Sci-fi gives us the strangest, most memorable places in all of fiction. Whether it’s the sky-high city of The Empire Strikes Back, the gritty streets of Blade Runner, or the desert kingdoms of Dune, sci-fi always immerses its fans into incredibly unique worlds. It seems a shame that these places are just made-up—no matter how hard you wish, you’ll never end up on Gallifrey or aboard Serenity.

But if you know where to look, you’ll find plenty of real-life places that look like they were dreamed up by George Lucas or Philip K. Dick. There’s the apocalyptic Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the Arctic, the flying saucer–shaped Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria, and the depressing dystopia of the Tower of David. And then there are the following places, some creepy, some gorgeous, some downright weird, and all looking ripped straight out of a sci-fi story.

10New York’s Floating Cities

From the Nautilus to Snowpiercer, sci-fi has long loved tricked-out vehicles. They’re moving cities, sustaining life wherever they go, and while they don’t exist (yet), a couple of ships off the coast of New York City are the next best thing.

More Silent Running than Waterworld, the Science Barge is operated by the NY Sun Works, a group dedicated to building sustainable greenhouses. Drifting in the Hudson River, the ship is a farm on the water. Totally self-sustaining, it relies on wind and solar energy for its power, vegetable oil for its heat, and rainwater for its crops. So when the apocalypse starts, this is the place you want to be, especially if you’re a salad fan.

A much scarier ship is floating near the Bronx in Long Island Sound. Resembling a fortress made of oversized Legos, the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center is the world’s largest prison ship, housing 800 felons in medium to maximum security. Built to relieve overcrowding on Rikers Island, this $161 million vessel boasts 100 cells, a law library, and a basketball court on top of the ship.

9The Glow-In-The-Dark Highway

We’re always trying to build the car of the future. Strangely, none of us think about road on which this car will drive—none of us but Daan Roosegaarde. This Dutch artist figured it was time to advance highway technology. Inspired by bioluminescent jellyfish, Roosegaarde created the world’s first glow-in-the-dark road.

Working with the civic engineering firm Heijmans, Roosegaarde converted Highway N329 in Oss into a radiant roadway. The road’s paint is made from photo-luminizing powder, which captures sunlight during the day and lets off a light-green glow at night. When you drive in the dark, the stripes along the road take the place of streetlights. Roosegaarde hopes this 500-meter (1,600 ft) stretch of highway outside Amsterdam will save energy, and he wants other countries to follow his lead.

However, Roosegaarde isn’t anywhere near finished with his project. Next, he wants to use his glow-in-the-dark powder to create weather symbols that show up on the street. For example, he might paint a snowflake that lights up when the weather gets cold, warning drivers about snowfall or ice on the roads. Right now, these icons are still in the development phase, but if the paint on N329 can stand up to the daily onslaught of cars, perhaps Roosegaarde’s powder will revolutionize the way we drive at night.

8Gardens By The Bay

Judging by box office numbers and online movie reviews, it seems there are two kinds of people in the world: those who loved Avatar and those who hated it with every fiber of their being. But regardless of your opinion on the storytelling of James Cameron’s space epic, Pandora looks like a lovely place to visit—if you wipe out those rhino monsters and wolf creatures, anyway. Unfortunately, Pandora doesn’t actually exist, a sad reality that left some film fans with suicidal thoughts.

While those people probably need counseling, less hardcore fans can satisfy their Avatar obsession with a trip to the Gardens by the Bay. Located in central Singapore, this amazing park is the closest thing we have to a luminescent alien forest, thanks to the 18 supertrees that dominate the landscape. These artificial giants measure 25–50 meters (80–160 ft), and while they don’t sport any vegetation of their own, they’re covered in 200 different species of ferns and flowers. Eleven of these steel trees contain photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into energy for the rest of the park. The trees also collect their own rainwater, are interconnected with bridges, and light up in the dark.

Elsewhere in the park are the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome, enormous biomes that house over 200,000 different plants, including olive groves, baobabs, and fynbos. These modern-day arks are climate-controlled and generate their own power by processing horticultural waste in steam turbines. Looking at pictures of Gardens by the Bay, you get not only an Avatar-vibe but a sense of technology and nature merging in the best possible way.

7The National Radio Quiet Zone

The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is truly a special piece of equipment. Located in the eastern half of West Virginia, this telescope is the size of the Washington Monument, weighs 8 million kilograms (17 million lb), and takes up 8,000 square meters (2 acres) of land. This observatory wasn’t made for stargazing. Instead, Green Bank tunes into the music of the universe. A radio telescope, this giant wiry dish listens to radio waves from faraway stars and galaxies.

By the time extraterrestrial energy reaches the Earth, it’s weaker than a snowflake tumbling to the ground. To pick up these faint frequencies, the telescope is extremely sensitive. Anything that generates radio waves is either banned from the Green Bank base or highly controlled. Even the cafeteria microwave is kept inside a special, shielded cage.

Scientists took extra steps to block outside electronic pollution. In 1958, the Federal Communications Commission declared the 34,000 square kilometers (13,000 sq mi) surrounding Green Bank to be a “National Radio Quiet Zone.” Roughly the size of Connecticut and Massachusetts combined, the Quiet Zone is a huge chunk of land almost completely free of cell phones and Wi-Fi. All power lines are buried 1.2 meters (4 ft) below the ground, people use dial-up telephones and ham radios, and every radio station but one (which broadcasts at a low frequency) is banned. There’s even a group of radio wave police who arm themselves with antennas and track down any rogue interference.

Blocking 21st-century technology from the region is getting harder and harder, but for now, the National Radio Quiet Zone is a throwback to a 1950s way of life—with a sci-fi space dish at the center.

6The Soviet Lightning Machine

Hidden away in the forests outside Moscow is a strange collection of tubes, coils, and wires. It looks abandoned now, but gigantic gadgets such as this were built to make lightning—a lot of lightning.

The Soviets built this Marx generator decades ago, and it’s said to have produced as much power as all other generators in Russia. That’s more power than every nuclear, thermoelectric, and hydroelectric plant combined, though Marx generators can only run for a small fraction of a second at a time.

The Russians used the crazy contraption to test materials’ resistance to lightning strikes. For example, they once reportedly shocked a Sukhoi Superjet.

5Rjukan, Norway

For over a century, the citizens of Rjukan lived in the dark. Founded in the early 1900s by Sam Eyde, the village was built for people working in his Norsk Hydro factories. Rjukan is totally surrounded by mountains, so from mid-September to early March, the town was completely covered by gloomy shadow.

The locals weren’t pleased with their situation, but there wasn’t much they could do about it. Sam Eyde tried to compensate by building a cable car to carry people to the top of the mountain. During those dismal months, it was the only way anyone could spend a few minutes basking in the sunlight. After all, you couldn’t actually bring sunlight into the valley—at least not until Martin Anderson showed up.

A traveling artist, Anderson built three solar-powered heliostats on top of the mountain. Sitting 450 meters (1,500 ft) above Rjukan, these computer-operated mirrors track the Sun as it travels across the sky and reflect the light down into the town square, creating 600 square meters (6,500 sq ft) of beautiful light for Rjukan’s sunlight-starved citizens.

Rjukan isn’t the only town that relies on mirrors for sunlight. Viganella, Italy uses a single steel mirror to warm its town, but while it captures more sunlight, it isn’t as strong as Rjukan’s sci-fi heliostats.

4Hong Kong’s AI Metro

With an on-time record of 99.9 percent, the Hong Kong subway is the best in the world. Its success is thanks to a computer program created by Hong Kong engineer Andy Chun. Using a special algorithm, his program quickly calculates the best way to keep the trains running, and it’s way more efficient than any feeble-minded human.

Each week, 10,000 workers keep the tracks in tip-top shape. Night after night, they descend into the tunnels after the trains stop running, and they only have a few hours to carry out 2,600 engineering jobs per week. Before the computer program came along, experts had to hurriedly plan who would go where and do what, and it took far too long. Then Chun’s program changed everything.

After interviewing numerous engineering experts, Chun transformed their wisdom into a series of rules for his AI. Before the repair teams get busy, the AI pores over a model of the subway system and identifies what needs to be done. Next, it compares solutions against one another until it finds the best way to accomplish everything neatly and quickly. It even knows to check its plans against city regulations to make sure everything is safe and legal.

Chun’s AI is so effective that it cuts out two days’ worth of planning a week and gives workers an extra 30 minutes each night to fix up the tracks, saving the metro $800,000 per week. With a program this efficient, it might not be long before computers are running the subway entirely—and as sci-fi fans know, that’s probably not going to end well.

3The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex

Take a road trip across North Dakota, and you’ll see whole stretches of vast, grassy nothing. But pass through the sleepy little town of Nekoma, and you’ll spot something incredibly bizarre and totally alien rising up out of the ground: a giant concrete pyramid.

While it’s missing the pointy top we associate with Egyptian pyramids, this obelisk makes up for its flat roof with four creepy eyes. There are two circles on each side of the pyramid, one inside the other, almost like a pupil inside an iris. And if you drive up closer, you’ll find the pyramid is surrounded with checkpoints and buildings such as an office, a church, and a gym. But chances are good that you won’t pay too much attention to this abandoned community. You’ll probably just stare at the pyramid. What is this thing, and what is it doing in the middle of nowhere?

