Welcome to a subterranean adventure where the past peeks out from beneath the surface. In this roundup we spotlight 10 formerly secret tunnels that have shed their cloak of mystery and are now welcoming curious travelers. From covert war passages to hidden royal chambers, each corridor tells a story that was once kept under lock and key.

Whether you crave the chill of an underground catacomb, the intrigue of a Cold‑War spy cellar, or the raw grit of a wartime bunker, these tunnels now stand ready for exploration. Grab a flashlight, bring your sense of wonder, and dive into the depths of history that were once hidden from the public eye.

10 Formerly Secret Tunnels Revealed

10 The Third Tunnel of Aggression

North Korea, famed for its isolation and geopolitical tension, surprisingly houses a tourist‑friendly attraction beneath its heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone. The Third Tunnel of Aggression, one of four clandestine passages excavated toward Seoul, was originally presented by Pyongyang as a coal‑mining shaft, though international observers accused it of violating the armistice that ended the Korean War.

When United Nations inspectors uncovered the tunnel, they deemed it a direct breach of the peace agreement, sparking diplomatic friction. North Korean officials, however, insisted the tunnel served civilian purposes, claiming no militaristic intent.

Today, guided tours guide visitors through a dimly lit stretch of the tunnel, allowing a rare glimpse into a covert engineering feat that once threatened the security of the Korean Peninsula.

9 Versailles Secret Quarters

The opulent Palace of Versailles, once the dazzling residence of French royalty, concealed a network of private chambers that offered Queen Marie‑Antoinette a sanctuary from the constant bustle of court life. Disguised within the tapestry‑covered wall of her bedroom, near‑invisible doors opened onto narrow corridors leading to an intimate suite.

This hidden suite comprised a modest library, a private boudoir, and a cozy lounge—spaces where the queen could retreat in secrecy. Historians believe that during the tumult of the French Revolution, Antoinette and her children sought refuge in these concealed rooms as angry peasants stormed the palace.

After extensive restoration work, the once‑inaccessible quarters have been opened to the public, allowing visitors to step inside the hush of royal privacy that survived the storm of revolution.

8 The Shanghai Tunnel

Portland, Oregon’s quirky Chinatown hides an underground labyrinth that earned the moniker “Shanghai Tunnels,” though it bears no relation to the Chinese city. In the late Victorian era, dockworkers and laborers constructed these passageways to slip unseen between saloons, brothels, and illegal gambling dens.

When Prohibition swept the United States in the 1920s, the tunnels reached a fever pitch, serving as covert routes for smuggling alcohol and evading law enforcement. The network expanded throughout the 1930s, weaving beneath the city’s streets.

Today, a variety of tour operators offer guided walks through the tunnels, ranging from historically grounded narratives to spooky ghost‑hunting experiences, letting modern explorers trace the footsteps of Portland’s shadowy past.

7 KGB Cells

The former Soviet Union left behind a chilling legacy of secret police power, embodied by the KGB’s infamous interrogation chambers. In Tallinn, Estonia, a building that now houses luxury apartments once concealed a basement prison where political detainees faced brutal treatment.

During the 1950s, the facility contained cramped cells and torture rooms, with walls sealed in brick to deaden the screams of prisoners. The building’s grim history remained hidden until recent efforts transformed the underground space into a museum.

Now, visitors can descend into the former KGB cells, exploring a stark reminder of the regime’s oppression while honoring the memory of those who endured unimaginable hardship before being dispatched to Siberian gulags or executed.

6 Tunnel of Love

In the Ukrainian town of Klevan, a picturesque railway track has become an iconic photo spot known as the “Tunnel of Love.” Rather than neon lights and mechanized displays, this tunnel is a natural canopy of intertwined trees that frame the tracks in a dreamy, green tunnel.

The verdant archway was deliberately planted during the Cold War to shield military shipments moving along the line from prying eyes. Ironically, the very foliage intended to conceal the route now draws tourists from around the globe seeking its romantic allure.

Today, couples and photographers flock to this serene passage, snapping pictures beneath the leafy tunnel and enjoying a peaceful stroll that blends history, nature, and a touch of romance.

5 Westminster Kingsway Tunnels

London’s skyline may be famed for the London Eye, but beneath its streets lies a newly refurbished wartime shelter known as the Westminster Kingsway Tunnels. Constructed during World War II, the network provided civilians with protection from aerial bombardment.

Recent restoration efforts have transformed the tunnels into a public attraction, featuring a museum and interactive exhibits that recount the experiences of those who sought refuge underground during the Blitz.

Visitors can now wander the historic corridors, gaining insight into the city’s resilience while enjoying a unique subterranean adventure that honors the memories of those who survived the war.

4 The Paris Catacombs

Beneath the romantic streets of Paris lies a macabre labyrinth of bone‑lined chambers known as the Catacombs. First opened to the public in 1809, the ossuary houses the skeletal remains of over six million Parisians, transferred there after the city’s cemeteries became dangerously overcrowded.

Although the catacombs were never a completely secret underground, access was heavily restricted for many years due to the delicate nature of the remains. As curiosity grew, authorities eventually permitted limited public tours, allowing visitors to wander among the stacked skulls and femurs.

Today, the Catacombs stand as one of Paris’s most popular, albeit eerie, attractions, offering a chilling glimpse into the city’s past and a reminder of mortality beneath the City of Light.

3 Chicago Pedway

Chicago’s famously blustery winters inspired the creation of the Pedway, a network of underground walkways that connect streets, subways, and buildings across the downtown core. Spanning roughly 40 blocks, the Pedway lets pedestrians escape rain, snow, and biting wind.

The earliest sections date back to the 1940s, with expansions in the 1950s linking multiple transit lines and commercial spaces. Over time, portions of the system were intermittently closed due to private property restrictions.

Today, the entire Pedway is publicly accessible, providing a climate‑controlled corridor for commuters and tourists alike, ensuring no excuse to stay indoors during Chicago’s infamous winter weather.

2 Chu Chi Tunnels

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong engineered an extensive underground maze known as the Chu Chi Tunnels, allowing guerrilla fighters to move unseen beneath the jungle floor. Tens of thousands of miles of narrow passages served as hidden bases for planning attacks, storing supplies, and sheltering troops.

American soldiers later coined the term “tunnel rats” for the brave (or foolhardy) volunteers who crawled through these cramped, booby‑trapped corridors to locate enemy combatants and gather intelligence.

Today, two separate sections of the tunnel system have been restored and opened to the public, offering guided tours that let visitors experience the claustrophobic environment while learning about the ingenuity and resilience of the Viet Cong.

1 Alcatraz Island Tunnels

Alcatraz Island, the notorious former federal prison off San Francisco’s coast, gained a fresh layer of intrigue in 2019 when archaeologists uncovered hidden tunnels beneath the prison yard. These passages, built in the mid‑1800s during the Civil War era, predate the infamous penitentiary that housed criminals like Al Capone.

The discovery confirmed long‑standing theories that the island once functioned as a military fortification, with the tunnels originally serving strategic purposes rather than inmate escape attempts.

While standard tours of Alcatraz do not include these subterranean routes, a special “behind‑the‑scenes” experience grants visitors access to the tunnels, offering a rare glimpse into the island’s layered military and penal history, including a fleeting taste of solitary confinement.

If you’re hunting for heart‑pounding adventures that haven’t been shut down, the 10 perilous hikes listed below prove that danger and beauty can coexist. From sacred Asian summits to remote American canyons, each trail challenges even seasoned trekkers while rewarding them with unforgettable scenery.

Why These 10 Perilous Hikes Keep Adventurers Coming Back

10 Mount Fuji, Japan

Each summer, thousands of climbers set their sights on Mount Fuji’s 12,388‑foot (3,776 m) summit, treating the ascent as both a spiritual pilgrimage and a serious mountain test. Popular routes such as Yoshida and Subashiri see crowds between July and September, and one memorable group of international students launched their climb at midnight, battling 31 mph (50 km/h) gusts and near‑freezing air to catch the sunrise at Goraikō. They shared headlamps, medical kits, and motivational chants along the way. Though the paths are well‑maintained and mountain huts dot the trail every few kilometres, the mountain still hides hazards: altitude sickness can strike above 8,202 feet (2,500 m), sudden storms appear without warning, and the sheer volume of hikers can turn a peaceful climb into a “bullet climb” that leaves participants exhausted and vulnerable.

Today, authorities levy a modest climbing fee, enforce staggered night‑time closures, and strongly advise spending at least one night in a hut perched at 9,843 feet (3,000 m) to aid acclimatization. Essential gear includes layered warm clothing, a waterproof shell, sturdy trekking boots, and a reliable headlamp with spare batteries. Prospective climbers should book hut space well ahead, verify which routes remain open, and pace themselves—aiming for a “climb high, sleep low” strategy when possible, or at the very least inserting frequent rest stops to lower the risk of acute mountain sickness.

9 Cascade Saddle Track, New Zealand

High up in Mount Aspiring National Park, the Cascade Saddle Track climbs to 3,852 feet (1,174 m), rewarding hikers with sweeping panoramas of the 13,232‑foot (4,033 m) Mount Aspiring and glacial valleys below. Yet the route also brings sudden storms, lingering snowfields, and avalanche‑prone couloirs. A pair of trampers learned this the hard way when a late‑spring snowstorm stranded them on the exposed saddle; they survived 36 hours by fashioning a shelter from their tent fly until rescue teams arrived. Because November weather can feel like mid‑winter, the Department of Conservation (DOC) recommends tackling the track during the summer months of January and February, while staying alert to avalanche advisories and local updates.

