Humans are an incredibly diverse species, which is evident from the many differences between the multitude of cultures spread across the world. From different customs, ways of living, types of food, and languages, it’d be hard for an outside observer to ascertain that we’re the same creatures after all. Despite all these differences, though, there remain some things that we all do the same, no matter where we grew up.

These are the things that you wouldn’t expect to simultaneously develop in different parts of the world, especially if the cultures had no extensive contact with each other. They prove that even if humans are divided by so many things, there are still some things that we all share as a species.

10 Flutes

People who’ve professionally studied music know that various musical schools and styles around the world are vastly different from each other. They traditionally don’t take much from each other, and all the major ones still require training from scratch to get good at. Even the traditional musical instruments are different depending on where you are in the world, but there’s one instrument that is common throughout cultures in more or less the same form: the flute.

From the Persian ney and Indian bansuri to the Chinese dizi and the suspiciously unnamed Native American flutes, they all follow almost the same design throughout different musical traditions. Even if all of them are made of different materials (the Indian flute is made out of bamboo, whereas a Native American flute could be made from wood), they all look like they cheated on each other’s designs, despite the fact that all of them developed independently in different cultures. Even one of the oldest instruments ever found, which—you guessed it—was a flute, looks quite similar to flutes made today.^[1]

9 Nodding

If you were to find yourself in a completely different country and culture you weren’t familiar with, you’d be in a dire situation, for one thing, as you clearly didn’t think this through. It would be difficult to ask for even the most basic things, unless you’re counting on your gesture-making skills to perform at the right time. But among all that confusion, there’s still one universal gesture you can count on even in the most remote parts of the world; nodding the head for a “yes” and shaking it for a “no” (well, except in Bulgaria and a handful of other places).

No one understands how this came to be the case, but it’s been known for a while that you can count on just about everyone to understand these basic gestures anywhere in the world. The nod isn’t just used for a “yes,” either; it’s also a universally accepted gesture for a bunch of other things, like acknowledgement or friendliness, and we haven’t found anyone from any country who doesn’t get that.^[2] It may have to do with one of our ancestors being really into nodding, but it also may be due to humans literally being the same species.

8 Dragons

We all know that people were a bit on edge all the time when the world was a dangerous place to live in and found explanations in the supernatural for things they couldn’t explain with the tools of the time. There’s no dearth of mythological beings right out of your nightmares in the various mythologies of the world, and most of them depict the immediate issues of their respective historical days. They’re all quite different from each other, though, except one part that mysteriously overlaps: dragons.

Reptilian beasts that could fly and shoot fire (and ice, in case you aren’t clued in to Game of Thrones) are a recurring theme in the mythologies of cultures that shouldn’t have had any contact with each other until recently, from Scandinavia all the way to Japan.^[3] Now, some of it could be explained by fossils; we found bones looking like a big reptile and figured that it must be the flying, fire-breathing creatures that inhabit that rumbling mountain. However, that doesn’t explain the almost uncannily similar general characteristics of dragons in different countries.

7 ‘Huh?’

Different cultures have different verbal and nonverbal gestures to quickly express an emotion, and a lot of them are dependent on how the culture developed and how fit the people were to physically pull it off (like complicated handshakes). They help us understand each other when we’re around our own people but break down if we have to communicate with someone who didn’t grow up with the same ones. There’s one verbal expression, however, that is the same in nearly all the languages and cultures of the world: the “huh.”

More of a sound than a word, everyone uses “huh” for the same thing, and everyone instinctively understands what it means no matter where they are in the world. This was confirmed by research done at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands, which carried out a linguistic study to better understand how we communicate.^[4] Because it’s so prevalent, it could have been carried over from our earlier ancestors.

6 The Moon

If we asked for your opinion on the Moon, the most surprising thing you could answer with is that you have one. Once a coveted place to go to for one-upmanship during the Cold War, the Moon now exists only as an afterthought. If there’s one thing we learned after going there a handful of times, it’s to never go there again because of how boring it is.

Ancient cultures, though, have been weirdly—and, for some reason, darkly—fascinated with the Moon. Where we see a calm celestial body periodically hung in the night sky, people in history associated the Moon with all kinds of bad things. That would be okay if it was just one culture, as people in history were kind of dumb, but the Moon shows up as something to be feared in almost all historical cultures.

A lunar eclipse, for example, was considered to be the absolute worst thing to happen across continents. Where the ancient Inca took that to mean that a huge jaguar was leaping at the Moon and would come to eat them once it was done with it, ancient Mesopotamians considered it to be a direct attack on the king.^[5] (You can’t make these up.) Many other cultures saw a lunar eclipse to be an immensely ominous event, or at least something to feel sad about, even though lunar eclipses probably never actually did anything to deserve that reputation.

5 Dumplings

Nowhere is the sheer diversity of the human race more clear than in our food. Not only is it prepared differently depending on where you are in the world and the ingredients available there, but it’s also specialized to the nutritional needs of the populations that consume it. All of those factors come together to make food such an identifiable part of all our cultures. Except for some overlaps here and there due to the mixing of cultures, food items usually look very different in different countries.

One of the rare exceptions to that is the humble dumpling. From momo in Tibet to wonton in China to tortellini in Italy, we all have some version of the dumpling in our cultures, which is essentially dough wrapped into folds around locally available ingredients and cooked. While different variations of it exist, especially in the ingredients used to wrap inside, it’s more or less the same thing throughout. It’s also one of the oldest food items ever, which may explain why it’s so common across the world.^[6]

4 Parts Of Language

Language is an intrinsic part of a culture, and the sheer diversity of languages to come out of the same species is truly astounding. Everyone has a distinct mother tongue with its own script, pronunciation, grammar, and all the complexities that make up a language, which is not a surprise, given how spread out human beings are around the world. Once we left Africa, it was pretty much “make up your own language because everyone is or you’d die out” for everyone.

The differences are plenty, so it’s a surprise when similar themes from different languages show up in others, even more so when the languages developed independently. Many names show up in seemingly different languages, even though they mean completely different things, along with other similarities.

In a study of around 6,000 languages, researchers found the sounds of many words to be too similar for comfort, and they also concluded that geographical proximity had nothing to do with it.^[7] Many times, similarities were found in languages from countries spread across the map, suggesting that in some way, we all think about language in similar ways.

3 Bow And Arrow

In the ancient times, when the different regions hadn’t yet come into contact with each other, many weapons developed independently, driven by the local terrain and type of conflict. Many of those weapons never made it to other regions until very late (like horse cavalry, which is a rather recent phenomenon in European history), and often, those unique weapons were the deciding factors in the consistently shifting borders of history. Weapons were generally different around the world, except one that shows up in most military traditions: the bow.

If you’re thinking, “Sure, put a thread on a long piece of wood and you have a bow,” you’d be underestimating the procedure of making one. Finding the right type of wood, treating it properly, trial and error with strings until you find something strong enough: it wasn’t easy work for people in early history. And yet, bows show up in a similar form in almost all cultures, going as far back as the earliest periods of human civilization. In fact, some archaeologists found our earliest ancestors experimenting with different types of arrowheads, proving that the classic bow and arrow has been around for a while, which may explain why it’s so spread out.^[8]

2 Folklore

Every culture has its own folklore and mythology; many of them interesting stories with important lessons, and many of them just depictions of scary monsters people were afraid of at the time. It’s also incredibly diverse depending on where you are, which is obvious, as most of the cultures were not in touch with each other while writing all of that down. What’s more surprising, however, is that despite the geographical and linguistic differences and any lack of contact, many similar themes show up in folklore around the world.

Take the half-serpent, half-human shape that shows up in a lot of Indian mythology. It also featured heavily—with similar characteristics—in ancient Chinese lore, as well as in the lore of a West African tribe called the Dogon. There are tons of similarities like that in seemingly different religions, like the Chinese and Hebrew creation and flood myths, well beyond what you may attribute to cultures influencing each other.^[9]

1 Cinderella

“Cinderella,” also known as “The Little Glass Slipper,” is one of the most recognizable folktales in all of the Western world. There aren’t many who don’t know this story of hardship, love, and shoe sizes. What we all don’t realize is that it’s not just limited to the Western world; Cinderella is one of the oldest stories in the world and shows up with slight variations in many countries.

If we’re talking about known records, the story of Cinderella goes as far back as at least AD 850 in the form of a Chinese folktale called “Yeh-Shen.” It also features a girl living with parents who hate her and a magical creature who helps her get with the king at a ceremony. She also leaves a slipper behind that helps the king find her and eventually marry her. Other than the European setting of Cinderella, that’s essentially the same story.

That’s only the Chinese version and the one that we have known records for; the earliest Cinderella iteration may actually go as far back as 7 BC. Almost every culture has its own version of it, too, proving that no matter how different we are, our stories still follow the same patterns.^[10]

Himanshu has written for Cracked, Modern Rogue, Screen Rant, and Forbes. Get in touch with him for writing gigs, or just say hello to him on Twitter.

As fans, we tend to forget that athletes have lives outside of sports. It’s just that we don’t often to get to see them when they’re not performing.

But when you do a little digging, you might be surprised to find what their off field interests actually are…

10Iron Mike: Bird Whisperer

What hasn’t Mike Tyson done? He’s been the heavyweight champion of the world, appeared in hit movies, stepped into the ring at WWE matches, and starred in a one-man show on Broadway. He’s even dined on human flesh.

So should we really be surprised to learn that he’s also dabbled in competitive pigeon breeding and racing?

Tyson says that pigeons were the first thing he ever really loved. Ever since he saw them flocking through his Brooklyn neighborhood when he was younger, he’s been fascinated by the feathery city-dwellers. Currently, Tyson oversees a coop in New Jersey that houses over 400 pigeons.

But it wouldn’t be Mike Tyson without a dash of crazy. Tyson made headlines last October, when he claimed the government was conspiring to rid the US of the his beloved rock doves.

9Tim Duncan Prefers The Halls Of Undermountain To The Hall Of Fame

Everything about Tim Duncan is understated: He’s one of the NBA’s most nonchalant players, his game isn’t flashy, he doesn’t have a signature move. He’s nicknamed the “Big Fundamental” for a reason—he’s boring. But after more than 15 years in the NBA, four World Championships, and two MVP awards, he can deal with being labeled dull.