The focal point of the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, this misplaced monolith was constructed back in the 1970s. Costing a whopping $6 billion, this concrete pyramid was made for one purpose—to watch out for incoming Soviet missiles. Those creepy eyes on all four sides of the pyramid were radars watching the skies for sneak attacks. And if the Russians ever did launch a nuke, officials inside the pyramid would shoot it down with one of their Spartan anti-ballistic missiles.

In addition to silos all over the complex, a massive labyrinth of tunnels ran under the pyramid itself. And in true bureaucratic fashion, the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex was operational for less than a year. After it opened in April 1975, the government started worrying about safety issues, so in February 1976, they flooded the tunnels and shut the whole thing down. So, that was $6 billion down the drain.

The pyramid was later bought for $530,000 by the Spring Creek Hutterite Colony, an Amish-like community of pacifists.

2Americana, Sao Paulo

Alternative history is one of the biggest sci-fi subgenres. These stories deal with the big “what ifs” of history. Take for example Philip K. Dick’s novel The Man in High Castle, which asks, “What if the Nazis had won World War II?” Similarly, quite a few wonder, “What would’ve happened if the Confederacy had won the Civil War?” Well, if you’re curious, you can head on down to Americana, Sao Paulo and find out.

After Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, sore losers in the South weren’t crazy about rejoining the US. Sensing their frustration, Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil invited irate Southerners to pack up their bags and move even further south. Ten thousand people accepted his offer, and while most eventually went back home, 40 percent stayed in Brazil and established the town of Americana.

Nicknamed the “Confederados,” these immigrants set up a surreal little world of good old Southern values. They built Baptist churches, flew the Stars and Bars, and ate biscuits and black-eyed peas. And when they weren’t using forced labor to work their new cotton plantations, they were throwing antebellum balls and singing old-fashioned Southern ballads.

While the town has toned down its Dixieland vibe, the Confederados’ descendants still speak fluent English and throw an annual festival where people dress up in Southern costumes, have grand parties, and unfurl the Confederate flag—all in the middle of Brazil.

1Monkey Island

From Doctor Moreau to King Kong to Jurassic Park, islands have always had a special place in science fiction. These little land masses are perfect for creating weird worlds and strange situations that wouldn’t happen on the mainland. But while you probably won’t find a real-world island populated with polar bears, magical wells, and time travel, quite a few in the ocean have their own mysterious stories.

Take Monkey Island for example. Deep in the jungles of Liberia, in the middle of the Farmington River, is an island populated with over 60 chimpanzees. Surrounded by water, these apes spend their days hidden in the trees but rush down to the beach whenever white-clad workers show up with food and medicine.

The story of Monkey Island (chimps aren’t monkeys, but it’s a local nickname) starts back in 1974, when the New York Blood Center opened a research facility in Liberia. Named “Vilab,” the facility was dedicated to curing deadly diseases. That meant infecting over 100 apes with viruses like hepatitis because chimps are the only non-human species susceptible to the illness.

The facility closed down in 2005 thanks to changing attitudes toward animal testing, raising the question of where the infected chimps were going to go. That’s where Monkey Island came in. The apes were placed on an island where they would spend the rest of their lives in relative comfort.

Today, the chimps are cared for by local teams working with the New York Blood Center. Most of the animals are completely healthy and show no signs of plotting a revolution.

If you want to keep up with Nolan’s writing, you can friend/follow him on Facebook or email him here.

Irony, by definition, is a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what was or might be expected, an outcome cruelly, humorously, or strangely at odds with assumptions or expectations. Although Alanis Morissette’s 1995 hit track “Ironic” has sparked debate and reflection as to the nature of irony itself, there certainly are situations in the song that fit the definition of irony listed—winning the lottery only to die the next day and flying on an airplane for the first time only to have the plane crash.

While these situations are certainly not typical, what happens when reality begins to mirror the song lyrics in startlingly literal ways?

Imagine a person claiming their lottery winnings only to tragically die the next day, or a young doctor committed to finding a cure for a rare cancer, only to succumb to the same cruel fate he hoped to save his patients from, or someone robbing a bank to escape their spouse, only to be sentenced to home confinement due to a twist in legal proceedings. Naturally, such stories would seem to be nothing more than pure fiction. However, the real-life accounts in this list showcase the unpredictable ways that irony manifests itself in everyday life with both humor and tragedy.

Here are ten ironic (and tragic) news stories that could easily belong in an Alanis Morissette song.

Related: Ten Oddball News Stories out of Canada

10 Man Dies One Day after Claiming $2 Million Powerball Winnings

At one point or another, many of us have thought about just how different our lives would be if we won the lottery and dreamed of what we’d do with our winnings—buy our dream car, pay off debt, travel the world, or help those near and dear to our hearts.

Seventy-two-year-old Mark Krogman of Clinton, Iowa, was no different. He planned to use his lottery winnings to pay off his house, possibly add onto it, help his family with needed finances, and just enjoy life. The difference, however, between Krogman and everyday dreamers was that Krogman actually won a lottery prize. Unfortunately, in a tragic and ironic turn of events, he would never get to do all he hoped for with his winnings.

Krogman purchased a lottery ticket for the Powerball drawing on November 25, 2023. Players in a $2 Powerball select five numbers between 1 and 69 and another number—called the Powerball—from a separate set of numbers between 1 and 26. For an extra $1, a Power Play option is available, which can multiply non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, 5, or even 10 times the amount.

The winning numbers for that night’s drawing were 27-33-63-66-68 and a Powerball of 9. Krogman’s ticket matched the first five numbers drawn but did not match the Powerball number. However, Krogman had chosen to add the Power Play option to his ticket purchase, multiplying at the Match 5 level, meaning he won $2 million! In fact, Krogman’s ticket was the only one in the country to win a $2 million prize in that night’s drawing.

While it was known that there was a Powerball winner, the ticket went unclaimed for months, that is, until Krogman finally made his way to the Lottery headquarters on April 17, 2024. Unfortunately, the shock and joy of realizing he’d won was short-lived, as Krogman died on April 18, 2024, just one day after claiming his winnings. Although Krogman’s cause of death was not disclosed, his obituary stated he passed away peacefully at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics.^[1]

9 Elderly Woman’s Life Claimed by Medical Device Meant to Save Her

A medical alert system can be either an in-home or wearable device—such as a necklace or bracelet with a help button—that allows a person to call for help should they fall, get confused or injured, or have a medical or healthcare emergency. Should such a situation arise, the person in need can simply press a help button rather than call 911, and from there, the monitoring center can assess the situation, alert loved ones, and dispatch emergency medical services to the home.

Eighty-six-year-old Roseann DiFrancesco of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, had a medical alert necklace, but unfortunately, the device meant to save her life ultimately claimed it instead.

On February 15, 2016, a nurse came by to visit DiFrancesco but got no answer after knocking on the door. The nurse then entered the home but found DiFrancesco dead in her bathroom. The coroner later revealed that DiFrancesco was using her walker when she lost her balance and fell. Sadly, the lanyard of her medical alert necklace—which did not have a breakaway clasp—got caught on the handle of the walker, causing DiFrancesco’s upper torso to be suspended above floor level, strangling her to death.^[2]

8 Man Robs Bank to Avoid Wife but Is Sentenced to House Arrest

On September 2, 2016, 70-year-old Lawrence John Ripple walked into the Bank of Labor in Kansas City, Kansas, and handed a teller a note that read, “I have a gun, give me money.” However, unlike most bank robbers, Ripple’s goal was not money; rather, he was hoping to go to jail to avoid being at home with his wife. Therefore, after the teller handed Ripple $2,924 in cash, he simply sat down in the lobby of the bank and waited for the police to arrive.

It didn’t take long for the police to arrive, given that the bank was just a block from police headquarters. When confronted by authorities, Ripple returned the money and was arrested.

So, what exactly happened between Ripple and his wife that drove him to such extremes? Earlier in the day, an argument ensued between the couple when Ripple’s wife reminded him that the clothes dryer still needed to be fixed. Ripple later “wrote out his demand note in front of his wife and told her he’d rather be in jail than at home.” However, Ripple didn’t quite get the punishment he was hoping for.

While Ripple pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery, he told the judge that a multiple bypass heart surgery in 2015 left him depressed and not feeling like himself. Ripple could have been sentenced to a maximum of 37 months in prison, but both the vice president of the bank and the teller supported the request for leniency, given the state of Ripple’s mental health.

On June 13, 2017, Ripple was sentenced to 50 hours of community service, ordered to pay $227.27 to the bank—the billable hours for bank employees sent home on the day of the robbery—and pay $100 to a crime victims fund. Ripple was also sentenced to six months of home confinement—leaving him no choice but to be at home with his wife—and three years of supervised probation.^[3]

7 Doctor Dies from Rare Cancer He Was Dedicated to Cure

Clear cell sarcoma, or CCS, is a type of cancer that grows just under the skin. Although CCS tumors most often occur in the arms, legs, feet, and hands, they can also grow throughout the torso (including the stomach and intestines) and have even been found in the genitals and head. This extremely rare cancer is named because the tumor cells look clear under a microscope. Unfortunately, this also makes the cancer hard to diagnose as the cells resemble malignant melanoma of the soft tissues.