Beyond a dependable waterproof jacket and sturdy boots, hikers may need crampons and an ice axe well into late January. Navigation calls for topographic maps, a compass or GPS, and backup batteries. Always file an itinerary with DOC rangers, carry at least 4 L of water per person per day, and consider a personal locator beacon. Only experienced trampers with solid alpine skills should attempt this route.

8 Orla Perć (Eagle’s Path), Poland

Orla Perć, perched in the Tatra Mountains, is Europe’s most notorious ridge trail—a 14‑km scramble that stays above 7,546 feet (2,300 m) and features chains, ladders, and sheer 328‑foot (100‑meter) drops. Since the early 1900s, more than a hundred hikers have lost their lives here, including a solo trekker who was caught in a thunderstorm at Zawrat Pass and clung to dripping chains until fellow climbers shared a rope and guided him to safety. These dramatic rescues highlight both the route’s raw difficulty and the tight‑knit community spirit among Tatras adventurers.

Attempt the ridge only between late June and mid‑September, when snow has largely melted and chains are free of ice. Helmets, gloves, sturdy boots, and a via ferrata set (harness and lanyard) are non‑negotiable. Traversing the full ridge takes 10‑12 hours, so start well before dawn. Inexperienced hikers should hire a licensed mountain guide, and everyone must monitor rapidly changing forecasts to avoid being caught in storms above the treeline.

7 Barranco del Infierno, Tenerife, Spain

“Hell’s Gorge” twists through volcanic cliffs for 4 miles (6.5 km) before reaching Tenerife’s highest waterfall, a 656‑foot (200 m) cascade. After a fatal accident in 2009, the trail was closed and later reopened with strict regulations: helmets are mandatory, daily visitor quotas are enforced, and an online entry log tracks each hiker. A family from Madrid reported that their skeptical teenagers were enchanted by endemic flora and the rare Tenerife bluet butterfly, finally cooling off beneath the icy mist of the waterfall. Controlled access (300 hikers per day) and advance reservations keep both safety and the delicate ecosystem in balance.

Trail closures during heavy rain guard against rockfalls, and children under five are prohibited (those under 18 must be supervised by an adult). Hikers should book well ahead, stay on the marked path to protect protected species, and pack out all litter. Clear signage and mandatory safety gear have turned Barranco del Infierno into a thrilling yet responsibly managed adventure.

6 The Maze, Canyonlands NP, USA

The Maze, nestled in Canyonlands National Park, is one of America’s most remote backcountry regions, testing even veteran canyoneers with unmarked routes, scarce water sources, and a rugged 4 × 4 approach that can wash out overnight. One five‑day loop turned into a six‑day ordeal when monsoon‑swollen creek crossings forced improvisation; the party survived by rationing water, camping in a sheltered alcove, and finally using a talus slope to regain their trailhead. Their experience underscores the Maze’s stark beauty and brutal isolation—self‑reliance isn’t optional here.

Success hinges on a high‑clearance 4 × 4 vehicle equipped with recovery gear, multiple navigation tools (satellite GPS, USGS maps), and at least 4 quarts (4 L) of water per person per day with robust filtration. Permits—secured months in advance—must be filed with park rangers, along with a detailed itinerary. Only those with extensive desert‑canyon experience, solid route‑finding skills, and emergency‑ready kits should attempt this labyrinth.

5 Aonach Eagach Ridge, Scotland

The 1.24‑mile (2‑km) Aonach Eagach Ridge in Glen Coe is Britain’s narrowest mainland crest, demanding exposed scrambling over features like the Devil’s Staircase, with no easy escape once committed. Two Munro‑baggers faced dense September mist halfway along; by roping up, wearing helmets, and moving hand‑over‑hand in unison, they navigated to safety near the Glen Coe Cowshed Bothy—demonstrating meticulous planning and teamwork.

Tackle the ridge only in dry conditions; winter ascents require full ice‑axe and crampon proficiency. A party of at least two (ideally three) should carry a 20‑m rope, slings, quickdraws, and helmets. Always consult Mountain Rescue logs for recent incidents, consider hiring a local guide if uncertain, and inform someone of your plans before departure.

4 Half Dome via the Cables Route, Yosemite NP, USA

Half Dome’s iconic cables provide a near‑vertical finale to a 14‑16‑mile trek with 4,800 feet (1,463 m) of elevation gain—an ascent many deem the crown jewel of Yosemite. A Pacific Crest Trail thru‑hiker famously saved it as his “grand finale,” starting at 3 a.m., gripping rust‑proofed steel cables at dawn and summiting in tears of relief, conquering his acrophobia. Yet the cables have claimed lives from falls and lightning strikes, underscoring the need for respect and preparation.

Permits—awarded via lottery from March through October—limit daily ascents; cables typically open late May through mid‑October, weather‑dependent. Essential gear includes leather‑palm gloves, sturdy boots, and 3 quarts (3 L) of water. Climbers must begin pre‑sunrise to avoid afternoon thunderstorms and carry layered clothing for swift temperature changes at higher elevations.

3 Kalalau Trail, Kauai, Hawaii, USA

Kauai’s Kalalau Trail threads 11 miles (17.7 km) along the Nā Pali Coast, winding through emerald valleys, beneath towering cliffs, and past hidden waterfalls—yet flash floods and rockslides can turn its beauty terrifying. A family expedition took refuge in a lava‑tube shelter when torrential rains transformed Hanakapiai Beach’s creek into a raging torrent. After boiling creek water for hours, they emerged at dawn to a double rainbow arching over the coast, dubbing it “the beauty after the beast.”

Permits are mandatory beyond mile 2, with camping allowed only at Kalalau Camp to protect fragile ecosystems. Hikers must carry a reliable water filter, a bear‑proof food canister (to deter wild pigs), and an ultralight tent sturdy against coastal winds. Checking weather advisories before and during the trek is vital—stream crossings in high water are often deadly, so patience and caution can mean the difference between an epic journey and tragedy.

2 El Caminito del Rey, Málaga, Spain

Originally carved into sheer limestone walls between 1901 and 1905 to aid dam construction, El Caminito del Rey earned the grim moniker “world’s most dangerous walkway” by the 1990s, prompting its closure in 2000. After a €9 million restoration and five years of engineering, it reopened in 2015 featuring reinforced stainless‑steel walkways, high‑strength guardrails, and even a cantilevered glass‑floored viewpoint.

Access remains tightly controlled: only 300 tickets per day, all reserved online weeks in advance. Visitors must don ASTM‑approved helmets at the entrance and are accompanied by trained guides at a maximum ratio of 1:12. No one under eight is permitted, and hikers follow a one‑way loop that averages 3.5 hours. Opt for autumn or spring weekday mornings for cooler conditions and thinner crowds.

1 Mount Huashan Plank Walk, China

Rising 7,087 feet (2,160 m) above the Wei River valley, Mount Huashan’s plank walk is more than a stunt—it’s a centuries‑old Taoist rite. The modern safety‑harness system, introduced in 2005, retrofitted the narrow wooden planks with rated carabiners and continuous overhead rails, slashing fatal falls from dozens per year to virtually none. Yet each harness checkpoint still logs ascent times, ensuring chains aren’t overcrowded.

Beyond the plank, Huashan offers four stone‑staircase peaks, each crowned by a temple and legend. Cable cars reach the North and West summits, catering to less audacious visitors. Essential gear includes grippy hiking shoes, lightweight gloves, and a small daypack—anything bulkier can swing dangerously on the narrow boards.

Recent history is brimming with covert projects, and the 10 8216 secret cities on this list prove just how often governments have built entire towns hidden from prying eyes.

Unveiling the 10 8216 Secret Cities

10. Oak Ridge

The year was 1943, and World War II was raging at full throttle. The Allies were desperate to create the one weapon they believed could finally tip the scales: the atomic bomb.

About forty kilometres west of Knoxville, Tennessee, a sprawling secret settlement called Oak Ridge sprang up, teeming with thousands of workers, soldiers and scientists. No ordinary map would show this city, because everyone there was locked into the hush‑hush of the Manhattan Project, one of the war’s best‑kept secrets. Workers were deliberately kept in the dark about the true purpose of their labor and even had to pass lie‑detector tests.

To guarantee absolute privacy, the federal government bought more than 60,000 acres of surrounding land, carving out a massive buffer zone that kept spies at bay. Oak Ridge’s primary mission was to refine uranium ore, forging the nuclear material that would later reshape the 20th century.

9. City 40

City 40, also known as Ozersk, marked the birth of the Soviet nuclear weapons program in 1946. Home to roughly 100,000 residents, it enjoyed a higher standard of living than most of the USSR, yet it was erased from all public maps and its inhabitants’ identities were wiped from official records.

The city’s dark side lies in its history of nuclear mishaps, including a catastrophe only eclipsed by Chernobyl in severity. Despite the lingering danger, the site remains operational, its barbed‑wire fences still standing, and it continues to house a substantial portion of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

Today, citizens may leave if they wish, but many choose to stay, drawn to the unique community spirit that thrives in what many call the “graveyard of the world.”

8. Los Alamos

Los Alamos, New Mexico, gained fame as the epicenter of the Manhattan Project. Nicknamed “The Hill,” it was the true cradle of the atomic bomb and remained cloaked in secrecy throughout the war.

The entire town was isolated; residents could not discuss their work with anyone outside the fence, and even a single post‑office box served the whole community. Babies born there were officially recorded as having “P.O. Box 1663” as their birthplace. Over 5,000 people lived and labored together, many unaware of the full magnitude of their mission.

The site was selected for its perfect size, existing federal ownership, and its proximity to a ranch owned by project director J. Robert Oppenheimer. The location, once a boys’ school, was swiftly converted into the secretive hub that would eventually produce the “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” bombs.