But Duncan does find time to cut loose when he’s playing Dungeons & Dragons. He’s not shy about his hobby either. In fact, he loves any kind of role-playing fantasy game, and he frequently attends Texas Renaissance Fairs. When he got to the Spurs, he even requested that his nickname be “Merlin.”

8The NFL’s Biggest Star Wars Fan

American football fans who came of age in the late 1970s remember Lester Hayes as one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks. His coverage skills, coupled with a hefty dose of stickum, helped the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders win two Super Bowls in the ’80s.

But Hayes was as much a fan of the Star Wars trilogy as he was of football. He was enamored with the space opera, boasting that he saw it at least 70 times. He loved it so much that he claimed Luke Skywalker would be a cornerback if he played football. Arguably his most endearing quip about the franchise came during the early ’80s, when he declared that he was the league’s “only true Jedi.”

And thanks to Hayes’ legendary exploits on the field, some of his teammates even believed he might genuinely be aligned with the Force.

7The Linebacker With A Soft Spot For Comics

He’s the hero comic book fans need—and the one they deserve.

When Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs isn’t busy obliterating opponents on the football field, he can usually be found quietly browsing the aisle of his local comic book store.

The seven-time NFL Pro Bowler, well-known for delivering brutal hits to opponents, has an affinity for comics that dates back to his childhood. Even at 33, he still spends hours scanning the shelves for the right comic before forking over his cash.

In 2011, he took his love of the medium to the next level, writing his own comic for Top Cow Productions. Entitled Seraph, the comic mixes “faith with action” to tell the story of a tormented hero who winds up with supernatural powers after trying to kill himself. Briggs has also founded a social networking site for fellow enthusiasts and routinely holds comic book drives for disadvantaged youngsters.

6Pro Basketball’s Memory Savant

Jerry Lucas had the story-book career that most basketball players dream of. Following an All-American campaign at Ohio State—where he guided the Buckeyes to three straight Final Fours before winning a national championship in 1960—he carried his prowess over into the pros, where he won an NBA title with the New York Knicks before eventually being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

But Lucas didn’t just have the right stuff when it came to playing hoops, he had a special gift that extended beyond the hardwood. For most of his life, Lucas had an obsession with memory tricks, often memorizing and organizing everyday items. Whether it was alphabetizing the word “chandelier” or learning pages from the New York phone book, Lucas spent years training his memory—with aspirations of becoming a magician when he retired from basketball.

After hanging up his sneakers in 1975, he actually became a memory education expert. His teachings aim to help children improve their memory and he’s written numerous books on the subject.

5MLB Slugger With A Penchant For R&B

On the baseball diamond, Dick Allen was an all-star outfielder. But off the field, he moonlighted as an R&B singer.

One of baseball’s most feared sluggers in the 1960s and ’70s, Allen had his best seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. While playing for the Sox in 1972, Allen had a career year, belting 37 homers and bringing in 113 runs while hitting .308 to capture AL MVP honors.

But his rugged exterior masked a melodic voice, and he often spent his down time in the recording studio. He also occasionally performed national anthems around Philadelphia, most notably in front of a sold-out Spectrum crowd before a 76ers game.

His hard work in the studio eventually led to a record deal and in 1965 he released an single album with his soul group, The Ebonistics.

4The Mailman Keeps On Truckin’

Karl Malone is cut from a different cloth. A basketball superstar, he never lost touch with his humble beginnings. Born in rural Louisiana, Malone grew up with a firm appreciation for the outdoors. An avid fisherman and hunter, Malone’s love of the rugged lifestyle spilled over into his NBA career, where he was admired for his unyielding work ethic and notorious for his physical play (just ask Isaiah Thomas and David Robinson).

Off the court, Malone balanced his life in the spotlight by frequently slipping away into solitude. The open road was where he found peace of mind. The highway was his sanctuary.

So in the early 1990s, he capitalized on a childhood dream, establishing a truck-driving company. It was called Malone Enterprises Trucking, Inc., and it lasted less than two years. But while Malone may have discovered that the trucking business wasn’t for him, the love of hauling supplies never left him. He frequently hopped in his Big Rig for a few hours to clear his mind during the season.

In 2005, the Mailman proved he could deliver off of the hardwood, when he used his trucking skills to help haul away debris left behind from Hurricane Katrina.

3Linebacker Tangles With Snakes In The Off Season

It’s not unusual for football players to find success in high-profile careers when they’re done with football. Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long found a second life as actors. Others, like Dan Dierdorf and Phil Simms, made it big as play-by-play announcers.

But not many football players turn to herpetology—the study of snakes and other reptiles. Well, except for Chad Brown that is.

Brown’s love for snakes began as a child, but his passion intensified when he was a student athlete at the University of Colorado. During his freshman year in 1991, he bought a boa constrictor to keep in his dorm room. Since then, he’s accumulated thousands of snakes.

Brown continued to dabble in herpetology even after he turned pro. He eventually opened his own exotic reptiles pet store, before tragically losing it to a fire.

2The Football Player Who Tackled The Legal System

In the 1970s, the Minnesota Vikings had one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses. Anchored by their fearsome front line—the Purple People Eaters—the Vikings reached the Super Bowl four times in a single decade.

Defensive tackle Alan Page was an integral part of that success. During his 12-year tenure with the Vikings, he played in all four Super Bowls, went to nine Pro Bowls, and was named an All-Pro nine times. But despite all of his success on the gridiron, Page had loftier aspirations—he saw a life after sports, one that involved practicing law. And his legal career is just as distinguished as his football one ever was.

Page understood he wouldn’t play football forever. So during his stint with the Vikings, he started taking law classes at the University of Minnesota. When he retired from football in 1981, he was hired as an Assistant Attorney General in Minneapolis. He would eventually rise through the ranks to become the state’s first African-American Supreme Court Associate Justice. As of 2014, he’s been on the court for more than 20 years.

1The Defensive End Obsessed With The JFK Assassination

Before a car accident tragically took his life, Derrick Thomas was on his way to a Hall of Fame career with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. A highly-touted defensive end from the University of Alabama, Thomas made an immediate impact for the Chiefs. He notched 10 sacks and made 75 tackles in his first year with the team, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors while also being named to the Pro Bowl. Lauded for his efforts with children’s charities, Thomas’ desire to help youngsters emanated from his own troubled youth.

His early years were marred with tragedy. In 1972, when Thomas was only five years old, his father was killed in action in Vietnam. Growing up without a father was rough, and Thomas had a troubled childhood, almost going completely off the rails before his mother and the community stepped in.

One thing Thomas never let go of was his fascination with the US military, primarily with its aviation branch, as well as its endless list of alleged conspiracies. Thomas was deeply fixated on the JFK assassination. He studied thousands of documents, read hundreds of books on the subject, and believed Oliver Stone’s film, JFK, to be “true to life.” He even met with Marina Oswald, the wife of alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and chatted with eye-witness Jean Hill on a Kansas City radio program.

The more he studied, the more he understood the politics of the conflict in Vietnam. He eventually connected the events that led up to the war to his father’s death, placing specific blame on Kennedy’s killers. The way he saw it, the bullet that killed Kennedy was the same one that killed his father. He surmised that if Kennedy wasn’t killed, then maybe the US wouldn’t have escalated the situation in Vietnam, and maybe his father would have returned home to him.

Sports reporter by day, internet sleuth at night, keep up with Brandon at On Campus Sports, Highlands Today, or on Twitter

Great and powerful families have ruled over countless lives since the first civilization was born. There are empires that have stretched across continents and held power over billions of people.

Over the last 100 years, though, almost all of those empires fell. Revolutions around the world have cast out the people who once held that power, stripped them of their wealth, and left them to fend for themselves. Today, heirs to those empires live in ways that are incredibly humbling—and a little bit strange.

10 The Last King Of Rwanda Lives Off Food Stamps In Virginia

King Kigeli, the last king of Rwanda, ruled his nation for a mere nine months before a Hutu revolt in 1959 forced him into exile.

Today, 79-year-old Kigeli receives food stamps and lives in government-subsidized Section 8 housing in Virginia. To get by, he sells knighthoods into the kingdom of Rwanda to anyone willing to pay. Most of his neighbors have no idea that he was once the king of an African country.

Still, Kigeli insists on being treated like a ruler. For example, he refuses to drive himself anywhere. His chauffeur holds the title of Kigeli’s chancellor, although this dignitary has to make ends meet with a part-time job selling mattresses at Sears.

9 The Last Prince Of Italy Was Charged With Pimping

When the Italian monarchy was abolished in 1946, the royal family was forced into exile, forbidden to return for 54 years. Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the heir to the throne, was forced to live away from his country and the power his family had enjoyed—and it didn’t turn out well.

In 1978, he inexplicably decided to point a rifle out of his yacht and blindly fire at the darkness. He accidentally hit and killed a German tourist. Vittorio spent 13 years fighting a manslaughter charge of which he was eventually acquitted.

When he reappeared in Italy, he soon found himself working as a pimp for the Sicilian Mafia and was caught supplying prostitutes to its high rollers. The charge finally landed him behind bars.

To his credit, Vittorio keeps his head up. After getting his first taste of prison food, he declared, “In Italy, you can eat well everywhere.”

8 The Last King Of Egypt Shot Two Lions In A Zoo

Although Fuad II was technically the last king of Egypt, he only “reigned” as an infant during 1952–53 after his father, King Farouk, was forced to abdicate in a coup. From 1936 to 1952, however, King Farouk was the last king to actually rule Egypt. Farouk enjoyed all the luxuries of royalty, but it left him a bit disconnected from everyday life—and common sense.

Near the start of World War II, Farouk was plagued with a recurring nightmare in which he was chased by a lion. Troubled, he called his wisest adviser, El-Maraghi, and asked what his dream meant. “You will not rest until you have slain those lions,” El-Maraghi told him.

Farouk took his advice—literally. He grabbed a gun, walked to the local zoo, and shot two lions dead in their cages. Then he returned home and told El-Maraghi what he had done.

El-Maraghi spent the rest of the day explaining to the king what a metaphor is.

7 The Last Emperor Of China Lived As ‘Prisoner No. 981’

Pu Yi became emperor of China when he was two years old. He lost his title three years later, but he was kept in such seclusion inside his palace, surrounded by servants who played out a fantasy kingdom, that he didn’t find out that he wasn’t the emperor for a full 10 years.

He got his position back when Japan made him the emperor of the puppet state of Manchuria. When Japan surrendered, though, Pu Yi was sent to a Chinese prison. He expected to be killed.