However, Dr. Edward Showler believed that he could make a difference in the lives of his patients with sarcoma through pioneering treatments in the field of medicine. Tragically, in a twist of “cruel irony,” the talented young doctor lost his life to the same rare cancer he was dedicated to curing.

Sholwer’s older brother, Laurie, is an emergency doctor in Australia and was the one who inspired Showler to pursue the field of medicine. Showler studied medicine at St. John’s College Cambridge for six years and graduated in 2013. As a doctor, he went on to work for several hospitals- the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Redding, and University College Hospital in London. As a doctor working in the Sarcoma Unit at University College Hospital, Showler saw first-hand the effects of this fatal disease.

Therefore, in 2016, Showler began training to become a consultant hematologist at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, but unfortunately, in September of that year, he was diagnosed with clear cell sarcoma. Knowing that there was no effective treatment for the disease, Showler chose to spend the next eight months making memories for those he was going to leave behind.

Sadly, at just 28 years old, Showler died on June 11, 2017. Showler’s family and friends later established the Edward Showler Foundation to make a difference for young people affected by sarcoma—CCS in particular—by increasing awareness, engaging with patients and families, and supporting research into the rare disease.^[4]

6 Former Crime-Fighter Finds Himself on the Wrong Side of the Law

In September 2011, John R. Morales was caught driving 50 mph (80 km/h) in a 35 mph (56 km/h) zone and was subsequently pulled over for speeding in Galveston, Texas. However, when the police officer—assisted by a drug-sniffing dog—searched Morales’s Infinity, they discovered diagrams of two indoor pot-growing operations sitting on the front seat and an abundance of marijuana seeds in the trunk.

This discovery led authorities to search Morales’s home, where they seized 1,000 marijuana plants and 9,000 rounds of ammunition for 27 weapons, which included a shotgun, pistols, rifles, and a military grenade launcher.

While Morales’s arrest may not seem to stand out given the abundance of crime-related news that can be found on television, the internet, and social media, what makes this news story ironic is the fact that Morales once played the role of a crime-fighting character named McGruff the Crime Dog—a cartoon bloodhound created in the 1980s for the National Crime Prevention Council. The cartoon figure was used by U.S. police to spread crime awareness and is perhaps best known for the tagline “Take a bite out of crime.”

Although 41-year-old Morales insisted that he was nonviolent and his attorney claimed he had only sold drugs to help sick relatives, on February 6, 2014, Morales was sentenced to 16 years in prison.^[5]

5 Reptile Show Focused on “Overcoming Fears” Ends in Death of Snake Expert

Fifty-three-year-old Dieter Zorn—a herpetologist and co-host of the Reptile Show—had worked with reptiles for 25 years. His goal in life was to help people conquer their fears about snakes and reptiles. In fact, Zorn’s Reptile Show invited audience members, both young and old, to handle a variety of creatures such as snakes, crocodiles, scorpions, and spiders to become more comfortable with them. Unfortunately, in an attempt to help others overcome their phobias, the German snake expert would ultimately die at the hands of the very creatures he urged others not to be afraid of.

Zorn and his colleague, Uschi Kallus, had been traveling to different villages across the region of southern France. However, as Zorn was performing his show in Faugeres on June 18, 2013, he was bitten several times by an Aspic viper—a highly venomous snake native to France, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. Despite being bitten, Zorn got the snake back into a cage, preventing it from attacking members of the audience.

Emergency services arrived on the scene and administered a blood thinner, but unfortunately, they were unable to save Zorn. The viper bite caused Zorn to suffer an “extremely rare allergic reaction,” which ultimately led to a heart attack.^[6]

4 Suicide Prevention Advocate Tragically Takes His Own Life

Peter Wollheim of Boise, Idaho, was described as “a man of enormous heart who would have been there for anybody at any time if they were struggling.” Unfortunately, despite Wollheim dedicating years of his life to helping others in need, in the end, he was unable to conquer his own demons. He did what he’d passionately urged others not to do—take their own life.

Wollheim taught in the Department of Communication at Boise State University from 1989 to 2012, retiring from teaching to pursue a career as a mental health counselor. Wollheim went on to serve as the co-chairman of the Idaho Commission on Suicide Prevention, helped co-found the Idaho Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN)—a non-profit dedicated to suicide prevention and survivor support—managed a local suicide prevention hotline for 15 years, presented at national and international suicide conferences, and established the nation’s first certified crisis worker preparation program on the Boise State University campus.

However, in light of all the outreach work Wollheim did, his sister, Ruth Wachter-Carroll, stated that Wollheim had been depressed for years but never sought professional help. Additionally, Wollheim began having bad dreams about the Holocaust and its effects on his Jewish parents—Norbert and Frieda Wollheim—who had survived the Nazi death camps in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, leading him to believe there was no way out and do the unthinkable.

On July 21, 2015, 67-year-old Wollheim was found in his home by a friend, several days after his death, with a note that said “he was tired of having Holocaust dreams” and that “he was done with life.”^[7]

3 Heart Attack Comes “Out of Nowhere”

Born in Los Angeles, California, on October 26, 1927, Warne Marsh came from quite a talented family—his father, Oliver Marsh, was a cinematographer, his mother, Elizabeth, was a violinist, and his aunt, Mae Marsh, was an actress. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that Marsh would go on to find a love of music and performing.

Marsh played in a band called Teenagers, which performed on Hoagy Carmichael’s musical radio show in 1945 and then went on to serve in the U.S. Army in 1946.

Then, in 1948, Marsh became a student of Lennie Tristano, who was a blind American jazz pianist, a major figure of the “Cool School” jazz style, and an influential teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano was the principal influence on Marsh’s art as a tenor saxophonist and jazz musician, and the two played together from 1949 to 1952.

Marsh went on to play with other students of Tristano, such as Lee Konitz and Ted Brown, in addition to leading his own small musical groups and teaching. However, Marsh gained even more exposure in the 1970s as a member of Supersax—a saxophone-centered ensemble (Link 40) that played orchestral arrangements of Charlie Parker solos. He later recorded albums such as Jazz of Two Cities, Quartet, and Warne Marsh under his own name.

Unfortunately, on the night of December 17, 1987, as 60-year-old Marsh was in the middle of playing the tune “Out of Nowhere” at Donte’s club in Los Angeles, he slipped off his stool and collapsed. Marsh was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and pronounced dead in the early hours of December 18, 1987, after suffering a heart attack.^[8]

2 Drunk Driver Had Warning Against Drunk Driving on Car

Around 4 a.m. on February 24, 2019, officers spotted a dark-colored sedan weaving across three lanes of traffic in Berkeley, California. The unnamed male driver was stopped by the California Highway Patrol and found to be well over the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent.

While driving under the influence is certainly no laughing matter, what makes this news story ironic is that the car featured a sign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Administration that read: “I should probably get a ride home” (with the word “probably” crossed out) and “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”^[9]

1 Man Dies Trying to Set Record for “Buried Alive”

Twenty-four-year-old Janaka Basnayake’s mother, L.D. Leelawathi, stated that from the time her son was young, he enjoyed performing unusual acts. In fact, Leelawathi claimed that Basnayake had even been buried alive on two previous occasions—once for two and a half hours and once for six hours. Basnayake was, however, apparently unimpressed with his prior feats and decided on a third daredevil attempt to break a world record for spending the longest time being buried alive. Unfortunately, it would lead to his demise.

With the help of family and friends, Basnayake was buried underground around 9:30 a.m. on March 3, 2012, in a 10-foot (3-meter) trench sealed with wood and soil in the town of Kantale, which is approximately 137 miles (220 km) north of Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. At 4 p.m., six and a half hours after he was buried, Basnayake was pulled to the surface but found unconscious. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on arrival, although no official cause of death was given.

Following the news of Basnayake’s death, the Guinness World Records issued a statement on March 5, 2012, which offered condolences to Basnayake’s family but also stated that “record attempts related to being buried alive are not authorized, monitored, or adjudicated by Guinness World Records.”^[10]

Nature can be scary. Sometimes, more than rain, sun, fog, and snow fall out the sky. When the conditions are right, mother nature can throw storms at us that are straight out of the end times.

SEE ALSO: 10 Natural Disasters That Created A More Beautiful World [PICS]

Almost every miraculous wrath of god or sign of apocalypse has come true at some point or another. Trumpets have sounded from the sky; hail, fire, and blood have been thrown down to the earth; great stars have torn through the sky and poisoned our waters; and the sun itself has turned pitch black — and every time, people have panicked, convinced the end is nigh.

10 Pillars of Flame

While California was being ravaged by wildfires in 2018, people fleeing from their homes in Redding saw something straight out of the Bible. A gigantic pillar of fire, climbing up 5,500 meters into the air, descended upon their city, destroying everything in its path.

A literal manifestation of God’s wrath destroyed their homes. You wouldn’t blame them if they got a little reflective. But the thing is, during wildfires, great pillar of fires like the one that led Moses out of Egypt are actually pretty common.

These pillars of flame are called “fire tornados” or “fire whirls”, and they’re perfectly natural. They’re essentially whirlwinds that pick up flames. When hot, dry air rises and swirls into a vortex, they sometimes pick up the burning embers and debris in the wildfire around it, creating a vortex of fire.