7. 404

The Chinese answered the nuclear race with their own hidden metropolis, often referred to simply as “404.” Reports vary wildly, suggesting a population anywhere from 100,000 up to a staggering one million.

Construction kicked off in 1954, drawing people from every walk of life, all hand‑picked by the Chinese government to accelerate the nation’s push to match the United States and the Soviet Union in nuclear capability.

Situated on the edge of the Gobi Desert in Gansu province, the city was erected in just four years, with another six years of intensive work to bring China to nuclear‑weapon status. In 1964, the desert echoed with China’s first nuclear test, a milestone that reshaped global geopolitics.

6. Hanford/Richland

Washington State’s Hanford/Richland complex was the third major secret city tied to the Manhattan Project, focusing on plutonium production. After World War II, it continued to fuel the United States’ nuclear ambitions throughout the Cold War.

This site stood out for its longevity and advanced capabilities, but it also faced early technical hurdles. A phenomenon known as xenon poisoning—where neutrons were absorbed, throttling the chain reaction—proved a major obstacle to achieving weapons‑grade plutonium.

5. Wunsdorf

Nicknamed “Little Moscow” and the “Forbidden City,” Wunsdorf served as the Red Army’s headquarters in post‑war East Germany. Its roots trace back to a Nazi‑era base, later repurposed for Soviet military dominance.

Housing an estimated 60,000‑75,000 residents—most of whom were soldiers—the city enabled the Soviet Union to project power deep into East Germany, complete with direct rail links to Moscow and a massive military buildup ready for any Cold War flare‑up.

Founded in 1871 by the German Empire, Wunsdorf even featured Germany’s first mosque, initially built for Muslim prisoners and later incorporated into the German Armed Forces in 1935. Today, the city lies in ruins, its crumbling structures watched over by a Lenin statue, a stark reminder of its turbulent past.

4. Camp Century

Camp Century was the United States’ clandestine foothold beneath Greenland’s ice, part of the covert Project Iceworm. Originally a modest scientific research outpost, it morphed into a massive underground base aimed at giving the U.S. a strategic edge over the Soviets.

The subterranean city boasted all the amenities needed for long‑term habitation—a cinema, a chapel, and even a fully stocked kitchen—making life beneath the ice surprisingly comfortable.

Project Iceworm’s grand vision was to turn the extensive tunnel network into a mobile nuclear launch platform, allowing missiles to be fired from any of dozens of launch bays spread across a 4,000‑kilometre (2,500‑mile) underground labyrinth.

3. The Closed Cities

The Soviet Union peppered its territory with dozens of “closed cities,” each shrouded in secrecy much like City 40. While some were semi‑known with restricted zones, others were erased entirely from public knowledge.

These hidden towns served a variety of purposes, from nuclear research to strategic military installations. A number have since opened up and even hosted global events like the World Cup, while others remain critical to Russia’s national security.

In 2001, the Russian government officially acknowledged at least 42 such cities. Their sheer number, remote locations, and the authoritarian nature of the Soviet regime allowed many to stay concealed for decades, and some may still be undisclosed to this day.

2. Burlington Bunker

Hidden beneath the tranquil English town of Corsham, the Burlington Bunker was designed not to launch missiles but to safeguard the nation’s leadership in the event of a nuclear apocalypse.

The massive 35‑acre underground complex could accommodate up to 4,000 senior officials, providing them with a self‑contained environment to outlast a nuclear winter. Facilities included a radio broadcasting studio, a fully equipped hospital, and even an underground lake to ensure a reliable water supply.

A dedicated rail line allowed rapid entry during the infamous “four‑minute warning”—the brief window it took for Russian ICBMs to reach the United Kingdom. Decommissioned in 2004, the bunker has occasionally opened to the public and was listed for sale in 2016 for a modest £1.5 million.

1. Sarov

Sarov, formerly known as Arzamas‑16, is one of Russia’s most prominent closed cities, still playing a pivotal role in the nation’s nuclear arsenal production.

What sets Sarov apart isn’t just its secretive status—it was omitted from maps in 1947 and only officially acknowledged in 1994—but also the striking juxtaposition of an 18th‑century monastery standing side‑by‑side with cutting‑edge nuclear facilities.

The presence of this historic religious site, once home to the revered St. Seraphim, has sparked renewed interest from the Russian Orthodox Church, which now seeks to revive pilgrimages despite lingering security restrictions surrounding the town’s nuclear operations.

When you think of churches, you probably picture serene sanctuaries bathed in soft light. Yet the world of holy architecture hides some truly bizarre treasures. From bone‑laden crypts to pagan‑infused springs, these ten sites prove that faith can be both awe‑inspiring and downright eerie. Below, the 10 strangest church relics on public display are catalogued in descending order, each with its own spine‑tingling story.

10 Crypt Of The Chiesa Immacolata Concezione
Rome, Italy

This seventeenth‑century sanctuary was commissioned by Cardinal Antonio Barberini, a Capuchin Franciscan who also happened to be the brother of Pope Urban VIII. Designed by the Franciscan friar Michele da Bergamo, the church boasts a host of illustrious tombs and celebrated paintings. Yet its most arresting feature lies deep beneath the floor: five subterranean chapels harboring the remains of roughly 4,000 Capuchin friars and impoverished Romans from the 1600s onward.

Transporting the bones was a logistical feat – 300 trips between 1627 and 1631 moved carriages brimming with skeletal remains into place. Legend holds that the soil covering the crypt’s pavement was sourced from the Holy Land, and a solemn memento mori inscription near the exit declares, “You are what we have been. You will be what we are.”

The ossified assemblage is arranged with artistic flair: mosaics, columns, arches, and floral motifs all fashioned from bone. Distinct crypts exist for specific parts – a Crypt of Skulls, one of Pelvises, another of Leg and Thigh Bones, plus a Crypt of the Resurrection featuring a painting of Jesus summoning Lazarus, and a Crypt of the Three Skeletons, a symbolic diorama reflecting on mortality.

9 Basilica Of Santa Croce In Gerusalemme
Rome, Italy

Also known as Heleniana or Sessoriana, the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme rests on what once formed part of a residential complex owned by Emperor Constantine in the third century. The site was originally the Sessorian Palace, built for Constantine’s mother, Helena, and is reputed to rest upon soil she brought back from Jerusalem.

Constantine erected the basilica to enshrine a trove of relics returned from the Holy Land by his mother, especially items linked to the True Cross. Among the macabre collection are three alleged fragments of the Cross – a nail, a segment bearing the famed INRI inscription, and two thorns said to originate from the Crown of Thorns. These artifacts now reside in the Chapel of Relics, crafted by Florestano di Fausto.

Curiously, women may only view these sacred objects once a year, making access a rare privilege for the female faithful.

8 Capela Dos Ossos
Evora, Portugal

Adjacent to the Church of St. Francis in Evora stands the modest Capela dos Ossos. Like several other entries, this chapel is lavishly adorned with human bones. Uniquely, the interior is entirely coated in skulls and skeletal fragments, and if you glance upward you’ll encounter the preserved bodies of a woman and a young boy, suspended from chains and staring down at visitors.

The chapel, dating from the sixteenth century, safeguards roughly 5,000 monks’ remains, exhumed from nearby overcrowded cemeteries. Historically, such bone‑decorated spaces served both pragmatic and spiritual purposes: they provided a solution to burial space shortages, and they acted as stark reminders for the living to contemplate mortality.

A welcoming inscription reads, “Nos ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos” – translated, “We bones that are here, for your bones we wait.”

7 Church Of Santo Stefano Rotondo
Rome, Italy

On Rome’s outskirts, away from the usual tourist throngs, lies the Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo al Monte Celio, commonly called Santo Stefano Rotondo. Consecrated by Pope Simplicius between 468 and 483, the church is dedicated to Saint Stephen and was erected atop an ancient Roman mithraeum.

While architecturally modest, the basilica houses a striking series of thirty‑four paintings encircling its interior walls, each depicting the gruesome demise of a Christian martyr. The artworks, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in the late sixteenth century, portray torture with a near‑pornographic realism that would make even the hardiest stomach turn.

Charles Dickens famously described the collection, noting, “…a panorama of horror and butchery no man could imagine in his sleep… Grey‑bearded men being boiled, fried, grilled… women having their breasts torn with iron pinchers, their tongues cut out… the mildest subjects.”

6 Aghia Moni Convent
Nafplio, Greece

The Monastery of Aghia Moni, perched just outside Areia near Nafplio, functions today as a Greek Orthodox women’s retreat overseen by the Bishopric of Argolis. Though relatively obscure, the convent is famed for a spring on its grounds that bears unmistakable pagan overtones.

The site is dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi – the “source of life” – and the spring itself is linked to the legendary Kanathos of Greek mythology. Pausanias, the ancient traveler, recorded that in Nauplia there existed a spring called Kanathos where Hera would bathe annually, regaining her maidenhood. This ritual, described as a “holy secret” in the Mysteries honoring Hera, hints at pre‑Christian rites that later fell out of favor with Orthodox practice.

Because of its pagan roots, the spring has largely slipped into obscurity, yet the convent remains a testament to the layered spiritual history of the region.

5 The Barberini Coats Of Arms, St. Peter’s Cathedral
Vatican City

Within St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Baldachin Altar and its bronze canopy – both sculpted by Gianlorenzo Bernini between 1624 and 1633 under Pope Pius VIII – feature a striking series of Barberini family coats of arms. Each shield displays three bees arranged in a triangular pattern on a blue field, topped by a woman’s head.

