The process of filmmaking is often as interesting to fans as the movie itself. Many potential blockbusters now have a second crew filming the first crew for their “Making Of” movies because fans love to discover how the sets, props, and costumes were constructed.

Some enthusiasts spend hours studying the sound effects of a light saber swishing through the air (a cross between the hum of an old-style film projector and the feedback from a TV). Others try to track down the numerous “One Rings” from The Lord of The Rings. (Many were stolen from the set as souvenirs.)

Sometimes, though, you just want to impress your friends with a cool piece of movie trivia that no one else knows. If that’s what you’re after, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading.

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10 The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Blew Up A Bridge Twice

In the climactic scenes of Sergio Leone’s classic 1966 Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach are trying to reach the cemetery at Sad Hill where a fortune in gold has been buried.

Regrettably for them, their path is blocked by two warring armies on each side of a bridge. To reach the gold, they must cross the bridge. Or blow it up.

Obviously, they went for the second option.

Leone was famous for his multilingual pictures. Not only did his actors speak a number of languages, so did the crew. The bridge had been built by engineers in the Spanish army, who were standing by to blow it up.

When the Italian cameraman called “Action” on the shot, the Spanish captain misunderstood and detonated his explosives before the cameras rolled. Being engineers, however, the Spanish army got to work and built another bridge. Ultimately, Eastwood and Wallach were able to reach the cemetery. ^[1]

9 Alan Rickman Fell Hard In Die Hard

Everyone loves Die Hard, and Alan Rickman certainly makes a great villain. His final scene as Hans Gruber, the terrorist-turned-thief, was a difficult one in both the finished film and the shoot.

Rickman is seen hanging onto Bruce Willis and Bonnie Bedelia as he dangles from a window near the top of the Nakatomi building, which was 20th Century Fox’s corporate headquarters in real life. Gruber’s watch is entangled with that of Mrs. McClane, and he is about to drag her down with him.

In fact, Rickman was held by a rope 12 meters (40 ft) above a crash pad with a camera trained directly on his face. Director John McTiernan wanted to capture every emotion in Rickman’s face as the villain fell to his death in slow motion.^[2]

The look of shock was definitely real. McTiernan had told Rickman that they would count down before the release. But the sneaky director instructed his stunt coordinator to release the rope early. Yippee-ki-yay.

8 The Matrix Code Is Made Of Sushi

The Wachowskis’ 1999 movie, The Matrix, is memorable for a lot of reasons.

First, there was bullet time. The Wachowskis may not have invented it, but they certainly made it popular. With bullet time, the action becomes slow enough that you can dodge bullets. In fact, you can even pick the bullets out of the air in mid-flight, examine them, and drop them on the floor before they kill you.

Then there are the awesome fight scenes, the costumes, and Keanu Reeves’s weirdly long, thin body.

This is a lot to process—and that’s before you try to get your head around the plot. So, if you didn’t give the Matrix code more than a glance, that’s understandable. But it’s a mistake because the Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us.

But what exactly is the Matrix?

It might be the source code which creates temporary constructs to satisfy our feeble human intellect. Or it could be a recipe for sushi.^[3]

Simon Whiteley, the production designer, was tasked with producing convincing-looking code that also appeared organic and Japanese. He found what he needed while leafing through his wife’s Japanese cookbooks. However, Whiteley will not reveal what the recipe makes.

But the answer is out there. It’s looking for us, and it will find us if we are hungry enough.

7 The Usual Suspects Were Gone With The Wind

Some scenes turn out exactly the way the director intends. Other scenes turn out better. When Bryan Singer directed The Usual Suspects, he intended the lineup scene to be a serious dramatic moment.

And then Benicio del Toro farted.

Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, and Kevin Pollak fought to keep straight faces as they took turns stepping forward and reading the line on the card, “Hand me the keys, you f—king c—ksucker.”

Trying to hide his giggles, Gabriel Byrne had his hand over his face for the entire scene. When del Toro stepped forward to read his line in his mumbling voice, he farted again. The actors could barely contain themselves.

Luckily, Singer liked it. He felt that it showed that the usual suspects had “a shared past and a sense of camaraderie” as well as a healthy disrespect for the police.^[4]

The scene was used in both the poster and the trailer and became one of the most imitated movie scenes ever.

6 Judy Garland Ingested Dangerous Substances In The Wizard Of Oz

Remember when Dorothy and her friends had to walk across a poppy field to get to Oz? The poppies drugged her and her little dog, Toto. Who knew that poppies could do that?

To wake up Dorothy, the Good Witch of the North sent the snow, which did the trick and snapped Dorothy out of it. Maybe that’s because the fake snow used on the set was made from “industrial-grade” white asbestos fibers. This asbestos fake snow was sold under the brand names White Magic, Snow Drift, and Pure White.^[5]

It’s enough to make you question your faith in wholesome family entertainment.

Hollywood wasn’t entirely to blame, however. Fire-retardant fake snow was commonly used for Christmas decorations until the beginning of World War II. Production only ceased then because asbestos was needed for military use.

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5 Michael Myers’s Halloween Mask Is Truly Horrifying

If you are making a horror movie on a budget and you need a scary mask, what are you going to do?

Well, if you are working on the Halloween movie, you could take a quick trip to your local costume shop and buy a mask of William Shatner as his Star Trek character, Captain Kirk. That will do.

The designers simply had to widen the eyeholes, remove the sideburns, and spray-paint the mask white.^[6]

4 William Friedkin Was A Demon On The Set Of The Exorcist

Following up his success with 1971’s The French Connection, William Friedkin made the terrifying film classic The Exorcist in 1973. The film proved to be even more successful than his previous work. The Exorcist was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won two.