Usually, these things are pretty small and short-lived — but some fire whirls can rise up to the clouds and last for hours, wreaking havoc as they travel at tornado-like speeds, hurling flames that burn as hot as 1,093 °C.^[1]

9 Hail Mingled With Fire

When the first trumpet of the apocalypse sounds, the Bible says, a mixture of hail and fire will be hurled down onto the earth, burning the grass and trees into cinders.

Which is pretty much exactly what happened in Canberra, the capital of Australia, in 2003. Bushfires outside the city got so out-of-control that spilled into the suburbs, and the sight was horrific.

Canberra looked like Sodom and Gomorrah. Lightning crashed without rain, a pillar of fire 10,000 meters high and 300 meters wide ravaged the city, and—just like in the apocalypse—hail and fire fell together. And, just to make things creepier, the hail was black.

Scientists believe that the hail turned black because ash and soot got mixed up with the water vapor in the clouds, creating a black, dirty hail that actually gets mixed up inside of the smoke plume.

It all makes for a horrifying sight—but in Australia, the dry air can make bushfires brutal enough that this has happened more than once. In some parts of the world, the first sign of the apocalypse is just something to watch out for whenever there’s a fire.^[2]

8 Trumpets Sounding in the Sky

On Aug. 11, 2011, a woman in the Ukraine uploaded a video to YouTube of a strange, groaning, metallic sound emanating from the sky. It sounded like something out of a horror movie, or an alien invasion, or—as some pointed out—like trumpets blaring in the sky.

On its own, it was creepy enough — but over the coming months and years, more and more people uploaded more and more videos online. Today, there have been literally hundreds of these videos uploaded from every corner of the world.

While some of those videos were hoaxes from people trying to join a trend, noises like these really do happen. Whole towns have have lived through these kinds of strange sounds, and nobody’s completely sure what causes them.

Some have been chalked up to the rumblings of tsunamis or meteors, while others have been credited to the small earthquakes below the surface emitting the sounds of the earth’s crust moving underfoot.

Whatever it is, it’s hard not to feel a little terrified when you hear trumpets blast from heaven. But when you live with it, it’s nothing short of hell.

“It’s maddening… It won’t go away,” one woman in Rochester has said. “I don’t care what it is. I honestly don’t care. I just want to identify it and get rid of it.”^[3]

7 Blood Rain

In July 2018, the Siberian city of Norilsk became coated in scarlet. A blood-red rain fell down from the sky, covering the buildings, vehicles, and roads, and staining people’s clothes red.

It was a horrifying sight — but of all the apocalyptic plagues that mother nature likes to throw at us, this one’s actually the most common of all.

Countless blood-red storms have fallen throughout history, with the earliest records tracing all the way back to ancient Greece. Typically, these storms start when red sand from the desert gets mixed up with the rain, sending down something that looks more than just a little like a death metal music video.

It’s so common that, technically, the process that leads to “blood rains” hits the United Kingdom several times each year. Typically, those rains end up more of a brownish-yellow than red, but other than the color they really are the same thing.

The one that hit Norilsk was actually caused by rust residue from a factory, but, as terrifying as it looked, it still wasn’t real blood — even if a few of the people it fell on were convinced it really was.^[4]

6 Plagues of Frogs And Flesh

On Aug. 4, 1921, the people of Calgary found themselves right in the middle of an Egyptian plague. Without warning, the sky opened up above them a torrent of frogs can crashing down upon them just like rain.

It was pretty terrifying — and it’s also pretty common. Or, at least, as common as a Biblical plagues in real-life can be. Frogs have fallen in Japan, Hungary, and Uruguay, as well, while other parts of the world have been showered by fish, worms, jellyfish, octopuses, lizards, and almost anything else you can imagine.

It’s believed that the animals get sucked up by tornadoes passing over bodies of water, then are thrown back onto the earth, often far enough away from where they were picked up to leave the poor people pelted by frogs and fish completely clueless as to what they could have done to deserve this.^[5]

5 Rivers of Blood

Raining frogs aren’t the only Egyptian plagues that hit the earth on a semi-regular basis. Just like the rivers of Egypt, waters all around the world have reported spontaneously turning blood red.

Just recently, in Dec. of 2018, people in Dedza, Malawi broke into a panic when they found the Linthipe River running red. This, some of them insisted, was a sign — and, even when geologists explained that a red oxide mine had contaminated the water, plenty of people still insisted that it was real blood.

It wasn’t, of course. Contaminations like this one happen all the time. The Daldykan River in Siberia, which is near a metallurgical plant, has turned red on five separate occasions. In fact, even one of the biggest rivers on earth—China’s massive Yangtze—turned blood red in June 2018.

Usually, it isn’t really blood changing the color of the water — but there is one exception.

In Sept. 2017, a blockage in sewage pipe at a slaughterhouse in Jianxi caused blood and waste from dead pigs to fill the Lianxi River, turning the water supply red — and this time, it really was blood.^[6]

4 A Star Called Wormwood

In 2007, there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon upon the fountains of waters. And many men became ill of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Nobody specifically reported hearing an angel sound a trumpet before it happened, but otherwise, the 2007 Carancas impact event pretty well perfectly fits the description of apocalypse.

A meteor crashed into the earth just outside of the city of Desaguadero, Peru, landing with such an impact that the windows at the local health center shattered, leaving a crater 30m wide and 6m deep.

Water rushed up from under the ground after the meteor hit and filled the crater, and, by the time people came close enough to see it, that water was boiling. It was also emanating a gas so toxic that anyone who came near it became physically ill, often ending up hospitalized after they fell into spells of nausea and vomiting.

That’s pretty terrifying — but it has a scientific explanation. Scientists believe that the meteor opened up a channel of groundwater that had contaminated with a sedimentary deposit full of methane gases, which was what got the people sick.^[7]

3 Literal S—— Showers

Sometimes it feels God just opened the sky and pooped on your head, but when people complained about that in 2018 in Canada, it wasn’t just a metaphor. The country, for about a year, was overcome by an epidemic of feces falling from the sky.

One lovely Canadian family were enjoying a leisurely ride home when feces from the sky fell directly through their open sunroof and onto their heads.

“My son threw up,” the mother has told reporters. “We had so much in our faces. Both of us, our faces were covered in poop.”

Mother and son alike ended up with a rough case of pink eye — and they aren’t the only ones who have gone through it. 18 separate cases of falling feces were reported in Canada in a single year, with one family having it rain down on them while lounged on their back decks.

It’s not entirely clear why this happens. Transport Canada insists that the feces couldn’t have come from their airplanes, leaving scientists to expound on wild theories about flocks of ospreys and herons. One things for sure, though — sometimes, life really does poop on your head.^[8]

2 Blood-Splattered Snow

In May 1818, as Capt. John Ross and his crew were searching through the Arctic for the Northwest Passage, they discovered something eerie on the coast of Greenland. The cliffs were streaked with what the men described as “so dark a red as to resemble port wine.”

It’s a phenomenon that’s been given the cutesy name of “Watermelon Snow”, but it’s hard not to find it a little creepy. In the right parts of the world, you can wake up to find the snow outside looking a murder scene, splattered with blood.

Ross and his team popularized watermelon snow for the modern world, but as far back as Aristotle, people have been recording sightings of this strange phenomenon.

It forms during particularly hot days. When the sun melts the snow, sometimes, an algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis will bloom, turning the snow red or pink. This also speeds up the melting process, often leaving behind eerie little blood-red pools when the snow dissipates.

Not only is it creepy, but it can even be dangerous. Eating watermelon snow is said to have a laxative effect, a fact discovered by those special souls who, when confronted with freak of nature, still can’t resist the urge to put it in their mouth.^[9]

1 Days of Darkness

On the morning of May 19, 1780, the sun rose in the sky, changed its mind, and decided to go back down again.

Across New England and parts of eastern Canada, people watched in confusion as the morning sky darkened and, soon, turned completely black. By noon, it’s said, it was as pitch black as midnight.

It would have been creepy for anyone to see, but for a pack of Puritans who were deeply familiar with the Biblical passage promising that, in the end times, the sun would not shine for a third part of a day, it was nothing short of terrifying.

The good people of New England took this as a sure sign that the end was nigh, confessed their sins, gathered out, and waited for rapture.

The world didn’t end, of course, but nobody’s completely sure why it happened the sun went dark that day. There was no eclipse, there were no volcanic eruptions that could have blocked out the sun, and there’s no definitive answer as to what could have caused it.

We do know, however, that’s happened at least once since. In 1950 in Alberta, the sky turned so black that, in the words of one environmentalist: “If you’d woken up at noon you’d have believed it was midnight.”

The cause, that time, was a distant forest fire that had emitted enough smoke to block out the sun — which may very well have been what caused that black night that scared so many Puritans.

But who knows for sure. Maybe the world really did end in 1780, and now we’re in a hellish apocalypse where blood rains from the sky and pillars of flame ravage our cities.

I mean, that’s probably not what happened. But technically, it’s theoretically possible.^[10]

About The Author: Mark Oliver’s writing also appears on several other sites, including The Onion’s StarWipe and Cracked.com. His website is regularly updated with everything he writes.

Read More:

[WARNING: This list contains disturbing images.] The Handmaid’s Tale – the book and the show – has helped return authoritarianism and women’s rights to the public stage, as well as influencing some pretty weird protest attire around the world. It portrays a fictional world named “Gilead” technologically similar to ours, but due to past events, it is now run by a totalitarian theocratic government. Women are subdued and divided among various classes, including the ‘Handmaids’, whose sole purpose is to bear kids for infertile couples.