A close inspection reveals subtle variations across the eight shields, arranged two per column. Some scholars interpret the progression as a symbolic narrative of childbirth, noting the evolving expression of the woman’s face from joy to distress, and the shield’s bulging form culminating in a cherubic visage.

One popular legend suggests the design commemorates a promise by Urban VIII to his niece, Giulia Barberini, to erect an altar in her honor should her labor be successful. Others argue the motif reflects the Church’s earthly struggles, ultimately “delivered” by papal authority, underscoring the Barberini’s influence within the Vatican.

4 Na-Gig Of Kilpeck
Herefordshire, England

Located near the Welsh border, Kilpeck Church (St. Mary and St. David) is a modest Norman‑style, two‑cell structure perched atop an older foundation. Its most infamous feature is a Sheela‑na‑gig – a sculpted corbel depicting a squatting woman with exaggerated genitalia.

Sheela‑na‑gigs appear across England, Ireland, and France, often serving as cautionary or protective symbols. The Kilpeck example, dating to at least the twelfth century, blends grotesque humor with a stark moral warning about sexual sin. While some argue the figures derive from pagan goddess worship, their placement among Christian motifs suggests a medieval didactic purpose.

Over time, such carvings migrated from churches to castles and even flintlock pistols. Male counterparts also existed, and Victorian sensibilities even led to the removal of some corbels deemed indecent, underscoring the enduring tension between sacred art and societal mores.

3 Otranto Cathedral, Tree Of Life Mosaic
Otranto, Italy

Consecrated in 1088, Otranto Cathedral boasts an astonishing floor mosaic commissioned in 1163 by Archbishop Gionata d’Otranto and overseen by the monk Pantaleone, with contributions from local and Norman artisans as well as Tuscan craftsmen. Restored in 1993, the mosaic blankets every square foot of the cathedral’s floor, depicting an intricate “Tree of Life” that sprawls across the interior.

The mosaic’s iconography is a bewildering blend of mythological, religious, and even astronomical symbols. Greek goddesses Diana, Deucalion, and Pyrrha mingle with Arthurian legends, zodiac figures, and scenes from the Golden Bough. Christian motifs such as Adam and Eve, apocalyptic beasts, and the story of Cain and Abel coexist alongside Arabic inscriptions, reflecting a surprisingly eclectic worldview for a medieval Italian cathedral.

Scholars believe the creators were unusually erudite, aiming to encapsulate the totality of contemporary knowledge in stone. The result is a mesmerizing, almost otherworldly tapestry that challenges conventional expectations of sacred art.

2 Otranto Cathedral, The Skull Cathedral

The second reason Otranto Cathedral earns a spot on this list is its macabre “Skull Cathedral.” Adjacent to the main altar lies a chapel whose walls are lined with the skulls of roughly 800 Christian martyrs, displayed behind glass. Some of these relics were also transferred to the Church of Santa Caterina in Formello, Naples.

In 1480, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, fresh from conquering Constantinople, set his sights on Italy. After a brief campaign toward Brindisi, he turned to Otranto. The siege culminated on August 14, when Ottoman forces broke through, pillaging the town and offering its male inhabitants a grim choice: convert to Islam or face beheading. The townspeople chose death, resulting in the execution of 800 men on the Hill of the Martyrs (formerly Hill of Minerva).

Antonio Primaldi, the chosen spokesman, was the first to be beheaded. Legend recounts that his headless body stood upright, prompting an executioner to convert on the spot before being slain himself. The sacrifice bought time for King Ferdinand I of Naples to regroup and eventually repel the Ottoman advance, arguably saving Italy and Rome from further conquest. In May 2013, Pope Francis canonized Antonio Primaldi and his fellow martyrs, marking the largest canonization in history.

1 Sedlec Ossuary
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Compared to other bone‑filled churches, the Sedlec Ossuary is a true spectacle, housing the remains of at least 40,000 skeletons. Situated in the suburbs of Kutná Hora, just outside Prague, the small chapel became a repository for excess bones after centuries of overcrowding due to its reputation as a holy site (rumored to contain soil from Golgotha) and recurring plague outbreaks.

In 1870, woodcarver František Rint was tasked with organizing the chaos. His solution: a dazzling display of bones throughout the chapel, including a coat of arms for the Schwarzenberg family and a chandelier composed of every human bone imaginable.

Among the macabre décor are angelic and cherubic carvings, bone‑crafted candleholders, and entire walls lined with skulls. Rint even signed his name using bone fragments, ensuring his artistic legacy would endure alongside the skeletal remains.

These ten sites prove that the line between reverence and the uncanny is often thinner than we imagine. Whether you’re drawn by history, art, or the sheer oddity of bone‑adorned sanctuaries, each location offers a unique glimpse into the ways humanity has chosen to memorialize the divine and the dead.

When a film or television program is born, countless hours of writing, pitching, casting, lighting, shooting and editing fuse together into a cultural artifact that can endure for generations. Classics like The Wizard of Oz or It’s a Wonderful Life have become part of our collective memory, but not every creation enjoys such permanence. Some movies and shows simply disappear—consumed by time, accident, scandal, or shifting cultural standards. Entire careers can be wiped out, entire networks can crumble, and even iconic sports moments can be lost. Below, we count down ten examples of productions that have slipped from public view, plus a few that have managed a miraculous comeback.

10 Remembering Valeska Suratt

One shining illustration of a whole career erased from the record books is the tale of Valeska Suratt (1882‑1962). She rose from a daring vaudeville act to Broadway stardom, celebrated for her extravagant style and vampish screen presence. Between 1915 and 1917 she headlined eleven silent Fox pictures, carving a niche similar to that of Theda Bara.

Two dramatic blows sealed her obscurity. In 1928 she sued Cecil B. DeMille, alleging he stole a story idea, which effectively black‑listed her in Hollywood and ended her film work. Then, in 1937, a fire at the Little Ferry, New Jersey storage depot destroyed every one of her eleven movies, erasing the visual evidence of her flamboyant career. Consequently, aside from film scholars, few today recall her contributions.

Suratt passed away in a nursing home at age 80 in 1962, her name largely consigned to footnotes in cinema history, a once‑bright star now dimmed by legal battles and literal flames.

9 Forgetting Charlie Chan

The 1937 New Jersey fire also gnawed at the expansive Charlie Chan franchise, which began with Earl Derr Biggers’ 1925 novel The House Without a Key and blossomed into five more books, a comic strip, a 1950s TV series and a 1970s cartoon. Four early Fox pictures vanished in that blaze: Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932), Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933) and Charlie Chan’s Courage (1934), all starring Warner Oland.

Beyond the fire, the character’s reputation suffered from changing cultural attitudes. The detective, frequently portrayed by white actors in yellow‑face, fell out of favor as audiences condemned the stereotypical “Uncle Tom” portrayal. The last theatrical Chan film appeared in 1981, and protests in the 1980s highlighted the growing discomfort with the series’ racial caricatures, perhaps eclipsing the impact of the lost titles.

As Chan himself might have mused, “All forgotten, like last year’s bird’s nest…”

8 4 Devils Lost At Sea

Another golden‑age relic that vanished without a trace is the 1928 circus drama 4 Devils, directed by the legendary F. W. Murnau for Fox Studios. Initially released as a silent film and later re‑issued with a partial soundtrack, it was considered progressive for its time. The story of its disappearance centers on actress Mary Duncan, who allegedly borrowed a copy for a Florida party and tossed it into the ocean.

Duncan’s life was a tapestry of Broadway success, a brief Hollywood stint, and a marriage in 1933 to polo magnate Stephen Sanford. After retiring, she became a celebrated philanthropist among Palm Beach’s elite. The anecdote of her discarding the film varies—some say she flung it into the Pacific, others the Atlantic, a swimming pool, or even burned it. She claimed concern over the flammable nitrate stock, unaware she possessed the sole surviving print. Because the movie existed in both silent and talkie versions, it’s possible the other copy still lurks somewhere, keeping hope alive among historians.

The mystery remains open: what drinks were flowing at that party? How much merriment preceded the loss? Until a copy surfaces, the film stays adrift in legend.

7 Disney Ditches A Dark Legacy

Disney is synonymous with family‑friendly entertainment, yet its catalogue includes several titles now deemed racially insensitive. The most notorious is Song of the South (1946), which portrays African‑American characters in a nostalgic, subservient light, employing the offensive “tar‑baby” term and presenting a comforting view of the post‑Civil‑War South. The film has not screened theatrically since 1986 and is absent from Disney+.

Other Disney works have faced scrutiny. A scene in Fantasia (1940) featured black centaurettes with donkey legs serving lighter‑skinned centaurettes with horse legs, later cut in the 1969 re‑release. Dumbo (1941) includes a gag with a group of crows embodying stereotypical African‑American caricatures; one crow is even named Jim Crow, referencing segregation laws. The “Song of the Roustabouts” segment depicts faceless black laborers with demeaning lyrics, prompting Disney+ to restrict the film for viewers under seven.

Additional Disney titles such as Peter Pan (1953) and The Aristocats (1970) have also been pulled or edited for similar reasons, reflecting a broader effort to align the studio’s legacy with contemporary cultural standards.

6 Jack Paar Twice Removed

The small screen has its own share of casualties. Jack Paar took over The Tonight Show in July 1957, eventually renaming it The Jack Paar Show. Known for his emotional interviews, Paar helped launch careers of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Liza Minnelli and Carol Burnett.

On February 11 1960, Paar learned a joke he’d used the night before was censored for mentioning “W.C.” (water closet), a term considered too vulgar for the era. He announced, “I am leaving The Tonight Show. There must be a better way of making a living than this.” After a brief hiatus, he returned on March 7, saying, “As I was saying before I was interrupted… I believe my last words were that there must be a better way of making a living than this. Well, I’ve looked… and there isn’t.” Paar finally quit in March 1962, making way for Johnny Carson.

