If we were told our names would be immortalized forever, most of us would probably cheer. Which proves most of us don’t know squat. For every figure who lends their name to something cool like a machine gun or ninja bear, there are plenty of others who get stuck as shorthand for terrible things.

10 Henry Shrapnel

The word “shrapnel,” referring to broken bits of shell, bomb, and bullet that maim civilians, is usually heard coming from the lips of shocked newsreaders. Few know that it comes from Henry Shrapnel. An officer in the British Army, Shrapnel was the guy who came up with the idea of using bits of excess metal in bombs to kill as many people as possible.

The year was 1784, and Shrapnel was a plucky 23-year-old soldier. At the time, troops were starting to fire random bits of metal from guns to increase casualties. Shrapnel was the first to realize that you could increase them even more by preloading those fragments into a bomb, lighting the fuse, and hurling it.

Although the specific meaning has drifted since then, the negative connotations haven’t. Not that Shrapnel cared. He received a lifetime stipend from the British Crown for his contributions to bloodshed.

9 Captain Lynch

Captain William Lynch was a man with a horrifying hobby. Nope, not stamp collecting. The captain was a man who believed in rough justice. And that meant one thing for the petty criminals and wrongly accused in his town. He and his “Lynch-men” would, well . . . lynch them.

Although the term today has connotations of racial violence, the original lynchings weren’t specifically targeted at black people. Lynch and his men felt the government was too remote to dispense justice on outlaws, so they launched their vigilante group to target them.

Unfortunately, their methods were less like Batman and more like the Punisher. Captain Lynch and his men tortured, strung up, and murdered so many strangers that his name became synonymous with one of the cruelest forms of mob rule in US history.

8 Thomas Bowdler

If you bowdlerize a book, you cut out all the juicy bits (the sex and death) and replace them with worse bits, ruining the book. This was something at which Thomas Bowdler excelled. In the late 18th century, the doctor, philanthropist, and prison reformer published a “polite” version of Shakespeare’s plays. His edited version was so bad that it made him a literary villain.

Bowdler had a tin ear and no gift for drama or character. In Hamlet, he rewrote Ophelia’s suicide (spoilers) so she accidentally drowned. In Henry IV, Part 2, he deleted the prostitute character of Doll Tearsheet. He turned exclamations of “God!” into “Heavens above!” He also expunged Othello entirely.

Bad as Bowdler was, others were worse. This trend culminated when an editor replaced the celebrated Tempest quote “Full fathom five thy father lies” with “Thy Daddy’s dead.”

7 Christopher Leyland

A former officer in the British Navy, Christopher Leyland retired in 1889 to dedicate himself to gardening. Until his death in 1926, his vast garden was his life. He built an arboretum, imported rare palms, kept a menagerie of deer, ostriches, and bears, and proved himself to be one of the greatest silviculturists in history.

Unfortunately, this talent would be his undoing. After crossing two strains of cypress fir, Leyland created one of the most reviled plants in Britain: the leylandii.

It’s hard to express just how much gardeners today hate the leylandii. The Oxford Biographical Dictionary has called it “an object of fear and loathing” and called Leyland’s name “a curse.” Collins’ Tree Guide has named it “the most hated tree in Britain.” Many now consider it less a plant than a pest and go out of their way to burn them down. For proud gardener Leyland, this would be the worst form of immortality imaginable.

6 Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin

You may have heard that the guillotine was named after its inventor, Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. What you may not know was that Guillotin didn’t invent the guillotine and was an anti–capital punishment humanitarian who spent the rest of his life pleading with the French government to name the guillotine after someone else.

Before the guillotine, beheadings were frequently botched. This upset Dr. Guillotin so much that he petitioned the French government to make a humane alternative. They eventually agreed and got a French doctor and a German harpsichord maker to come up with something to decapitate a criminal with a single blow. To Guillotin’s horror, they named their new device after him.

Within a year of the guillotine’s creation, it was being used in the Reign of Terror. Guillotin was so upset that he tried to get the device’s name changed, but no one would listen. As late as the dawn of the 20th century, his descendants were still petitioning the French government to rename the guillotine.

5 Nicolas Chauvin

Chauvinist is used today as a synonym for “sexist.” It suggests that the target is dim, superior, and, in its modern usage, antifeminist. All of which means that Nicolas Chauvin is likely turning in his grave. If he’d had his way, the word would mean “a loyal soldier.”

Chauvin was a soldier who fought fiercely for his ruler, Napoleon. In return for nothing, Chauvin went into the thick of the fighting, getting seriously wounded on nearly 20 occasions. Even in Napoleon’s darkest days, Chauvin stood by his side, ready to die for the emperor’s vision of what France could be.

After Napoleon got his butt handed to him by the British, such blind devotion fell out of fashion and Chauvin came to be seen as a relic. It was then that his name acquired its negative connotations, eventually metamorphosing into our modern insult.

4 Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Imagine waking up one morning to find your name has become a byword for hilarious sexual deviance. That’s exactly what happened to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. In 1883, Richard von Krafft-Ebing was looking for two new terms to classify sexual disorders. He named the first, sadism, after the Marquis de Sade. The second, masochism, was named after Sacher-Masoch.

The problem? The Marquis de Sade was long dead and couldn’t object. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, on the other hand, was still very much alive.

In 1870, Sacher-Masoch had published an erotic book called Venus in Furs, in which a man signs his life away to a woman who sexually tortures him. It was only one of about 15 novels that Sacher-Masoch had written. Yet it wound up being the one that defined him for life. Sacher-Masoch had to live with the shame of being the inspiration for masochism for 12 whole years until he finally died.

3 The Marquis de Sade

We mentioned above that the Marquis de Sade gave his name to sadism. The libertine writer was infamous long before then. In his own lifetime, de Sade’s novels—which feature murder, sexual violence, bestiality, pedophilia, incest, and necrophilia—had him jailed for over 30 years.

But de Sade was a publicity hound who would be pleased by his continuing notoriety. His family, on the other hand, was mortified by it. Thanks to this one black sheep, the Marquis’s descendants felt themselves unable to speak their family name or use their title for 200 years.

Unless your surname is “Hitler,” you probably can’t imagine what this felt like. The de Sades kept their name secret and didn’t even speak about the Marquis in their own homes. It wasn’t until 2014 that Elzear de Sade finally reclaimed the title of Marquis for the family, two centuries after his notorious ancestor had died.

2 Barbara And Kenneth Handler

Compared to having a sexual perversion named after you, the story of Barbara and Kenneth Handler doesn’t seem bad. The two were the inspiration for one of the most famous toy couples of all time: Barbie and Ken.

Unfortunately, this opened a Pandora’s box of Freudian nastiness. See, the real-life Barbie and Ken weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. They were brother and sister.

The dolls were invented by their parents, who named them after their kids as a tribute. Both children grew up to hate the association. Aside from most of the world thinking they were lovers instead of siblings, they claimed to hate what the dolls represented.

Barbara complained that Barbie was a bimbo airhead. Kenneth was annoyed at Ken’s squeaky clean, boring persona. Both children felt that the association with the dolls ruined their lives.

1 The Nazi Doctors

So far, this list has covered ordinary people who didn’t deserve to have their names immortalized as terrible things. But there’s another category: terrible people who didn’t deserve to have their names immortalized as ordinary things.

