemplation about the inseparable link between our physical selves and the creative objects we produce. Hawkinson’s use of such personal, often overlooked materials underscores the notion that art can never truly escape the corporeal origins that give it form.

7 Molds

British sculptor Anthony‑Noel Kelly made a name in the 1990s for his hyper‑realistic busts, but his career took a dark turn when police, investigating a 1997 exhibition, uncovered human remains hidden in his home and his girlfriend’s flat. With assistance from Niel Lindsay of the Royal College of Surgeons, Kelly had pilfered body parts over three years, using them to cast sculptures that were later gilded in silver and gold.

Authorities recovered roughly 40 distinct pieces—heads, torsos, limbs—while Lindsay received a £400 fee for his involvement, only to serve six months in jail. Kelly himself was sentenced to nine months, becoming the first UK citizen convicted of theft of human remains after a legal ruling established that bodies can be owned and therefore stolen. The case was deemed an “outraging of public decency,” highlighting the legal gray area surrounding the ownership of human tissue.

6 Lampshades

For decades, rumors swirled that Nazis fashioned lampshades from human skin, a claim many dismissed as urban legend. In 2005, a man at a British car‑boot sale offered a lampshade for $35, claiming it was made from the skin of a Jewish victim. The buyer, uneasy with the provenance, passed the item to journalist Mark Jacobson, who sent it to Bode Technology in Washington, D.C. for DNA analysis.

The lab confirmed the material was indeed human skin, sourced from two different individuals. Historical accounts from 1945, such as reporter Ann Stringer’s coverage of Buchenwald, mention other grotesque items like shrunken heads and a pelvis‑shaped ashtray. Contemporary artist Andrew Krasnow has also produced skin‑based works—including lampshades, boots, maps, flags, and even a $10 bill—using the macabre medium as a stark commentary on morality and remembrance.

5 3‑D Printed Sculptures

Ten years ago, the notion of a machine autonomously constructing a house seemed sci‑fi, yet today 3‑D printers can fabricate furniture from the ashes of the departed. Dutch artist Wieki Somers embraced this technology for her “In Progress” exhibition, loading printers with donated cremated remains and watching them emerge as familiar household objects—rocking chairs, vases, and more.

The resulting pieces force viewers to reconsider the emotional weight of everyday items when they’re literally built from a loved one’s ash. While the concept may not become mainstream overnight, Somers’ work asks us to differentiate between a cheeky “Rock on, Grandpa!” slogan and a solemn, literal rocking chair made of his ashes—blurring the line between remembrance and design.

4 Cheese

The Dublin Science Gallery’s “Selfmade” exhibition pushed the boundaries of edible art by producing cheese from the bodily fluids of celebrities. Volunteers contributed not just milk but also phlegm, tears, skin bacteria, and even samples from belly buttons. These biological ingredients were cultured to create cheeses that bore the scent and flavor of the specific body part they originated from.

During a curated cheese‑and‑wine evening, guests were invited to inhale the aromas and discuss the experience, though they were expressly forbidden from tasting the creations. The project highlighted the intimate, sometimes unsettling relationship between our bodies and the foods we consume, turning personal biology into a sensory, albeit untasted, artwork.

3 Fly‑Lashes

British creator Jessica Harrison, known for her “body furniture” series—pieces that echo human flesh without actually using it—captured attention in 2010 with a startling video. She fashioned faux eyelashes from real fly legs, stitching together the tiny limbs to create a bizarre, shimmering fringe.

Although the fly‑lash accessories aren’t commercially available yet, Harrison personally wore them, sparking both intrigue and disgust. Animal‑rights organization PETA condemned the work, likening it to the cruel practice of cutting off beagle ears for fashion. The piece remains a provocative commentary on the lengths artists will go to blur the boundary between the living and the inanimate.

2 Wall Art

Forgotten Inheritance is a striking wall installation composed of stone, hardened sand, and authentic Hawaiian native bones. Debuting at the Hawaii Convention Center in 1996, the piece received committee approval that included native Hawaiian representation, yet it sparked fierce opposition from other indigenous groups who viewed the inclusion of ancestral bones as a violation of malama iwi—the cultural duty to honor and protect ancestors’ remains.

After years of complaints, officials finally obscured the artwork in September 2013 while negotiating a removal plan that would preserve both the sculpture and the skeletal elements. Ultimately, a compromise allowed the piece to remain on display, underscoring the complex interplay between artistic expression, cultural heritage, and community sentiment.

1 Self‑Sculpture

19th‑century Japanese artist Hananuma Masakichi faced a terminal tuberculosis diagnosis and chose an extraordinary legacy: a life‑size self‑portrait sculpted entirely from his own body parts. Using a sophisticated mirror system, he could carve portions of himself he couldn’t directly see, assembling roughly 5,000 individual pieces into a seamless whole that even a magnifying glass can’t detect.

Masakichi painstakingly polished the composite, puncturing tiny pores to insert his own hair, and embedding his teeth, fingernails, and toenails into the appropriate regions. He even crafted glass eyes and replicated his eyelashes using his own lash hairs. Completed in 1885, the sculpture was displayed alongside the artist so viewers could guess which parts were genuine flesh and which were expertly fabricated.

Today, the piece resides in Ripley’s Odditorium, where meticulous conservators maintain its delicate construction. The work stands as a testament to obsessive self‑representation and the lengths one might go to achieve literal immortality through art.

When we discuss the looming wave of species loss, the conversation usually centers on protecting the vulnerable. Yet, a handful of organisms are so harmful to human health or agriculture that scientists and governments are deliberately planning their disappearance. This roundup of the 10 animals humans are pushing toward extinction on purpose walks you through each target, the tactics being used, and the ethical dilemmas that come with erasing a species.

10 Animals Humans Target for Eradication

Below you’ll find a numbered list of the ten organisms that have become the focus of coordinated eradication campaigns. The list is ordered from the most controversial to the most unexpected, and each entry includes the latest methods being deployed, the potential ecological fallout, and a snapshot of the science driving the effort.

10 Mosquitoes

If you have ever daydreamed about a world free from the high‑pitched whine and itchy bites of mosquitoes, you’re not alone. These tiny blood‑sucking insects do far more than annoy us; they serve as vectors for deadly pathogens, most notably the malaria parasite that afflicts roughly 216 million people each year, predominantly across sub‑Saharan Africa.

The primary malaria carrier is the Anopheles gambiae mosquito. For three decades, researchers have toyed with the notion that wiping out the mosquito could eliminate malaria. Recent breakthroughs in gene‑editing have finally offered a plausible route: scientists at Oxford University have engineered a strain of A. gambiae that carries a dominant gene rendering females infertile.

Releasing these modified mosquitoes into the wild would see them mate with native populations, spawning successive generations lacking the ability to reproduce. Over time, the infertility gene could sweep through the gene pool, potentially eradicating the species on a continental scale. However, many ecologists caution that removing a species can trigger cascading effects, such as depriving predators of a food source, and note that the long‑term ecological consequences of gene‑driven extinction remain uncertain.

9 Guinea Worm

The dreaded parasite Dracunculus medinensis, commonly known as the Guinea worm, lives up to its gruesome moniker. Its larvae infiltrate humans through contaminated drinking water sourced from lakes, rivers, or ponds. Once inside the digestive tract, male and female larvae traverse the intestinal lining, mate, and the male dies while the female settles just beneath the skin, often in the lower leg.

The female can grow up to 76 cm (30 in) long. About a year after infection, she creates a painful blister that eventually ruptures, allowing the worm to emerge inch by inch over days or weeks. The afflicted person typically immerses the wound in water, causing the worm to release thousands of eggs and perpetuate the cycle.

Since the 1980s, the World Health Organization has spearheaded a global eradication program. By 2017, reported cases had plummeted to just 30, thanks to active case treatment, distribution of water filters, and public education about safe drinking practices. Nevertheless, the worm has resurfaced in dogs, suggesting that total extinction may remain out of reach for now.

8 Wuchereria Bancrofti

These thread‑like roundworms, spread by mosquito bites, can reach lengths of up to 10 cm (4 in). Adult worms take up residence in the lymphatic ducts of human hosts, where they cause blockages that lead to the disfiguring swelling known as elephantiasis—affecting limbs, breasts, or testicles.

According to the WHO, an estimated 120 million people worldwide suffer from this condition. The species Wuchereria bancrofti is the most common cause of elephantiasis and is uniquely human‑specific. Consequently, eliminating the parasite in humans would equate to wiping out the species entirely.

Since 1997, the WHO has pursued mass drug administration campaigns, delivering annual deworming treatments across sub‑Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. To date, 40 of the 73 endemic countries are on track to achieve full elimination, marking a significant stride toward the worm’s possible extinction.

7 New World Screwworm

The New World screwworm represents the larval phase of a fly species whose name alone may not inspire sympathy. Female flies lay eggs near open wounds on warm‑blooded hosts; once hatched, the larvae burrow into flesh, creating painful lesions.

Historically, the screwworm roamed the tropical and subtropical regions of North and South America. In 1972, a joint United States‑Mexico effort eradicated the pest within their borders using the sterile insect technique (SIT). In this method, male flies are irradiated in the lab—rendering them sterile—and then released into the wild, where they mate with females but produce no offspring, causing rapid population collapse.

The U.S. maintains a laboratory on the Colombia‑Panama border that continues to release sterile males, preventing re‑establishment northward. However, a 2016 outbreak in deer on the Florida Keys reminded scientists that the screwworm remains a lingering threat, underscoring the need for ongoing vigilance.

6 Pubic Lice

Although there is no coordinated global campaign to wipe out pubic lice—also known as “crabs”—recent observations suggest their numbers are dwindling, likely keeping them off any future protection lists. These tiny insects belong to the same family as head lice but have adapted to live solely on coarse body hair in the armpit and genital regions.

Transmission occurs primarily through sexual contact, as the lice feed on blood and cause intense itching. Over the past decade, researchers have noted a decline in reported infestations, attributing the trend to modern grooming habits such as shaving and waxing, which reduce the available habitat for the parasites.