Unfortunately, the era’s costly videotape practice—known as “wiping”—meant most of Paar’s episodes from 1957‑1971 were erased and reused. Only a handful survive via kinescopes, audio recordings, or home‑camera footage, leaving a sizable gap in television history.

5 Loss Of An Empire

Beyond individual shows, entire networks have vanished. The DuMont Television Network aired roughly two hundred series from 1946‑1956, but most were broadcast live and never recorded. Budget constraints meant kinescopes were rare, and those that existed have largely deteriorated.

DuMont, owned by DuMont Laboratories—a TV set manufacturer—pioneered early television programming. It introduced America’s first soap opera, Faraway Hill (1946), yet all episodes are lost with no surviving scripts or stills. The Hazel Scott Show (1950), hosted by the first Black woman to own her own TV program, vanished after a brief run due to a communist‑era controversy. Cash and Carry (1946‑1947) holds the distinction of being both the first game show and the first reality show, yet no footage remains.

One bright spot survived: DuMont’s Cavalcade of Stars (1949‑1952), a variety show starring Jackie Gleason. A sketch titled “The Honeymooners” aired in October 1951, birthing characters that later migrated to CBS as the iconic Kramdens and Nortons—precursors to the animated Flintstones and Rubbles.

4 The Lost 1960 World Series—On DVD

MLB.com once called Game 7 of the 1960 World Series “maybe the greatest game seven in World Series history.” The dramatic walk‑off home run by Pittsburgh’s Bill Mazeroski in the ninth inning clinched the title, delivering a crushing defeat to the New York Yankees. While the moment became legendary, the original broadcast footage was thought lost for decades.

Television stations in the 1970s often reused or discarded tapes. NBC’s decision not to preserve the game left only photographs, newspaper accounts and radio recordings. The tide turned in 2009 when Robert Bader, VP of Bing Crosby Entertainment, uncovered two 16‑mm film canisters marked “1960 World Series” in Bing Crosby’s San Francisco wine cellar.

Crosby, a Pirates fan and part‑owner, had avoided watching the games in person, opting for radio coverage from Paris. He had commissioned a kinescope of Game 7, hoping to view it after returning home. Stored in a cool, dry cellar, the reels survived in near‑pristine condition. After restoration and transfer to DVD, the once‑lost footage is now available for purchase on Amazon, letting fans relive the historic moment.

3 Scandal!

Scandals can catapult careers—or bury them. Bill Cosby’s fall from grace illustrates modern banishment: after allegations of sexual misconduct, networks began pulling his beloved sitcom The Cosby Show (1984‑1992) as early as 2014. Following his 2018 conviction, Bounce TV also removed the series, though Amazon Prime still carries it.

Hollywood’s darkest scandal dates back to the early 1920s, when comedian Fatty Arbuckle faced three trials for the death of actress Virginia Rappe. Though acquitted, the media frenzy led studios to ban his films, effectively ending his career. He later returned briefly with Warner Brothers in 1933 before dying of a heart attack at 46.

More recently, Kevin Spacey was digitally erased from the 2017 film All the Money in the World after multiple sexual‑misconduct accusations. Christopher Plummer was reshot in his place, a modern example of “airbrushing” that mirrors the old practice of wiping film.

2 BLM Packs A Wallop!

The Black Lives Matter movement, founded in 2013 after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s shooter, surged in 2020 following the deaths of George Floyd and others. This wave prompted a sweeping reassessment of racially insensitive content across television.

Blackface, a relic of minstrel shows that caricatured Black people as lazy or ignorant, became a primary target. In 2020, Tina Fey removed four 30 Rock episodes that featured blackface jokes, even if some only involved a Black hand transplanted onto a White actor. Hulu pulled episodes of The Golden Girls and Scrubs, while Adult Swim excised episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Shivering Truth and The Boondocks for similar reasons.

Reality police shows also felt the impact. Paramount Network halted COPS after 32 seasons in June 2020, citing the series’ portrayal of predominantly Black suspects as “the bad guys.” Although production resumed later for foreign markets only, other shows like A&E’s Live PD and Investigation Discovery’s Body Cam were cancelled outright.

1 Digital Dilemmas

While fire and tape‑wiping have claimed many works, the digital era brings its own perils. In 1998, a Pixar animator mistakenly issued a command that erased 90% of the Toy Story 2 files from the main server. The backup drive held only 4 GB, insufficient for the 10 GB project, and crucial data vanished before the team could react.

Contrast this with Pixar’s A Bug’s Life (1998), where a similar deletion of ant animation files was rescued thanks to a robust backup system. The Toy Story 2 crisis, however, forced the studio to rebuild most of the film from scratch, yet they still met the November 1999 release deadline.

Even today, digital mishaps persist. A California videographer sued Adobe after a bug in Premiere Pro allegedly deleted 100,000 clips—about 500 hours of footage—resulting in a $250,000 loss. The issue, reported in 2017, spurred a class‑action lawsuit, highlighting that the click of a “Delete” key can erase history faster than any nitrate fire.

These stories remind us that whether on celluloid or hard drive, preservation is fragile, and the ghosts of lost media still haunt the industry.

Humans have been throwing public tantrums since the dawn of our species. Imagine early hominids watching a tribe member lose his cool, hurling rocks at a tree when the hunt took too long, and fast‑forward to today where a Karen’s wrath over salty fries is streamed worldwide. Thanks to smartphones, every explosive outburst is recorded, turning private fury into a global spectacle and feeding our collective love of schadenfreude.

Top 10 Worst Public Meltdowns Unveiled

10 We’ll Do It Live!

One of the most iconic blow‑ups belongs to Bill O’Reilly, captured in an early‑1990s outtake that resurfaced on May 12, 2008 thanks to a diligent YouTuber. While attempting to record an outro, O’Reilly grew frustrated with a malfunctioning teleprompter and let his temper explode on camera.

He can be heard shouting at his crew, ripping off his coat in a brief burst of fury before quickly regaining composure and returning to a hostile, dad‑like rant. This incident birthed his now‑famous line, “We’ll do it live! F— it! We’ll do it live!” forever cementing his temperamental legacy.

9 Lisa Nowak, The AstroNut

NASA astronaut and former Navy fighter pilot Lisa Nowak seemed the epitome of poise—until a bizarre kidnapping plot turned her into a household punchline known as the “AstroNut.” After being dumped, Nowak discovered her ex was seeing another woman, Colleen Shipman, and let jealousy drive her to extremes.

She stalked the couple for months, then embarked on a 900‑mile road trip wearing a diaper, armed with pepper spray, and attempted to abduct Shipman. The plan collapsed when Shipman resisted, leading to Nowak’s arrest, dismissal from NASA, and a lasting reputation as a cautionary tale of space‑age rage.

8 I Have a Platinum!

Enter the classic Walgreens Karen, whose public breakdown starts innocently with a complaint about a slow line. When the person ahead of her lets her cut, the situation escalates dramatically.

She begins defying the clerk, shouting at fellow shoppers, and repeatedly boasts about her American Express Platinum card while buying a modest $8 bottle of champagne. When a staff member offers to fetch the manager, the clerk retorts, “I am the manager,” delivering a moment of triumph that any customer‑service leader would envy.

7 Kanye West’s Whole Life

Kanye West’s entire public persona reads like a nonstop series of high‑profile meltdowns. From declaring slavery a choice on TMZ, to confronting Sway over not being “Ralph,” to storming the MTV VMA stage to interrupt Taylor Swift, his outbursts are relentless. Add his presidential bid, endless controversial interviews, and proclamations of divinity—identifying himself as Steve Jobs, Picasso, Warhol, Disney, and even Jesus— and you have a living encyclopedia of public fury.

6 Naked In Outback

Tina Kindred, a 53‑year‑old woman, entered an Outback Steakhouse with a self‑declared mission to “destroy the bar.” Whether premeditated or spontaneous, she stripped completely naked, climbed atop the bar, and proceeded to shatter everything in sight.

The scene resembled a war zone, with broken bottles and dishes littering the floor. Police arrived, tasered her, and took her into custody. Her mugshot, captured with a chilling Joker‑like grin, left onlookers guessing which U.S. state this naked chaos unfolded.

5 I Want The Manager Of The Airport!

“I want the manager of the f— airport here!” became a viral catchphrase in summer 2021 when Terre Ann Bluse was filmed screaming at police and anyone nearby after a heated boarding dispute. She claimed airport staff had choked her and thrown her to the ground.

In reality, Bluse missed her flight, was denied boarding, and attempted to force her way through the doors while intoxicated. After pushing a staff member who pushed back, she resisted arrest, went limp, and was dragged away, all while demanding to speak to the “manager of the f— airport,” only to be met with mockery and an arrest.

4 Chicken Sandwich For A Child

Picture this: a 3 a.m. McDonald’s run for a Junior Chicken Sandwich, only to be told the item is sold out. The customer erupts, hurling profanity, invoking reverse‑sexism, and insisting the word “b—” is proper English. They launch a tirade questioning whether sexism even exists, claim they’re entitled to “extra rights,” refuse to leave, and demand the staff summon police—only to question the police presence when they arrive.

3 The Ol’ Chinese Meat Fight

In Shanghai’s bustling meat market, a baffling brawl erupted, not with fists but with raw cuts of beef. Two women began hurling steaks across the display, turning the market into a carnivorous battlefield.

The melee quickly expanded, with several bystanders joining in, flinging choice pieces of meat at each other. The video offers no context or translation, leaving viewers to wonder why an entire cow’s worth of flesh was squandered in this chaotic showdown.