Most of the performances in the final product weren’t achieved without help from Friedkin. Taking after D.W. Griffith’s directing style, Friedkin did various things to influence the actors’ emotions for particular scenes. He fired real guns behind them to mimic the effects of being startled and slapped Father William O’Malley (a real priest and adviser on the set) right before filming to get a sincere reaction. (The result of this is still seen in the film at the end when he gives the dying Father Karras the last rites.)

The Exorcist was made before the days of CG. For the effect of Regan’s cold room, the stage was chilled below freezing, causing the crew members’ perspiration to freeze. Linda Blair, the actress who played Regan, wore only a nightgown for the duration of the shoot and says she still can’t bear being cold.

But perhaps the worst on-set occurrence at the hands of Friedkin was in the scene where Ellen Burstyn’s character gets thrown back by a demonic force. The effect was achieved via a rope harness, which violently pulled the actress backward, resulting in a permanent spinal injury.^[7]

3 Velociraptors Are Sexy Beasts

Sound effects can be difficult, especially when you are trying to recreate the noise from an extinct dinosaur. The sound effects department on Jurassic Park experimented repeatedly but soon discovered that it was best to record modern animals when they are at their most primal.

In other words, when they are mating.

The Gallimimus herds were voiced by female horses in heat, and the T. rex was a combination of a dog and an elephant.

The Velociraptors may not have been the largest dinosaurs at Jurassic Park, but they were intelligent hunters. They stalked their prey through kitchens and communicated with each other through the language of tortoise love.^[8]

Male tortoises, it seems, are raucous lovers. The noise is terrifying, especially when amplified and accompanied by images of a pair of Velociraptors rampaging through a kitchen after a couple of kids. Additional sound effects came from hissing geese.

The tortoises were a good resource because they mated for hours at a time. This provided plenty of material for the sound engineers. It is not known why the male tortoise is so vocal. Maybe it helps him to concentrate so that he doesn’t fall off the back of the female’s shell, which happens frequently.

Female tortoises don’t seem to enjoy the mating much. Maybe it’s the racket. Then again, the prolonged mating and the weight of the male on top of her can permanently damage her shell. Now that is something to screech about.

2 Stanley Kubrick Is Eye-Wateringly Difficult To Please

Stanley Kubrick is known to be an uncompromising director. A Clockwork Orange was always going to be a difficult film to make. Adapted from Anthony Burgess’s classic novel of the same name, the film was surreal and disturbing.

Malcolm McDowell starred as Alex, leader of his gang of “droogs” who elevated violence to art and used Beethoven as an inspiration for mayhem. But McDowell did not have an easy time of it.

He cracked some of his ribs. Worst of all, he had to endure the “Ludovico technique.” In an incredibly disturbing scene of fictional aversion therapy, McDowell’s eyes were pinned open so that he couldn’t blink as he watched films to the accompaniment of Beethoven.

Kubrick promised McDowell that the scene would take no more than 10 minutes. Of course, Kubrick is a noted perfectionist so filming took much longer. McDowell ended up with a scratch on one of his corneas and was left temporarily blind.^[9]

1 Vitamins Are Not Always Good Things

The Wolf of Wall Street is a film about excess. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jordan Belfort, an amoral Wall Street stockbroker. When he is fired after Black Monday, the stock market crash of almost 22 percent in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on October 19, 1987, he charts a new path.

Belfort discovers that he can make as much money from conning people out of their life savings in a backstreet boiler room as from any of the fine offices along Wall Street. Along with his new business strategy, Belfort develops a huge appetite for alcohol and drugs. Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) is the right-hand man who aids and abets Belfort.

Based on the memoirs of the real Jordan Belfort, the script called for both men to drink a lot and take a huge amount of drugs. When filming a movie, this usually means drinking iced tea and eating sugar pills. But for the cocaine snorting, which they did a lot, DiCaprio and Hill had to snort crushed vitamin D.^[10]

Although Vitamin D is good for you, snorting it is not the usual method of delivery. Both actors found that the continual snorting affected their lungs. In fact, Jonah Hill became so ill that he was eventually hospitalized for severe bronchitis.

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About The Author: Ward Hazell is a freelance writer and travel writer. Currently, he is also studying for a PhD in English Literature.

Cycling in the Victorian era meant freedom and independence for a moderate cost. Women wore special cycle wear that allowed them flexibility whilst still preserving their modesty beneath long and heavy skirts. Gentlemen cycled in their top hats, children had tricycles and babies had their pushchairs attached to bicycles with which cycling nannies would perambulate around the park. Even shop boys delivered groceries on bikes with enormous wicker baskets.

See Also: Top 10 Bizarre Modes Of Transportation

Cycling was for everyone, and it became one of the defining Victorian obsessions.

Another thing the Victorians were famous for, was their ingenious, and sometimes wacky inventions. It was only a matter of time before the ever-curious Victorians decided to combine the two.

Here are 10 of the strangest.

10 John Otto Lose and his Monowheel

John Otto Lose’s patent application for the monowheel shows a gentleman in a hat, seated on a bench suspended inside a very large wheel, casually smoking a cigarette, while he pedals a smaller wheel at an angle that looks rather improbable and certainly uncomfortable. The cycle was steered by means of a pair of rudders on either side, almost as if it were a boat.

The bicycle, which looks a little unwieldy, boasts a range of mod cons, including an umbrella fixed over the cyclist’s head in case of inclement weather, and some fancy wrought-iron work which, while certainly decorative, probably added a fair bit to the weight of the machine. However, they did save a fair bit on the unpadded wooden bench, so it probably evened out in the end.

The monowheel was patented in 1885, but, for some reason, never caught on.