Such is the case with the Nazi doctors. Thanks to their medical experiments on Jews and others, many Nazi scientists discovered new medical conditions. Seventy years later, those conditions are still named after them.

Reiter’s syndrome, for example, is named after Hans Reiter, whose experiments killed over 250 at Buchenwald. The “Clara cell” comes from Max Clara, who used the bodies of Holocaust victims to get his samples. Wegener’s granulomatosis comes from Friedrich Wegner, who experimented on Jews in the Lodz ghetto. The list goes on and on.

Even when the Nazi connections were discovered, people kept using the names. Since 1977, there has been a campaign to rename Reiter’s syndrome “reactive arthritis.” As of 2012, less than half of all doctors had started using the new name.

Winston Churchill is a political hero, a Nobel Prize winner, and a man sure to be remembered for centuries as one of the greats.

Had the forces of Germany not risen up against Europe, Churchill might have become a man we remember a little differently. If you look past his witticisms and the war effort, you’re left with a man with deeply troubling views—who might not be the hero we imagine.

10 He Wanted To Let Gandhi Die

When Gandhi called for the independence of India, British soldiers arrested him in Bombay and threw him into prison. They ruled that his civil disobedience had become criminal, and they weren’t going to deal with him anymore.

Word got out, though, that Gandhi was considering a hunger strike—and the British had to decide what to do. If Gandhi starved to death in their custody, it would be a political nightmare, jeopardizing the British moral high ground.

Churchill, though, wasn’t concerned. He voted that they should simply let Gandhi “do as he likes” and starve himself to death if he wanted to.

Gandhi nearly did just that. He was ultimately released out of fear that he would die in a British prison. If Churchill had had his way, though, the story of Gandhi’s life would have ended in that cell.

9 He Let Millions Of Indians Starve To Death

When World War II broke out, the war effort needed resources. In a time of desperate need, supplies meant for India were requisitioned for other uses and India found itself deprived of some resources it relied on. According to some historians, that decision might have been one of the biggest factors that sparked the devastating Bengal famine of 1943.

When notified of the famine, Churchill responded, “Then why hasn’t Gandhi died yet?”

The famine, Churchill insisted, was India’s fault for “breeding like rabbits.” He refused requests to send food, both from India and from within his own government. “I hate Indians,” Churchill said. “They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”

By the end, the famine took three million lives, more than six times higher than Britain’s casualties in all of World War II.

8 He Supported Chemical Warfare Against ‘Uncivilised Tribes’

When Churchill was the Secretary of State for War, the Kurds were rebelling against British rule. Churchill had a major role in keeping them under England’s thumb.

Churchill’s plan to deal with the rebellion was to bombard the Kurds with chemical attacks. In his arsenal, he had gases that would make victims cough up blood and vomit uncontrollably, and he saw no reason not to use those weapons.

“I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes,” Churchill wrote in a letter that accused those who didn’t want to poison the Kurds of being “squeamish.”

Most evidence seems to suggest that he was shut down, and the Kurds were fought in conventional ways. There are, however, some unproven claims that chemical weapons were deployed and that Churchill was able to take care of the “uncivilised tribes” just the way he wanted.

7 He Blamed The Rise Of The USSR On Jews

Churchill wrote an article called “Zionism Versus Bolshevism” in 1920, intent on comparing the differences between “good and bad Jews.” In part, he argued for the return of “good” Jews to Israel. But the other part about “bad Jews” reeked of crazy anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

First, Churchill blamed Jews for the Soviet Union: “There is no need to exaggerate the part played in the creation of Bolshevism by Jews.” Churchill went on to accuse Jews of being the root of other problems throughout history. For example, he wrote that Jews had an “evil prominence” when socialist Bela Kun ruled Hungary.

He even complained about the influence of Jews in Germany. Jews, he claimed, had been “allowed to prey upon the temporary prostration of the German people”—a complaint that sounds disturbingly familiar when seen through the lens of what the next few decades brought to Germany’s Jews.

6 He Supported Eugenics

As a young man, Churchill proudly declared, “The improvement of the British breed is my aim in life.” This wasn’t a statement about his desire to expand territory or improve social policies. He was talking about eugenics.

Churchill was a strong supporter of sterilizing what he called “the unfit” to cut them out of the gene pool. He wrote that the mentally handicapped and unwell “constitute a national and race danger which is impossible to exaggerate.”

In 1907, he supported a recommendation to sterilize the mentally handicapped—and he didn’t stop there. There are countless letters from Churchill in which he asked for recommendations on the best ways to keep unfit people from breeding.

5 He Believed In Racial Hierarchies

Churchill viewed the world as a hierarchy of races. Whites, he believed, were on top as the best of all races. Somewhere below them were Indians, and somewhere near the bottom were Africans. It was a worldview that infected all his dealings with India and the British colonies. It also led him to believe that some truly terrible things were justifiable.

For example, Churchill expressed that the genocide of the indigenous people of America and Australia was not “a great wrong.”

“I do not admit,” he said, “that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that [whites], a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, [have] come in and taken their place.”

4 He Wanted To Use ‘Keep England White’ As A Slogan

In his later years, Churchill focused on keeping black-skinned immigrants from the West Indies out of England. In fact, he took it so seriously that he suggested changing his campaign slogan to “Keep England White” in his last days of power.

He had a history of making comments that were less than sensitive to other races, especially toward black people. When he received word that a black colonial official was refused service at a restaurant, for example, Churchill quipped that the man should bring a banjo so that they would “think he’s one of the band.”

When he heard that the measles were creating a high mortality rate for black people, Churchill again responded with a quip. “Well, there are plenty left,” he joked. “They’ve got a high rate of reproduction.”

3 He Covered Up The Katyn Massacre

In 1940, the Soviet army committed a mass execution of Polish nationals. The dead bodies were buried in mass graves, and the Soviets did everything they could to keep anyone from finding out.

They got a little help, though, from Winston Churchill. When rumors of the massacre spread to him, he suggested letting the matter drop. “If they are dead,” he said, “nothing you can do will bring them back.”

This was a time of war, and Churchill needed Soviet support. Also, if word got out that his allies had unnecessarily massacred thousands, the foundation of his moral high ground would crack and weaken.

He swore a promise of silence to the Soviet ambassador. “We shall certainly oppose vigorously any investigation by the International Red Cross,” Churchill said, sealing a deal to keep the mass murder under wraps.

2 He Planned A Surprise Attack On The Soviets

Churchill didn’t like the Soviets or Stalin. When their armies moved through Europe and into Berlin, Churchill thought the best thing to do was to surprise them—by completely switching sides.

Churchill suggested allying with the remaining German army to launch a surprise attack against the Soviets. If it had been carried out, his plan would have been one of the strangest alliance shifts in history. It appropriately took the name “Operation Unthinkable.”

As much of a threat as the Soviets were, few agreed with Churchill’s plan. He was accused by the Chief of the Army of simply “longing for another war.” The United States also made it clear that they would have no part in the plan. All projections saw a complete loss for Britain if they tried it—and so Churchill’s unthinkable plan never went into motion.

1 He Said That Britain ‘Should Find A Hitler’

In November 1938, Hitler had already started to exert his influence to increase the German territory and had mounted pressure on Czechoslovakia and Spain. Jews had been expelled from the country, and Jewish businesses were burned to the ground.

