History rarely tells two sides of a story. We hear about our victories and the brave men and women who won them, but the heroes of the other side are usually scraped off and forgotten.

SEE ALSO: 10 Places That Look Nothing Like You Think

There were good and decent people among our nations’ enemies. Their leaders have may have committed atrocities, but these people led lives of courage of decency and left behind stories of true heroism—stories that history erased because they fought for the wrong side.

10 Norman Bethune

Dr. Norman Bethune is almost completely unknown in his home country of Canada. In China, however, he is a household name.

Dr. Bethune was a lifelong socialist. Before universal health care came to Canada, he ran a free health clinic to ensure that the poor could still get help. But in 1937, when Japan invaded China, he realized where he was needed most. So he flew halfway around the world to meet Mao Tse-tung and offer his services.

In China, Dr. Bethune trained doctors, introducing new, lifesaving medical ideas to a part of the world they’d yet to reach. He went to the front lines to work as a surgeon, saving the lives of countless Chinese soldiers and citizens. By the end, he was one of China’s main medical advisors.

When Dr. Bethune died of an infection, he was a national hero. There are statues in his honor in China, and several hospitals bear his name. Mao himself wrote a tribute to the doctor which, to this day, is still required reading for most Chinese high school students. He wrote that Dr. Bethune was a model for all of humanity, saying, “We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him.”

9 John Rabe

John Rabe was a Nazi, through and through. He fully believed in Hitler, declaring of the Nazi war machine: “I am behind the system 100 percent.” But despite it all, he saved 200,000 lives.

Rabe was the leader of the Nazi Party in Nanking when the Japanese invaded. The Japanese urged him to flee when their army rolled in, but Rabe wouldn’t leave. He had already lived in China for 30 years, he explained. His children and grandchildren were born there, and he would stand by the Chinese until the end.

When the atrocities of the Rape Of Nanking began, Rabe set up the International Safety Zone to protect as many Chinese civilians as he could. He sheltered more than 200,000 refugees near his home, saving them from the brutal abuse the Japanese inflicted on Nanking.

Rabe would patrol the streets of Nanking, trying to stop Japanese soldiers from raping Chinese women. He would hold his swastika high, threatening them with his authority as a Nazi to keep them off. He represented an abhorrent party and a dangerous ideology, but to thousands of Chinese survivors, he was a hero. Several boys born in Nanking were given the name “Rabe” in his honor.

8 Matvey Kuzmin

Matvey Kuzmin was 83 years old when the Nazis came to his home. He was nothing more than an aging Russian peasant, but now, he found himself before the barrel of a German gun. The Germans wanted information. Kuzmin, they said, must tell them where the Soviet army was located, or he would die.

Kuzmin told the Nazis he would show them, but he had a plan. He sent his grandson off to warn the Soviets that the Nazis had arrived and to prepare an attack. He then led the Nazis to the town of Malkino. The Nazis followed him, unaware that an ambush was waiting.

When the Soviet army attacked, the Germans realized that they had been duped. A Nazi officer shot Kuzmin on the spot. Kuzmin died, but because of his sacrifice, the German unit was captured, and the Soviet Union won an early battle against the advancing fascist army.

7 An Yong-Ae

An Yong-ae was a nurse during the Korean War. She tended to wounded North Korean soldiers, patching up and cleaning their wounds from the safety of a military hospital.

When the warning went off that an US air raid was coming her way, she was ordered to take shelter. An, however, refused to run. There were men in the hospital who couldn’t walk and who wouldn’t be able to get away. She helped as many people out as she could and then rushed back in to help more.

When the bombs fell, An was still in the hospital. She died in the devastation. But because of her sacrifice, dozens of injured men made it out alive.

6 Dwarkanath Kotnis

Norman Bethune wasn’t the only doctor who traveled to China. Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis and a team of four other doctors left their homes in India to join Mao’s communist army as well. The other four went home when their time was up, but Dr. Kotnis stayed in China, determined to help.

Dr. Kotnis worked as a surgeon and treated hundreds of wounded soldiers. He moved up the ranks quickly, and after Dr. Bethune’s death, he became the director of the newly named Dr. Bethune International Peace Hospital.

His most incredible moment came in Yunan in 1940. Wounded soldiers were rushing in faster than the hospital could handle. Dr. Kotnis, determined not to let a man he could save die, performed surgery for 72 hours straight without sleeping.

Dr. Kotnis would die in an epileptic seizure before he saw the end of the war. Today, though, there are statues honoring him in China, commemorating a man who gave his life for the cause of another nation.

5 William Morgan

William Morgan was the only American in Fidel Castro’s rebel army. One of his friends, who had been caught smuggling weapons to Castro’s rebels, had been tortured and killed by Fulgencio Batista’s soldiers. Morgan wanted revenge. In 1957, he flew over and joined the rebellion.

Throughout his time fighting in the Cuban Revolution, Morgan was dogged by suspicions that he might be a CIA spy. As the war raged on, though, he proved himself. He trained Cuban soldiers and fought alongside them until he had command of six men of his own. Soon, he had a whole column and then command over a whole territory.

By the end of the war, Morgan had worked his way up to the top rank of comandante. He and Che Guevara were the only foreign soldiers to achieve that rank. The two worked together to capture Santa Clara at the end of the war. Batista fled Cuba 12 hours after their victory.

Morgan believed that Castro was going to turn the country into a capitalist democracy. When that didn’t happen, he was upset—and he didn’t hide it. In 1960, his complaints got him sent in front of a firing squad. The US had taken away his citizenship for helping a foreign army, and he had no way to escape. As payment for his sacrifice, William Morgan was put to death.

4 Lev Kopelev

As a Ukranian Jew, Lev Kopelev had every reason to want to see the Nazis suffer. But when he joined the Red Army on their march to Berlin in 1945, he found himself on the other side, protecting German women.

The Soviet army was brutal to women in Berlin. Kopelev saw his men-in-arms violently raping women, attacking the old and young alike, and he couldn’t stand idly by. He started pulling his colleagues off of them.

“Don’t disgrace yourself!” he told one who was assaulting a Polish woman. “Don’t you have a mother, a sister? Have you thought of them?” “Get out of my way!” the soldier yelled back. “I need a woman! I spilled my blood for this!”

Kopelev’s efforts to protect German women soon turned into a full protest. The Soviets didn’t appreciate his moral stance. They arrested him, and he spent nine years in prison on charges of “compassion toward the enemy.” When he was finally released, though, his writing became one of the best records of what had happened.

3 Alexander Matrosov

Alexander Matrosov was only 19 years old when he met his end. He was fighting alongside the Soviet army to repel the advancing German army.

In 1943, he and his unit were attacking Germans stationed in a Russian village. Nazi machine gun fire was so heavy that the Soviets couldn’t even move. Instead, they held back, throwing grenades and taking out the machine guns one by one.

Matrosov, according to the story, threw the last grenade. The last gunner stopped firing, and unable to see through the dust, the men assumed he’d got him. The Soviets charged forward—only to find out that Matrosov had missed. The machine gun opened fire.

The young boy, determined to save his comrades, jumped on top of the machine gun and used his own body to clog it. He was riddled with bullets and died, but he saved his comrades and became a legend in the Soviet Union.

2 Isao Yamasoy

Captain Isao Yamasoy (real surname “Yamazoe”) arrived in the town of Dulag in the Philippines in 1943. He was a Japanese soldier, and he was there as an occupying enemy—but he left as a Filipino hero.

Despite Japan’s reputation for brutality in World War II, Captain Yamasoy insisted that his men treat the locals with respect. He did not permit his men to abuse them, not even the prisoners. Instead, he tried to improve relations between the soldiers and the civilians. He set up morning calisthenics activities, athletics, and cultural shows for both Japanese and Filipino alike.

