So you want to be a writer? If you even bothered to click on this list, you’ve already admitted it to yourself. Maybe writing is your passion. Maybe it’s your hobby. Or maybe you’ve just run into an awful article somewhere on the Web and thought to yourself, “Hey, I could do better than this.” Well, if you can come up with an incredible Top 10 list, then we here at Listverse will publish your work for all the world to see. How many people exactly? Try one million visits per day.

We’ll even give you money for your hard work: US$100 to be exact (paid via paypal or bitcoin). Interested? Then check out our submissions page. Or perhaps you’re not convinced yet. Maybe you need more than 100 portraits of George Washington’s green mug to persuade you that Listverse is worthy of your blood, sweat, and tears. Not sure? Let me convince you.

6 You’re Totally Qualified

Breaking into a new field can be challenging, especially if you’re a writer. Lots of sites are looking for folks with “experience only” which is pretty discouraging for newcomers. But here at Listverse, we’re just like famed rocker Billy Joel: We love you just the way you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re an aspiring novelist, an attorney, a filmmaker, a guy who thinks he’s a car, or a ’70s rock star who played with Joan Jett and the Runaways. All you have to do is follow the guidelines and get busy typing. Seriously, it’s so simple that, well, even I can do it. Before submitting my first Listverse article, I hadn’t written anything other than college papers and long-winded Facebook rants. I just had an idea and a computer and then boom! I was on the front page of the site. And that’s a very empowering experience.

5 You Can Show Off Your Smarts

You’re a unique individual with your own amazing experiences. Wouldn’t you like to share them with the world? Maybe you’ve traveled the globe, and you’ve seen things most people wouldn’t believe. Then why not write an article about your experiences like 10 Bizarre Aspects Of Chinese Culture? Maybe you’re a political junkie who’s spent your life studying international affairs so you could write a list like The 10 Worst Diplomatic Faux Pas By Famous Politicians. Or maybe your encyclopedic knowledge of movie trivia would put Quentin Tarantino to shame. If so, share it with the rest of mankind and write something like 10 Obscure Films Memorialized For All The Wrong Reasons.

As for me, I’ve spent the last three years teaching English to South Korean students, a job which provided plenty of interesting tidbits for a list like 10 Awesome Facts About South Korea. And as a teenager, I knew a couple of paranoid nut jobs which provided plenty of fodder for lists like 10 Crazy Catholic Conspiracy Theories. So what do you do for a living? Where have you been, what have you seen, and what do you enjoy talking about? Put it in a list and send it here. The world wants to read it, and we want to pay you for it.

4 Access To The Writers’ Forum

Did you know Listverse has a forum dedicated especially to its writers? It’s specifically built to let writers work directly with the editors, connect with other writers and people who know people, and get a glimpse of the fascinating little ins and outs of the business. And we want you to be there, too.

Once you’ve had your first article published, you’ll be given access to the forum. Every day, the editors post amazing factlets they want to see turned into lists—you claim an idea, and away you go! It might be the closest thing to free money this side of a broken ATM. If you can cut the mustard, we want to help you cut it harder (and write strong metaphors).

(Note: If you have been published on the site, but haven’t received your invitation, let the bosses know. They’ll get you set up.)

3 You’d Be Writing For One Of The Best Sites On The Web

Maybe you’re in the writing game for the prestige, and you don’t want to sell your work to just any Top 10 website. Fair enough. We aren’t going to name names, but there are plenty of places that publish subpar articles riddled with typos and the latest tabloid headlines. But that’s not going to happen at Listverse. Not only do we have simple, straightforward guidelines that’ll show you the ropes, but we have a crack team of editors who will make your articles all the more professional by catching your typos and dispensing sage, Yoda-esque advice. The stuff published here is the best of the best.

Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it. The folks at Time magazine know a thing or two about lists. After all, they write them all the . . . time. And in 2011, they compiled a list of the 25 best blogs on the web. Care to guess which Top 10 website founded by Jamie Frater made the cut? Not only that, but Listverse has been featured by the BBC, New York Times, National Geographic, and PBS. Imagine telling your friends—or future employer—that you’ve written for a website like Listverse, all because you clicked this link. At the very least, your mother will be proud.

2 Your List Could Show Up In A Book

Did you know Listverse is in the book business? As of right now, we’ve published three books of our content, and the fourth one is already available for pre-order. Wouldn’t it be awesome if your list showed up in the fifth? Our books are chock-full of the best articles Listverse has to offer. If you can make it on the site, you might make it into a book, a book that’s going to end up in libraries, stores, and coffee tables around the world. And assuming it’s kept far away from moisture, book lice, and fascist firemen, it’s going to last a long time. So think about it like this . . . you’ve read the guidelines and sent in a $100 list for millions of people to read, and as an added bonus, your work might end up on a Barnes & Noble bookshelf. If nothing else, they’d make cool Christmas gifts for your friends, or an excellent way to introduce yourself at parties. “Yeah, I’m a published author.”

1 Now Just Go Do It

Have I totally convinced you to get started on your first mind-blowing list? Maybe you feel ready to jump in right now. You’ve been reading the site for a long time, and you know what we like to read and publish. In that case, double-check your sources and dive right in.

But maybe you take things a little slower. Maybe you want to read 10 Tips for Getting Paid to Write for Listverse. It’s another great article full of solid advice from a guy who knows all the tricks of the trade. If you’re thinking about giving Listverse a go, it’s definitely worth your time.

+ Don’t Forget About KnowledgeNuts

If Listverse is a cup of caramel macchiato, rich and full, then KnowledgeNuts is a shot of espresso. The site is full of micro-articles charged with concentrated doses of interesting info. Not only is it a blast for readers, it’s an awesome opportunity for writers.

Maybe you know one cool fact about Japanese history. That’s not enough for a list, but it’s perfect for a Nut! Throw together a few hundred words about something like The Ant-Walking Alligators Of Hiroshima, and you’ll make an easy 10 dollars! Do you always correct your friends on The Difference Between Hades And Satan? Well, there are plenty of people who don’t (people like me) so turn that tidbit into a KnowledgeNut. Or if you grit your teeth whenever people mention a brontosaurus, explain how The Brontosaurus Never Existed and pull down a quick 10 bucks. If you can keep it short, strong, and entertaining, then you should give KnowledgeNuts a try!

Nolan Moore is an ESL teacher who spends his spare time writing for Listverse.

If you want to send him an idea for a list, offer him a lucrative writing job or just send him hate mail, shoot him an email at [email protected].

You’re a writer, or at least flopping the idea around in your head. No lie: That’s absolutely fantastic. We want you to write for us. More importantly, we want to pay you $100 to do it. It doesn’t matter if you’re Michael Crichton or the new kid on the block, Listverse thrives on the words of people just like you. If you’ve already written a top 10 list, great! Skip this whole thing and head right over to our submission page.

Not quite ready yet? Don’t worry: We want to help you. First of all, bookmark our author guide for later. You’ll want to read that thing through with a magnifying glass, because that’s seriously exactly what will get your list published. But while that’ll get you the whole way, sometimes it helps to have a few stepping stones to ease the journey. From one writer to another, here’s my process for writing for Listverse.

10Get An Idea

Easy! Oh, wait, not so much? I’ll be honest: This is usually the hardest part of the entire writing process. You’d think that with so many weird and bizarre things happening all the time all over the world, it would be easier to come up with one skinny little bare-bones idea for a top 10 list. Especially if you’re making a cool tenth of a grand doing it. But hey, it’s not that easy to find that ticket to the Listverse front page.

So stop trying to find one. Wait—hear me out. Instead of forcing yourself to find an idea, go about your daily life. Browse the same sites, read the same books, watch the same shows. But stick a little hitchhiker in the far left corner of your brain that looks at everything and says, “Hey, that could make a great list.” And if you’re still dead in the water, branch out a little. Interested in science? Check out LiveScience, NatGeo, or Phys.org. Unsolved murders? The New Yorker, Harper’s, and NPR run some amazingly in-depth pieces on murders and cold cases. Strange history? How about the DC poison squad or Smithsonian‘s bizarre timeline of the Ouija board?

The nuggets of ideas are out there, and they’re waiting for you to come along and snag them. For example, all those links up there? None of those stories have been covered by Listverse yet.

9Stick A Theme On It

We love lists that tightly orbit a central idea. Most of the time, that theme is going to end up being your list’s title, or at least the gist of it. It doesn’t need to be earth-shattering, but it should make the ground tremble. After all, that’s the first thing readers will see on the site. Each entry is also going to tie into that main theme, which is why it’s so important to figure it out before you run off to find your list’s entries.