In an open letter to Hitler, Churchill called on Hitler to quell his military ambitions, responding to the signs that he was planning to declare war on the nations of Europe.

As to the rest of Hitler’s worldview, Churchill gave a surprising ring of support. “I have always said,” he wrote, “that if Great Britain were defeated in war, I hoped we should find a Hitler to lead us back to our rightful position among the nations.”

Hitler’s military ambitions were a problem for England. But his social policies, Churchill felt, were understandable—and even something to be admired.

+ Further Reading

Well it is politics season so you can forgive us for publishing more on the subject . . . but at list this has a historical slant! Anyway, here is some more great stuff from the archives:

10 Surprising Stories About Winston Churchill
10 Scandalous Facts About Historical Figures
10 Geniuses Who Owe Their Inspiration To Drugs
10 Political Candidates No One Thought Would Win

When the topic turns to terrible television series, we often find ourselves walking a tightrope of wet tissue. Some would argue for Cop Rock (1990), Steven Bochco’s musical police drama.

Others contend that the undisputed winner is The Flying Nun (1967–1970), which featured diminutive Sally Field as Sister Bertrille in a Puerto Rican convent. Thanks to brisk island winds and her starched cornette, she defied the laws of aerodynamics.

See Also: 10 Failed TV Shows That No One Should Have Approved

But certain shows are light-years beyond the average syndicated coprolite produced by the world of television. In fact, their horrendous quality approaches the sublime.

10 Heil Honey, I’m Home!
1990

Purporting to be a recently rediscovered “lost sitcom” from the 1950s, this British series was an effort by writer and producer Geoff Atkinson to parody American sitcoms “that would embrace any idea, no matter how stupid.” Atkinson captured the dullness of his intended target right down to the inane theme music and obligatory applause greeting every character’s entrance.

The premise of the series, set in 1937, has Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun as a typical suburban couple living in Berlin. Much of the comic misadventure arises from their next-door Jewish neighbors, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein.^[1]

However, the Holocaust and the estimated 70–85 million total deaths from World War II proved tough material for punch lines. This horribly inappropriate sitcom was canceled after one episode.

9 You’re in the Picture
1961

Jackie Gleason (1916–1987) was an extraordinary talent, as shown in his classic TV sitcom The Honeymooners and his performances in memorable films like The Hustler (1961), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), and Soldier in the Rain (1963).

However, no career of any longevity can escape the scarring of a major debacle. For Gleason, it came on the game show You’re in the Picture.

The format of the show involved a panel of four celebrities inserting their heads into holes cut out in life-size pictures depicting well-known song titles, historical events, or popular expressions. Unable to see the illustrations, the panel would try to guess the content of the pictures based on questions directed at Gleason.

Part of the problem was the illustrations themselves. While one tableau depicted the popular song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” another represented “The Burlesque Beef Trust Girls,” a vaudevillian chorus line of beautiful women. That last one left the celebrities and home viewers scratching their heads.

Still, the major problem was Gleason. For all his talent, he lacked the folksy demeanor of Garry Moore or the comic sensibilities of Groucho Marx. Critics roasted the debut episode unmercifully, with Cecil Smith of the Los Angeles Times calling it “an insult to the audience.”^[2]

The criticism was not lost on Gleason. Those who tuned in for the second episode found Gleason sitting on a bare stage where he spoke directly to the camera:

There’s nothing here, except the orchestra and myself. [ . . . ] We have a creed tonight, and the creed is honesty. [ . . . ] Last week, we did a show that laid the biggest bomb—it would make the H-bomb look like a two-inch salute.

According to Time magazine, You’re in the Picture proved that the 1960–61 season was the “worst in the 13-year history of U.S. network television.” In 2002, TV Guide “honored” You’re in the Picture with the number 9 ranking on its list of the “50 Worst TV Shows of All Time.”

8 The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
1998

Efforts by American television executives to refashion successful British series for U.S. audiences have produced some spectacular successes. However, UPN’s The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, although inspired by BBC’s Blackadder the Third, managed to provide viewers with a first-class window seat on the Hindenburg.

Through a series of misadventures, Pfeiffer (Chi McBride), a black British aristocrat, finds himself employed as Abraham Lincoln’s manservant. However, Lincoln and the members of his cabinet are such twits that they couldn’t win a game of checkers if they were playing against a dead hamster. So the business of beating the South, saving the Union, and ending slavery is left to Pfeiffer.^[3]

Even before the show aired, the network drew criticism for trivializing the issue of slavery. Protests organized by the NAACP were held in front of Paramount Studios.

For the show’s creators, Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan, the issue wasn’t race. Instead, it was sex and politics with an eye toward Bill Clinton’s presidency, then in his second term.

The result was scenes like the one in which Pfeiffer chides Lincoln for “acting no better than a horny hillbilly from Arkansas” when Pfeiffer discovers the “Great Emancipator” trying to meet strange women for “telegraph sex.” The episode was titled “A.O.L.: Abe On-Line,” a sly reference to the sex opportunities on the Internet.

UPN both debuted and dropped the series in October 1998. In 2002, TV Guide ranked The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer as the 11th-worst TV series ever.

7 Casablanca
1955

Adapting cinematic blockbusters for television audiences seems a surefire way for producers and networks to hedge their bets in the battle for market share. However, except for rare successes like M*A*S*H (1972–1983) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), it usually doesn’t work out well.

Case in point: the two attempts at repackaging the 1942 film classic Casablanca for American TV sets. The first undertaking was an effort by Warner Bros. Studios to gain a foothold in the “new” medium of television.

During the 1955–56 season, the studio broadcast three different series in rotation under the heading of Warner Bros. Presents. The concept was dubbed a “wheel program.” Two series were based on films produced by the studio—Kings Row and Casablanca.

In the 1955 Casablanca TV series, the role of “Rick,” played by Humphrey Bogart in the film, nearly went to a rising young star named Anthony Quinn. But the studio refused his salary demands. Instead, “Rick” was played by Charles McGraw, who is best remembered today as the contrarian fisherman in the diner from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963).

Returning to Casablanca, the decision was made to “update” the action to set it in the “present day” of the 1950s. As a result, the ruthless Nazis of World War II became the ruthless communists of the Cold War.^[4]

Casablanca (1955) was canceled after its first season.

6 Casablanca
1983

It took almost 30 years for Warner’s second attempt at relocating Rick’s Cafe Americain to TV screens in the United States. The second series returned the action to the early days of World War II, and this time, care was taken in the casting.

The role of Captain Renault was ably filled by Hector Elizondo, Ray Liotta tended the bar as Sacha, and Scatman Crothers played the piano as Sam. David Soul, who had become a TV icon in Starsky and Hutch, was cast as the brooding Rick.

Still, the NBC series never succeeded in freeing itself from the shadow of the original movie, and the show was pulled after three episodes. The last two unaired episodes were burned off during the summer.^[5]

5 Manimal
1983

Manimal featured Simon MacCorkindale as crime-fighting New York University Professor Jonathan Chase. Remarkably, the mysterious Chase could change himself into any animal.

Due to budget constraints in the eight episodes that aired before the series’s cancellation, Chase’s shape-shifting was limited mainly to a sizable black panther.^[6]

Considered one of the worst science fiction shows of all time, Manimal had the dubious honor in 2004 of being ranked by the British trade magazine Broadcast as the fifth-worst television program ever exported by the U.S. to the UK. It was beaten out by Baywatch, The Anna Nicole Show, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Wild Palms.