When Captain Yamasoy got word that a Filipino guerrilla unit was planning to attack his garrison, he was worried about civilian casualties. He contacted the guerrilla unit and asked them to meet him outside of town so that no innocents would get hurt in the battle. They agreed but ambushed him on the way, believing they were getting rid of one more tyrant.

After Captain Yamasoy died, though, a new commander took over. All of Yamasoy’s programs were canceled. The commander used torture and forced the civilians, including children, to do slave labor on airfields.

Realizing they’d killed a good man to bring on a bad one, the people of Dulag mourned his death. Today, there is a shrine to his memory in the city, dedicated to the one man from the enemy army who treated them like human beings.

1 Richard Sorge

Without Richard Sorge, the Allies very well might have lost World War II. He was a Soviet spy who managed to become Germany’s ambassador to Japan, which put him in an incredible position to collect information.

As early as 1939, Sorge found out that Japan and Germany were plotting an attack against Russia. He reported to Stalin, who acted on the information by sending diplomats to Germany. His information led to a pact that held back the invasion of the USSR for two years.

In 1941, Sorge warned Stalin that Hitler was going to betray him in June. Stalin didn’t believe him until it happened. When the Nazis rolled into Russia, though, he realized Sorge’s value.

Stalin ordered Sorge to find out if Japan was going to join the assault. They wouldn’t, Sorge reported, unless the Nazis made major gains early on. The information gave Stalin the confidence to move his whole army against the Nazis and leave himself vulnerable to Japanese attack.

That move might just have been the reason that the USSR managed to hold off the Nazis, and that moment in history might just have been the reason why the Nazis didn’t win the war. Without Richard Sorge, the Allies may well have lost the war.

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park, is a vast expanse adorned with snow-capped mountains, dense forests, towering cliffs, a diverse array of wildlife, unique plant life, and, notably, an abundance of geysers and other striking hydrothermal features. Given all that, it’s no wonder this park, which sprawls across 2.2 million acres over three U.S. states, conceals a trove of secrets. Let’s take a look at just a handful of things you didn’t know about the park. 

10. It was the first National park in the world

Yep. Yellowstone National Park holds the distinction of being not just the country’s first national park, established on March 1, 1872, by the U.S. Congress – but the first in the world. It all started with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company’s plans to extend tracks into Montana, near the present Yellowstone area. Recognizing the tourism potential to bolster the local economy, the company advocated for a significant expedition in 1870, generating attention-grabbing reports about Yellowstone’s natural scenery. This endeavor set the stage for the Yellowstone Park Act in 1872, which placed the park under the guardianship of the US Department of the Interior, safeguarding it from private interests. So interestingly, it was a profit-driven corporation that pushed for the park’s protection from similar profit-oriented entities, aiming to capitalize on tourism. 

Before 1872, the notion of national parks as we understand them today had not materialized. So while natural reserves and state parks like Yosemite existed, the idea of federally safeguarding a tract of land due to its intrinsic natural beauty, and curtailing commercial exploitation there, was a novel concept.

9. More than half the world’s geysers are in Yellowstone

Old Faithful might come to mind first when you think of Yellowstone, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Yellowstone National Park is practically bursting with geysers, boasting a staggering 500 geysers (give or take) scattered across its grounds. In fact, Yellowstone harbors more geysers than the rest of the planet combined. It’s all thanks to substantial volcanic activity and frequent minor earthquakes, Yellowstone’s geysers remain unclogged, unlike those in many other places on Earth where mineral crystallization seals up geyser-producing cracks and vents.

Yet, geysers aren’t the only hydrothermal stars of Yellowstone. This dynamic landscape, in a perpetual state of shifting and rumbling, gives birth to an array of hydrothermal features. The most common among these are hot springs, formed when rainwater seeps through the Earth’s surface and gets superheated by volcanic gases below. Additionally, mudpots, fumaroles (also known as steam vents), and travertine terraces (limestone transformed into mesmerizing formations by rising thermal water and heat-loving organisms) are part of this geothermal ensemble. Geysers, those majestic towers of erupting water, are actually the rarest hydrothermal feature, created when heated water struggles to reach the surface due to natural blockages, resulting in massive jets of hot water. 

8. Old faithful is less faithful than you think

Yellowstone National Park stands as a top-tier destination for nature enthusiasts craving vast, untamed landscapes you can’t find anywhere else. With its expansive mountains, dense forests, abundant wildlife, sweeping steppes, and a multitude of lakes and rivers, it encapsulates everything an outdoor enthusiast could dream of. But there’s one iconic image that dominates Yellowstone postcards: Old Faithful.

Old Faithful, indisputably the world’s most renowned geyser, earned its moniker by faithfully sending towering plumes of scalding water into the sky at regular intervals. A visit to Yellowstone is almost incomplete without witnessing this natural spectacle, with a near-guarantee of experiencing its awe-inspiring eruptions, shooting over 130 feet high. Over the years, however, Old Faithful has subtly deviated from its punctual nature. Initially erupting every 60-70 minutes when first discovered in the 1870s, it now follows a slightly more relaxed rhythm, boasting intervals of 77-78 minutes. Various factors, including rainfall and seismic activity, can influence this interval period, but even with these changes, Old Faithful retains its well-deserved name and allure.

7. Yellowstone has its own Grand Canyon

Okay, it may not outdo the Grand Canyon, a household name, but the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone still holds its own. Born from the ashes of Yellowstone’s supervolcano eruption some 630,000 years ago, this canyon flaunts an intricate tapestry of multicolored rock layers, presenting researchers with a window into the region’s ancient geological narrative. For casual hikers, the vistas stretching over immense distances and the sight of waterfalls plummeting up to 308 feet to the canyon floor below make the journey entirely worthwhile. And who knows, a visit might also grant you a glimpse of birds of prey like Ospreys, showcasing their natural grace outside the confines of a zoo.

Still on the fence about taking a detour for this 20-mile-long, 1,000-foot-deep, 1,500 to 4,000-foot-wide expansive marvel? Quoting explorer Nathaniel P. Langford’s awe-filled words from 1870, captured upon his first encounter with the canyon, it induced profound introspection on his “own littleness, my helplessness, my dread exposure to destruction, my inability to cope with or even comprehend the mighty architecture of nature…”. Sounds pretty “grand” to us. 

6. Humans have lived there for 11,000 years

When Lewis and Clark ventured into what we now call Yellowstone National Park during their famous expedition, they weren’t exactly pioneering into an untouched wilderness. They were a bit tardy to the gathering: humans had already set foot there thousands of years before. In fact, the first human settlements in Yellowstone date back roughly 11,000 years, a staggering span that predates even the earliest known historical records. To put it in perspective, these ancient Yellowstone societies predate the Ancient Babylonians by twice as many years as the Ancient Babylonians precede us today. Over millennia, these societies thrived, adapting to the changing yet generally favorable climate that generously provided food and resources.

However, as the 19th century dawned and contact with European and American settlers occurred, the narrative changed. Early explorers like Lewis and Clark, followed by frontiersmen, fur trappers, and gold seekers, set their sights on the western frontier. Along with them came gunpowder, new cultures, languages, and, unfortunately, the all-too-familiar tale of disruption for the indigenous peoples who had resided in the region for countless generations. Ultimately, the encroaching United States government would extend its authority over this land.