9Karl Lange and his Double Bicycle

In 1905, Karl Lang patented his double bicycle, which is, pretty much, one bicycle on top of another, with the top one being upside down. It looked pretty strange, and also rather uncomfortable, as the rider’s head is forced forwards by a padded cushion behind his neck.

However, the cushion, and indeed the bike, had a purpose, being designed, according to Mr Lange, for the benefit of circus performers, to enable them to Loop the Loop.

Which seems reasonable, until you start to think about it.

The ‘normal’ part of the bicycle has two pedals and a handle-bar. The upper bicycle appears to be missing pedals, and shares the handle-bar with the lower bike. In order for the contraption to loop the loop, the loop would need to be so small that all four wheels were in contact with the surface at the same time.

And then it would very likely just get stuck.

In actual fact, despite what it said in the patent application, the bike was not really designed to loop the loop, rather it was a stunt bicycle which allowed the bike to take off on the lower wheels and land on the upper wheels, thus appearing to have completed a full loop.

Instead of pedaling through a full 360 degrees against gravity, the rider of the double bicycle merely had to pedal to the top of the loop on the bottom wheels, take off into the air, land on the top wheels, which he couldn’t see, whilst steering the wrong way up, without pedaling, or presumably, braking. Easy peasy.

There do not appear to be any records of stunt riders or circus performers actually using the bike.

Can’t think why.

8 Etienne Bunau-Varilla and his Torpedo Bicycle

An invention that really worked this time. Etienne Bunau-Varilla was a French engineer and aviation pioneer, who had taken part in the first ever international flying convention in Riems in 1909, when he was only 19.

He also designed racing bikes

One of his most iconic designs was the Velo Torpille, or Torpedo Bike, an aero-dynamically streamlined bike in which the rider sits inside a teardrop-shaped pod.

The bike, ridden by Marcel Berthe, broke the world speed record in 1913, covering 5 km in 5 minutes and 39.3 seconds, an average of 33 miles per hour.

The design was much copied, until the following year, when the enclosed bicycle design was banned in competitive races and, not being very suitable for normal use, the torpedo bicycle was, well torpedoed.

7 Hiram Nickerson and his Aerial Bicycle

Hiram Nickerson’s idea for an aerial bicycle is the perfect example of why you shouldn’t over-complicate things. Instead of two wheels on a metal frame which rides over the existing roads, Nickerson proposed an aerial bicycle which required a whole elevated track to be built.

The rider would sit on a saddle hooked to the track overhead, and would propel themselves along the track by pedaling. The cyclist would only be able to cycle wherever there was track, which would have required some hefty infrastructure investment.

Nickerson’s patent application also left out a few details. Such as, how do you get your bike to and from the track? Do you hook it on to the track yourself, or leave it there like a cable-car seat? What happens if two cyclists are pedaling on the same piece of track? Can they overtake? Can they prevent a collision?

Does it have brakes? (No).

Hiram Nickerson described his idea as ‘a new and useful improvement’ in bicycle design.

Really? An interesting idea, perhaps, but this one never really got off the ground

6 The Bicycle Ambulance

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention, and this must certainly explain the bicycle ambulance. Makeshift ambulances had been used since the 1890’s, but they really came into their own during World War I.

The ambulance consisted of 2 bicycles, fixed together, side-by-side, with a tarpaulin stretcher slung between them. The saddlebags would be filled with medical supplies, and the medics would cycle out to the injured soldiers, load them onto the stretcher and cycle back with them to the nearest field hospital.

The bicycles could move over terrain that other vehicles could not cover, but they gave the medical personnel no protection from gunfire and shells.

At such a time of chaos and destruction, the sight of a couple of men cycling side-by-side across a battlefield must have been a pretty surreal one.

5 Simon Wortmann and his Servant Propelled Bicycle

Simon Wortmann was clearly a man who took the axiom, why keep a bike and pedal yourself, to heart. His invention did away with most of the hard work of cycling, at least for 1 of the 2 riders needed to propel it.

The drawing which accompanied the patent application, shows a man in a flat cap pedaling like mad at the lower end of the bike, while a gentleman in morning coat and top hat sits at the top and steers with a couple of unwieldy poles.

Billed as an Improvement in Velocipedes, the bike seemed to model itself on the old-fashioned horse and carriage, with the servant, of course, being cast in the role of the horse.

Though Wortmann patented the idea in 1869, he never went into full-scale production with his bike. He probably couldn’t get the staff.

4The Quadricyle Fire Engine

In the days when a fire engine was just a hand cart and a bucket, the Quadricycle Fire Engine must have seemed like cutting-edge design.
The machine consisted of 2 tandem bicycles, ridden side-by-side and fixed together by cross-pieces, with a platform built between. The platform housed the hose reel, while a pump was fitted to the rear of the quadricycle, which could be fitted to a household tap and used to supply the hose with water.

Firemen in Australia trained using the contraption, and were able to cycle to the site of the fire, unreel the hose, and fix it to the pump within a few minutes. Then they would jump back onto their bikes to continue pedaling, thus powering the pumping machine, which was capable of spraying 4500 gallons of water an hour over distances of up to 100 feet,

Assuming they pedaled fast enough.

Although the machines may have looked somewhat comic, they were used in remote towns and villages with great success for many years.

3 Edward Burstow and his Hen and Chicks

One invention that was not quite such a success was Edward Burstow’s pentacycle, or, as it came to be known the Hen and Chicks. Invented in 1882, the pentacycle, which was adopted by the Post Office in Britain, had one large wheel, on which the postman sat, with two smaller wheels, front and back, for added stability.