Despite its infamy, or perhaps because of it, there have been persistent rumors of Manimal receiving the big-screen treatment as a possible Will Ferrell project.

4 My Mother the Car
1965–66

1965 saw the premiere of some of television’s best-remembered and most far-fetched series: Hogan’s Heroes (1965–1971), O.K. Crackerby! (1965–66), The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1965–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970), Green Acres (1965–1971), and F Troop (1965–67).

The NBC series My Mother the Car fit right in. When attorney David Crabtree (portrayed by Jerry Van Dyke, Dick’s brother) goes shopping for the family’s second car, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to a dilapidated “1928 Porter” touring car.

After purchasing the aged jalopy and driving it home, he is thrown into a stammering, wide-eyed fluster when the antique auto begins speaking to him via its dashboard radio. The Porter turns out to be the reincarnation of Crabtree’s deceased mother, Gladys. And that was pretty much the comedic benchmark for the show.^[7]

Car enthusiasts were quick to point out that Van Dyke’s four-wheeled costar, for which Ann Sothern provided the voice, was actually a Model T touring car.

The sitcom took a detour to cancellation after a single season.

3 Cavemen
2007

We are used to seeing Hollywood pictures revamped and rebooted for the small screen as TV series. These programs are interrupted by commercials filled with slogans and mascots pitching their products and services to the American consumer. Occasionally the characters in these commercials trade their humble 30-seconds for an expansive 30-minute sitcom.

This was the journey taken by the cavemen made famous in a series of commercials for GEICO insurance, which gave rise to the series Cavemen. The cavemen were first introduced in a 2004 commercial which claimed that Geico’s website was so easy to use, “a caveman could do it.” The success of that 15-second spot spurred GEICO to air additional commercials featuring two cavemen who took offense at GEiCO’s slogan. The commercials were so popular that the ad agency pitched the idea for a sitcom.^[8]

Set in San Diego, Cavemen showcases the lives of three—you got it— cavemen: Joel (Bill English), Nick (Nick Kroll), and Andy (Sam Huntington). Living among homo sapiens for the first time, they face racial prejudice and pressure from the rest of society. Even though they are ordinary guys with regular jobs and girlfriend troubles, their comments about and efforts to experience the modern world fall short, leaving behind few laughs and further cemented stereotypes.

ABC canceled the series after only six episodes.

2 The Hathaways
1961–62

Walter Hathaway (Jack Weston) and his wife, Elinore (Peggy Cass), help out family friend and theatrical agent Jerry Roper (Harvey Lembeck) with an unusual problem. Soon to be off on an overseas tour, Jerry needs to find a home for his “kids.”

So, Walter and Elinore eagerly sign on as foster parents to Candy, Charlie, and Enoch. The fact that these children are chimpanzees doesn’t seem to matter in the least.

The ABC series only lasted one season.^[9] But it began a long tradition of orangutans, chimps, and monkeys on television, including Daktari (1966–69), Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp (1970–71), Me and the Chimp (1972), B.J. and the Bear (1978–1981), and Mr. Smith (1983).

1 Star Wars Holiday Special
1978

Directed by Steve Binder, the Star Wars Holiday Special is the tale of Chewbacca and Han Solo trying to return to Chewbacca’s homeworld, Kashyyyk, in time to celebrate “Life Day” (their version of Christmas). In this universe of schmaltz, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher find themselves in the same galaxy as Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, Bea Arthur, and Harvey Korman.

For the first time, we meet Chewbacca’s wife, Malla; his son, Lumpy; and his aged father, Itchy, back on Kashyyyk. Some of the original Star Wars characters are seen in archival footage of the movie. But it is the injection of the veteran television personalities that adds a surreal gloss to the whole enterprise.

It starts when Saun Dann (Carney), a family friend, arrives with Life Day gifts in hand. Itchy receives a computer disc that offers a performance by Diahann Carroll singing “This Minute Now.”

Other weirdness follows, including Korman as a four-armed alien cook. There are additional musical interludes, including a music video by Jefferson Starship. The special concludes with Chewbacca back in the arms of his loved ones as Princess Leia (Fisher) gives a short speech on the meaning of Life Day. It ends with her singing a celebratory song.

The special was called “the worst two hours of television ever” by David Hofstede, author of What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. George Lucas denied any involvement with it.^[10]

Some of the following experiments are horrifying because of how doctors use fellow human beings as guinea pigs. Some of them are horrifying because of what they say about us as a species. In fact, a few of these experiments were even used as a justification by the Nazi doctors during their trials at Nuremburg.

10Measuring A Dying Man’s Fear

John Deering was a convicted criminal, having killed someone during a robbery, and he was sentenced to face the firing squad in 1932. Approached by doctors just before his death, he agreed to take part in a novel experiment. Electrodes would be hooked up to him, and researchers would determine exactly when his heart stopped.

The heart stopped 15.6 seconds after he was shot. He wasn’t pronounced dead until 150 seconds later.

However, the experiment also investigated something else. In addition to detecting when the heart stopped, the electrocardiogram measured the rate at which it beat, and the researchers used this data to extrapolate how scared Deering felt as he died. Immediately before the execution, the heart pounded at a very high 120 beats per minute. When the sheriff called “fire,” the pulse shot up to 180 beats per minute.

Deering had kept a calm exterior during the execution, but newspapers gleefully reported on the experiment by declaring: “You can’t be brave facing death!”

9Vanderbilt University’s Radioactive Iron

In 1945, researchers at Vanderbilt University set up a study to find out the rate of iron absorption in pregnant woman. Their preferred method of measurement was radioactive iron.

Researchers gave pills to 829 anemic women without telling them they were consuming something radioactive. Thanks to the pills, the women received radiation levels 30 times higher than normal exposure.

The study had a secondary objective: to observe the long-term effects of radiation on children. The experiment likely caused the deaths of three children: an 11-year-old girl and two boys, ages 11 and 5.

Vanderbilt ended up the subject of a lawsuit at the behest of the mothers of the dead children, a lawsuit that they settled for over $10 million.

8The Boston Project

In 1953, Dr. William Sweet, in conjunction with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, conducted several radioactive injection experiments on terminally ill cancer patients. As with the Vanderbilt experiment, the purpose of the uranium injections was twofold: to study the effects of ingested uranium on the human body and to see if the radioactive material would have any effect on the patients’ tumors. As part of a deal with the government, Sweet agreed to turn over the patients’ corpses to the government for further research on radioactivity.

None of the patients showed any signs of recovery. Many died quickly. In addition, it appears that no patients consented to the experiment.

7Bacteria Testing In San Francisco

In 1950, fears of biological warfare with the Soviets inspired American officials to test the viability of an offshore attack. The experiment consisted of a single vessel located a few miles away from San Francisco, loaded up with a bacteria known as Serratia marcescens. The bacteria produced bright red colonies on soil or water samples, making it ideal for tracking purposes.

The researchers believed that the bacteria was completely safe for humans. In reality, it caused various respiratory and urinary tract infections. Doctors in the area observed such an increase in pneumonia and UTI cases that Stanford wrote an article about it for a medical journal. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were exposed to potentially deadly bacteria.

The worst part is that the experiment was completely unnecessary. Similar tests could have been done in a deserted area and in smaller quantities. The only thing the experiment proved was that San Francisco was indeed vulnerable to biological attack.

6 Puppy Obedience Experiments

In Stanley Milgram’s infamous experiments, participants were told to deliver electric shocks to victims, and actors pretended that they really were receiving shocks. Charles Sheridan and Richard King’s variation added a twist: The victim was not faking the cries of pain. Also, the victim was a puppy.

The two men felt that perhaps Milgram’s subjects realized that their victims were faking reactions, which would explain why the subjects so readily delivered shocks when asked to. Determined to remove that possibility, Sheridan and King recreated the experiment with a puppy who actually received electric shocks.

The volunteers were told that the puppies were conditioned to pose a certain way when prompted by a light. If they stood incorrectly, the volunteers were to throw a switch, giving the puppy an increasingly strong electric shock.

Over half of male participants, though distraught, obeyed to the fullest extent. Even more surprising, every single woman fully obeyed, some of them crying the entire time.

5The Broken Toy Experiment

Researchers at the University of Iowa gave toddlers toys, instructing them not to break them. The researchers had secretly rigged the toys to break in a matter of seconds, subjecting the children to an immediate flood of guilt.

As soon as the toy shattered, the researchers gave a brief “oh, my” to express their disappointment. They then carefully watched the toddlers for reactions, verbal or non-verbal.

Once a minute passed, the researchers left the room with the broken toy and returned shortly with an identical non-broken toy, assuring the child that they were faultless in the toy’s breaking. However, like any study involving children, this raises a number of issues about informed consent. (Various parents whose children participated in the study claim that there have been no adverse effects.)

4Chester M. Southam’s Cancer Experiments

Chester M. Southam was a well-known cancer researcher in the 1960s, working diligently to study the immune system’s effect on tumors. He wanted to study whether a person already weakened by a different disease would be able to fight off cancer cells. To test this theory, he needed people on which to experiment, and he found them at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital in New York City. Convincing the medical director of the potential benefits, Southam was allowed to inject 22 people with foreign, live cancer cells to study the effects.

This was nontherapeutic experimentation performed on elderly, terminal patients, so Southam didn’t even get consent. He convinced the medical director that it was common practice not to. (Some were informed that they were to be part of an experiment but were not told the details.) In addition, some of the patients’ doctors told Southam that they didn’t want their patients to be a part of Southam’s experiment, but he used them anyway.

In the end, Southam was censured and put on a year’s probation. The experiment also brought the idea of informed consent back to the forefront of the American medical discussion.

3The Visual Cliff Experiment

The visual cliff experiment was thought up by two Cornell University researchers, Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk. A strong glass pane was placed on a table, with one end extending some distance off the tabletop. A checkered tablecloth covered the table, but below the rest of the glass, the distant floor was visible.

Gibson and Walk used this setup to discover whether depth perception was innate in various animals. If an animal avoided walking on glass beyond the table, it could perceive depth visually. They experimented on rats raised in complete darkness and found that the rodents could indeed perceive depth. So they next moved on to human babies.

The babies were made to crawl over the glass. The researchers placed the mothers at the end of the glass, having them call out to their offspring. To get to their mothers, the babies had to crawl across the glass, apparently over a sheer drop. Some babies did seem hesitant to move, implying that they were able to perceive depth—and implying that the experimenters had successfully inspired fear in them.

2Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study

One of several human experiments undertaken to further the US effort in World War II, the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria study was designed to test experimental malaria drugs. To find subjects, the government turned to prisons and contracted hundreds of prisoners to become guinea pigs. Even though the men were all sane, mentally capable, and told of the specifics of the experiment, whether or not prisoners can actively consent remains debatable.

No one died due to the experiment, and many prisoners who took part in the study received generous compensation. Most also received reduced sentences for their patriotic service. However, nearly every man who was bitten by an infected mosquito contracted the disease

1Robert Heath’s Electric Sex Stimulation

In 1970, Tulane University ‘s Dr. Robert Heath turned to deep brain stimulation to treat something that he saw as a problem: homosexuality.

A 24-year-old gay man (“B-19”) suffering from paranoia and depression was chosen as the candidate. Stimulation of the brain’s septal region is associated with pleasure. So Dr. Heath inserted electrodes under the man’s skull and shocked his brain. The man did indeed report extreme pleasure. Offered next the ability to shock himself, the man—a suicidal addict—did so thousands of times, in sessions that lasted hours.

Shortly after, Heath monitored the man’s brain activity while B-19 masturbated to heterosexual pornography. The subject successfully orgasmed.

The final part of the experiment consisted of the patient having sex with a female prostitute that Heath had hired. The doctor continually shocked his brain during this process. B-19 didn’t seem interested in the woman, sitting still for over an hour, until she approached him and initiated intercourse.

In a follow-up interview a year later, the patient stated that he had been regularly having sex with both men and women. Deeming the experiment partially successful, Heath moved on to other fields of research, never again attempting to cure homosexuality.

Social media is incredibly divisive. Most people agree that it’s marvelous at connecting us, but there is a strong movement toward reducing the time we spend online. (The coronavirus quarantines and social distancing guidelines are an exception, of course.)

The Internet can definitely have an unfavorable impact on some aspects of our lives, making us unhappy occasionally. However, the negative repercussions of social media can also be grave enough to be linked to fatalities.

These stories are cautionary tales of 10 deaths directly linked to social medial and the Internet.

10 Creepy Things Social Media Does To Control Your Mind

10 Influencer’s Birthday Pool Party Drownings

Earlier this year, the death of three Russians at a birthday pool party was announced on Instagram, creating a frenzy on the Internet. The beginning of the story does not sound that unusual—until you realize that about 25 kilograms (55 lb) of dry ice were dumped into the pool.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Yekaterina Didenko, the birthday girl and influencer, tearfully recounted the devastating event to her over one million followers. Russian news media and some bloggers criticized her for trying to capitalize on it.

At the party, several people were choking and passing out after jumping into the pool containing dry ice. Despite its name, dry ice is actually solid carbon dioxide (the gas we exhale when we breathe out) that is frozen at a temperature of -78 degrees Celsius (-109 °F).

As dry ice doesn’t melt—it goes from solid to gaseous at room temperature—people use it for party tricks and cool effects. This process, called “sublimation,” gives CO₂ its “smoky” qualities.

When dry ice melts in confined spaces, it turns into carbon dioxide gas, a potentially harmful substance. Carbon dioxide can cause breathing difficulties and asphyxiation, which was the reason for the party guests’ deaths.^[1]

9 Choking Challenge
The Internet’s Most Dangerous Craze

The “choking game” (aka “fainting game”) is the act of intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain, causing the person to pass out. Children and teenagers take the challenge mostly due to curiosity (allegedly, it induces euphoria) and peer pressure.

This incredibly dangerous and irresponsible activity has been around since long before the Internet existed. (In fact, the first death was reported in 1995.) Even though the Internet cannot be blamed for the creation of the choking game, it can be credited for its resurgence.

Social media viral challenges are a huge deal for young people. Usually, when a teenager sees someone his age doing something thrilling on the Internet, he´ll try to replicate it. That’s the purpose of these challenges, which range from the ridiculous to the horrifying.