5. Yellowstone has an obsidian cliff

Okay, Yellowstone’s Obsidian Cliff might not be straight out of some dark RPG, but it’s still pretty cool. The cliff’s formation traces back to lava that cooled rapidly without crystallizing, resulting in a thin, dark, glass-like material known as obsidian. Given Yellowstone’s volcanic activity, obsidian can be found scattered throughout the park, but this cliff stands out — a towering 98 feet of exposed vertical thickness that captivates the eye.

Yet, the intrigue doesn’t end at its visual appeal. The Obsidian Cliff holds a rich history intertwined with human activity. The devastating 1988 Yellowstone wildfire cleared the cliffside of vegetation, offering researchers an unobstructed view to study its features. Their investigations revealed that humans began mining obsidian from this mountainside almost immediately upon their arrival in the region 11,000 years ago. The versatile material lent itself to crafting an array of tools, valued for its sharpness and solid composition, making it exceptionally practical for early hunter-gatherer societies. Obsidian artifacts from this cliff made their way across vast distances, comprising up to 90% of the obsidian found in Hopewell tradition mortuary sites scattered throughout the American Midwest, particularly in the Ohio River Valley.

4. You might be able to get away with murder in Yellowstone’s zone of death

While we certainly hope you never find yourself needing to come here, if you’re ever musing about the best place to commit a crime (hypothetically speaking, of course), Yellowstone might surprise you — not for the reasons you’d expect, though. Situated in the vast middle of nowhere, the park presents a secluded setting, reducing the likelihood of being caught in the act. But that’s not all. There’s an intriguing legal quirk that could serve as an unexpected advantage for those considering such dark thoughts: the “Zone of Death” in Yellowstone’s Idaho region.

Though thankfully never utilized, legal scholars point out a curious scenario in this remote part of the park. In the unlikely event that a crime were to occur here, a shrewd defendant could invoke their Sixth Amendment right to be judged by a jury from the state and federal district where the crime transpired. The twist lies in the jurisdictional arrangement: Wyoming governs all of Yellowstone, including the portion in Idaho. However, since no residents occupy the Idaho section under Wyoming’s jurisdiction, convening a jury becomes an impossible task, effectively stalling any trial or legal repercussions. A quirk like this certainly wasn’t in the minds of the Founding Fathers when drafting the Constitution, but perhaps it’s a nudge for Congress to consider redrawing these legal boundaries to avoid something horrible happening. 

3. Forest fires are par for the course here

In Yellowstone National Park, forest fires aren’t just a destructive force; they’re a vital and routine part of the natural cycle. Fires play a role in the rejuvenation of the ecosystem, acting as a cleansing force that levels the playing field, enabling surviving plant and animal species to flourish once the smoke clears. This process results in a diverse “mosaic” of plant communities, each growing at their own pace, which is crucial for maintaining a robust and vibrant environment.

Typically ignited by lightning strikes in dry areas, these fires have a positive impact on nutrient cycles within the ecosystem. While most fires are relatively small and self-extinguishing, the arrival of European settlers shifted the dynamics. Settlers aimed to control and contain fires to protect certain species of animals and plants. However, this human intervention disrupted the natural cycle that had shaped the local environment for centuries. Despite the benefits of controlling large fires, the challenge remains, particularly with climate change exacerbating the risk of uncontrolled and massive wildfires.

2. Yellowstone is an earthquake magnet

Yellowstone National Park, perched atop a colossal magma chamber responsible for more than half of the world’s geysers and geothermic features, is no stranger to seismic activity. In fact, the park witnesses a staggering 700 to 3,000 earthquakes each year. That’s an average of two to nine earthquakes per day, every day, over thousands of years. The park is characterized by earthquake “swarms” due to its numerous faults, vents, geysers, tectonic features, and the continual movement of magma between chambers.

Fortunately, not every visit to the park involves being jolted off cliffs or encountering boiling waterspouts. The majority of these earthquakes are minor tremors that the article refers to as essential for maintaining an open “plumbing” system beneath the earth’s surface. These quakes prevent mineral deposition that could otherwise seal off the park’s remarkable geysers. Moreover, the frequency of earthquakes provides researchers with invaluable insights, aiding in mapping and understanding the distinctive subsurface geology of the region.

1. The Yellowstone super volcano could kill us all

Let’s take a dive into the chilling scenario of a Yellowstone Caldera eruption, an immense supervolcano lying dormant beneath the national park, and the potential devastating consequences. It’s a grim forecast, and if this supervolcano were to awaken, it would likely mark the most catastrophic natural disaster in recorded history.

Leading up to the eruption, the park would experience months of escalating earthquakes as the colossal magma chamber beneath the surface stirred to life. The final catastrophic quake would align with an 875-megaton explosion, instantly claiming 90,000 lives with its shockwave. While most of the lava would either fall back into the crater or stop flowing at a considerable distance from the epicenter, humanity’s ordeal would just be commencing. Enormous ash clouds would spread out in all directions, shrouding nearby states like snow and releasing about “200 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere.” This would obscure the sun and instigate a decade-long climate cooling phase, plunging the world into a global volcanic winter, devastating crops and triggering widespread famine, compounded by the specter of lung cancer due to the ash fallout. Yet, the reassuring note is that the likelihood of such a super-eruption happening within the next few centuries is considered smaller than a catastrophic asteroid impact on Earth.

Have you ever looked at a guy wearing some lederhosen and thought: “Hmm, what’s the history behind those stupid looking pantaloons?” Me neither. But the entries in this list look way cooler and have a far more interesting back story.

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10 Herero Dresses in Namibia—High German Chic That Memorialises High German Brutality

When we think traditional folk garb, we do not usually think of high fashion. Just look at how amazing these ladies look! Who’d have thought that 19th century fashion once worn by German missionaries could be so colourful, and look so fashionable today. This ever evolving style is visually arresting with fashion designers in the city of Windhoek innovating with the dress as inspiration, using new patterns and fabrics. But there is a rather dark history behind the dresses worn by the Herero people in Namibia.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Germany held the area now known as Namibia as part of their empire. Obviously, native people were not too happy under colonial rule and decided to revolt. Not being the most congenial group when faced with mass insubordination, the Imperial German army decided it would be best to put a good number of the Herero people (along with the Namaqua people) to death… after a good dose of medical experimentation at the Shark Island prison camp, of course. This dark foreshadowing of later German atrocities did not assuage the native tendency to adopt western fashion and turn it into their own. Hence the Herero dress, worn today both as a grim reminder of their tragic colonial past and as an indicator of their ability to survive, adopt and adapt.

9 The Croatian Lika Cap—Remnant of Celtic Culture?

Although I feel blessed to have been born in a ‘Celtic’ nation (even though the term ‘Celtic’ is a little problematic given its relative vagueness and the disparity of the cultures that claim to be ‘Celtic’. This disjuncture doesn’t affect its ubiquity because, hey, we all like the colour green…) there is a tendency amongst academics in Scotland, Wales and Ireland to be a little trigger-happy in labelling any European tradition shrouded in mystery as being a part of ‘our’ culture.

Having said all that, many experts have pointed to this particular piece of Balkan headgear as an example of the remnants of ‘Celtic’ culture in the region. The Lapydes, a group that lived in central Croatia and part of Bosnia were a group that, some historians suggest, were a mix of Pannonian and Illyrian peoples that had adopted ‘Celtic’ culture by the 4th century BC. Like many attempts to Celiticize certain discoveries or extant cultural practices, this one appears to be more conjectural than cold, hard fact. There’s no smoking gun that points to the Lapydes having invented the Lika cap and plenty of evidence that shows a much later derivation. But as we say in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Galicia: “ah well, we’ll take it anyway”…in different languages respectively, of course.