2 Slap‑Top

During the boarding process of a commercial flight, a heated argument erupted between a couple seated near the aisle. The woman launched a barrage of profanity, repeatedly demanding the man “shut the f— up,” despite him not speaking.

She escalated to physical aggression—smacking him with a laptop, punching him, and refusing to calm down even when a mother behind them asked her to lower her voice. The pilot eventually intervened, informing her she would be charged with assault, to which she responded nonchalantly, “Fine. Whatever.”

1 Magic Fool Bus

Perhaps the most extreme public outburst involves Mariana Silver, who used a tire jack to repeatedly smash the driver’s side window of a D.C. city bus while a passenger shouted, “Are you kidding me? She’s going to f— jail.” The chaos escalated as the bus driver positioned himself in front of Silver’s car to block her escape.

Undeterred, Silver repeatedly accelerated, running the driver over and assaulting him each time he tried to intervene. After a prolonged chase, she finally fled, only to be later apprehended and charged. The incident began after she allegedly “illegally passed the bus and side‑swiped a car,” then refused to provide her information, prompting the dramatic showdown.

As debates rage over Confederate statues, many argue that honoring former adversaries in public spaces seems absurd or even offensive. Yet, history is littered with examples where societies chose to keep the memory of their opponents standing tall, often for tourism, reconciliation, or sheer historical curiosity. This article dives into those puzzling moments when 10 times people erected monuments to those who once fought against them.

Why 10 Times People Choose to Celebrate Their Enemies

10 Muslims In Spain

Spain’s saga began in 711 AD when Muslim forces crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, launching a centuries‑long presence that would ebb only after roughly eight hundred years of intermittent conflict, cultural exchange, and, inevitably, bloodshed.

It may raise eyebrows that modern Spain not only tolerates but actively maintains statues of those very conquerors. The country preserves monuments to scholars like Averroes, as well as to military leaders such as Almanzor and Abd‑al‑Rahman I—figures who once led campaigns against the native Christian kingdoms.

The rationale is two‑fold. First, the historic narrative draws tourists eager for a rich, layered past. Second, there’s a subtle healing process at play: by keeping visible reminders of bygone foes, Spain invites citizens to confront the full tapestry of its identity, acknowledging how former adversaries helped shape the nation.

9 George Washington In England

From the British perspective, George Washington was the ultimate rebel—once a lieutenant in the King’s militia who later spearheaded the fight that ended colonial rule. To the British public, he was the face of a rebellion that threatened the empire.

So why does a statue of Washington stand proudly in London? After the United States helped Britain secure victory in World War I, the Commonwealth state of Virginia presented a marble likeness of Washington as a diplomatic gift. The United Kingdom accepted, installing the statue in the capital as a sign of renewed friendship.

Legend adds a colorful twist: because Washington vowed never to set foot on English soil again, the statue rests upon a slab of Virginia turf—symbolic soil from his home state—making the tribute both a gesture of goodwill and a playful nod to his historic promise.

8 Native Americans

The European colonists who arrived in North America waged countless wars against the indigenous peoples who already called the continent home. These conflicts, known collectively as the American Indian Wars, spanned centuries and left deep scars on both sides.

Despite that violent history, numerous monuments across the United States celebrate Native American figures. A notable example stands in Pilgrim Memorial State Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts, honoring the Wampanoag chief who aided the Pilgrims. Utah, proud of the statue’s sculptor, installed a replica outside its state capitol, further cementing the tribute.

Perhaps the most imposing tribute is the 48‑foot concrete monolith in Illinois, commonly referred to as the Black Hawk statue. Erected in 1911, it commemorates the eponymous leader of a regional war. When the structure showed signs of wear, the state allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars for restoration, underscoring a continued commitment to honoring a former adversary.

7 Gandhi In England

Mahatma Gandhi, born in British‑ruled India, studied law in London and was called to the English Bar in the 1880s. He later returned to the subcontinent and led a largely non‑violent struggle that ultimately dismantled the British Empire’s hold over India.

In a twist of historical irony, a sizable statue of Gandhi now occupies a corner of London, the very capital of the empire he helped dissolve. The presence of this monument reflects a broader British willingness to acknowledge the transformative impact of former opponents, even when that impact was directed against the nation itself.

6 Mussolini In Italy

Benito Mussolini, the founder of Fascism, orchestrated a regime that unleashed terror across Italy via the Blackshirts and later inspired Adolf Hitler’s own totalitarian ambitions. His reign ended violently: he was executed by fellow Italians, his body displayed upside‑down in Milan’s public square.

Despite the revulsion, Mussolini’s era left a legacy of monumental art. Countless statues and bas‑reliefs glorifying the dictator peppered the Italian landscape. After the war, the nation faced a dilemma: erase these symbols or preserve them as part of its complex heritage.

One small town chose a compromise. The community retained a massive bas‑relief bearing the slogan “Believe, Obey, Combat,” but overlaid it with an LED‑lit quotation from German‑Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt: “Nobody has the right to obey.” This juxtaposition transforms a fascist propaganda piece into a reflective commentary on obedience and moral agency.

5 Soviets In Bulgaria

When the Soviet Union spread its influence across Eastern Europe, it erected countless statues proclaiming liberation—or, from another angle, occupation. In Sofia’s capital, a towering monument claims to celebrate Soviet troops freeing Bulgaria from Nazi control, though the reality of domination remains contested.

After Bulgaria joined the European Union and NATO, the statue remained, becoming a canvas for public commentary. Activists have repeatedly vandalized it, repainting the soldiers in bright pink, draping them in the Bulgarian flag’s colors, or even transforming the figures into pop‑culture icons such as Ronald McDonald, Santa Claus, Superman, and Robin.

4 Memorials In The U.S. To Our World War Enemies

In 1935, the United States erected a German POW memorial at Chattanooga National Cemetery, honoring the 78 German soldiers who perished in American detention camps during World I. The site also contains the remains of 22 German sailors who died in Hot Springs, North Carolina, and numerous others scattered across the South.

A similar tribute exists in Utah’s Fort Douglas. Dedicated on May 30, 1933, the German War Memorial commemorates 21 German POWs who died between 1917 and 1918. Over time, the monument expanded its scope to include 20 German, 12 Italian, and one Japanese POW from World II, turning a former adversary’s grave into a place of shared remembrance.

3 Italian Fascist Monument In Chicago

Chicago’s skyline includes an ancient‑Roman‑style column presented by Benito Mussolini in 1933 to honor his air commander, Italo Balbo, for a historic trans‑Atlantic flight of 25 seaplanes from Italy to the United States.

Despite its fascist origins, the monument survived World II and remains in place today. When anti‑monument sentiment surged, the local Italian community rallied to protect it, arguing that Balbo, while a fascist, opposed Nazi racial laws and that the aviation feat itself deserved recognition.

2 Vichy France Leader Honored In NYC

Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, once a celebrated World I hero, later collaborated with Nazi Germany as the head of Vichy France, facilitating the deportation of tens of thousands of French Jews.

In 2004, New York City installed commemorative plaques for every individual who ever received a ticker‑tape parade, including Pétain. A review commission recently debated the plaque’s future, acknowledging that while the parade honored a now‑reviled figure, removing the marker could erase a part of the city’s historical record.

1 Communist Leader Vladimir Lenin In Seattle

During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union maintained a precarious balance of power, each amassing nuclear arsenals and supporting proxy wars worldwide. Yet, tucked away in Seattle’s Fremont district, a 16‑foot bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin—architect of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution—stands as a testament to a once‑feared ideology.

The statue’s survival is thanks to an American veteran who mortgaged his home to rescue the piece from a Russian statue graveyard. Since its installation, locals have treated the monument as a playful canvas, adorning Lenin’s hands in red, gifting him a tutu, and draping festive Christmas lights over his shoulders.

Fremont’s own description captures the spirit: “If art is supposed to make us feel, not just feel good, then this sculpture is a successful work of art. The challenge is to understand that this piece means different things to different people and to learn to listen to each other and respect different opinions.”

There are several ways to discard a body once death occurs. None of them are pleasant to contemplate, and some are downright disturbing. Before the 20th century, if a body only appeared to be dead, but the “deceased” was, in fact, still alive, premature burial was a possibility—a horrific fate, indeed. Even when death is unequivocal, the idea of burying a loved one in earth or sea, reducing a corpse to ash, or leaving a body unclaimed in a remote grave can be terrifying. Yet there exists a third, even more unsettling option: after death a person’s remains may be embalmed or mummified and then exhibited for the curious public, turning the dead into a macabre attraction.

10 Creepy Corpses on Display

10 Luang Pho Daeng

Born in 1894 on Koh Samui, a Thai island, Luang Pho Daeng was a Buddhist monk who entered his final meditation in 1973. His preserved body, still frozen in the pose he held at death, now rests inside a golden, glass‑enclosed case at Wat Khunaram temple.

Early records show that Daeng was first ordained as a monk in his youth, later left the order to marry and father six children, and eventually returned to monastic life after his offspring grew up. He traveled to Bangkok for deeper study, then settled back on Samui, meditating in a cave at Tham Yai (today’s Tamarind Springs) before moving to the family home behind Wat Khunaram.

Approaching his eightieth year, Daeng sensed his end was near and gathered his disciples to share his final wishes. He stipulated that if his body began to decompose it should be cremated and the ashes scattered at the famed “Saam Jaeg” three‑forked intersection in Hua Thanon. If, however, decay did not set in, the corpse was to be displayed upright in a coffin as a teaching tool for future generations.

Although the monk’s eyes have vanished as they re‑entered his head, the rest of his remains are remarkably intact. Monks have placed sunglasses on the mummified monk to soften his eerie appearance.