SEE ALSO: 10 Horrific Acts That Are Legal In Some Countries

The 1985 novel was inspired by many events in history, including the rise of radical Islam in Iran and other parts of the Middle East around that time, persecution of witches in the 17th century, and the resurgence of the Christian right in various parts of the United States in the ’70s and ’80s.

Surprisingly, a lot of that social commentary is still quite relevant today. Many parts of the modern world are as bad – and on occasion much worse – than the fictional world depicted in the show. Here are ten such places.

10 Republic of El Salvador

Lately it’s the United States in the news for its restrictions on abortion laws, though it’s far from being the worst-case scenario. Even if there are some states trying their best to include cases of rape and incest in the ban, it’s still far from becoming a widespread reality.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case in many countries around the world, the most restrictive of them being El Salvador. There has been a total ban on abortion since 1998 without any exceptions, as well as restricted access to contraceptives. Women are regularly sent to jail for homicide charges in cases of abortion, sometimes even in cases of miscarriage.

El Salvador is also one of the worst countries in the world for gender violence. According to some reports, around sixty seven percent of women in El Salvador have experienced violence of some kind.^[1]

9 Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been going through near-consistent conflict since the Rwandan genocide. While the war among the neighboring nations is largely over, many active rebel groups exist in the region. Because of ethnic tensions, many of those groups actively target rival civilian populations.

The primary target of many of those pogroms are women, who have – owing to the genocidal nature of the conflict—gone through violence ever since the conflict first broke out. Aid workers regularly report cases of forced pregnancies, intentional spreading of STDs, and widespread rape.

The fighters aren’t the only culprits, however. Cases of sexual violence in DR Congo are generally on the rise, too, perpetrated by regular civilians. The country’s lax legal system and ongoing conflict make the situation even more dire for civilians, especially women.^[2]

8 Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Revolution in Iran and how it affected women’s rights in the post-revolution era massively influenced the novel, as Atwood would have been in the process of working on it when it was happening. Overnight, Iran turned into a theocratic state based on Islamic law. Many freedoms people took for granted were now taken away, though the strictest of the new laws were imposed on women.

For one, capital punishment by stoning was now a prescribed punishment for adultery by law. Scores of people – mostly women – were executed that way till the Iranian authorities decided that maybe it was too much. While it’s no longer recommended by the country’s laws, it remains a possible method of execution in the books. Sexual violence against women is also a big problem in Iran, which is made worse by laws that overwhelmingly favor the male perpetrators.

Iran is also a peculiar country in the way that it also has a growing section of activists pushing back against its most restrictive laws, unlike most other countries on this list. Unfortunately, it remains a totalitarian state, and many of those activists are at risk of being arrested or even tortured.^[3]

7 Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Pakistan is usually grouped among the other conflict-ridden Middle Eastern countries in popular imagination, though things are quite different there. It’s actually a functioning democracy, with a culture that’s more South Asian than near or middle Eastern.

However, conditions for civilians in many parts of Pakistan – especially for women – are bad. Even if the laws exist to deal with cases of sexual violence, deeply patriarchal attitudes and a lack of governance in many of its border regions make it rather difficult to live there. Honor killings are a regular part of many rural regions in the country, and sexual violence is rampant-yet-underreported. While women have the right to vote, Pakistan has the lowest female participation in elections across the world.

While none of its other South Asian counterparts – India and Bangladesh – have a particularly stellar record on women’s rights, Pakistan is in an especially terrible situation. A bad economy, near-consistent conflict in the north-western regions, lack of governance across big parts of its territory and rise of radical Islamism in its rural areas have made it one of the worst countries for women.

It’s not all bad, though, as there’s also a growing section of activists and NGOs willing to work for change, particularly in its more urban areas. The systematic patriarchy and dysfunctional legal system, however, make it a rather uphill battle.^[4]

6 Malaysia

Malaysia comes across as one of those south-east Asian countries with awesome beaches and a thriving nightlife, and it absolutely is! For the travelers, Malaysia can indeed be quite a destination to check off your bucket list. Unfortunately, it’s also kind of an authoritarian state for its Muslim residents, with overly restrictive laws most of us wouldn’t even have heard of.

In its more Islamic areas, you can’t miss the Friday prayers three weeks in a row, and a violation would send you to jail for six months. Drinking alcohol is punished using a variety of methods depending on the seriousness of the crime, which we’re just assuming is the degree of how drunk the person was. They still have caning as a punishment, and unsurprisingly, many of the caning victims end up being women (two women were caned for making out in a car in 2018).^[5]

5 Federative Republic of Brazil

When the average person thinks about Brazil, they imagine party buses and all-night beach festivals. Those who’ve seen their share of the Internet (and Brazilians, of course), know that it’s also one of the most crime-ridden countries in the world. Many of its cities feature on the list of the most violent cities, with violence only growing in recent times.

There’s also a widespread problem of crime against women. We’re not just talking about domestic violence and rape – though there’s quite a bit of that, too – but outright murders in broad daylight. According to a Guardian report, four women were killed every day in 2019 at the time of the report. Most of those cases graduate from domestic violence, and a lax legal system and lack of redressal by local authorities make it even worse for the victims.^[6]

4 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is like one of the who’s who of repressing women’s rights. If there was a hall of fame for not letting women do what they want, Saudi Arabia would have a special section dedicated to it. While some recent news stories (like women being ‘allowed’ to drive) point towards change, the general attitude towards women in the religious monarchy remains repressive.

While many of the more regressive laws – like women above 21 not being allowed to leave the house unaccompanied by a male – have been abolished, men still have a lot of legal avenues to just do whatever they want anyway. Women still have little agency in the eyes of the law, and have to go through a lot of hurdles to make their cases heard. Sexual violence in the country may not just go unpunished, but the victims may just be accused of adultery according to Islamic law and put to the sword. And yes, to the literal sword, as beheading remains the most popular method of execution in the country with the highest rate of executions in the world.^[7]

3 Federal Republic of Somalia

Somalia is one of those countries we seldom hear about. In the middle of a civil war ongoing since (at least) the 80s, it’s going through every conceivable human rights crisis you can think of. From widespread disease outbreaks to wartime violence to apparently pirates, there’s simply too much to even keep track of.

To say that conditions in Somalia are similar to the Handmaid’s Tale would be an understatement, as it’s probably much worse. It’s one of the countries still big on FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) – or female circumcision – and many cases don’t even get reported. There’s consistent threat of sexual violence in many parts of the country. If that wasn’t enough, getting stoned to death was a possibility till surprisingly recently, too.

The situation is made even worse by the ongoing conflict, as there’s no central authority in many parts of the country.^[8]

2 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been a battleground for wars it had nothing to do with for quite some time now. Regardless, it has also been a tribalistic society with separate clans that like to do their own thing, even if many attempts to unify it have been made. Many of its regions – especially the ones down south – are still under Taliban’s control.

Afghanistan has also seen some of the most authoritative governments in recent history, like when Taliban ruled over almost all of the country between 1996 – 2001. Public beheadings and stonings were commonplace, and women had to adhere to a strict code of conduct in their public as well as private lives. It wasn’t just women; basic liberties were curtailed for almost everyone.

While most of that is gone now – as Afghanistan has a central government in place – conflict is still ongoing in many of its regions, and sexual violence in many of those areas remains widespread. Taliban still holds some territory and is actively fighting against the government, so that era may not be completely behind us yet.^[9]

1 Republic of the Sudan

Sudan was, until recently, ruled by Omar al-Bashir – an authoritarian ruler who was in power for close to 30 years. A hardcore believer in violence, Bashir’s rule was marked by violent reprisals of political and religious opponents, mass rape and pillage of civilian areas by the army and sectarian violence. It was overthrown in a massive rebellion with the army’s support, though things haven’t been better for the people.

While the situation was much worse during Bashir’s rule—women could be taken to the cops if someone found their clothes too enticing—targeted sexual violence is still commonplace in many parts of the country. Rape is often used as a tool to suppress local populations, and the violence is only getting worse. There’s, of course, the usual getting stoned to death for adultery, too.

While there is a military government, it’s accused of human rights abuses of its own, and doesn’t hold much sway in vast swathes of the country. Sudan is still very much in the middle of conflict, as many parts of the country are held by many different actors.^[10]

About The Author: You can check out Himanshu’s stuff at Cracked (www.cracked.com/members/RudeRidingRomeo/) and Screen Rant (https://screenrant.com/author/hshar/), or get in touch with him for writing gigs ([email protected]).

Mushrooms and fungi are very familiar to most of us, love them or hate them, they’re known to most for their culinary or medicinal uses, or perhaps as annoying mould or the yeast we use to bake. It’s a safe bet to assume that nearly anyone’s heard of them, seen them, used them, tasted them, however, these ones are vastly different, steering further into the realms of fantasy—horrifying, interesting, or just plain weird.

Top 10 Life-Forms That Belong In A Horror Movie

10 Lobster Mushroom

Despite what its name would suggest, the lobster mushroom is actually not a mushroom, at least, not entirely one.

Hypomyces lactifluorum is actually a species of mould, a bright orange, parasitic fungus that spreads over its naturally white host and transforms its appearance into something which is a lot more vivid—like a lobster!