Nonetheless, some experts argue that the apparent drop could stem from increased access to over‑the‑counter treatments similar to those used for head lice, rather than an actual threat of extinction. The scientific community remains divided on whether pubic lice face imminent disappearance.

5 Onchocerca Volvulus

The parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus spreads through the bite of black flies that breed near rivers and streams across Africa, parts of Latin America, and Yemen. Infection—commonly called river blindness—causes severe skin itching and can scar the cornea, leading to permanent blindness.

The Carter Center has spent the past two decades partnering with local governments to combat this disease. Their main weapon is ivermectin, a drug that kills the worms within human hosts and halts transmission.

While eradication efforts have been remarkably successful in South America, where river blindness is now virtually gone, Africa still accounts for 99 % of global cases. The WHO estimates that roughly 18 million people remain affected worldwide, indicating that total extinction of the parasite remains a distant goal.

4 Hookworms

Hookworms infiltrate human hosts either by ingestion of contaminated vegetables or, more commonly, through skin penetration when people walk barefoot on contaminated soil. Once inside, the larvae travel via the bloodstream to the lungs and eventually settle in the intestines, where they feed on blood, causing anemia and chronic diarrhea.

Although once prevalent throughout the southern United States, extensive public‑health campaigns in the early 20th century dramatically reduced their presence. Today, hookworms persist in impoverished tropical regions, thriving in areas lacking proper sanitation.

Eradication strategies focus on improving sewage infrastructure, distributing deworming medication, and promoting footwear use. By addressing the environmental reservoirs and providing regular anthelmintic treatments, health officials aim to drive the species toward extinction.

3 Tsetse Flies

Tsetse flies, tiny blood‑sucking insects, transmit the parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness—a disease that produces fever, confusion, weakness, and often death if untreated. Beyond human health, the flies also infect livestock such as cattle, pigs, and donkeys, hampering agricultural productivity and deepening poverty in sub‑Saharan Africa.

The United Nations identifies the tsetse fly as a major driver of economic hardship, as its presence forces farmers to leave fertile land fallow. Traditional control methods—pesticides, traps, and culling of wildlife that serve as hosts—have yielded limited success.

The most promising approach is again the sterile insect technique, wherein radiation‑sterilized male flies are released en masse to outcompete fertile males, leading to a collapse in the breeding population. Continued deployment of SIT could eventually eradicate the fly from entire continents.

2 Bedbugs

Bedbugs are small, wingless insects that hide in mattresses, bedding, and furniture, waiting for unsuspecting sleepers to drift off before they emerge to feed on blood. Though they have coexisted with humans for millennia, a mid‑19th‑century decline in the developed world gave way to a resurgence in recent decades.

Urban centers across the United States and Canada have reported rapid outbreaks that spread quickly and prove difficult to contain. Bedbugs are remarkably resilient; they can survive months without feeding, often nesting deep within walls or floorboards to avoid detection.

Compounding the problem, many populations of bedbugs have begun developing resistance to conventional insecticides. While some municipalities have launched public‑health campaigns to control infestations, the most reliable eradication method remains heating affected spaces to temperatures above 50 °C (122 °F)—a solution that is impractical for many homeowners.

1 Homo Sapiens

Yes, you read that correctly—humans themselves make the top of this list. The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT), led by spokesperson Les Knight, argues that humanity’s relentless exploitation of the planet warrants a voluntary, child‑free existence to allow other species to thrive.

VHEMT’s philosophy is non‑violent; members simply pledge to abstain from procreation, believing that a gradual human decline will reduce environmental pressure and spare countless other species from extinction.

While the logic is stark—if Homo sapiens vanished, the ecological footprint would disappear, potentially rescuing many other organisms—the movement faces an uphill battle. With a global population hovering around 7.5 billion, convincing enough individuals to forgo reproduction seems an almost impossible task. Nonetheless, the group serves as a provocative reminder that no species willingly walks into its own demise.

When you think of ten amazing artists, you probably picture brilliant canvases, iconic sculptures, and groundbreaking compositions. Yet brilliance on the canvas doesn’t always translate to brilliance in the bedroom, the boardroom, or the bar. Below we dive into the unsettling personal histories of some of the most celebrated creators in Western culture – a reminder that great art can emerge from deeply flawed, even horrendous, humans.

Why Ten Amazing Artists Still Captivate Audiences

10. Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio

It’s such a common phrase by this point to be nearly meaningless when you hear someone can supposedly “get away with murder.” But famed Renaissance painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio actually did get away with murder in his life. And he went right on painting through it.

Caravaggio is best known for his exquisite oil paintings depicting gory scenes and bloody battles. His subjects show remarkable motion on the canvas while slaughtering and getting slaughtered. And as it turns out, Caravaggio’s paintings may have very much followed a murderous trend in the artist’s own life.

Art historians have long made note of Caravaggio’s drinking habits. He was very well‑known during his raucous life for getting drunk in Italian bars and pubs and then assaulting anyone within arm’s reach. Some historians even assert he was a well‑known pimp who sold a series of women to local johns. His worst sins were far more deadly, though. As a teenager, he reportedly killed a man in his hometown and was forced to flee. A few years later, he murdered a young male rival of his on a tennis court and skipped his adopted hometown once more.

Historians believe he killed several more people across Italy. His hard‑drinking habits certainly didn’t help. But it’s not every day that a world‑famous painter is also supposedly a serial killer. In the end, the law caught up with Caravaggio. Government officials in the Papal States soon grew tired of his violent ways. They put out a “bando capitale” on the artist. Basically, it allowed any local resident the opportunity to catch and kill Caravaggio as an enemy of the state.

In 1610, the Knights of Malta caught up to the painter and gave him a taste of his own medicine. As we know now, the world lost a phenomenal painter when Caravaggio was killed. But at the time, the Papal States simply couldn’t stomach the pressure he put on society any longer than they already had.

9. Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin’s most famous achievement—other than his own paintings, of course—was being the guy who chopped off Vincent Van Gogh’s ear. The two painters were longtime friends who shared costs and often made art based on the same subjects. They both had incredible eyes for color, shading, and style. And they both were difficult to work and live with, so their friendship was fated to end long before it probably should have. After his falling out with Van Gogh, Gauguin fled to French Polynesia and experimented with color in ways painters never before had done.

But that’s not what makes Gauguin unique for the purposes of this list. Instead, the post‑Impressionist is known first for abandoning his French wife and five children upon leaving abruptly for Tahiti. Once he got there, he then started taking Polynesian children as brides.

By 1891, when Gauguin was in his 40s, the artist had taken three child brides younger than 14 years old. He had children with all three. Then, he promptly infected all three with syphilis, as well as spreading the virulent virus all around the island while having other trysts on the side. By the time he died in French Polynesia in 1903, his passing was welcomed by all the women whose lives he’d changed forever.

8. Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas was one of the greatest Impressionist painters of all time. The talented artist was a living legend during his life in France. The way he depicted movement on canvas changed how many future painters saw the craft. But as it turned out, Degas was not the nicest person away from his art studio.

Degas’s behind‑the‑scenes controversies began in 1894, when a French Army captain named Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of selling military secrets to Germany. Dreyfus was Jewish, and the treasonous affair was big news in France at the time. (As it would later come to pass, it turned out Dreyfus was framed—but that mattered little to many people intent on criticizing him.)

Degas was one of many French citizens shocked to learn Dreyfus had supposedly been selling state secrets to a rival. But instead of just being mad about treasonous corruption, the Impressionist took things quite a bit further. Lamenting Dreyfus’s alleged behavior, Degas became a rabid and publicly vicious anti‑Semite.

The artist began to loudly proclaim to anyone who would listen—and many who wouldn’t—that all Jews were just as bad as Dreyfus, and none of them could be trusted. Degas took things further, too, by cutting off all contact with any Jewish people who had been in his life. Sadly, that included dumping a lifelong friend who had never wronged the painter in any way.

In time, Degas’s anti‑Semitism even bled into his work connections. The artist had previously loved the painting of Camille Pissarro, who was, then and now, the only major Jewish Impressionist of note. But after 1894, Degas refused to have anything to do with Pissarro. When a friend pointed out that Degas used to loudly support the Jewish artist’s work, Degas coldly replied, “That was before Dreyfus.”

As the calendar turned to the 20th century, Degas’s anti‑Semitic streak continued. In one notably bizarre incident, he kicked a model out of his studio for being Jewish—even though she was actually a Protestant. If there’s any consolation to Degas’s cruel behavior, it’s that his friends had all mostly abandoned him by the time of his death in 1917. They had grown weary of his constant racist attacks and diatribes.

7. Richard Prince

Richard Prince has what every modern‑day artist seemingly wants. He’s an in‑demand star with work that sells for millions of dollars. He’s esteemed by colleagues, and his work is desired by art buyers worldwide. In 2015, an art publication even named his work some of the most lucrative pieces among all living artists. There’s just one little problem with it all: He keeps getting criticized—and sued—for ripping off other people’s art.

In 2014, Prince held an exhibition of photos he simply copied off Instagram. That was it. That was the art. He pulled other people’s digital photos off Instagram, printed and framed them, and then sold the images for a whopping $100,000 each. He didn’t even tell the original photographers!

When word got out, and the original photographers started getting mad about their images being used without warning or compensation, Prince whined about how the “phony fraud photographers” simply couldn’t stop “mooching” him for recognition.

But Prince’s story gets weirder still. In another photo grab, the popular artist swiped and repurposed nearly three dozen images from photographer Patrick Cariou. The French photographer had published them in a book about Jamaican men titled Yes Rasta.

Prince liked them so much that he copied about 30 of the images, drew electric guitars on them, and sold them all. He netted millions of dollars in profit—and a lawsuit from Cariou. That court battle has dragged on for years with stops, starts, decisions, appeals, and rulings. One thing is for certain, though: photographers rightfully don’t seem to care too much for Richard Prince’s antics.

6. Benvenuto Cellini

Italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini is still known today as one of the foremost goldsmiths of history. He mashed and molded gold into incredibly detailed and intricate sculptures. He created the still‑iconic Cellini Salt Cellar and a famed sculpture of Perseus with the Head of Medusa. He even wrote a painstakingly detailed autobiography that historians still point to as one of the foremost literary works of the 16th century.