Further research has revealed that tiny gecko eggs sometimes hatch inside his body, with some eggs discovered in his eye sockets, mouth, and beneath the skin during radiographic scans, adding an extra layer of creepiness to the exhibit.

9 Speedy Atkins

Charles Henry “Speedy” Atkins (1875‑1928) met an unceremonious end, destined for a pauper’s grave, yet his mummified form lingered in a funeral home’s closet, occasionally opened for locals and tourists to peer at.

According to the Chicago Sun‑Times, Atkins became a local sensation. When, 66 years after his death, his remains finally received a proper burial, about 200 people gathered at Washington Street Baptist Church in Paducah, Kentucky, snapping photos beside the open casket and paying their respects in a lively farewell ceremony. Velma Hamock, the embalmer’s widow, famously remarked, “I never saw a dead man bring so much happiness to people.”

The secret behind Atkins’s remarkable preservation lay in a special embalming fluid devised by undertaker A. Z. Hamock. The concoction’s chemicals allowed the corpse to endure much like ancient Egyptian mummies. Unfortunately, Hamock took the formula to his own grave, leaving the exact recipe lost to history.

Atkins had drowned while fishing, leaving no family or friends to claim his body. Hamock obtained permission from the coroner to experiment on the unclaimed remains, applying his new preservative. The result was astounding: over six and a half decades later, the corpse showed no foul odor and retained most of its facial features, earning the respect and fascination of his hometown.

8 Elmer McCurdy

Train robber Elmer McCurdy (1880‑1911) famously declared he would never be captured alive. Ironically, after being shot to death by an Oklahoma sheriff’s posse, his corpse embarked on a second career as a “fun‑house dummy.”

McCurdy’s mummified remains spent years in a museum warehouse, occasionally painted to glow in the dark and displayed from the gallows of a carnival’s fun‑house. The body even appeared as a prop on an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. The truth emerged when one of the dummy’s arms detached; a technician trying to re‑attach it discovered real human bone where none should have been.

Further investigation revealed a bullet lodged in McCurdy’s stomach. Tracing the prop’s ownership uncovered a trail: after his death, the posse’s sheriff sold the corpse to a carnival owner who mummified it. It changed hands several times before ending up with carnival magnate Louis Sonney, who used it as security for a loan that went unpaid.

McCurdy remained a star attraction in Sonney’s traveling freak show until the end of World War II, when such spectacles waned in popularity. The body later sold to the Hollywood Wax Museum and eventually purchased by Nu‑Pike Amusement Park, where it was painted and hung from a gallows display.

His final resting place is at Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where a simple tombstone records only his death and burial years, omitting the puzzling 66‑year gap between the two dates.

7 Hazel Farris

Today, Hazel Farris’s corpse is a skeletal shell: most of her hair has vanished, her eyes are missing, the nose is largely gone, many teeth have fallen out, and her right ring finger is absent. The remaining bones bear the scars of a violent life.

Born around 1880, Farris shot five men, killing each, before taking her own life to evade capture. Her first victim was her husband, who, after a night of drinking, challenged her plan to purchase a new hat; the argument turned deadly, and she shot him twice.

When neighbors heard the gunfire and alerted authorities, three lawmen stormed the house and were also slain by Farris’s “outrage, steel nerve, and deadly aim.” A passing deputy sheriff entered the scene, stumbled over a body, and his gun discharged, severing the ring finger of his opponent’s right hand. Undeterred, Farris freed herself, shot the deputy, and fled, tallying a grim total of five kills before escaping.

Farris later fled to Bessemer, Alabama, where she fell for a man who, upon learning her story, likely turned her in for a reward. To avoid incarceration, she poisoned herself.

After her body desiccated in a combined furniture store and funeral home, locals, intrigued by the legend of “Hazel the Mummy,” paid a dime each to view her remains. Carnival showman Orlando C. Brooks later purchased the corpse, exhibiting it “for the benefit of science” for a fee. A poster claimed the exhibit offered a worthwhile study and promised a $500 reward to anyone, including doctors, who could prove the mummy was fraudulent.

6 Samuel Perry Dinsmoor

Deep in the American heartland, the Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas, showcases roughly 150 concrete sculptures reflecting the political and religious musings of retired schoolteacher and Civil War veteran Samuel Perry Dinsmoor (1843‑1932).

Dinsmoor, an eccentric populist, devoted the final 25 years of his life to this grand art project after retirement. He first erected a limestone home resembling a log cabin, complete with concrete porch spindles cast inside broken bottles. He proudly described the residence as “the most unique home for living or dead on Earth.”

The Kansas Historical Society notes that Dinsmoor spent the next quarter‑century pouring 113 tons of concrete into sculptures that illustrated his interpretation of the Bible and modern civilization through a populist lens. The Garden of Eden also features a concrete mausoleum housing his mummified remains and those of his wife; visitors can glimpse his body through a glass pane in the mausoleum’s lid, while his wife rests unseen in a sealed crypt below.

5 The West Virginia Philippi Mummies

In a quaint train station turned Barbour County Historical Museum in Philippi, West Virginia, a modest backroom houses the mummified remains of two women, available for a dollar‑a‑peek.

Graham Hamrick, a farmer‑turned‑amateur‑scientist, became enamored with the 19th‑century Egyptomania craze and sought to replicate ancient mummification techniques. After experimenting with fruits, meats, and small animals, he decided to apply his method to human corpses.

Hamrick purchased two bodies from the Trans‑Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (also known as the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane). Such acquisitions were not uncommon at the time, as some mental‑health institutions disposed of patients without families in unethical ways. He also obtained an infant’s corpse and a detached hand. The exact formula he used remains unknown, as Hamrick took it to the grave.

The mummies briefly toured with circus legend P.T. Barnum before returning to West Virginia. Over the years they were stored in a barn, and at one point even under a local man’s bed. In 1985, a flood damaged the remains; after drying in the sun, the surviving mummy was relocated to its present home in the museum. The infant was too damaged to preserve, and the hand was lost.

4 Sir Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz

The mummified corpse of Sir Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz (1651‑1702) has placed the tiny German town of Kampehl, with just 130 residents, on the map. The knight’s body, housed in a glass‑topped crypt, attracts up to 150,000 visitors annually.

In 1991, not everyone welcomed the cadaver’s presence. Mayor Edmund Bublitz opposed the display despite its tourist draw, while the state had previously managed the attraction during the Communist era, charging admission and compensating the local Lutheran church that owned the crypt.

Pastor Peter Freimark defended the exhibit, noting its allure stemmed from its “macabre, obscene, cruel, grisly and…erotic” qualities—traits he claimed resonated with the German psyche.

The “erotic” aspect ties back to the knight’s notorious reputation: he fathered 30 illegitimate children in addition to 11 legitimate heirs and allegedly claimed the right to “deflower all brides in his fiefdom.” When a rejected bride’s fiancé was found with a split skull, Kahlbutz was charged with murder, though he maintained his innocence, allegedly declaring, “If I am the murderer, may it be God’s will that my body never decay.”

The conflict between church and state persisted until German reunification in 1990. The mayor once arranged for six unemployed men to move the body to the fire station, but the plan was aborted after local opposition. Today, the knight remains undisturbed in his glass‑covered crypt, continuing to draw paying customers.

3 Charles Eugene de Croy

St. Nicholas’s Church in Tallinn, Estonia, shelters the mummified remains of Charles Eugene de Croy (1651‑1702), a duke who fought for the Russian army at Narva in 1701 and was captured by Sweden’s King Charles XII.

Following his death in 1702, financial constraints prevented a proper burial, so his body was propped up in a side chapel near the main entrance. The dry climate preserved his corpse, turning it into a local attraction until 1897, when authorities finally interred him.

Visitors in the 1880s described his appearance as striking: a grey‑toned complexion, a damaged nose, thin lips, and a yellow‑brown hue to the skin, all while he remained dressed in his formal attire.

2 Christian Jacobsen Drakenberg

Christian Jacobsen Drakenberg (1626‑1772) was a sea‑faring adventurer who, at age 68, was captured by Algerine pirates during a 1694 voyage to Spain. After escaping, he returned to Denmark and became a favored storyteller among the aristocracy, delighting audiences with increasingly outrageous tales.

Perhaps the most astonishing claim about Drakenberg is that he lived to the age of 145, a fact highlighted in the 1856 English Cyclopaedia, which called his longevity “one of the most extraordinary instances of longevity on record.”

Following his death, his body was mummified and displayed at the cathedral in Aarhus, where curious onlookers would stealthily open the casket to pluck a hair from his chin. In 1835 he was described as a “kind of natural mummy,” but at the queen’s request he received a proper burial in 1840 beneath the cathedral floor.

1 Xin Zhui

Also known as Marquise Dai, Xin Zhui (c. 217 BC‑168 BC) was married to the Marquis Dai of the Western Han Dynasty. Her remarkably preserved body was discovered in December 1971 while excavating an air‑raid shelter near an army hospital in Hunan Province.

Her wooden burial chamber, sealed beneath a thick layer of white clay and 11,000 pounds of charcoal to prevent water intrusion, also contained the remains of her husband, a child, and over 3,000 cultural artifacts.

The burial method created a stable temperature and humidity, producing a low‑oxygen, antiseptic environment that kept her body in superb condition, while her companions, exposed to moisture, suffered typical decay.

Because of this exceptional preservation, Xin’s skin remained supple, her joints flexible, and her internal organs largely free from decay. Researchers were even able to type her blood and determine that she likely died of a heart attack around age 50, caused by a diet rich in indulgent foods and a sedentary lifestyle.