They prioritise Russula or Lactarius mushrooms and they’re, in fact, known to produce an allegedly extremely delicious combination! The name “lobster mushroom” certainly sounds appetising, though you’d be forgiven if you weren’t that enticed by the mould part, but generally speaking, a parasitically transformed orange mushroom which smells like shellfish, and in Lactarius’ case, transformed from a hot, peppery mushroom into something mild and delicious, is possibly one of the coolest things one could eat.

Some level of care is advised though; while mushrooms of the Russula or Lactarius genus are perfectly edible, it is technically possible for Hypomyces lactifluorum to target a poisonous mushroom, accidents like that are virtually unheard of but being careful is still important—never eat something you picked if it hasn’t been identified by a professional.

9 Giant Puffball

Readers from certain places of the world may be a little surprised to see the giant puffball mushroom on this list as, for how strange it actually is, it’s actually surprisingly common throughout mainland Europe, even rarely appearing in the UK!

Giant puffball mushrooms, like their name suggests, are quite massive, smooth, and a pure white in appearance, certainly befitting the title of a ‘puffball’.

These mushrooms may grow to be over a metre in diameter and may “explode” in order to spread their powdery spores contained inside.

Despite their strange description, they’re also edible and fairly popular to forage, also considered pretty safe, perhaps unsurprisingly, as not many other mushrooms could be confused with a large, white, spherical, vaguely alien-looking thing.

One thing to note though, if you suddenly have a craving for these otherworldly-seeming mushrooms, aside from taking our advice from the #10 entry, make sure the inside is a pure white, by the time it’s yellow or brown the spores have begun to ripen and the mushroom becomes inedible.

8 Mycena Chlorophos

Next on our list of fantasy mushrooms is something which is perhaps more conventional looking at first but extremely interesting and, actually, beautiful!

Mycena chlorophos is a mushroom which is naturally luminescent! This small mushroom grows in groups and it emits a clear green glow in the dark, making for a wonderful sight if you happen to spot one, which, sadly, isn’t all that likely.

As wonderful as this species is, they’re still fairly mysterious and unknown, in large part due to their limited range, being constrained to certain areas of mainly subtropical Asia, though also found in tiny portions of Brazil and Australia where it was likely transported and introduced artificially.

Due to how rare and unknown it is, its edibility is unknown, however, it’s best to not get your hopes up as the mushroom is said to smell of ammonia.

They’re typically found within woody debris, and while not glowing indefinitely, it displays its beauty for about 72 hours after developing, certainly a sight to see by all means!

7 Indigo Milk Cap

Lactarius indigo, also called the indigo milk cap, indigo lactarius, or the blue milk mushroom is a beautiful mushroom with a striking blue colour, its cap measuring up to 15 cm-s or roughly 6 inches wide, it’s frequently praised and treasured for its unique beauty and odd features, it’s sought out by edible mushroom enthusiasts as an enticing-looking oddity.

Its common name isn’t there just for show either, quite aptly, when you cut the flesh or damage the gills, this mushroom exudes a colourful, blue, milky, latex-like liquid, vastly different from the white ‘milk’ of its closest relatives.

The indigo milk cap is also mycorrhizal, just like chanterelle mushrooms, it grows close to trees and, in a mutually beneficial relationship, they exchange certain minerals and nutrients with each other!

The mushroom is also edible, though it’s generally best described as plain-tasting or even bitter, not extremely delicious or something to really seek out unless you really want to tell the story of eating a blue milky fungus.

6 Bearded Tooth Mushroom

Hericium erinaceus, also known as the lion’s mane mushroom or the bearded tooth mushroom is a medicinal and edible forest mushroom found in North America, Europe, and Asia with looks that could really rival the designs of many fictional plants!

They grow on trees and appear as large and incredibly cool looking lumps on them, appearing as a cascade of spines that are sometimes likened to icicles due to their long, sharp, downwards-growing shape and typically white colouration, though eventually yellow or brown with age. As its name would suggest, it could be described as looking like a beard or an animal’s mane!

Aside from being edible and described by some as a special treat, being widely consumed in China and Japan, it also has plenty of medicinal usages dating far back in history as a part of traditional Chinese medicine. Modern research has shown that it contains compounds that are effective against memory loss, anxiety, depression, dementia, neurological disorders, and even cancer!

If a beard- or mane-looking, large, spiny mushroom that grows on trees and is both flavourful and medicinal doesn’t sound like it’s from a fantasy story then I’m not sure what does.

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5 Shaggy Ink Cap

It’s certain that we’ve covered a lot of intriguing and strange mushrooms and fungi already but this one is quite special!

Coprinus comatus, or, by other names, the shaggy ink cap, shaggy mane, or the ‘lawyer’s wig’ mushroom, aside from having incredible names, is quite incredible by itself as well! It’s a reasonably common, small, egg-shaped mushroom which is naturally white and is frequently found in woods, meadows, fields, and even suddenly appearing in troops on people’s lawns!

These interesting and varied looking fungi, aside from having the habit of suddenly appearing in places and growing in troops, lines, or other various formations are also known for their colouration, starting off white, the gills deliquesce, meaning, they slowly decompose and liquidify into black ink, creating a beautiful gradient and slowly turning black, which also happens to be the colour of its spores.

It may be quite sudden to appear and it’s not the rarest mushroom out there but it’s certainly an incredibly interesting sight to see!

4 Black Brain Fungus

Exidia glandulosa comes in with perhaps the best common name on our list yet, the black brain fungus (also known as black witches’ butter fungus) certainly matches that description with an amazing black colouration in wet weather and greasy, butter-like looks, almost a tar-like appearance.

This fungus appears throughout Europe and North America throughout the winter and autumn and it’s often received divisively, having looks some may describe as beautiful and intriguing or others as downright gross, but in either case, it’s hard to deny how unique it truly is!

It’s frequently found on dead wood and fallen branches and it’s described as, expectedly, squishy or gelatinous in texture. Its edibility is sadly classified as dubious at best and even if it was safe to eat, it likely has no substantial nutritional value to speak of, so, as incredible as it looks, it’s probably best to just opt to go for real butter if you’re hungry.

3 The Devil’s Cigar

Chorioactis, known as the devil’s cigar or Texas star in the United States or kirinomitake in Japan, is a pretty and extremely rare genus of fungi which only contains one species; Chorioactis geaster, the literal, nearly aptly-shaped star of this part of the list!

This pretty and almost star- or flower-shaped mushroom is known for its looks and extremely strange distribution, sometimes cited as one of the rarest mushrooms in the world, it’s actually only found in a few Texas counties and a small number of locations in Japan, its placement almost seeming near random!

Rarity and appearances aren’t the only reason it’s on this list however, this mushroom, interestingly, looks like an American football or a cigar in the early stages of its life before it splits apart, releasing its uniquely massive, also cigar-shaped spores with an audible hiss and sprouting into an enticing flower-like fungus with three to six rays or ‘petals’.

2 Chicken of the Woods

Laetiporus sulphureus, the chicken of the woods, is a large, yellow- or orange-coloured edible polypore mushroom which grows on trees, and, just like the other things on this list, comes with some certainly interesting quirks aside from its unique appearance.

Most notably, the chicken of the woods.. tastes like chicken! Yes, really!

It’s quite common to proclaim that something tastes like chicken, often as a subject of a joke, however, in this case it’s really true! This mushroom is fairly high in protein and, as such, it’s a fairly popular vegetarian alternative to chicken!

Frequently consumed fried in breadcrumbs, it’s said to be best when it’s picked young and moist and keeps well frozen too.

A notable downside to this meat-free chicken, though, is that a small percentage of people experience nausea or side effects after eating it and it’s important to make sure that it hasn’t been imbued with potentially toxic substances from the tree it was growing on.

As long as those factors are considered though, this may just be an incredibly interesting and potentially incredibly tasty mushroom to look for!

1 Bleeding Tooth Fungus

We’ve arrived at the final fungus on our list and, fittingly so, it has the most unbelievable and incredible looks of any on this list, Hydnellum peckii or the bleeding tooth fungus, devil’s tooth, or even ‘strawberries and cream’, is another aptly described one.

The adult form is, admittedly, not that special, however, when the fungus is young it’s an entirely different story!

The off-white, almost beige or pink colouration is dotted with many, many ‘pores’ which oozes a striking, vivid, red or dark red liquid which is extremely reminiscent of blood.

This liquid, actually a type of sap, makes it look like the fungus is bleeding from multiple holes thanks to a red pigment found within the organism.

This fungus isn’t all scary though, a chemical found in it, thelephoric acid, is seeing experimentation as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease!

And, finally, if you were hoping to get a taste of this incredible species, while it’s not toxic, it is, however, said to be extremely bitter and thus sadly classified as inedible.

At the end of the day, it may not be tasty, but it would surely make an eye-catching cover for a fantasy novel!

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About The Author: Just a British person with an extreme interest for all things weird and intriguing!

By default, superheroes are the good guys. They’re wish fulfillment characters who exist to save the day and put the villains in prison (or Arkham Asylum) until the bad guys escape again and the circle starts anew. Sure, it’s not the ideal solution, but what can you do? It’s not like the superheroes can just kill their opponents.

Except, that is, when they do just that. There have been times when even the most goody-two-shoes superhero has had enough and straight up killed their dastardly supervillains. Here are some of the most shocking occasions. 