8 The Red Cloaks of Gibraltar—Could Have Originally Been Made From Stolen Army Uniforms

If you ask anyone who grew up on ‘the rock’ about the history of the famous red cloak, you’ll get the same story. Back when the British army occupied Gibraltar in the 19th century, the local ladies fancied the bright crimson hue of the gallant looking soldiers. They bartered with corrupt quartermasters aboard the naval ships (or just raided unguarded stock) and fashioned their beautiful cloaks from the red coats, having only to pay for the satin that forms the trim. Yeah, probably not. Evidence shows, although scant, that older Genoese women used to wear such garments, probably introducing the fashion to Gibraltar. It may be the case that some ladies, unable to procure good fabric due to a military blockage, took to thievery in order to make their cloaks, but an origin story this is not. Still, they do look pretty cool.

7 Inuit Amauti—Keeping Children and Mothers Warm Together

Nobody wants a frozen baby. If you’re an Inuit mother living in the frozen tundra of Nunavut, Northern Canada, you’ll probably agree that this is a serious practical issue. You can’t just pop your mewling little rug rat down on a nearby rock whilst you pick some berries, you’ll soon have a kidsicle. Enter the Amauti, the handy winter parka that you can carry a child in with 360? access! Just want to carry the child? No problem, the Amaut (comfy, fur-lined child pocket) allows for you to lug your little baby around on your back. Need to breast feed? That’s a cinch, the pocket extends around to the front. Just whip out your boob and let rip! Jeez, I’m not a woman and I’d still love one of these… I’d keep a bag of Doritos in my Amaut.

6 Driza-Bone Coats—Waterproof Aussie Coats That Keep You…

Dry as a bone. Well, a bone that has been left out in the sun for a week or so…not sure they are referring to a bone freshly plucked from a person’s torso—that’d be a little wet, I assume.

When you think of the land down under, you do not think of drenching downpours of heavy rain. Remember that Australia is pretty much a continent all of its own, not just a country, so all forms of weather are present there. A canny Scotsman named Edward Le Roy emigrated to Oz from New Zealand in the late 19th century with an amazing idea. Sailors work in wet conditions, they need coats. He took some canvas sails and fashioned them into jackets which he then sealed with linseed oil. Over time, Le Roy found new customers. 19th century stockmen would drive cattle all over the outback, from station to station. If rain hit, they’d get wet. After a few alterations to make his design better for horse riding rather than sailing, a legendary coat was born. So iconic is this wet weather jacket that they made an appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Take that, Barbour.

10 Fascinating International Facts That Are Wrong

5 Ghonella Cloaks in Malta—Keeping Randy Frenchmen Away Since 1798

Much like the red cloaks of Gibraltar, a couple of stories exist as to the origin of this weird looking garment. One story suggests that some ladies from Italy wore the ghenienel (yup that’s the plural) as a mourning dress due to their husbands’ being massacred back in their homeland in 1224. They then got banished and ended up on the island of Malta. Charming.

The second story is pretty cool—in times gone by, poor country girls couldn’t afford to purchase cloaks or shawls to cover their heads before entering church so they stitched some left-over material onto a skirt they already owned, thus forming the elaborate bonnet and allowing them to attend mass.

The final story is by far the best—back when good ole Napoleon was killing his way across Europe, his men gained a bit of a rep as a bunch of raunchy horn dogs. The pious, modest ladies of Malta were very wary of these them, not too thrilled at the notion of being perved on by a bunch of soldiers. They fashioned a makeshift garment that looked just enough like a nun’s habit in order to convince the handsy Frenchmen that they were brides of Christ, not potential brides for them.

4 Yr Het Gymreig from Wales—The Hat that Saved the World from Napoleon

It seems that the ladies of Wales saw a picture of Abraham Lincoln and thought: “That’s the look we’ve been waiting for”. This thoroughly odd looking hat is a bit of a cultural icon in Wales, having been donned (along with skirts, bonnets and shawls) by ‘the Daughters of Rebecca’, a group of male anti-tollgate rioters who launched many attacks on the unfair cash grabbers in South Wales in the 1800s… dressed as ladies, of course.

But it was the hat’s role in staving off those pesky French buggers that is its most notable role in history. In 1797, the French navy had planned an invasion of Britain. As their ships sailed along the coast of Sir Benfro in South Wales, a watchman in one of the ships’ crow’s nests frantically reported what he saw to his commanding officer—a large detachment of red coats guarding the high ground above the town of Fishguard. This was enough to dissuade the invading force who promptly turned their ships around and fled back across the channel. What had the spotter actually seen? A group of ladies working in the field, their pitchforks looking like muskets, their red shawls like red coat uniforms and the tall Hetiau Gymreig like traditional army shako caps. Cool story, but veeeery unlikely to have happened. The hats first show up in the 1830s, many years after the supposed events occurred. Plus, did French ships not have any cannons? Meh, the hat is weird enough on its own, especially when you see three burly Welsh rugby fans wearing them at the Millennium Stadium.

3 Aka… AKA the Elephant Masks of Cameroon—Traditional Garb as Art

A charging elephant must be a terrifying sight, but something about these beautifully made masks strike me as even more frightening, like Leatherface at Mardi Gras.

When a commodity is rare and you are in power, showing off an abundance of said rare commodity is what a king or queen should do. Amongst the Bamileke peoples of Cameroons grasslands, glass beads were once very rare. The elaborate elephant masks, adorned with thousands of tiny beads, are the ultimate status symbol. Each mask was owned by the king and loaned to very select men at his behest. The elephant masked men would then dance at special occasions, most notably at the funeral of the king himself.

2 Junihitoe in Japan—The Complex Way for Women to Dress

Who doesn’t enjoy a Rubik’s Cube? Most people, those of us who may get a side to show one block colour, eventually get bored or enraged at Erno Rubik’s eponymous puzzle block and end up throwing it into a mouldering cardboard box in the far corner of our attic. Imagine wearing an equally complex garment? Enter Japan…

You’ll still see this traditional dress associated with noble ladies-in-waiting getting donned by members of the Imperial Japanese household today. The wider public? Not so much. Far less elaborate kimono are worn if Japanese ladies want to wear traditional clothing. The word means ‘twelve layers’, although the exact number of layered fabrics vary, and would take an age to put on and weigh up to 20kg. Despite falling out of favour with contemporary Japanese women, a quick Google Image search for ‘Harajuku Fashion Trends’ shows that they still have a penchant for colourful, complex styles.

1 The Georgian Chokha, Papakha and Gazyrs—Ready for your Wedding, or Ready for your Battle

Many of the costumes listed here have been beautiful, practical or slightly weird-looking (sorry Cymru, your hats look stupid), but where else in the world has a national costume you can handily store your shotgun cartridges, ready to lock and load?

Often worn at celebratory events like weddings, as well as a symbol of national pride, the Georgian Chokha is also a common garment worn by other peoples in the Caucasus region (such as Chechens and Ossetians). The jacket, along with the traditional woollen hat (called a papakha) and those bullet holders (gazyrs) were once made mandatory for all Georgian diplomats to wear at official meetings when working abroad. That’s one way to say don’t mess with us, I guess. Strap yourself with the khanjali (very pointy-looking, ornate dagger) to complete the ensemble and watch as those scaredy-cat Belgians provide you with free beer for the next hundred years.

Top 10 Triumphs Of Western Civilization

About The Author: CJ Phillips is a storyteller, actor and writer living in rural West Wales. He is a little obsessed with lists.

The National Park Service in the United States preserves untouched natural beauty. The Grand Canyon, for example, is considered one of the Modern Natural Wonders of the World. Waterfalls, geysers, rushing rivers, and still lakes, along with the plentiful wildlife and serenity of nature, are just some of the breathtaking attractions of these paths. There is another feature to these parks, however, and that is danger.