The choking game has made several comebacks over the years due to social media challenges. In 2006, a year after YouTube was created, 35 deaths were caused by the choking game. In 2019, teenager Mason Bogard died while attempting the challenge.^[2]

8 Deadliest Selfies Part I
Model Falls Off A Cliff

People will do anything for a selfie. If you don’t believe that, just do a quick search on “selfie-related deaths.” Madalyn Davis was not the first and won’t be the last casualty caused by the search for a great picture.

Davis, a makeup artist and social media influencer, was an expert in eyelash styling and had thousands of followers across different platforms. She was vacationing in Australia when the tragedy occurred.

Davis fell off a cliff in Diamond Bay Reserve in Sydney while trying to take a risky photo. Police and paramedics launched an air and water search with the assistance of the Marine Area Command. Unfortunately, the body of the British model was found in the water about four hours later. She had died on impact from head injuries.^[3]

7 Facebook Unfriending Culminates In A Double Homicide

Have you ever been “unfriended” on Facebook?

It’s not a nice feeling. But normal people get over it in a couple of hours. Thirty-one-year-old Jenelle Potter did not have a typical reaction. Instead, she decided that murder was the sensible response.

This story deserves a list of its own as it involves jealousy, the CIA, and a double homicide. Here’s the short version: After allegedly being cyberbullied by a couple of her former friends, Jenelle convinced her parents to shoot them.

The crime happened in 2012. Janelle’s father claimed that he acted according to his own impulses. However, the prosecutor of the case believed that Jenelle had manipulated her parents with a catfishing scheme.

Allegedly, Jenelle used social media to deceive her parents into killing her former friends. She created a fake profile of a CIA agent. The “agent” sent messages saying that Jenelle’s life was in danger.^[4]

6 Woman Lynched By A Mob In Brazil Over An Internet Rumor

Spreading rumors is a nasty thing to do. Although the practice was not invented online, it has certainly been exacerbated by the Internet. In the old days, the impact of a rumor was limited to small groups of people. Usually, the worst-case scenario was getting a raunchy reputation in your school. However, rumors gain a whole new dimension with the Internet’s reach and propensity to distort reality.

In 2014, Fabiane Maria de Jesus, a mother of two, was identified by a local Facebook page as a criminal accused of kidnapping children and sacrificing them in satanic rituals. The origin of the misunderstanding was supposedly a police sketch that vaguely resembled a picture of her.

The Brazilian woman was dragged through the streets by a mob of people and beaten to death. When six of the miscreants were arrested, a protest broke out at the police station. People screamed, “Do you want to arrest everybody? It’s everybody’s fault! It’s nobody’s fault! It’s the Internet’s fault!”^[5]

9 Sinister Facts About The Dark Side Of Instagram

5 Teenager Is Cyberbullied Until He Commits Suicide

The earliest deaths attributed to the Internet are related to cyberbullying-induced suicide, which is made much worse by social media. As a society, we now take bullying more seriously due to the long-lasting effects on the victims.

It can be difficult to put an end to bullying in schools, but it is even harder to stop it on the Internet. One of the most notorious cases is the suicide of 13-year-old Ryan Halligan. He was relentlessly cyberbullied by other kids on Myspace due to a rumor that he was gay.

At one point, a girl pretended to like him, only to later publicly humiliate the boy for believing in her affection. Ryan told her: “It is girls like you that make me want to kill myself.”

Ryan hanged himself in 2003. His lifeless body was found by his sister.^[6]

4 Deadliest Selfies Part II
Mauled By A Bear

In another selfie-related incident, a man was killed by a bear in India while trying to take a picture with the animal. After attending a wedding, Prabhu Bhatara was driving back to his house when he decided to stop to urinate in the woods. While doing so, he spotted an injured bear, which prompted him to attempt to take the selfie of the year.

As Prabhu approached the animal, the bear attacked and a struggle ensued. A stray dog at the site intervened but failed to deter the bear. The whole ordeal was filmed by a bystander, and clips of the horrific incident can be found on the Internet.^[7]

India’s wildlife often clashes with people in the suburban areas of the country. To no one’s surprise, that was the third fatality linked to selfies with wild animals in that region in a year.

3 YouTuber Dies In A Paragliding Accident While Filming A YouTube Video

Having a YouTube channel drives you to do crazy things to get views.

On “The King of Random” channel, Grant Thompson used to showcase DIY projects and experiments, but outdoor activities were also featured. Unfortunately, the influencer passed away in 2019. He was found dead near Sand Hollow State Park, Utah.

Along with his body, paragliding equipment and a recording device were recovered. This suggested that he died while attempting to film a video for his popular YouTube channel.^[8]

2 Woman Strangled By Her Tinder Date In A Rough Sex Session

Tinder is probably the first name that pops into your mind when you think of online dating. The platform is so successful that even nonusers understand what the terms “swipe left” and “swipe right” mean.

Dating in the social media era can make you feel safer. You don’t meet people face-to-face right away, and you can get a friend to track your position through GPS. However, this extra sense of security can lead you to ignore basic instincts and bypass self-preservation precautions.

Women are especially vulnerable to predatory behavior. The death of 22-year-old Grace Millane serves as an example of how we can never be too safe while meeting people we don’t know.

While the British woman was backpacking in New Zealand, she agreed to go on a date with a man she met on Tinder. The date went from promising to tragic when she was strangled during a rough sex session.

The man, not identified for legal reasons, hid her remains in a suitcase. Then he went on another date with another woman.^[9]

1 Lips To Die For:
The Kylie Jenner Challenge

Kylie Jenner is a media personality who stars in the reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Her estimated net worth is US$1 billion, making her the youngest billionaire at 21. She is known for her ravishing beauty, of which the most coveted aspect is definitely her plump lips.

The desire to have Kylie’s pouty lips inspired the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge. Teenagers inserted their lips into shot glasses and sucked out the air to create a vacuum. The aim was to swell the lips. The problem is that the act itself is dangerous due to the injuries sustained to the face.

In 2015, a story circulated online that Natalie Cardenas, 19, was found dead on her bedroom floor with “huge lips” and a shot glass in her hands. According to the fictional account, the tragedy prompted the authorities to declare the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge illegal in the United States. Although no credible source confirms that story, it’s a good idea to skip the challenge as it can cause real and possibly lasting injuries.^[10]

10 Ways Organizations Manipulated Social Media For Political Agendas

About The Author: Arnaldo is a Brazilian with a PhD in quantum chemistry who is living in the UK. He is a fanatic about science, beer, and the Internet.

John F. Kennedy’s father was a major figure in his own right. He was a financial genius and a political power player. He was one of the richest men of the world, a man who had the political and financial power to affect the lives of millions.

He was also, however, a man of questionable ethics. He made dirty deals in his professional life and even dirtier ones in private.

Today, the father is outshined by the son, and we often see Joseph Kennedy as nothing more than a footnote in the story of JFK. Joseph’s decisions, though, shaped the man his son became and the world we live in today.

10He Made A Fortune Through Insider Trading

Joseph Kennedy knew how to make money. By the time he’d turned 25, he was already the president of a bank, the youngest in America. He got rich by working hard and making smart decisions, but he turned that wealth into a fortune by cheating on the stock market.

Kennedy turned the stock market into a gold mine by using tricks that, today, are illegal. He used insider trading, created artificial scarcities to drive up stocks, and sold other ones short to drive them down. It was all unethical, but at the time, it wasn’t illegal, and Kennedy’s fortune soared.