There is no doubt that the pentacycle was a majestic looking vehicle, though perhaps a trifle cumbersome. It did have two handy baskets in which the postie could store the mail on his rounds.

Ultimately, however, the pentacycle was not a success, perhaps because it took ages to climb up on it, only to have to climb off it again at the next house.

2 Georg Pinkert and his Navigating Tricycle

Nothing but a miracle, it is said, can allow a person to walk on water, but there is nothing to stop people cycling on it. Except, perhaps, the laws of nature.

But Georg Pinkert was not the sort of man to be put off with a trifle like that. In 1891, he patented the Navigating Bicycle, which was perhaps a strange title, since it doesn’t quite make clear that what the bicycle is navigating, is the ocean.

He built his tricycle with 3 enormous balloon tires, and so confident was Pinkert in the machine’s capabilities that he set out to cross the English Channel in it. He didn’t make it.

He had cycled about half way over the 20-mile strait, when the tide turned, and he found himself going 2 wheels forwards and 3 wheels back. He realized that he was about to be swept out to sea, so, as he happened to be in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, he “hailed a passing vessel and was taken on board.”

Though the tricycle had proved its sea-worthiness, it didn’t catch on, but Georg, every inch the Victorian eccentric, vowed to carry with his experiments.

1 Louis S Burbank and his Bicycle Rowing Machine

Cycling is good exercise. It builds up the muscles in the legs. But what if you wanted to exercise your arm muscles at the same time? The ever-inventive Victorians had the solution.

In 1898, Louis S Burbank invented the Bicycle Rowing Machine. Two work-outs for the price of one, with a free trip to the emergency room thrown in.

Burbank’s invention fitted a rowing machine to the top of an ordinary two wheeled bicycle. The machine was propelled forwards not by pedaling, but by the action of the rowing, and steered not with a handle bar, but by manipulating the oars, just as one would in a sculling boat.

Slowly.

Sounds great. Just a few nit-picky questions though. How does it start off? Because, by the time the rider has mounted the bike, put their feet in the stirrups and grabbed the oars, the bike will have toppled over. And how does it stop?

There is no mention of brakes in the patent application.

Of course, they could fix the bike in position so that it was static. But then of course it would just be a rowing machine.

Perched on top of a bike.

Perhaps not.

About The Author: Ward Hazell is a freelance writer and travel writer, and is currently studying for a PhD in English Literature

It’s hard to find uniqueness in the world sometimes. A million people probably have the same haircut as you, or love the same movies, or have the same favorite food. The animal kingdom is no different. But for every feature or trait there will always be one thing, one creature, that was first to display it or make use. And there are some other features that are so unique that only one living thing can lay claim to them. 

10. A Presumed Extinct Rodent Showed Up To Pose for Photos Then Vanished Again

Colombia’s red-crested tree rat is pretty cute for a jungle rat, not that many people can confirm that in real life. The animal was first discovered in 1898 and it wasn’t until 1913 before anyone saw one again. That was also the last time anyone saw one for nearly an entire century.

After almost one hundred years it seemed like the rat had probably died out and it was generally believed extinct. Researchers looking for examples of the creature had not had much luck in coming up with any evidence whatsoever. 

In 2011, a pair of volunteers were out photographing wildlife when a rat showed up unexpectedly and stayed in sight for two hours where they could photograph it before it vanished into the woods again. It even let them get close for detailed, close up images. No one has seen one since, either.

9. The Sea Walnut Has a Moving Anus

The sea walnut, aka the warty comb jelly, is an animal that seems to have been custom made for the immature to giggle at. A sort of jellyfish, this small, translucent and exceedingly rare creature has the only known example in nature of what scientists called a “transient anus.” It means exactly what it sounds like it means – this animal has a roaming butt hole.

As waste material builds up inside the sea walnut’s body it needs to be excreted just as it would in any other animal. But unlike the rest of us, the sea walnut has no orifice with which to do that. Instead, pressure forces the waste towards wherever. Literally anywhere on the creature’s body, and then forces it out like poking your finger through some plastic wrap. Once the waste pops out, the hole closes over and then next time it will probably pop out somewhere else. 

8. A Baboon Troop in Kenya Became Peaceful and Taught it to Others

In the primate world, baboons are generally not regarded as the most chill animals. They have a reputation for aggression. And that’s exactly why a troop of the animals made international news back in the 1980s. Not for being aggressive but for how they managed to pull a complete 180 on their behavior.

A severe outbreak of tuberculosis struck one troop of baboons in Kenya. The main victims of the disease just happened to be the most aggressive males – the ones most prone to violence and aggression that we, as humans, might describe as alphas. There were other males in the troop but they were not as powerful and therefore not aggressive. So a funny thing happened when the violent ones died off. The remaining females, young baboons, and gentle, docile males just continued life as a pacifist troop. 

Rather than a new aggressive leader taking control, the remaining baboons were generally kind and caring with one another. Grooming took over for violent attacks. More astonishing is that, as scientists studied the troop for another 20 years, even when the pacifist males died out and new males either grew into more dominant roles or even joined from outside troops, the behavior remained. The troop stayed generally calm, passive, and caring with its own.

Researchers agreed that the group must be able to teach this kinder way of life to outsiders as they join, though they were not sure how.

7. Sea Sponges Can Reform After Being Destroyed

A few things are true of most living things. Most of us like food and water and air, even if we pull it out of water to survive. Not many things like fire. And most of us don’t like being ground down to individual cells because that’s really uncomfortable. However, if you’re a sponge, at least you can get over it. No other organism can.

Sponges can be pulled apart right down to their individual cells and, given time, they will reassemble themselves into a single organism again, sort of like a simple version of the T-1000 from Terminator 2.