10. Batman has actually killed a whole bunch of people

Batman’s “no-kill rule” is one of the defining traits of the character. However, even if the reader manages to suspend the disbelief of a large martial artist in a battle suit ruthlessly punching criminals for years and never even accidentally killing one, the whole “Batman doesn’t kill” thing doesn’t quite hold water… because Batman has absolutely killed lots of villains, and had no trouble doing it with any means necessary. He even used guns, something he aggressively shies away from in most modern comics.  

In his very first appearance in 1939, the Caped Crusader killed a bad guy by kicking him in a vat full of acid, and even gave him a James Bond quip as he died, no doubt agonizingly. Sure, that one has since been retconned into the origin story of the Joker, but a couple of issues later, he killed the first member of his Rogue’s Gallery — Doctor Death — by straight up trapping him inside a building that was on fire. Again, Batman sent his foe away with a one-liner: “Death to Doctor Death.”  In the very next issue, he snapped a guy’s neck, and when he eventually got his own title, he promptly hanged a villain called Monster Man from his Batcopter. He only got more family-friendly in 1941, when the “moral climate” changed and the writers decided to tone down the superhero’s impressive death toll.

9. The Sentry rips Ares in half

Sentry is basically Marvel’s take on Superman, but despite (or maybe, because of) this, he also comes with a whole host of mental issues, up to and very much including an evil, all-destroying persona known as the Void. This makes him a fairly volatile opponent at the best of times, because there’s no way of knowing just where the Sentry’s mind is this particular Wednesday. 

During the Siege event, the Marvel comic universe’s resident war god Ares found this out the hard way when he was fighting a Norman Osborn-led incarnation of Avengers in Asgard. When Ares threatened Osborn, he was promptly attacked by the Sentry. The ensuing battle between the two powerful figures was extremely one-sided, as the unspeaking Sentry calmly manhandled Ares all over the area. However, he wasn’t content with just beating Ares: the superhero picked up the war god and ripped the poor dude in half with his own two hands. Ouch. 

8. Wolverine kills an evil Hulk

Wolverine and Hulk have battled a good few times over the years, and while the matchup between a small, angry Canuck with knives for fists and arguably the strongest creature on Earth might seem like an unfair one, Wolverine is notoriously the best at what he does… and sometimes, what he does is killing Hulk.

In the Old Man Logan comic’s King of Nothing storyline, an elderly Wolverine with malfunctioning powers finds himself in hot water when he faces Maestro, an evil Hulk from another dimension. It seems that this scenario would favor Wolverine even less than usual, especially as Maestro had already slapped him around so badly that it took him a week to heal (which is saying something, considering Wolverine usually shrugs off pretty much any damage you can throw at him). However, in their next encounter, it’s actually Maestro who ends up worse for wear. At this point, Old Man Logan has had enough of Evil Hulk’s shenanigans, so he simply cuts the big green guy’s head off. Guess that’s one way to keep the opponent from getting up.

7. Ant-Man bites the Blob’s head off

Some say that the Ultimatum storyline of 2009 was among the lowest points in comic book history, and fans of Ant-Man would likely agree. After all, who wants to see their favorite superhero bite off a supervillain’s head? 

At one point of the Ultimatum event, the Ultimates (basically a gritty reimagining of the Avengers) ran afoul of the mutant supervillain Blob. Unfortunately, the Blob had already found group member Wasp, and was happily munching on her lifeless body. While this is gruesome on its own, what followed took things to the next level: Henry Pym’s Ant-Man, who was in Giant-Man mode at the time, was less than thrilled to see his wife both dead and being eaten. So he grabbed the Blob, lifted him off the ground… and in uncomfortably graphic detail, bites the villain’s head off and spits it out. Yes, really. Did we mention that fans didn’t particularly enjoy Ultimatum?  

6. The New Warriors’ battle with a supervillain kills the villain, explodes a small town

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Civil War event is jump-started by an Avengers mission gone wrong, but the comic version actually focused on an obscure team known as the New Warriors. 

The Warriors were a C-list superhero group that had resorted to starring in a Cops-style reality TV show. During a televised battle with a bunch of similarly low-rated supervillains in the small town of Stamford, Connecticut, the heroes discover during the battle that one of the bad guys is Nitro, who is essentially a walking bomb and significantly more powerful than anyone else at the scene. When attacked by the hero Namorita, Nitro lashes back with his own powers… and wipes away both teams, along with hundreds of civilians (including the students of a nearby school).

Sure, technically it was Nitro who killed everyone here, but since the rest of the villain’s team also died and Nitro only activated his powers because of the New Warriors’ stupidly brash decision to confront the supervillains in a populated suburban area, the heroes totally qualify as killers here, too.  

5. Green Lanterns have a special move for murder

Green Lanterns aren’t afraid to use the significant might of their power rings to kill people when needed. However, some of the more famous Lanterns like to dispose their villains in a much more personal manner: Oddly, Earth Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Jon Stewart have both killed a man by physically snapping his neck.

Jordan’s neck snap moment came in 1994, and the situation was a bit more complex than you’d expect: The grieving, out-of-control Green Lantern was technically the bad guy here, and the Guardians of the Universe revived his worst enemy Sinestro to stop his rampage. Their ring-on-ring battle eventually degraded into a physical fight, which Sinestro fatally lost when Jordan grabbed him in a headlock and killed him. Stewart’s case, on the other hand, was a lot more tragic: He was forced to snap the neck of his fellow Lantern when they were interrogated and he feared his comrade was about to break. 

4. The X-Men kill their villains all the time

Many of the X-Men have powers that are deadly in the wrong hands, and occasionally, said wrong hands are their own. Joining Wolverine’s rogue’s gallery is obviously a pretty good way for a villain to get stabbed, but the other X-people are no slouches, either. 

Thanks to his optic blasts, Cyclops can end lives with just a quick glance, which is precisely what he has done to villains such as Donald Pierce, Berzerker, Candra and Mister Sinister (who eventually got better). The metal-skinned Colossus isn’t above killing the occasional bad guy either, as discovered first hand by Riptide and Proteus. Team members such as Rogue, Storm, Archangel, Bishop, Jean Grey and even the good-natured Iceman have also fatally used their powers against a villainous opponent at one time or another. 

3. Spider-Man has a lot of lives on his conscience

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man doesn’t seem like the kind of superhero who’d kill, but his presence on this list proves otherwise. However, to keep his hands comparatively clean, the writers tend to make the villains he physically kills zombies, robot duplicates and the like, while the sentient flesh-and-blood villains tend to meet their fates when Spider-Man positions them in the way that someone else will pull the trigger, or the villain’s missiles will return back to him, or some other ambient effect will take care of them. 

Still, there are at least two times when Spidey has actually, personally killed a villain. One was D-list bad guy Modular Man, who he shocked to death with an electric gauntlet. Another, vastly more gruesome one was Morlun, a spider-person hunting super vampire who wanted to drink Spidey’s blood. Spider-Man managed to turn the tables on the villain when he developed a new spider-fang power (long story)… and fatally bit into Morlun’s throat instead. Plot twist!

2. The Flash has killed tons of his enemies

The Flash has a reputation as a goofy, fun-loving guy, but don’t let his easy-going demeanor fool you for one second — the speedster actually has one of the highest superhero body counts out there. Apart from the superheroes and assorted collateral, the various incarnations of the Flash have killed enough supervillains that he should be more feared among the criminal element than Batman. 

The Top, King Shark, Mirror Master, Gorilla Grodd, Savitar and the Reverse-Flash have all met their ends at the hands of some version of the Flash — sometimes by accident, occasionally on purpose. Once, Barry Allen eradicated a species of sentient cloud creatures simply because he was preoccupied by a date he was supposed to be on. Another time, he teamed up with Wally West’s Flash to take down Darkseid and ended up killing the Black Flash, who is a speed-themed incarnation of death itself. Oh, and there’s also the time when Allen’s Flash became said incarnation of death. Wait, how does he get to do all that and still qualify as a hero? 

1. Yes, even Superman

Live action versions of Superman are surprisingly fine with killing their enemies, but the comic book version usually has a little more chill. However, sometimes even the Man of Steel decides that enough is enough and takes out a villain. Assorted comic book versions of Superman have killed villains such as General Zod, Mister Mxyzptlk, Brainiac and Doomsday (though to be fair, he was only returning the favor with that one since Doomsday had already killed him once). 

However, arguably the most famous of Superman’s comic book villain slayings came in the Injustice series, where he took down none other than the Joker — something even Batman has been able to resist doing all these years. In this story, the Joker attempted to give Superman his classic “everyone’s just one bad day away from becoming like me” treatment. After shooting Superman’s friend Jimmy Olsen and kidnapping the hero’s pregnant wife, Lois Lane, the Clown Prince of Crime drugged Superman and fooled him into thinking that Lane was the dangerous villain Doomsday. Reflexively, Superman flies “Doomsday” into space, only to come to and discover he’s just killed his wife and unborn child… as well as nuked the city of Metropolis, courtesy of a trap trigger that activated when Lane died. 

At this point, Superman finally had enough. In full sight of Batman, he punches right through the Joker’s chest in rage. Then, in a doomed effort to ensure that no one has to suffer like this ever again, he inadvertently becomes the Earth’s feared dictator. The Joker would probably argue that he proved his point — if it wasn’t for that fist-sized hole in his chest.