But away from his art and literature, Cellini was—to put it in the mildest terms—a bad dude. The sculptor’s rough life began very early. As a teenager, he brawled so much that he was cast out of his hometown. Living his young life on the road only made Cellini more vicious, though. He started carrying knives and was known to pick violent fights with foes, real or perceived.

Then, in 1527, the Sack of Rome happened, and Cellini saw his first taste of real murderous action. He killed at least two of the occupying soldiers in a rage during the invasion. And he apparently enjoyed it so much that he chose to keep killing after that.

Over the rest of his life, Cellini killed at least three more men and wounded several others. One of his brothers was executed by police in Florence because of a murder he’d committed—thereby proving the vicious familial connection. Benvenuto didn’t like that his brother had to die, though, so he killed one of the watch’s corporals in revenge.

A few years later, he was busy beating a man to death when a witness saw him do it and turned him in. Cellini promptly killed the witness before the man could testify against him. A few years after that, Cellini went to sculpt in France. There, he became the subject of a civil lawsuit. But before that filing could work its way into court, Cellini crippled the plaintiff’s legs and fled town.

The murderous man faced no long‑lasting consequences for these acts and lived just short of his 71st birthday before dying peacefully in 1571. His art lives on today—and his horrific and violent acts now do, too.

5. Eric Gill

Eric Gill used his talents as an incredible sculptor. During the early 20th century, he was one of the foremost progenitors of Britain’s powerful Arts and Crafts movement. Gill’s work is known the world over, and it sits in some high‑profile places.

At times, his sculptures have sat in front of the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London, as well as the United Nations’ European headquarters building. Many of his works are meticulously guarded as part of careful collections by London’s Tate Galleries. And many more of his famed pieces are very much inspired by the solemn and powerful Catholic faith.

But Gill himself was a star‑crossed person in his private life—to say the very least. According to art historians, Gill seduced at least one of his sisters during his lifetime, with some contending he actually slept with both. He conducted unspeakable sexual and physical experiments on his family’s pet dog late at night for years. And it later came out that he sexually abused his daughters throughout childhood and their teenage years.

Gill was often sick in his adult life; in 1940, he passed away after battling lung cancer. He wasn’t even 60 years old. And for a while, nobody knew about his sordid personal dealings. Those shocking revelations only came out five decades after his death, when a jaw‑dropping biography was published about the real Eric Gill.

4. Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon delivered shocking and often gruesome portraits of characters throughout his prolific art career. The 20th‑century Irish artist—not the 16th‑century English statesman—was known for painting revolting images of nearly inhuman people doing unspeakable things. As it turned out, in his case, at least, life imitated art. Or maybe we have that backward, and Bacon’s unsettling art actually imitated his dark life.

The Irish‑born artist was a very disturbed individual who was said to have pushed several boyfriends into such despair that they committed suicide. He also viewed sexuality as an opportunity to “prey” on younger, often unwitting victims. When he was just a teenager, a stablehand was said to have tied him up and whipped him while bound. That may have affected the rest of Bacon’s life, as he soon became a sexual predator in revenge.

In 1963, Bacon met London‑born male model George Dyer at a pub. The two men hit it off—well, as easily as one could with Bacon—and soon began a torrid affair. But it was tempestuous from the very beginning. Both men physically harmed each other in an endless loop of domestic violence. Bacon was twisted enough to emotionally do damage to Dyer’s fragile psyche, too. In 1971, the awful relationship came to a head.

While on a trip to Paris, Bacon embarrassed and then cast away Dyer. The emotional pain was so great that the male model killed himself in response. For his part, Bacon lived out the rest of his days seemingly unbothered by Dyer’s shocking death at just 33 years old. The tortured (and torturing) artist lived out a long life beyond the suicide and died at the ripe old age of 82 in 1992.

3. Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger was “Australia’s first great composer.” Okay, so that’s what he called himself. And can you really give yourself a nickname—or an honorific like that? The fact that Grainger bestowed such a moniker upon himself probably should have given the world its first clue that he maybe wasn’t the kindest person out there. Then, throughout his life in the first half of the 20th century, he pretty much proved those suspicions correct.

Even though he was born Down Under and theoretically far away from much Jewish interaction taking place in Europe, Grainger still took great interest in the faith. And not in a good way. His entire life’s work, from music to his social commentary and public persona, centered on some deeply and very strongly held anti‑Semitic beliefs.

And when his professional attention turned to preserving and promoting classic British folk music, he did so for a disturbing reason. Grainger believed Britain’s white natives were at risk of losing their “creative genius” due to immigration, race‑mixing, and Jewish conspiracies.

Grainger lived in the United States from the mid‑1910s on, and his life played out during a tumultuous few decades in American history. For much of that time, he drew on prior years he’d lived in Germany to enthusiastically support the work of Nazi Party favorites. One of the men Grainger held in the highest esteem was a British‑German philosopher and pro‑Nazi thinker named Houston Stewart Chamberlain, whom Grainger believed to be the world’s foremost academic.

When World War II broke out, Grainger’s old German friends asked him to help Jews who were fleeing the Nazi regime. He turned them down again and again despite having the means and connections to help. Not great, Percy.

2. Bob Kane

Bob Kane spent his life claiming he invented Batman. In reality, one of his longtime friends, Bill Finger, created the Caped Crusader. And even worse, not only was Finger left uncredited with the creation for decades, but Kane also seemed to take any and every opportunity to rub it in his face. Batman took off in the late 1930s, of course. But it wasn’t actually Kane’s own creation—at least not as the superhero ended up being portrayed.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Kane started thinking about a superhero named Bat‑Man. Kane wanted the star to have a red suit and wavy blonde hair. He was supposed to fly around using a pair of attached bat wings, too—hence the name. So Kane enlisted his artist friend Finger to make a mockup design of the new hero.

Quickly, Finger realized the whole concept behind Kane’s Bat‑Man idea was laughable. Dumping the bright red costume and wavy blond hair, Finger instead put the superhero in a black, skin‑tight suit. Finger also dropped Bat‑Man’s various superpowers, turned him into a detective, and gave him Bruce Wayne’s backstory. Finger even created other mainstay characters like Catwoman, Robin, and the Joker to help fill out the tale.

Kane loved the idea and ran with it, but he didn’t care to bring Finger along for the ride. After his unlucky friend was done creating characters, Kane took the mockups to DC Comics and secured a contract that specifically did not mention or include Finger in any way. The rest, as they say, is history.

Finger died in obscurity years later, having been unable to receive any credit for his work. Kane made money off Batman from the very start of his lucrative partnership with DC. Still, Finger never got a dime in royalties. He didn’t even get a creator credit on the iconic idea until 2015—long after he passed away in 1974 after years of heart problems.

As for Kane, he died a rich man in 1998. His gravestone acknowledged that he did have a little help in creating Batman after all. But the credit didn’t go to Finger; instead, it claimed “God” assisted Kane in creating iconic comic books.

1. Pablo Picasso

If you know anything about Pablo Picasso, you’re probably surprised that you had to wait this long to see his name pop up. The painter is arguably the most talented visual artist to ever live. Certainly, he’s one of the most famous. His name is synonymous even today with works of beauty, splendor, and uniqueness.

But away from his public life, Picasso was a troubled and often very demanding man who put his family and friends through hell. “He needed the blood of those who loved him,” Picasso’s granddaughter Marina once famously said about the artist. Sadly, that very often proved to be true.

Picasso himself didn’t try to hide this fact about his personality. He once called women “machines for suffering” and boasted about being the one to push them to their limits. Even though he made lots of money during his life, Picasso never let his loved ones partake. After Marina’s own parents split up, Pablo ensured the little girl and her mother remained in abject poverty. He intended to “teach them a lesson” with the cruel and unnecessary act.

Things could have been worse, though. For decades, he mistreated women in relationships with constant infidelity and relentless verbal and emotional abuse. Of the half‑dozen women who featured significantly in Pablo’s life, two were driven to madness and institutionalized, while two more died by suicide.

When you picture crime, you probably imagine humans pulling off heists, murders, or burglaries. Yet there are 10 crimes weren that were carried out by creatures without a driver’s license or a courtroom ever in sight.

Animals have been caught red‑handed—well, red‑pawed—committing offenses that mirror human misdeeds, from theft to assault. Below we tally ten of the most jaw‑dropping examples.

10 crimes weren: A Wild Look at Unlikely Offenders

10. The Bear Who Stole A Car, Crashed It, And Relieved Itself

Bears have a reputation for raiding picnics, rummaging through trash cans, and even barging into homes, but this particular incident takes the crown for sheer audacity.

A Colorado family awoke at dawn to discover that a bear had somehow slipped into their parked vehicle during the night. While rummaging for a snack, the massive animal became tangled, accidentally shifted the gear lever, and sent the car careening into the neighbor’s mailbox. Before making its exit, the bear left a… memorable souvenir in the form of its own droppings.

Fortunately, nobody was injured. The vehicle, however, suffered severe damage: the rear window was shattered, the radio and steering wheel were ripped from their mounts, and the overall interior was left in tatters. The homeowners were stunned but managed to laugh off the bizarre encounter.

All told, the bear’s nighttime escapade resulted in property destruction and an unintentional car‑theft, turning a quiet morning into a story the family will never forget.

9. The Rooster Who Stabbed Someone

Cockfighting is already a grim, illegal pastime, but a tragic twist unfolded in California when a weaponized rooster turned a spectator into a victim.

Thirty‑five‑year‑old Jose Luis Ochoa attended an underground cockfight and was unexpectedly impaled in the right calf by a razor‑shaped blade that had been strapped to the bird’s leg for the contest. While such knives are commonplace in these brutal events, it is exceedingly rare for a participant to be seriously injured by the animal itself.

Ochoa was rushed to a hospital, but despite medical efforts, he succumbed to his wounds two hours later, making this one of the few documented cases where a rooster’s weapon caused a fatality.