You can even check out time lapse video of sponges in labs that are passed through sieves and forced apart. Their cells will gather and recombine, forming new sponges as a result that can go on living their lives. 

6. A Fish Parasite Doesn’t Require Any Oxygen at All

In that last entry we mentioned that most living organisms like oxygen. Even creatures from the sea use gills or other means to take oxygen from the water to keep themselves alive. But the parasite known as Henneguya salminicola stands alone in its utter lack of concern for oxygen. It is the only living animal scientists have discovered that cannot breathe oxygen and therefore has no need for the element.

The parasite infects salmon and trout and causes a condition called tapioca disease, which is about as gross as it sounds. The parasites form white nodules in the flesh of the fish. They are very small, only 10 cells make up one of these parasites, and they are smaller than most cells in a human body. But they have no mitochondria and therefore do not convert sugar and oxygen into energy. Scientists aren’t actually sure what powers the parasite’s cells, though they suspect they steal some energy from their hosts.

5. Mantises Are the Only Creatures with a Single Ear

In the insect world, mantises standout for being some of the coolest looking creatures on Earth, especially orchid mantises. And the penchant for female mantids to eat the heads of the males after mating, or sometimes during, is also something that captures the imagination of many people. But while that’s interesting it’s not technically unique. Many spiders consume their mates as well. But mantises do have one unique claim to fame and that’s a cyclops ear.

It was long believed that a praying mantis is deaf because it doesn’t have ears. But scientists weren’t looking in the right place. The single ear, able to hear the ultrasonic cries of bats, is located inside the mantis’ thorax, right in the middle of its chest. There’s just one of them and that seems to be all the insect needs, given its central location. 

Mantis hearing is so good that, in midair, they can detect a pursuing bat and bank then dive like a fighter jet right at the ground, gaining speed as they do so, in order to avoid the predator.

4. A Species of Deep Sea Snail Makes Armor out of Iron

There are a few animals in the world that we generally consider to be armored. Turtles, armadillos, crabs, and snails tend to come to mind. But it’s not armor in the human sense, of course, just some kind of shell or carapace that’s tough and durable and offers a degree of protection. Except for maybe one species of snail. The scaly foot snail uses actual iron in the construction of their shells and they are the only animal that does so.

The snails live near thermal vents in the Indian ocean. Waters around these vents get up to 400 degrees Celsius, which is four times the temperature of boiling water. They use minerals spewed out of these vents to form shells so while some use iron sulphide others will make use of pyrite or Fool’s Gold, and gregite as well. They form their shells of this stuff and also plates that cover their soft feet.

Normal snails have two-layered shells. One is a calcium carbonate, the inner layer, and it helps dissipate heat. These iron snails have that. The next layer, or outer shell, is the tough one that helps absorb damage and protect the snail from predators. 

These deep sea snails have a third layer, and that’s where the metal is used. The iron or other elements form a nanoparticle coating on the shell. If a predator tries to crush the snail. These particles help absorb the damage and also blunt the claws or teeth of the attacker. It’s so effective the military has even been studying the science of how it works in the hopes of creating new armor types. 

3. One Kind of Skink Has Lime Green Insides

In order to make a character like Spock on Star Trek seem a little more alien than just a guy with pointy ears, the producers gave him green blood. In older sci-fi you’ll find few things more unusual than the color green. Little green men were a trope, after all. It’s not something we’re used to in life beyond plants and lizards on earth. But when lizards on earth go green, some go all out. Like the skink, for instance. Skinks are so green they are the only animals in the world that go green inside as well.

The inside of a certain kind of skink of the genus Prasinohaema is bright green. Bright green blood, bright green organs, even bright green bones. It’s unlike anything else you’ll find in nature. It comes from a compound called biliverdin, which is highly toxic to most life forms. Normally it’s a waste product from the breakdown of red blood cells. Humans make something similar called bilirubin. If we can’t eliminate it, it leads to jaundice and a yellow discoloration of the skin. 

The compound isn’t really a defense mechanism as birds still eat the lizards. And it’s not camouflage either as not all of them are green outside. So researchers speculate, and it’s not proven at all, that maybe it protects against parasites. 

2. The Pyrenean Ibex is the Only Species to go Extinct Twice

Is the Pyrenean Ibex literally the unluckiest animal in history? Maybe. Certainly there are plenty of creatures that would be in the running for that title but luck is sort of a diffuse and malleable attribute so by some standards you could definitely say nothing else has been unlucky. So how do we measure luck? In this case we’re doing so by factoring in death. The Pyrenean Ibex has died more than any other species in history because it’s the only one that has had to endure going totally extinct not once but twice.

As the name suggests, these antelope-like animals once called the Pyrenees Mountains home. Their numbers dwindled throughout the 20th century and by 1997 only one was left alive. The body of that one was discovered in the year 2000 after it had been crushed by a fallen tree. Thus the millennium started with the first extinction of the Pyrenean Ibex.

The genetic material from that last ibex had been harvested well before her death. A team of scientists set about cloning her and inserted her genetic material into the egg of a goat that had been stripped of its own. They made 57 embryos and implanted them in a different kind of ibex. Only seven of the creatures became pregnant and of those just a single one was able to give birth.

In 2003, the Pyrenean Ibex became unextinct when a brand new baby was born. The celebration was short-lived, however, as the baby had a severe respiratory condition. It survived for about 10 minutes and then the species went extinct all over again.

1. Hagfish are the Only Animals That Have Skulls But Not Spines

Hagfish enjoy a bit of infamy on the internet thanks to their unusually phallic appearance and the fact they produce copious amounts of incredibly thick slime as a defense mechanism. Numerous hagfish can turn huge swaths of ocean water into little more than a salty Jello mold to trap and potentially suffocate predators.