The obvious dangers include those rushing rivers and waterfalls leading to drownings, those steep drop-offs leading to injury and loss of life, and those endless trails leaving people lost in remote, confusing, and sometimes dangerous terrain. In the majority of cases, people are found, but unfortunately, in some cases, only the remains are found. In other cases, the only thing found is a mystery. There are currently 24 cold cases of missing persons listed by the National Park Services Investigative Services Branch. These are some of their stories.

Related: 10 Historical Figures Who Disappeared And Have Never Been Found

10 Morgan Heimer

There is an obvious connection between the sometimes rugged and difficult terrain of National Parks and missing persons and deaths that occur there. Many people enter the parks inexperienced or unprepared. However, in the disappearance of Morgan Heimer, this was not the case. In fact, Heiman was an employee of Tour West, a rafting company on the Colorado River.

Heiman was regarded as an outstanding swimmer and experienced trekker. He was a strong and fit 22-year-old. On the sixth day of an eight-day excursion, Heimer was last in line bringing the rafters back from a swim. The lead tour guide recalled walking away from the cliff they were standing on to talk to a member of the excursion group. When he went back to Heimer, he was simply gone.

The guide mentioned that Heimer wanted to take a break, so no one was particularly concerned at the time. Not only that, but they were confident in his skills, and he was wearing a life jacket and familiar with the terrain. When he didn’t come back to the group for dinner, authorities were called. This launched a six-day search. His disappearance occurred on June 2, 2015. No one has seen Morgan Heimer since.^[1]

9 Drake Kramer

Another experienced outdoorsman who enjoyed the Grand Canyon was a 21-year-old college student, David Kramer. His love of nature and exploring areas like the Grand Canyon motivated him to major in Geology at the University of Texas. His decision to visit the canyon wouldn’t be surprising to his family or friends. The circumstances for this trip, however, were slightly more unexpected.

Kramer, without any warning, chose to take off to California and, from there, the Grand Canyon. He arrived at the Bright Angel Lodge in Arizona on February 1st. Although Kramer had been there a few times before, it was unlike him to travel alone. His parents had seen him just before on January 29th and said he was in good spirits; they even attended a movie together. Even more jarring was a message Kramer sent to his mother, seemingly explaining the reason for his trip. He told his mother that he “needed to be back with Mother Earth and set his soul free.”

Because of this message, authorities counted suicide as a high probability after he left his car at the lodge and traveled along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on his own. His family, in great hopefulness, saw the message as David needing to spend time in nature and do a bit of soul searching. The terrain of the South Rim is very mixed, so it can be difficult to traverse, but it is very rare that no sign of him or his remains would be found in that area. Despite this, neither Kramer’s body nor any clues about what happened to him have ever been found.^[2]

8 Ruthanne Ruppert

Ruthanne Ruppert left her home in Florida to vacation in Yosemite National Park in August of 2000. The trip was not an unusual one for Ruppert. She was an extremely experienced climber and often traveled to reach new heights. One of her favorite experiences to share was that she had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and did so with a frozen foot! As other people fretted over Y2K, Ruppert went to the Argentine Peak in Colorado to ring in the new year.

The trip to Yosemite should’ve been a piece of cake for such an experienced climber. Ruppert had planned to be a member of a backpacking group traveling 30 miles across the park. She was devastated when she woke up with an eye infection that caused her to miss the group while receiving medical care. Although she was upset, she still needed to figure out how to spend the rest of her trip. She rented a tent cabin in Curry Village and went shopping. After this, Ruppert seemed to simply vanish.

Her stock of supplies was left behind, not something an experienced hiker would forget. Her family is certain she would not have left them and had no intentions to harm herself. It seems missing that trip was the biggest issue in Ruthanne’s life and certainly wasn’t something she would go to extremes over. After a search and rescue operation, nothing could be found of Ruppert.

Oddly enough, eight years later, Ruppert’s backpack was found in Fireplace Creek, stuck in a drainage area. Fireplace Creek is almost eight miles away from Curry Village. How Ruppert’s backpack ended up there, along with her whereabouts, remains a mystery.^[3]

7 Stacy Ann Arras

Stacy Ann Arras was only 14 years old when she went on a guided tour at Yosemite National Park. The trip was attended by her father and six others, all riding mules. The area has several campsites, all within a mile or two of each other. Stacy’s group was at the furthest set of cabins, Sunrise High Sierra Camp. After settling in, Stacy wanted to go to a nearby lake to take pictures and asked her father to join her. He chose to rest instead, so an elderly gentleman, Gerald Stuart, from the tour group went along with her.

Stuart was 77 and, along the way, decided to stop to rest as well. The group could see Stacy and Stuart along the path as they were downhill from the cabins. They saw Stuart stop and sit on a rock as Stacy continued, and shortly after, he walked back up to the cabins from the place he had sat down. He asked other campers who came from Stacy’s direction if they had seen her, but no one had. When the group realized Stacy was not along the trail, at the lake, or back with them, they began searching for her.

A massive search party began the next day. They went over and beyond any of the searches mentioned so far. They had three helicopters, two dog search and rescue teams, and close to one hundred people searching the park. Despite the immediate and immense response to Stacy’s disappearance, the only trace of her that has ever been located was her camera lens cap. If she was harmed, the perpetrator was incredibly careful as not so much as a drop of blood was found.

It is unlikely that a 14-year-old at the farthest part of a mountain would have simply walked off on her own, never to be seen again. If she was injured along the trail, certainly one of the many people in the area at the time or in the search parties would’ve found her or something of hers. Another vanishing act in Yosemite National Park.^[4]

6 George Penca

As seen with Stacy Ann, there is not always safety in numbers. As an avid churchgoer, when George Penca decided to visit Yosemite National Park, he did so with 80 other followers from his congregation. Penca was not an experienced hiker but was in a well-traveled area with his friends and tour guides. It should have been a good experience for all involved.

However, at some point, Penca was separated from his group. It has been said that he had not felt well and decided to turn back, but others said the group split into two, and somehow during that separation, Penca was lost in the jumble. The last time that anyone recalls seeing Penca was at 2:40 in the afternoon. As the rest of the group expected to meet Penca back at their campsite, he was not reported missing until 9:00 that night.

The Upper Yosemite Falls they were hiking is a strenuous hike, rated difficult by the Park itself as a difficult trail for visitors. It is also rated high on the “crowd factor,” meaning plenty of people use this trail. No one outside of the church group remembers seeing him along the trail. He was carrying a bag with water and a bit of food. Neither the bag nor any of its contents were ever found. None of his clothing, his blood, or any trace of his body was ever found. In a heavily populated area, visible to the town of Yosemite itself, in nice weather, with a trusted group of churchgoers, George Penca disappeared in Yosemite National Park.^[5]

5 Thelma Pauline “Polly” Melton

Polly Melton was not someone you would expect to be an avid hiker. Although out of shape and a heavy smoker, she still loved the mountains, hiked regularly, and made the base of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina her summertime home. She had spent years visiting this location. And she was well known in the mountain town community, even volunteering almost daily at a senior home in town.

Melton went on a trail marked “Easy” in September of 1981. She was with two friends, and it should have been a leisurely walk for the experienced Melton. According to the two women she was hiking with, she sped up ahead of them. It wasn’t a far distance, but she went up over a knoll out of sight. When the two women she had been walking with only moments prior got over the hill, Melton had completely vanished. They heard no strange noises indicating distress, saw no sign of scuffle. They continued to the campsite, and still, no Polly.

Melton didn’t have any belongings with her, not even a change of clothes or her purse. She was also on medications for high blood pressure and nausea, and she didn’t have these with her either. There was just no trace of her until over a year later when a check in her name was cashed in Alabama. Police failed to say without a doubt that it was her signature.

There is a popular theory that Melton had decided to run off that day. Her husband, the third and last presumably, had fallen ill, her mother had recently passed, and her pastor speculated she was having an affair. The day before she went missing, she was volunteering at the senior home like usual; however, she asked to use their phone for the first time in the four years she had worked there.

Did Melton meet her lover in the woods, run off with no personal possessions or identification, and leave the Mountains that she loved so dearly, along with her husband and friends? For a woman that is said to have smoked two packs of Pall Malls a day and described as “too large to be kidnapped,” she must’ve been swift on her feet that day. Even though she would now be in her 90s, with no evidence to say otherwise, the National Park Service keeps her missing person case open year after year.^[6]

4 Michael Ficery

Michael Ficery was “an off-the-grid kind of guy” even when he was young. He spent his youth and into his adulthood surfing, cycling, and especially hiking. His family also said that he had the memory of an elephant. This would be very helpful in navigating the sheer amount of trails that the Yosemite National Park has to offer. Even for incredibly experienced people like Ficery, the National Park Service does not ever recommend hiking alone. Ficery, nonetheless, began a solo hike on the morning of June 15th, 2005.

Not only would he be backpacking alone, but he was also doing so in one of the less-traveled areas of Yosemite, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. His plan was to begin there and head toward Lake Vernon. At some point, his plans changed a bit, and he chose to take the Pacific Crest Trail toward TilTill Mountain. The Pacific Crest Trail here is not steep like the other parts of Yosemite but rather gradually rises and falls. However, the area can be rocky, so there is the danger of getting injured or waylaid.

Getting hurt on tough terrain was something Ficery had been through before, having cracked an ankle at Yellowstone, having to crawl all the way out of the wilderness. So, when the outdoorsman failed to return from his adventure after his permit expired and his family expected him home, they feared the worst. The search for Ficery was so massive the United States Marines were involved. Unlike some others on this list, they did find something that belonged to Ficery: his bag. It contained his map, water, and camera. His friends and family were even more concerned at this point because they believed that Ficery would never willingly leave his bag at any time during a hike.

Unfortunately, in the 16 years that have passed, not another trace of Ficery has been found. Also, unlike others on this list, Ficery had not experienced any recent tragedies or shown signs that he was a danger to himself at all. His sister joined a company called Pack six years later, which puts together essential packs for explorers, and put out a statement regarding her brother. She believed he was unprepared for his trek, dangerously went out alone, and spoke of the dangers of changing your itinerary, as it makes it harder for search and rescue teams to follow the trail. However, if he had sustained an injury or passed, why is there still no other trace of him?^[7]

3 Floyd Roberts III

The first time Floyd Roberts visited the Grand Canyon was in 1992 when a friend of his, Ned Bryant, suggested they make the trip together. Roberts enjoyed it so much he became Bryant’s regular hiking companion. They went several times over the years, and in June of 2016, they went again, bringing along Bryant’s daughter. Both Bryant and Roberts at this time were considered experienced hikers and were well prepared.

On June 17th, the three of them were headed along a trail when they decided to take different paths, the Bryants over the hill before the trailhead and Roberts around it. Roberts did not meet them on the other side. After waiting to see if he simply needed to catch up with them, the father and daughter began to worry and went back the way that Roberts took around the hill. Still no sign of him. They then went back to their camp and put bright-colored sleeping bags on nearby trees to provide a sort of flag to help Roberts find them.

The Bryants had good reason to believe that Roberts would be fine. He was an intelligent man; he even worked for NASA before teaching game design and programming for high school students. He was also well prepared. Robert’s bag had enough food to last him a week, and he carried two gallons of water with him, as well as a map outlined by Bryant with all of their trail plans. Unfortunately, Roberts never returned to camp, and the Bryants had to hike to find cell service to report his friend missing.

A canine team was brought in immediately but provided no answers. After six days and a massive search, the officials were forced to reduce the search power. Kelly Tanks, the area they were exploring, is one of the more remote sections of the park, and the heat that day presented problems, with temperatures reaching around 92 degrees.

Five years and countless hikers in the area have passed through, yet nothing at all can be found of this man. This was a man who had been in the area before, with resources to help him find help and survive, and a good friend with him. Why did he choose to go off alone? What happened on the side of the hill that the other two couldn’t have heard him if he needed help? How, once again, is there not a single footprint, a scrap of fabric, or remains of any sort to be found?^[8]

2 Paul Braxton Fugate

Park Rangers are standard in the National Park Service. They are who you contact when someone is hurt or lost. Paul Braxton Fugate was a Park Ranger at Chiricahua National Monument, a National Park in Arizona. So it was shocking when Fugate disappeared at the park himself. Fugate finished his shift at the visitor center around 2:00 pm and went for a hike. He was still dressed in his uniform as he went out to check a trail. He mentioned to one coworker that they could start closing duties without him if he wasn’t back by 4:30. He was then seen starting down the trailhead.

That was the last any person spoke to him or saw him.

His disappearance was immediately realized when he did not return to close the park. He was the only permanent staff member at the park and would not have left the other seasonal employee to finish that job. Unfortunately, Fugate would’ve been the natural expert in a search and rescue mission at the park. But the Cochise County Sherrif’s Department and the National Park Service had to work without him.

To make things more difficult, Chiricahua has 17 square miles of canyons, treacherous terrain, and wildlands. The search and rescue teams found absolutely nothing related to the Park Ranger. When this effort failed, a reward for information that led to Fugate’s whereabouts—that eventually reached $60,000—was offered to the public. This disappearance took place in January of 1980. It has been 41 years since Fugate disappeared at the age of 41. The NPS had him listed as missing but told his wife that they believed he walked off the job and therefore was terminated.

This left Fugate’s wife, Dody, unable to collect his pension or any survivor’s benefits. They even demanded she repay the $6,000+ that they had paid her over the time he had been missing. Fortunately, in 1986, five years later, the case was reviewed again, and Dody did have access to his benefits after that time. While this means the National Park Service agreed there was no reason to believe Frugate was still living, the search for him is still ongoing.^[9]

1 Teresa “Trenny” Gibson

On October 8, 1976, a sixteen-year-old high school student, Teresa “Trenny” Gibson, left Knoxville with her classmates and teachers to explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Specifically, they were planning on going to Clingman’s Dome, where a stunning view of the mountains can be seen from a 45-foot tall observation tower. Gibson appeared to be enjoying the trip, walking along with her friends.

Along one of the trails, she walked with two other girls who said they slowed down a bit to rest. Gibson carried on a little ahead of them, but this trail was being used by dozens of groups that day. There were people before and after her on the trail the entire time they were hiking. The general consensus from the group was an expression heard over and over again—one minute she was there, and the next minute she was gone.

The trail that they were on at the time of her disappearance is relatively steep, with some major drop-offs along one side. Gibson’s group alone was 40 students, plus teachers. If she had fallen down one of the drop-offs, she would have had to do so silently for no one around to hear her. Likewise, if someone abducted her, they would have also had to be incredibly quiet and either incredibly quick or invisible for no one to have seen anything.

Even if she had wanted to run away and thought this was a great opportunity, she did so with no identification or the savings she had been collecting. The search for her was made difficult by rain and fog the night that she was reported missing. A slew of volunteers came to the park to help look for Gibson. Several dog units were also brought in to help find any trace of her. Interestingly one of the dogs found a trace that went past the Dome, about a mile and a half further than she was last seen around Newfound Gap. However, the trail went cold then. Gibson, like the rest of the National Park Services’ missing cold cases, simply vanished.^[10]

It’s human nature to want to be recognized and acknowledged. Kids want to show off their art to their parents. Employees want to stand out at work. And even citizens of towns or whole countries get some kind of a patriotic thrill out of their place of residence being known for being the best or the biggest or whatever their claim to fame may be. Unfortunately, being a standout isn’t always a good thing, especially when you’re better than everyone else at something unenviable.

10. Lake Michigan is By Far the Deadliest Lake in America

Any body of water is potentially dangerous. Accidents happen on the water all the time and around 4,000 Americans drown every year. But of all the places in America where you need to be wary of getting in the water, no place has a worse reputation than Lake Michigan. 

In 2022, 43 people drowned in Lake Michigan. Its rip currents are infamous and have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. There were 48 deaths in 2021, 56 in 2020 and 48 in 2019. Compare that to other lakes known for their high fatality rates like Lake Champlain in Vermont, where a dozen people per year drown, 

Lake Lanier has claimed 700 lives since 1956 and is sometimes considered America’s most dangerous when averaged out. Accidents, injuries and fatalities are par for the course year after year and it does stand to reason since as many as 10 million people will visit the lake in any given year. Stats show that many of the accidents on the man-made lake are the result of drinking while boating. But even the current yearly stats there are far less than what Lake Michigan is doing.

9. Every County in Mississippi had Teen Pregnancy Rates Above the National Average

In 2012, Mississippi was struggling with the fact that literally every county in the state had a higher teen pregnancy rate than the national average. It was blamed, in part, on the fact that the state had historically not taught sex education in schools and instead tried to rely on abstinence-only education. Obviously that’s not very effective. So they planned to shift to a new educational program to help fix the numbers.

Fast forward to 2020 and Mississippi had indeed lowered their overall rate of teen pregnancy. That said, so had every other state and Mississippi was still the state with the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. In fact, on a world stage, it’s still pretty bad.

Teen pregnancy rates in Mississippi had been as high as 111 per 1,000 in some countries back in 2012. They lowered that to 71.9 in some counties. But the world rate for teen pregnancy was actually only 42.5 in 2021.

Across the whole state, rates are now down to an average of 27.9 per one thousand. That still puts Mississippi in the number one spot across the United States, but it is getting down closer to some others. 

8. More New Jersey Millennials Live With Their Parents Than In Any Other State

Whether this qualifies as a dubious honor really depends on your own opinions but the media certainly made something of the revelation that Millennials in New Jersey were opting to live with their parents at a far greater number than those in other states. 

Based on US Census data, New Jersey ranked at the top of the list when it came to adult children, aged 18 to 34, who stayed with mom and dad. In 2015, 46.9% of them were still at home. That was an increase of over 10% from 10 years earlier. The national average was 34.1% while North Dakota was at the other end of the scale with just 14.1% sticking around.

Cost of living in New Jersey seems to be a key factor in most Millennials choosing to stay with their parents. It’s too expensive to go independent and finding jobs elsewhere seems to be an issue, though the specific reason why this affects those in New Jersey more than anywhere else isn’t clear.

7. Wyoming’s Suicide Rate is Much Higher Than the National Average

In 2020, about 1.2 million Americans attempted suicide. Nearly 46,000 people succeeded. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death and it crosses through all demographics. But of all the states in America, Wyoming has the most serious problem with this issue.

Wyoming’s suicide rate was an upsetting 30.5 per 100,000. That’s more than twice the national average of 14. It’s also the highest rate per capita. In 2023, while it seems to have gone down slightly to 29.3, it’s still high above all other states. The sheriff of Casper, the state’s largest city, said they respond to suicide calls twice as often as shoplifting ones.

The state has been trying to deal with the issue though the reasons behind it remain complex and puzzling Some have pointed out that Wyoming has long been the heart of “cowboy country” and a place where men stereotypically keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves, where you have to “man up” rather than address serious issues.

6. Kentucky Has the Highest Cancer Rates in the Country

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease. On average, there are 438 cases of cancer per every 100,00 Americans and nearly 2 million people per year will be diagnosed. 

A state like New Mexico comes in on the far end of the scale with 361.1 cases per 100,000, making them one of the lowest in the entire country and a fair degree below the national average. But Kentucky has the unfortunate distinction of being on the opposite end of things. There are 510.2 cases per 100,000 in Kentucky, giving it the highest cancer rates in the country. It also has the highest rate of cancer deaths as well. 

Breast cancer and lung cancer were the two most common types in the state. The exact reasons can’t really be broken down clearly but anything from diet and weight to physical activity and pollution can contribute to rates.

5. The Murder Rate in St. Louis is Massively Higher Than the National Average

In 2020, the homicide rate in the United States was 6.52 murders per 100,000. That was historically higher than it had been since 2001. While bigger cities are often cited as being unsafe, with New York and Chicago as stand outs for their violence, neither comes particularly close to being the deadliest cities in the country, an honor which is taken by St. Louis. 

In 2019, there were 194 murders in St. Louis. That rose to 263 in 2020, 200 in 2021 and 200 again in 2022. Per 100,000 residents, that’s a murder rate of 69.4. Compared to the national average of 6.52, that’s a staggering increase.

Baltimore is the second deadliest city, and the rate drops considerably to 51.1. Chicago, often reference for its gun violence in the media, is down in the 10th spot with 24 murders. In 2017, new York’s murder rate was just 3.7, which didn’t even rank in the top 50.

4. Hawaii’s Cost of Living is Far Higher Than the Rest of the Country

Hawaii is the one state in America that qualifies as a tropical vacation destination. Nearly one million people visit Hawaii every month so it’s safe to say people love to visit there. That said, living there may be another matter altogether as the cost of living in Hawaii is remarkably higher than it is anywhere else in America. 

After Manhattan, Honolulu is the most expensive city in America in which to live, with a cost of living 97.6% above the national average. It also works out to more than 20% higher than the average wage. This is chiefly due to the remote location of the island state. All supplies are flown or shipped in by boat and that makes everything more expensive. Groceries are 60% more expensive in Honolulu than the average across the country with eggs averaging three times the price of any other city. 

The average home in Hawaii is over $730,000 and only 29% of residents can afford home ownership. The median two-bedroom apartment costs $1,651 across the state while in Honolulu a two-bedroom place will set you back $3,500.

3. Billings, Montana Has the Highest Rate of Depression in America

We’ve already seen that Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in America but that may be, in part, because people are not as open to seeking help for things like depression. If they did, perhaps the statistics in Billings, Montana would be different. Billings has the highest rate of depression in the country.

About 7.1% of the entire US population has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Keep in mind, that’s just the people diagnosed so the real number is likely much higher, it’s just that many people have not sought help. 

On a city level, Billings, Montana has a rate of 31% of its citizens diagnosed with depression. That’s over four times the national average. Only two other cities ranked over 30% and those were Knoxville and Kingsport-Bristol.

Why would Billings be such a hub for depression? There are actually a number of potential causes that have been looked into that range from vitamin D deficiency to altitude to high prevalence of demographics most susceptible to depression and mental illness. 

2. West Virginia is the Most Overweight State in America

There’s been no shortage of media coverage for decades now about the average American’s diet and weight and often, though erroneously, America is often considered the “fattest” country in the world. That doesn’t change the fact that many Americans do live unhealthy lifestyles and about 30.7% are overweight.

Amongst all states. West Virginia is the standout for being the most overweight. Only West Virginia and Kentucky have a prevalence of self-reported obesity above 40% and while Kentucky ranked at 40.3%, West Virginia came in at 40.6%.  