A secret compound was injected into her circulatory system to further halt decomposition, and her corpse now resides on display at the Hunan Municipal Museum in Changsha.

A new annual tradition will start at the end of 2018. On New Year’s Day 2019, hundreds of thousands of movies, books, paintings, drawings, and musical scores will be stripped of their copyright and enter the public domain. For decades, American copyright laws have kept Intellectual Property (IP) from 1923 on under copyrighted, but starting in 2019 all works created in 1923 will convert from copyright protected to copyright free. The next year, on January 1, 2020, the tradition will continue with IP from 1924, and so on year after year. Online companies are taking notice too, with Google Books setting up many of its millions of scanned books, that were published in 1923, to automatically allow full-text free online viewing.

When materials are copyright free and enter the public domain that means you, or anyone, can do whatever they want with the material. For example, you can legally make copies of movies that are in the public domain and give them away, sell them, remix them, add porn scenes and sell them (but don’t do that, it’d be super weird), or anything else you want, with no restrictions. Here are 10 classic works that are about to enter the public domain in just a few months…

10. Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!

The 1923 movie Safety Last! contains one of the most iconic scenes in silent film history, where actor Harold Lloyd desperately clings to the hands of a large clock on the side of a skyscraper. Roger Ebert called it the most famous scene in a silent comedy. Back then, film safety was pretty much non-existent and a few years earlier, in 1919, Lloyd had actually lost a thumb and forefinger doing promotional work for another film, Haunted Spooks.

His performance in Safety Last! and the movie’s box office numbers cemented his place as an A-List leading man. In honor of its lasting influence and cultural importance, the Library of Congress added Safety Last! to its National Film Registry in 1994. On January 1, 2019, it will be stripped of its copyrighted status and enter the public domain, where you can do anything you want with the film.

9. Hélice by Robert Delaunay

Robert Delaunay and his wife Sonia Delaunay were some of the founders of the Orphism art movement, an offshoot of Cubism (of Pablo Picasso fame). Respected art critic Guillaume Apollinaire thought that art should be like music and that Orphism, with its colors and shapes, reflected that. At 38-years-old, in 1923, Robert Delaunay painted an Orphism masterpiece when he created “Hélice.” Today the original canvas is displayed in the German Wilhelm-Hack-Museum. And on January 1, 2019, it’ll be public domain so you can print it and use it however you want.

8. “The Charleston” jazz song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ7SNTSq-9o

“The Charleston” is the jazz song that, as you can probably guess, helped spark the Charleston dance craze. The lyrics were written by Cecil Mack and the musical score was done by Jimmy Johnson. When the song was released in 1923, conservative groups were outraged, with Rev. EW Walters, vicar of St Aidan’s, Bristol saying “any lover of the beautiful will die rather than be associated with the Charleston … It is neurotic! It is rotten! It stinks! Phew, open the windows.”

Popular culture did not listen to Rev. Walters, and the song and the dance are legendary in America and around the world. Whenever the roaring twenties are brought up in movies or TV you can count on hearing “The Charleston.”

7. The Ten Commandments

Considered one of the founding fathers of American cinema, Cecil B. DeMille made over 70 films before dying of heart failure in 1959. His films span every genre and over his career he created both silent movies and talkies (or movies with a soundtrack). He started acting in and producing plays, but entered into the world of movies with his first film, The Squaw Man, in 1914. It was the first feature-length motion picture filmed in Hollywood. A 17-minute short film, In Old California, was technically the first motion picture shot in Hollywood. The Squaw Man was a huge success and cemented Hollywood as the center of movie production.

Nine years later, in May 1923, DeMille started production on an epic biblical story, The Ten Commandments (no, not the Charlton Heston version). The movie stunned Hollywood insiders when DeMille became the first producer to spend over $1,000,000 on a film. He claims the backers actually fired him due to the cost overruns but were forced to hire him back, as he was the only man who could finish the production. When the movie was released in 1923 it smashed box office records and was Paramount’s highest grossing film for 25 years.

The period drama featured huge, life-size sets of Ancient Egypt. After filming, the sets were abandoned to the elements and buried under the shifting sands of California’s Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco. In 2012 archaeologists uncovered the forgotten Egyptian “ruins” created for the film and unearthed several monuments, including one of the 12-foot tall, 5-ton Sphinxes that were produced for the movie.

6. Several Works of Kandinsky

Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky is considered one of the founders of abstract art and for decades was considered to have created the first purely abstract painting. His 1923 tension series paintings including Zarte Spannung (Delicate Tension) were painted while he worked at the Bauhaus, Berlin a German art school. After they were finished the paintings were in a museum until 1937, when it was shut down under Hitler’s crackdown on art.

The paintings and their owner, Baroness Hilla Rebay, a daughter of a Prussian General, then moved to America where she became one of the founding members of New York’s Guggenheim art museum. After the Nazis closed Berlin’s Bauhaus art school in 1933, Kandinsky moved to France, where he painted until he died from complications of cerebrovascular disease in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on December 13, 1944.

5. Chaplin’s The Pilgrim

Charlie Chaplin had been doing films since 1914 and almost from the beginning played his iconic character, the Tramp. His movies attracted huge numbers and gave him fame and fortune. In 1919 he co-founded United Artists as a means to give him control over film production.

The Pilgrim was released on February 26, 1923. The 46-minute movie was his second shortest feature. Jeffrey Vance, in his 2003 book Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema, says that “The Pilgrim is one of Chaplin’s richest—and most neglected—films.” In 1959 Chaplin released The Pilgrim (1923) along with A Dog’s Life (1918), and Shoulder Arms (1918) as a trilogy called The Chaplin Revue in hopes of being able to reboot the Tramp character.

4. Poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Robert Frost is an iconic American poet who tallied four Pulitzer Prizes for his work (New Hampshire in 1924; Collected Poems in 1931; A Further Range in 1937; and A Witness Tree in 1943). His work inspires many and these poems are a trusted foundation for eulogy speeches.

His piece “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is no exception and has been used to honor the dead, including during the funeral for assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also honored his father, former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, when he used an altered line of the poem during his father’s funeral.

Studied by students around the world, Frost’s poetry is carefully monitored by the Frost estate and when his prose is used without permission, cease and desist lawsuits are quick to fly. Famous composer Eric Whitacre found this out the hard way when he completed a commissioned piece for the funeral of the parents of a woman named Julia Armstrong. Listeners at the funeral were enamored with the piece and soon Whitacre was swamped by requests from conductors trying to get the musical score. Around the same time, Frost’s estate caught wind of the score and its use of the poem and, in a flurry of lawsuits, shut it down.

This all ends when “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” enters the public domain. It was actually set to enter the public domain in 1998, 75 years after first publication but on October 27, 1998, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which extended the copyright term to 95 years which makes the poem enter the public domain on January 1, 2019.

3. Still Life With Cat

German painter Georg Schrimpf is seen as the main founder of the art trend Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). Schrimpf also, after World War I, participated in the brief existence of the Bavarian Soviet Republic before it was crushed by the remnants of the Imperial German Army. As Hitler tightened the screws of Nazi power Schrimpf was fired from his university in 1937 and his work was banned as “Degenerate Art” because he was involved in the Bavarian Soviet and deemed a communist. On April 19, 1938, he died at age 49.

In 1923 he painted “Still Life With Cat.” Germany released a commemorative stamp of the image on January 12, 1995, but the original painting is at the Staatsgalerie Moderne Kunst Museum. 1995 was the last year that Deutsche Bundespost (German federal post office) existed and appeared on stamps, as that year it was dissolved during a government privatization push.

2. Bambi by Felix Salten

Felix Salten published Bambi: A Life in the Woods in 1923. His target audience was adults and it was first published as a serialized tale in Austria. The story was hugely popular and caught the eye of Max Schuster, co-founder of the now giant publishing company Simon & Schuster. He got the book translated, allowing the English world to follow the transformation of Bambi from a weak and powerless fawn into a mighty stag and Great Prince of the Forest.

Ohio State University professor Paul Reitter contends that Salten, a Jew that faced discrimination in Austria, wrote the story as a metaphor for the Jewish existence in Europe, arguing, “Could the deer living in a forest ever trust that human hunters would let them live in peace? That echoes a haunting question for Jews” and antisemitism in 1920s Europe.

From 1933, efforts were made to animate the story but the technical limitations of animation at the time prevented making the film, until Walt Disney was able to overcome all obstacles and in 1939 started making the now iconic cartoon, eventually spending three years on the project before releasing the movie in 1942. A close adaption of the book, Disney was able to use a loophole in copyright law to try and avoid paying Salten a dime.

1. Felix the Cat cartoons

Almost a decade before the 1928 debut of Mickey Mouse (in Steamboat Willie), animator Otto Messmer and his boss Pat Sullivan were trying to create a marketable character, toying with a cartoon black cat. After months of tweaking, two films were released: Feline Follies on November 9, 1919, and on November 16, 1919 it was Musical Mews (a film that has been lost). But the cat in these films was a prototype dubbed Master Tom. The first film with a cat named Felix was The Adventures of Felix, released on December 14, 1919. It was the first character created solely for the film industry, the first character to reach a high level of fame, and also the first character to be licensed and merchandised, bringing in huge money for Sullivan’s animation company.

One of the most popular cartoon characters, Felix the Cat has been beloved by millions for decades. His image has adorned everything from being the oldest recognized mascot in the state of Indiana to the official emblem of the United States Navy strike fighter squadron VFA-31, the second oldest Navy Fighter Attack squadron operating today. Come January 1, 2019, any Felix cartoons released in 1923 or before will be released into the public domain.

Jon Lucas covers WW1 live, 100 years ago. You can follow the action on Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram