This list will detail ten unfortunate individuals who have suffered from severe disfigurements. A few of these people, with the help of modern medicine, have been able to live a more normal life. Some of the following tales are tragic, and others inspire hope. Here are ten shocking stories:

SEE ALSO: 10 Heartbreaking Backstories Of Famous Sideshow Freaks

Rudy Santos, a 69 year old from the Philippines, suffers from the ultra rare condition known as Craniopagus parasiticus or parasitic twin. He is the oldest person with this condition. Attached to Rudy’s pelvis and abdomen are an extra pair of arms and a leg, which developed when his twin was absorbed into his body during pregnancy. Also connected to his body are an extra pair of nipples and an undeveloped head with an ear and hair.

Rudy became a national celebrity whilst traveling with a freak show during the 1970s and ’80s. He would earn up to 20,000 pesos per night as the main attraction. It was at this show where he gained his stage name—the ‘Octoman’. Rudy was likened to a god, and women would line up to be with him.

Strangely, Rudy vanished in the late ’80s and ended up living in extreme poverty for over ten years. In 2008, two doctors examined him to see whether surgery would be viable or not. They concluded that they would be able to remove the parasitic twin, but Rudy decided not to have the operation. He said that he had become fond the extra growth.

Manar Maged—born in Cairo in 2004—also suffered from parasitic twin. Manar and her twin sister were fused together at the head. Her twin had no limbs and could only smile, blink and cry.

At ten months of age, Manar was taken to a hospital in Cairo after she became very ill. It was decided that without the removal of the parasitic twin, they would both die. Unfortunately, after they were separated, the twin died as it used the blood supply of Manar and could not survive without her. Less than a year later, Manar also died due to a brain infection which was caused by complications from the surgery.

Minh Anh is a Vietnamese orphan who was born with a mystery skin disorder which causes his skin to flake and form scales. His condition is thought to have been caused by Agent Orange—the defoliate chemical used by the USA during the Vietnam War. This condition causes him to overheat and his skin can become very uncomfortable without regular baths. Fellow orphans have nicknamed him ‘Fish’. Minh used to be violent to staff members and other children at the orphanage, so they had to restrain him by tying him to his bed.

When Minh was young, he met Brenda, aged 79 from the UK and she travels to Vietnam annually to see him. They have formed a close bond over the years and have become good friends. Brenda has helped Minh in many ways at the orphanage—she persuaded the staff not to tie him up when he is violent and she has found him a friend to take him swimming every week, which is now Minh’s favourite hobby.

Probably the most well-known person on this list is Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man. Born in 1836, the Englishman became a celebrity in London and also gained fame around the world. He was born with proteus syndrome—a condition which causes huge lumps to develop on the skin and the bones to deform and thicken.

Joseph’s mother died when he was eleven and he was rejected by his father. He left home at a young age and worked in Leicester before contacting a showman. He was the main act and gained his stage name—the ‘Elephant Man’.

Due to the size of his head, Joseph had to sleep sitting up. His head was so heavy that it was impossible for him to sleep lying down. One night in 1890, he attempted to sleep ‘like normal people’ and dislocated his neck in the process. He was found dead the next morning.

Didier Montalvo, from rural Colombia developed congenital melanocytic nevus, which causes moles to grow all over the body at an incredibly fast rate. As a result of this disease, a mole grew so large that it covered Didier’s entire back. He was dubbed ‘turtle boy’ by his peers as the huge mole looked like a shell.

Apparently, Didier was conceived on an eclipse and the locals believed his mole was the work of the devil. For this reason, he was shunned by other children and banned from the local school. When British surgeon Neil Bulstrode heard about Didier’s condition, he travelled to Bogota so he could operate and remove the mole. Didier was six years old when the surgery was performed. It was a success and the whole mole was excised. After the operation, Didier now goes to school and lives a normal, happy life.

Mandy Sellars, from Lancashire, UK, was diagnosed with proteus syndrome—the same medical condition as Joseph Merrick. Proteus syndrome is extremely rare and it’s thought to affect only 120 people worldwide. It has caused Mandy’s legs to become extremely enlarged, weighing a total of 95 kilograms and measuring one meter in circumference. As her feet are so large, she has to buy specially fitted shoes which cost around $4000 dollars. She also has a personalized car, allowing her to drive without using her feet.

Doctors decided to amputate one of Mandy’s legs after she contracted deep vein thrombosis and MRSA. After the operation, the remaining section of leg kept growing and became too heavy for her prosthetic. She has now received a new prosthetic leg which should last the rest of her life.

Petero Byakatonda is a boy from a small, rural town in Uganda who suffers from crouzon syndrome. This affects about one in every 25,000 births, but Petero’s case is an extreme one. Crouzon syndrome causes malformation of the skull, which in turn pushes the eyeballs out of their sockets and the ears down, leading to problems with sight and hearing. In developed countries, the deformities caused by crouzon syndrome are usually treated very soon after birth but Petero did not receive this treatment as he lives hundreds of miles away from a hospital.

Petero’s neighbors tormented and shunned him for his appearance and he locked himself away in his room, hardly ever leaving the house. A doctor noticed his condition when driving through Petero’s village. The doctor raised enough money for Petero to travel to Austin, Texas, for life-changing surgery. He spent six months there while doctors re-shaped his skull. This put a lot pressure off his optic nerve and brain. A second operation was needed to reconstruct the bone around Petero’s eyes. Complications occurred during the second surgery—he lost 80% of his total blood volume and his condition turned critical. Luckily, he survived and he now lives a happy life in his village.

José Mestre from Lisbon, Portugal, developed a huge facial deformity which started growing on his lips when he was fourteen. Over the years, this tumor grew to be over five kilograms in weight. It caused him to become blind in one eye and made it very hard for him to breathe, eat and sleep. He spent forty years of his life without treatment because of “years of medical misinformation, some misdiagnosis, lack of finances, and reluctance to undergo treatment due to religious beliefs.”

In 2010, José travelled to Chicago to undergo four operations to remove his tumor and restore his facial features. The tumor mass was removed completely in the first operation and the next three aimed to reconstruct the face. The operations were successful and José travelled back to Lisbon a few weeks after treatment.

Dede Koswara is an Indonesian man who, for most of his life, has endured the extremely rare fungal infection, Epidermodysplasia verruciformis. This causes large, hard fungal growths to protrude from the skin which looks remarkably like tree bark. This had become extremely uncomfortable for Dede, preventing him from performing basic functions with his hands, as they were so large and heavy. The fungus grows all over the body but it’s mainly found on the hands and feet.

In 2008, Dede received treatment in the USA to remove six kilograms of warts from his body. After this was done, skin grafts were applied to the hands and face. Unfortunately, this surgery did not stop the fungus from growing and he had further operations in 2011. There is no cure for Dede’s condition.

Fetus in fetu is an extremely rare developmental abnormality that occurs in one out of every 500,000 births. The reason for this condition is unclear, but many scientists believe that it occurs in the early stages of pregnancy, when one fetus is enveloped by the other. Many parasitic twins are small and undeveloped, but others can grow to a large size. Alamjan Nematilaev, from Khazakstan, had a parasitic twin that developed hair, limbs, teeth, nails, genitals, a head and a basic face. Alamjan’s twin had been living inside him for over seven years before it was discovered…

In 2003, Alamjan’s school doctor noticed the swollen abdomen and sent him to the hospital. Doctors examined him and believed that the lump was a cyst. The following week, Alamjan was operated on and to the doctor’s surprise, they found a baby measuring two kilograms in weight and twenty centimeters in length. The doctor who carried out the surgery said that Alamjan looked like he was in the sixth month of pregnancy. The boy’s parents believed that his condition was caused by radiation from the Chernobyl disaster, but experts have dismissed this idea. Alamjan fully recovered from the operation, but to this day, he still does not know that his twin grew inside him.

Caleb is a Listverse author and moderator from Cornwall, UK. You can follow him on twitter.

DNA is present in every living thing, including humans. It carries our genetic information, passing our traits onto the next generation. It also allows us to trace our origins down to our earliest ancestors.

It also works the other way. By analyzing the DNA of ancient humans and prehumans and comparing it with ours, we are able to discover more accurate information about our origins. The following are but some of the many things science has learned from studying ancient DNA.

10 Humans Are Descended From A Single Man And Woman

According to the Holy Bible, every human is a descendant of Adam and Eve, the first humans to ever live on Earth. Science partly backs this theory, albeit with some interesting differences. First, the scientific versions of Adam and Eve were not the first humans ever. Second, we’re not their direct offspring. Instead, every man is descended from the man, and every woman is descended from the woman.

Scientists call the man “Y-chromosome Adam” and the woman “mitochondrial Eve.” Y-chromosome Adam lived in Africa sometime between 125,000 and 156,000 years ago. Mitochondrial Eve lived in East Africa sometime between 99,000 and 148,000 years ago. Unlike the biblical Adam and Eve, it is unlikely that Y chromosome Adam and mitochondrial Eve ever met, although they could have been alive at the same time.

Scientists concluded that Y-chromosome Adam was the ancestor of all men after sequencing the Y chromosome of 69 men from seven different ethnic groups. For mitochondrial Eve, they tested the mitochondrial DNA from the 69 men as well as 24 other women. However, the timeline for Y-chromosome Adam is debated, since other studies have concluded that he could have lived between 180,000 and 200,000 years ago or even from 237,000 to 581,000 years ago.^[1]

9 Different Species Of Early Humans Interbred

In 2012, archaeologists unearthed a bone fragment from Denisova Cave in Siberia. The bone was part of the shin or thigh of an ancient human they named Denisova 11. DNA tests subsquently revealed that Denisova 11 was female, lived around 50,000 years ago, and was over 13 years old at the time she died. She was also a hybrid of two species of early humans: the Neanderthal and the Denisovan.

Denisova 11’s father was a Denisovan, and her mother was a Neanderthal. Interestingly, Denisova 11’s father was also a descendant of a Neanderthal-Denisovan hybrid. However, unlike his daughter, who was a direct descendant, his hybrid ancestor lived between 300 and 600 generations before him.

Scientists know Denisovans and Neanderthals separated 390,000 years ago. However, they never knew they interbred prior to this discovery. DNA tests also indicated that Denisova 11’s Neanderthal mother was more closely related to Western European Neanderthals than to a Neanderthal that had lived in Denisova Cave at an earlier point in prehistory.^[2]

8 Tibetans Are Descendants Of The Denisovans

Speaking of interbreeding, DNA tests have proven that Tibetans are descendants of the Denisovans. This does not mean Tibetans are Denisovans; they are Homo sapiens. One of their Homo sapien ancestors just happened to mate with a Denisovan.

Scientists discovered this when they compared the genomes extracted from Denisova 11 with the genomes of 40 Tibetans. They discovered that the Tibetan EPAS1 gene was similar to Denisova 11’s EPAS1 gene. The EPAS1 is found in all humans. It is responsible for managing our body’s natural response in low-oxygen environments.

Our bodies naturally produce more hemoglobin to transport oxygen to our tissues when there is not enough oxygen. While this ensures our survival, it also puts us at risk of heart problems. However, Tibetans have a mutated EPAS1 gene. Their bodies do not produce more hemoglobin when short of oxygen. This is why they are able to live at high altitudes, where oxygen is low.

Scientists suspect the ancestors of the Tibetans got the gene when one of them mated with a Denisovan between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. However, scientists have not confirmed whether the mutated EPAS1 gene also allowed the Denisovans to cope at high altitudes as it does for the Tibetans.^[3]

7 The First Brits Were Black

In 1903, scientists uncovered the 10,000-year-old remains of a British man in a cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, England. A 2018 DNA analysis of the man, who they call the Cheddar man, revealed that he had either dark brown or black skin, with curly black hair and blue eyes.

Considering that he is the oldest complete human skeleton ever found in Britain, this means the earliest Brits were black. Interestingly, in the 1990s, Professor Brian Sykes of Oxford University tested 20 people in Cheddar village and compared their DNA with that of Cheddar man. He discovered that two people were descendants of Cheddar Man.^[4]

6 King Richard III Of England Was A Hunchback

In 2012, archaeologists from the University of Leicester started digging at a car park in Leicester. The parking lot was the site of the former church of the Greyfriars, where King Richard III was supposedly buried. They found the remains of the monarch there, making Richard III famous for being the king whose remains were found under a car park.

Scientists confirmed that the skeleton truly belonged to the king when they tested its DNA against that of a living relative. The skull also had damage which matched fatal head injuries King Richard III sustained during the Battle of Bosworth. They also found something else. His spine was curved. This meant that the king truly was a hunchback—a fact historians had deliberated on for years.^[5]

5 King Tut’s Parents Were Siblings

King Tutankhamun remains one of the most famous pharaohs to rule over Egypt. He started ruling when he was just ten and died around 1324 BC, when he was just 19. Archaeologists excavated his tomb in 1922. Surprisingly, they found it intact—complete with precious stones including gold.

Physical analysis of King Tut’s remains showed that the king did not enjoy his short life. His left leg was deformed, forcing him to walk around with a cane. In fact, 130 canes were found in his tomb. Further DNA analysis showed that his deformed leg was the result of inbreeding. He also suffered from a bout of malaria, which would have stopped the deformed leg from healing.

DNA tests revealed that King Tut’s father was Akhenaten, the son of Amenhotep III (King Tut’s grandfather). DNA tests also showed that King Tut’s mother was also a daughter of Amenhotep III. This would make King Tut’s father and mother siblings. Some historians believe his mother was Queen Nefertiti, although this has been challenged because she was not related to Akhenaten.^[6]

4 The Clovis People Were Not The First To Settle In America

The Clovis people are believed to be the first settlers of America. They reached North America 13,000 years ago, moved to South America 11,000 years ago, and disappeared 9,000 years ago. However, in 2018, DNA tests on ancient humans revealed that the Clovis culture were not the first people to settle in the the Americas.

While DNA from ancient humans found in North America proves that the Clovis people lived in North America 12,800 years ago, it is a different story in South America. DNA tests conducted on the remains of 49 ancient South American people show that the Clovis people first appeared in South America 11,000 years ago.

Interestingly, archaeologists already have evidence that some unidentified culture lived in Monte Verde, Chile, 14,500 years ago. A 12,800-year-old set of human remains found in South America is believed to have belonged to this tribe, since it does not share DNA with Clovis people.

The oldest DNA evidence scientists have to prove that the Clovis people ever settled in South America was taken from an 11,000-year-old human. Scientists are unsure about the relationship between the Clovis people and this strange tribe. However, they are sure the unidentified tribe really existed, because today’s South Americans do not share DNA with the Clovis people.^[7]

3 Columbus Did Not Introduce Tuberculosis To The Americas

It is often said that Christopher Columbus’s voyage introduced several deadly diseases, including tuberculosis, to the Americas in the late 15th century. These diseases ended up killing 90 percent of the Native American population. However, DNA tests tell otherwise. Seals introduced tuberculosis to the Americas long before Columbus arrived.

Scientists made this discovery when they analyzed three sets of human remains from Peru. The people are believed to have died 1,000 years ago—500 years before the arrival of Columbus. DNA tests revealed the strain of TB they had is closest to the strain found in infected seals and sea lions.

Europe, Asia, and Africa were experiencing deadly tuberculosis epidemics at the time the Peruvians died. Scientists suspect seals and sea lions somehow got infected during one of the epidemics in Africa and unwittingly took it along when they migrated to the Americas. The Peruvian natives contracted the mutated strain of tuberculosis when they hunted the seals and sea lions for food.

This does not mean that Columbus and his men were completely innocent, however. For all we know, they probably still introduced the deadlier European tuberculosis to the Americas. The tuberculosis in America today is of European origin.^[8]

2 Descendants Of The Vikings Are At Risk Of Emphysema

A 2016 paper by researchers led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine revealed that Viking descendants have a higher-than-usual risk of developing a serious lung problem called emphysema. Normally, smokers are the likeliest to suffer from emphysema.

Analysis of a Viking-era latrine in Denmark showed that the Vikings suffered from worms so much that their alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) inhibitor gene mutated to stop the enzymes of the worms. The human body naturally produces inhibitors (including A1AT) to stop powerful enzymes secreted in our bodies from digesting our organs.

However, for the Vikings and their descendants, the A1AT inhibitor’s increased ability to deal with the enzymes secreted by the worms also decreased its ability to stop the enzymes secreted in their bodies from digesting their organs.

Today, the mutated A1AT inhibitor is useless, since we now have drugs to deal with worms. But DNA tests show that the descendants of the Vikings still have the mutated inhibitor. This means the descendants of the Vikings are left to cope with their bodies’ inability to deal with their own enzymes, leading to lung diseases.^[9]

1 Malaria Contributed To The Fall Of Ancient Rome

Researchers have always suspected that malaria contributed to the fall of ancient Rome. However, they have now confirmed that malaria did indeed plague ancient Rome and contributed to its demise. Scientists made this discovery in 2011 when they analyzed the remains of 47 babies and toddlers excavated from an ancient Roman villa in Lugnano, Italy.

The oldest of the children of Lugnano, as they are called, was just three years old. All died and were buried around the same time. More than half died before they were born. They were victims of one of a series of malaria plagues that ravaged ancient Rome and stopped farmers from going to their farms. However, the worst-hit was the army, which couldn’t mass enough soldiers to repel foreign invaders.^[10]

Many people do not believe in cults. Despite the fact that very real cults have existed throughout history, many ordinary folks like to cast them aside as just a “conspiracy theory.” The problem is that, in many cases, such thinking is akin to an ostrich voluntarily dunking its head in the sand. Cults exist, and some are truly dangerous.

One such cult is called the Order of Nine Angles. This organization has links to neo-Nazi and left-wing anarchist groups, plus its strong adherence to the “Left-Hand Path” has earned it accusations of human sacrifice and murder. Examining this group involves a peek in at the world of true radicalism—a world where Satanism, extremist politics, and hard-line Islamism cohabitate.

10 Origins

The Order of Nine Angles (ONA) was founded in Great Britain by a man named Anton Long. At the time, Long and others formed ONA out of a diverse collection of occult groups then centered in England. According to Long himself, as a child he traveled all over Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Here, in the latter area, Long began studying religions and taught himself Greek, Arabic, and Persian.^[1]

By his own admission, in the early 1970s, Long found attraction in the darker side of society, and at some point, he began committing various crimes. Before long, this blossoming occultist fell in with other British witches and warlocks, many of whom claimed descent from Britain’s original pagans. Indeed, beginning in the 1980s, the ONA began publishing tracts and articles claiming that their brand of “sinister” occultism had roots in the original “solar paganism” of the ancient Indo-European peoples. As such, Anton Long and priestess Christos Beest claimed in writing that their Satanism was an attempt to revive Nordic, Anglo-Saxon, and Celtic paganism in the face of Christianity. The group published a book entitled The Black Book of Satan, which promised its readers a sevenfold path toward reaching the sinister.

9 Distinction

Lazy journalists who became aware of the ONA linked them with Anton LaVey and Michael Aquino. Founded on Walpurgis Night 1966, LaVey’s Church of Satan was all about showmanship and self-promotion. Indeed, the group’s official “bible,” The Satanic Bible, is more philosophy than theology. LaVey rejected the existence of Satan and instead espoused the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand.^[2]

Michael Aquino was the founder of the Temple of Set, an occult order based in Southern California. Aquino, a former officer in the US Army, preached what he called “esoteric Satanism.” The Temple of Set broke off from the Church of Satan in order to pursue their path toward “enlightenment” without the supposed hang-ups of Judeo-Christian morality. For the followers of Aquino, the goal is to become an individual god.

The ONA believe in none of this. They are theistic Satanists, which means that they believe in a deity named Satan. For them, practicing black magic and causing chaos in the world is all part of glorifying their black god.

8 The Importance Of David Myatt

British citizen David Myatt has lived a most interesting life. Born in Tanzania and raised in East Asia by a civil servant father, Myatt began practicing martial arts at a very young age. From here Myatt, began studying the religions of the world, including Buddhism and Islam. However, instead of becoming a priest or a scholar, Myatt first became a political activist.

Beginning in 1969, Myatt became involved in the British Movement (BM), a right-wing group founded by Colin Jordan. Then and now, Jordan was a controversial staple of British politics. During his heyday, Jordan supported the idea of sending all of Britain’s Jews to Israel, the complete halt of all non-European immigration to Great Britain, and removing all blacks and Asians from British life. As can be guessed, Jordan and his followers got into many street battles with Labour Party supporters and immigrant groups. As such, Jordan hired Myatt to be his bodyguard.

In 1974, Myatt formed the National Democratic Freedom Movement, an openly neo-Nazi organization that published a newspaper entitled British News. Myatt was frequently arrested for engaging in street brawls. At the same time, he was also collaborating with London-based Thelemites and members of the ONA. Under the sway of Myatt, the ONA embraced National Socialist racialism and the idea that Christianity is a religion fit only for slaves.^[3]

In 1998, Myatt converted to Sunni Islam. Following this, he began trying to synthesize hard-line Islamism with neo-Nazi ideals of political revolution.

7 Links To Right-Wing Groups

Thanks to the influence of David Myatt and other British political activists, the ONA began collaborating with right-wing organizations all over Europe. Sometimes, this collaboration was indirect, with groups independently adopting the ideals and ideas of the ONA.

One intellectual influenced by the ideas of the ONA is French journalist Christian Bouchet. In 1991, Bouchet, a mainstay of right-wing politics in France, founded the Nouvelle Resistance, a revolutionary nationalist movement, and the pan-European European Liberation Front. Bouchet’s ideas have not only been informed by the Aryanism of the ONA but also by the American author Francis Parker Yockey and the founder of “Esoteric Hitlerism,” Savitri Devi.^[4]

In New Zealand, the Black Order, founded by author Kerry Bolton, took direct inspiration from the ONA, while the German group the National Socialist Underground were similarly influenced by ONA. Just this year, one of the longest trials in German history concluded when Beate Zschape of the NSU was convicted of ten counts of murder.

6 Links To The Left

The ONA considers itself open to differing views. As such, membership in the ONA includes members who subscribe to left-wing politics. While most authors have focused on the group’s connections to right-wing organizations, the ONA’s theology, which embraces chaos, has been adopted by some anarchist groups who routinely engage in acts of vandalism.^[5]

According to the group’s own words, the ONA “upholds anarchism” as the most compatible with black magic. For ONA adepts, the initiation of anarchy is desirable because tragedy and trauma create wisdom and enlightenment. As such, ONA members are against organized society and its institutions. This idea has been adapted by several small anarcho-communist groups. However, unlike the ONA’s connections to the right, its connections to the left are less tangible.

5 The Atomwaffen Division

In several articles, the American neo-Nazi organization Atomwaffen Division has been linked to the ONA. In March 2018, The Daily Beast published an article detailing how the Satanist wing of the Atomwaffen Division had declared war on the group’s non-Satanic adherents. The article, written by Kelly Weill, said that the group’s supposed leader, James Cameron Denton, has posted ONA images online in the past.^[6] Denton and his followers reportedly see no contradiction between Satanism and the ONA (which encourages its adherents to infiltrate any extremist organization), while other members of the Atomwaffen Division do not agree.

The Atomwaffen Division are not some fringe group, mind you. They’ve been known to place flyers on American college campuses, are well-armed, and have made threats to attack the US government and American electrical grids in the past. At one point, the group was accused of playing a role in the murder of college student Blaze Bernstein. Bernstein’s killer, Samuel Woodward, had been a member of Atomwaffen Division, but he admitted in court that he targeted the Jewish Bernstein because he was gay.

4 The ONA’s Goals

The main goal of the ONA and its followers is to bring about the so-called New Aeon.^[7] The ONA is convinced that the modern world has failed and that global capital, consumerism, religious extremism, and environmental destruction are the result of Magian (Judeo-Christian) culture and politics. The New Aeon will come about as soon as society returns to its tribal roots.

The ONA also believes that the new age will be inaugurated by Vindex, a revolutionary hero who will restore justice. Vindex will be, like Achilles, a semidivine warrior with a preordained mission. Once Vindex reaches his destiny, the New Aeon will come forth.

The ONA believes that its “sinister” ideals must be spread as much as possible in order for the New Aeon to come. That is why ONA members are encouraged to join radical organizations with predominately young membership.

3 The Dark Gods

According the ONA theology, a series of sinister deities known as the Dark Gods exist. These gods exist in the acausal realm, which is connected to our own causal realm. The acausal realm is bounded by acausal time and has more than three spatial dimensions.^[8] These Dark Gods have the ability to enter into the minds of adepts in a process that is somewhat reminiscent of Lovecraftian fiction. Indeed, also akin to Lovecraft is the ONA notion that a new age will come when the Dark Gods of the acausal realm bleed over into the causal realm.

One of the Dark Gods is Baphomet, the mother and bride of Satan. The goat-headed Baphomet is, according to the ONA, associated with the feminine and is the creator of all demons. Students of history may remember that the Knights Templar were accused of worshiping Baphomet by at least two sources.

The other Dark Gods of the ONA pantheon are completely unique to the group and do not have any obvious connections to the Western occult tradition.

2 The Seven Fold Way

The core tenet of the ONA is the concept of the Seven Fold Way. The Seven Fold Way is a hermetic hierarchy of practitioners. Each category of the Seven Fold Way represents a certain level of occultism. Keep in mind that the ONA’s brand of occultism demands sharp aestheticism, scholarship, and physical endurance.

The seven stages of adeptness for the group are: 1) Neophyte, 2) Initiate, 3) External Adept, 4) Internal Adept, 5) Master/Mistress, 6) Grand Master/Mousa, and 7) Immortal.^[9] The exact number of ONA members in each category are unknown. At best, it has been theorized that there over 1,000 members of the ONA throughout the world.

1 Human Sacrifice

The ONA is infamous in the Satanic underground as one of the few organizations that encourages human sacrifice. To the ONA, sacrificing human life is “powerful magick” that releases an individual’s energy, which can be stored and reused by magicians.^[10] In their own mythology, the ONA’s ancestors in pagan England practiced human sacrifice every 17 years in order to maintain “cosmic balance.”

Members of the ONA believe in “culling,” or committing sacrifices wherein the victim self-selects their own death. Some former members of the ONA claim that Myatt is still active in the group and actively encourages fellow members of the cult to commit crimes and murders as part of magical rites.

The Roman Emperor Nero is enjoying a newfound respect these days. At this point, it’s almost common knowledge that the stories of him playing a fiddle while Rome burned are almost certainly untrue.

Still, there are stories about Nero’s excess and depravity that go beyond anything imagined in the most gruesome horror stories. Although there’s no way of knowing how many stories are true, you don’t earn a reputation like this one without doing something people didn’t like.

10 He Burned Christians For A Source Of Light

Nero never had progressive policies when it came to Christians, but he got really hard on them after the Great Fire of Rome. When the people began turning against Nero, he used Christians as a scapegoat to get the heat off himself.

Christians were blamed for the fire and slaughtered en masse. But the really terrifying part was how they were killed. Slaughtering Christians was a spectacle that people would attend and cheer.

During parties, Nero would nail Christians to crosses and burn them alive as a source of light when the Sun went down. While his victims screamed and suffered, Nero would walk about in a chariot rider’s uniform making small talk with his guests.

9 He Trapped People In Theaters To Listen To His Music

The story about Nero playing music while Rome burned doesn’t just come from nowhere. Nero loved the arts—from music to the theater—and performed every chance he got.

He even locked the gates of the theater when he performed. Then he put on incredibly long performances, requiring the audience to listen attentively and clap. People would leap over the walls or even fake their own deaths to get out of these performances. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, one performance went on so long that a woman gave birth while Nero played.

8 He Regularly Cheated To Win The Olympics

Nero was an athlete, too. In fact, he still holds the world record for most Olympic wins, staking claim to 1,808 Olympic wreaths—the era’s equivalent of gold medals.

So how did he do it? By cheating, of course. In one ridiculous story about a chariot race, Nero allegedly ordered his competitors to use four-horse chariots and then showed up with a team of 10 horses.

Despite his massive advantage, Nero still didn’t make it across the finish line. He fell off his chariot and had to give up the race. Even though he didn’t make it around the track, the judges still declared their emperor the winner of the race.

7 He Built An Orgy Palace With A Gigantic Statue Of Himself

One of Nero’s greatest accomplishments was building the Domus Aurea, a golden pleasure palace the likes of which the world had never seen. It was a massive building overlaid with gold, ivory, and mother-of-pearl. It was guarded by a 37-meter-tall (120 ft) statue of himself. It even had panels in the ceiling that would let a rain of flowers and perfume fall on his guests.

So what was it used for? Orgies, of course! Reportedly, people in the palace would eat until they vomited and then couple for massive sex parties while rose petals fell on them from above.

All the decadence might have been forgivable—except that Nero built his sex palace right after the Great Fire of Rome when people needed aid. The Domus Aurea was viewed as a symbol of his selfishness and, shortly after his death, was stripped of all its gold.

6 His Sex Life Was Insane

Stories about Nero’s sex life show up in every Roman history book because as weird as Roman emperors were in the bedroom, none of them compared to Nero.

Tacitus told a story about Nero throwing a massive orgy that went on for days. At the end, Nero threw a mock wedding ceremony in which he married a freedman named Pythagoras—one of two men whom Nero married throughout his life.

According to Suetonius, whenever Nero wanted to let off a little steam, he would tie naked boys and girls to stakes, dress up like an animal, jump on them, and pretend to eat them. This was most likely a recreation of how criminals were executed in that time, with Nero pretending to be a vicious animal devouring a sentenced man in front of an audience.

5 He Sentenced A Woman To Death By Giraffe

In Nero’s time, there was a famous assassin named Locusta who specialized in poisoning people. According to some accounts, Nero’s mother, Agrippina, hired Locusta to murder Agrippina’s husband, Claudius, and then her stepson, Britannicus.

Sometime after Nero came to power, Locusta was made to pay for her crimes in a horrible way. According to a popular story, Nero had her publicly raped by a “specially trained giraffe” before she was finally torn apart by wild animals.

4 He Crucified The Apostle Peter

Nero didn’t just kill nameless Christians—he executed Peter, one of Jesus’s disciples. In AD 64, about 30 years after Jesus’s death, Peter was trying to spread Christianity throughout Rome and that put him directly in Nero’s path. Nero captured and crucified Peter—and, according to the popular story, hung him upside down.

This was far from an isolated event. Peter was killed in a circus that Nero almost exclusively used to publicly execute Christians. Those live murders were such a popular sport that the streets alongside the circus’s racetrack were filled with tombs full of the bones of his victims.

3 He Murdered His Own Mother

Nero killed a lot of people, but he didn’t stop at strangers. He murdered his family, too—including his own mother, Agrippina the Younger. Every historian gives a different account of how Nero killed her, but they all seem to agree that he was behind it.

According to historian Cassius Dio, Nero sent his mother off on a custom-designed ship. While she out at sea, a secret door under the ship opened up and sent her falling into the depths of the water. Agrippina survived and desperately swam to shore. But when she reached it, Nero had an assassin waiting for her.

When Agrippina saw her killer, she just said, “Smite my womb,” ordering the assassin to destroy the part of her body that had created such an abominable son.

2 He Kicked His Wife And Unborn Baby To Death

Most people credit Nero’s decision to murder his mother to the influence of his second wife, Poppaea Sabina. Poppaea was a manipulative woman who charmed the emperor, convincing him to get rid of his first wife, Octavia, and his own mother so that Poppaea could take their places.

For a while, Nero and Poppaea enjoyed a period of marital bliss, but it didn’t last. In time, they started to argue.

During one fight, Nero beat his wife bloody. He threw her to the ground and repeatedly kicked her directly in the stomach, where his unborn child was growing. According to some versions of the story, he may even have jumped up and down on her womb until she died.

Apparently, he regretted it. A few years later, he found a young boy named Sporus who looked like her and did what any grieving husband would do: He forcibly castrated the boy, dressed him up like his dead wife, and married him in front of all of Rome.

1 He May Literally Be The Antichrist

Calling somebody “the Antichrist” is a pretty strong accusation. But in this case, it’s not just a judgment call. According to one theory, Nero may literally be the Antichrist described in the Bible.

Most people know that “666” is the number of the beast, but you might not have read it in context. The Book of Revelation treats the number more as a puzzle for the reader to solve than a prophecy. It says: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.”

The twist is that if you count the numbers that represent the Hebrew letters in “Nero Caesar,” you get 666. On top of that, Revelation says that the beast will rule for “forty and two months”—which happens to be about the length of time that Nero ruled after the Great Fire of Rome.

This means that John might not have been just predicting some vague future evil. He may have been trying to tell the people of his time that Nero would be coming back.

Mark Oliver is a regular contributor to . His writing also appears on a number of other sites, including The Onion’s StarWipe and Cracked.com. His website is regularly updated with everything he writes.

Documentaries help us gain insider knowledge and more depth in certain important social issues. They also provide new conversation fodder in our day-to-day lives. When we see scandal, corruption, evil, and injustice play out on our screens at home, we begin to feel personally involved.

The key figures in the following shocking documentaries have all been exposed in such a way that their reputations and careers have never fully recovered. On these occasions, the camera was able to capture more than the subject ever intended.

10 Blackfish (2013)

Blackfish centers around an orca named Tilikum as well as the death of a SeaWorld killer whale trainer named Dawn Brancheau, who was dragged underwater by Tilikum. This was not the first violent incident involving Tilikum, who had previously dragged a trainer underwater. Luckily, that trainer survived. In 1999, a man named Daniel P. Dukes was found dead in Tilikum’s tank under suspicious circumstances.

Blackfish claimed that Tilikum and the other killer whales held in captivity were victims of cruel circumstances. These social animals were separated from their families and placed in tanks the size of only two lengths of their bodies. The ill effects of their captivity are indicated by their drooping dorsal fins—something seen in only one percent of wild killer whales.

There was widespread anger after the documentary was released, and SeaWorld suffered a $15.9 million loss due to low audience attendance. In 2018, SeaWorld and its former CEO were also ordered to pay $5 million in fines “to settle fraud charges for misleading investors about the impact the documentary film Blackfish had on the company’s reputation and business.”^[1]

9 Living With Michael Jackson (2003)

Journalist Martin Bashir had unprecedented access to Michael Jackson’s life for his fly-on-the-wall documentary Living with Michael Jackson, released in 2003. The documentary focuses on life at the Neverland Ranch, where the singer reveals that disadvantaged children are invited to sleep in his bed while he sleeps on the bedroom floor.

Bashir intended to focus on the King of Pop’s career but portrayed a very uncomfortable side to the musician instead. In one controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands with a 13-year-old boy on camera. Jackson made an official complaint to the independent television commission, stating he had been “unfairly treated.” He said, “Martin Bashir persuaded me to trust him. [ . . . ] Today I feel more betrayed than perhaps ever before.” He added, “Everyone who knows me will know the truth [ . . . ] that I would never harm any child.”^[2]

In 2019, a new documentary titled Leaving Neverland focused on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged they were sexually abused by Jackson as children. Following its release, many radio stations decided to boycott the singer’s hit songs.

8 Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief (2015)

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is a controversial commentary on the Church of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Director Alex Gibney claims the church draws in followers for money while subjecting them to physical and psychological degradation. Also highlighted is the war between the IRS and the church, which is exempt from paying any taxes on the basis of religion.

According to a former church spokesman, Tom Cruise’s ex-wife Nicole Kidman was deemed a “potential trouble source” because her father was a psychologist—a profession that Scientology is against. The documentary alleges that Kidman’s phone was tapped, and Cruise had to report daily on his relationship status. Actor John Travolta was also labeled as a key figure for the brainwashing cult in the stunning expose.

Lawrence Wright, who wrote the book that led to the film, said, “[The church] always wanted celebrities who could sell Scientology. [ . . . ] We hold people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta and others responsible for not demanding change inside that church.”^[3]

7 Surviving R. Kelly (2019)

The docuseries Surviving R. Kelly caused such public outcry that record label RCA, which is owned by Sony Music, cut all ties with R. Kelly. They removed his name from their website following an online petition which gained more than 110,000 signatures.

The singer-songwriter, real name Robert Kelly, reportedly married singer Aaliyah in 1994 and falsified the records to make her appear 18 years old when she was just 15 at the time. The brief marriage was later annulled. Kelly’s former personal assistant revealed, “I had papers forged for them when Aaliyah was underage. It was just a quick little ceremony. She didn’t have on a white dress. He didn’t have on a tux. Just everyday wear. She looked worried and scared.”^[4]

According to his former victims and their families, Kelly abused and manipulated dozens of young women and girls over the years. His former backing singer, Jovante Cunningham, stated, “He destroyed a lot of people. I can’t stress to you enough how people are still suffering behind things that went on 20 years ago.”

6 Making A Murderer (2015)

Former district attorney Ken Kratz was one of the central figures in the Netflix docuseries Making A Murderer, which premiered in December 2015. Kratz prosecuted Steven Avery and Branden Dassey for the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005. Dassey was just 16 years old when he was convicted; he had learning difficulties and a below-average IQ.

Following the release of the documentary, Kratz became Public Enemy Number One when his own crimes were brought into the spotlight. In 2010, the Associated Press reported Kratz had sent “repeated text messages trying to spark an affair with a domestic abuse victim while he was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend.” According to police reports, two more women came forward claiming they had resigned from his office due to sexual harassment.

In 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Kratz for four months, stating, “This was exploitative behavior, harassing behavior, and a crass placement of his personal interests above those of his client, the State of Wisconsin.” Kratz was ordered to pay the costs of disciplinary proceedings—an amount that bankrupted him.^[5]

5 The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey (2016)

On December 26, 1996, six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family home in Boulder, Colorado. Her father found her body eight hours after she was reported missing. There was also a handwritten ransom note discovered in the house, demanding $118,000 for the safe return of JonBenet.

In 2016, CBS aired the docuseries The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the child’s death. Former investigators of the original case and forensic experts came together to reexamine the murder. They built a new theory that suggested JonBenet’s brother Burke, who was nine years old at the time of the crime, bludgeoned his sister to death, and the parents covered for him.

Burke Ramsey then sued CBS for $750 million. His lawyers stated, “The accusation that Burke Ramsey killed his sister was based on a compilation of lies, half-truths, manufactured information, and the intentional omission and avoidance of truthful information about the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.” The lawsuit was settled privately, and the case of JonBenet Ramsey is still unsolved.^[6]

4 Nanook Of The North (1922)

Nanook of the North, released in 1922, focused on the life of great Inuit hunter Nanook. The documentary showed Nanook and his family surviving the powerful elements of Northern Canada. Director Robert Flaherty explained, “What I want to show is the former majesty and character of these people, while it is still possible—before the white man has destroyed not only their character but the people as well.”^[7]

Flaherty was criticized for heavily staging the “real-life” events depicted in the film. Nanook can be seen harpooning a walrus and dragging it out of the Arctic waters, although the Inuit had stopped walrus-hunting a long time prior. Nanook’s igloo was proven to be a film set with a missing wall because filming inside a real igloo was too dark.

Another staged moment was when Nanook was introduced to a gramophone for the first time, and he attempted to eat the vinyl, yet Nanook knew what vinyl was long before this film. It was also revealed that Flaherty had created Nanook’s “family” much like a casting call.

3 Icarus (2017)

Filmmaker Bryan Fogel uncovered the dark truth about doping in sports for his 2017 documentary Icarus. The documentary focuses on an alleged doping program overseen by the Russian Sports Ministry which involved coaches, officials, and politicians. Whistle-blower Grigory Rodchenkov, former director of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, fled to the US, where he went into hiding and is now protected by US authorities.

Speaking on a panel at the Sundance Film Festival, banned Olympian Lance Armstrong agreed with the level of corruption in sports. He said, “My situation five years ago, when [my doping use] came out, the organizations—USADA (The United States Anti-Doping Agency), WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) [ . . . ] the declarations [they made] were pretty strong: ‘He’s biggest fraud in the history of sport’; ‘The most sophisticated doping program that ever existed’. We don’t need to debate whether or not those statements are true, but those are strong statements. But underneath all of that you have a system that really doesn’t work that well.”^[8]

2 The Panama Papers (2018)

In 2018, The Panama Papers detailed how more than 300 reporters from 80 different countries came together to investigate offshore accounts. More than 11.5 million documents, dubbed the “Panama Papers,” were leaked by an anonymous source. The documents detailed such things as corporations that were used for illegal purposes, including fraud and tax evasion. Offshore accounts originally exploited by criminal kingpins are now tax havens for the wealthy. The financial information of many prominent public figures was exposed.

In 2017, another leak, dubbed the “Paradise Papers,” occurred. Famous names involved in this shocking expose included singer Shakira for transferring more than £30 million in musical rights to an offshore firm; Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, who avoided paying taxes on his £16.5 million private jet; pop star Madonna, shown to be a major shareholder in a medical supply company in Bermuda; and the estate of the queen of England, which invested more than £10 million offshore in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. However, Queen Elizabeth II was not personally involved in the investments.^[9]

1 The Staircase (2004, 2013, 2018)

On December 9, 2001, well-known author Michael Peterson discovered his wife, Kathleen, lying unconscious at the bottom of the stairs in their Forest Hills mansion in North Carolina. He claimed she must have fallen down the stairs after consuming alcohol, but the autopsy report concluded that she had sustained severe head injuries consistent with blows from a blunt object. The report stated Kathleen died from blood loss at least 90 minutes after those injuries occurred.

Peterson decided to take an “Alford plea,” which meant that he did not admit guilt but still plead guilty. In 2012 and 2013, Peterson took part in a follow-up to the docuseries The Staircase (which originally aired in France in 2004) with the intention to prove his innocence. In 2018, The Staircase was made available on Netflix, along with three new episodes providing further updates. However, the docuseries caused a very different reaction from audiences, as theories online all pointed toward Peterson’s guilt.

Director Jean Xavier de-Lestrade admitted, “[A producer] was completely convinced that it was a murder and Michael Peterson did it.” Even Lestrade himself is still unsure, explaining, “After 15 years following the case, and after spending weeks, months, and years with Michael Peterson and his family, I still can’t tell you I am convinced by something.”^[10]

Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5’2″ or at home reading true crime magazines.
Twitter: @thecheish

Since the late 19th century, psychiatry in the Western world has claimed to be a medical specialty. By stressing that mental disorders are an “illness like any other,” psychiatrists strive to keep the same status as their colleagues in cardiology, oncology, and other specialties. Mental disorders, they argue, should be viewed no differently from diseases like heart failure or leukemia.

There is a dearth of evidence for this grand claim. Psychiatry, ably abetted by the drug industry, has created an idea of mental health that may bear little resemblance to reality. Listed below, in no particular order, are the 10 biggest myths of modern psychiatry.

10Mental Illness Is The Result Of A Broken Brain

Most psychiatrists believe that the main cause of mental illness is a life-long brain defect. We are often told that people diagnosed with schizophrenia (a severe mental health problem involving hearing voices, jumbled thoughts, and unusual beliefs) display brain deformities. Using the latest technologies, we are shown not-so-pretty pictures of schizophrenic brains displaying abnormal bumps and craters.

But recent research suggests that the antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia can cause human brain defects directly in proportion to the amount of medication ingested—the more of the drug consumed, the greater the extent of damage to the brain. Despite failing to find any strong association between brain shrinkage and the intensity of the schizophrenia, the researchers cling to the idea that antipsychotic medication only aggravates underlying brain defects. However it has also been demonstrated that antipsychotic drugs given to macaque monkeys reduce their brain volumes by around 20 percent, casting further doubt on the broken brain dogma.

Furthermore, childhood abuse (a major risk factor for schizophrenia and other disorders) is known to alter brain structure, suggesting that early trauma may contribute to structural changes in the brains of adults with mental health problems.

Thus, it seems possible to conclude that brain defects in schizophrenia sufferers are likely to result from what life in general, and psychiatry in particular, inflict upon them.

9Severe Mental Disorders Are Mainly Genetic In Origin

Most psychiatrists also link the risk of schizophrenia to the genes we inherit from our parents. In support of this argument they point to studies of identical twins (who share exactly the same genes), which seem to show that if one twin has schizophrenia there is a very high chance the other will too. Almost 70 years ago, one of the most famous twin researchers, Franz Kallman, announced an 86 percent concordance rate for schizophrenic twins—in other words, if one twin was diagnosed with schizophrenia there was an 86 percent chance their sibling would suffer from the same condition—suggesting a huge genetic influence.

Although these claims have moderated over the last few decades, 21st century psychiatry persists in the view that schizophrenia is primarily genetic in origin. As well as twin studies, psychiatrists cite adoption research that measures the concordance rate between blood relatives separated early in life. The idea is that this rules out the possibility that aspects of a shared environment may account for the correspondence. By demonstrating that children of schizophrenic mothers continued to be at greater risk of developing schizophrenia themselves, despite being adopted away as babies, the adoption studies are often considered to be the most convincing evidence of a genetic basis for the condition.

However, decades of research has signally failed to identify the genetic marker that supposedly underlies schizophrenia. Meanwhile, psychiatrists like Jay Joseph have sought to demonstrate that the twin and adoption studies touted as proof of a genetic cause are riddled with biases, ranging from blatant misreporting of the data to subtle statistical tricks. Reviews of the research that have excluded the effects of these flaws and focused only on more recent, better designed studies, have estimated the schizophrenia concordance rate for identical twins and non-identical twins to be 22 percent and 5 percent respectively, indicative of a real but modest genetic contribution—on a par with the genetic contribution to traits such as intelligence.

Life experiences seem to be a much more potent cause of the symptoms labelled as schizophrenia. For example, childhood sexual abuse has been convincingly shown to render a person 15 times more susceptible to psychosis in adulthood. The size of this effect is far in excess of any gene yet discovered.

8Psychiatric Diagnoses Are Meaningful

Medical experts diagnose illness—the symptoms presented guide them to deduce the presence of a named disease process that explains the cause and maintenance of the patient’s complaints. So if a doctor makes a diagnosis of diabetes, we know that we lack a hormone called insulin and that injections of it should improve our health.

But if mental health problems are not primarily the result of biological defects (or a “broken brain”), psychiatry is faced with a problem that is impossible to solve. So how do psychiatrists overcome this fundamental obstacle? They gather around a table and invent a list of mental illnesses!

In the USA, this list is crafted by the American Psychiatric Association and is grandly titled the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM for short). The latest edition (DSM-5) of this psychiatric bible thrust itself onto the world last year and lists over 300 mental illnesses.

A useful diagnosis should pinpoint a specific underlying pathology that can explain the symptoms, provide guidance as to the appropriate treatment, and display high levels of reliability (so that two or more psychiatrists assessing the same person will typically reach the same conclusion). DSM-5 (along with its predecessors) fails on all three fronts. Even a key figure in earlier editions of the DSM berated the latest offering as “deeply flawed” for mislabeling normal emotions as mental illness.

7The Number Of Mentally Ill People Is Increasing

Psychiatry constantly tells us about the vast number of “mentally ill” people there are in the general population, most of them never having received professional help and many not even aware that they have a problem. One recent study claimed that almost half of all Americans will suffer a formal mental illness at some point in their lives.

The central reason for this apparently ever-increasing number is that psychiatry keeps widening the net of mental illnesses to incorporate more and more normal reactions to life’s challenges. According to DSM-5, if you remain sad two weeks after the death of a loved one you are suffering from “major depressive disorder.” A child displaying tantrums risks acquiring the label of “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.” And a modest degree of forgetfulness in later years means you are suffering with “mild neuro-cognitive disorder.” It is a wonder anyone manages to avoid the grasp of these ever-elongating psychiatric tentacles.

6Long-Term Use Of Antipsychotics Is Relatively Benign

Psychiatry carries a shameful history of failing to recognize when its treatments are doing more harm than good. Whether it be mutilating genitals, slicing brains (“leucotomy”), surgically removing organs, inducing comas with potentially lethal doses of insulin (“insulin coma therapy”) or triggering fits by electrocuting people’s heads (“electro-convulsive therapy”), psychiatrists always seem the last to realize they are damaging the very people they are paid to help.

And antipsychotic medication could well be a similar story. Long term use, particularly of the older (typical) antipsychotics, blights around 30 percent of patients with uncontrollable twitching and spasms of the tongue, lips, face, hands, and feet, an often permanent affliction known as tardive dyskinesia. The newer (atypical) antipsychotics are a little more forgiving in this respect, although not to the point of eliminating the problem altogether.

In addition to the curse of tardive dyskinesia, long term antipsychotic users may also be at greater risk of drug-induced heart disease, diabetes, and obesity (the newer atypical type being arguably more problematic in this regard). As we’ve already discussed, and perhaps most disturbingly of all, there is mounting evidence that antipsychotics may directly cause brain shrinkage.

5Effective Treatment Of Mental Illness Is Essential For Public Safety

High-profile psychiatrists continue to promote the myth of public safety being compromised by psycho-killers in our midst. A striking recent example is provided by Jeffrey Lieberman, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, who claimed that, “shocking acts of mass violence are disproportionately caused by people with mental illness who have not gotten treatment.”

Although there may be rare instances where a person’s psychotically-driven paranoia leads to an act of violence, a recent Dutch study calculated that only a tiny 0.07 percent of all crimes were directly attributable to mental health problems. A UK study found that only 5 percent of all homicides are carried out by people who have acquired a diagnosis of schizophrenia at some point in their lives, a figure dwarfed by alcohol and drug misuse, which contribute to over 60 percent of such cases.

To put the risk posed by insane people into perspective, it has been estimated that the odds of us being murdered by a psychotic stranger are about one in 10 million, on par with being hit by lightning. And people suffering mental disorders are much more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators—one study found that those diagnosed with schizophrenia were 14 times more likely to be the subject of a violent crime than to commit one.

4Many People With Mental Health Problems Have No Potential To Recover

Anyone who has spent time within Western psychiatric services could be forgiven for assuming that many of those afflicted with mental health problems were hopeless cases with little or no chance of improvement. Such pessimism is unsurprising, given that many psychiatrists believe that mental illness is caused by brain defects, and is a life-long condition akin to diabetes or heart disease.

The language of psychiatry screams hopelessness, as illustrated by the oft-used terms “severe and enduring mental illness” and “chronic schizophrenia.” Yet the reality is very different. Even when medical views of schizophrenia are considered, along with narrow, symptom-reduction definitions of recovery, the expectation is that around 80 percent of sufferers will, in time, achieve some significant improvement.

Recovery from mental health problems doesn’t necessarily equate with the elimination of all symptoms. A more meaningful definition for many sufferers might involve the pursuit of valued life goals, and the subsequent achievement of a worthwhile life, irrespective of difficulties. In this sense, to move towards recovery requires the transition from pathology, illness, and symptoms to a greater focus on health, strengths, and wellness. Free from the shackles (and self-fulfilling pessimism) of psychiatric dogma, meaningful recovery is a realistic goal for all.

3Psychiatric Medications Are Very Effective

In the USA alone, 3.1 million people were prescribed antipsychotics in 2011, at a total cost of $18.2 billion. These drugs continue to be the core treatment for people suffering with schizophrenia and practice guidelines from around the world recommend them as a first-line intervention.

In the same year, a staggering 18.5 million Americans (about 1 in 14 of the youth and adult population) were swallowing antidepressant drugs. The current view of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom is that three months of treatment with antidepressants will “much improve” 50 to 60 percent of patients.

But the effectiveness of both antipsychotics and antidepressants has been seriously challenged.

Surprisingly few studies have directly compared antipsychotics with a sedative drug like diazepam (Valium) for someone suffering an acute psychotic episode. A review of the research that has been carried out demonstrated that general sedation can have a significant effect on psychotic symptoms. This suggests that reduced arousal could be the common factor in achieving respite, as opposed to the specific “anti-psychotic” effect touted by drug manufacturers.

A recent review of 38 clinical trials of atypical antipsychotics (the newer type most commonly prescribed) concluded that they achieved only moderate benefits when compared to a placebo and “there is much room for more efficacious compounds.” The authors also found evidence of a publication bias—in other words, researchers (many sponsored by drug companies) may have been guilty of selectively publishing those studies showing the drug in a good light, while withholding those where the results were disappointing.

Furthermore, it has been established that around 40 percent of people who suffer psychotic episodes can improve without any medication at all, thereby casting further doubt on the appropriateness of blanket antipsychotic perscription.

As for antidepressants, the case is more complicated, but a recent scholarly review concluded that, overall, benefits from antidepressant use did not meaningfully exceed those from a placebo. Although the authors reported that a small number of the most severely depressed patients achieved a level of drug-placebo difference that did reach clinical significance, this probably reflected a decreased responsiveness to placebo rather than an increased responsiveness to the antidepressants.

However, a subsequent group of researchers who re-examined the results concluded that 75 percent of patients on antidepressants did show some improvement, but that the other 25 percent actually suffered a deterioration in their depressive symptoms. This risk of worsening symptoms led the original study’s author to conclude that “antidepressants should be kept as a last resort, and if a person does not respond to the treatment within a few weeks, it should be discontinued” in favor of physical exercise and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, which have both been shown to have a positive effect on depression sufferers.

2An “Illness Like Any Other” Approach Reduces Stigma

Psychiatrists often lament the everyday stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems and emphasize the importance of educating the general public about these disorders. Under the banner of mental health literacy they strive to convince the public that schizophrenia and depression are illnesses like any other, primarily caused by biological defects such as biochemical imbalances and genetic brain diseases. Many psychiatrists believe that promoting biological causes for mental health problems will result in the perception that the afflicted are not to blame for their mental disorders, thereby improving attitudes towards them.

On the contrary, trying to convince the general population that schizophrenia and depression are diseases like diabetes is likely to exacerbate negative attitudes towards people with mental health problems. A recent literature review found that in 11 out of the 12 studies examined, biological explanations of mental disorders led to more negative attitudes toward sufferers than explanations based on a person’s life experiences. In particular, “illness like any other” explanations encouraged social exclusion and inflated perceptions of dangerousness.

1Psychiatry Has Made Huge Progress Over The Last 100 Years

Many medical specialties can boast impressive progress over the last 100 years or so. Vaccines for polio and meningitis have saved millions of lives. The discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic, revolutionized our fight against infection. Survival rates for cancer and heart attacks are steadily improving. But what has society gained from more than a century of professional psychiatry? Apparently surprisingly little.

Psychiatry’s claims of progress have been commonplace. Edward Shorter, in the preface to his book, A History of Psychiatry, swanks that: “If there is one central intellectual reality at the end of the twentieth century, it is that the biological approach to psychiatry—treating mental illness as a genetically influenced disorder of brain biochemistry—has been a smashing success.” Recent, high-profile commentators continue to stubbornly defend psychiatry’s status as a bone fide medical specialty.

But the cold facts paint a radically different picture. If you are ever unfortunate enough to suffer a psychotic episode, you will have a greater chance of recovery if you live in the developing world (Nigeria, for example) than you would in the developed world (e.g. the USA). The overuse of psychiatric medication in Western countries seems to be the primary reason for this difference.

Furthermore, you have no more chance of a recovery from schizophrenia today than you would have had over a century ago. A recent scholarly review of 50 research studies concluded that: “Despite major changes in treatment options in recent decades, the proportion of recovered cases has not increased.”

Psychiatry a smashing success? I don’t think so!

I am a freelance writer who recently opted for early retirement following 33 years of continuous employment in the UK’s psychiatric services, mostly as a clinical psychologist. During my career as a mental health professional, I have written around a dozen papers, published in academic journals or as book chapters. Since retirement, my writing focus is shared between criticisms of western psychiatry and humor.

More of my mental health writing can be found on gsidley.hubpages.com/ or at twitter.com/GarySidley.

For humor articles and chit-chat, visit brianjonesdiary-menopausalman.blogspot.co.uk/, facebook.com/gary.sidley, and bubblews.com/account/108867-gsidley.

“YouTube is not a site for people under 13,” YouTube spokesman Farshad Shadloo told the Washington Post.^[1] Perhaps not, but kids programming is the most popular category on the platform. In fact, four of the top five US channels feature kid content.^[2]

Top 10 Crazy YouTube Channels Where People Risk Their Lives

In a USA Today article, YouTube was quoted as saying, “If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use the service. There are lots of other great websites for you. Talk to your parents about what sites are appropriate for you.”^[3]

Really? How many children are going to inform their parents that what they’re watching on YouTube is too mature for them? Zero. Kids turn to YouTube for information the way their parents utilize Google. A Protect Young Eyes survey of high school students found that when given the option to choose their No. 1 online activity, teens choose YouTube over social media and gaming at a 3-to-1 ratio. Among tweens and teens, YouTube–not Instagram, Snapchat, or Tik Tok–is the most-utilized online platform.^[4]

Online video usage has more than doubled in four years. The percentage of adolescents who watch online videos “every day” has gone from 24 percent to 56 percent among 8- to 12-year-olds and from 34 percent to 69 percent among 13- to 18-year-olds. And the amount of time each age group spends watching those videos has gone from 30 minutes a day to about one hour a day on average. (Most parents can acknowledge that one hour is on the low side.)^[5]

10 Disturbing Channels From The Weird Part Of YouTube

As of January 2020, a whopping 82,248 videos are viewed every second (this stat is updated daily). And 400 hours of submitted video are received every minute. YouTube can’t filter everything because there’s simply too much, and there aren’t any actual humans monitoring what is coming in. A USA Today review, for example, found plenty of sexualized or violent cartoons that weren’t restricted to adults. Until YouTube or Google is notified about such content, it will remain on the site.

Jill Murphy, vice president and editor-in-chief of Common Sense Media, says there is no easy fix. One of YouTube’s biggest problems is its inability to control a child’s search results.^[6] “Searching YouTube is essentially like searching Google,” explains Murphy. The results are not only looking to offer you accurate information on what you’re looking for, but also suggest some unrelated, but often tempting, things to watch. With so much content and so many options, it can be hard for any age to stay focused.”

So what are impressionable children watching on YouTube? Plenty! Here are just 10 unsettling examples of inappropriate content.

10 A Frighteningly Thin Beauty Vlogger

Eugenia Cooney has been uploading beauty and style tutorials since June 2011. But while the 25-year-old initially garnered subscribers with makeup and fashion reviews, it was something very different that later brought curious viewers to her platforms: at 5’7” tall, she weighs a mere 86 lbs.^[7]

In 2015, commenters on Cooney’s videos began commenting about her dwindling frame and suspected eating disorder. The comments about her appearance took on a life of their own, and by the end of 2015, Cooney’s video’s were receiving more dislikes than likes.

Concerned viewers petitioned YouTube to ban Cooney’s content, alleging that she was promoting eating disorders and negatively influencing impressionable young followers. One Change.org petition (and there were several) received more than 20,000 signatures.

“Some people are saying I’m, like, a bad influence on girls,” Cooney said in a video response to the controversy.^[8] “I just want you guys to know, like, I have seriously never tried to be a bad influence on YouTube or to influence anyone badly. I would never want to do that. I have never told anyone to try to, like, lose weight or to try to, like, change the way they look or to look like me.”

Supporters claim that if Cooney was anorexic or bulimic, she would show other signs, like decaying teeth or unhealthy hair and nails. They propose that she just has “crazy high metabolism.”^[9] Others aspire to be “Eugenia Cooney skinny.”

In 2018, Cooney was suspended from Twitch for a nip-slip violation.^[10] In February 2019, she took a five-month hiatus from social media. Skinny as ever, she was back in action by July 2019 and continues to deliver new videos to 2.4 million subscribers.

9 A Disgusting Waste of Food

On the other end of the spectrum are the mukbangers (we covered the worst of them here). These YouTubers buy copious amounts of food to eat on camera. While some might ingest an entire fast-food menu in one sitting, many leave much of the food to go to waste.

Nikocado Avocado, with 1.83 million subscribers, is perhaps the worst offender. Each episode features the former vegan having a mental breakdown while sitting behind mountains of unhealthy processed foods. He nastily inhales an obnoxious portion of the food while crying and whining, then he goes off the rails and destroys an even more-obnoxious portion–crushing it with a broom or pouring something inedible onto it.^[11]

It’s a disgusting waste of perfectly good food. In 2018, an estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat, according to the World Health Organization (up from 811 million in 2017). Efforts to reduce the number of babies born with low birth rate and the number of children who are stunted are moving too slowly to stop the rise.

Despite these challenges, obesity continues to increase in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults. Young YouTube viewers learn little of world hunger and too much about excess and waste.^[12]

8 The Body of a Suicide Victim

YouTuber and internet star Logan Paul has 21.1 million subscribers.^[13] As of January 2020, his channel has received 4.8 billion views, placing him among the top 140 subscribed channels on YouTube.^[14]

Paul, 25, has become quite the controversial character. He participated in the Tide Pod challenge, tasered dead rats, and attempted CPR on a fish he removed from a pond. But it was the dead body video that caused the biggest pushback.

Paul’s YouTube channel had more than 15 million subscribers (mostly minors) when the “suicide forest” scandal hit. In 2017, Paul and team visited Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji–a site that has recorded hundreds of suicides and suicide attempts–and filmed their encounter with an apparent suicide victim: they shot footage of a man’s body hanging from a tree. “Did we just find a dead person in the suicide forest? This was supposed to be a fun vlog,” Paul, in a ridiculous green hat, said to the camera.

The video was uploaded to YouTube.^[15] Paul “censored” his video, titled “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest…,” by issuing a warning at the beginning, blurring the victim’s face during closeups, and providing suicide hotline information. He also chose to demonetize the video. But none of these efforts made up for the fact that he videotaped a corpse and shared it with his young followers.

More than 6.5 million people viewed the footage over the next 24 hours. Surprisingly, it was Paul, not YouTube, who eventually took down the video. “I should have never posted the video, I should have put the cameras down,” he said in a video apology. “I’ve made a huge mistake; I don’t expect to be forgiven.”^[16]

The apology video garnered 52.8 million views and made the YouTuber even wealthier. He earned $14.5 million between June 2017 and June 2018, up 16 percent from the previous year, and a spot on Forbes’ annual Highest-Paid YouTube Stars list.^[17] And it was kind of awful when Paul posted his “comeback” video, pushing merch and bragging about gaining three million subscribers while on his three-week break in which he said he was “lit as fuck.”^[18]

So were there no consequences for Paul’s airing of a dead body? Experts say YouTube is as much to blame as Paul is. “YouTube encourages stars like Paul to garner views by any means necessary,” Wired magazine wrote in January 2018, “while largely deciding how and when to censor their videos behind closed doors.” Shortly after this article, YouTube announced it had removed Paul from Google Preferred, its top-tier advertising program that allows creators to have access to revenue from premium advertisers.^[19]

Interesting Note: Just hours after Paul’s suicide forest video aired, his younger brother Jake–equally wealthy and controversial–uploaded “I Lost My Virginity” for his younger audience.

7 Solicitation of Child Pornography

The most popular YouTube channels involve gaming, beauty and, of course, music. Millions of young people flock to channels like Ariana Grande’s or Justin Bieber’s.

Musician Austin Jones was a YouTuber from 2007 to 2017. The singer/guitarist was 14 years old when he started his YouTube channel. Ten years later, he had accumulated more than 500,000 subscribers and 20 million video views. But he won’t be remembered for his music.

In May 2015, Jones came under fire for contacting underaged female fans online. He solicited videos of the young girls twerking. He admitted to doing so and apologized for his actions but he denied that nudity was involved.

In June 2017, Jones was arrested on two counts of producing child pornography. He had persuaded and instructed an underage female fan to make sexually explicit videos of herself. In February 2019, Jones pleaded guilty to coaxing multiple female minors to send sexual videos of themselves to him. YouTube immediately terminated his channel.

Jones (26 years old but still looking like a teenage boy) was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

6 Racism and Anti-Semitism

Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber. He registered with YouTube in 2010, and by 2013 had the most-subscribed channel on the site–a record he held through 2019. His 104 million subscribers have viewed his video games, vlogs, comedy shorts, and music videos more than 25 billion times. (He was the first individual creator to reach the 100 million subscribers milestone.)^[20] In 2016, Time named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.^[21]

PewDiePie makes a lot of money on YouTube, and YouTube makes a lot of money from him. But their relationship has had its ups and downs. In 2017, YouTube canceled the creator’s YouTube Red show after racist remarks and behaviors.

In one episode, PewDiePie discussed how the website Fiverr lets users hire freelancers to perform tasks for $5. He claimed that his intent was to point out how the internet could be used to get people to do anything for a small amount of money. But when he paid men to hold a sign with an anti-Semitic phrase as a gag, YouTube removed him from Google Preferred advertising and Disney cut ties with him. The sign read, “Death to all Jews.”^[22]

Later, the YouTuber added some racism to his anti-semitism. During a live-stream broadcast of himself playing a popular video game, PewDiePie expressed frustration in a way that most people wouldn’t. “What a fucking nigger! Jeez! Oh my god! What the fuck? Sorry, but what the fuck?” He quickly realized what he’d said and added, “I don’t mean that in a bad way,” before laughing it off. Apart from removal of some games from his channel, the blunder didn’t cost the YouTuber more than some bad press. The 30-year-old has an estimated net worth of $30 million.^[23]

PewDiePie “took a break” in January 2020, but it wasn’t long before he was back online and adding to his fortune.^[24]

10 Pieces Of Celebrity Gold Hiding On YouTube

5 Animal Abuse for Entertainment

Animal videos have always been huge on YouTube. Lately, however, “pet fail” videos are going viral, and that’s not a good thing. What is intended to be funny can actually be cruel. A surprising number of pet fail videos show animals in distress. Impressionable young people are replicating the pranks (on YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram), and the long-term impact they have on pets may be harmful.^[25]

Under its “violent or graphic content” policy, YouTube explicitly bans animal content “where there is infliction of unnecessary suffering or harm deliberately causing an animal distress.” The viral pet fails appear to be excluded from this definition.

Pet fails, which can rake in millions of views, seem harmless enough–cats being frightened by cucumbers, dogs getting stuck in random objects–but they may have a negative impact on the animals. A video of a cat reacting to tape on its paws garnered more than 375,000 views. Viewer comments express amusement. But the cats, desperate to find balance, look positively traumatized.^[26]

Apart from the immediate physical harm the animals may experience (from a fall, for example) is the potential long-term psychological or physiological harm. In a 2010 study, Nancy Dreschel, Associate Teaching Professor of Small Animal Science at Penn State, found that fear, and anxiety-related behaviors in pet dogs were likely to cause physiological stress response, which could ultimately contribute to increased disease frequency and severity and a shorter life span for the animal.^[27][28]

Pets are amazing. And they can provide an endless supply of cuteness and laughs without being put in harm’s way.

4 Cruelty Toward the Homeless

Spanish YouTuber Kangua Ren, aka ReSet, defines “harmless prank” differently than most people would. Ren was popular for accepting “challenges” from his 1.2 milion YouTube followers. “I do things to give a show,” reported Spanish news outlet El Pais. “People like morbid things.”^[29]

In early 2017, Ren put yet another one of those challenges into motion when he replaced the cream in Oreo cookies with toothpaste and gave them to a homeless man. Ren filmed and then posted a video of the man eating the tainted cookies, becoming sick, and vomiting. After uploading the video, Ren remarked online that he had given the man a 20 euro bill with the cookies. “Look at the positive side: this will help you clean your teeth,” he wrote. “I think you have not cleaned them since you became poor.”

In May 2019, Ren was ordered to shut down his YouTube channel for five years and pay £20,000 to his victim (identified as Gheorge L., a man of Romanian origin). He was convicted of violating the moral integrity” of the Gheorge L. and sentenced to 15 months in prison. As a first-time non-violent offender, his sentence will likely be suspended.^[30]

3 Underage Gambling

Trevor Martin and Tom Cassel, known on YouTube as TmarTn and Syndicate, are popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) gamers.^[31][32]
In CSGO, players can exchange real money for the chance to obtain a modified weapon. The weapon, in turn, can become valuable virtual currency. Professionals gamers repurchase them for thousands of dollars. On their YouTube channel, Martin and Cassel regularly uploaded videos of themselves placing bets on CSGO Lotto and winning big cash prizes.

But there was more to it than online fun and games. Martin and Cassel are co-owners of CSGO Lotto, and the gambling site was welcoming participants as young as 13 years old. Young people were quick to click videos like the now-deleted “How to Win $13,000 in 5 Minutes!”

“I apologize to anyone who feels misled regarding the ownership of CSGO Lotto,” said Cassel, the company’s vice president. “I will always be more transparent from here on out.”

But Martin, president of the company, did not apologize. “I created the site. I wanted to build something awesome for other people to enjoy, and I played on it,” he said in a 2016 YouTube video. “Obviously, on my end, me playing on Lotto rather than other sites gives me an advantage because it promotes my own site, but it is not immoral, there is nothing wrong with it. I am 100 percent honest.”

The videos Cassel and Martin posted were described as “sponsored” by CSGO Lotto. They invited followers to put money into a website that they were themselves behind–a dishonest move in the YouTube community.

2 Second-Degree Manslaughter

In June 2017, a pregnant Monalisa Perez, 21, fatally shot boyfriend Pedro Ruiz III, 22, in a botched stunt that was caught on tape. The aspiring YouTubers, in an effort to attract more subscribers to their channel, promised viewers that they would deliver a new “crazier” stunt every week.

The stunt that killed the 22-year-old? Ruiz held a 1.5-inch book in front of his chest while Perez shot him from point blank range with a .50-caliber Desert Eagle handgun. The shooting took place in front of 30 witnesses, including the couple’s 3-year-old daughter.

In “practice” sessions leading up to the shooting, the couple tested various books in an abandoned building. Thirty minutes before they filmed the stunt, Perez–a self-described “family vlogger”–tweeted, “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE.”^[33]

A transcript of the video reveals Ruiz speaking to the camera. “The most trustworthy person that I trust in this world is my girlfriend, Monalisa. So if I am going to die, I am pretty much ready to go to heaven right now.”

The pair set up two cameras. Perez stood close to her boyfriend and pointed the gun about a foot away from the book. She became emotional and pleaded with Ruiz to not go through with the stunt. “Hey, this is the moment of truth, babe,” he told her. “I trust. It’s in, okay, I love you.”

Before pulling the trigger, a crying Perez said, “I can’t do this, babe. I am so scared. My heart is beating…” She added, “Babe, if I kill you, what’s going to happen to my life? Like, no, this isn’t okay…I don’t want to be responsible.” Ruiz assured her he would be fine as long as she hit the book. The transcript ended with Perez pleading, “Stop. Babe, stop. Babe.”

In her interview Perez told investigators: “I didn’t mean to hurt him, he was my everything. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this”.She told authorities that Ruiz was an adrenaline junkie who was intent on pursuing more and more dangerous stunts. She claims he told her that if he died, it would be doing something that made him happy. The county attorney said that while the stunt was “dreamed up, planned, and executed” by Ruiz, Perez had “wrongfully and tragically relied on his assurances that the stunt was safe.

Perez was jailed for six months (plus 10 years of supervised probatiuon) after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors said she was guilty of “culpable negligence that led to the tragic and completely avoidable death.”^[34]

1 Adult Content Directed at Children

Parents can take the initiative to monitor their children’s viewing habits and install parental controls, but kids are pretty good at getting around such efforts. It would be nice to rely on YouTube to protect kids from adult content. That was the intent of YouTube Kids, which was created in 2015 with content specifically geared toward children ages 7 and up.^[35]

The channel/app enables parents to set time limits and block the search function. YouTube Kids adjusts content based on the age and individuality of each child’s profile. But the app has experienced problems since day one.

After parents complained about kid content containing cursing, drug use, sexual language, and dangerous behaviors, YouTube went to work to correct the problem. It took three years, but in 2018, YouTube issued the following statement:

“Content that misleads or endangers children is unacceptable to us. We have clear policies against these videos and we enforce them aggressively. We use a combination of machine learning, algorithms and community flagging to determine content in the YouTube Kids app. The YouTube team is made up of parents who care deeply about this, and are committed to making the app better every day.”^[36]

Nevertheless, the problems persist. A Netsanity article listed just a few of the more recent findings on YouTube Kids. Videos containing misogyny, suicide, stabbings, and school shootings:^[37]

When parents reported a nine-second clip within a cartoon that showed a man teaching kids how to slit their wrists (“Remember kids: sideways for attention, longways for results. End it!”), it took more than a week for YouTube/YouTube Kids to delete the video. The problem is that everything on YouTube Kids comes from YouTube itself.

Honestly, any kid over the age of 7 isn’t interested in YouTube Kids content anyway–they prefer the more adult stuff on the main site. YouTube offers restricted modes of viewing to block adult or objectionable content, but most tweens are smart enough to get around them without their parents’ knowledge. Which is why Protect Young Eyes recommends that “kids younger than high school only have access to YouTube through a browser that has third-party-filter controls installed.”^[38][39]

The bottom line is this: YouTube is a social lifeline for kids.^[40] “All of their friends are talking about it. Kids have devices at school. They’re going to watch it at school…so eliminating it without taking the time to talk about why something bothers you or hearing from your kid about why it’s appealing to them is not necessarily a path Common Sense [Media] would recommend,” Murphy says. “Teach your kids to live with it, rather than shutting it off.”

10 Terrifying YouTube Videos That Will Keep You Awake At Night

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), also known as factitious disorder, is when a caregiver, usually the child’s mother or a female close to the child, fabricates a child’s illness. In extreme cases, the person causes the child to actually become sick, often with dire and sometimes fatal consequences.

The individual enjoys the attention and sympathy that she receives for having a sick child as well as the praise for being such a devoted mother. In the United States, 2.5 million cases of child abuse are reported annually. It’s estimated that 1,000 of those cases involve MSBP.

The women on this list were all accused of harming or even killing their children, with MSBP to blame. However, MSBP has proven to be an extremely controversial diagnosis, with some psychiatrists arguing that it is overdiagnosed and may not even exist as a syndrome.

10 Sally Clark

The tragic case of Sally Clark began in 1996 when her 11-week-old son, Christopher, suddenly died. On the evening of December 13, Clark, who was home alone with Christopher, put him to bed. When checking on him a few hours later, she found him unconscious. Christopher was pronounced dead at the hospital. The cause of death was believed to be a breathing problem.

About a year later, Clark gave birth to her second son, Harry. She found him unconscious in his bouncy chair when he was eight weeks old. Again, Clark was home alone with her son when it happened. Investigators became suspicious, thinking it was not possible that two babies could have died in the same manner. A month later, Clark was arrested for murdering her two sons.

The prosecution relied heavily on testimony by Sir Roy Meadow, a famed British pediatrician and expert on MSBP. According to Meadow, the deaths fit the criteria of factitious disorder. He testified that the odds of two babies in the same home dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were 1 in 73 million. The prosecution painted Clark as a lonely drunk who resented her children because she had to give up her high-paying job as a lawyer to stay at home. Clark was convicted in 1999, receiving life in prison.

During her second appeal in January 2003, her conviction was overturned when it became known that Meadow had made a mistake in his calculations and the pathologists had failed to turn over a report showing that Harry had suffered from a bacterial infection, meaning that he had probably died of natural causes.

Clark was unable to recover from the incident. She died on March 16, 2007, from acute alcohol poisoning. Both Meadow and the pathologist were sanctioned by the General Medical Council for serious medical misconduct. Meadow was taken off the medical register, but he was reinstated a year later. The pathologist was banned from Home Office pathology and coroner work for three years.

9 Lisa Hayden-Johnson

Lisa Hayden-Johnson’s son, whose name has not been released due to legal reasons, was born prematurely in 2001. As a result, he needed medical attention, which included a feeding tube. Hayden-Johnson loved the attention and sympathy she received from having a sick child so much that when her son began getting better, she fabricated an elaborate con that he was gravely ill.

Appearing on television, she told everyone that her son had a life-threatening food allergy that left him unable to eat and caused him to have a tube inserted into his stomach. If that wasn’t enough, she also stated that he was confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis. Her lies were so believable that her son actually thought that he was sick. She had the doctors convinced as well, resulting in the young boy having unnecessary operations.

Hayden-Johnson earned national attention with her story. Donations from the public poured in, including money, a new car, and a cruise. Her son received a Children of Courage award and met Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife at the event. The mother and son also met Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall.

The con lasted six years. In 2007, a pediatrician reviewed the boy’s medical file and became suspicious that his health problems had lasted so long without a clear diagnosis. He ordered more specific tests to be conducted. On the day that it was to happen, Hayden-Johnson reported that she had been sexually assaulted. When interviewed by police, her deceptive scheme unraveled. She was arrested and pled guilty to child cruelty and perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

8 Kathy Bush

By the time Jennifer Bush was eight years old, she had been hospitalized over 200 times and had undergone more than 40 medical procedures. She had suffered a weakened immune system, digestive issues, and seizures. As a result of her medical issues, her appendix, gallbladder, and some of her small intestine had been removed.

Nurses became suspicious because young Jennifer always seemed to get worse after visits with her mother. One nurse even reported seeing Kathy Bush inject her daughter in the mouth with a syringe. Officials began an investigation of Kathy but were unable to gather enough evidence against her. Kathy was eventually arrested in 1996 after another nurse filed a complaint.

Within days after her mother’s arrest, Jennifer was transferred to another hospital that specialized in feeding disorders. Shockingly, with her mother absent, Jennifer was able to eat, and doctors determined that she could have her feeding tube removed. Jennifer was placed in foster care, where she began to get better.

In 1999, Kathy was convicted of aggravated child abuse. She served three years of a five-year sentence. She was also forbidden from having contact with her daughter.

In 2005, when Jennifer was 18, the ban was lifted at her request, and she was permitted to see her mother again. Jennifer now says that she doesn’t believe that her mother abused her. Jennifer’s family maintains that her health had already started to improve before she was taken from their care.

In a written statement to the Sun Sentinel in early 2015, Jennifer wrote:

The 10 years I spent in foster care were traumatic, and I had some devastating things happen to me. [ . . . ] Today, I can proudly say my family is extremely close knit. We have flourished despite the devastating separation. The bond I had with my brothers, prior to being removed from my family, is something that never changed. My relationship with them helped carry me through my years in foster care. My parents and I have picked up from where we left off, and have a very close and loving relationship.

7 Lacey Spears

In the short five years that he lived, little Garnett Spears was plagued with health issues, spending much of his time in the hospital. He suffered from constant digestive issues, fevers, seizures and ear infections. He also had to have a feeding tube inserted into his stomach.

His mother, 25-year-old former nursing student Lacey Spears, took to social media to chronicle her son’s health issues, voicing her worry and frustration. Thousands of people soon rallied behind this poor young mother with the sick little boy.

In January 2014, Garnett was once again admitted to the hospital where it was determined that he had dangerously high sodium levels. The hospital became suspicious, alerting the police and Child Protective Services (CPS). As her son was lying in his hospital bed in tremendous pain and slowly dying, Spears spent much of her time on Facebook and her blog, posting a play-by-play, relishing the attention she was receiving. On January 22, Garnett was declared brain-dead. His mother took him off life support the following day.

During a search of the family home, police found an open container of sea salt and two feeding bags which later tested positive for sodium. Lacey was arrested and charged with manslaughter and second-degree murder. In April 2015, she received a sentence of 20 years to life, with the judge stating that MSBP had caused Lacey to crave the attention that being the mother of a sick child gave her.

6 Leslie Wilfred

Leslie Wilfred and her husband, Chris, were married in 2007. A year later, the happy couple was expecting twins.

On November 10, Leslie called Chris from the hospital with a bizarre and heartbreaking story. She had given birth four months early, and the twins had been stillborn. She then said that she’d had the twins cremated and wanted to plan the funeral when she left the hospital.

The family was already under investigation by CPS. Nathan, Chris’s son from a previous relationship, had a history of aggression, violence, and making threats against his family. A few weeks prior to the stillbirths, the police were called to the family home when Nathan threatened them with a knife. This incident also warranted a visit by CPS. When CPS found out about the stillbirths, they contacted the police. That’s when the horrible truth was revealed: Leslie had never been pregnant.

An initial police investigation revealed that she’d had her tubes tied after the birth of her last child, years before she had married Chris. She had also ordered two teddy bear urns five days before the supposed stillbirths. Police then seized all medical records and conducted a search of the home.

It was revealed that Leslie had fabricated medical illnesses for two of her four children and had been abusing Nathan. She had told everyone that her 13-year-old son, Charles, needed a liver transplant. Then her nine-year-old daughter, Theresa, was dying of leukemia. The community even set up donation boxes to help out the family. Both stories were lies. However, the most disgusting act was committed against Nathan. He was forced to sleep in a tiny wooden box with plastic bands on his arms to prevent him from moving. As a result, the poor boy suffered from PTSD, which actually caused him to have those violent outbursts.

Leslie was convicted of cruelty to children and theft by deception. She was sentenced to eight years in prison. Once released, she will be on probation for 30 years. Although Chris maintains that he had no idea about his wife’s deception, he was convicted on one count of cruelty to children. He went along with Leslie in allowing Nathan to sleep in a box. Both parents were ordered not to have contact with their children unless it was granted by the court.

5 Angela Cannings

In 2002, Angela Cannings was convicted of murdering her two sons, seven-week-old Jason who passed away in 1991 and 18-week-old Matthew who died in 1999. She was sentenced to life in prison. Angela always maintained her innocence, stating that her sons had died of sudden infant death syndrome, just like her 13-week-old daughter, Gemma, who passed away in 1989.

As in the case of Sally Clark, the prosecution relied on the testimony of Sir Roy Meadow at Angela’s trial. In 1977, Meadow announced his discovery of a new form of child abuse where mothers harmed or killed their children for attention. He named it “Munchausen syndrome by proxy.” He later came up with what he called “Meadow’s Law,” which stated that one cot death is a tragedy, two is suspicious, and three is murder. It was his expert testimony that helped secure Angela’s conviction.