Instead, he was sentenced to tend vegetables in a prison. There, he was forced to live as a commoner under the label “Prisoner No. 981.”

Pu Yi was a model prisoner. He impressed the Communist Party enough that they actually let him go. He spent his last years in freedom, working part-time as an assistant gardener.

6 The Emperor Of Korea Manages A Home Shopping Network

Korea no longer bestows the title “Emperor” on the heads of its royal family. If they did, though, it would be held by Yi Won, the adopted son of the last ruler, Yi Gu. In 2005, Yi Gu died and the royal family chose to pass the title to Yi Won.

Before, though, Yi Won wasn’t living as a prince in a castle. He was the general manager of Hyundai’s Home Shopping Network. The Korean royalty today doesn’t pass much on to their children, so the crown prince had to make ends meet by hawking goods through mail order catalogues.

Yi Won’s job, though, was actually lucrative compared to the rest of his family. Another candidate for the throne, Yi Seok, currently runs a liquor store in the US.

5 The Heir To The Ottoman Empire Is A Retired Librarian

For 622 years, the Ottoman royal family ruled an empire that spanned three continents. Then, in 1924, the family was given a one-way passport out of Turkey and told not to return.

Prince Bayazid, the current heir to the throne, wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that he was the heir to a dynasty. So he lived a lot like anyone else. He had to fight to get a job at the New York Public Library. Initially, the library ignored the application because it had a foreign name—until Bayazid begged for the job.

When they realized he could speak 15 languages, the library made Bayazid a translator. But he often wasn’t allowed to put his name on his work because the library was worried that a Turkish name on Armenian documents would upset people.

Bayazid worked at the library for 45 years before he retired. He still lives in New York.

4 The Nepalese Royal Family Ended In A Murder-Suicide

In 1990, the Kingdom of Nepal started to come to an end when the People’s Movement put strict limitations on the royal family’s power. It was the crown prince, though, who brought the kingdom to a crashing halt—in a horrific way.

Prince Dipendra had fallen in love with a woman named Devyani Rana whom he had met in England and intended to marry. His family, however, did not approve. His mother threatened to pull him out of the line of succession if he married her, and fights between family members escalated.

On June 1, 2001, Dipendra picked up a gun and massacred 10 members of his family before turning the gun on himself. In the process, he wiped out the entire royal family and its main line of succession. Nepal’s monarchy was abolished shortly afterward.

3 The King Of Cambodia Is A Professional Ballet Dancer

Norodom Sihamoni never wanted to be king of Cambodia. As a young man, he studied cinematography, going to North Korea in pursuit of a better education—which says a lot about the state of Cambodia.

His true passion, though, was ballet. Sihamoni left for France and became a respected dancer, performing classical pieces in theaters until he was called back to the palace. His father had abdicated the throne, and feeling it was his responsibility, Sihamoni took his place on the throne.

Today, Sihamoni is a figurehead with no power. International news has described him as a “puppet king” while the people of Cambodia reportedly describe him as “sad, lonely, and abandoned.” Sihamoni has no children and no heir, and it is expected that the Kingdom of Cambodia will die with him.

2 The Heir To India’s Mughal Empire Lives In A Slum

The fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire built the Taj Mahal, and at their peak, the empire ruled over one-quarter of the world’s population.

Today, the current claimant to the throne is Sultana Begum, the great-granddaughter-in-law of the last Mughal emperor. She married the male heir, Bedar Bukht, who lived in hiding out of fear that British imperialists would have him killed. Bukht sold charms and talismans, earning a wage that Begum called “too meager for survival.”

Since Bukht’s death, Begum has been living in a shack in a slum where she runs a tea shop. She also receives a political pension of 400 rupees a month—the equivalent of $6.

1 The Emperor Of Japan Is An Expert On Goby Fish

In all the world, only one man still enjoys the title of “Emperor”: Emperor Akihito of Japan. Even Akihito, though, is nothing more than a figurehead with a few ceremonial duties.

To pass the time, Akihito studies goby fish. Using a biological lab inside his Imperial Palace, he spends most of his time examining the fish and writing his observations.

Today, Akihito is one of the world’s leading experts on goby fish. He has published 38 peer-reviewed scientific studies on the topic and recently contributed 350 pages on one suborder of goby fish to a book.

With no real power, it’s reasonable to assume that even his position as emperor will fade soon. The Japanese empire will crumble to dust and be swept away, like the ends of countless empires before it.

+Further Reading

The higher you are, the further you have to fall! Here are some recommended lists from the archives for further reading on this fascinating subject:

10 Wild Adventures Of Former Royals
Top 10 Pretenders to the Thrones of Europe
10 Mysteries Surrounding Royal Children
Top 10 Scandals That Rocked Royal Families
10 Mysteries And Secrets Surrounding British Royalty

Our genes do more than just determine our characteristics. They also influence other unbelievable things like our lifestyles, spending habits, eating preferences, and smelly armpits. That sounds weird, but it’s true.

This is the result of the way that evolution works. People with the most favorable genes survive, while people with unfavorable genes die off. Nevertheless, our genes seem to have given us the perfect excuse for some unruly behaviors.

10 Fats And Sugar

We will have a hard time stopping obesity because our so-called “thrifty genes” are wired to make us eat more fatty and sugary foods. When humans were hunter-gatherers thousands of years ago, eating three square meals wasn’t assured. Most people did not even know when they would get their next meal—if they ever managed to do so.

Humans soon realized that fatty and sugary foods provided them with energy that lasted over longer periods. This is because fat contains more calories than other classes of food. It is also less weighty on the body, meaning we expend less energy to store fats. Sugar provides long-lasting energy because it is easily converted to fat.

Early humans with thrifty genes survived because they were the likeliest to survive foodless days and famines. Most people without the genes died off. However, a minority of them survived and their genes are still around. But for the rest of us, our ancestors had thrifty genes and so do we. Little wonder that most humans have a sweet tooth.^[1]

9 Spending And Investment

Researchers Stephan Siegel and Henrik Cronqvist have discovered that our genes determine our spending, saving, and investment habits. During an analysis of the genes and lifestyle habits of 15,000 sets of twins, the researchers found that twins had similar spending habits even when they did not live together.

According to Siegel and Cronqvist, our parents and experiences often determine our spending and saving habits until around age 25. By age 40, our genes have kicked in and influence how we spend and save.

The researchers discovered that our genes affect how willing we are to take risks in business as well as how we invest in equities. Apparently, the study’s authors believe that a genetic component contributed to whether these twins diversified their stock portfolios enough.

If you invest in only a few stocks at any one time—and they’re losers—that could spell financial disaster. But it can also be lucrative if you pick the right ones. Nevertheless, many financial advisers recommend diversifying your portfolio among many types of stocks or other investments to reduce your risk of loss.

According to the researchers, our genes also make us likelier to invest in stocks that were previously successful. However, prior success is not a guarantee that a stock will continue to be a good holding.

Other researchers like Hersh Shefrin have concluded that our genes also make some of us thrifty spenders. Only 25 percent of people have the gene that makes them spend less. The rest of us have genes that make us spend more.^[2]

8 Fear Of Snakes And Spiders

Humans have an innate fear of crawling creatures, especially snakes and spiders. Even babies are wary of these creatures. In two studies, several six-month-old babies appeared stressed when they were shown images of snakes and spiders. They did not show the same reaction when they looked at pictures of fish and flowers.

In another study by Joshua New and Tamsin German of Columbia University, 252 people were quick to spot the spider when shown several images. This happened even when the pictures were distorted. We have an innate fear of crawling creatures because snakes and spiders often killed early humans.

Although many spiders are harmless today, most were highly venomous and could kill with a single bite millions of years ago. Spiders that did not kill could make a person sick or paralyzed. This is obviously bad when you’re in a jungle filled with thousands of animals that are actively trying to eat you.

Humans soon had genes to easily detect snakes and spiders. The people who lacked those genes died off because they were often bitten. However, other researchers like Jon May of Plymouth University disagree that we detest spiders due to our genes. He says that we hate spiders because their hairy legs and weird movements make them scary.^[3]

7 Sleep

The average human needs about seven hours of sleep a night. Anything below six hours usually causes fatigue, which quickly leads to other problems. Fatigued people are physically and mentally weaker and unable to concentrate or think properly. They may also become depressed.

However, there is a distinct group of individuals who only need a few hours of sleep a night. They have p. Tyr362HIS, which is called the “Thatcher gene.” This is named after former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was known for sleeping only a few hours a night.

Researchers discovered the relationship between the p. Tyr362HIS gene and sleep during a study involving 100 sets of twins. They found that participants with the gene had perfect brain power even though they did not get enough sleep. Meanwhile, participants without the gene had weaker brain power because they lacked enough sleep.^[4]

6 Shopping

“Shopping” is synonymous with “women.” But according to Geoffrey Miller of University College London, men are actually the ones who are genetically wired to shop. Men love shopping because they want women to think they are rich and attractive. Owning expensive items also means that a man is rich enough to take care of a woman.

Thousands of years ago, long before clothing lines and fashion stores became a thing, men wore animal skins and painted their bodies to attract women. As technology came along, men hopped to clothes, cars, and other status symbols, including expensive dinners.

Today, most men stop taking their women to dinners and buying flowers and other luxuries after having sex with the women. At that point, the man no longer needs to show off because he already got his prize. It now becomes the responsibility of the woman to look good to keep the man. This is why women appear to shop more than men.^[5]

5 Infidelity

In 2010, researchers led by Justin Garcia of Binghamton University revealed that men with a certain type of DRD4 gene were the likeliest to cheat. The team reached the conclusion after questioning 181 men about their sex habits.

Researchers asked the men to fill out some questionnaires about their sexual health after which they collected DNA samples. They discovered that men who had a particular kind of DRD4 gene were the likeliest to cheat. Interestingly, the men had no tangible reasons for cheating. They only did it for the thrill.

Garcia says that this occurs because the gene is linked to dopamine, a compound released in the brain when we engage in pleasurable activities. The DRD4 gene suppresses the action of dopamine, causing affected men to release more dopamine to reach the same level as regular people.

However, some researchers like Robert Weiss say that the research is inconclusive because it involved a small study group. Weiss also believes that other factors like environment, life experience, and personal decisions affect whether a person will cheat.^[6]

4 Relationships

Researchers from Peking University have discovered that our genes could determine whether we want to be in a relationship or remain single. Specifically, they fingered C-1019G, a form of the 5-HT1A gene, for causing people to remain single.