He knew what he was doing. Encouraging a classmate to do the same, Kennedy said, “It’s easy to make money in this market. We’d better get in before they pass a law against it.”

Someone did pass a law against it: Joseph Kennedy. In 1934, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made Kennedy the head of the SEC, saying, “It takes a crook to catch a crook.” He was right. Kennedy criminalized insider trading, making it a crime to use the very tricks that made him his fortune.

9He Brought His Mistress On Vacation With His Wife

Joseph Kennedy married Rose Fitzgerald in 1914 and, almost immediately, started cheating on her. “Even in the early years of their marriage,” a relative related, “Joe had a reputation for being a ladies’ man.”

His most famous affair was with Gloria Swanson, the star of Sunset Boulevard. The pair ran around together for two years, and it wasn’t always behind Rose’s back. At one point, he took Rose and Gloria both on vacation to Europe and made his wife watch while fooled around with the other woman.

Rose kept a stoic face. “If she suspected me of having relations not quite proper with her husband, or resented me for it, she never once gave any indication of it,” Gloria Swanson said.

This was just Rose’s way. She knew of the affairs. Even her children knew what was happening. Rose’s life, though, had been full of men like Joseph. She’d been taught that a woman’s place was to suffer in silence and spare the men the humiliation of being found out. Through it all, Rose’s secretary would later say, “she never showed any pain.”

8He May Have Been A Bootlegger

When Prohibition came into effect, rumors that Kennedy was a rum runner spread wildly. Allegations came from everywhere. The gangsters Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky both accused Kennedy of being a bootlegger. Another rumor put him as Sam Giancana’s partner in crime. And a piano tuner working for Al Capone claimed that he saw Kennedy sit down with whiskey baron to talk business.

None of these stories have ever been proven, but we do know some things for sure. In 1922, Kennedy kept the liquor flowing at his Harvard 20th reunion. And, when Prohibition ended, Kennedy already had a whole stock of liquor ready to sell across the country.

Kennedy claims all this liquor was acquired legally, and it’s quite possible that the whole rumor was just a way to run his name through the mud. One way or another, though, Kennedy was a businessman. Whether he started selling liquor during Prohibition or after, he saw a business opportunity and capitalized on it.

7He Was A Vocal Anti-Semite

In 1938, Joseph Kennedy became the American ambassador to the United Kingdom. This was during the rise of Nazism, when Hitler was turning his people against the Jews, and Kennedy wasn’t afraid to weigh in.

“They brought in on themselves,” Kennedy said when he heard about German Jews being attacked. To a friend, he added, “As a race they stink. Look what they did to Hollywood.”

He spent a great deal of time talking to the German ambassador, Herbert Von Dirksen. “Kennedy,” Von Dirksen said, “understood our Jewish policy completely.” He tried to get them to change their approach, but not because he was worried about the Jews. He was just worried that too much violence would turn public opinion against Hitler.

Kennedy had his own plan. He tried to set up a program that would have shipped every Jew in Germany to Africa, or, at least, to a British or American colony.

Roosevelt shut his plan down, but it didn’t silence Kennedy. He agreed with Hitler all the way. “Jewish pundits,” he wrote in a letter, were going to “set a match to the fuse of the world.”

6He Was A Nazi Sympathizer

Kennedy’s eldest son, Joseph Jr., saw Hitler speak in 1934. He was impressed. Hitler, Joseph Jr. said, saw Germany’s need of a common enemy. Someone they could toss out to boost morale. “It was too bad that it had to be done to the Jews,” Joseph Jr. wrote. “The dislike of the Jews, however, was well founded.”

Joseph Jr. was often described as the most like his father, and, sure enough, Joseph Sr. shared his views. He called for America to make a peace pact with Hitler. In England, he tried to keep Winston Churchill out of office, hoping Neville Chamberlain would make an alliance with Germany.

He tried to get approval to meet with Hitler personally twice. Kennedy wanted, he said, “to bring about a better understanding between the United States and Germany.” Roosevelt, however, was still in charge. He stopped Kennedy both times. He wasn’t going to let a rich ambassador make an alliance with the Nazis.

5He Said That Democracy Was Finished

“Democracy is finished in England. It may be here as well,” Joseph Kennedy told a reporter. England, he believed, was only fighting Germany so that they could stay alive. They weren’t fighting the encroach of fascism, and neither was America.

Kennedy told Von Dirksen that Roosevelt was a victim of “Jewish influence” and that he would soon be disposed of. It wasn’t a view he held lightly. Kennedy was sure that America was being run by Jews. In an interview with another reporter, he said that “the Democratic policy of the United States is a Jewish production.”

Roosevelt was furious. Kennedy was supposed to be serving the state. Instead, he was spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and publicly supporting Hitler. In 1940, Kennedy was forced to resign as ambassador. His political career was over.

4He Lobotomized His Daughter

With his own political ambitions smashed, Kennedy turned to his sons. One of them, he was determined, would become president. There was only one liability: his daughter, Rosemary.

Her behavior was unpredictable, and she’d often break into fits of rage. Officially, Rosemary had been diagnosed as mentally handicapped, but modern psychiatrists think she was just depressed. Either way, she had to calm down. “If someone has mental illness in their family,” said psychologist Bertram Brown, “how does he become president?”

While they incised her brain, the surgeons had her sing “God Bless America.” Her surgeon would later describe it, saying, “We made an estimate on how far to cut based on how she responded.” He stopped cutting when she became incoherent.

After that, Rosemary’s was kept in the shadows. “Rosemary’s name was never mentioned in the house,” Joseph Kennedy’s secretary said. “I knew she existed because I saw the family photographs in the attic. But the name was never mentioned.”

3He Supported Joseph Mccarthy

When he ran for president, John F. Kennedy claimed to be against McCarthy’s infamous Un-American Activities Committee. When it was happening, though, he was a bit less critical, because his father was one of McCarthy’s biggest supporters.

Joseph Kennedy contributed to McCarthy’s campaign and supported him every chance he could. He got his son Robert a job counseling McCarthy’s committee, and Robert even made McCarthy his son’s godfather.

It put JFK in a difficult position. When public turned against McCarthy, the Democrats moved to censure McCarthy. JFK didn’t know what to do. He asked, “How could I demand that McCarthy be censured for things he did when my own brother was on staff?”

One senator knocked on JFK’s door, asking him to sign a statement condemning McCarthy. Before JFK could say a word, Joseph cursed the senator out, yelling, “You’re trying to ruin Jack!”

JFK missed the vote to censure McCarthy because of a broken back, but there’s reason to believe he could have participated if he wanted to. JFK told a friend that, if a reporter asked how he felt about McCarthy, “I’m going to reach back for my back and I’m just going to yell ‘Oow’ and then I’m going to pull the sheet over my head and hope we can get out of there.”

2He May Have Rigged An Election

In 1946, John F. Kennedy ran for congress and won. According to his opponent, though, it wasn’t because of a wave of popular support. Joseph Kennedy cheated.

JFK ran against a candidate named Joe Russo, and Russo claims that Joseph Kennedy deliberately split his votes. Allegedly, Kennedy paid a custodian whose name was also Joe Russo to run in the election. Voters, Kennedy hoped, would get confused about which Russo was which, and he’d split his votes in half.