During Angela’s appeal, it was revealed how inaccurate the testimony of Meadow really was. Geneticists testified that it was more likely that an undiscovered genetic disorder had killed Jason and Matthew and that Angela had not smothered them, as Meadow had stated during the trial. It was also revealed that her great-grandmother and grandmother had also had children who died in the same manner. Another expert testified that factors such as smoking, food allergies, and the position in which the baby slept increased the risk for a SIDS death.

After reviewing all the new testimony, the judges stated that Meadow’s testimony was manifestly wrong, grossly misleading, and should come with a health warning attached to it. Angela’s conviction was overturned in 2003 after she had already served 20 months of her sentence. Her story was turned into a BBC movie called Cherished.

As for Meadow, his reputation was destroyed. Several of the women he gave testimony against later had their convictions overturned when it was revealed that he gave inaccurate and misleading information and statistics. Some described him as being on a witch hunt, seeing MSBP in every case that he reviewed. He eventually retired from the medical profession. But the question remains: How many innocent women were convicted based on his testimony or by other doctors who followed his theories?

4 Blanca Montano

In February 2011, Blanca Montano rushed her two children to the hospital as both were exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Testing determined that both children had E. coli. Although her son was treated and released after making a full recovery, her five-month-old daughter began getting worse.

The little girl was transferred to intensive care. For the next two months, she contracted up to nine different bacterial infections. She would develop one, have it treated, get better, and then develop another one. A laparoscopic surgery and bone marrow biopsy were conducted. Doctors were unable to determine a cause for all of these infections. Soon, hospital staff became suspicious, suspecting Montano of having MSBP. A camera was installed in the hospital room, monitoring Montano for several days.

Montano was observed playing with her daughter’s IV line and then covering the camera lens. Hospital officials now believed that they had proof of their suspicions. The police and CPS were contacted, and the child was placed in CPS custody. With Montano unable to visit, the little girl began to get better, eventually making a full recovery.

Montano was arrested and charged with one count of child abuse. The prosecution alleged that the young mother was looking for attention and to win back the affections of the child’s father. During the trial, a nurse testified to having found syringes in the mother’s purse. A social worker told the court that Montano expressed surprise that no one had called CPS earlier. Montano was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison. She maintains her innocence and plans on appealing her conviction.

3 Kelly Savage

Kelly and Buddy Savage had three happy and healthy children. Other than the occasional tummy ache or flu, their kids didn’t have any medical problems. Their fourth child, Austin, wasn’t so lucky. At one week old, he fell ill with pneumonia, requiring him to be put in an incubator. Things only became worse when he returned home. He was not able to keep any food down, causing him to be underweight. He also cried constantly.

Kelly brought her son to the hospital, where doctors determined that the cause of his illness was severe acid reflux. According to the doctors, Austin’s acid reflux was so severe that he would feel the same pain as someone suffering a heart attack. Austin had to undergo surgery and have a feeding tube inserted. He was also put on a special formula. None of it seemed to work. By the time he was nine months old, he weighed the same as a child half his age.

In 2004, Austin was once again admitted to the hospital, only this time his room was outfitted with a video camera. The camera recorded Kelly taking formula out of his feeding bag. Fearing MSBP, the hospital staff notified CPS. Kelly stated that she had noticed an air bubble blocking the feeding tube and thinking it would make Austin sick, she removed some of the formula.

Austin was immediately placed in foster care. However, his medical condition remained the same, even though his mother was no longer allowed to see him. Although most people would have realized at that point that Kelly was not harming her son, she was arrested anyway and charged with child abuse. Her trial only lasted two days. Expert testimony not only disproved the theory of MSBP but proved that little Austin really was suffering from medical issues. In 2005, Kelly was fully exonerated.

2 Marybeth Tinning

As we’ve already seen, there is often a rush to judgment when a mother has a sick baby or the child dies in her care. However, in the case of Marybeth Tinning, it took 14 years and nine dead babies for people to become suspicious.

This tragic tale began in 1971 when Marybeth’s eight-day-old daughter, Jennifer, died of spinal meningitis. Perhaps Marybeth snapped, overcome by grief at the loss of her newborn or perhaps she enjoyed the sympathy that she received at the loss, but Marybeth soon began killing all of her children.

Less than a month after Jennifer’s death, her son Joseph Jr. passed away. Marybeth had brought him to the hospital saying that he’d had a seizure. He was released two days later. Hours after his release, his lifeless body was brought back to the hospital. Marybeth stated that she’d found him dead in his crib. A few weeks after that, her daughter Barbara began convulsing and was rushed to the hospital where she passed away the following day.

The now childless Marybeth decided to have more children. In November 1973, her son Timothy was born. He died less than a month later. It was the same story as Joseph Jr. She had found the boy dead in his crib.

Next came the deaths of Nathan, Mary Frances, Jonathan, and her adopted child, Michael. They all had had seizures or suddenly stopped breathing. Once again, Marybeth was childless.

Her ninth child, Tami Lynn, was born in August 1985. It was only after her death in December that police decided to investigate. Under questioning, she admitted to having smothered Timothy, Nathan, and Tami Lynn.

Due to lack of evidence, Tinning was tried only for the death of Tami Lynn. She was convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life. She was denied parole four times. In early 2015, her most recent parole was also denied.

1 Beverley Allitt

Beverley Allitt was a nurse at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital. Over a two-month period in 1991, four children who were in her care died, and several others became dangerously ill.

The first death was seven-month-old Liam Taylor who was admitted to the hospital with a chest infection. Under Allitt’s care, he went into respiratory distress twice. After the second occurrence, he was left alone with Allitt. It was during this time that he went into cardiac arrest, causing him to be placed on life support. After receiving medical advice that their son would not recover, Liam’s parents had him taken off life support. His cause of death was determined to be respiratory failure.

Two weeks later, 11-year-old Timothy Hardwick also died after being left alone with Allitt. Timothy had cerebral palsy and was admitted to the hospital after suffering an epileptic seizure. Although officials were unable to determine his cause of death, it was suspected that epilepsy was the cause.

Three days after the death of Timothy, Allitt found her next intended victim, one-year-old Kayley Desmond, who was suffering from a chest infection. After a visit from Allitt, the girl went into respiratory distress. She was able to be resuscitated. After she was transferred to another hospital, doctors noticed an odd puncture wound under her armpit. It was not investigated.

More victims followed, either dying or coming close to it. It was only after the April 22 death of 15-month-old Claire Peck that a hospital consultant, Dr. Nelson Porter, became alarmed and decided to launch an investigation. After running tests, he found a high amount of potassium in Clair’s blood. This discovery resulted in her body being exhumed, which led to the drug lignocaine being found in her system. Although the drug is used when a patient goes into cardiac arrest, it’s never given to children.

Allitt was arrested and charged with four counts of murder, 11 counts of attempted murder, and 11 counts of causing grievous bodily harm. During the trial, it was revealed that Allitt had spent most of her younger years faking illness, often wearing casts and bandages in a bid for attention. Experts testified that she suffered from MSBP. She was sentenced to 13 concurrent sentences of life imprisonment with the judge imposing a minimum term of 30 years, meaning that Allitt can be released in 2022.

This case brought MSBP to the forefront, causing the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health to make recommendations that doctors receive guidance on how to handle suspected cases.

Although many of the procedures we perform on animals are for their own welfare, other times, we might just cut off a body part because it looks good. (Or we humans like to think so, at least!)

Putting things in animals (or taking them out) can also make the critters more manageable. Or make us a lot of money. But even when a procedure is done for the animal’s own good, our actions are still unbelievable sometimes.

10 Bile Bears

Bear bile has been used in Chinese medicinal remedies for hundreds of years, with believers claiming that it can cure a wide range of ills. (It cannot.) Even for what limited benefits it can have, there are better alternatives.

Nevertheless, bile bear farms are big business in countries that have not outlawed the practice. There are many ways that bile is extracted from a bear’s gallbladder, but none of them are pleasant for the animals.

Some bears undergo regular extractions. This involves immobilizing them, often with physical restraints, and then extracting the bile surgically (although the term “surgically” is being used rather loosely in this case).

Other bile farmers eliminate the need for regular “procedures” by leaving a catheter inserted into the bear’s gallbladder at all times. Some give the bears “torture vests,” as the rescuers of one bear called them, that constantly drain the bile into a box for easy recovery. Other farms do away with the need for restraining the bears by keeping them in “crush cages” where they live their entire lives without the freedom to move.^[1]

Bile farming has been banned in some countries, but the practice continues throughout many nations in Southeast Asia. As bears are captured in the wild, poaching and habitat destruction is leading to a population decline of wild bears in the region that experts fear will only get worse.

9 Holey Cows

To better understand what is happening in a cow’s digestive tract and increase the health of an entire herd, some researchers and farmers drill holes in their cows’ sides to create permanent portholes to their stomachs. The procedure is done under anesthesia, so it’s said that the cows don’t feel any pain.

A rubber plug is inserted into the hole, which can then be removed to monitor the cow’s digestive system. (It’s large enough to stick a human hand in.) As far as keeping the hole free from infections, agriculturists claim that the cow’s own gut microbes protect it from “bad” bacteria because the “good” bacteria prevent any from taking hold.

Animal rights activists call cannulating cows, which is the term used for this procedure, animal abuse. Agriculturists claim that it is done for the welfare not only of the cannulated cow but of the entire herd. As researchers can observe the cow’s stomach directly and insert or remove matter being digested, they can analyze it to create more nutritious diets for the cow.^[2]

Also, the material in its digestive microbiome plays an extremely important part in a cow’s health. When a cow is sick, the digestive system is often the last area to recover. But when farmers give material from a healthy cannulated cow’s gut to a sick cow, it dramatically speeds up the sick cow’s recovery.

8 Ear Cropping

To the surprise of many dog lovers, the upright ears of some breeds, like the Doberman pinscher, are not their ears’ natural shape. These dogs are not born with small, erect ears but receive them from a procedure known as “ear cropping.” It’s performed to make them have a more desirable look—to humans. (The dogs don’t seem to care one way or the other.)

Ear cropping is controversial among veterinarians and animal rights activists because they claim it has no value except cosmetic (again, to humans) and that the animal must endure pain and possible complications from cutting large sections of their ears off.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, no medical evidence confirms the claims of adherents who say that dogs benefit from ear cropping because it lessens the likelihood of ear infections. Assertions that the procedure improves hearing or can help the dog avoid future ear injuries are likewise not proven.

In fact, one of the problems with the procedure is that a dog’s ears can get infected as a postoperative complication. The ears must also be taped upright to remain in the desired position, and retaping can cause pain for the dogs. If the ears fail to remain upright, further cropping must be done, increasing the risks of infection and producing more pain for the dog.^[3]

7 Cutting Off Sheeps’ Butt Skin

Flystrike is one of the worst things that can happen to a sheep. The animal’s wool is thick all over its body, including the area around its anus, and its feces can start to build up around the area. This attracts flies. It’s such an inviting area to the insects that they can lay their eggs in the skin of the sheep, leading to them being eaten alive by maggots.

A sheep with flystrike can die in just a few days. To prevent this, sheep farmers came up with a procedure known as mulesing (after John Mules who invented it) in which they cut away the skin that grows wool around a sheep’s anus. This keeps the area free from feces and urine buildup.

Activists object to this procedure because the farmers actually cut away the animal’s butt skin, often without anesthetics or any postoperative procedures. Mulesing did not receive much attention until PETA found out about it and began posting videos and images of a sheep getting mulesed.^[4]

The sheep itself shows no indication of feeling any pain, But the blood from mulesing and further tests which show the animal’s astronomical increase in stress hormones tell a different tale. (As sheep are prey animals, it’s believed that they do not show pain.) PETA organized a boycott on Australian wool to combat the practice.

6 Tail Docking

Many breeds of dogs with short tails do not receive them from genetics but from a procedure known as tail docking. Basically, it’s a partial amputation of a tail. As with ear cropping, the main reasons are purely cosmetic, like when a dog’s breed standard has the image of a short, stubby tail.

Tail docking has been shown to have some value in rare cases. In working dogs, such as guard dogs and hunting dogs, tail docking can have some positive effects. It can keep the dog from getting injured when it travels through brush that could harm its tail. A guard dog could likewise avoid getting its tail yanked by an intruder.

However, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) stresses that tail docking rarely has justifiable benefits even among working dogs. The organization does not support the practice. It is not so much that tail docking is harmful to the animal (aside from the pain of the procedure), but there is usually no benefit for the animal itself. So the AVMA does not believe it is necessary. It is illegal in countries like the UK.^[5]

Tail docking is not confined to canines, however. Docking cows’ tails, once routine in the US dairy industry, has likewise shown no benefit to the animal or dairy worker. It only adds to discomfort during fly season as the animals have more flies and a harder time dealing with them because the cows cannot swish their tails to swat the flies.

As a result, US dairy industry manuals discourage it. Young lambs and some horses also have their tails docked to prevent situations like flystrike or getting entangled in equipment. Unlike with other animals, tail docking in these situations has been proven to have some benefit to the lambs and horses.

5 Shoving Ginger Up Horse Butts

Different styles of show horses are held to different standards. In some categories, a “lively” tail is seen as a qualification to compete. The horse is supposed to keep its tail up and at the ready to be considered at the peak of its breed.

However, not all horses are as enthusiastic about keeping their tails up as their owners would like. So, some humans take the situation into their own hands, as it were, by shoving ginger up their animals’ butts.

