When the world ends, our cities will crumble and be reclaimed by nature. At least, that’s the popular image. But you don’t need to wait for the apocalypse to see how things will crumble. You don’t even need to leave civilization—there are plenty of glimpses of the post-apocalyptic world hidden right among us.

10Public School 186

It would be impossible for Manhattan’s Public School 186 to be any more in the middle of civilization. Businesses are open across the street, there isn’t a free parking space in sight, and people stroll by nonchalantly. It’s boarded up, but it’s the trees growing out of the windows which give away the fact that no one has used the building for over 40 years. Inside, piles of rubble and scattered animal corpses complete the look.

The school was opened in 1903 but ran into problems in the early 1970s. Its floor plan didn’t meet fire safety codes and the ground floor doors had to remain open at all times to ensure that children couldn’t be trapped. Those open doors soon led to problems. Criminals robbed parents at knifepoint and a teacher’s aide was raped in a classroom. When fire inspectors found that the fire alarm didn’t work in 1972, the school was marked for closure. It shut down in 1975.

The building was due to be renovated in the 1980s, but the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem that bought it decided to demolish the building and start again. Residents petitioned to save the building, but the owners say that it would be too expensive. While they battle it out, the building continues to look increasingly like a set from I Am Legend.

9North Brother Island

Located just half a kilometer (.3 mi) from Manhattan in New York’s East River is a bird sanctuary known as North Brother Island. In the 1880s, people with infectious diseases were quarantined there at the Riverside Hospital. Its most famous resident was Typhoid Mary, who died on the island in 1938. The island later housed veterans from World War II and was the base of a drug treatment center. In 1964, the last people left and it was closed to the public.

A few people have been let back onto the island between September and March when the birds aren’t nesting. Among the thick vegetation that now covers the island are huge brick buildings, bungalows, and a chapel. One classroom still has dozens of old books scattered across the floor. The buildings are all slowly being hidden by trees and ivy.

Christopher Payne, a photographer who was given permission to visit the island, described it as “what would happen if people left the planet.” He described the atmosphere as a sense of being disconnected from the rest of the world, though it turned out to be impossible to forget how close the rest of New York City was. “I could hear the Mister Softee truck sometimes,” he said.

8Miami Marine Stadium

Naumachia were mock naval battles that took place in flooded coliseums in ancient Rome. Gladiatorial combat is a staple of post-apocalyptic fiction (you can thank Mad Max 3). So if you want to host your own dystopian naumachia, Miami’s Marine Stadium is the perfect venue.

The 6,600 seat arena was opened in the 1960s as a venue for speedboat racing. It was closed in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew and has since become a haven for graffiti artists and freerunners. It’s an imposing, poured-concrete structure. The stadium’s designer said that he had intended to create “a piece of sculpture on the water reflecting on what nature was providing us.”

There’s debate over what to do with the stadium. The Friends of Miami Marine Stadium want to see it cleaned up and returned to use. Others believe it should be left as it is, a monument to the graffiti artists who have adopted it over the decades.

7Box Hill Brickworks

Melbourne’s Box Hill Brickworks adds a steampunk theme to its derelict charm. The brick-making plant was built in 1884 and operated for a century. It was closed in 1988, but its brick chimney still towers over the local landscape.

The real charm is hidden inside. Mazes of walkways hover above masses of rusting machinery. There are even hand-written sales records scattered in an old office. The site is a time capsule of technologies. A tramway and blacksmith’s shop are essentially unchanged from the 1880s.

The world-gone-to-hell atmosphere is completed by the landfill on the same grounds. It looks like a normal grassy field—except for the plumes of flame that occasionally burst from the ground. When methane from the buried waste isn’t exploding by itself, local youngsters have been known to drop matches into sinkholes to trigger blasts underground. This all takes place very close to people—the barbed-wire fence for the brickworks borders a park that is usually full of playing children.

6Bloomingdale Railway

If you’ve ever wondered what urban hiking will be like once the end comes, Chicago’s Bloomgindale Railway will give you a fairly good idea. This three-mile-long abandoned railway is elevated above the busy city. After it was abandoned by Canadian Pacific Railway in 2001, its overgrown tracks became popular as a route for joggers and cyclists. In winter, it also offers the unique experience of cross-country skiing through the middle of a busy city where every street is plowed.

The feel of an unattended city isn’t going to be around for much longer, however. Search for Bloomingdale Railway and half the pictures show a train track being reclaimed by nature. The others are artists’ impressions of the mass restoration project that will soon turn the track into a modern park and walkway. While undoubtedly good for Chicago, those who have come to love the railway over the last decade have said that they expect to be nostalgic for the post-apocalyptic landscape.

5Tower Of David

Centro Financiero Confinanzas is an unfinished skyscraper in Caracas, Venezuela. Construction began in 1990, but a 1994 banking crisis left it incomplete. The 45-story building has a heliport but lacks elevators, utilities, windows, and railings. Since the 1990s, 3,000 squatters have made their home in the unfinished shell. The “Tower of David,” nicknamed after its chief backer who died in 1993, is now the world’s tallest slum.

Motorcycles are used as taxis to carry people up the first 10 floors, and it’s on foot from there to the 28th. No one lives any higher than that, but it is possible to get to the top. There’s makeshift plumbing and electricity in some areas, but it’s the economy that’s sprung up inside that makes it feel like a set from a dystopian movie. Stores, beauty parlors, daycare centers, and even a dentist cater to the residents. Some apartments look cozy, even if the corridors that lead to them are faded and cracked from disuse.

People salvage metal from the higher floors. Others lift weights just feet away from a dizzying drop with no safety rail. Teenagers use the lights from their cellphones to navigate pitch-black stairways. The community has a bad reputation and the people are wary of outsiders. Yet right outside this little world, the surrounding streets look like a typical modern city.

4Insurgentes 300

Mexico City’s Insurgentes 300 is a building that went to war with the forces of nature. While it’s technically still upright, you couldn’t really say it won the fight. It’s nicknamed the “Canada” building for the 30-meter (100 ft) word that once ran down the side in giant letters. From the outside, it looks like a deteriorating shell, but behind the broken glass there are all sorts of professions that put the building to some sort of use. Every type of criminal—from lawyers and accountants to drug dealers and prostitutes—use Insurgentes 300 alongside dance teachers and screen printers.

It was once home to 420 offices, but half of these have since been converted for use as housing. The building has a 10-degree inclination due to structural damage from an earthquake in 1985. The authorities ordered it evacuated, but the occupants declined and have been fighting to have the structure repaired for 30 years. Instead of maintenance, they’ve received only lawsuits as the building slowly decays around them.

3Red Hook Grain Terminal

The closest thing New York City has to a fortress is perhaps The New York Port Authority Grain Terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Its concrete walls are 20 centimeters (8 in) thick, 12 stories high, and sheer. It’s a behemoth that looks perfect for fending off a hoard of zombies. In fact, a rag-tag bunch of survivors is pretty much all the building is missing to complete its post-apocalyptic look.

Inside, it looks like a cross between a factory, a prison, and a temple. It’s eerie from a distance, and in fog it looks downright sinister. Several pieces have collapsed into the river, and others look destined to follow. New York’s grain economy was already on the decline before the building opened in 1922. It shut down in the 1960s and is known as the “Magnificent Mistake.”

The building is extremely popular with urban explorers, though it’s difficult to get to. One explorer says that it requires research, persistence, and creativity, but mostly nerve, “since you don’t know what you’ll find inside or who might stop you before you make it in, and the repercussions that come with that.” Even if you’re not interested in the building, the journey may be worth it purely for the amazing sunset you can watch from one of the many shattered windows.

2The UK’s Cold War Tunnels

England doesn’t have an official second city, but Manchester and Birmingham are the most commonly suggested candidates. That’s perhaps why each of them is home to miles of underground tunnels built during the Cold War. They’re very literally a glimpse of the apocalypse, since that’s exactly what they were built to withstand. They were also built in secret.

The bunkers under Manchester were tunneled by Polish workers who couldn’t speak English so that they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what they were doing. It once housed several months’ worth of tinned food designed to keep VIPs alive in case of an attack. In Birmingham, many of the entrances to their system remain classified.

1A Lot Of Meatpacking Plants

Founded in 1867, Armour & Company was once one of the United State’s largest meatpacking companies. It fell into decline in the late 20th century, and in its wake it left abandoned plants all over the country. One is a skeletal brick building in Fort Worth, Texas, which was ravaged by fires in the 1970s. Demolition was attempted and there’s a section of wall missing.

It turned out that the building’s steel structure was so strong that it was cheaper to just leave the rest standing. Today, it looks like a prison. Guard towers were added in 2007 to make the plant look like a South American prison for the show Prison Break. The words Penitenciaría Federal De Sona were left above one of the doors.

Another meatpacking plant in Navassa, North Carolina was only open for a few years. Rumors began in the 1920s that the plant’s owner was found hanged in the middle of the factory. The building earned a reputation as haunted. Several people committed suicide there in the 1980s, cementing its supernatural foothold in local folklore.

Yet perhaps the most famous abandoned meatpacking plant is in East St. Louis, Illinois. It’s not far from downtown and has the added bonus of still being filled with old machinery. That includes its once cutting-edge refrigeration system. The plant once employed nearly 5,000 people and became a hotbed of racial tension due its segregated workforce. Since it was closed in 1959, it’s become an infamous beacon for those fascinated with the way the world crumbles.

Alan is tempted to take up urban exploration as it’s the only hobby that’s going to get better should the world end.