While those are unique features, they’re still not the most unusual thing about these creatures. Hagfish are the only animals that have a skull in their heads but no spine connected to it. Without vertebrae they can’t technically be vertebrates. They also don’t have jaws and the skeleton they do have isn’t bone, it’s cartilage.

There are millions of different species on this planet. And from insects to whales, all of those species are a small part of a tangled web of life that took millions of years to create. Most of those animals still have relatives that branched off and survive today. However, there are also some animals that are a bit lonelier and represent the last of their genus and evolutionary branch.

Take humans, for example. We have no living species from our genus that is still alive and among us today. Our closest living relative is the chimpanzee, followed by the bonobo. But we’re not alone in our oneness. There are other animals out there that are the last remaining species in their genus, whether due to natural selection or human intervention. Some of these animals can trace their lineage back millions of years, while others are relatively new on the evolutionary time scale. Here is a list of 10 of the most unique.

Related: 10 Endangered Animals That Could Become Extinct In A Few Years

10 Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus is a furry, odd-looking aquatic mammal and one of the most recognizable species in the world. The platypus, native to eastern Australia, has a duckbill like a bird, hair like a mammal, and lays eggs like a reptile. But the platypus has a few other interesting traits that could represent the divergent evolution of reptiles and mammals. It is estimated that mammals diverged from reptiles around 280 million years ago, meaning the platypus is likely one of the last living relatives from that branch of the family tree. It is also a threatened species.

Some of the traits that set this animal apart from most mammals include its ability to use venom, its ability to use electrical currents to seek prey, and its use of eggs to give birth. Species like the platypus—a sort of mix-match that represents an important point in the timeline of evolution—can also provide scientists with important new discoveries. Scientists have experimented with the platypus’s milk to create antibiotics and its venom to find a potential cure for diabetes.^[1]

9 Honey Badger

Honey badgers, or Mellivora capensis, are some of the scrappiest animals out there. Videos often show the undersized creature flinging itself headfirst toward a lion or other carnivore that comes too close. Maybe, this is the reason the tiny animal has managed to survive as the last in its genus.

But the creature also has some other interesting adaptations that help it survive when it faces off with larger predators. For example, the animal has a loose layer of thick skin around its neck that allows it to twist and twirl back toward would-be attackers if they try to grab the animal. A study also found that porcupine quills and dog bites rarely penetrated this layer. The honey badger also has a large brain for an animal its size and has been documented using tools.

While not usually a picky eater, researchers found that the honey badger has some immunity to snake venom, which makes up around 25% of its diet. If stung, the honey badger will just be knocked out for a couple of hours before waking up to continue its meal.^[2]

8 Koala

Koalas are one of Australia’s most iconic species. The small marsupial’s scientific name is actually Phascolarctos cinereus, and it is closely related to kangaroos and wombats. Scientists suspect that koalas probably evolved to almost exclusively eat eucalyptus leaves, which are native to Australia. Koalas are also the only other animal, outside of primates, to have fingerprints like humans. These fingerprints evolved separately from primates, which has led scientists to think that fingerprints’ evolutionary function was to help animals clasp on to things like trees.

Despite their iconic appearance, koalas face an uncertain future in the wild. The Australian government declared koalas endangered in February 2022 due to wildfires, drought, and habitat loss. Researchers suspect that their populations in New Queensland and New South Wales have decreased by some 50% in the last two decades and that the entire country lost around 30% of its entire koala population between 2018 and 2022.^[3]

7 Aardvark

Aardvarks are a highly specialized, if a little peculiar-looking, species actually closely related to elephants. They are medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. Though not threatened or endangered, their numbers are declining.

These little guys use their long snouts and stout claws to tear away termite mounds and suck up the critters inside. Because of this, aardvarks are sometimes referred to as antbears. Though they are the last of their genus today—Orycteropus—fossil records show that they used to have closely related cousins roaming around Europe and into Asia. Scientists think that the aardvark’s branch split from other primitive ungulates (animals like elephants and manatees) around some 54 million years ago.^[4]

6 Dugong

Dugongs are a marine mammal in the order Sirenia, which includes three species of manatees. Their scientific name is Dugong dugon, which once contained many different kinds of dugongs. The most recent of which was the Stellar’s sea cow that was wiped out by humans in the 1700s. Today, the dugong is believed to be vulnerable to extinction, though many areas do protect the species through conservation and protection laws.

These gentle giants can grow up to 13 feet in length and mostly feed on seagrass in the Indian and eastern Pacific oceans. Like the aardvark, dugongs are thought to descend from primitive ungulates like elephants. The other recent member of the dugong’s genus, the Stellar’s sea cows, lived in comparatively colder waters and weren’t known to science until 1741. Scientists believe the now-extinct sea cow could reach lengths of over 30 feet, but they were unfortunately wiped out only 30 years after their discovery.^[5]

5 Narwhal

The narwhal’s scientific name is Monodon monoceros, which means”one tooth, one horn.” But their common name might be a bit more interesting, if less apt. It comes from the old Norse prefix”na” meaning corpse and”nva” meaning whale: corpse whale. This was because their skin color resembled a drowned sailor (Link 14). Sometimes also called the “unicorn of the seas,” narwhals spend their life in the cold, deep waters of the Arctic. Because of this, not too much is known about them.