The ginger acts as an irritant that makes the horse lift its tail. “Gingering” is the term used because the original technique was to pack horse buttholes with raw ginger, but other substances have been administered as well. Cayenne pepper or even kerosene is likewise applied to the horse’s anus and perineal/vaginal region to give the animal’s tail that extra perk.

Naturally, the practice of gingering has been banned at shows. It is harmful to the animal, and it doesn’t give a real representation of the breed. Swabbing for ginger and any other substance that might irritate a horse’s nether regions is a common practice. For testers who don’t want to get up close and personal with horse butts, thermal imaging is another option.

But some horseshow people have opted to cheat not with chemicals but with a practice called “nicking.” This cuts certain ligaments in the horse’s tail and then resets them at a higher position. Anything for a win.^[6]

4 Getting High (Steps)

Horses have more to worry about than their owners putting chemicals up their butts. As the Tennessee Walking Horse is known for its leg movements, some unscrupulous breeders in competition have been artificially producing the hallmarks of these horses by searing their legs with chemicals.

“Soring” a horse is harming the animal’s legs, often by putting chemicals on or around a horse’s hooves/leg area to make stepping painful. The irritant is put on the front legs and causes the horse to recoil in pain when it walks. This creates a much higher step that looks pleasing to an audience.

Officials have been critical of Tennessee Walking Horse shows for soring their horses. They clamped down on these practices in accordance with the Horse Protection Act of 1970, but then the officials ran into another issue. After a horse is sored, the practice can be covered up by adding even more chemicals to numb the pain until the horse enters the show.

At the 2013 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, 67 percent of horses tested positive for chemicals that could have covered up evidence of soring. A spokesman for the Performance Show Horse Association said that the findings were incorrect. He added that the information did not come from USDA veterinary inspectors but from other outside organizations.

According to a veterinarian representing the organization, there was no scientific support for the findings and it was unreasonable to think that a horse’s legs wouldn’t have trace amounts of the substances. They say their goal is full compliance and that they don’t want the “Big Lick” competition ruined by cheaters.^[7]

3 Nose Rings Hurt (That’s Why They’re There)

Nose rings are placed in the nostrils of animals for several reasons. But whatever the endgame of the farmer is, nose rings were meant to cause pain. For animals like cows, a nose ring can be used to control an animal that is in close proximity to humans.

The cow can be led around by a rope tethered to the nose ring, or pulling on the ring can cause pain which discontinues the undesirable activity. Temporary nose rings are also placed on calves to wean them. The rings prevent them from nursing but allows them to eat food like adult cows.

Perhaps the most common images of nose rings in animals involve pigs, but they are also the most discouraged. The rings are seen as harmful to the pigs’ welfare. While nose rings can be used to lead a pig somewhere, the main purpose of nose rings in these animals is to stop them from rooting.

A herd of pigs rooting can destroy the plant life around an entire farm. However, many animal researchers believe that rooting is a behavioral need in pigs and to prevent that activity would be harmful to their welfare. Given that, other methods of rooting prevention are recommended. Nose ringing pigs is discouraged or even banned in several countries.^[8]

2 Chickens With Rose-Colored Glasses Or Blinders

Many people agree that chicken makes a very tasty meal, but unfortunately, that sentiment is shared by the birds themselves. They are cannibals. Each year, chicken farmers can lose up to 25 percent of their stock to chickens killing each other.

When one chicken draws blood, the sight of the blood draws other chickens to the injured bird. They attack it, too. So when a chicken bleeds, it often dies quickly at the beaks of its flock.

Chicken farmers use a range of methods to avoid losing their stock this way. Interestingly, this includes giving spectacles to their birds. These rose-colored glasses make it difficult for the chickens to see blood, which prevents mobs of them from attacking a lone bird.

Some glasses were designed to swing open when the chicken ate so that it had a normal view of its food. Then the spectacles would swing back down once the chicken lifted its head again.^[9]

Other kinds, called blinders, are opaque and prevent the chicken from seeing in front of its head. The chicken can’t see to attack another chicken, so deaths are prevented. There were even attempts to give the chickens permanent red-colored contact lenses. However, these only harmed the chickens and made some go blind.

Although some blinders and spectacles are temporary clip-ons, others are permanent. These are pinned directly into the nasal cavities of the birds and are listed as “mutilations” by the UK government. The practice is illegal there because it is deemed detrimental to the welfare of the birds.

1 Cutting Off The Eyes Of Prawns

Female prawns only like to reproduce under the right conditions. They want everything to be perfect when they lay their eggs. But their tendency to only reproduce when they’re satisfied with their little prawn lives poses a huge problem for most farmers.

Prawns in farms are generally under more stress than in the wild, so their bodies prevent them from sexually maturing. However, farmers need the prawns to reproduce. One way to encourage them is to create conditions where female prawns feel safe enough to allow their ovaries to mature. Another method is cutting their eyes off. (Or just slicing them open.)

Female prawns have a gland in their eyestalks that control the maturation rate of their ovaries. If females won’t reproduce, then farmers simply have to remove this gland. Without it, the prawn’s ovaries begin to mature.

As the gland is in the prawn’s eyestalk, gland removal is generally done in one of two ways. Complete amputation of the eyestalk extracts the gland with it, and the prawn starts making babies.

But blinding a prawn is not necessary in the procedure known as eyestalk ablation. Farmers only need to slice the eye open and then squeeze the eyestalk to get rid of the gland. The eye will heal, but we don’t know how the prawn’s vision fares after having their eyes sliced in half. Science says it probably hurts, too.^[10]

Mike lives on the East Coast and pays too much for beach parking.

When we picture the ancient world, it is often an idealized society we conjure up. In this serene Golden age intellectuals wandered about in clean streets surrounded by elegant and gleaming white statues. In fact the ancient world was often dirty, smelly, and noisy. Many of the white sculptures in museums today were originally painted in gaudy colors as you can see on our list of Top 10 Color Classical Reproductions.

When artefacts were excavated in the past they were often suppressed if they did not fit the cultivated image people had of the ancient world. It can therefore be a shock when we are confronted with the naughty, erotic, or frankly bizarre sexual imagery that our ancestors reveled in. Here are ten of the most shocking pieces of erotic art from the deep past.

SEE ALSO: 10 Sex Myths We All Believe

10 Ain Sakhri Lovers

The oldest image we have of two people having intercourse comes from 11,000 years ago. Currently held in the British Museum, the Ain Sakhri Lovers were discovered in a cave near Bethlehem. The 10cm tall statue is thought to come from the Natufian Culture of the ancient middle east. While at first it merely looks like a crude piece of carving it is in fact a clever work of art.

The person who created the Lovers used a stone tool to pick out the details. When viewed from the side it is unmistakably a pair with their legs wrapped around each other during sex. But without facial features on either figure it gives their heads a somewhat phallic appearance. This resemblance to a penis continues if the statue is turned sideways. From different angles the Lovers can also appear as a pair of breasts or dangling testicles.

What the Lovers was originally intended for is unknown. As with any archaeological find it may well have had a ritual meaning, but it is also possible that our ancestors were like us and simply preferred their porn 3D.

9 Pompeii Brothel Pictures

Pompeii was a cosmopolitan port. From the graffiti found in the ruins of the town we know that visitors were speaking a variety of languages from Latin to Greek to Oscan and maybe Hebrew. With potential language barriers popping up how then was a prostitute to earn her living?

When Vesuvius erupted it both destroyed and preserved Pompeii. Excavations have revealed exactly what Roman towns were like and one of the entertainments offered in Pompeii was a trip to a brothel. In the Lupinare, one of Pompeii’s pleasure houses, were a series of wall paintings showing couples in various sexual positions. It is thought that these images were used as a sort of sexual menu telling punters exactly what was on offer, in much the same way a picture of a hamburger helps a foreign tourist order in a restaurant.

8 Min

To describe something as ithyphallic is to say it has an erect penis. If you know anything about the Egyptian god Min it is that he is ithyphallic – his statues will not let you forget that fact.

Min, an early god known as ‘the maker of gods and men,’ was among the first Egyptian deities to have large statues raised to them. Those statues did not attempt to hide his anatomy. He is often shown holding his penis in his left hand. At his cultic sites his sacred animal was usually a bull – animals known for their virility. When Min was linked to the constellation Orion the three famous stars in Orion’s midriff were definitely not representing a belt.

Min was associated with a type of wild lettuce that when cut produces a thick, white sap. Some archaeologists have made claims about just what this sticky white fluid could have brought to the Egyptian mind.

7 Priapus

Having a big penis is generally thought to be lucky. For the Greeks and Romans however a large phallus was not only lucky in itself it was also a bringer of luck. Carvings of penises have been found at many ancient sites and one figure of mythology is particularly associated with them. Priapus is a fertility deity with a (to us) comically large penis who was thought to be helpful in farming, gardens, and anything you might consider using a penis for.

Pompeii once again offers a great view of how sex was seen in the ancient world. Paintings and statues of Priapus are found all over the city. One famous fresco of Priapus shows him weighing his penis against a bag of gold, perhaps hinting at a role in business as well.

Statues of the god often show him holding fruit in his robe which is lifted to reveal his erect penis beneath. We cannot be sure how exactly the Greeks and Romans viewed these images. Were they viewed with reverence or laughter? Perhaps the two were not separate things back then. Bear that in mind the next time someone laughs at your anatomy.

6 Herms

Herms in ancient Greece were a unique style of statuary. On top of a square pillar sat the head of either a human or a god. This much is fairly standard but around half way down the pillar was carved a set of male genitalia.

The god Hermes was often the deity shown on a herm and he had a role in protecting borders and warding off thieves. It is thought that herms acted as guards in both private and public settings, as well as being general good luck charms. When the herms were attacked it was an attack on the whole city.

In 415 BC the city of Athens awoke to find its herms had all been mutilated. A gang had torn through the streets during the night vandalizing them – probably by smashing off their penises. Suspicion for this sacrilegious act fell on the statesman Alcibiades and led to his downfall and banishment from the city. Luckily for him the law of “an eye for an eye” was not yet in vogue.

5 Tintinnabula

The penis was a lucky charm for the Romans but so were bells. It, therefore, made sense for them to hang bells from a phallus to increase the power of these charms. Called tintinnabula these wind chimes were hung from doorways and in gardens to ward off evil spirits. But simply mixing two charms together was not enough for the Romans.

Some tintinnabula are a complex mix of imagery. The central figure might be an erect phallus with wings and a lion’s tail. This flying phallus might also be sporting an erect phallus of its own. Hanging from these conjoined penises could be bells or even other phalluses, with yet more bells attached.

4 Warren Cup

The Warren Cup, bought by the British Museum in 1999, is one of the finest pieces of Roman silver work in existence. It is also one of the most pornographic. Usually dated to the 1st century after the birth of Christ, the silver drinking vessel shows four figures in a heavily decorated room surrounded by musical instruments. These signs of luxury are not what catch the eye, however.

On one side a pair of youthful men (“twinks”) are shown making love while on the other a young man or boy lowers himself into the lap of his older, bearded lover (or “daddy” in modern parlance). As if to underline our own role as voyeurs a fifth figure can just be seen peeping at the copulating couples from around the edge of a door.

To show just how far tastes can change the Warren cup was refused entry into the United States in 1953 because the imagery on it was just too shocking.

3 Sheela na gig

When PJ Harvey sang a song called Sheela Na Gig, some listeners may not have understood what she may have been singing about. The lyrics include lines like:

“Sheela-na-gig, Sheela-na-gig
You exhibitionist
Put money in your idle hole”

So what is are sheela-na-gigs? They are statues with exaggerated vulvas that they are gleefully opening up to the world. They are often found on churches, which seems like the last place you would find an exhibitionist female statue. Most commonly found in Ireland and Britain sheela na gig-like sculptures can also be found in mainland Europe. When they appear on churches they are usually positioned over doorways or windows. It is as if the portal being opened by the statue is mirrored in the one below.

No one knows exactly why these sculptures began appearing in the 11th century or what their purpose was. The best guess is that like other erotic figures they were used to ward off evil spirits and to keep them from entering the church, perhaps by offering a more tempting place for spirits to enter.

2 Babylonian copulating couples

Freud said “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” When it comes to erotic art sometimes porn is just porn. This may be the case with the copulating couples of ancient Mesopotamia. From across millennia and locations in the middle east plaques and statues have emerged from the sands which show nothing other than couples in various acrobatic poses.

Two famous plaques from Iraq that are nearly 4000-years-old are illustrative. One shows a man taking a woman from behind, apparently to the satisfaction of both. The other shows a couple in a similar position but with the pair taking a break from their exertions to have a refreshing drink. The lady sips up thick Babylonian beer through a straw while the man drinks from a cup. It has been theorized that these different drinking styles may relate to male and female oral sex.

Here may be an example of a simple joyous reaction to sex from the ancient world untainted by any spiritual meaning. For the Mesopotamians it seems that sex was just sex and not something to be ashamed of. For us modern readers, however, it is absolutely shocking to see such a perverse and unashamed promotion of drinking straws.

1 Pan having sex with a goat

When an excavation in 1752 at Herculaneum (the other Roman town buried by the Vesuvius eruption) revealed a statue of the god Pan, the discoverers were left in a quandary. What do you do with a sculpture that plainly shows the half-human, half-goat deity penetrating a she-goat? One early viewer wrote home to say that the depiction was too indecent to describe and suggested that it should be tossed back into the volcano.

Instead the sculpture was placed in a collection of other pieces of erotic art from the ancient Roman sites that could only be accessed by getting the permission of the King of Naples. Or by bribing a guard. Women were banned entirely from viewing the objects.

For those desperate to see what all the fuss was about prints and drawings of the statue became available. The sculptor Joseph Nollekens created a terracotta copy from memory. Today however anyone paying the entrance fee to the Archaeological Museum in Naples can see it among the other artefacts in the ‘Secret Cabinet’ of ancient artworks once considered too filthy for the public.