Really want to guarantee that your list will be accepted, not just by us, but by our readers as well? Here’s a tip: Take your idea, and twist it. Instead of writing 10 Unsolved Murders, show us something like Robin Warder’s 10 Mysterious Disappearances With Bizarre Clues. Instead of just talking about Abraham Lincoln, give us 10 Reasons Lincoln Was Secretly A Terrible President. Surprise us by making us look at something in a new and unexpected way.

Don’t worry about the actual title yet—just get that general theme going, because it’s going to make researching your list a lot easier. The tighter your theme, the better.

8Research The Dickens Out Of It

You’ve got a powerful starting idea and a twisted theme that’ll have Listverse readers tearing their hair out with slack-jawed amazement. Now what? The Internet is a vast sea of treacherous knowledge eager to suck you into its depths for eternity, and finding your specific entries is akin to throwing a rock in the air and hoping it hits the Moon.

That’s why you have a theme. Think of it as your anchor to the shore when you’re searching for new entries.

One thing you can do to make successive lists easier is make your own database of useful sites. I tend to gravitate toward science-based lists, so I have Wired, LiveScience, Phys.org, MNN, and NASA bookmarked for easy reference, to name a few. If I want to write a list on, say, insect zombies, I can search for crazy examples through those sites directly rather than wading through a quagmire of Google results.

If you like to write about creepy urban legends, bookmark sites in that vein. Politics? Go for the big names: CNN, BBC, New York Times, The Guardian. Google Books is an awesome search tool for historical lists. Even the vast Internet sea has its crannies of specialized life.

One thing to remember when you’re researching is that you have to provide sources for your information, so save the links to every site you use. We don’t take Wikipedia or tabloid-esque sites like The Daily Mail or The Metro as sources. If you use Wikipedia to start your research (which is fine), make sure you can find the same information presented in a different source. You can find more info on acceptable sources in the author guide.

Research can make or break a great list, and it’s not uncommon to find a ton of entries and then realize that the list as a whole won’t work. (If this happens to you, read on a bit farther.) Don’t let it discourage you.

7Get Your Outline Going

When you research, the easiest way to manage everything is to keep a Word document open to paste quick entry titles and their corresponding links. As you go along, the skeleton of a list is going to form on that page. My outlines usually look something like this. It’s incomplete and a little muddled, but that gives me the bare-bones idea for each entry. If I get more than 10, I can whittle them from that list until I have the best options. Alternatively, if I start finding that my entries are veering toward a different focal point, I can split them into two separate lists right there, then choose the one I like best later.

How you set it up is entirely up to you, of course, but if you’re just easing into the idea of writing for Listverse, an outline like that is a solid starting point for organizing your thoughts. It may be a little more work at the beginning, but that white lady isn’t going to come home on her own. Guide her in gently.

And hey, when you stumble across a potential entry idea, run a quick search on Listverse to make sure we haven’t covered it already. (For future reference, the search tool is the little magnifying glass on the top-right corner of this page; you can also use your Google-fu to search only on Listverse.) We probably won’t want to cover a story again unless we’re bringing a significant amount of new information to the table. It’s a quick extra step that’ll save you the hassle of rewriting an entry if it turns out the idea has been featured on the site before.

6Write An Entry

Yep, just one. Don’t worry about the other nine. They’re off having lunch; they’ll be back later. Right now it’s just you and a keyboard and 150 words and all that research you just did. Pick one entry you really like from your outline—maybe that first one, the idea that got you rolling on your list—and tell us about it. Lead into it with the most important fact, the one that defines the entry.

Specifics? Okay, maybe you’re writing a list about 10 people who shouldn’t be alive, and maybe you take that story about that woman who made a cup of tea after taking a .38-caliber bullet through the skull. Maybe, just maybe, the entry starts like this:

With her dead husband on the floor and blood streaming from two bullet holes in her head, Tammy Sexton needed something to take the edge off. So she brewed a hot cup of tea, then sat down to wait for the police.

Right off the bat, you’re giving readers something to sink their teeth into, and from there you can expand on the details of the story. Before you know it, you’ve written a whole entry. Then do it again, and again, and each time it’ll be a little easier because you’re that much closer to finishing the list. It’s all too easy to look at a list as a whole and think, “Whoa, no way I can write all of that,” and if you’re lazy and easily distracted like me, you never will. So trick your brain by taking it one entry at a time.

And hey, want to use that example above? It’s free, so see if you can build a unique and intriguing list around it and send it on in.

5Some Basic Rules

Every day we receive around 100 submissions and while many of them are excellent, a few don’t quite pass muster. Here are the main reasons we don’t accept a list:

1. The English is not quite up to standard (or is downright non-existent). This is the main reason we reject lists. We don’t expect you to be an English professor but we do expect you to be able to write English like a native speaker. More than 70 percent of the lists we reject every day are rejected for this reason.

2. We (or other websites) have already covered the topic. The best submissions are original. They are not re-workings of our old lists or content from other sites.

3. The topic is way off-base for us. Every day we receive lists on why you should become a vegan (hint: you shouldn’t!), how to improve your mental health by doing yoga, the writer’s favorite ten shirts in their wardrobe, the best tourist destinations in Smalltown (population 5), etc. I probably don’t need to expand on why these lists are not for us.

4No Funny Business

You’re a funny guy or gal. I can tell already. But keep in mind that Listverse wants facts, not comedy. There’s a fine line between being original and shoehorning in a joke just for laughs. Some humor is important because it keeps the writing from getting too dry, but the first order of business is always presenting your information in a clear, easy-to-understand way. That’s what our readers expect from us, and we try every day to make sure it happens.

If you absolutely, die-if-you-won’t, have to add humor to your list, find a way to present the information itself in a humorous way, rather than using extra lines purely for the sake of having a joke in there. I’m guilty of some terrible jokes myself, and take it from me: What sounds hilarious in your head usually just makes you cringe when you see it online later. For example, this list about condoms has some great examples of Listverse humor done right. It’s subtle and the double entendres give you the kind of straight-faced inner chuckle that would make Harrison Ford proud. In the end, we want readers to leave remembering the knowledge, not the jokes. A good rule of thumb for jokes is if you’re not sure about it, go ahead and leave it out.

3Proofread Everything

Your list doesn’t have to be perfect, and we don’t expect anyone to Vonnegut their paragraphs around here. In fact, very, very few lists are fit for publishing right out of the acceptance gates. We do have editors, and they’re actually pretty good at what they do, but that list is going to get out on the site a lot faster if it comes in cleanly. It’s incredible what you’ll pick up after just reading through your list once after you finish it.

Misspellings, repeated words, all the little things spellchecker switched around behind your back like the scheming bastard it is—most of these simple mistakes will leap out at you the first time you read them. If they don’t leap out at you and there aren’t too many, the editors will grab them, but the whole process works best if we all work together like a team.

Besides, don’t you want to be proud of your work as a writer? Because if you followed all these steps, that’s what you are now: A bonafide professional writer. Trundle on over to the Listverse submission page to send us your words. And don’t forget to fill in the field marked “Paypal or Bitcoin Address;” that’s how we pay you.

Now take a deep breath . . . and keep doing that forever, because that’s how you’re alive. Alive as a writer, you dog, you.

2Hit The Listverse Forum

You’ve done it. You’ve written, submitted, and published a list on the front page of Listverse. Your pocket’s burning with that hot Benjamin we Paypalled straight into your account, and the world is a shimmering oyster through which your newly awakened writerly eyes can see all the layers of possibility that make up reality. Sugar never tasted so good.

So, erm, now what?

Well if you want, hop right back on that horse and write another list. There’s no limit to how much our writers are allowed to write, and no limit to how much you can make doing it. If you felt an unmistakeable tingle of exhilaration discovering that first list, you’re definitely in the right place. The tingle never dies.

Once you’ve published your first list with us, you also get an email with access to the Listverse forum. This is where writers and editors hang out together, toss around ideas, and get to know each other. It’s magical, and it’s filled with helpful writers just like yourself who understand the trials and pitfalls of list-writing. Nobody’s going to downtalk you there or call your ideas stupid; we’re all in the same boat, floating down the same river.

Even better, there’s a section of the forum that we call World of Ideas. If an editor or a writer finds a super cool tidbit but doesn’t have time to do anything with it, they’ll drop it in there for anyone to claim. It’s like an idea factory. We also have an optional place to pitch ideas to Micah, our Head Honcho of Words. He’s nicer than he sounds, and he’ll give you real-life, personalized feedback on your own ideas, and either a green light to write it or some feedback on why it didn’t work.

You can also follow our Facebook page and Twitter account to see your list broadcast to 150,000 people, which is an awesome sight all on its own. Sort of like seeing a whale breaching in an avalanche.

1Forget All My Advice

In the end, you’re the writer. Even though we want you to stick to a few basic rules, we also want you to bring your unique voice and angle to your list. That’s what makes Listverse so diverse: the many talented writers we work with. We wouldn’t be able to publish new and interesting lists every day if we didn’t have creative ideas coming in from creative people.

What I’ve just outlined for you is my personal process. It’s a good launching point, but now I want you to take those pieces, let them tumble around in your head, and then stack them into something new and beautiful. I’m just one little guy who writes here; get an idea of the process from me, sure, but don’t make it canon. Everything I’ve just said can be changed to suit you.

Can’t get into doing an outline? That’s fine—just figure out one entry at a time and let your list evolve from there. Write as you research each point, if you want. The idea is to find a method that works for you, and only you will be able to figure out what that is.

For more tips on writing for us from another seasoned author, Morris M., check out his list on 10 Tips for Getting Paid to Write for Listverse.

It’s no secret that Google is slowly suppressing offbeat content or channels on YouTube that don’t support the political and social views the company is promoting for reasons we’ll leave for conspiracy theory lists. Even our own startup YouTube channel had four of its six videos flagged for demonetization.

10 Most Absurd Things Banned On Politically Correct College Campuses

I pointed out that it was a form of soft censorship but was rebuffed with such responses as “you don’t have to comply: we just won’t pay you”. Nice one Google. As other advertising companies grew in size and we were able to switch away from Google’s ad network, things improved. However, Google owns the biggest search Engine in the world and they are now using that (along with Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter who are censoring like mad) to manipulate content: you can publish what you like, but if Google doesn’t like it, it is hidden from search results. While this behavior doesn’t break the law, it does mean that you can’t survive publishing content that goes against the narrative being promoted by Social Media giants. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see that this will lead to the dumbing down and sterilization of online content and push people to such places as the Dark Web for genuine content.

Yesterday’s QANon list by Mary Fetzer inspired me to put this list together. So, here are the ten most popular articles we published, that Google requested we suppress in one way or another.

10 Banned Controversial Album Covers
By Maggot, 291 Comments

Read The List: 10 Banned Controversial Album Covers

A great list by one of our most beloved commenters and readers Maggot. My favorite line from the list: “Today of course, I am older and wiser, and so I can offer a much more mature commentary on the artistry of this photo: Did you see the racks on those babes?!” To answer: yes, Maggot, we saw them. Even if the powers that be really didn’t want us to.

Maggot’s introduction, in part, reads: “What is “art”? Over the years there have been many record albums or CDs released with what was deemed to be controversial or offensive cover artwork. Censorship and attempts to define the limits of free speech is a subject worthy of debating, and of course “offensive” imagery is in the eye of the beholder. As such, some of these might seem rather tame by today’s standards, but nonetheless they originally elicited enough controversy, public outcry, or heavy-handed pressure from major retailers, to cause censoring actions.”

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Pornography
By Jamie Frater, 295 Comments

Read The List: Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Pornography

We should have retitled this one: “Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Pornography And Never Will If Google Gets Their Way”. Here is the introduction: “Erotica has existed since man first was able to think. A once large industry has now burst out as a giant in entertainment due to the Internet. Most people with access to the net has seen pornography either intentionally or accidentally. This list takes a look at some of the more obscure facts surrounding pornography.”

8 Details That Make History’s Worst Tragedies Even Worse
By Mark Oliver, 327 Comments

Read The List: 10 Details That Make History’s Worst Tragedies Even Worse

I’ll leave it up to you to guess which particular entry on this list really bothered Big Brother. Here is Mark’s introduction to this fascinating list: “We like to imagine that we learn from our tragedies—that when the worst moment comes, people change their ways and start working together to make things right. But sometimes, even after the catastrophe is over, the tragedy continues. People get swept up in the havoc and chaos of the moment and do things that make history’s worst moments even worse. And in the aftermath, some of our darkest moments are left with details too bleak to make it into the history books.”

7Spunky Facts About Sperm
By Petros Absalon, 387 Comments

Read The List: 10 Spunky Facts About Sperm

Oh come on! What on earth is wrong with a sciencey list about sperm? Perhaps it needed to be combined with a list about ova for the censors to allow it. Too much “white” male privilege perhaps. The introduction: “Sperm and semen are as common as men in the world. However, aside from knowing that it comes from the male genitals and is important for making babies, there are still a lot of amazing things about it that many of us don’t know. For example, during World War I, British spies had the bright idea to use semen as invisible ink. After one agent decided to store his semen in a bottle, the letters he sent using the invisible ink stank so much that his handlers were forced to send him a letter telling him that a ‘fresh operation is necessary for each letter.’”

6 Incestuous Relationships In the Bible
By Jamie Frater, 387 Comments

Read The List: Top 6 Incestuous Relationships In the Bible

How could this not be controversial? the Bible and sex together on one list! Here is the introduction I wrote for the list before Google slapped a chain on it: “Religious scholars say that God suspended the laws of incest in the early days of man in order to ensure that man spread on the earth. In the words of the commentators of the Douay Rheims Bible: “God [dispensed] with such marriages in the beginning of the world, as mankind could not otherwise be propagated.” Despite that, these tales are not all simply matters of procreation – particularly item 1. So, here is a list of 6 of the more questionable relationships in the Bible.”

10 Beloved Children’s Books Banned For Stupid Reasons

5 Incendiary Facts About Incest
By Eliza Lenz, 438 Comments

Read The List: 10 Incendiary Facts About Incest

It seems that Google really hates incest . . . perhaps it hits a little close to home for someone on their Propaganda and Censorship team. This list certain did leave some rather hot under the collar. Eliza opens thusly: “We all seem to know that incest is wrong, either through cultural conditioning or what appear to be innate evolutionary cues, yet some humans can’t seem to resist the urge to bed their relatives. In fact, since the DNA of every living human is 99.9 percent the same, it may be much more common than we think. Still, that doesn’t mean incest is a good thing. As we will see, breeding with a close relative can result in some dire consequences.”

4 Animals That Practice Homosexuality
By Andrew Blackstone, 446 Comments

Read The List: 10 Animals That Practice Homosexuality

When Hollywood decided they needed to educate us all on nature vs nurture, a number of wildly popular TV shows such as Will and Grace and Parks and Recreation dedicated entire episodes to informing us that animals—particularly penguins—are gay and it’s okay. Thank God for Hollywood saving the gays; where would we be without them? Probably still burning at the stake. Anyway, for some reason Google decided that we shouldn’t publish similar content and our list of ten gay animals was given the chop. Here’s the intro:

“Scientific research is spotting a surprising range of animals that engage in same-sex relationships. In this mind-expanding list, we will look at the “Lesbian Albatrosses” of Hawaii; male dolphins who keep boyfriends; and same-sex seagull couples who adopt young to raise together. In the animal world, big surprises always await us.”

3 Beautiful Celebrity Brunettes
By Randall, 563 Comments

Read The List: Top 25 Beautiful Celebrity Brunettes

I’m sure most readers will have seen the hit TV show from Netflix (before it lost its mojo) called Stranger Things. Believe it or not the mother from the show (Winona Ryder) was once a beautiful brunette who had men swooning (actually men didn’t swoon like they do these days—they probably grunted instead). Pictured here and number one on the list by our now-missing much loved regular, Randall. Needless to say a large number of the comments were from people disgruntled at the “sexualization” of women. They must have written Google and asked to have us cancelled, judging by the nasty ban letter we got. Here’s part of the rather long intro:

“The brunette, in history, has always been seen as the temptress, the siren; from Lilith of Hebrew mythology to Shakespeare’s ‘dark lady of the sonnets,’ the brunette has been the woman who gives men pause even while we desire her, as though we sense there’s a dangerous cleverness in her that will destroy us.”

2 Ways Pornography Shapes The World
By Chris Jenkins, 599 Comments

Read The List: 10 Ways Pornography Shapes The World

A really interesting list that has some incredibly unexpected entries. If you hated the Brunette list, this one will really drive you crazy. Here’s a bit of the intro: “Pornography is often associated with deviant behavior and sexual violence. Many people at least assume it has a negative effect on those who view it, especially young people. These individuals, then, may be surprised to hear that pornography has helped guard the Constitution, redefine art, and even keep young women safe.” Like I said, “unexpected”.

1 Shocking Cases Of Female Sexual Predators
By Damien B., 698 Comments

Read The List: 10 Shocking Cases Of Female Sexual Predators

This is a very disturbing list and no reason was given by Google for its banning. It covers a number of real life cases of predation against children by women in positions of power over them. Google has not typically had a problem with lists dealing with deviance perpetrated by men or general predatory-type lists. The intro is short. Here it is in its entirety: “When we think of sexual predators, the image that springs to mind is usually a man. However, there are many recorded cases of women committing such vile acts. Below are 10 sexual assaults in which the perpetrator was a woman.”

Top 10 Foods That Are Banned In The US

We live in an age of mind-blowing medical breakthroughs. Modern doctors can make the blind see, regrow, or attach totally dismembered organs, or even rouse patients who’ve been in a coma for a long time. However, every now and then, seasoned medical practitioners come across spontaneous recoveries where the patient had little to no chances of survival. Below, we will explore cases of people who recovered even after facing certain deaths as victims of accidents or deadly diagnoses. Here are the top 10 miraculous recoveries.

10 A Boy Who Was Almost Beaten to Death

In 2010, a gang of four adult men viciously attacked a seven-year-old boy in Bangladesh. Okkhoy was playing in his family home when three other kids approached him. These older kids promised Okkhoy a treat if he agreed to complete a task with them. He reluctantly agreed and went along with his newfound friends. After a while, the boy decided to head back home. Four men emerged from nearby and grabbed him.

They demanded that he beg for money from passers-by, which Okkhoy declined and threatened to tell his father. His assailants hit his head with a huge brick. Even as he bled profusely, the men sliced a deep cut into the child’s torso and mutilated his genitalia. They left the boy for dead. Okkhoy’s mother found her child’s almost lifeless body lying in a pool of blood next to a warehouse. Okkhoy was rushed to hospital in a rickshaw. Despite zero chances of surviving his wounds, he managed to recover after three months in the intensive care unit.

9 ‘Skitching’ Gone Wrong

In van Buren, Indiana, and other parts of the country, it isn’t strange to see teenagers holding on to moving vehicles as they balance their skateboards. This is popularly known as ‘skitching.’ In 2014, this dangerous activity almost cost Randon Timmons his life. He was just 18 years old. While riding on his skateboard, Randon decided to give ‘skitching’ a try. As he clutched to the speeding vehicle, his skateboard hit a pothole in the road. The impact sent Randon in the air before hitting his head hard on the pavement.

By the time Randon arrived at the hospital, he had almost zero brain activity. Due to his head’s impact, he suffered an extreme case of brain swelling, and doctors had to remove most of his skull. According to the doctors, Randon had a minimal chance of making it through the night. However, his family wouldn’t give up on him. They stayed by the boy’s bedside. Miraculously, the boy’s condition quickly improved, and the doctors discharged him. How the young man managed to survive this severe brain trauma case is a plain case of medical miracles.

8 A Man Survived A Fall from The 47th Story Of A Building

Alcides and his younger brother Edgar had been washing windows of a tall building in Manhattan, New York, when they were involved in a horrific accident. The platform they were using to scale to the windows of the building’s 47th floor suddenly broke and dropped out of the sky. The two brothers fell to the ground. The impact killed Edgar on the spot. Amazingly, by the time rescuers arrived at the scene, Alcides was conscious and sitting upright in the alleyway.

By the time he arrived in the hospital, Alcides was barely conscious. He was bleeding profusely, and the scans revealed the worst. He suffered a severe brain injury, had broken a rib, both his legs and one arm. His spinal cord was badly injured. The doctors performed an emergency operation despite having no hopes that he would survive the accident. In the next few weeks, the doctors performed nine more operations on him. They were stunned when Alcides uttered his first words after the accident.

7 A Boy Who Recovered from Electrocution

9-year-old Elijah Belden was celebrating an early birthday party when he had a close encounter with death. Electrocution almost cost the young boy’s life after he grabbed a metal pole on his family house’s patio. Belden had gone outside to pose for a picture with a friend. He accidentally grabbed onto the round pole that supported the outdoor lighting of the house. It turns out that the metal structure had become electrified when electrical wires came into contact with its surface.

Electricity flowing within the surface of the pole electrocuted Belden, and he lost consciousness. Elijah miraculously woke from this coma after ten days of despair and uncertainty. He still had his memory intact and could even hold a conversation with the medical personnel. Doctors called his case a miracle since he didn’t show any signs of trauma or brain damage. Within two weeks, Elijah was capable of taking a stroll outside. A week later, the doctors sent him home to recover fully.

6 A Girl Who Survived Three Severe Cancers

Rachel Lozano spent most of her high school years battling an aggressive form of cancer and Askin’s tumor. She underwent several surgeries, including a bone marrow transplant. The doctor’s efforts paid off when the cancer went away for the second time. Rachel took her losses and small victories in a stride. However, she was devastated when the doctors informed her that her cancer had reappeared for the third time.

In a last-ditch effort, the doctors decided to perform one last attempt to remove the tumor. So, they took her to the operation room and began the surgery. They were perplexed and completely mystified after finding that the tumor had miraculously disappeared. There was not even a single trace of cancerous tissue in Rachel’s body. They stitched her up without doing anything. Rachel later confirmed that she had attended father William Chaminade’s honor ceremony and prayed for healing.

5 Luke Burgie

In 1998, Pope Francis proclaimed that a four-year-old boy’s recovery was a miracle. Doctors had diagnosed a mysterious illness in Luke Burgie that caused bouts of diarrhea. The young boy also experienced a sharp pain after ingesting anything. Luke’s parents sought the help of the medical personnel at Denver Hospital, but they too had no idea what was ailing the child. The boy’s condition deteriorated by the day. Luke was quickly losing weight. Out of desperation, Luke’s mother asked two nuns to pray for her young boy.

The nuns obliged and the prayer vigil lasted more than a week. Meanwhile, Luke’s doctor came up with a theory that only a hidden tumor could be ailing the boy. So they arranged a colonoscopy test for Luke. Having no other option, his family took him to the hospital for the test. However, when they arrived at the doctor’s table, Luke had completely healed. When doctors inquired what had happened, the mother explained how Luke had jumped from his sleep and joyfully announced he no longer felt any pain in his tummy. The doctors were awe-stricken. Many people were skeptical of the illness’s authenticity.

4 Elderly Woman Who Survived the H1N1 Virus

Lesley Bunning’s health was rapidly deteriorating, and her family decided to rush her to hospital in January 2014. After a few tests, doctors confirmed that she had contracted the H1N1 Virus. Her condition continued to deteriorate, and doctors had to medically induce a coma. They placed Lesley on life support. She stayed in the ICU for ten weeks as doctors tried their best to save her life. The only thing her family could hope for was a miracle.

The doctors did everything within their ability and knowledge to help Lesley breathe on her own again. They even sought the help of other doctors from different hospitals. This only proved futile. They began preparing her family to pull the plug on her since there wasn’t any hope that she would make it through on her own. Just when they were about to talk to her family, Lesley miraculously began to breathe on her own. The doctors removed her from the ventilator and only needed feeding tubes. Her doctors still recall her case as a medical miracle.

3 Man Wakes Up After Six Years

Neurosurgeons have long used brain stimulation to treat various brain traumas and illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease. However, this treatment proved very important for a man who had been in a vegetative state for six years after a brutal assault. The man’s family had long lost hope of the recovery of their loved one. During the six years, the man had not communicated, swallowed, or even made coordinated body movements.

Just as his family contemplated pulling the plug, a medical team decided to insert electrodes in his skull to stimulate the brain. They hoped this stimulation would trigger his dormant brain to function again. And they were right. The doctors scheduled him for surgery. The man who had not even blinked once in six years immediately began to show improvement after the doctors inserted the electrodes. Medical practitioners had never used this kind of treatment to treat brain damage. They were perplexed when it worked perfectly with this patient.

2 Recovery from A Stroke

Never in his life had Sam Schmid thought that his life would take the sudden turn it did after being involved in a horrific car accident. The accident took place in October 2011, and five cars were involved. The car that Schmid was traveling hit a light pole and rolled over. Rescuers airlifted him to the nearby hospital, where he was confirmed to have a broken left hand and two broken legs. As if this was not enough for him to deal with, doctors later discovered Schmid suffered a severe brain injury. The doctors operated on Schmid, and it resulted in a stroke.

However, when Robert Spetzler, a neurosurgeon, conducted an MRI scan on Schmid, it didn’t reveal any serious brain damage. So, Robert instinctively decided to keep him a little longer on life support. Against all odds, he was able to recover within a couple of weeks. By December, Sam Schmid had recovered so well that he could walk with a walker. However, Sam does not remember even a single bit of the horrific accident that almost killed him.

1 Abigail Kopf Recovered from A Head Shot

People still remember the February 20, 2016 shoot out by the Kalamazoo Uber gunman that left many people dead. From this shootout emerged an inspiring medical story. Abigail Kopf was one of the victims of the shootout. She suffered a headshot. It is common to hear of people who have recovered from gunshot wounds. However, it is not every day that you hear of a 14-year-old girl who survived a headshot. The doctors were about to harvest the young girl’s organs when she squeezed her mother’s thumb on her deathbed.

She recovered in just three months, making her story even more miraculous and inspirational. The fact that she survived after a close-range headshot makes her an inspiration to many. Today, Abigail leads the life of a normal young girl despite having a few mobility challenges.