Medical science in the 21st century is making strides in areas that once seemed like science fiction. As technology rapidly advances, we’re seeing new possibilities for improving health and longevity. From potential treatments for tooth loss to progress in curing genetic disorders, these innovations aim to address some of the significant health challenges we face today. Research and development are moving quickly, driven by a global focus on better healthcare outcomes, making the future of medicine look promising.

Imagine a world where you can regrow lost teeth, where cancers are treated with personalized vaccines, and where organs can be grown in a lab for transplant. These are not just distant dreams but actual developments on the horizon, thanks to the dedicated work of scientists and medical professionals. Advances in gene editing, regenerative medicine, and biotechnology are leading us toward a time when diseases that were once considered incurable might be managed or even eradicated. Here, we take a look at ten of the most significant medical advancements that could shape healthcare in the coming years.

Related: Top 10 Overused and Bogus Medical Treatments

10 Tooth Regrowth Treatments

Losing a tooth has always meant getting a replacement, but researchers in Japan are changing that. They’ve developed a drug that targets the USAG-1 protein, a key player in tooth formation. By blocking this protein, the drug encourages the growth of new teeth in adults, something that was previously thought to be impossible. Animal studies have shown promising results, and human trials are set to start in 2024.

If successful, this treatment could be a game-changer for people with tooth loss, offering a natural and potentially more affordable alternative to implants and dentures. The first trials will involve 30 men aged between 30 and 64. If all goes well, the drug might be available to the public by 2030, promising a big shift in how we handle dental health.^[1]

9 Cancer Vaccines

The idea of a vaccine that not only prevents but also treats cancer is becoming a reality. Personalized cancer vaccines train the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells based on unique mutations in a person’s tumor. Early trials are showing that these vaccines can shrink tumors and reduce recurrence rates.

These vaccines are tailored to the genetic makeup of each patient’s cancer, making them more effective and reducing side effects compared to traditional treatments. As research continues, personalized cancer vaccines could become a standard option in cancer care.^[2]

8 CRISPR Gene Editing

CRISPR gene editing is offering new ways to treat genetic disorders by allowing precise changes to the human genome. This technology uses an RNA molecule to guide a cutting enzyme to specific DNA sequences, enabling targeted modifications. Current clinical trials for conditions like sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia have shown promising results, with patients experiencing fewer symptoms and improved health markers.

CRISPR’s potential goes beyond treating genetic diseases; it might even help prevent them. As more trials progress, CRISPR could become a key tool in genetic medicine, offering tailored treatments for various hereditary conditions.^[3]

7 Lab-Grown Organs

Lab-grown organs could revolutionize transplantation. Scientists are now able to create functional miniature organs, or organoids, from human stem cells. These mini-organs, such as kidneys, livers, and hearts, replicate the structure and function of their full-sized counterparts and are being used to study diseases and test drugs more effectively than with animal models.

This is a significant step in regenerative medicine. While we’re not yet at the stage of growing full-sized organs for transplantation, the progress with these miniature versions suggests that lab-grown organs could one day help address the shortage of donor organs and transform transplant medicine.^[4]

6 Artificial Blood

Artificial blood represents a major leap forward in emergency medical care and transfusion practices. Scientists have been developing synthetic blood that can replicate the essential functions of natural blood, such as transporting oxygen and aiding in clotting. Unlike donated blood, which can face supply shortages and compatibility issues, artificial blood can be produced on-demand and used universally, regardless of a patient’s blood type. This development is particularly valuable in critical situations where immediate blood availability is essential.

One of the key advantages of artificial blood is its stability and longevity. Unlike natural blood, which requires refrigeration and has a limited shelf life, synthetic blood can be stored for long periods without the need for special conditions. This makes it an ideal resource for use in remote or resource-limited areas where access to fresh blood supplies might be limited. In trauma care, military operations, and disaster response, the ability to quickly access and use artificial blood can make a significant difference in patient outcomes, potentially saving lives in situations where conventional blood supplies are inaccessible or depleted.

In addition to its logistical benefits, artificial blood also offers a safer option for transfusions by eliminating the risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases. This reduces the potential for complications that can arise from infections transmitted through donated blood. As research and development continue to advance, artificial blood is expected to become a standard component in hospitals and emergency response systems worldwide. This innovation not only addresses longstanding challenges related to blood supply and safety but also marks a significant step forward in our ability to provide effective and universal healthcare solutions.^[5]

5 Bionic Eyes

Bionic eyes are an exciting development for people with severe vision loss. These devices work by turning visual information into electrical signals that the brain can understand, bypassing the damaged parts of the eye. One well-known system is the Argus II, which helps patients regain some ability to see light and movement. It uses a small camera on a pair of glasses to capture images, which are then sent to a tiny array of electrodes on the retina. This allows the brain to pick up on basic visual cues, helping people distinguish between light and dark and detect motion.

Researchers are constantly working to improve these technologies. They’re developing better sensors and processors that could provide clearer and more detailed images. The goal is to help people recognize simple shapes and better navigate their surroundings. While we’re not yet at the point where bionic eyes can fully restore vision, the improvements made so far are already making a big difference in the lives of those who use them.

The hope is that, with continued research, even more advanced versions of bionic eyes will be able to provide a higher level of vision restoration. This could greatly improve independence and quality of life for those with vision impairments. It’s an exciting time for this technology, and the progress being made gives a lot of hope for the future.^[6]

4 Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments

Significant advancements have been made in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, offering new hope in combating this debilitating condition. Researchers are making progress in addressing the disease’s key pathological features, particularly the accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. Monoclonal antibodies, such as aducanumab and the newer donanemab, have shown potential in targeting and reducing amyloid plaque levels. These treatments work by helping the immune system recognize and clear these harmful proteins, which are thought to contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Monoclonal antibodies are a type of targeted therapy that specifically binds to certain proteins, marking them for removal by the immune system. In the case of Alzheimer’s, these antibodies are designed to bind to amyloid-beta plaques, facilitating their clearance from the brain. Clinical trials have shown that treatments with these antibodies can slow the cognitive decline in patients by reducing the buildup of these plaques. Although these treatments are still in the relatively early stages of development, the results so far are promising, suggesting that they could play a crucial role in managing Alzheimer’s in the future.

Beyond monoclonal antibodies, other innovative approaches are being explored to improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Early detection techniques, including advanced imaging and biomarker analysis, are being developed to identify the disease before significant symptoms appear. Personalized treatment plans that incorporate these new diagnostic tools, combined with targeted therapies like monoclonal antibodies, hold the potential to significantly alter the course of Alzheimer’s disease. This combination of early intervention and precise, targeted treatment offers hope for better outcomes for patients and their families, potentially transforming the landscape of Alzheimer’s care.^[7]

3 Targeted Drug Delivery for Childhood Brain Tumors

Doctors and researchers are making significant strides in developing innovative treatments for childhood brain tumors, particularly medulloblastomas, which are the most common malignant brain tumors in children. Traditional therapies, like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, often come with severe side effects due to their impact on healthy brain tissue. To address this challenge, scientists are exploring cutting-edge approaches, including the use of nanoparticles as a more targeted and effective means of delivering anti-cancer drugs. Nanoparticles are ultra-tiny, engineered particles capable of carrying therapeutic agents directly to cancer cells while bypassing healthy tissues, thus reducing collateral damage and improving outcomes.

In recent studies, nanoparticles have been engineered to cross the blood-brain barrier, a natural defense that often blocks the delivery of traditional drugs to the brain. These nanoparticles can be loaded with anti-cancer drugs and designed to recognize specific markers on medulloblastoma cells. Once they reach their target, the nanoparticles release their drug payload directly into the tumor, maximizing the treatment’s efficacy. Early laboratory and animal studies have shown promising results, with reduced tumor size and fewer side effects compared to conventional therapies. Researchers are also investigating how to fine-tune nanoparticle design to improve precision further and integrate them with other treatments, such as immunotherapy, to enhance their effectiveness.

This approach holds great promise not only for treating medulloblastomas but also for advancing how pediatric brain tumors are managed overall. By leveraging the precision of nanotechnology, doctors hope to transform these devastating diagnoses into conditions that can be treated with minimal harm to young patients, preserving their quality of life and long-term development. Clinical trials will be the next critical step as researchers work to ensure the safety and effectiveness of these groundbreaking therapies in children.^[8]

2 Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injuries

Stem cell therapy is showing real promise for helping people with spinal cord injuries. Research from the Mayo Clinic highlights that this approach involves injecting stem cells into the damaged spinal cord to help repair and regenerate the tissue. Patients who have undergone this therapy have reported improvements in their motor functions and a reduction in some of their symptoms, which is encouraging news for anyone living with these types of injuries.

The Mayo Clinic study found that stem cell therapy is generally safe, with no severe adverse effects reported, and there are signs that it might help patients regain some of their lost functions. People who received the treatment noticed improvements in their ability to move and perform everyday tasks, which are crucial for maintaining independence. As more research is conducted, there is hope that stem cell therapy could become a key part of the treatment plan for those with spinal cord injuries, helping them to lead more active and fulfilling lives.^[9]

1 Personalized Medicine: Tailoring Treatment to Individual Needs

Personalized medicine is all about tailoring medical treatments to fit each person’s unique genetic makeup. By looking at a patient’s genes, doctors can make more informed decisions about which treatments are likely to work best for them. This is particularly helpful for complex conditions like cancer or genetic disorders where traditional treatments might not be as effective. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, personalized medicine aims to find the most suitable treatment for each individual, which can help improve outcomes and reduce side effects.

In recent years, advances in technology have made personalized medicine more accessible and practical. Techniques like single-cell sequencing and new types of blood tests allow doctors to get a much clearer picture of a person’s health. These tools help in understanding how diseases develop differently in each individual, making it possible to tailor treatments more precisely. For instance, knowing specific genetic variations can guide doctors in choosing the right medication or treatment plan that will be most effective for the patient.