8. The Chimp Who Violently Attacked A Young Woman

In the 1970s, researchers embarked on Project Nim, hoping to raise a chimpanzee as if it were a human child. The experiment produced many insights, but it also led to a frightening encounter.

During a routine session, a female volunteer believed Nim was offering a friendly hug. Instead, the chimp lunged, sinking his teeth into her mouth and drawing blood. As the woman clutched her bleeding cheek, Nim repeatedly signed what translated to “I’m sorry,” a haunting reminder of the animal’s intelligence and the volatile nature of the experiment.

The volunteer survived the bite, yet the incident cast a dark shadow over the project, highlighting the ethical complexities of treating primates like human children.

7. The Emu Chased By The Police

Australia’s iconic emus are known for their size and speed, and one runaway bird turned a sleepy town into a police chase scene during rush hour.

The 1.2‑meter‑tall bird escaped its owner’s property and sprinted through suburban streets, apparently attempting to slip into nearby homes to avoid capture. Officers, unused to handling a massive, fast‑moving bird, found themselves both startled and amused.

After a brief pursuit, a local resident was asked to let the emu into her lounge, but she declined. Eventually, police corralled the feathered fugitive at 8:00 AM and returned it safely to its owner.

6. Fish‑Stealing Sperm Whales

Alaskan fishermen have reported a peculiar form of piracy: sperm whales shadowing their vessels and pilfering fish straight from the hooks.

The massive mammals use the boat’s engine noise to locate the fishing gear, then glide alongside, deftly snatching the catch and tossing it back into the sea. This clever thievery has become a regular nuisance, leaving crews frustrated but also impressed by the whales’ ingenuity.

While the practice is unlikely to change anytime soon, the whales’ behavior underscores their sophisticated hunting tactics and the unexpected ways nature can intersect with human industry.

5. The Unsuccessful Slow Thief

A sloth, famed for its leisurely pace, managed to infiltrate a closed café in the dead of night, seeking a midnight snack.

At first, the creature navigated the dim interior with surprising stealth, inching toward the counter. However, its notoriously slow movements proved its downfall; a misstep caused it to tumble onto the floor, triggering an alarm that alerted security personnel.

Although the sloth was apprehended without incident, the café owner found the episode both amusing and bewildering, noting that while monkeys have been seen during daylight hours, a nocturnal sloth burglary was a first.

4. The Cat Burglar

Meet Sir Whines‑A‑Lot, a feline with a penchant for pilfering cash from unsuspecting passersby.

The mischievous cat discovered a narrow gap beneath an office door where his owner worked. Employees, amused at first, began tossing dollar bills through the opening for the cat’s entertainment. Over time, the kitty amassed a surprisingly large stash of money.

Realizing the unintended consequence, the owner decided to donate the collected cash to local homeless shelters, turning the cat’s quirky kleptomania into a charitable act.

3. The Evidence‑Stealing Crow

Crows are notorious for their intelligence, but one feathered thief took audacity to a new level by snatching a crime‑scene knife in Vancouver.

Canuck, a crow belonging to a nearby resident, swooped down during a police operation involving more than twenty officers and seized the metal blade, which was crucial evidence in the investigation.

Investigators later learned that Canuck had been raised around humans and had developed a mischievous streak, but his daring theft added an unexpected twist to an already complex case.

2. The Dog Who Shot His Owner

In Iowa, a seemingly ordinary play session on the couch turned disastrous when Balew, a well‑meaning dog, accidentally disabled the safety on his owner’s firearm.

While the owner was lounging, Balew stepped on the trigger, firing a shot that struck the man’s leg. The owner later described his canine companion as a “big wuss,” noting that the dog appeared remorseful, lying down and whimpering after the incident.

Fortunately, the wound was non‑fatal, and both human and dog recovered, making the episode a sobering reminder of firearm safety around pets.

1. The Monkey Who Kidnapped And Murdered A Child

This grim tale tops the list: a rhesus monkey in India abducted a sleeping infant and later caused the child’s death.

According to the mother, the baby was napping when the monkey seized the infant and fled. The mother’s frantic chase proved futile; the monkey was too swift, and the child was later discovered dead behind the family’s home, where the animal presumably set the infant down.

The incident marks a harrowing escalation from typical monkey mischief—such as stealing food—to a fatal kidnapping, underscoring the potential danger of human‑wildlife interactions.

Ever wondered how many species of humans have strutted across the planet? Chances are, if you’re scrolling on a phone or laptop right now, you’re a Homo sapiens. We’re the sole surviving human species today, but the fossil record tells a very different, bustling story of many cousins that came before and alongside us.

Much like choosing a new pet from a shelter—whether it’s a pug, a schnauzer, a doberman, or a greyhound—our evolutionary lineage was once a crowded kennel of diverse human relatives. Though those other species have vanished, fragments of their DNA still linger in some of us. Let’s rewind the clock and explore each of these fascinating lineages.

1. Are We Different Species?

First up, let’s tackle the big question: are we truly a separate species from our extinct cousins? On the surface, the answer feels obvious—we’re not Neanderthals, for instance. Yet genetics reveals a tangled web: about 2% of non‑African DNA comes from Neanderthals, meaning everyone outside Africa carries a trace of Neanderthal ancestry. In some Melanesian populations, the figure climbs to 6% Denisovan DNA. By classic definitions, species are groups that cannot interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Humans, past and present, clearly break that rule, showing we’re far more fluid than the textbook definition suggests. Moreover, the concept of species is notoriously slippery, especially for organisms that reproduce both sexually and asexually. Bottom line: we don’t have a rock‑solid, universally accepted species definition, and our own lineage blurs the lines.

2. Early Humans

Before we dive into individual relatives, it’s worth noting that the scientific community hasn’t nailed down a single, tidy list of early human species. Most researchers agree on at least eight distinct species that co‑existed with Homo sapiens, but broader surveys often count up to twenty when you factor in fragmentary finds and debated taxa. One star player is Homo erectus, the oldest hominin with proportions resembling modern humans. Alongside Neanderthals, it fuels the classic “caveman” image—long legs, short arms, built for life on the ground rather than in trees.

Homo erectus first appeared roughly 1.9 million years ago and persisted until about 110,000 years ago. By contrast, Homo sapiens emerged between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago, meaning the two species overlapped for a substantial stretch of time. Some scholars split Homo erectus further into Homo ergaster and Homo georgicus, though the exact taxonomic boundaries remain debated. What they shared, however, was a larger cranial capacity—signaling a bigger brain.

Another hallmark of Homo erectus was its geographic reach. Fossils have turned up across Africa, Asia, and Europe, making it the first early human to leave a single continent behind. Overall, the fossil record points to a rich tapestry of at least twenty species, each with its own blend of ape‑like and human‑like traits. As new discoveries surface, our understanding of this complex family tree continues to evolve.

3. Sahelanthropus

Next on our roster is the tongue‑twisting Sahelanthropus tchadensis. This enigmatic hominin lived in Africa somewhere between 6 and 7 million years ago. Its fossilized skull looks more like an ape than a human, but one crucial detail sets it apart: evidence suggests it may have walked upright. Some researchers argue the pelvis and femur indicate bipedalism, while others contend the evidence is inconclusive, proposing that Sahelanthropus was primarily arboreal, only occasionally adopting a bipedal stance—much like modern chimpanzees or even a motivated dog.

If Sahelanthropus truly was bipedal, it would claim the title of the oldest known upright‑walking ancestor, pushing the origins of human locomotion further back than previously thought. The debate remains lively, hinging on fragmentary fossils and differing interpretations, but the possibility that our lineage embraced bipedalism this early adds an exciting twist to the story of human evolution.

4. Neanderthals

Enter the iconic Neanderthals, who first emerged about 400,000 years ago. Though they appeared later than many other hominins, they were our closest relatives, sharing a strikingly similar physique to modern humans. Genetic studies reveal that non‑African modern populations carry roughly 2% Neanderthal DNA, confirming interbreeding events.

Neanderthals roamed a vast expanse—from the western reaches of Wales to the far‑eastern steppes of Siberia. Adapted to colder climates, their robust bodies were built for endurance and sprinting, giving them a hunting edge over many contemporaries. Archaeological finds show they mastered fire, crafted sophisticated tools, and even refined tar for weaponry. Their settlements often display evidence of landscape manipulation, such as controlled burning and clear‑cutting of vegetation.

Why did they vanish around 40,000 years ago? The answer remains elusive. Some theories point to competition with Homo sapiens, others to climate shifts or demographic disadvantages. What’s clear is that Neanderthals were far from the brutish caricatures of pop culture—they were intelligent, adaptable, and left a lasting genetic legacy.

5. Flores Man

Now for a truly tiny wonder: Homo floresiensis, affectionately dubbed “the Hobbit” because a female skeleton measured just 3 ft 6 in. This diminutive species lived on the Indonesian island of Flores between roughly 50,000 and 100,000 years ago. Scientists believe its small stature resulted from island dwarfism—a common evolutionary response when resources are limited.

The fossil record for Flores Man is sparse: one nearly complete skeleton and a handful of partial remains. Some scholars argue the specimens might represent pathological modern humans rather than a distinct species, but the prevailing view supports a unique lineage. Their discovery sparked lively debate about how size, environment, and isolation shape evolution.

6. Denisovans

The Denisovans burst onto the scientific scene in 2010 after a finger bone and a few teeth were uncovered in Siberia’s Denisova Cave. Genetic analysis revealed a close kinship to both Neanderthals and modern humans, with a common ancestor—Homo heidelbergensis—splitting into separate lineages around 300,000–400,000 years ago. One branch became Neanderthals, another Denisovans, while the African branch gave rise to Homo sapiens.

Denisovan DNA lives on in present‑day populations, especially among Melanesians and certain Himalayan groups like the Sherpas, who inherit genes that help them thrive at high altitudes. Fossil evidence is scant—mostly a few teeth and bone fragments—but DNA tells a rich story of low genetic diversity, suggesting a relatively small population. Their range spanned from the cold reaches of Siberia down to tropical Southeast Asia, illustrating a surprisingly adaptable lineage.

7. Australopithecus

No list of early humans would be complete without Australopithecus, the genus that gave us the famous “Lucy” skeleton. Discovered in Ethiopia, Lucy belongs to a species that roamed Africa tens of millions of years ago. Over 300 individuals have been catalogued, providing a wealth of data on their anatomy and lifestyle.

These hominins were adept bipeds but still spent considerable time in trees. Dental analysis shows a primarily plant‑based diet, though wear patterns hint at occasional consumption of harder foods, perhaps even small reptiles. While they share some traits with Homo sapiens, their overall appearance leans more toward apes, underscoring the gradual nature of our evolution.

8. Where Did Everyone Else Go?

If Homo erectus persisted for nearly two million years, why did it and all the other human relatives vanish, leaving only Homo sapiens by about 40,000 years ago? The scientific community hasn’t reached a consensus. One hypothesis posits that modern humans outcompeted their cousins—perhaps through direct conflict or superior resource exploitation. Yet the fact that we share DNA with many of these groups suggests interbreeding also played a role, potentially diluting distinct lineages.

Climate change offers another compelling explanation. As ice ages waxed and waned, many habitats shifted dramatically, possibly exceeding the adaptive capacity of smaller or more specialized species. Additionally, Homo sapiens may have benefitted from higher infant survival rates and lower maternal mortality, giving us a demographic edge.

Our fossil record is patchy, and new discoveries constantly reshape the narrative. What remains clear is that we once shared the planet with a vibrant cast of human relatives—cousins who have long since disappeared, but whose genetic whispers still echo within us today.

10 crazy attempts have surfaced throughout history where nations tried to turn ordinary soldiers into literal living explosives. Suicide bombing is synonymous with terrorists today, but it hasn’t always been that way. It used to be the mainstay of standing armies and was extensively used by the Axis powers during World War II. The kamikaze of Japan are a well‑known example, where pilots were trained to ram their airplanes into Allied ships. Below is a countdown of the most outlandish schemes ever devised.

10 Kaiten

The kaiten were the underwater version of the Japanese kamikaze airplanes. Like the airplanes, the pilots were expected to ram their torpedo submarines into enemy ships, killing the pilot and destroying the ship. Work started on the kaiten in February 1944, and a prototype was deployed in July the same year.

The kaiten was more of a torpedo than a submarine. It was even powered by a torpedo engine. The pilot was only there to guide it to its target. The first prototypes allowed the pilots to escape as the torpedo moved closer to its target. However, most pilots were not interested in escaping. Later versions did not even allow them to do so.

A kaiten pilot had two opportunities to hit his target. If he lost the second opportunity, he was expected to blow himself and the torpedo up. The kaiten’s inability to dive deep underwater was its greatest limitation, since it made it vulnerable to Allied attacks. Some missed their targets, and others did not explode even when they hit their targets.

The Japanese navy did manage to successfully deploy kaiten against US ships, however. The USS Underhill was a notable casualty. It sank on July 24, 1945, after it was attacked by six kaiten. Japan suspended kaiten attacks a week before it surrendered.

9 Fieseler Fi 103R

During World War II, Britain found itself at the receiving end of the infamous V‑1 flying bombs fired from Nazi Germany territory. The V‑1 attacks were as successful as they were scary. But they would have never been as scary as the Fieseler Fi 103R, the manned version of the V‑1.

By 1944, Germany was already losing the war and had started getting some crazy ideas. Someone thought it would be cool if they could launch manned missiles from bombers. The German high command bought the idea but thought it would be cooler if they just put a person inside a rocket. The V‑1 was already successful, so it became the vehicle of choice.

The pilot was not originally expected to die in the attack. He would just aim the Fi 103R at the target and bail out before it hit. However, this would have been impossible, since the escape would have interfered with the workings of the aircraft.

However, unlike the V‑1, the Fi 103R would not be targeted at British cities. The V‑1 was handling that already. Instead, the Fi 103R would have been aimed at Allied ships in the English Channel. Germany produced almost 200 Fieseler Fi 103R’s during the war. Fortunately for the Allies, the Nazis never deployed any, since the German high command was not really interested in the weapon.

8 Proxy Bombings

While Islamist terrorist groups today will brainwash people with their ideologies before ordering them into bomb‑strapped vehicles, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) used a more terrible and cowardly tactic during its decades‑long war with the British government.

The IRA targeted people with links to the British government. Holding their families hostage, the IRA ordered their victims to drive bomb‑laden vehicles into British targets. The bombings were deadly and controversial. Sometimes, the driver only had moments to escape from the vehicle before it exploded. But they weren’t always that lucky.

One notable victim of the IRA’s cowardice was Patsy Gillespie. In June 1990, he was forced to drive his wife’s vehicle—which had been rigged with bombs—to the police barracks in which he worked as a cook. He did, and the IRA left his family alone … for a while. Four months later, they returned and ordered Patsy to drive another bomb‑laden vehicle to a military checkpoint. Patsy died in the explosion alongside five soldiers.

7 Maiale

The maiale (Italian for “pig”) was a manned torpedo manufactured in Italy during World II. Work started on the torpedo in 1935 over concerns that the Italian navy was surrounded by the British and French ships in the Mediterranean Sea. World War II broke out in 1939. The same year, Italy deployed the first maiale in the Mediterranean.

The 5‑meter‑long (16 ft) maiale was armed with either a 300‑kilogram (662 lb) warhead or two 150‑kilogram (331 lb) warheads. Two crewmen rode the torpedo into the English and French harbors. Once under enemy ships, the crew detached the front part of the torpedo, which contained the actual warhead, attached it under the enemy ship, and escaped before it exploded.

The maiale’s first deployment ended in failure. One was destroyed by an aircraft, and the other retreated after it was shot at. The maiale later found success in December 1941, when it sank two British battleships and a tanker in Alexandria, Egypt. However, the crew were captured before they could escape.

The maiale remained in Italian service and was extensively used against British ships and Allied merchant ships until Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943. While it was a success, it was difficult to operate and was prone to sinking into the water. This is why it was called “The Pig.” Many torpedoes were lost during tests.

6 Yokosuka MXY‑7 Ohka

The Yokosuka MXY‑7 Ohka was one of the infamous Japanese kamikaze airplanes. It was as deadly as it was feared. For a start, it was rocket‑powered, which was unusual. The majority of airplanes used by the Allies were driven by propeller engines.

The idea was simple. Once an Allied invasion was detected, Mitsubishi G4M2e bombers transported and released swarms of Ohkas toward the advancing Allied force. The Ohkas dived toward the enemy. Once they got close enough, the pilot fired the rocket engines, causing the deadly aircraft to speed toward their targets.

The Ohka’s first combat deployment ended in disaster when all 16 bombers transporting them to the target were attacked and destroyed. Some bombers managed to release some Ohkas, but they were far away from their target. While Japan later found success with the Ohka and even used them against US ships, they were taken out of production because the bigger G4M2e bombers were vulnerable to Allied attacks.

5 Sonderkommando Elbe

Sonderkommando Elbe was a special group of Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany air force) pilots trained to ram their airplanes into Allied aircraft. As we mentioned earlier, the tide changed toward the end of World II, with Germany on the losing side, and the Germans had been getting crazy ideas. One was the Fieseler Fi 103R. Another was removing all weapons and armor from aircraft and ordering the pilots to ram them into Allied planes.

The idea ended up worsening Germany’s situation. While Germany had better airplanes than the Allies, it did not have enough. The Germans didn’t have enough pilots or fuel, either. Turning their aircraft into manned missiles only reduced the number of planes and pilots at their disposal. While the pilots were expected to bail out of their airplanes before they crashed, it would not have been easy.

Germany’s idea of ramming airplanes into the Allies was not very successful in combat. While the airplanes destroyed some Allied bombers, Germany lost more aircraft than the Allies. Besides, the Allies quickly and easily replaced their airplanes, while the Germans could not so readily replace theirs, further worsening the situation of the Luftwaffe.

4 Bomi

The Bomi is straight out of the United States. Its name means “Bomber‑Missile.” It was developed during the Cold War, at a time when the US and Russia were only concerned with developing new technologies to deliver nuclear warheads into the other’s territory.

Bell Aircraft Corporation came up with the idea. They thought a pilot guiding an intercontinental ballistic missile into Moscow would be a good idea. The missile was divided into two compartments with a crew of three. A two‑man crew manned the rear compartment and were responsible for launching the missile from base.

The rear compartment detached in midair and returned to base, while the third crewman in the forward compartment flew into space before gliding into Moscow. The pilot would aim the missile toward the target before bailing out. This idea of bailing out sounds ludicrous, since the pilot would most likely have remained in the range of the 18.14‑kilogram (4,000 lb) nuclear warhead.

The US Air Force later dumped the idea because the missile could not reach Moscow. Besides, the US government was only interested in delivering nuclear weapons into Russia with either bombers or missiles, not with a hybrid of both.

3 Fukuryu

The Fukuryu (Lurking Dragons) were the Japanese versions of today’s suicide bombers during World II. The soldiers conscripted into the unit were armed with bamboo canes with 15‑kilogram (33 lb) bombs at the ends. The divers would sneak into enemy harbors and attach the bamboo canes to ships. The resulting explosion would kill the divers and damage or sink the ships.

Interestingly, the divers were more likely to die before they could strap the bombs to the ships. This was due to their unorthodox means of maintaining an oxygen supply. They connected their helmets to a tank containing caustic lye. The air they breathed out went into the tank, where it mixed with the lye to form oxygen, which they breathed in again. The idea was to breathe the clean air in through the nose and to exhale into a tube that led to the lye tank.

Messing up this specific breathing pattern could quickly lead to unconsciousness. About 50 divers died during training after inhaling the lye. Sometimes, water entered the tank, turning the lye into a deadly gas. It was also normal for divers to get stuck in seaweed. Survivors who never detonated their bombs were no better. Many suffered respiratory issues and brain damage.

2 Shinyo

At this point, we can all agree that the Japanese were so determined to stop the Allies from invading their territory that they used suicide attacks as a regular combat tactic. The shinyo (“sea quake”) boats were another suicide weapon deployed by the Japanese. They were modified torpedo boats containing deadly explosives.

Two types of shinyo boats were developed. The first, which was designed for the navy, was rammed into enemy ships, killing the pilot and causing extensive damage to the ship. The other, which was developed for the army, was used to drop depth charges around the enemy ship before fleeing. The pilot was not supposed to die in the attack, though they sometimes did because the boats were not fast enough to vacate the area before the depth charges exploded.

1 Marder

The marder was a small one‑man submarine built in Nazi Germany. The submarine was not supposed to kill the operator even though it often did. It was an improved version of a similar submarine, the neger. The marder solved some of the neger’s problems, including its inability to remain underwater.

However, the marder was not really better than the neger it was supposed to replace. While it could dive underwater, it could not do so beyond 30 meters (100 ft). For safety reasons, it usually remained between 13.7 and 15.2 meters (45–50 ft) below the water. Anything deeper was suicide.

Both submarines carried one torpedo, which the pilot fired before fleeing the area. However, fleeing after firing the torpedo was difficult in both designs. While the marder was successfully used against Allied ships, it was still listed as an unsuccessful weapon since one third of the pilots died during missions.

For billions of years, life on Earth has been reshaped by relentless change, and the story of our species is no exception. In the grand experiment of natural selection, the most successful traits have been handed down through countless generations, giving rise to the creature we call Homo sapiens. 10 ways humans might appear if evolution had taken a wildly different route is a tantalizing thought‑experiment that lets us glimpse what we could have become under other pressures.

Why 10 ways humans could look so radically different

10 The Perfect Human Body

Evolution doesn’t hand out upgrades overnight; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. When an environment shifts dramatically, the anatomical tweaks required to thrive can take countless millennia to materialize. That lag explains why, even after millennia of cultural progress, our bodies still carry a suite of features that feel oddly out‑of‑place for modern life.

Many of the traits we inherit today were forged in a world where our ancestors lived a far more “natural” existence—think open plains, raw diets, and constant exposure to the elements. In today’s concrete jungles, however, we would benefit from a whole new set of adaptations, and scientists have begun to sketch out what a truly optimal human form might look like.

British anatomist Alice Roberts used a full‑body scan of herself as a canvas, layering on the changes researchers deem essential for contemporary living. The outcome is a creature that looks nothing like the classic Hollywood ideal, yet Roberts argues it represents the “perfect human body” for the 21st century.

Among the most eye‑catching modifications are enlarged eyes that erase blind spots and oversized ears that can pick up the faintest whisper. The legs are built for sprinting at high speed, while the spine is shortened to provide sturdier support for the torso’s weight.

To sidestep the excruciating pain of traditional childbirth, this design swaps a conventional birth canal for a marsupial‑style pouch nestled in the abdomen, allowing offspring to develop safely inside. The lungs would take on avian efficiency for superior oxygen uptake, and the heart would adopt a canine‑level complexity to pump blood more effectively.

Finishing touches include skin that can shift its tone on demand, dramatically reducing the risk of skin cancer by adapting to varying levels of UV exposure.

9 Humans Adapted To Survive Car Accidents

For most of our history, the only speed we ever knew came from our own two legs. Then came the automobile, a marvel that hurled us forward at unprecedented velocities, exposing our fragile frames to a new set of dangers.

Even a modest collision can inflict severe injuries, while a high‑speed smash can reduce a person to a puddle of flesh. This stark reality sparked a bold experiment in Australia: what if our bodies were engineered to endure the worst‑case scenario of a traffic crash?

The result is Graham, a sculptural embodiment of crash‑proof design commissioned by the Transport Accident Commission. Rather than focusing on aesthetic appeal, Graham’s anatomy prioritizes pure survivability.

He sports a thick, abrasion‑resistant skin that repels minor cuts and scrapes. His face is flattened and padded with extra fat, shielding delicate structures like the ears and nose from sudden impacts. While his brain remains unchanged, his skull is dramatically enlarged, reinforced with dense bone and cushioned by soft tissue layers that act like built‑in shock absorbers. Notably, Graham lacks a neck, which is a common point of failure in high‑impact accidents.

His ribcage is wrapped in inflated tissue bags that bulge out like extra nipples, functioning as internal airbags that disperse crash forces across a larger area. The bones in his legs are engineered like springs, granting him rapid escape capability, while his knees rotate freely, preventing the joint from snapping under stress.

The Graham sculpture has garnered international accolades, celebrated for its ingenious illustration of how far our natural design falls short of being truly crash‑proof.

8 The Ice Man

Picture a world locked in ice—a planet where an asteroid has dimmed the sun or runaway climate change has ushered in a permanent glacial age. In such a frozen realm, humanity would need a suite of chilling adaptations to endure the relentless cold and perpetual snowstorms.

Reduced sunlight would mean a drop in vitamin D synthesis, prompting evolution toward paler skin and hair that can harvest the faintest UV rays. Simultaneously, a dense coat of body hair would sprout, providing insulation against the biting frost.

These icy denizens would likely grow taller and more muscular, with enlarged facial structures that pre‑warm the inhaled air before it reaches the lungs. Their feet would evolve sharp, claw‑like extensions to grip slick surfaces, while a substantial layer of sub‑cutaneous fat would act as a built‑in thermal blanket.

In the most extreme scenarios, thick neck fur and fat pads could shield the face, allowing the creature to tuck its head into a warm, insulated cocoon when faced with gale‑force winds or subzero temperatures.

7 The Dinosauroid

Sixty‑six million years ago, a cataclysmic impact erased the dinosaurs from Earth’s stage. Yet, imagine a timeline where that catastrophe never occurred, allowing the reptilian giants to continue evolving alongside mammals.

In such an alternate history, the lineage that produced the clever Troodon might have taken a path toward true intelligence, eventually giving rise to a humanoid form that blends reptilian heritage with upright posture.

When paleontologists first uncovered evidence that Troodon possessed a brain disproportionately large for its body, they hypothesized that this creature was primed for further cognitive development. Building on that premise, Dale Russell teamed up with taxidermist Ron Seguin in 1982 to craft a life‑size model dubbed the Dinosauroid.

The resulting figure stands about 1.3 m tall, featuring a head with large, binocular eyes, a sleek skull housing the expanded brain, and a neck shortened to support the weight of the cranium. This structural shift forced the creature into an upright stance, eliminating the tail and giving it a more human‑like silhouette.

Its skin would be covered in scales, while the hands would sport three fingers, each ending in an opposable thumb, allowing for precise manipulation. Remarkably, the Dinosauroid would give birth to live young—a radical departure from the egg‑laying norm of most reptiles.

Although other scientists have proposed alternative evolutionary trajectories that retain more dinosaur‑like features, Russell’s Dinosauroid remains one of the most striking visualizations of what a sentient dinosaur might have become.

6 True Martians

Evolution can churn out dramatic changes in a few million years, especially when a species is thrust into an entirely new planetary environment. If humanity were to colonize Mars and remain there for generations, the planet’s unique conditions would sculpt a brand‑new version of us.

On the Red Planet, the weaker gravitational pull would prevent the spine from compressing as it does on Earth, resulting in taller individuals with elongated torsos. Bones would thicken to cope with the planet’s lower but still present gravity, and heads would swell slightly to accommodate larger brains adapted to new challenges.

The thin Martian atmosphere would filter out much of the sunlight, prompting eyes to enlarge for better light gathering. Simultaneously, relentless exposure to high‑energy radiation would drive the evolution of a protective pigment—akin to the orange hue of carrots—covering the skin to shield DNA from damage.

In this speculative future, Martian‑born humans would sport a vivid orange complexion, a testament to their hardened, radiation‑resistant biology. Rapid mutation rates under constant cosmic bombardment could, within a few hundred years, give rise to an entirely new species distinct from Earth‑bound humanity.

5 Human Birds

Humans and birds occupy opposite branches on the tree of life, sharing very few anatomical traits. Yet, envision a world where avian species dominate and, over eons, evolve a form that merges human intellect with bird‑like features.

The most obvious transformation would be the growth of a full plumage coat, replacing mammalian hair with feathers that provide insulation and aerodynamic advantages. Bones would become largely hollow, dramatically reducing overall weight, while teeth would shrink or disappear altogether to facilitate a lightweight skull.

Balancing the high energy demands of a large brain with the power‑intensive mechanics of flight presents a biological conundrum. A bird‑human would likely have to sacrifice either sustained flight or some aspects of cognitive capacity, perhaps opting for short bursts of gliding rather than prolonged soaring.

Two plausible configurations arise for the forelimbs: one where arms are fully transformed into wing‑like structures with elongated digits, reminiscent of Archaeopteryx; another where a pair of wings sprouts alongside the original arms, demanding extensive skeletal remodeling to accommodate both sets of limbs.

Even with these adaptations, the creature would probably remain grounded for most of its life, using its wings primarily for leaping between trees or brief glides. An especially curious trait would be the shift to oviparity—laying eggs instead of giving birth—mirroring the reproductive strategy of birds.

While the notion of birds evolving into human‑like beings stretches current scientific plausibility, advances in genetic engineering hint that inserting avian wing genes into human embryos could one day make such a hybrid a reality.

4 Evolving To Live Underwater

Four hundred million years ago, a divergence split fish from terrestrial vertebrates, setting the stage for a vast array of aquatic adaptations. If humanity were to abandon land and embrace the ocean’s depths, a cascade of physiological overhauls would be necessary.

One lightweight scenario envisions elongated fingers connected by webbing, turning our hands into paddle‑like tools akin to those of ducks. Our eyes would develop a reflective membrane, boosting vision in dim, murky waters much like a cat’s tapetum lucidum. Simultaneously, a reduction in body hair would cut drag, while an increased layer of sub‑cutaneous fat would provide insulation against cold currents.

A more extreme vision proposes a fully webbed lower body, where the legs fuse into a singular, fish‑tail‑like fin, granting powerful propulsion with minimal effort.

The most radical depiction imagines humans sprouting functional gills along the chest, allowing direct extraction of dissolved oxygen from water. Legs would morph into fin‑like structures, while arms would remain recognizably human, preserving dexterity for tool use.

To accommodate a horizontal swimming posture, the neck would shift almost directly onto the back of the skull, granting forward vision while the body glides. This anatomical rearrangement would give the underwater human a frog‑like visage and a limited vocal repertoire consisting of simple grunts.

3 The Humanoid Plant

Imagine a scenario where humanity diverges from the animal kingdom and takes root in the plant world—a truly mind‑bending thought experiment that forces us to reconsider what it means to be a sentient organism.

Plants and animals share a distant common ancestor, and modern flora exhibit a rudimentary nervous‑like signaling system. If humans were to adopt photosynthesis as their primary energy source, we would essentially become living solar panels.

Our skin would be peppered with microscopic chloroplasts, turning us a vivid shade of green as they capture sunlight to synthesize sugars. To meet our metabolic demands, our bodies would sprout branches and broad leaves, dramatically increasing surface area for light absorption.

To facilitate gas exchange, the epidermis would become highly porous, allowing carbon dioxide intake and oxygen release much like stomata on leaves. Because the brain consumes a disproportionate share of energy, a plant‑human would need to bask in sunlight for extended periods to sustain cognition, leading to a relatively sedentary lifestyle.

In essence, a humanoid plant would be a stationary, chlorophyll‑rich being, forever tethered to the sun’s rays, embodying a strikingly alien yet biologically plausible version of humanity.

2 Stronger People Under Stronger Gravity

All terrestrial life has evolved under Earth’s relatively gentle gravitational pull. If we were transplanted to a world with substantially higher gravity, our bodies would need to undergo dramatic reinforcement to survive.

In such a high‑gravity setting, even a modest fall could prove fatal, prompting evolution toward a low‑centered, ground‑hugging form. Humans would likely become shorter, abandoning the classic bipedal stance in favor of a six‑limb gait that distributes weight more evenly across the terrain.

The circulatory system would face heightened challenges, as the heart would have to exert greater force to pump blood upward against the stronger pull. Consequently, the heart would grow larger and sit closer to the brain, ensuring adequate cerebral perfusion.

The most obvious external transformation would be a dramatic increase in bone density and muscle mass. Skeletons would thicken to support the added load, while muscles would bulk up to generate the necessary power for movement.

Interestingly, studies of animals adapted to intense gravitational forces suggest a marked reduction in body fat, as excess adipose tissue would become a liability under the crushing weight of a denser planet.

1 The Vacuumorph

Having explored how humanity might look on other planets, we now turn our gaze to the ultimate frontier: outer space itself. The most extreme speculative adaptation envisions a being capable of surviving the vacuum of space without any external life‑support systems.

In a future where genetic engineering can tailor organisms for specific environments, scientists imagine creating humanoid entities called vacuumorphs. These beings would be purpose‑built for constructing spacecraft directly in orbit, thriving in the harsh, airless void.

The vacuumorph’s exterior would be encased in a rigid, airtight shell, shielding internal organs from the absence of pressure and the barrage of solar radiation. Though the limbs would be present, they would be heavily atrophied, serving primarily as manipulators with prehensile feet designed for gripping the metallic hulls of spacecraft.

Vision would be preserved through specialized eyes protected by sealed lenses and protective tissue folds that block harmful radiation while still permitting sight. Internally, new organs would emerge: a third lung to store surplus oxygen and a fourth organ to accumulate carbon dioxide and metabolic waste, which could then be expelled in controlled bursts to generate thrust.

While such a creature would be a product of advanced genetic manipulation and incapable of natural reproduction, the vacuumorph concept offers a vivid illustration of how far human evolution could stretch if we were to abandon Earth entirely.

Brian is an economy student who is passionate about graphic design and an avid enthusiast of the art of writing.

10 times wild, we’ve heard of pets saving their owners, but what about wild animals saving total strangers? Wild dolphins, porpoises, and deer have saved humans. As have lions, bears, and whales. However, not all of the animals on this list saved humans on purpose. Some only became unwitting heroes, while the motivations of others remain in doubt. In one case, some believe the “rescuers” were actually planning to eat the person they saved.

10 Times Wild Animal Rescues

10 Lions Save Girl From Kidnappers

Sometime in June 2005, a 12‑year‑old Ethiopian girl was walking home from school when she was abducted by four men. (Rural Ethiopia has seen many instances of men kidnapping women they intend to forcefully marry.) The girl remained with the men for a week while police searched for her. The police were trailing the abductors when the men abandoned the girl after they were approached by three lions.

The lions did not eat the girl, as many would have expected. They just remained with her and then quietly left when the police arrived. A wildlife expert suggested the lions didn’t kill the girl because she sounded like a lion cub while crying. However, not everyone thinks the lions were being superheroes. A game hunter suggested the big cats were about to eat the girl and were interrupted by the police.

9 Sea Lion Saves Man From Drowning

Sometime in 2000, Kevin Hines decided he’d had enough of life. He was suffering from bipolar disorder and depression and chose to commit suicide by drowning. His location of choice was the famous Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. However, he did not drown as expected because a sea lion kept him above the water.

Hines initially thought the sea lion was a shark. This freaked him out. While he planned to commit suicide, that didn’t include being killed by a shark. However, he soon realized that his unexpected companion was a sea lion. The sea lion kept bumping into him to keep him above the water and remained with him until a Coast Guard rescue boat arrived.

Besides keeping Hines afloat, the sea lion also helped the rescuers to find him easily. If the sea lion hadn’t kept him above water, the Coast Guard would have spent a much longer time searching for Kevin’s corpse underwater.

8 Dolphins Save Lifeguards From Shark

On October 20, 2004, lifeguard Rob Howes and three teenage lifeguards including his daughter were swimming at Ocean Beach, near Whangarei, New Zealand, when they were suddenly surrounded by seven bottlenose dolphins. The dolphins started circling around them, keeping them together.

Howes and one of the swimmers drifted away from the rest, but a dolphin followed them and dived under the water around them. Howes went underwater to see what the dolphin was doing and found a great white shark swimming around him. That was the moment he realized what was happening: The dolphins were protecting them from the shark.

Howes never told the teenage lifeguards there was a shark in the water because he did not want to startle them. Another lifeguard, Matt Fleet, witnessed the incident from shore and took a boat to see what was happening. He saw the shark, too. The dolphins continued circling the lifeguards for 40 minutes until the shark left.

7 Deer Saves Woman From Unidentified Man

This is a tale of a wild animal unknowingly saving a human.

Sometime in February 2012, an unnamed woman was saved by a deer in Oxford, Ohio. She was attending a party that night, which she left at around 1:00 AM. A man grabbed her as she walked past a field. He hit her and tried snatching her purse before dragging her into the field.

A deer was sleeping in the field that night but was startled when it heard the sounds of the duo struggling. It jumped up and fled the scene. The man was also scared when he heard the sounds of the fleeing deer, so he fled, too, leaving the lady all alone. The woman returned to the party and called 911. Unfortunately, she could not describe the man to the police.

6 Dolphins Save Surfer From Shark

On August 28, 2016, Todd Endris was surfing at Marina State Park, California, when he was attacked by a great white shark. The shark came at him three times. The first attack was unsuccessful, and the shark only hit him as he lay on his surfboard. However, that was enough to announce the shark’s presence.

The second attack would not be so forgiving. The shark bit into Todd’s torso and part of his surfboard. It did not rip him open but was able to peel skin off his back. The shark would have likely torn into Todd’s internal organs if his stomach hadn’t been pressed against the surfboard.

The shark returned for a third attack. This time, it targeted Todd’s right leg. The shark held Todd’s leg in its jaws and tried tearing it off. Todd fought back, kicking the shark in the head and snout with his left leg until it released him. Then, the dolphins arrived. They surrounded Todd, protecting him from further attacks as he swam back to shore.

5 Whale Saves Woman From Shark

In October 2017, Nan Hauser was swimming off the Cook Islands when a humpback whale suddenly appeared near her. The whale kept bumping into her with its head and belly. It attempted carrying her on its head, belly, and back. It also made several attempts to put her under its pectoral fin.

Hauser found this behavior weird. She was a marine biologist and had never seen a humpback whale act this way. She later realized what was happening after she left the water and returned to her research vessel. There was a 4.6‑meter‑long (15 ft) tiger shark swimming close to the whale. Obviously, the whale was protecting her from the shark.

This was not the first time a humpback whale had been observed protecting other animals from predators. In 2009, a humpback whale was photographed protecting a Weddell seal from killer whales. In 2017, some humpback whales stopped killer whales from attacking baby gray whales just off the coast of California. Humpback whales are believed to be protective of other animals because of their natural instinct to protect their own young from predators.

4 Man Attacked By Mountain Lion, Saved By Bear

Robert Biggs was hiking in the woods in Whiskey Flats, California, on March 26, 2012, when he was attacked by a mountain lion. Before the attack, he had been watching a bear and her cub. He was about to leave when the mountain lion attacked. The big cat jumped on him from behind, pushing him to the ground. He unsuccessfully tried fighting the lion off until the bear arrived.

The lion and bear fought for some time until the lion fled. The bear returned to her cub, and Biggs left for home. He only suffered an injury to his arm. Biggs believed the mountain lion was planning to attack the bear’s cub before he arrived, but then it turned on him instead. It changed nothing, though, since mama bear fought back anyway.

3 Fisherman Saved By Dolphins

In 2002, Grant Dickson was sailing in his trawler off the coast of Queensland, Australia, when it sank. Dickson was able to hold on to an upturned dinghy. However, he still remained in the water, bleeding, surrounded by some hungry sharks that had started circling around him, patiently waiting for the perfect time to attack.

One shark was clearly aggressive and kept swimming closer. But then some dolphins arrived and chased the sharks away. However, that would not be the end of Dickson’s problems. He remained in the water for 40 hours until he was rescued by a passing ship.

Dickson was the only survivor of the three men on the trawler. One of the two other crewmen had held onto the dinghy with him but left and tried swimming to land. He never made it. The search for the three crewmen involved 18 aircraft flying over 2,000 nautical miles.

2 Shipwrecked Woman Saved By Dolphins

In the early 1970s, Yvonne Vladislavich was traveling on a boat off the coast of Mozambique when the engine stopped working. (Some accounts claim it exploded.) The boat remained adrift until it was sunk by a wave.

Yvonne was a very good swimmer and decided to try to swim to shore. However, some sharks had other plans for her. Six sharks started circling her and kept coming closer until dolphins arrived. The dolphins kept the sharks away and followed Yvonne as she swam/drifted 40 kilometers (25 mi) until she reached a buoy.

Yvonne would have drowned if she hadn’t been assisted by the dolphins. She frequently got tired during the journey and would have gone under if the dolphins hadn’t kept her above the water. She was the only survivor of the four people on the boat.

1 Famous Actor Saved By Porpoises

In 2010, actor Dick Van Dyke revealed on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson that he was once saved by porpoises. Dyke made the revelation after Ferguson asked him if he ever surfed around his home in California. Dyke said he used to but stopped after he almost died.

Dyke claimed he was surfing one day when he fell asleep on his surfboard. He awoke to find himself far away from land. He also had some uninvited guests. He could not see them, but he could see their fins as they circled around him. He initially thought they were sharks, but they turned out to be porpoises. The porpoises pushed him until he returned to shore.

The 10 creepy deranged experiments listed below reveal the darkest corners of medical research. While scientific curiosity can unlock lifesaving breakthroughs, these grotesque studies show how far some investigators went, treating human beings as nothing more than test subjects. Brace yourself for a chilling tour through history’s most unsettling medical practices.

10 creepy deranged Highlights

10 Surgery To Treat Insanity

Dr. Henry Cotton believed that localized infections were the root causes of insanity. After he became the head of an insane asylum in Trenton in 1907, he began implementing a procedure he dubbed “surgical bacteriology.” During that time, Cotton and his team performed thousands of surgical operations on patients, often without their consent. First, they extracted teeth and tonsils; if that wasn’t enough, they would go deeper and remove the internal organs which they believed were causing the problems. He believed in his methods so much that he even performed them on himself and his family. He extracted teeth from himself, his wife, and his two sons (one of whom also had part of his colon removed).

Cotton claimed that his treatments had a high rate of curing patients, and that claim soon became a lightning rod for critics who found his work appalling. In one instance, he justified the deaths of 49 patients from the colectomies and stated that they were already suffering from “end-stage psychosis” prior to the operations. An independent investigation later revealed that Cotton greatly exaggerated the results. After his death in 1933, the surgeries at the asylum ceased and Cotton’s viewpoints faded into obscurity. To his credit, critics ruled that he really was sincere in his efforts to cure his patients, albeit in an insane, deluded way.

9 Vaginal Surgery Without Anesthesia

J. Marion Sims, revered by many as a pioneer in the field of American gynecology, conducted an extensive surgical study on several female African-American slaves during the 1840s. The study, which spanned three years, focused on a surgical cure for vesicovaginal fistula, a condition that abnormally connects the bladder to the vagina. But here’s the kicker—he performed the surgeries without anesthesia. One subject, a woman named Anarcha, endured a whopping 30 operations before Sims finally got it right.

This wasn’t the only horrifying study that Sims performed. Among other insanities that we’ve discussed before, he also tried to cure the infants of slaves suffering from trismus (a condition similar to lockjaw in tetanus) using a shoemaker’s awl to pry their cranial bones into alignment.

8 Accidental Bubonic Plague

Richard Strong, a doctor and head of the Biological Laboratory of the Philippines Bureau of Science, performed several inoculations on inmates at a Manila prison in an attempt to find the perfect cholera vaccine. In one such experiment in 1906, he mistakenly gave the bubonic plague to the inmates instead of the cholera vaccine, which resulted in the deaths of 13 subjects. A government investigation into the incident later corroborated the findings and stated that “a plague serum was probably substituted for a bottle of cholera serum.”

Depressed by the debacle, Strong laid low for awhile, only to resurface six years later for another series of inoculations on the inmates—this time with the disease Beriberi. Some of the participants died, while those who survived were compensated with nothing more than a few packs of cigarettes. Strong’s notorious experiments were such a catastrophe that they were later cited by Nazi defendants at the Nuremberg trials to justify their own horrific research.

7 Slaves Doused With Boiling Water

In what could more accurately be described as torture than treatment, Dr. Walter Jones recommended boiling water as a cure for typhoid pneumonia during the 1840s. He tested his treatment on numerous slaves afflicted with the disease over the course of several months. Jones described in great detail how one patient, a sickly 25-year-old man, was stripped naked and made to lie down on the ground on his stomach. At this point, Jones poured five gallons of boiling water over the patient’s back.

However, that wasn’t the end of the poor man’s suffering—White stated that the treatment should be repeated every four hours, which he rationalized would be sufficient for “re‑establishing the capillary circulation.” Jones later claimed that his treatment cured many patients, an assertion that was never independently verified. No surprise there.

6 Electric Current Applied Directly To The Brain

While the idea of shocking someone sounds painful by itself, one man—a Cincinnati physician named Dr. Roberts Bartholow—took it to the next level when he sent an electric current straight into the brain of one of his patients. In 1847, Bartholow was treating a patient named Mary Rafferty who was suffering from an ulcer in the skull. The ulcer had eaten its way so far through the bone that her brain had became visible.

With her permission, Bartholow inserted electrodes directly into her brain and applied varying currents to observe her reactions. He repeated his experiment eight times over a four‑day period. Initially, Rafferty seemed fine; however, she became greatly agitated during the later stages of the tests and soon went into a coma. Shortly afterward, she died. The resulting backlash was so great that Bartholow had to leave his job and continue his work elsewhere. He later settled in Philadelphia and attained a very high teaching position at Jefferson Medical College, proving that even mad scientists can catch the occasional break.

5 Testicle Transplants

Leo Stanley, the chief physician at San Quentin prison from 1913 to 1951, had a crazy theory: He believed that males who committed crimes had low levels of testosterone and, according to him, raising testosterone levels in inmates would reduce criminal behavior.

To test this notion, Stanley conducted a series of bizarre operations in which he surgically transplanted the testicles of newly executed criminals into still‑living prisoners. Due to a lack of available human testicles (on average, only three executions took place inside the prison annually), Quentin soon turned to using various animal testicles that he would process into a liquid and inject into the prisoners’ skin. By 1922, Stanley claimed that he had performed the operations on more than 600 inmates. He also claimed that his operations were successful; in one particular case he described how a senile Caucasian inmate became sprightly and energetic after being given the testicles of an executed African‑American man.

4 Shock Therapy And LSD For Kids

Lauretta Bender is perhaps best known for devising the Bender‑Gestalt test—a psychological test that assesses a child’s motor and cognitive abilities. However, Bender also engaged in several slightly more controversial studies. As psychiatrist of the Bellevue Hospital during the 1940s, Bender administered daily shocks to 98 pediatric patients in an effort to cure them of a condition she coined “childhood schizophrenia.”

She reported that the shocks were hugely successful, and that only a small number of the children went into relapse. As if the shock treatment wasn’t enough, Bender also gave the children adult‑sized doses of mind‑bending drugs such as LSD and psilocybin (the chemical in hallucinogenic mushrooms), often for weeks at a time. And while it was never officially proven, there have been allegations that she got her funds from the notorious CIA program MK‑ULTRA.

3 The Guatemala Syphilis Experiment

In 2010, a highly unethical syphilis experiment came to light when a professor who was studying the infamous Tuskegee Study discovered that the same health organization also performed a similar experiment in Guatemala. This revelation spurred the White House to form an investigation committee, which later found that government‑sponsored researchers intentionally infected 1,300 Guatemalans with syphilis in 1946.

The study, which lasted two years, aimed to find out if penicillin could be an effective treatment once a patient was already infected. To do that, the researchers paid prostitutes to spread the disease to other people—mostly soldiers, inmates, and psychiatric patients—who did not know they were being infected with syphilis. A total of 83 people died from the experiment. These ghastly findings prompted President Obama to personally apologize to the Guatemalan president and people.

2 Skin‑Hardening Experiments

Dermatologist Albert Kligman ran a very comprehensive experimental program on inmates of Holmesburg Prison during the 1960s. In one such experiment, the US Army sponsored a study that focused on finding ways to harden the skin. Theoretically, the hardened skin could protect the soldiers from chemical irritants while in combat zones. Kligman applied various chemical‑filled creams and agents to the inmates, but the only noticeable outcome was permanent scarring and a good deal of pain.

Pharmaceutical companies also paid Kligman to use his prisoners as guinea pigs to test their products. While the subjects were paid to participate, they were not fully informed of the experiments’ objectives and the potentially adverse effects that could result from them. Many of the chemical concoctions ended up causing the skin to blister and burn. Needless to say, Kligman displayed ruthless, mechanical efficiency in dealing with the inmates during his tenure at the prison. In fact, after he arrived at the prison for the first time, he remarked that “all I saw before me were acres of skin.” Eventually, public uproar and a subsequent investigation forced Kligman to shut down his operations and destroy all the information from the experiments. Sadly, the former test subjects were never compensated, while Kligman later became rich by inventing Retin‑A, the “drug of choice” against acne. Sometimes life just doesn’t play fair.

1 Experimental Spinal Taps On Children

While lumbar punctures—sometimes referred to as spinal taps—are often a necessary procedure, especially for neurological and spinal disorders, we can all agree that sticking a giant needle into someone’s spine is a recipe for excruciating pain. Yet, in 1896, a pediatrician named Arthur Wentworth decided to test the obvious. During an experimental spinal tap on a young girl, Wentworth noted how the patient cringed in pain during the procedure. Wentworth suspected that the operation was painful (it was believed to be painless at the time) but was not totally convinced. So he performed it again—on 29 infants and toddlers.

He eventually reached the conclusion that although temporarily painful, the procedure was very useful in helping diagnose illnesses. Wentworth’s findings received mixed reviews from his colleagues—some praised them while one critic denounced them as nothing more than “human vivisection.” Growing public indignation over the experiments later forced Wentworth to leave his teaching job at Harvard Medical School.