1. Louisiana Ranks as the Most Polluted State in America

Louisiana is known for a lot of things including Cajun cuisine and Mardi Gras but it also holds the more troubling distinction of being the most polluted state in the country as well.

The state is loaded with industrial plants that produce high levels of toxins which have polluted air quality and waterways for years now. In 2022, studies linked the remarkably high cancer rates in Louisiana to their extreme air pollution. It’s so bad that the stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is literally known as Cancer Alley.

National parks are one of America’s greatest and environmentally worthwhile achievements. As many know, the first national park to be established—likely one of the first in the world—was Yellowstone National Park in 1872. This amazing park lies mostly in Wyoming and covers over 2.2 million acres. After its creation, President Theodore Roosevelt would build on this and establish five more national parks and 18 national monuments.

Today, the U.S. is home to 63 national parks for visitors to enjoy. However, there are many other sites and natural wonders that are deserving of federal park status but, for one reason or another, have not been protected under the National Park System. Since there are so many amazing natural wonders in the U.S. and not enough space to list them all, we’ll focus on states that currently do not have a national park but definitely have a contender.

Related: 10 Weirdest Life Cycles In Nature

10 Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Alabama

One of the least talked about but most biologically diverse places in the U.S. is the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. It has been called America’s Amazon. The area is the second-largest delta in the U.S.—after the Mississippi. It contains one of the highest densities of different turtle species in the world, and scientists suspect that there is still flora and fauna in the area waiting to be discovered.

Apart from its natural wonders, the area also contains many historical sites that have been lost to time and swallowed up by the vast swampland. For example, it was the site of the last major battle of the Civil War, fought at Fort Blakely after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. It also contains one of the largest discovered Native American mounds on the Gulf Coast. Unfortunately, the area is unlikely to become a national park anytime soon, as a 2016 push to fold the area into the National Park System stalled.^[1]

9 Smoky Hills, Kansas

Many might think of flat prairies when thinking of Kansas, but the state is also home to canyons, rivers, and streams. The Smoky Hills region in the north-central part of the state was formed during the Cretaceous Period and includes craggy canyons and streams made up of sandstone, limestone, and chalk.

With so much geological history, the area also sports some strange rock formations, such as mushroom rock near Kanopolis State Park. The area’s rolling hills, canyons, and wetlands are definitely usually overlooked when one thinks about Kansas. Still, if the state was to be approved for a national park, this area would definitely be in contention.^[2]

8 Natchez Trace, Mississippi and Tennessee

Though administered by the National Park Service, the 444-mile Natchez Trace Trail that meanders through Mississippi and north into Tennessee is technically considered a “parkway.” Visitors can drive, bike, or hike along the road and the surrounding forests, which follow a trail used for centuries by Native Americans and then early settlers.

Former President Thomas Jefferson widened the corridor in order to link Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville and encourage expansion. The original trail even contains a marker for the grave of Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark Expedition fame). If it so wanted, the state of Mississippi would probably have no problem convincing the National Park Service to create a national park around the historic parkway and surrounding forests.^[3]

7 The Adirondacks, New York

Located in upstate New York, the Adirondacks is a region containing over 30,000 square miles of rivers and streams. The park itself is administered by the state of New York, and while you might have heard of the area, did you know that the park is larger than Yellowstone, Glacier, the Everglades, and the Grand Canyon National Parks combined?

Almost half of the land in the park is owned by the state, while just over 55% is privately owned. However, all of the land within, including private land, must adhere to a strict set of development rules that are meant to protect the park. With rivers and forests, you can enjoy nearly 2,000 miles of hiking trails and other outdoor adventures. Paired with small towns and farmland, the area also boasts numerous historic sites, including forts, museums, and even the Olympic Center in Lake Placid.^[4]

6 The Apostle Islands, Wisconsin

There are 22 islands near Bayfield Peninsula in Lake Superior. Twenty-one of those islands belong to a national lakeshore in Wisconsin. These islands encompass an area of 720 square miles (Link 11), offering adventurers caves to explore, miles of coastline to kayak, and 108 square miles of land and forest to hike.

The shores of these jewel-like islands also mark the northwestern limits of hardwood-white pine. The area hosts bald eagles, black bears, the endangered American marten, and numerous aquatic life and migratory birds. But no matter the season, the islands always offer spectacular views of one of the most pristine Great Lakes.^[5]

5 Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands

What is essentially a collection of two national forests and three national grasslands starting in Nebraska and spanning into South Dakota make up the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands.

One area of forest inside this vast expanse makes up some 90,000 acres and is actually the largest hand-planted forest in the world. Yeah, that’s right, much of this forest was planted by humans. In 1890, a member of the University of Nebraska suggested that the federal government plant trees in order to stem erosion and provide sanctuary for wildlife and a source of lumber for locals.

The federal government apparently thought it was a good idea and a year later established an experimental plot of land that has grown into the forest that exists today. While not technically “natural,” it makes one wonder what kind of positive precedent for the future it would set to elevate this area into national park status.^[6]

4 Hammersley Wild Area, Pennsylvania

Spanning an area of almost 30,000 acres, this wild area is some of the most pristine forested regions in the state of Pennsylvania, if not the most. The brochure even warns those looking to hike the area to carry topographic maps as getting lost here could “have serious consequences.”

The region contains old-growth and hardwood forests, but it is perhaps more notable for what is absent. There are no roads inside Hammersley, meaning the only thing you are likely to hear while camping or hiking is the sweet, sweet sound of the wilderness.^[7]

3 Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana

Located in north-central Louisiana, Kisatchie National Forest is over 600,000 acres and contains old-growth pine—the type that used to cover most of the southeast U.S. It was even featured on the America the Beautiful quarter series that highlighted various national parks and other natural resources in the U.S.

The forest contains over 100 bird species year-round, Louisiana black bears, and escaped wild horses. Almost logged completely in the early twentieth century, the area is named after a local tribe of Kichai Native Americans, who called themselves “Kitsatchie.” The park offer camping (both in camps and more primitive), fishing, hunting, hiking, and numerous other outdoor adventures to keep everyone busy.^[8]

2 The Green Mountains, Vermont

Green Mountains National Forest is another forest on this list that could easily be elevated to National Park status. The forest spans some 400,000 acres and 550 square miles, with the park established in 1932.

The area the forest gets its name from—the Green Mountains—is part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. They run north-south through the center of Vermont and include peaks rising over 3,000 feet in height. The national forest was established to protect many of these verdant peaks and their hardwoods. With its diverse vegetation and focus on forest stewardship, the park—along with its sister park, the Finger Lakes National Park in New York—functions as a research and educational center. It also has various recreational activities along its many trails.^[9]

1 Atchafalaya, Louisiana

The last area on our list, the Atchafalaya Basin, is the country’s largest swamp. It spans an area of almost one million acres and stretches 140 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. Located in Louisiana, the basin is larger than the Florida Everglades and is home to the largest nesting population of bald eagles in the southern U.S.

The basin contains the largest contiguous hardwood forest in the U.S. and an abundance of wildlife. Situated west of New Orleans, the basin would probably be covered by the ever-changing Mississippi River by now if it weren’t for controls put in place along the northern edge of the basin. However, the basin takes in about 30% of the water from the Mississippi Rivers as it flows into the Gulf. The waters provide essential habitat for more than 300 species of wildlife and 100 different aquatic species, as well as a rich diversity of native plants.

You can enjoy various activities while visiting this bayou, including paddling, biking, golfing, birding, and camping. Oh, and don’t forget a swamp tour!^[10]