We do know that their closest living relative is the beluga whale, which is the only other living species in the family of Monodontidae. These two whale species sometimes interbreed. Scientists also suspect that the whale’s signature tusk may act as a sensory organ due to all the nerves inside. Narwhals are also some of the deepest diving whales, plunging some 4,500 feet in search of food.^[6]

4 Hirola

The hirola, a large antelope, is the last living member of the genus Beatragus. Despite this, the animal is critically endangered in the wild, with only about 500 left as of 2017. Scientists think the genus may have diverged from animals like the wildebeest and topi around 7 million years ago.

The antelope is found only in a small area along the Somalia-Kenya border, and it has seen its numbers dive by about 90% since 1980. However, there is hope for the horned animal. Some locals believe the animal carries with it spiritual significance related to herding and fear if it goes, so too will the cattle. Starting in 2008, conservation efforts began to set up predation-free areas with the community’s involvement. Today, their numbers are reportedly stable, and community initiatives have gained traction.^[7]

3 Plains-Wanderer

The only bird on our list and the sole surviving member of the genus Pedionomidae, the plains-wanderer is a quirky little bird. It is endemic to Australia, with the majority of the remaining population found in the Riverina region of New South Wales. Although it populates mostly grasslands, the bird is actually related to gulls and other shorebirds. The bird’s closest living relative is a shorebird native to South America, which has led scientists to trace the plains-wanderer’s evolutionary lineage back to when the two continents were connected some 60 million years ago.

Today, the tiny bird is critically endangered in the wild, with only around 250 to 1,000 remaining. These birds aren’t great flyers, so their first instinct is to run away from danger. The plains-wanderer is threatened by predation from foxes and the cultivation of grassland for farming and herding.^[8]

2 Maned Wolf

Chrysocyon brachyurus, or the maned wolf, is the largest canid in South America. Though its reddish color resembles a fox, this guy is neither wolf nor fox but is actually a distinct species. The maned wolf evolved to live in grass savannahs—which could explain its long legs—and they mark their territory with powerful-smelling urine. Not a lot is known about how these animals breed because they are mostly nocturnal, but scientists think pairs may live independently within the same territory and only interact during breeding.

Due to this animal being so distinct from other canids, researchers think it may have been the only canid in South America to survive the late Pleistocene extinction. Fossils of the maned wolf have been found, dating to the Holocene and the late Pleistocene periods.^[9]

1 Black Caiman

The black caiman is the largest of the Alligatoridae and the last of its genus, Melanosuchus. Found throughout central South America, these large alligators can grow up to 16 feet in length and are the top predators in the rainforest. When flooding occurs, black caimans will spread out with the floodwaters before returning to permanent lakes and rivers during the dry season.

Though once extremely common throughout its natural range, hunting in the 1940s and 1950s severely depleted the animal’s numbers. Though many types of caimans were hunted, the black caiman was prized for its size and the quality of the leather it produced. Today, hunting has largely been regulated, and there are some strong populations of black caiman in the wild, though it is estimated that they are not nearly as abundant as they once were.^[10]

The past two years have seen many establishments having to close their doors either temporarily or permanently. Whether it has been learning institutions, entertainment venues, or places to eat, their value is appreciated now more than ever.

With the recent closure announcement of a pub—Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, just north of London—that had been in business for 1,000 years, it is time to take a look at some of the oldest establishments of their kind that have stood the test of time and are still operational as of this writing.

Related: Top 10 Most Talked-About Hotels In The World

10 Airport

College Park Airport—Opened in 1909

The world’s oldest airport still in operation is located in Maryland, USA. The airport was established after the Wright brothers managed to convince the U.S. Army to purchase one of their planes. The brothers were then required to train two army officers to be able to fly it. They needed a space large enough to ensure a level of safety, and College Park had the area they required for Wilbur Wright to train the two officers.

Today, College Park Airport is used for civilian pilots and also boasts a museum. Due to the airport being so close to Washington, DC, there are restrictions around who can land at the airport, and background checks are protocol. In aviation history, College Park Airport also holds the title for having the first female passenger in a plane in the United States and for being the location of the first controlled helicopter flight.^[1]

9 Movie Theater

State Theater—Opened on May 14, 1897

Grab a big box of popcorn for this one. In 2016, the State Theater in Washington, Iowa, was given the official title of being the world’s oldest, continuously operating movie theater. When it opened in 1897, many of the films screened there were brought in from France, and ticket prices were between 15 and 35 cents.

Unfortunately, in 2010, a fire broke out in the projection room, and the theater had to close for refurbishments temporarily. The theater has kept up to date with technology where they even screen 3D movies; however, the classic, old-fashioned feel that the locals love is still there for everyone to go and experience. If only the ticket prices could have stayed the same…^[2]

8 Shopping Mall

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II—Opened in 1877

Of course, the oldest, continuously operating shopping mall is in one of the fashion capitals of the world—Milan. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which took 12 years to build, is an architectural masterpiece, and many high-end clothing stores can be found there, including Gucci and Prada. You can walk around and look at the magnificent mosaics inspired by Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The mosaic garnering the most attraction is the Turin Coat of Arms, which features a bull. It is believed that if one spins their heel three times over the bull’s testicles, it will bring good luck.

If you get hungry, then you can stop by Café Biffi, which has been operating since 1867, 10 years before the mall officially opened. And if you are broke after shopping at Prada, there is a McDonald’s decorated in black and gold—because it has to blend in somehow. It is a requirement that the store signs have their company names in gold font on a black background. Even without spending a cent, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is worth visiting for its beauty alone.^[3]

7 Zoo

Tiergarten Schönbrunn—Opened in 1752

Located in Vienna, Austria, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn opened to the public in 1779. This was 27 years after Franz Stephan I of Lorrain, a Holy Roman Emperor, decided to move his private menagerie to his summer residence, the Schönbrunn Palace, in 1752. He ordered a man by the name of Adrian van Stekhoven to build him a place to keep all of his animals. Keeping private collections of animals, mostly brought back from foreign expeditions, was very much the norm in Europe among royals. After Franz’s death, his son, Joseph II, brought in different types of animals that his father had not previously had in his collection, such as carnivores. Franz was not a fan of their odors, apparently.