The researchers reached the conclusion after studying 579 ethnic Chinese students. They discovered that only 40 percent of the students who had the gene were in a relationship. Researchers believe this is so because the gene makes people moody, gloomy, and anxious, so they are less likely to be in relationships.

Other researchers have traced singleness to the gene that controls oxytocin levels in the body. Oxytocin makes us friendlier and more social. However, it could have the opposite effect in reduced quantities.^[7]

3 Music

Researchers have often speculated that people exposed to music at an earlier age are better at singing and analyzing music. However, they have discovered that these abilities could actually be the result of genetics.

They reached this conclusion after analyzing 568 female British twins. Researchers added a few wrong notes to snippets of 26 tunes including “God Save the Queen,” “Yankee Doodle,” and “Happy Birthday.” The twins were asked to spot the errors.

One in four twins could not detect the mistakes. Interestingly, an identical twin was likely to detect an error found by the other twin. However, half of the fraternal twins could not recognize a mistake pinpointed by the other twin.^[8]

2 Victory Sign

The “V” sign we make with our fingers when we are victorious is innate. So are other habits like tilting our heads backward, raising our arms, and making our chests bigger. Losers will often make their shoulders fall, compress their chests, and hide their faces. Like the winners, their actions are also innate.

Prior to this study, researchers used to think that these winning and losing habits were learned. However, they discovered that these actions had something to do with our genes when they realized that blind athletes also made the “V” sign when they won.^[9]

If that was not enough, they also let their shoulders fall when they lost. This included athletes who were blind from birth. There was no way that they would have seen another person do it.

The study group involved blind athletes at the 2004 Paralympic Games. Researchers watched their behaviors after the participants won or lost and discovered that they behaved the same way as the people who could see. Researchers believe that the habits got impressed in our genes because they were used by our apelike ancestors.

1 Smelly Armpits

The armpits of 98 percent of humans smell when they get sweaty. However, the other 2 percent do not stink because they have the ABCC11 gene. The discovery was made by researchers from the University of Bristol. They studied 6,495 women and found that only 117 (2 percent) had the ABCC11 gene.

Interestingly, scientists have always known about the gene. However, they focused their research on its effect on earwax. People with the gene always have dry earwax. In fact, dry earwax is one method of detecting the presence of the gene in the body, which is most common among East Asians.

Researchers believe that the ABCC11 gene makes our sweaty armpits odorless because it makes us produce less amino acids than normal. This equates to less bacteria and less odor because bacteria makes our armpits smell. Interestingly, a lot of people with the ABCC11 gene still use deodorant.^[10]

We all know that there is a significant cross-over between great movies and books, a notion hardly surprising given that the skill of writing, whether in the form of a screenplay or novel, lies at the creative core of successful storytelling, regardless of the form its ultimately convey in.

There is always going to be an inevitable comparison drawn between movies and the books upon which they’re based. However, such is perhaps a fool’s errand, given that the two forms are so markedly different as to render any such comparison worthless, not to mention the fact that, as art-forms, their respective interpretation is a matter entirely subjective and thus dependent on individual perspective.

The point of this list then is not one of comparison but rather revelation, for, aside from the obvious likes of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, a remarkable number of outstanding movies surprisingly owe their genesis to literary works. So, while many will be familiar with most, if not all, of the movies that follow, few will know that they owe their existence to the books that preceded them.

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10 Die Hard (1988)

One of the quintessential action movies of all time, and one that still holds up remarkably well as an explosive piece of filmmaking more than 30 years after its release, Die Hard introduced us to the gritty NYPD detective and all-round bad boy John McClane, as played by a young Bruce Willis. Many will be familiar with this movie which birthed multiple sequels, but few realize that it is based on the 1979 book by Roderick Thorpe entitled Nothing Lasts Forever.

Both film and novel share a basic plotline; that of a detective inadvertently becoming embroiled in a hostage situation, the resolution of which becomes entirely down to him alone. The differences between the two are numerous, however, specifically the fact that in the book the main character is significantly older and seemingly overwhelmed by the situation while in the movie the youthful McClane handles things with an aplomb that is the exclusive domain of Hollywood action heroes.

Interestingly enough, the book was a sequel to Thorpe’s 1966 novel The Detective, which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra two years later. Fortunately, Die Hard creators chose not to follow suit with the movie, otherwise, we would have seen a 79-year old Sinatra, rather than a 33-year old Willis, galavanting around Nakatomi Plaza, which may have detracted from the finished product somewhat.

9 Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club, based on American Author Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel of the same name, remains one of Brad Pitt’s finest performances on the silver screen and the movie still enjoys a large cult following to this day.

Putting aside the debate over which version is better, screenwriter Jim Uhl’s adaptation remains remarkably faithful to its source material, and rather than compete they seem to complement each other as the film attained levels of fame and recognition that Palaniuk’s book alone probably wouldn’t have achieved.

The story, about a man’s descent into insanity and his battle with his split-personality self, is shockingly brilliant, whether appreciated in book or movie form. Sure, some characters are fleshed out more in the book, the ending of which is different and significantly darker to that of its movie counterpart, but both stand as exemplary examples of writing and filmmaking in their respective rights.

8 Shrek (2001)

Who would’ve thought that DreamWorks’ classic animated movie was actually based on a book? Yet it’s true; everyone’s favorite green ogre was introduced to the world not on the big screen but in the pages of William Steig’s 1990 children’s picture book, also entitled Shrek.

While both movie and book follow the travails of a bad-tempered ogre as he reluctantly leaves the swamp he calls home and emerges from the resulting adventures a hero with newly acquired values and morals, the movie and its inevitable sequels expand on the concept significantly. With the added voice-acting talent of stars like Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, it was always destined to achieve its much-deserved status as one of the all-time animated greats.

As a curious aside, the Shrek that we know and love today could have been very different, as legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to the book shortly after its publication. Luckily, Dreamworks interceded 4 years later to claim the rights for themselves, so it all appears to have worked out for the best in the end.

7 The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

This excellent movie revolves around trial attorney Kevin Lomax, played by Keanu Reeves, who moves with his wife to New York City to accept a job offer that seems too good to be true, which it turns out, it is, seeing as his new boss is none other than Satan himself. Few will forget Al Pacino’s spectacularly vivid portrayal as the devil in this one, a performance that steals the show and ultimately overshadows the fact that the movie is based on the Andrew Neiderman novel of the same name.

As we’d expect, the film and book versions are not identical, most notable in their respective endings which, while different, are equally shocking and impressive. The core concept of the novel, however, is plainly in evidence in its film adaptation; the highly relatable narrative of how subtle yet slippery the slope towards compromising one’s moral code in the pursuit of fame and fortune truly is.

Anyone who’s seen the movie may have noticed that there seems to be a suggestion of Lomax’s moral descent in the color of his preferred courtroom attire. As the film progresses so his suits get ever darker until, in his final appearance whilst representing a blatantly guilty murder suspect, his suit is completely black. Like his soul, perhaps?

6 Christmas With The Kranks (2004)

Even more surprising than the fact that this light-hearted festive comedy starring Tim Allen and Jamie-Lee Curtis is based on a book, is that said book was written by no less than John Grisham, universally famous and best-selling author of countless legal thrillers. While not his sole departure from the legal genre, his 2001 book Skipping Christmas is probably the most noteworthy, and while not terrible, it surely wouldn’t have caused much of a blip on the literary radar were it not for its film adaptation 3 years later: Christmas with the Kranks.

The hilarious tale centers on Nora and Luther Krank, a couple renowned for their impressive outward display of Christmas spirit, who decide to forgo the decadence of the holidays one year and to rather spend the money on a Caribbean cruise. Disaster ensues when their daughter’s unexpected change of plans to come home for the holidays causes a mad, last-minute rush to get everything ready in time.

Not exactly award-winning stuff, both the book and movie are intended as a lighthearted look at family dynamics at Christmas time as well as just how commercialized the celebration has become and thus serve as no more than a bit of festive fun.

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5 Primal Fear (1996)

Going from one noted legal-thriller author to another, William Diehl’s 1993 masterpiece Primal Fear is a stunning example of his genre-defining talent. Featuring believable characters, a rollercoaster of a plot and a final, dramatic twist that few would’ve seen coming, it seems logical that, not only would a film version soon follow but it would stay largely true to the source material.

The Golden Globe Winning 1996 film of the same name, starring Richard Gere as acclaimed trial attorney Marty Vail as he represents young indigent defendant Aaron Stampler, who has been accused of murdering the beloved archbishop, may not always live up to the high standard of the novel upon which it is based but proves all the same to be an immensely enjoyable film in its own right.

The story provides not just a fascinating view of the workings of a criminal trial but also of the moral dilemmas faced by defense lawyers, as Vail gradually becomes convinced of Stampler’s innocence only to later have his hard-won illusions shattered most spectacularly. Much like his performance in Fight Club, Edward Norton’s excellent portrayal of Stampler in this movie, his big-screen debut, proves what an amazing actor he truly is.

4 Reservation Road (2007)

Reservation Road probably isn’t going to feature on many all-time great movie lists, but it manages to tell a story so heartbreaking and intriguing that, anyone prepared to overlook the movies various faults, will doubtless find themselves captivated by the tale. A tale that comes directly from John Burnam Shwartz’s excellent novel of the same name.

The story revolves around college professor Ethan Learner as he seeks to hunt down the culprit in the hit-and-run death of his son by unwittingly enlisting the help of the very man responsible. Actors Joaquin Pheonix and Mark Ruffalo do a passable job in portraying the two lead characters, yet the emotional turmoil of one family’s loss and another man’s struggle between his conscience and his responsibilities as a father that set the novel apart don’t always translate as well on the big screen.

Nevertheless, the key elements which comprise the heartwrenching story are sufficiently present in the movie so that it doesn’t entirely fall short of the mark, and, as such, is not quite as bad as the poor reviews suggest. It’s simply that Shwartz’s gripping novel, spectacularly written, was never going to be quite as impressive in movie form.

3 American Psycho (2000)

The movie American Psycho is another that has gained cult classic status since its release 20 years ago. Featuring the gruesome, graphic first-person account of an investment banker who rapes and tortures women in his spare time as he slides increasingly towards darkness and despair, the movie was released amid a swarm of controversy, much like the widely criticized 1991 novel by Bret Easton upon which it is based.

So contentious was the novel’s subject matter that Easton was inundated with hate mail and death threats after its release, primarily from advocates of feminism. Told from the perspective of the protagonist; Patrick Bateman, brilliantly brought to life by Christian Bale in the movie, Easton later admitted that the book was a personal reflection of what he was going through at the time. Before you get excited, this was not an admission of guilt on his part as he later added in the murder scenes based on extensive serial killer research.

Now considered one of the best horror movies of all time, it’s somewhat surprising that so much of the novel’s graphic content made it into the film adaptation. In a dramatic reversal though, the movie was written and directed by women and some now even claim it as a feminist work.

2 The Martian (2015)

On to a more recent film, The Martian thrilled sci-fi fans and space junkies alike upon its late 2015 release and the Hollywood blockbuster has since grossed over $600 million worldwide. With Matt Damon in the lead role, Ridley Scott in the director’s chair, a massive budget, and a fascinating plot, the movie was always destined to be a success. Much of this, however, can be attributed to the debut effort some 4 years earlier by author Any Weir, who’s novel The Martian inspired the subsequent film.

Weir, a self-proclaimed space-nerd, created a fictional tale with such an accurate scientific basis that the ordeal of astronaut Mark Watney, stranded and forced to survive alone on Mars, comes across as thoroughly realistic and believable.

In a classic case of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” the creators of the movie chose not to alter the story in any significant way but rather to transplant it intact onto the big screen. The result was the Golden-Globe winning box office blockbuster film which has almost entirely overshadowed its literary counterpart. Weir’s follow up novel Artemis has since proven that he’s no one-hit-wonder, and it’s surely only a matter of time before we see a movie version of that one as well.

1 Apocalypse Now (1979)

The 1979 release of the Vietnam war movie Apocolypse Now, directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, represents one of the defining moments in film making history and is arguably one of the best movies ever made. Like so many silver screen successes, the film is also based on a book; in this instance Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, published 77 years prior to its cinematic adaptation. Although Apocalypse Now is said to only be inspired by, and not strictly based on, the book, the similarities between the two suggest the association is somewhat closer than this claim suggests.

The movie’s updated backdrop is the Vietnam war, while the book is set amid conflict in the jungles of the Congo, yet both share the same basic plotline; that of a company of soldiers in a war zone dispatched to locate and eliminate a troublesome renegade colonel named Walter Kurtz.

Featuring a disturbingly accurate portrayal of the harsh realities of war and their effects on individual soldiers as the mounting horrors cause an eclipse of the soul, something referenced in both titles, there are certainly differences between the two. Yet the similarities are both significant and surprising, proof that the film was heavily influenced by Conrad’s work.

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Oftentimes images of terrifying people become so indelible in the hippocampus, that it’s almost unfathomable for us to think that they can be anything but. However, the 10 photos shown below prove that even the most terrifying people can still be human, or show at least some semblance of it.

10 Gordon Ramsay

He’s the chef we all love to hate, and why not? His expletive-laced outbursts on his shows make him a very terrifying but entertaining figure to watch. Gordon credits his various mentors as well as his father-in-law for his explosive personality.

However, Gordon Ramsay the Family Man is just… more docile than Gordon Ramsay the Chef. He has 3 daughters and 1 son together with his wife of 17 years.

9 Mike Tyson

During his prime, Mike Tyson was widely feared for his amazing boxing skills, but did you know he was also an avid lover of pigeons? That’s right, Iron Mike loves his feathered friends.

In fact, one of the main reasons Mike got into boxing was because during his childhood, one of his pet pigeons got killed by a bigger kid. And in fact, just recently, he complained that one his ex-girlfriends ate one of his beloved birds. Ouch.

8 Danny Trejo

Aside from being a total bad-ass, Danny Trejo is also an ardent dog lover. The Machete star and his wife Debbie run K9 Compassion Foundation, a shelter that rescues and puts dogs up for adoption.

Danny also uses his star power to help owners find their missing pets.

7Vladimir Lenin

One of the key players in the formation of the USSR, Vladimir Lenin was a political genius admired by his supporters and feared by his enemies. His fiery speeches and indomitable leadership allowed the Soviets to tighten their grip and eventually become the dominant party in Russia. He was so revered that after his death, Communist leaders re-named a city in his honor, and had his body preserved, which is still exhibited to this day.

Lenin was a cat person, and he reportedly owned several of them throughout his lifetime.

6 Al Capone

Al Capone was one of the most famous and controversial gangsters to have operated in the US. Nicknamed “Scarface”, he effectively turned Chicago into his personal fiefdom in the Prohibition-era. Smuggling, prostitution, and extortion were some of his gang’s common illegal activities. He was also implicated in the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, when he ordered the execution of seven rival gang members.

Despite being a notorious criminal, Al Capone was very close to his mother. That bond remained strong throughout life, as mother and son were seen frequently together, even during the last days of his life.

5Charles Manson

The psychopathic leader of the cult-like Manson Family died at the end of a life sentence for masterminding the murders of several people, including Sharon Tate, who was the wife of the famous pedophile and film director Roman Polanski.

What could easily have been mistaken for a young boy’s mischievous grin was in fact the beginning of the facial expressions of a future madman. By the way, is it just me or could this be mistaken for a photo of a young Tobey Maguire?

4 Ted Bundy

It can be said that one of the triggers that prompted Ted Bundy to become a serial killer was his resentment for his mother. Louise Cowell gave birth to Ted as an unwed mother, and though he was suspicious about it, Ted grew up believing she was his sister and his grandparents were his biological parents. His mother eventually married John Bundy, and it was only in college that Ted found out about his true parentage.

Despite what he did, his mother loved him all the way to the bitter end. Moments before he was executed, they talked on the phone and she told him “You will always be my precious son.”

3Osama bin Laden

It’s hard to think of Osama Bin Laden as anything more than a radical Islamic terrorist who met his well-deserved end in 2011. After all, he was the man responsible for the attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands, innocents who had nothing to do with his “holy war”. Yet, there was a time when he seemed just like any other person.

Osama went on a visit to Sweden with the rest of his family when he was a teenager. Judging by that look, you’d never guess that he’d grow up to become one of the world’s most notorious terrorists.

2 Josef Stalin

Josef Stalin became the de facto leader of the Soviet Union following the death of Lenin. To consolidate his rule, he and his followers organized massive purges in the military and imprisonment or exile of all his political opponents. It can be said the brutality of his regime goes far above that of his German rival, Adolf Hitler. Stalin’s oppressive rule only got worse as time went by, such that his own family grew to loathe him.

Out of his three children, Stalin only enjoyed the company of his daughter Svetlana. However, even that relationship deteriorated thanks to Stalin’s controlling personality.

1 Adolf Hitler

Regarded as the one of the most evil men of the last century, and deservedly so, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis orchestrated the deaths of millions of people in one of man’s worst genocides, beaten out on numbers only by the socialist purges of Stalin.

Surprisingly, Hitler was very fond of animals. He owned a German Shepherd named Blondi who kept him company until the closing days of the war. It is bizarre how someone who loved animals so much could also commit such atrocities against his fellow man.

An actress who expresses a conservative viewpoint in liberal Hollywood. A teacher suspended for daring to assume a boy in her class goes by the pronoun “he.” A chef accused of cultural appropriation for cooking an ethnic dish. There’s no doubt that cancel culture – the attempt to ruin someone’s personal or professional life due to a perceived insult or insensitivity – is only getting worse.

In a woke world obsessed with meaningless microaggressions, it’s amazing how many macroaggressions continue to go largely unpunished. In fact, the list is so lengthy that a sub-list could be created for animal-related offences alone. So we made one.

Here are ten items that, hopefully, will wake up the woke to focus on something more important than playing purity police online.

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10 Polar Bear Killings

Don’t polar bears have enough to worry about without jackass trophy hunters shooting them? With the Arctic sea ice they rely upon for hunting, resting, mating and dens rapidly diminishing due to climate change, it is estimated that less than 25,000 are left in the wild. Polar bears’ plight led to the US including them on its Endangered Species List in 2008 – and things have only grown worse since then.

Considering this, the idea that people are still killing polar bears for sport and money is disturbing to say the least. Even more insane is WHERE this practice is still legal; while one might expect it of Russia – a country whose macho dictator never found a barechested photo-op he didn’t like – the country to visit to senselessly slaughter a polar bear is Canada. Ah, Canada: clean air, universal healthcare and polar bear murder.

Why hunt them? Because killing a polar bear can make one not only a sick asshole but a RICH sick asshole. Polar bear skins can fetch tens of thousands of dollars; like hunting, such sales also are somehow still legal.

Per Freedom of Information divulgences, nearly 9,000 polar bears were killed by hunters in the Arctic between 2007 and 2016. More than 50,000 polar bears have been killed since 1960 – twice as many as today’s remaining population.

9 Seal Beatings

All reputations for being polite and generous aside, those Canadians are a bloodthirsty lot.

Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. The hunt’s primary target is the harp seal, which might be the most adorable animal on Earth. Even more disgustingly, some 97% of the harp seals slaughtered are pups less than three months old. Weapons of choice include wooden clubs, hakapiks (large ice-pick-like clubs) and guns.

The hunts occur predominantly on ice floes in two regions, both off Canada’s East Coast: the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of Newfoundland and east of the Magdalen Islands; and an area called the “Front,” northeast of Newfoundland. The mass killings come in addition to the harp seal population’s increasing vulnerability to diminishing sea ice.

The perverse practice is typically undertaken by local fishermen, who sell the seals’ fur and oils to supplement their income. Approximately 6,000 fishermen participate each year. The Humane Society estimates that more than ONE MILLION seals have been clubbed, stabbed and shot to death in the last FIVE YEARS.

The understandable international backlash has prompted a widespread and well-funded disinformation campaign by the Canadian government. What’s next, Canada? Drowning baby unicorns perhaps?

8 Sea Turtle Eyeglass Frames

“Comfort and refinement go hand in hand,” the website of France-based manufacturer Maison Bonnet reads. Matching its suspect morals with even more suspect English, it continues: “They provide the harmony between the model and the individual face, the true luxury of handmade glasses. Traditional handcrafting is essential. Only a firm hand can do justice to a one-off item.”

Harmony? Justice? I’m not sure the sea turtle butchered to make the spectacles frames would think so. An alarming example of how accepted this practice still is, Maison Bonnet goes on to namedrop famous customers, including two French Presidents: Francois Mitterrand and, more recently, Jacques Chirac.

The lingering legality of making products from sea turtle shells in certain areas has, unsurprisingly, spurned illicit poaching in other places. For example, last year, it was reported that traffickers were capturing and shipping thousands of sea turtles from Florida to Asia and other markets, where some can fetch up to $10,000. Over the years, the trade has caused the deaths of millions of turtles to make such frivolities as combs, eyeglass frames, guitar picks, ornaments and cheap jewelry.

Utilizing certain animals for food or clothing is one thing, but do we really need to be making extraneous items from slaughtered animals? Regardless, Maison Bonnet claims that its production process “totally respects the natural cycle of the sea turtles.” A sea turtle could not be reached for comment.

7 Ivory products

Given the worldwide fervor over the ivory trade – a matter made urgent due to the severely endangered animals whose deaths fuel it, especially elephants – it’s easy to assume that underdeveloped countries with ineffective law enforcement would have the most difficult time policing the globally-banned practice.

But surprisingly, among the biggest drivers of the illegal ivory trade is… Japan, one of the most advanced, law-abiding nations on Earth. The reason is something incredibly mundane: a signature-substituting seal. Called hankos: the small stamps are used in lieu of signatures for anything from opening a bank account to signing an employment contract.

According to Hideki Arami, a third-generation hanko carver with a shop in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya district, the best hanko ivory comes from the center of the tusk, where the bone is firm and flawless. What a wonderful reason for bringing multiple species to the verge of extinction.

Selling ivory legally entails proving that it isn’t new, meaning it was “harvested” before poaching was banned in 1989. Per the African Wildlife Foundation, while Japanese law states ivory tusks must be registered before a sale, the process has remained notoriously lenient. Owners often do not need to provide verifiable proof of how, where, or when tusks were acquired – opening the door for illegal ivory to enter Japan’s legal marketplace.

6 Animal Products in Perfume

Wearing perfume? Then you’re probably spraying liquified fauna on yourself. Animal parts are still widely used as ingredients in various fragrances.

One example is civet, a catlike animal with a long tail and pointed snout native to Africa and much of Asia. Its perineal glands produce a crude, buttery-yellow paste that turns darker with age. At full strength, the tincture smells fecal and nauseating, but when diluted it has a floral scent. Civets are “farmed and harvested” (read: born imprisoned and slaughtered en masse) at facilities in Ethiopia, with their paste exported to perfumeries in Europe and North America.

Like leathery scents? Then you’re likely wearing beaver taint. Vintage leathery notes are typically achieved via castoreum, which comes from the castor sacs of beavers, who use it to mark territory. After killing the beaver, harvesters smoke or sun-dry the paste-filled castor sacs, which come to resemble dried figs (yum!). The paste’s aroma eventually mellows into the smell of sweet, clean leather.

The hyrax, an African species resembling a large guinea pig, is another furry critter with perfume-centric secretions. Often called “African stone,” hyraceum forms when the animals’ urine and feces (they live together in colonies, and typically relieve themselves in a common area) petrifies. Luckily for the hyrax, this process takes hundreds of thousands of years, meaning their contribution to the perfume industry doesn’t carry a death sentence.

These animal materials were once used in huge doses in fragrances such as Miss Dior and No 5 and they continue to be used to this day in many perfumes across the industry.

5 Bone China

Bone china is a type of porcelain made from a significant amount – at least 30%, but usually closer to 50% – of animal bone ash. Why bone? Because it makes for an especially strong ceramic that offers premium chip resistance and high levels of whiteness and translucence. Among other benefits, the sturdiness provided by bone ash allows bone china to be produced in thinner cross-sections than other porcelains.

From its initial development in the early 1800s, bone china has historically been a British product; in fact, the term “English porcelain” often refers to bone china. In most cases, the bone comes from cows, though pig bone also may be used – prompting Middle East manufacturers to make halal versions that are verified cow-only.

So, is bone china ethical? Proponents argue that it basically just uses the bones of animals already set to be slaughtered for meat. Critics counter that, while less problematic than, for example, killing polar bears for sport or sea turtles for eyeglasses, bone china is simply an unnecessary animal-derived item. In addition to doing no favors to the animals, opponents contend, bone china imposes on vegetarians and people who avoid animal products.

In addition, human bone ash has been identified on rare occasions, and no one wants to eat off of great-grandma.

4 Industrial Cattle Production

Despite their growing ranks, animal rights activists calling for completely ending meat-eating remain overwhelmingly in the minority. Among other issues, such posturing and proselytising ignores the fact that humans are naturally omnivores – eaters of both fauna and flora.

However, a more understandable candidate for cancellation is the way some meat is produced. For example, the American livestock stream is awash in antibiotics, used to keep cows and pigs in unhygienic, tightly-packed factory farms “healthy.” Not only is this indicative of the filthy, crowded conditions these animals experience, but also adds to the growing problem of bacterial resistance due to antibiotics overuse. A worrisome 13.6 million kilograms of antibiotics are used for US livestock each year, nearly four times the amount distributed for direct human consumption.

A legitimate case also can be made that humanity is eating too MUCH meat. More than six million animals are killed for human consumption every hour; in one lifetime, the average American will consume the equivalent of 11 cows, 27 pigs, and 2,400 chickens.

Another reasonable concern is the meat industry’s contributions to global warming: animal agriculture is responsible for an estimated 18% of global climate change. Each day, cows alone produce 150 billion gallons of methane, which is 25-100 times more heat-trapping than carbon dioxide. That’s right: cow farts are a flatulent factor in climate change.

3 Industrial Poultry Production

As concerning as some meat sector practices are, the fashion in which the United States produces poultry deserves an entry all its own.

Again, the issue here isn’t a total chicken-eating ban. The idea that we’re close to replacing real chicken with the sort of highly-processed, often high-calorie plant-based concoctions popularized as beef and pork substitutes is nonsense. Besides, faux chicken is notoriously harder to create, with most products discontinued.

Regardless, poultry often is raised in highly problematic conditions and, given its food industry track record, the US is unsurprisingly among the most blameworthy. Each year, America produces more than 44 billion pounds of chicken. That’s a lotta wings.

However, the trade off for making that much meat is truly horrific conditions for the chickens. US chickens are typically raised in crowded coops covered in droppings and devoid of sunlight. There, the birds are aggressively force fed to meet Americans’ ever-growing demand for cheap meat. Over their two-month lifespan, chickens grow so rapidly that their joints, legs, hearts and lungs are significantly compromised.

After slaughter, US factory chickens are rinsed in chlorine. And if you’re wondering whether blasting a food product with a dangerous chemical is problematic… well, join the rest of the world. Many countries ban the import of US poultry for this reason and, recently, Brits cried foul (or rather, fowl) over a backroom deal that allowed US chickens into the UK food stream in exchange for a broader post-Brexit US-UK trade deal.

2 Fur Farms

Humans have been turning furry animals into clothing for millennia. So as with the loud-but-miniscule minority who want to disallow all meat-eating, animal activists who want to cancel all dead animal-derived clothing – such as fur coats and leather – are unlikely to prevail anytime soon – though they certainly help the polluting paint manufacturers with all that red paint they buy!

However, one aspect of fur clothing is particularly problematic: fur farms, which raise foxes and minks in cramped, cruel conditions for the singular reason of fattening them up for maximum fur production. The first two sentences of an investigative report by the Humane Society are so powerful that they’re difficult to read:

“By the end of his life, the arctic fox, just 1 year old, has grown so large he barely fits in the bare wire cage on a farm in Asia. Overbred to produce a big pelt, he suffers from an eye condition made worse by obesity: His lashes grow inward and scratch constantly against his cornea.”

Estimates vary, but all available figures would place the number of foxes and minks slaughtered on fur farms in the tens of millions annually. In a developed world that has largely banned the commercial killing of dogs and cats (except for South Korea, which should be ashamed of itself because dogs aren’t food, ever, full stop), the idea that similar animals are being factory farmed for something as frivolous as fur is difficult to justify – and that’s putting it kindly.

1 Puppy Mills

The Sato Project is a nonprofit dog rescue organization headquartered in southeastern Puerto Rico. Its mission is to save as many of the 300,000 stray dogs that roam the Connecticut-sized Caribbean island. The Sato Project team manages to feed, shelter, vet and ultimately fly more than a thousand dogs per year to forever homes on the US mainland (including one lucky sato, Vector, who joined this author’s family in 2013).

Multiply Puerto Rico’s plight by thousands, and you begin to scratch the surface of the number of desperate dogs in need of good homes. Against such a backdrop, the fact that pully mills still exist is, simply, disgusting and unacceptable.

A puppy mill is a commercial dog breeding facility in which the health of dogs is disregarded to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits. There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the US alone, catering to customers who, for whatever reason, simply must have a pure breed or designer dog (oh cool! It’s another f*cking Labradoodle!).

While there are laws regulating facilities that sell to pet stores and through certain online forums, nothing can be done about black market operations that sell directly to consumers. The only way to eliminate puppy mills is for people to stop being so choosy about breeds and simply give a needy dog the home it deserves.

10 Insane Decisions That Nearly Ruined Pop Culture Classics

Next to eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, getting adequate sleep is a staple cornerstone to a healthy life. But did you know that sleeping can also be dangerous?

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Amazing Facts About Dreams

There are actually a number of things that can go wrong when you close your eyes and slip into unconsciousness—and for some people, the danger is real enough that they never wake up again. In fact, according to an ancient Greek proverb, death and sleep are brothers . . . death being the perfect fulfillment of sleep and sleep being the imperfect embodiment of death.

Sleep has, for the most part, always been seen as a “passive” activity that our body performs on its own. But the truth is that our brain is actually quite active while we slumber. It’s also true that there are many unanswered mysteries about sleep that modern scientists have yet to unravel.^[1]

As it turns out, there are still some surprising (and somewhat scary) things going on when our conscious brains turn off and our bodies begin the sleeping state. And sometimes, the results can be completely terrifying.

10 Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Sudden cardiac arrest, also known as SCA, can occur when the sinoatrial node, the node in the heart that essentially acts as your body’s natural pacemaker, becomes impaired.^[2] In other words, this condition occurs when the electrical systems of the heart malfunction. And in some cases, it’s deadly within the first few minutes.

How does it kill? Well, it basically reduces blood flow to the brain. And the scariest part? Not only can it happen during sleep, but half of cases show no symptoms before the cardiac arrest occurs.

9 Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a colorless, odorless gas that can be lethal if too much of it enters the lungs. CO can be found in the fumes that come from running cars, stoves, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges, furnaces, and so on, and it can be almost impossible to detect unless a carbon monoxide detector is in use.

How does it kill? Basically, if enough of it builds up in a small enough space, breathing it in can become toxic. And if you inhale enough of it, just having it in your lungs can be enough to “seal the deal” in a very final way. If awake, the victim may experience symptoms like dizziness, weakness, a headache, or an upset stomach.

But what if it catches you while you’re asleep? Well, people who are sleeping often experience no symptoms, and they can die in their sleep.^[3]

8 Myocardial Infarction

A myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack, can happen during sleep, though thankfully, the odds are pretty good that this specific type of cardiac event will wake its victim up before it kills them.^[4]

Heart attacks happen when blood flow to part of the heart gets blocked. This blockage can destroy part of the heart muscle.

How does it kill? If enough heart tissue gets damaged, the heart may not be strong enough to pump any blood out to the rest of the body. This can result in heart failure, which could be lethal if medical treatment isn’t obtained immediately.

Unfortunately, it usually isn’t possible for a heart attack victim to seek medical attention if they’re asleep—and that’s the part that’s terrifying.

7 Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea is basically a disorder that causes the sufferer’s breathing to stop and start repeatedly while they are unconscious. It happens when the brain doesn’t send the proper electrical signals to the muscles that control the breathing mechanisms during sleep and is believed to originate from a problem in the brain stem.

How does it kill? Basically, if the case of apnea is bad enough, hypoxemia may set in—which happens when oxygen levels in the body fall below those required for normal life function. This basically leads to oxygen deprivation.^[5]

If the brain is not able to rouse the body in enough time to take a breath, the prognosis can be fatal!

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Surprisingly Common Ways To Die In Your Sleep

6 Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome

This is undoubtedly one of the more “mysterious” inclusions in our list.

Unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) was first reported in 1977 among southeast Asian Hmong refugees in America and Canada. Since then, it has gained a pretty scary reputation in both textbooks and on the dark corners of the internet. In the Philippines, they call it Bangungut, in Hawaii, they call it Dream Disease, and if you’re in Thailand, you call it lai tai, which means “sleep and die.”

The exact cause of death among those who die of SUNDS is actually still unclear, but the presentation always seems to be similar. It basically causes otherwise young, healthy individuals to die in their sleep for seemingly no reason.

How does it kill? Scientists still aren’t sure, but it tends to occur frequently in Southeast Asia, and researchers suspect a range of possible explanations, from malfunctions of the ion channel to ventricular fibrillation.^[6]

5 Cerebral Aneurysm

A cerebral aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is basically a weak spot in the wall of a blood vessel in the brain. It is kind of like a thin balloon that fills with blood. Over time, as the blood pumps through the artery, it continues to weaken and swell—and if the pressure increases too much, a rupture can occur.

How does it kill? When an aneurysm ruptures, the bleeding usually only lasts for a few seconds. But the blood causes damage to the surrounding brain cells and can increase the pressure inside the skull. If the pressure elevates too much, the condition can quickly turn fatal.^[7]

4 Enterovirus D68

This is one of the more obscure entries on our list, but that makes it no less terrifying.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is a type of non-polio enterovirus that was first identified in California back in 1962. But back in 2014, there was a huge increase in the number of reported cases, leaving researchers to wonder if the virus was going to become more predominant in coming years than they had expected.

The scary thing about EV-D68 is that while it usually causes mild to severe respiratory illness symptoms, it sometimes produces no symptoms at all. And yet, physicians are saying that the disease has the potential to be more dangerous than Ebola in the US.^[8]

How does it kill? It can cause particularly severe respiratory problems, characterized by a high-pitched wheezing sound that has become a dreaded earmark of infection. It has also been associated with muscle weakness and spinal cord inflammation, which is perhaps even more terrifying than the wheezing.

Dying of an infection is not necessarily common, but sometimes, the symptoms are dangerous enough to kill—even if the victim is asleep.

3 Dry Drowning

Most of us are aware that you can drown in the water—this is obvious, but a lot of people aren’t familiar at all with the term “dry drowning” and what it means. It turns out, it is a pretty horrific way to die!

Basically, the idea behind this danger is that it is a type of drowning that can occur even after the victim has left the water. It’s technically still drowning, but “dry drowning” is the term that has come to be used to describe it, though some doctors have argued for the dropping of said term.

It can occur when inhaled water, even just a drop or two, makes it past the throat and into the lungs. This usually causes symptoms, but they are sometimes mild and easy to miss.^[9]

The scary thing is that this water can cause breathing problems that get worse over time. In some cases, these breathing problems don’t strike until hours, or even days later—after the victim has fallen asleep. So-called “dry drowning” is actually pretty rare when you look at total deaths attributed to drowning, but this makes it no less disturbing.

How does it kill? It basically asphyxiates the victim—depriving them of oxygen until they suffocate.

2 The Widowmaker Heart Attack

While most heart attacks have a decent chance of waking their victims up before death occurs, the “widowmaker” tends to be an exception. We’ve already mentioned heart attacks in general once on this list, but this particular type of infarction deserves its own spot.

Why? Because it’s among the deadliest types of heart attacks that can occur. It happens when the left main artery, also known as the left anterior descending artery, gets blocked. A 100-percent blockage in this artery is almost always fatal without immediate emergency care, hence the nickname.^[10]

How does it kill? Heart attacks with severe enough blockages result in damaged heart muscle. And if the muscle becomes too damaged to pump blood, the result can be fatal.

1 Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which the victim repeatedly stops and starts their breathing process during sleep. OSA is by far the most common type of sleep apnea, and as it turns out, it is also probably the most likely reason that a person may die in their sleep.

This type of sleep apnea is literally caused by an obstruction that blocks the airway. This obstruction is usually caused by sagging throat muscles, though the muscles and tissues of the tongue, uvula, tonsils, and soft palate can all play a part. It is estimated that as many as 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea but that 80 percent of cases go undiagnosed making it a true “silent killer” that many people remain unaware of.

How does it kill? People with OSA experience sudden drops in blood oxygen levels when they stop breathing. If they’re already at risk for a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, then OSA can be the trigger that sets a sudden cardiac event into motion.^[11]

In such cases, death may occur before the victim even has a chance to wake up.

Joshua Sigfus is just a writer trying to make the world a better place.

In the ancient world, the possibility of a violent, premature death was always around the corner. Certainly, it could happen to the ordinary people who died in the millions from famine, disease, or war. But it was also a frequent visitor to the rich and powerful who were often bumped off by their enemies, their friends, or even their families.

The list that follows details just 10 examples of particularly gruesome deaths in the ancient world. They range from the brutal murders of Roman emperors by their own sons to the strange case of the “mummy’s curse.”

10 Aeschylus
455 BC

Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy, was noted for such works as The Persians and the Oresteia (still frequently performed today). As such, one might expect a tragic ending for Aeschylus. But the way this ancient playwright kicked the bucket would be more suited to a slapstick comedy.

According to legend, the Athenian author was killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise—seriously, a tortoise—on his head from a great height while Aeschylus was out for a stroll. Modern historians have speculated that the bird in question may have mistaken the writer’s bald crown for a rock on which it intended to smash the tortoise’s shell.

To add an element of the supernatural, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote in his Naturalis Historia that Aeschylus had been staying outside due to a prophecy which predicted that he would be killed by a falling object! Surely, a great tragedian should have known that you can’t run away from your fate.^[1]

9 Cleopatra
30 BC

According to historical accounts, Cleopatra, the last active pharaoh of ancient Egypt, committed suicide in a particularly grisly fashion. She held a poisonous asp (a kind of snake) to her breast until it fatally bit her, injecting her with deadly venom.

But did this legendary suicide really happen?

Many have speculated that this version of events was merely a cover-up of the famously beautiful queen’s murder by her political opponents. Only 50 percent of asp venom is injected with a single bite, so she could have easily survived.

Meanwhile, two of Cleopatra’s maidservants were found dead alongside her, suggesting foul play. Maybe Octavian (later Augustus, the first emperor of ancient Rome) had her murdered to take over her empire?

History cannot tell us for sure.^[2]

8 Claudius
AD 54

Emperor Claudius is probably most famous for his conquest of Britain in AD 43 and for his central role in Robert Graves’s novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God, later turned into a TV serial for the BBC. Fewer people, however, know of his untimely death—poisoned by his own wife, who was also his niece.

According to Roman historian Suetonius, Claudius’s niece Agrippina, was desperate for Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (aka Nero), her son from a previous marriage, to ascend to the imperial throne. So she served Claudius a dish of poisoned mushrooms.

When this failed to finish him off, the power-hungry Agrippina fed him a poisoned gruel and finally administered a poisoned enema. Nero ascended to the throne and proved to be one of the cruelest rulers that Rome had ever known.^[3]

7 Caracalla
AD 217

More Roman emperors are known to have been assassinated (23) than to have died of natural causes (20). That’s not even taking into account those who may have been assassinated (8), were forced to commit suicide (5), or were executed (3). So it’s no surprise that another one makes this list.

Like so many other Roman statesmen, Caracalla had a hand in his fair share of murders before he was assassinated. According to his biographer, this emperor, who ruled alone from AD 211–217, was killed by his own bodyguard. It happened while Caracalla was urinating by the side of the road.

Don’t feel too sorry for him, though. Caracalla had previously ordered the murder of his own brother, Geta, who was stabbed to death in their mother’s arms.^[4]

6 Valerian
AD 260

Just one more Roman emperor dying horrifically? Go on then.

Valerian’s death was probably the most gruesome of all. After being captured by the Persian king Shapur I, Valerian was treated in humiliating fashion. Historian Lactantius described how the Roman emperor was used as a footstool for Shapur to mount his horse. Unsurprisingly, Valerian wasn’t pleased with this and offered the Persian a hefty sum of gold for his release.^[5]

Shapur, however, wasn’t having any of it. He expressed his disdain for the emperor’s offer by pouring molten gold down his throat before flaying him, stuffing his skin with straw, and hanging this trophy in his royal palace. It doesn’t get much rougher than that.

5 Ramses III
1155 BC

It wasn’t just Romans who could die in grisly fashion. The ancient Egyptians knew how to kill in style as well.

In the case of Pharaoh Ramses III, it all stemmed from a dispute over succession to the throne. Ramses’s son Prince Pentawere, who was not directly in line for the throne, is thought to have slit his father’s throat and cut off his big toe for good measure.^[6]

The body of Pentawere is thought to have been recently found by archaeologists. The contorted posture and pained expression of the corpse suggested to some a long, slow death by suffocation after being buried alive.

4 Hypatia Of Alexandria
AD 415

Hypatia was not a bad person—neither a murderer nor a schemer. She was merely caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was a brilliant mathematician and Neoplatonist philosopher when very few women were able to take part in intellectual pursuits. Unfortunately, Hypatia was also caught in a power struggle in fifth-century Alexandria.^[7]

Christian supporters of Bishop Cyril disapproved of Hypatia’s supposed closeness to Orestes, the governor of Alexandria, and showed this disapproval in the most graphic way possible. A mob of Christian zealots dragged Hypatia from her house, stripped her naked, beat her to death with roof tiles, and then set her corpse on fire.

3 Akhenaton’s Daughter
Approximately 1340 BC

Pharaoh Akhenaton was not a great example of kingship and is probably best known today as the father of Tutankhamen. He is thought by many historians to have fathered his own grandchildren after sleeping with his daughter, but even that wasn’t messed up enough for Akhenaton.

Growing jealous of his daughter, he ordered her death after getting into an argument with her. History does not record the subject of their disagreement, but it must have been serious. The pharaoh went as far as cutting off the hand of his daughter’s corpse so that they wouldn’t cross paths in the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul could not reach the afterlife if the body was not intact.^[8]

2 The 5th Earl Of Carnarvon
AD 1923

Okay, so this isn’t technically a death in the ancient world, but it still has a surprising and spooky link to ancient Egypt. Lord Carnarvon was the financial backer of the 1922 expedition which recovered the treasure from the tomb of King Tut—and just one of the several expedition members to be struck down by the “mummy’s curse.”

When King Tutankhamen’s tomb was excavated, the ominous inscription “Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the King” was found near the doorway. Sure enough, four months and three days after the tomb was opened, the earl died of an infected mosquito bite.

Must be a coincidence, you say? Well, maybe. But when Tutankhamen’s mummy was unwrapped, a strange mark was found on his left cheek, exactly matching the spot of the mosquito bite on Lord Carnarvon’s cheek, which proved to be his death warrant.^[9]

1 Old Croghan Man
Sometime Between 362 And 175 BC

Human sacrifice was common in the ancient Celtic kingdoms of Ireland and was just as violent as anything dreamed up by the most depraved pharaoh or Roman emperor. The unidentified body of “Old Croghan Man” was found in County Offaly in 2003 and bears clear signs of a gruesome death.

According to forensic analysis, the unfortunate nobleman had holes cut in his upper arms through which ropes were passed to restrain him. Then he was stabbed, cut in half, and had his nipples cut off.

Why the nipples, you ask?

Well, in pre-Christian Ireland, prisoners and defeated enemies would suck on the nipples of the king as a gesture of submission. Cutting off Old Croghan Man’s nipples ensured that he could never again rule as king—in this life or the next.^[10]

I am a recently graduated student of English Literature from SE London. Twitter: @Connolly

We consider the modern times to be advanced in every way. However, we forget that a lot of very awesome things have been discovered or invented that were, for one reason or another, lost to the winds of time.

Some of them weren’t just good for their own time. They also rival anything we have today. Here are 10 surprisingly awesome things from history that we somehow lost.

10 Wootz Steel

Damascus swords are quite famous for their quality and craftsmanship, though they are only one of the things made from a lost, ancient material called wootz steel. Once shipped from India across the entire world for its high quality, wootz steel is said to be the best steel ever made, even by today’s standards. Weapons made from it were the finest.

While Damascus swords were successfully replicated by modern techniques, they’re still not really true Damascus weapons if they aren’t made from wootz, which was lost at some point. We know quite a lot about the composition of the metal and other details, though we haven’t been able to replicate it even with modern methods. It remains one of the best inventions we somehow managed to lose.^[1]

9 Sutro Baths

Imagine the best swimming pool you have visited, and then consider that Sutro Baths in California had at least seven of them. Aside from being a wonder of the recreational world, it was also the biggest indoor swimming pool facility at the time with seven pools of varying temperatures, various types of slides, a high-diving spot, and a capacity of a whopping 10,000 people at a time. (Today, it would still be the biggest facility in the USA.)

Unfortunately, the pool hit on hard times during the Great Depression. Even when they tried to renovate it with a whole new ice rink, it never really regained its lost glory.^[2]

8 Iron Pillar Of Delhi

While the world was making other advances, India was strangely fixated on perfecting metals. One of the longest-standing mysteries for metallurgy scientists as well as casual enthusiasts has been the iron pillar of Delhi. Seemingly a normal iron pillar in the middle of archaeological ruins, its very existence has baffled scientists ever since they’ve seen it.

It doesn’t rust at all, which isn’t just peculiar for an iron pillar from the fourth century BC but for all iron pillars in general. We still don’t have the technology available to make iron like that, even though we can make new materials that don’t rust.

Studies have suggested that the iron pillar may be coated with a film that protects it from rust. However, some have also noted that it may just be the high amount of phosphorous chosen for the design that gives it corrosion resistance. All in all, everyone is guessing here as its construction technique was never recorded.^[3]

7 New York Hippodrome

These days, a lot of venues could vie for the position of the greatest theater in New York City. However, for those who were alive during its time, the Hippodrome Theater always unanimously held that title.

Meant for the masses instead of the upscale Broadway theatergoers, the Hippodrome had a seating capacity of 5,200 with a stage about 10 times bigger than a normal Broadway stage. It was so popular that it inspired many other Hippodromes across the country that are still operational. But nothing beats the original.

Unfortunately, the mighty Hippodrome proved to be too big to sustain itself. Due to production costs becoming too high and the Great Depression causing an overall slowdown, the Hippodrome was demolished in 1939.^[4]

6 Mirror Burner

Everyone who has tried to make a piece of paper catch fire with a magnifying glass knows that this stuff should definitely be made into weapons, but no one has ever been crazy enough to pull it off. Well, no one except Archimedes, whose infamous death ray was nothing but a bunch of mirrors pointed at Roman ships during the siege of Syracuse. It was like a magnified magnifying glass, if you will.^[5]

While Roman and Greek historians definitely mention the device used in that naval siege, we’re not quite sure why the designs were never preserved to reproduce it. Through experiments of their own, a team of MIT researchers as well as a Greek engineer back in 1973 have proved that the death ray would work. However, we know that it still wouldn’t be the same as what Archimedes built millennia ago.

5 Guaira Falls

Now we’re no stranger to awesome waterfalls. The whole world is littered with a variety of them, and many are popular tourist attractions. But Guaira Falls was especially magnificent as it once pumped the highest amount of water (about double the amount that goes through Niagara Falls) into seven enormous and violent sets of waterfalls on the Paraguay-Brazil border.

It was one of the natural wonders of South America. The water flow was so intense that its gushing could be heard as far as 32 kilometers (20 mi) away.^[6]

The falls were destroyed when the Itaipu Dam was built over them, which sounds like a good decision considering that the dam provides 75 percent of Paraguay’s electricity. Still, we lost one of the most awesome waterfalls in the process.

4 Universal Antidote

If we told you that a universal antidote exists for all kinds of known poisons, you’d probably ask us why we aren’t making bank selling it. For one, we don’t have the recipe anymore as it was lost a long time ago.

But more importantly, we’d have to be as paranoid about getting assassinated with poison as King Mithridates VI of Pontus. He had a reason to be paranoid, too, as he was one of ancient Rome’s most powerful and despised enemies.

Famous for his expertise in toxins and chemicals, he made himself what reliable records say was a universal antidote with a bunch of ingredients. This kept him safe from all types of toxins and poisons.

Many scientists believe that he just had too much poison, which made him immune to the whole thing. But we know that his concoction worked on others as it was a widely accepted and reproduced drug in Roman and Greek antiquity. Also, we can find records from physicians and scholars talking about it at the time.

So we know that a universal antidote existed. But we have no idea when exactly in history we managed to lose such an important technological advancement.^[7]

3 Chacaltaya Glacier Ski Resort

Once the highest resorts in the world, the ski resort at Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia wasn’t just an awesome landmark that we lost. It was also one of the first casualties of climate change.

At 5,421 meters (17,785 ft) high, the resort hosted professional skiers from around the world with an unparalleled view of the surrounding mountains. Around 2009, however, the glacier was as good as gone and the resort had to finally shut down.^[8]

According to many studies conducted on the glacier during its time, the region saw an increase in temperature of 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 °F) in 1976 and 2006, which ultimately resulted in its disappearance.

2 Stradivarius Violins

Opinions on who makes the best musical instruments vary among musicians depending on the instrument and what you mean by “best.” Different instruments are good for different uses, and it’s difficult to identify the best makers in the world.

That’s not true for violins, though. It’s a unanimously and scientifically accepted fact that the best violins are those made by Antonio Stradivari, an Italian luthier in 17th- and 18th-century Italy. No one has been able to replicate or even understand the production process behind Stradivarius violins. The ones we have left are in private collections, sold for ridiculous sums of money.^[9]

Some scientists hypothesize that the wood used by Stradivarius was special due to the mini ice age in Europe at the time, which is why they’re so superior to any other violins. Again, we may never know the exact reason behind their superiority, which was a closely guarded family secret.

1 Advanced Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable farming is all the rage these days and for good reason. Many of our farming practices leave a devastating impact on the environment, though it’s still expensive and time-consuming to do it in a 100 percent green manner. If only we had figured out how to grow stuff and not ruin the environment in the process some time in our history.^[10]

The thing is, we did. The Aztecs had uniquely engineered farms called chinampas (aka the floating gardens). Due to being built on mountain slopes with an elaborate drainage system, the farms never flooded and always retained water without any supervision.

The Aztecs also planted willows along the periphery which would eventually grow enough roots to protect the soil from erosion as well. The systems went out of use once the area started being colonized as the Spanish didn’t understand the Aztec systems and introduced their own farming methods to the region.

Despite science’s many attempts to fully understand how these terraces worked, we have never been able to replicate them.

Himanshu can be found shouting obscenities at strangers on Twitter or making amateur drawings on Instagram. He has written for Forbes, Cracked, Screen Rant, and Arre. Pay him money for writing stuff for you here: [email protected]