What’s exciting about personalized medicine is that it’s not just about treating illnesses; it’s also about preventing them. By analyzing genetic information, doctors can identify potential health risks and develop personalized prevention strategies. This proactive approach means that personalized medicine could help people stay healthier longer and reduce the need for more intensive treatments later on. It’s a significant shift towards a more individualized and effective healthcare system, focusing on the unique needs of each person.^[10]

For a war that affected nearly every country in the world, only a few nations seem to get mentioned when we talk about World War II. Germany, England, Russia, Japan, and the United States are sure to come up, but many more countries get left out. The other nations of the world were involved, though—and we forget that some of those places did a lot more than you might realize.

10 Australia Fired The First Allied Shot

On September 4, 1939, the morning after Great Britain declared war on Germany, a boat passed by a fort at Point Nepean. The fort’s personnel called for it identify itself, and when it refused, they became panicked that it might be a German ship, bringing the war to Australia. The fort launched a warning shot across the bow of the ship, sending what some consider to be the first Allied shot of World War II.

The shot itself isn’t that remarkable. The ship turned out to be Australian after all, so it wasn’t even against an enemy ship. The gun battery, however, is. By sheer coincidence, the very same battery also fired the first Allied shot of World War I.

The Australians would fire many more. By the end of the war, 27,000 Australian soldiers had given their lives.

9 Canada Built The Third-Largest Navy On Earth

At the beginning of World War II, Canada was not a major military force. Despite its large size, it had a population of only 11 million and was armed with a navy of only 15 ships and an air force of 235 pilots.

When Germany invaded Poland, though, the Canadians started getting ready. In ten days, Canada invested $20,000,000 into building up its armory—and they started building. They trained nearly 50,000 pilots and built 800,000 trucks, 471 naval ships, and 16,000 aircraft. And they sent 730,000 men off to fight.

They were the biggest contributors to the British air training plan and gained a worldwide reputation for their air force. Most amazingly of all, by the end of the war, Canada had the third-largest navy on the planet.

8 India Had the World’s Largest Volunteer Army

When India called on its people to fight, they signed up. An incredible 2.5 million Indian men volunteered to fight in World War II, forming the largest volunteer army in the world. Not every one of them ended up on the front lines. Some worked in factories or defended the country against air raids.

Those who did, though, made a massive difference. One group called The Fourteenth Army, a mixed force of British, Indian, and African soldiers, recaptured Burma. It was a turning point in the war, and by the end, 30 Indian soldiers had earned the Victoria Cross, the highest British medal of honor.

7 Malays Fought England’s Last Stand In Asia

In 1942, the Japanese advanced on Singapore, a major strategic point for the British army. England’s military base there was their access point to Asia, and without it, they would be at a major disadvantage. England’s last stand, though, wasn’t fought by British soldiers; it was fought by Malays. A man named Adnan Saidi and his unit held the ground at Opium Hill, determined to hold against the Japanese to the last man.

At one point, a troop with turbans on their heads dressed in British-Indian uniforms came toward them. At first, they seemed to be a relief army from India, but Saidi noticed something was off. These men marched in lines of four, while the British usually marched in lines of three. They were Japanese soldiers in disguise. Saidi’s men opened fire, and the assault was stopped.

After that, the Japanese got frustrated and launched an all-out attack. Still, Saidi and his men stayed and fought, shooting until the last bullet was fired—and fighting with bayonets after that.

All but one man died. The Japanese overran the place, and Britain lost its key base in Asia. But the Malays, at least, gave them a fight.

6 Switzerland Wasn’t Entirely Neutral

The Swiss didn’t just sit there and let World War II happen. Officially, they were neutral, but they still played a role. They didn’t want the war coming across their borders, and they defended their airspace.

At one point, this meant shooting down 11 German planes that entered Swiss airspace en route to France. The Germans were furious. They demanded an apology and threatened to retaliate. The Swiss, though, threw the blame right back at them and demanded that they stop flying over their land.

When the Allies started fighting back, Switzerland wasn’t always left alone. Some of the bombings meant for Germany landed on them, including a US bombing that killed 100 people. The Americans insisted that it was an accident, although the Swiss weren’t so sure.

By the end, the Americans had blasted Switzerland with enough of an onslaught that they had to pay more than $14 million in damages.

5 Kenya Fought Against Both Italy And Japan

Nearly 100,000 Kenyans signed up to fight in the King’s African Rifles. They were, by far, the biggest part of Britain’s African army, making up one-third of its soldiers, and they played a big role in the war in Africa. The Kenyans defended their land against an Italian invasion and helped the King’s African Rifles fight—and stop—the Italian invasion across East Africa. After that, they went on to Madagascar and Burma.

The Kenyans struggled with racism throughout the war. African soldiers were paid less than white ones and could never be promoted to a commanding rank. Still, they found some ways to take advantage of the stereotypes against them. One soldier told a writer that, to terrify Japanese soldiers, the Kenyans would pretend they were cannibals getting ready for a taste of Japanese.

4 Poland Broke Enigma First

Alan Turing gets all the credit, but he was actually the second person to crack Germany’s enigma code. The first was Marian Rejewski, a Polish cryptographer.

As early as 1932, Poland had started work to crack German’s complex enigma code. Working with documents stolen by French spies, a Polish team struggled to duplicate the enigma machine—and it worked. Rejewski managed to solve the cypher and made the first duplicates of the enigma machine.

Unfortunately, the Germans realized that their code had been cracked and increased the complexity tenfold. The Poles were stuck, and in 1939, realizing that an invasion was imminent, they sent all their work to England for the British to carry it on and braced for the worst.

That work made it to Alan Turing, who built on it to crack the more complex code, but he never would have done it without the work of Marian Rejewski.

3 Finland Held Off An Invasion Of One Million Russians

In 1939, Finland entered World War II. The Soviet Union had been trying to barter a trade, wanting control of several Finnish islands, but when Finland refused, they moved their troops in.

The Soviet army was massive. There were one million troops marching on Finland, leaving them outnumbered three to one. Finland called for help from Britain and France, but none came, so they had to fight the Soviets themselves.

Finland lost—but they dealt a major blow to the USSR in the process, killing 320,000 Soviet soldiers. Finland only suffered 70,000 casualties. The Finnish had to give up some of their land, but they shot a major hole in the Soviet army.

2 Almost Every Soldier From One Armenian Town Earned A Medal

In Armenia, a small mountain village called Chardakhlu played an incredible role in World War II. Of the 1,250 villagers who were enlisted to fight in the Soviet army, 853 were awarded medals, 12 went on to be generals, and seven became heroes of the Soviet Union.

Two men from the little town made it to the highest echelons of the Soviet army. Hamazasp Babadzhanian became the chief marshal of the armored troops of the Soviet, while Ivan Bagramyan became the marshal of the Soviet Union.

By the end of the war, the little town had some of the most decorated fighters in the country. Nearly every man came home with medals on his chest—or didn’t come home at all.

1 Russia Killed Eight Out Of Ten German Soldiers

Admittedly, Russia isn’t exactly an overlooked country in World War II. It’s well-known that Russia played a major role in the war, but most people don’t realize how massive that role was.

We’ve heard a lot of boasts about the United States turning the tides of the war, but the credit really should go to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was responsible for 80 percent of all German casualties. And the USSR came into the war late. If we start counting from 1941, the Soviets are responsible for 95 percent of all German casualties.

A lot of this happened during the Battle of Stalingrad, where Russian soldiers wiped out 20,000 German men each day. Russia’s army was more than big; it had its fair share of talent, too. Nine out of ten of World War II’s deadliest snipers were from the USSR.

The Soviet Union didn’t just play a role in the battle against the Germans—they completely devastated them.

The internet is a great resource, but one thing that it doesn’t come with is a manual on what information you should trust, and what information you shouldn’t. The internet, especially since the days of COVID-19, has been rife with medical misinformation, and it’s spread far and wide through social media. Unfortunately, some of these misconceptions about medicine can be dangerous and are better cleared up for the safety of all. 

10. The Higher Percentage Of Rubbing Alcohol, The Better The Sanitizing Power 

When the pandemic hit, the stores were soon running out of cleaning products and disinfectants of all kinds. Among other things, rubbing alcohol became extremely hard to find, as many people wanted it to disinfect surfaces for COVID-19. While it’s good that people were taking anti-viral precautions, some observers noticed that whenever anything was remaining, it was usually a decent stock of 70% rubbing alcohol, with the higher percentages being mostly unavailable. Now, you’d think this would make sense, as it sounds like a higher percentage of alcohol would kill more viruses, but this is a common misconception. 

The truth is that for disinfecting regular surfaces you want 70% alcohol, and not the 90% or higher stuff. The reason for this is that rubbing alcohol still needs some water to spread around the surface area and have some time to kill germs before it evaporates completely. However, that doesn’t mean the higher percentages don’t still have their uses. They are often recommended for electronics, where you would rather sacrifice cleaning power, to use as little moisture as possible. 

9. Once You Get A Transplanted Organ, Your Problems Are Mostly Solved 

In movies, TV, and every other form of media on the planet, it’s a common storyline to have someone who needs a transplant for a lifesaving organ. They may be low on the list, or have some other issue holding them up. The drama of the story is usually set around getting them the organ, after which we’re led to believe they now live happily ever after. Unfortunately, while it would be great if this were true (and it may be one day), it’s currently not the case. 

The unfortunate reality is that no matter how close a match, a transplanted organ will require you to take drugs that suppress your immune system for the rest of your life. This is because your body will try to attack the new organ, thinking it’s an invader. A “match” makes it possible for drugs to hold this back, but it does not stop you from needing them. You can also get a version of diabetes called diabetes mellitus due to the drugs you have to take. 

8. You Can Get The Flu From The Flu Vaccine

It’s a matter of fact that a lot fewer people get the flu shot every year than people who get their regular booster shots and other vaccines. Some people say it’s mostly for older people, younger kids, or people with weakened immune systems. They’ll say they can handle a case of the flu just fine, and that it could even give them a small case, if anything. They don’t want that risk, so they avoid it. Some even argue the shot is mostly ineffective, and doesn’t usually work. 

However, most people’s excuses are complete bunk. For starters, you cannot get the flu, even a small case of it, from the flu vaccine. The parts of the flu that are in the shot are dead, and cannot suddenly come back to life. You can indeed get a few mild symptoms that are often associated with the flu, which may last a few hours or days, which is why people are confused. 

As for the rest of the misconceptions, we’ll take them one at a time. Everyone six months and up should get the flu shot; the lost productivity from the flu is way worse than a few vaccine side effects; and while it may not work, each year’s vaccine is targeted to hit the flu strain expected to be the biggest problem that season. 

7. You Can Suck Venom Out Of A Wound 

A popular trope in fiction is the old venomous wound, wherein someone tries to suck the venom out to save the afflicted person. This goes back to, for example, the stories of Sherlock Holmes, where it’s used for a plot with a mistaken vampire. It also probably goes back much, much further. It’s an incredibly common trope, is what we’re saying.

It’s become so prevalent in popular culture that a lot of people consider it gross and scary, but real and grimly necessary. There are even extractor devices designed to pull venom from a wound, and most would be surprised if they found such devices being sold when they don’t actually work. 

However, the truth is that the venom from most animals doesn’t work as fast as movies would have you believe, and surprisingly few people die from venomous animals each year. What you really need to do is get victims to a hospital as quickly as possible and get them anti-venom. Sucking venom from a wound will not get it out faster than the person’s body can pump it through the blood, and you could poison yourself if you have a cut in your mouth. As for those extractor pumps, scientific studies have proven that they are not effective. 

6. Stabbing Adrenaline In Someone’s Heart Is Great For An Opioid Overdose

Pulp Fiction is a classic movie, and anyone who has seen it well remembers the scene where John Travolta races to his drug dealer with an overdosed Uma Thurman, and then stabs her dramatically through the heart with an adrenaline needle. Apart from stabbing her through the heart, he also doesn’t need to push down the plunger, presumably because pushing it through the heart just gets it all done that much faster. 

Unfortunately, while the scene is fun, it’s pretty much all wrong. While sometimes an injection in the heart, known as an intracardiac injection, is necessary, there’s no reason to think it would be needed in this case. It’s also done slowly and carefully through the ribcage by a trained medical professional. If you were using an adrenaline needle, you would actually usually use the thigh. However, in this case, you would not want to use adrenaline at all, as Uma’s character was overdosing on opioids. What you would want to use is Narcan, which often comes in a nasal spray today, making delivery much easier. If you want to speed things up, you would follow up the Narcan with CPR. 

5. Glasses Are Magic Goggles That Fix All Eye Problems 

Vision problems are common around the world, and basically everyone either wears or knows someone who wears specs. For the most part, people understand what glasses can and can’t do; however, that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone understands eye problems. Some people will get confused when they meet someone who isn’t fully blind but is not wearing glasses to improve their vision. There’s a common misconception that glasses can fix all (or most) eye problems outside of blindness, and a general misunderstanding of what it means to be “legally” blind. 

Unfortunately, the truth is that a lot of people with extremely low vision have problems that glasses simply cannot do anything for, and for the most part, science can’t do much to alleviate those issues. Among these are things like age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, sun damage, nerve damage of any kind, and many more. Scientists are trying to find ways to help these people, but most of it is very experimental. 

As for being legally blind, it’s easiest to compare it to a normal, sighted person. Someone who has normal vision can see an object that’s 200 feet away from, well… 200 feet away. Seems obvious enough, right? Well, to see that same object, a legally blind person would need to be 20 feet away.

4. Feed A Cold, Starve A Fever 

This is an old saying that can be traced back to a 1574 dictionary by John Withals. Like many folksy sayings, it has become a part of culture in some areas, where it was passed down from parent to child. Some people still take the saying seriously to this day, and most imagine, even if they don’t know medical science, that it must have some kind of reasoning behind it. After all, colds are minor bacterial infections, and the flu is a virus, so it makes sense to treat them differently, right? 

Well, perhaps in some respects, but not in this particular case. The truth is that there is absolutely no scientific rationale for starving someone who has a fever, or a virus of any kind. Whether it’s a cold, fever, broken leg, or any medical problem, keeping someone well-fed, rested, and watered is crucial. So if you are trying to remember how this phrase should go, it would be “feed a cold, feed a fever.” 

3. Going To The Hospital In An Ambulance Will Get You Seen Faster 

Some people, in the hopes of getting seen at the hospital quicker, will call the ambulance when they have other ways of getting there. While this may sound selfish, most people are not exactly thinking straight when they’re in a crisis and worried for their lives, or the lives of their loved ones. They’re just trying to get medical care in a bad situation. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause problems or isn’t a huge pet peeve with medical personnel. 

The thing is, this popular idea is completely untrue and a total misconception of how the medical system works. The purpose of an ambulance is to bring someone in who doesn’t have another way to get there or needs some kind of care to keep them alive on the way to the hospital. It does not matter how you arrive, you will be seen based on need. This is called triage. It can also cause problems for others, as it can tie up important resources that may be needed for others. The bottom line is if you can get to the hospital safely another way, and you know you can make it in time, you don’t need the ambulance. 

2. Defibrillators Are Magic Heart Restarting Paddles 

Medical dramas probably reuse this trope more than any other in their playbook. We all know the scene so well we could recite it from memory. An individual is flatlining and there’s only one thing to do: break out the defibrillator paddles. Someone yells “Clear,”  we hear the sound of rushing electricity, and the paddles are pressed against the person’s chest. This is repeated until they wake up. The doctor may throw in a couple of lines like, “damn you, you aren’t dying on me!” for added dramatic effect. 

Now, while these scenes make for great, dramatic television, they aren’t exactly based on reality. A 2014 study of dozens of resuscitation scenes from movies and television found that there were a lot of issues across the board. In general, they found that it all presented a missed opportunity to educate the public. Defibrillator paddles are commonly misunderstood for this reason, but they are not magic heart-restarting paddles. If someone’s heart rhythm is wrong they can shock it back to normal, but they do not restart a truly stopped heart. 

1. You Should Stick Stuff In The Mouth Of A Seizing Person So They Don’t Bite Their Tongue Off

Seizures are a fairly common medical trope as well and also make for great drama in your favorite doctor shows. Looking at you, E.R. and House. Sometimes people will even dramatically try to get something in between a seizing person’s teeth without getting their fingers bit off, to save the afflicted person from potentially biting off their tongue. This is a common misconception, and it’s important to know that it is not how you should do things, in case you ever do end up in a situation with a seizing person. 

If someone has a seizure, one of the most important things is that you keep their airways clear. This means you should avoid doing anything that might get in the way of their breathing, such as sticking stuff in their mouth. Also, you cannot bite off your tongue, although you can painfully bite it and cause a nasty sore, which is why people are confused. What you should actually focus on, apart from clear airways, is making sure they don’t have anything they can hurt themselves on, time their seizure, and call for medical help if necessary.

No one wants to be the last person killed in a war. Being that close to the end is no time to meet one’s end.

That’s where many find themselves right now, in the waning months of the war against COVID-19. With vaccines coming but a long, dark winter ahead, no one wants their names added to the soaring death tolls we’ll see before science finally conquers the worst pandemic in a century.

No one wants to die this close to the finish line – to be the least fortunate soul. Let’s look at some least fortunate soldiers.

10 Times War Was Declared For Really Stupid Reasons

10 Hundred Years’ War: John Talbot (and 4,000 others)

Talk about bad timing… try being the last to die in a century-long war.

The Hundred Years’ War was a series of conflagrations from 1337 to 1453, waged between England’s two ruling parties – the House of Plantagenet and its male-heritage-line offshoot House of Lancaster – and the French House of Valois, for the right to rule France. Paused and recommenced over 116 years, the protracted war saw five generations of kings from the rival dynasties compete for the largest throne in Western Europe. No exacting figure of military fatalities exists, but historians place the Hundred Years’ War death toll at roughly 3.5 million lives, making it among the deadliest conflicts in history.

The final major engagement, 1453’s Battle of Castillon, put an exclamation point on a French victory in which England lost nearly all territory on mainland Europe. The battle resulted in only about 100 French casualties, while English losses eclipsed 4,000. Among the reasons for this lopsided result is that Castillon marked the first major battle in which field artillery – namely, cannons – played a decisive role.

Another reason for the bloodbath, though, was English commander John Talbot. Not realizing the cannon had made certain military tactics horrifically obsolete, Talbot stormed a fortified French position without reinforcements, then refused to withdraw even after realizing the dug-in French forces equaled or outnumbered his own. Defenseless and with no one coming to help, nearly the entire army was cut apart by cannon fire, Talbot included.^[1]

9 American Civil War: John Jefferson Williams

Even after April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union general Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, skirmishes and even full-fledged battles continued for several weeks. Confederate president Jefferson Davis ordered various smaller, scattered rebel forces to continue the conflict. And though the largest remaining band of Confederates – Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee – instead chose to lay down its arms to general William Tecumseh Sherman in North Carolina, others fought on.

In southern Texas, Union and Confederate forces had sensed the war nearing an end for months, and had kept an unofficial truce for most of 1865. Enter Union colonel Theodore H. Barrett. Newly assigned to command an all-black unit and never having been involved in combat, on May 12 Barrett ordered an unprovoked attack on a Confederate camp near Fort Brown, on the banks of the Rio Grande.

Officially called the Battle of Palmito Ranch, Barrett’s two-day attack failed miserably. Confederate casualties were a mere half-dozen, including none killed. In addition to over 100 captured, Union casualties numbered over 115 with up to 30 killed; incredibly heavy losses considering only 500 Northerners participated.

On May 13, it’s generally believed that 22-year-old John Jefferson Williams, a private in the 34th Regiment Indiana Infantry, became the last soldier to die in the Civil War. While some argue the final death actually occurred six days later in Alabama, that fatality – corporal John W. Skinner – was caused by an ambush rather than anything resembling a battle.^[2]

8 Second Boer War: Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter

Fought from October 1899 through May 1902, the Second Boer War pitted British Empire forces – England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – against two independent republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The latter two were known as Boer states: self-governed republics created by Dutch-speaking inhabitants of southern Africa in the latter half of the 19th Century.

Officially, the conflict was fought over the British Empire’s continued, yet somewhat waning, influence in South Africa. However, what really triggered the guns was the discovery of diamonds and gold. Outmanned and outgunned, the Boers resorted to guerrilla warfare that, for a time, was highly effective against their more conventional opponents. In fact, over the course of the war the British suffered more than 22,000 killed to the Boers 6,200.

But while uneven losses and homefield advantage may have won the day under business-as-usual conditions, the British would not be denied what proved among the world’s richest diamond reserves. The Empire brought in more men and more materiel and employed scorched-earth measures to smoke the Boers out of the brush.

The war came to a climax on April 11, 1902, during the Battle of Rooiwal. By this time, the British had their foes cornered, giving the Boers two options: surrender or charge an entrenched line. They chose the latter, gallantly storming the British guns on horseback. Their attack was easily repulsed. Fifty-one Boers were killed, including the engagement’s chief officer, commandant Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter. The aftermath of his death became one of the war’s most haunting images.^[3]

7 World War I: Lieutenant Tomas

Much has been made about American Henry Gunther, who is officially recognized as the last soldier killed in the first World War. With the armistice scheduled to take effect at 11:00am on November 11 (11/11 at 11), 1918, Gunther and a handful of other soldiers advanced on a German machine gun installment. The guns opened fire, and the Americans hit the deck. Realizing it was just a few minutes until 11, everyone stayed put.

Everyone, that is, except Gunther. He got up, charged and, refusing to stand down even after German gunners waved him off, got himself killed. The time was 10:59am. Oddly considering his seemingly stubborn stick-to-it-iveness, a year earlier Gunther had been demoted after military censors intercepted a letter he sent home criticizing the war.

Gunther was not, however, the last combatant killed that day. While Germany’s records are unclear about its final combat death, the last German – and last soldier overall – killed was likely an infantryman known only as Lieutenant Tomas. In the moments after 11:00, he approached some American soldiers to let them know that, since the war was over, he and his men were vacating a house and it would be available for their use. Unfortunately, no one had informed the Americans of the Armistice, so they shot and killed him.^[4]

6 World War I, Part II

The final day of fighting in World War I was so vicious that a second entry is deserved commemorating the final deaths from three other major Western players: England, France and Canada. Even while the world began celebrating the cessation of the “war to end all wars,” November 11, 1918 saw nearly 2,700 killed and 11,000 casualties – more than those killed, wounded or missing when, 27 years later, Allied forces stormed the shores of occupied France on D-Day.

British losses that morning were roughly 2,400, with 40-year-old private George Edwin Ellison the last to die at 9:30am. Ellison was scouting the outskirts of Mons – the same place where the first British soldier died at the war’s onset. Sadly, Ellison had survived four years in the trenches only to die 90 minutes before the ceasefire.

Some 88 minutes later, 25-year-old Canadian private George Lawrence Price nearly stole Henry Gunther’s unfortunate legacy. He was shot by a sniper at 10:58am. French losses that morning were around 1,200. Augustin Trébuchon became the last Frenchman killed when, at 10:50am, he was shot while carrying a message to the front lines. While it would be nice to believe this message was worth dying for, it stated that soup would be served to soldiers shortly after the 11:00 ceasefire.^[5]

10 Really Surprising Facts About Ancient Warfare

5 World War II: Anthony Marchione

Three days after Japan surrendered to Allied Forces on August 15, 1945, 19-year-old Army photographer Anthony Marchione and a small crew took off in two B-32 Dominator bombers on a routine reconnaissance mission. The photos they intended to take were meant to reassure Allied Forces that the Empire was respecting the cessation of hostilities.

Perhaps understandably considering Japan had just been devastated by two atomic bombs, the response to ground forces on mainland Japan was not welcoming. As the bombers approached Tokyo, first anti-aircraft guns and then fighter planes opened fire. One of the two American bombers was badly damaged, and radioed the other to slow down so that they could stick together.

The reply came not from the undamaged bomber but from a Japanese fighter pilot. “Yes,” said Saburo Sakai, an English-speaking Japanese ace who admits participating in the engagement, “please slow down so I can shoot you down, too.”

“While Japan did agree to the surrender,” Sakai said later, “we were still a sovereign nation, and every nation has the right to protect itself… we did not know of their intentions.”

Of the three U.S. airmen injured, two survived. Unfortunately Marchione, though conscious for some time following the incident, soon succumbed to his wounds, becoming the last of more than 407,000 Americans to die in World War II.^[6]

4 Vietnam War: Charles McMahon & Darwin Lee Judge

Before its current quagmire-at-best in Afghanistan, the Vietnam War was America’s longest-running conflict. And like the fight against the Taliban, the military misadventure in southeast Asia was defined by land unholdable once taken, and an enemy that melted back into its surroundings following ambush-style assaults.

The hit-and-run tactics employed by the North Vietnamese Army bought them something the Americans increasingly lacked: time. As US casualties mounted and draft numbers soared, sentiment in the US turned so strongly against the war that, by 1968, it prompted a highly unusual occurrence: an eligible incumbent president, Lyndon Johnson, not seeking reelection.

American troop levels decreased through the early 1970s, and a bogus peace accord let the US save face without saving the South Vietnamese. The capital, Saigon, fell on April 30, 1975, with a hastily orchestrated evacuation via helicopter initiated, of all things, by radio stations playing Christmas music.

Amid the scramble to leave, US armed forces guarded critical infrastructure, including securing Tan Son Nhat airport for rushed departures. It was here that on April 29 – one day before Saigon’s fall – two US Marines, 21-year-old Charles McMahon and 19-year-old Darwin Lee Judge, were killed in a rocket attack. They became the last in a lengthy list of US combat deaths spanning two decades. McMahon had been in Vietnam just 11 days.^[7]

3 Falklands War: Craig James

The Falklands War, a ten-week showdown in 1982 between the United Kingdom and Argentina, was among the briefest and dumbest conflicts in modern history.

It was a classic territory dispute. Argentina claimed sovereignty over two island chains, the Falklands and the more far-flung South Georgia and South Sandwich islands. But the UK considered both British dependent territories – similar to Bermuda or the British Virgin Islands.

It’s one thing to claim a territory. It’s quite another to invade it when the other country has a far stronger military. Nonetheless, faced with crumbling popularity during an economic crisis, Argentina’s military junta hoped to shore up public support by a good ol’ fashioned war of distraction. You’d think a military junta would be better at picking fights they can win.

The inevitable result was a firm rogering courtesy of her majesty’s vastly superior armed forces. Though losing two destroyers at sea, the British – despite making amphibious landings against defended beachheads, a perilous prospect – suffered just 255 combat deaths. Some 650 Argentine soldiers were killed, 1,600 wounded and over 11,000 captured. Stick to football, chaps.

Still, war is hell and people die. And just one day before Argentina surrendered, a 20-year-old private named Craig James was engaged in the Battle of Mount Longdon, a brutal mix of mortar and close-range fighting that accounted for nearly 10% of all UK war casualties. Toward the conclusion of the battle – a British victory – James was struck by a shell and killed. Thirty years later, a nearby islet was renamed Craig Island in his honor.^[8]

2 Cold War: Arthur Nicholson Jr.

Fortunately, the Cold War never got hotter than lukewarm, with limited conflagrations rather than a nuclear exchange that could have cost hundreds of millions of lives. But it wasn’t without its share of military casualties.

During 1962’s Cuban Missile Crisis, US U-2 spy plane pilot Rudolf Anderson was shot down by Soviet surface-to-air missiles while reconnoitering nuclear installments over Cuba. When the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the Americans not-so-covertly armed the mujahideen fighters, who killed enough Soviets to eventually force their withdrawal.

Then there were more direct, less publicized encounters. Nearly 400 American servicemen were killed in “direct enemy action” during the 45-year standoff. Some were military personnel, some government operatives. Others were… well, both. Military personnel often mixed official business with unofficial espionage. One such “official spy” was Arthur Nicholson, who in March 1984 was participating in a military liaison mission – an agreed-upon cross-verification that adversaries weren’t preparing for offensive actions – with Soviet counterparts in communist East Germany.

Nicholson’s mission was to photograph a Soviet tank storage building. But as he and a colleague approached the facility, a Soviet soldier opened fire, later claiming the Americans were in an “off limits” area. While the Soviets later insisted Nicholson died instantly, an autopsy indicated he bled to death over several hours.

The US response was irate, with Vice President George H.W. Bush calling Nicholson “an outstanding officer murdered in the line of duty.” Nicholson is officially regarded by the U.S. Department of Defense as the final victim of the Cold War.^[9]

1 Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan): Wyatt Martin, Ramon Morris & TBD

Officially, Operating Enduring Freedom, the coalition invasion of Afghanistan that began less than a month after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ended on December 31, 2014. Unofficially, the conflict is still winding down to an unsatisfactory conclusion likely to leave the country in the same cruel hands as it was in 2001: The Islamist fundamentalist Taliban regime.

During the 13 year-span called Operation Enduring Freedom, about 1,850 Americans (and 450 Brits were killed in action – far more than any other nation in the coalition. Notably, the Afghan conflict marks the first and only time NATO’s mutual defense clause was invoked.

Officially, the final coalition force deaths were Americans Wyatt Martin, 22, and Sgt. 1st Class Ramon Morris, 37. Both combat engineers, they were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Parwan province, a remote area north of Kabul. Morris was a particularly decorated veteran whose honors included a Bronze Star for valor.

But of course, the story of the Afghan War didn’t end merely by announcing an arbitrary date. Coalition forces continue to die regularly. In February, two US soldiers were killed in an “insider attack” by men posing as friendly Afghan soldiers. A week later, British Army private Joseph Berry died from wounds sustained in a non-battle injury in Kabul – indicative of the outsized toll the war on terror has had on UK forces, who are more likely to die than their American counterparts.^[10]

Top 10 Historic Combat Vehicles That Changed The Face Of War

Movie villains enshrine themselves forever in our imaginations with their larger-than-life personas, their zany outfits, and of course, their grand and diabolical designs on life as we know it. While some villains’ plans are actually quite ingenious and would have been very hard to undo if not for the last-minute intervention of our intrepid heroes, these are not the type of plans we are here to discuss.

In this list, we will go over villains whose plans seem okay on the surface but are almost laughably bad once you stop to think about them for a minute. Spoilers ahead—you’ve been warned.

10 Emperor’s Plan at End of Rise of Skywalker Is Actually Completely Hilarious

At the end of Rise of Skywalker, we find out the Emperor is alive (with no explanation) and that he has made a thousand Star Destroyers that have planet-destroying super-lasers similar to the one on the Death Stars. However, there are some serious problems with Palpatine’s plan, not even getting into the fact that the element of surprise is useful, and he announces himself before his ships have left dry-dock. Worse yet, though, is that the plan, in general, has more holes than swiss cheese. The thing about the Death Stars is that they were extremely hard to destroy, the first one had a single weak point, and the second one would have been nigh impossible to destroy with a fleet from outside if they had managed to finish building it.

However, star destroyers are quite destructible, and rogue fleets of smaller ships, as we see at the end of the movie, would easily swarm and destroy them before they could get within planet-destroying range. Considering how large the Star Wars galaxy is presumed to be, the random people fighting the empire are just a motley group that Lando threw together in a day; it’s hardly close to the strength of all galactic privateers. Even if they got free, the Emperor’s group of Star Destroyers would have quickly become too spread out and been annihilated by tiny fleets of freighters and suicidal fighter pilots.^[1]

9 Once Scar Tricked Mufasa to His Death, All He Needed Was to Eat Simba

We all know the story of The Lion King, how Scar tricked Mufasa to his death while also making Simba self-exile from guilt, thinking it was his fault. And the truth is, Scar made an absolutely stupendous error. Once Mufasa was gone, all Scar had to do was eat Simba—the little lion cub would have posed no real threat at that size—and then kill and eat any other remaining lion cubs that were not his own offspring. After that, he could simply move in as the leader, and no one would question him.

In the lion kingdom, this is normal behavior. Whenever a new male lion or lions take control of the pride, they simply kill and eat any lion cubs that are not their own offspring and then replenish the pack with their own DNA. While it is a nice Disney movie, they wouldn’t go with such a dark plot. In real life, the story would have been a lot shorter, and Simba would have been in Scar’s belly. For those wondering, only about 20% of lion cubs ever make it to adulthood. ^[2]

8 The Machines in The Matrix Waste Power to Keep Humans Alive

In the first movie, we are told by Morpheus that the robots are keeping us alive in order to use us as giant batteries to keep them powered. However, this is one of the biggest plot holes in movie history because it really doesn’t make any sense. As far as the laws of thermodynamics and science in general go, this is a really dumb idea. Even if you could theoretically make it work, you could generate more power by just burning the resources you are using to keep the humans alive.

The only explanation—apart from it being a plot hole and the writers not understanding science—is that the machines, being partly sentient, are amused by us. Or they have some kind of affection toward us and actually don’t want us entirely destroyed. The battery idea is something they could want us to think, so we don’t realize we are basically a reality show for their amusement.^[3]

7 The Villains in Jurassic World Are So Dumb, Cartoonish Doesn’t Begin to Describe It

Jurassic World is a movie full of stupid choices. From leaving the door open while checking the pen of a supposedly escaped dinosaur (that we know can camouflage) to attacking said dinosaur with a bunch of guys on foot with tranquilizer guns and all the way up to the CEO of the park, who is a novice helicopter pilot, trying to destroy the escapee with a machine gun attachment and ending up crashing into a giant glass enclosure of pterodactyls.

What we are saying is that the decisions in this movie are already some of the dumbest imaginable, and the people in it are all already cartoonishly stupid, but the villains are beyond even that. InGen is up to its old tricks, and they want to train raptors to fight in battle for them, like trained dogs or something. And they somehow believe it will revolutionize warfare.

In order to test this theory, they do a live-fire exercise where they free a bunch of raptors and try to fight alongside them to kill another dinosaur. In order to punish them for their own hubris, the raptors decide to team up with the dinosaur they are meant to catch, and helpfully murder the rest of the park mercenaries they are supposed to be helping.^[4]

6 Erik Killmonger’s Plan Would Work if Wakanda Didn’t Exist in the Marvel Universe

In Black Panther, we learn the “poor” nation of Wakanda is actually a secret paradise of riches and technology, boosted by a rare metal called vibranium native to the region. This technology has allowed them to hide from colonialism, but some felt they should have fought back against it. This included the uncle of the current Black Panther, who was destroyed for his betrayal of his country, leaving behind a son in America.

That son, who goes by the moniker Killmonger, devises a plan to rejoin Wakanda, challenge T’Challa for the throne, and take control of the country. Then he plans to give out vibranium weapons to all the various rebel groups he has throughout the world and start a revolution where they take over and rule from Wakanda as lords of the entire world, finally righting all the wrongs of slavery and colonialism and making sure everyone lives in proper peace and harmony. The problem with this plan is that the Avengers exist, as do all the other superpowered heroes in this universe, one of whom already makes use of vibranium technology.^[5]

5 Professor Moriarty Isn’t Much of a Genius, Just a Jerk With a Lot of Shell Companies

At the beginning of Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows, we learn the world is lurching towards war, and Holmes suspects Moriarty is behind it all. After some very dangerous investigations that almost cost himself, John Watson, and John’s new wife their lives, he discovers that his arch-nemesis Moriarty has been secretly pulling strings to make things worse while being a good friend of the prime minister and a supposed man of peace on the outside. We learn that the real reason Moriarty went to incredibly absurd lengths to start an entire world war is so that he can “own the bullets and the bandages” while people fight. Things he owns by investing in hundreds of shell companies—something Holmes destroys by stealing and decoding his secret notebook.

The silly thing about all this is that there is no need to go to all this trouble and potentially end up getting caught—like he did—and being pulled over a waterfall. You don’t need to start a war to get governments to buy bullets and bandages. They buy them in peacetime anyway and stock up anytime you make things sound slightly worse. Moriarty would probably make more money over time by keeping tensions high but not starting a war, so countries still had strong economies to buy but felt the need to stockpile.^[6]

4 Ozymandias Plan in Watchmen Would Just Start a World War, Not Unite People

In the movie Watchmen, Nixon is in a third term after winning the Vietnam War with the help of superheroes and has now outlawed them further. One anti-hero named Rorschach believes former heroes are being targeted, but it soon becomes clear something more is going on. As the story progresses, the blue, radioactive, god-like superhero Doctor Manhattan is accused of giving people cancer and leaves the Earth in disgrace and sadness.

Not long after this, we reach the lair of another hero named Ozymandias, known to be the smartest and fastest man in the world. After a convoluted final battle, he activates several superweapons that destroy major cities in every major country on Earth, especially the nuclear ones. And he makes it look like it was Doctor Manhattan. The entire world somehow unites behind Doctor Manhattan as a common enemy, who believes it’s best to make them think he did it, so there will be peace and a permanent end to the cold war. He then leaves the planet willingly so the charade will continue.

None of this, of course, makes any sense at all. The fact is that Doctor Manhattan is still seen as an American hero, and even if he did destroy U.S. cities as well, this would almost certainly unite the countries against each other, not just make them angry at Doctor Manhattan. And nations would be especially angry at the USA for unleashing him.^[7]

3 Despite J.K. Rowling’s Justifications, Voldemort’s Plan for His Horcruxes Is Very Stupid

In book six of Harry Potter, we learn Voldemort has been splitting his soul when he kills people and hiding the pieces in objects to anchor himself to the mortal world. Harry, at first, is despairing, wondering at the enormity of the task ahead of them, as Dumbledore explains that all these magic vessels must be destroyed so the dark wizard will no longer be anchored to the Earth. Dumbledore reassures him, though, explaining that Voldemort would have been sentimental and wanted to put them in objects that had value. And also ones he would be able to get back to if he needed to. However, apart from vanity, there is really no reason to put them in anything special; it just makes it easier for your enemies to identify. And to make matters worse, putting them somewhere you can get to them gives your enemies a way to get to them and is basically pointless.

Even if he could put his soul back together, there is no indication he even wanted to, as he thought having it in seven pieces—”the most powerfully magical number”—would be a big deal. And finally, if he had put them in random objects and then magicked them so someone couldn’t get back to them, people would have to keep destroying his body, and he would keep coming back like Ganondorf again and again.^[8]

2 The Aliens in Signs Are So Incompetent It’s Like a Child’s Fevered Dream

In the movie Signs, our heroes start to notice strange crop circles, then weird noises on the radio. Before long, things have escalated to the point that they see a bizarre video on television where what looks like a gray alien is seen walking through the frame. Not long after that, they are huddled in their basement, expecting an impending alien invasion. As the movie progresses, we find that aliens who managed to spend unknown light years traversing the galaxy and have humanlike appendages somehow have more trouble opening doors than a common housecat and cannot break through wood. Also, by the way, they are incredibly weak to water.

When the movie ends, it is accepted that “they came for us, to harvest us,” which leaves us with some of the dumbest aliens imaginable. They are smart enough to have technology that can invade Earth but don’t have bio suits to protect them from water, the most prevalent thing on the planet—something they are deathly allergic to. And they are somehow trying to harvest us, despite us being mostly bags of squishy water with some crunchy bones within. Even after scouting first and setting up landing pads in our fields, they couldn’t even figure out how to protect themselves from water or a baseball bat… and couldn’t open a simple wooden door.^[9]

1 Thanos’s Entire Plan Is Absurd on Its Face

We all know of Thanos’s plan to snap half of all life out of existence using the Infinity Stones in order to solve what he believes is a serious resource problem throughout the galaxy. However, there are a few giant holes in his plan. For one, his plan also has him destroying half of plant and animal life, which doesn’t really fix the resource problem. Suddenly eliminating half of the people does free up some current resources, but it also culls a lot of people who may have been in important positions or doing important things. Now, for argument’s sake, say Thanos thinks of all this and makes sure the snap doesn’t affect people driving a car or flying a plane, so we don’t have extra casualties, leaves a fair distribution of people with the right expertise per region, doesn’t touch plant or animal life, and leaves almost nothing to chance.

Major problems still remain, though, because most resource issues are actually infrastructure related, and for argument’s sake, even if they weren’t, killing a bunch of people doesn’t change the fact people will just breed again. Thanos destroys the stones so no one can undo what he did, but that means he cannot do it again once populations inevitably boom again, especially with all the abundant resources they now have. In the end, Thanos just wants to commit genocide, and no positives would be gained. At least in the comics, they were more honest about it, and he just wanted to do it to be a big shot and impress the female deity that personified death.^[10]

They say that “timing is everything.” It’s not just what you do, but when you do it, and you are about to see ten examples where this little truism has applied. On almost any other day, the following noteworthy events would have dominated public attention. But, as it happened, they occurred around the same time as something even more important that stole a lot of their thunder, transforming them from headlines into footnotes. 

10. The Peshtigo Fire

On October 8, 1871, a massive forest fire erupted in a logging area in Wisconsin, near the small city of Peshtigo. The dreadful blaze burned over 1.2 million acres of land and killed between 1,200 and 1,500 people, becoming the deadliest wildfire in the United States, possibly in all of recorded history. You would think that such a catastrophic event would get top billing in every newspaper in the country, right?

Not quite, because it happened on the exact same day as the Great Chicago Fire. Although the death toll there was nowhere near as large, that fire occurred in one of the biggest cities in the country so, unsurprisingly, it garnered a lot more attention from the media and from the public. The story of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, who started the destructive blaze by knocking over a lantern onto a pile of hay, is still popular today, even though it’s been debunked decades ago.

Today, the Peshtigo fire is barely remembered outside of Wisconsin, and it is not even the only one. Several more fires occurred throughout the Midwest that day, ostensibly caused or, at least, aided by the same weather conditions that fanned the flames in Peshtigo.

9. The Liberation of Rome

The Liberation of Rome was a pivotal moment during World War II. After the fall of Mussolini in 1943, the country signed an armistice with the Allies, but was soon invaded by Germany who took over the northern and central parts of Italy. After nine months of heavy fighting, the Allies managed to liberate Rome and entered the city on June 4, 1944. Thus, Rome became the first capital to escape the clutches of the Nazis.  

It was a strategic victory and a major morale boost for the Allies, but they did not intend to rest on their laurels. Before the world had time to process this news, something else happened that caught everyone’s attention. Just two days after the liberation of Rome came D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history which saw a massive Allied force storm the beaches at Normandy in order to begin the liberation of France.

8. The Deaths of Two Authors

There are quite a few examples of famous people whose deaths did not get a lot of attention because they died on the same day as someone even more famous than them. But in this case, we have not one, but two people who got overshadowed and both of them were British authors. 

C.S. Lewis was an academic at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and a writer best known for penning The Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series. Meanwhile, Aldous Huxley was a prolific author who wrote almost 50 books and was nominated nine times for the Noble Prize for Literature, whose most famous work is the dystopian sci-fi novel Brave New World.

Both men died on November 22, 1963 – Lewis due to kidney failure and Huxley from cancer – but their demises received almost no press coverage. The New York magazine later proclaimed them the winners of “the championship trophy for badly timed death” because they passed away on the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

7. The Olympic Protest

At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, American track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos executed, arguably, the most famous political statement in the history of the Olympics when they performed the Black Power salute during the medal ceremony for the 200-meter sprint. That image with the two of them raising their fists in the air became instantly iconic, but not so iconic was the protest that occurred the following Summer Olympics in Munich.

The circumstances were similar: two Black American athletes, Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, for the 400-meter race. Then, while the American national anthem started playing during the medal ceremony, the two of them gathered on the first place podium and began chatting casually, fidgeting around and playing with their medals with their backs turned to the flag.

Their protest got an immediate reaction, as the duo were criticized for being disrespectful and were banned from future games by the International Olympics Committee. Their actions were quickly forgotten, however, as the 1972 games became remembered for only one thing: the Munich massacre. During the second week of the competition, members of a Palestinian terrorist group dubbed Black September stormed the Olympic Village and killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team, as well as a West German police officer.

6. The Channel Crossing

Harriet Quimby was one of the greatest female pioneers of flight, making history on August 1, 1911, when she became the first woman in America to earn her pilot’s license. Unfortunately, her trailblazing career also served as a reminder of just how dangerous flying was in its early stages, as she died in a plane crash less than a year after getting her license.

Before her untimely end, though, Harriet Quimby became responsible for several aviation firsts, including her crowning achievement of becoming the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

This happened on April 16, 1912, less than three years after the first-ever airplane crossing had been completed. Harriet’s flight lasted for 69 minutes and almost ended in tragedy as she lost visibility in heavy fog and her engine flooded. Although off-course, she ultimately landed safely on a French beach near Hardelot. 

The locals quickly surrounded the plane and lavished Harriet with excited cries and cheers, but they were about the only ones to do so. The rest of the world was completely focused on something else, one of the most infamous events of the 20th century, which had occurred just two days earlier: the sinking of the Titanic.

5. The Pope’s Beatification

May 2, 2011, was a strange day because it started with the world celebrating the life of one man, but ended with them celebrating the death of another.

The previous day, May 1, was the date when Pope John Paul II was beatified and canonized in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. It was a grand event attended by dozens of heads of state and other dignitaries, but it was all but forgotten by the next day. 

Just hours after the ceremony had taken place, American special forces led by SEAL Team Six had launched a raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan and killed the most wanted man in the world. President Barack Obama made the official announcement that night, but the news had already leaked and it was all that people talked about that day. The pope’s beatification took an immediate backseat, although some people, including the President of Peru, tried to give John Paul the credit, claiming that bin Laden’s death was his miracle.

4. The NBA Finals

Let’s move on to something a bit more lighthearted, such as the time when all Americans stopped watching the NBA finals game in order to see the O.J. Simpson car chase.

Now, you might be thinking that an NBA final isn’t exactly a major event, but this one did represent a pivotal moment in sports history. The 1993-1994 season was the first one without Michael Jordan after the Chicago Bulls superstar abruptly quit basketball and decided to give baseball a try. There was a lot of concern at NBC that the NBA would struggle in the ratings without its most popular star.

Even so, the league hoped that it had a compelling story to tell, even without MJ. Without the dominance of the Chicago Bulls, two new strong contenders emerged – the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, and the New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing. 

On June 7, 1994, the series was tied at 2 wins each and the teams met for Game 5. However, during the game, O.J. Simpson had decided to take the California police on a high-speed chase in a white Ford Bronco across the 405 Freeway…and it was all being broadcast live on every American channel except for NBC.

The channel was hemorrhaging viewers so, ultimately, it made the call to go with a picture-in-picture broadcast, giving the O.J. chase top-billing on the big screen. Still didn’t work. That matchup became the lowest-rated finals game since the early 80s and kept that dubious honor until 2003.

3. The Attack on Clark Field

If we mention the words “Pearl Harbor,” there is one event that immediately springs to mind – the surprise attack by the Japanese during World War II. That doesn’t really work as well with the words “Clark Field,” even though it was basically the same thing.

On the morning of December 8, 1941, roughly nine hours after the airstrikes on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, the Japanese Navy Air Service launched another attack on Clark Field, an American airbase located on Luzon Island in the Philippines. A few more minor airstrikes occurred throughout the day, all part of Japan’s plan to weaken the enemy air force before its invasion of the Philippines.

The damage and casualties sustained at Clark Field were lower than Pearl Harbor, one of the main reasons why this event is not as well-remembered. But one thing that still is unclear is why none of the people in charge were disciplined, especially since they knew for hours what had happened at Pearl Harbor. The two generals in charge, Douglas MacArthur and Lewis Brereton, each tried to put the blame on the other one, but neither faced any severe repercussions, whereas the officials in Hawaii were relieved of their command and forced into retirement.

2. The Solo Row

On almost any other week in history, the tremendous accomplishment of John Fairfax would have been celebrated on a global scale. At the start of 1969, the British adventurer set sail from the Canary Islands aboard a rowing boat. His goal was to do something that had never been done before – row across an ocean alone.

Fairfax began his journey on January 20. The trip was supposed to be around 3,600 miles, but due to unfavorable winds it actually ended up being 5,000 miles. The rower’s supplies had dwindled and he had to rely on fish he could catch and the occasional kindness of passing ships. But ultimately, he succeeded. Fairfax reached the coast of Florida on July 19, after 180 days at sea, becoming the first person to row solo across an ocean.

He celebrated his feat with “a nice steak, a bottle of Scotch, and two aspirin.” Unfortunately for him, the rest of the world was concerned with an even greater feat of human endeavor. The very next day, July 20, 1969, mankind took one giant leap as the Apollo 11 astronauts walked on the Moon for the very first time.

1. The Wow! Signal

Let’s end with another space entry, except that this time, it was the space event that got ignored in favor of something completely different.

On August 15, 1977, astronomers operating the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University picked up a strange signal emanating from the Sagittarius constellation. The transmission was so unusual that it prompted astronomer Jerry Ehrman to write “Wow!” on the printout amid talks that it could be of extraterrestrial origins.

So scientists had just recorded what they believed could be first contact with alien life. You would think that would be a pretty big deal but, unfortunately for them, they announced their findings the next day, just hours before the death of Elvis Presley. As it turned out, people cared about the king more than about aliens, so news of the Wow! Signal was relegated to the back pages of the newspapers.

Although it was mainly ignored in its own time, interest in the Wow! Signal has seen a resurgence in the decades that followed, mainly because it has never been detected again and has yet to be thoroughly explained, despite multiple hypotheses. Some have joked that the signal came from the mothership as it arrived to take Elvis back home and, frankly, that sounds perfectly plausible to us.

The Golden Age of Islam refers to a nearly six-centuries-long period of renaissance in the Islamic world, beginning with the foundation of the Abbasid Caliphate in the eighth century and ending with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258. It was a time of unprecedented developments in the fields of geometry, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, arts, algebra, and many others, as scholars from across the known world came to Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba, and other major Islamic cities to practice and hone their crafts.

10. Automatons

Automatons were early designs in robotics and programmable machines, going as far back as ancient Egypt. While European thinkers – especially from the Italian Renaissance era – are usually credited with the development of complex automatons, it was Arabic scientists that first pioneered them. Perhaps the most influential of them was Ismail al-Jazari, also sometimes called the ‘father of medieval robotics’.

Born in 1136 in modern-day Turkey, Al-Jazari’s inventions included complex works of mechanical engineering that could operate all on their own, like an automated peacock, a water-run clock, automatic soap and wine dispensers, and advanced water cranks and pumps to supply water to farmers. His 1206 treatise on automata, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, influenced scientists and engineers in the Arabic world and beyond for centuries, including Leonardo da Vinci.

9. Automatic Musical Instruments

The Banu Musa were three polymaths living in Baghdad during the ninth century. While each of them specialized in a field of their own, their contributions are still remembered collectively. They were perhaps one of the first few Arabic scientists to build upon the Greek school of mathematics, establishing their own methods for solving classic mathematical and geometrical problems. 

The Banu Musa were also adept at designing automatic mechanical devices, and are credited with the creation of some of the first programmable music devices. Precursors to modern-day music-making machines like sequencers, synthesizers, drum machines, and others, these structures were automatically able to generate a diverse range of melodies – an unprecedented innovation for that time. Their automatic flute player – a humanoid automaton that could play a variety of tunes on the flute – was easily the first programmable machine in history. 

8. Damascus Steel

Damascus steel was a form of steel used in many places throughout medieval times. While it had its origins in a kind of steel from ancient India called wootz steel, it was on the streets of Damascus, Syria that the material really took off. Apart from a unique, dark look that can’t be replicated, the steel was famed for its strength and flexibility, making it especially useful for melee weapons like swords and knives.

Damascus steel was widely used by Islamic armies throughout the Golden Age of Islam, though it also had uses in ornaments and other crafts. Sadly, the formula to produce it has been lost to history, even if we can make other, far-better types of steel and other metals with the technology available today. 

7. Optics

Optics is the study of light, pioneered by such scientists as Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton during the European Renaissance. Much of their work, however, was built on the discoveries made much earlier. While the study of optics goes as far back as Greek times, it was during the Abbasid era that thinkers really understood the true nature of light. 

Hasan Ibn al-Haytham – one of the most prominent light specialists of the Islamic era – was the first to disprove the Ancient Greek notion that light originates inside the eye. His book, the simply-named Book of Optics, remains an important work in the field of optics, influencing thinkers across the European world and beyond in the coming centuries. 

6. Drug Trials

Clinical trials are now an irreplaceable part of drug testing and approval, though that wasn’t always the case. The idea of testing medicines in controlled experiments before they’re administered to the general public is a relatively-recent development in human history. It could be singularly traced back to Ibn Sina – a 10th century Iranian polymath who first introduced logic and experimentation to the process of drug testing, among a bunch of other medical innovations.

His book – the Canon of Medicine – was so influential that it was taught across Arabic and European schools of medicine until at least the 17th century. Apart from his insights on drugs and clinical trials, Ibn Sina also made seminal contributions to surgery and the development of a wide variety of surgical tools. Sina’s logic-based method influenced many Arabic doctors and scientists in the following years, and his works like Canon provided the basis for what would be one of the greatest ages for the medical sciences in history. 

5. Glass

While glass had existed for thousands of years before the Islamic golden age, it wasn’t until the first glass factories were set up in Syria during the eighth century that glassmaking really turned into a craft of its own. The first clear, colorless varieties of glass showed up in the Arabic world, thanks to innovations and discoveries by prominent thinkers like Abbas Ibn Firnas – the first inventor to come up with a method to produce clear glass from sand. 

Around the same time, another Arabic chemist, Jabir Ibn Hayyan, was working on colored and stained glass. His treatise, The Book of the Hidden Pearl, provided the first known recipes for artificial pearls and other precious stones, along with methods to cut high quality glass into gemstones. Thanks to these advancements in the Arabic world, the first glass factories showed up in Greece by the 11th century.

4. Surgery

The Abbasid era saw many pioneering developments in the science of surgery, thanks to parallel discoveries in other areas of medicine that advanced our overall understanding of the human body. Islamic physicians would study the works of surgeons from earlier eras – especially Ancient Greece – and come up with their own techniques and tools for the procedures. 

While many thinkers, physicians, engineers, and other smart people contributed to this revolution, the most prominent name was that of Abu al Qasim al-Zahrawi, also known as the ‘father of operative surgery’. Born in 936 near Cordoba in Spain, al-Zahrawi pioneered many surgical techniques used by surgeons around the world for centuries to come. His book, al-Tasreef, or the ‘Method of Medicine’, was used as a medical encyclopedia around the world until the 18th century, as it described over 200 surgical instruments and 300 diseases and their treatments. Many of al-Zahrawi’s techniques remained unchanged until the development of modern surgery. 

3. Algebra

Algebra is a broad field of mathematics that deals with symbols of varying values – like x,y, z etc. – and operators like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and others to represent mathematical problems. While equations and variables have been studied in some form by mathematicians in ancient Egypt, Greece, and India, it was only during the Islamic golden age that all that knowledge was compiled in one place, giving birth to modern algebra. 

In fact, the term ‘algebra’ derives directly from the Kitab al-Jabr – a monumental treatise on elementary algebra written by a Persian mathematician called al-Khwarizmi. Apart from providing a new way of solving linear and quadratic equations with abstract variables, he was the first mathematician to work with ancient Indian numerals, modifying and perfecting them into the ten-digit number system we all use today. 

2. Hospitals

While facilities for medical care existed in various forms before the Abbasid era, the modern hospital only showed up in Baghdad during the ninth century. Built in 805 by the vizier to caliph Harun al-Rashid, it was the first documented facility that provided a center for medical care, a place for the sick to rest, a home to take care of the elderly, and a teaching center for aspiring physicians. 

Between the ninth and 10th centuries, many other Islamic hospitals were founded in Baghdad, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, Mecca and Medina, Spain, and other major regions across the empire. Known as bimaristans, some of them were quite advanced for their time and closely resembled the modern hospital. In Cairo, a hospital founded by the Abbasid governor became the first facility to offer care for the mentally ill. 

1. Paper

Islamic armies first came across paper during the various invasions of Central Asia in the eighth century. Invented in China some time in the first century AD, the material was far superior to anything used in the Arab world before it, including previous rudimentary mediums of writing like papyrus or parchment. Paper could be mass produced with freely-available waste fibers and retained ink for long periods of time, making it an ideal material to fuel the oncoming golden age. 

The permanent nature of the writing made paper immensely useful for imperial and bureaucratic purposes, as it was impervious to forgery or alteration of any kind. By the 10th century, paper mills had sprung up across the Islamic empire – from Persia to Syria to Spain – allowing scientists and thinkers to widely publish and disseminate their ideas across the empire and beyond. Paper was why Islamic libraries usually contained hundreds of thousands of volumes of knowledge, compared to the relatively-modest collections of major empires before it.