They say the truth is stranger than fiction and while that may not always be true, sometimes the real world is more than willing to throw a few curveballs our way. As an example, look no further than nature. Even something as simple as plantlife can become exceedingly bizarre and downright creepy when you start looking into it. 

10. The Vampire Tree

Have you ever been taking a walk through the woods and noticed a decrepit old tree stump just sitting there looking old and rotten? It happens all the time. But what you may not be aware of is that there’s a chance that dead tree isn’t dead at all. 

Researchers in New Zealand found the stump of a kauri tree in a forest and while the top looked dead, underground life was still stirring. The tree had long ago grafted its roots into a massive network of other roots that likely belonged to dozens, if not hundreds, of other plants and trees. Effectively creating a subterranean superorganism, this root network shared nutrients among all parts. Even though the tree had been destroyed and no longer had leaves by which to survive thanks to photosynthesis, the other trees in the network were able to share nutrients and keep that stump alive.

Though in an ideal situation, every member organism would contribute resources, the almost dead kauri tree had become a parasite, like a vampire, living beyond death by draining life from its companions. But it may also be contributing, allowing the flow of nutrients between all members to the benefit of the whole. 

9. Kudzu Smothers Everything

Most of us would never look twice at kudzu. It’s a leafy green vine that looks like any other plant you might expect to find in the background. But it doesn’t stay in the background for long. Kudzu is an invasive species that grows at an incredible rate. It came to the US in the late 1800s as an ornamental plant and has also been used for erosion control. It’s well suited for that jib because kudzu can grow up to a foot per day. Vines can reach 100 feet in length. 

When kudzu spreads, it covers everything. Soil, cement, walls, telephone polls, other plants. It covers everything as it takes over. And with any given vine growing one foot per day, it doesn’t take long. But it gets worse. Kudzu produces isoprene and nitric oxide. When those come into contact with nitrogen, which makes up most of our atmosphere, it makes ozone. 

Ozone is a dangerous chemical at ground level, and it can kill off other plants, not to mention animals. Kudzu causes a 50% increase in the number of days each year when ozone levels are considered unsafe by EPA standards. 

8. Acacia Trees Communicate Danger

Most of us know acacia wood from furniture or decorative wood items. It’s even used as a food additive sometimes. But there’s more going on inside acacia trees than you might think at first glance. 

German forester Peter Wohlleben has proposed a controversial idea in 2015: trees can talk. As we mentioned with the vampire tree, there is evidence that trees actually do function in groups, not as lone organisms. They share resources and are able to support each other. Tree roots connect with fungus underground and share signals between organisms. It’s theorized this includes things like warnings about insect attacks, for instance. Chemical signals from one tree to another can alert members of the greater colony. Nutrients are shared, which is how saplings, too small to reach the sunlight under the canopy of larger trees, are able to survive. But there’s much more.

If a giraffe starts eating the leaves of an acacia tree, the plant produces ethylene gas. This gas, when it reaches other acacia trees, causes them to start producing tannins in their leaves. Large quantities of tannins will make the giraffe sick. It could even kill it, so the giraffe is forced to stop eating. All because one tree was able to signal other trees. Even more bizarre is that giraffes know this. They graze with the wind, and walk ahead of the gas clouds because they have evolved to be aware that acacia trees do this. 

7. Fire Coral Fungus

There are thousands of species of mushrooms in the world and while some are edible and delicious, many are incredibly toxic. The symptoms can vary from mushroom to mushroom and often include things like vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea. Severely toxic mushrooms will cause organ failure and death. In that regard, fire coral fungus is like many of its mushroom cousins. But fire coral fungus can get much, much worse.

Most mushrooms need to be ingested to cause damage. Not so with fire coral. The mycotoxins it produces can be absorbed through the skin. And the damage it causes when eaten goes to a level far beyond most other mushrooms. Sure, there’s the unbearable pain and vomiting, but then there’s also hair loss, peeling of the flesh and even shrinking of the cerebellum. This can cause impaired movement, speech, and perception. If enough has been consumed, the victim can also expect to potentially suffer from necrosis and finally death as a result. 

Progression of symptoms is also a mixed bag. Some people showed no symptoms at all for weeks after eating the mushrooms before it hit them. 

6.  Shiinotomoshibitake Mushrooms Glow

Don’t feel out of the loop if you’ve never heard of Shiinotomoshibitake mushrooms, because almost no one has. If you head to Mt. Yokogura in Japan between May and July, you may get a chance to see them for yourself, though. They’re hard to spot during the day because they only grow a few centimeters in length. So if you really want to experience them, try hunting them down at night.

It turns out that the elusive Shiinotomoshibitake mushrooms emit light. At night they can glow a vibrant green color. They live on decaying tree trunks and will only glow during that certain time of year, so tracking them down isn’t all that easy, but it’s clearly worth the effort if you’re a fan of otherworldly vegetation.

5. Little White Mushrooms

It seems like something called a Little White mushroom has no business being dangerous and yet it’s been blamed for a massive number of deaths in China. If you include mold and yeast, there are over 50,000 kinds of mushrooms in the world and science has just not been able to study them all. That’s why the Little White mushroom is relatively unknown.

In the Yunnan province of China, there had been an ongoing mystery for 30 years. Every rainy season, people would die of cardiac arrest in numbers beyond what should be expected. The deaths were incredibly sudden, sometimes occurring right in the middle of a conversation. The government investigated for five years before they stumbled on an answer. 

Researchers looking into what they dubbed Yunnan Sudden Death Syndrome noted that many of the victims had the same mushrooms in their homes. After determining the mushroom was the likely cause, locals were warned to stop eating it. The number of mysterious deaths then dropped to none. 

Oddly enough, studies showed that, while the mushrooms were toxic, they were not toxic enough to kill. It’s believed something else, perhaps barium in the water, worked in conjunction with the mushrooms to kill. 

4. Toxic Black Walnut

Walnuts may not have the cache of an almond or a cashew, but they’re still fairly popular. And this despite the fact that walnuts want you and everything around you to die miserably.

If you’ve ever seen a walnut in the wild, you know that the nut itself comes off the tree encased in a green husk. The moment you begin to peel that husk to get the nut inside, an unpleasant smelling fluid emerges that turns brown fairly quickly. This is called juglone.

Inside the walnut, and the tree, juglone is called prejuglone. It’s clear and perfectly safe. But the moment it hits the air, it oxidizes and becomes toxic. The toxic juglone can kill both plants and animals. Very few animals can ingest it safely, and even plants that grew near a walnut tree will die as the roots of the tree leak the fluid, not to mention any leaves or nuts that fall from its branches.

Sensitivity to juglone varies, but it can be quite bad for some victims. Even contacting dust from walnut wood being cut near you can cause rashes and welts on the skin. Breathing it in can cause respiratory issues and eating it can cause symptoms similar to cyanide. 

3. Chernobyl Mushrooms

By now, everyone knows the basics of what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. There was an explosion in 1986 and it proved to be one of the worst disasters in human history. There remains a 1,000 square mile exclusion zone around the site. Many animals and plants returned to the area with no humans around, but their radiation levels remain high as a result. Among the wide variety of wildlife found in the area are a unique species of fungus.

What’s been called dark fungi has been known to grow in radioactive areas for some time. This mushroom, colored by melanin, doesn’t need the sun to provide energy. Instead, it seems to feed on the radiation, absorbing it and feeding on it in much the same way a green leafed plant would turn energy from the sun into energy to grow through photosynthesis. 

The melanin seems to shield the mushroom from the harmful effects of radiation and convert it to usable energy To test whether this was true, researchers bombarded fungus with gamma rays at 500 times the level they’d normally be exposed to. The fungus grew three times faster than normal as a result. 

2. Japanese Knotweed

If you’ve ever seen a plant growing out of a crack in the pavement, you may have paused to wonder how it accomplished that task. You might assume that the pavement cracked due to weather or shifting earth and the plant took advantage of the opening. But that isn’t how Japanese Knotweed works. This plant can grow almost anywhere and will break through cement and stone along the way.

Knotweed can live for up to 20 years in places with no light. It can sprout under paved roads and burst through and even grow in stone walls. It’s already causing about $212 million per year in damages and will probably only get worse in the future. 

The plant is native to volcanic areas in Japan. It evolved to survive being smothered by volcanic rock, able to continue to grow in the dark and trapped by stone. When you try to remove it, the plant actually becomes more aggressive, growing even faster as a result. The roots can grow up to 10 meters from the stem, making it nearly impossible to kill. 

1. The Piranha Plant

There aren’t a lot of famous plants in the world. Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors qualifies. And maybe The Giving Tree. And if you’re a gamer, you surely know about the Piranha Plant from the Super Mario series of games. Turns out we have one of those in the real world, too. Or at least a visually similar cousin.

The plant reproduces by luring in insects that eat dung. They are attracted to the smell, go inside and get trapped. The flower then releases pollen and sets the bugs free, covered in pollen, to spread its spore around town.

Known as hydronora africana, this parasitic plant can look like the piranha plant or just an alien mouth if you catch it at the right phase of its life. According to scientific sources, the plant has an unpleasant odor. According to less scientific sources, it smells like poop. It also produces edible fruit, which is said to taste like a potato.