Joseph II decided to open the park to the public in 1779 and made a promise that the zoo would be “A place of recreation dedicated to all the people by their Esteemer,” a quote that is still a feature in the zoo for everyone to read. Today, the zoo focuses on conservation and education and boasts a variety of animals from around the world. It also includes an aquarium, polarium, and simulated Amazon rainforest. The Tiergarten Schönbrunn survived through World Wars and a financial crisis and still stands today as the world’s oldest operating zoo—as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site.^[4]

6 Restaurant

Restaurante Botín—Opened in 1725

Remember to reserve your table for this entry as the world’s oldest restaurant still in operation is situated in Madrid, Spain. It can definitely be argued that there are many older restaurants still in business; however, Restaurante Botín takes the title as it has remained in the same building and has kept its 18th-century interior since it opened in 1725. It continuously ran until it had to close temporarily due to the pandemic and reopened on July 1, 2020. It had even stayed open during the Spanish Civil War. Luckily, the temporary pandemic closure will not change the title given to them by Guinness World Records.

In 1725, Jean Botín and his wife established a small inn. Guests would have to bring their own food to be cooked there as, at the time, selling food in such an establishment was banned as it could have interfered with other businesses.As the couple had no children, the restaurant was left to their nephew upon their deaths, who renamed it Sobrino de Botín, which translates to Nephew of Botín. It was run by generations of the Botín family until 1930, when the González family took over. Since then, the restaurant has maintained its interior and even has the original fire oven that is still used to roast their famous menu item—suckling pig.^[5]

5 Theater

Teatro Olimpico—Opened in 1585

Located in Vicenza, a town in Italy, the Teatro Olimpico is not only the oldest operating indoor theater in the world but also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It could be said that the star of this show is the Roman architecture and sculptures. Andrea Palladio, a famous Renaissance architect, designed the theater inside of a pre-existing, abandoned fortress in order to create a space for entertainment that was greatly inspired by Roman theaters.

Unfortunately, he died before the theater opened, and his son, Silla, saw to the completion of the theater. The first production shown at the theater was the play Oedipus the King. Vincenzo Scamozzi designed the stage to replicate the seven streets in the city of Thebes. This structure has remained to this day as a part of the theater. The theater, which seats 400 people, puts on a variety of shows every year, including plays and concerts.^[6]

4 Amusement Park

Bakken—Opened in 1583

The Bakken amusement park, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a fun day out for the whole family. At first, during the summertime, people were drawn to the healing springs found in the area. Eventually, people started to provide entertainment and sell products for everyone visiting the springs. From there, it continued to develop into an amusement park. Along with the modern rides found today, one can also ride a wooden roller coaster that is over 80 years old! Entrance is free, and you pay for the rides you want to experience.

Once you are inside, you can take your pick of the 31 rides available or choose from some of the other 78 attractions, including a gaming arcade. On a hot summer’s day, you can grab an ice cream or enjoy some delicious Danish treats. For the past 200 years, a clown called Pjerrot has brought laughter to many children visiting the park. Despite its age, the park is bright, colorful, and welcoming to all of its visitors. Instead of using big brands/companies for stalls, small businesses operate within the park in order to preserve the historical value of Bakken.^[7]

3 Museum

Musei Capitolini—Opened in 1471

Situated in Rome, the Musei Capitolini’s history started when Pope Sixtus IV donated a large number of bronze artifacts to the Roman people in 1471. They were displayed on Capitoline Hill, which today is a museum made up of three buildings. Over the years, many different items were added to the exhibit, including jewelry, statues, coins, artworks, and many other kinds of artifacts.

Various popes were involved in the growth of the museum. Popes Pius V and Paul III donated pieces to the growing collection, Pope Clement XII took part in the opening of the Palazzo Nuovo building for the public to visit, and Pope Benedict XIV helped open the art gallery. The art gallery, Pinacoteca, is the oldest public display of paintings. Michelangelo—you might have heard of him—had a hand in the redesign and renovation of parts of the museum but, unfortunately, died before he could complete his vision. Today, the museum is home to many ancient and medieval artifacts, including the famous statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius on his horse.^[8]

2 University

The University of al-Qarawiyyin—Opened in 859

The University of al-Qarawiyyin has an incredible history. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest, continuously operating university in the world, and it was also the first education institution to award a degree. Founded in Fez, Morocco, the university’s focus has been on Islamic studies.

A woman named Fatima al-Fihri used money that she had inherited to open a mosque for her community. It also had a school called a madrasa, an Islamic college focusing on the teachings of the religion. The school developed into a university where both men and women have studied many subjects, including medicine, astronomy, and music, along with Islamic studies. It was in the mid-1900s that the university adapted to the state education system and introduced chemistry, physics, and foreign languages.^[9]

1 Hotel

Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan—Opened in 705

Book a relaxing stay at the world’s oldest, continuously operating hotel that, up until today, has been run by an astonishing 52 generations of the same family. The hotel was built during the Keiun era, and therefore the inn, founded by Fujiwara Mahito, was named after it. It has kept up to date with modern amenities but maintains the elegance of Japanese architecture and offers peace and tranquility.

The hotel is famous for its free-flowing hot springs that pump around 1,630 liters (430 gallons) of water a minute. Along with the breathtaking views, the hotel offers a restaurant that serves meals made from seasonal ingredients and top-quality Koshu beef.^[10]