Cheating rumors floated up against when JFK ran for president. Joseph, though, didn’t support his son’s policies. Before his son won the primaries, he visited Richard Nixon and told him, “Dick, if my boy can’t make it, I’m for you.”

JFK made it, and Joseph stayed loyal to family. JFK was more than aware of his father’s reputation. He joked, “I just received the following wire from my generous daddy, ‘Dear Jack, Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.’ ”

1 He And His Son Had Affairs With The Same Woman

“Dad told all the boys to get laid as often as possible,” John F. Kennedy said. They were words that would shape his character. The younger Kennedy would grow up a notorious playboy, once complaining, “I can’t get to sleep unless I’ve had a lay.”

Joseph encouraged infidelity among his kids. They were open about it. In 1940, JFK wrote a letter to his father, telling him, “An awful lot of people were there, three girls to every man, so I did better than usual.”

His influence came to a head with one woman: Marlene Dietrich. She’d had an affair with Joseph in 1938, who flaunted his affair in front of his son. Years later, in 1963, JFK called Marlene over to the White House and got her alone in a bedroom. Marlene was over 60 years old, but he’d called her over for an affair.

Before she left, JFK asked her, “Did you ever got to bed with my old man?”

Dietrich lied. “He tried,” she told him, “but I never did.”

She’d wanted to protect him, but his father had openly boasted about it. JFK replied, “I always knew the son of a bitch was lying.”

Medical science and technology are always changing. Advances in equipment and scientific knowledge allow medical procedures to become safer and less invasive so that we can all stay healthy and live longer.

However, you may be surprised by how much our medical knowledge has changed in just the last 100 years. Not that long ago, we all believed in and trusted these crazy procedures that we now know were terrible ideas. It begs the question: What current medical ideas will we look back on as insanity in the next 100 years?

10 Lobotomy

For mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression, some psychiatrists in the 1940s suggested putting two ice picks through your eye sockets and hammering them into your brain. By damaging the brain tissue, specifically the frontal lobes responsible for personality, lobotomy was supposed to stop the “bad behaviors” seen in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses.

Surprisingly, Antonio Egas Moniz, who developed the lobotomy, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949. This surgical procedure only helped about 10 percent of patients. Most individuals who had lobotomies became withdrawn, childlike people with dull personalities. They were no longer able to perform basic tasks and take care of themselves.^[1]

Around 40,000–50,000 people were lobotomized in the US alone. The USSR banned this surgery in 1950 as an inhumane procedure, saying it “changed an insane person [into] an idiot.” Soon, other countries also banned it.

Lobotomy procedures were discontinued with the advancement of psychiatric medication for mental illnesses. Many people have also petitioned that Moniz’s Nobel Prize be revoked.

9 Radioactive Water

While we try to avoid radiation now, radioactivity was a new, exciting discovery about 100 years ago. We thought it was good for our health. People bought radium pendants, uranium blankets, and radon water with the hopes of improving their digestion, arthritis, and whatever else ailed them.

One popular product was the Radium Ore Revigator, which was a watercooler lined with a radioactive ore that upon decay would “enhance” your drinking water with a high concentration of radon.^[2]

Eben Byers, a wealthy Pittsburgh steel industrialist and moderately famous golfer in the 1900s, began taking a radium water product called Radithor when his doctor suggested it for his health. By 1930, Byers had multiple cancers and holes in his skull. Most of his jaw had also fallen off.

Upon his death, people began to realize the dangers of radiation exposure. Soon, the EPA began taking steps to prevent exposure to radiation among the general population. Of course, we now know that radiation should be avoided.

8 Heroin For Your Cold

From around 1900 to the 1950s, heroin was a prescription drug used for coughs, colds, pain relief, and more. Heroin cold medicine was made by Bayer, a well-known pharmaceutical company, which even marketed the cough syrup for children.

Heroin also gained popularity as a prescription painkiller because testing showed that it was eight times more powerful than morphine. Due to its euphoric effect on the patient, heroin became an abused drug in the years following.^[3]

The US government realized that heroin was one of the most dangerous and addictive narcotics in the world and probably shouldn’t have been so readily available. The drug’s recreational use and addictive properties resulted in the discontinuation of its common medical use. In 1924, the US banned heroin. Today, it is listed as a controlled substance, illegal to possess without a DEA license.

7 Soothing Syrup For Babies

A popular medicine in the late 1800s to early 1900s was “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup,” a drug given to babies to stop teething pain, diarrhea, and other minor ailments.

The soothing syrup aimed to prevent crying children and had popular advertising that contained appealing domestic images of mothers and babies. Many mothers told others about how well it worked to stop their children from crying and to soothe the kids to sleep.

What was in this miracle drug, you ask?

The syrup was pure morphine dissolved in alcohol and was sold until the 1930s. Morphine, a strong opiate painkiller with serious side effects and a highly addictive nature, was a dangerous substance to be giving to babies in concentrated doses.^[4]

Widely popular, the syrup unfortunately led to numerous infant deaths from overdose as well as many drug-addicted children. This resulted in its removal from the market.

6 Ecstasy

Throughout the 1970s, MDMA (aka “Ecstasy”) had a decent following of psychiatrists who suggested its use for psychological therapy in patients with depression, autism, PMS, and, ironically, substance abuse.

Psychotherapists who promoted MDMA often felt that the drug accelerated the patient’s therapy. If the patient had no inhibitions, his communication improved and he responded to his therapist’s ideas positively and openly.

With its euphoric effects, MDMA quickly became a heavily abused, recreational party drug. It was made illegal in the 1980s. Surprisingly, Ecstasy therapy may be returning for use with PTSD patients.

While MDMA is still illegal, the FDA has given it “breakthrough therapy” status as early trials showed positive results. The drug is currently going through FDA-approved clinical trials for potential use in returning veterans with PTSD.^[5]

5 Smoking For Your Health

In the early 20th century, we actually thought smoking was good for us. Inhaling tobacco fumes was believed to help asthma. Tobacco advertisements from the 1920s to the 1950s often featured doctors smoking cigarettes and endorsing their health qualities.

Lucky Strike cigarettes advertised that their manufacturing process produced a cigarette that was “your throat protection against irritation and against cough.” Smoking cigarettes was also a dieting trend among women in the 1920s. Advertising such as “reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet” attracted women to nicotine’s appetite suppressant qualities.^[6]

In 1953, three scientists named Wynder, Graham, and Croninger published their laboratory findings that confirmed cigarettes caused cancer. As a result, the tobacco industry began to suffer.

Doctors soon stopped smoking, and people realized that cigarettes were dangerous. Now, many tobacco-related ad campaigns try to get people to quit smoking and are open about how bad cigarettes are for our health.

4 Methamphetamine Diet Pills

If smoking cigarettes wasn’t enough to get you losing weight in the 1950s, you could have taken crystal meth diet pills. Amphetamine medications were taking over the country, including diet pills such as Obetrol, Dexamyl, and Eskatrol. Obetrol, which was marketed specifically for “exogenous obesity,” contained a mixture of several amphetamine salts, over half of which was methamphetamine hydrochloride (aka “crystal meth”).

Amphetamines were extremely popular. According to FDA manufacturer surveys, US production of amphetamines in 1962 reached the level of about 43 doses (of 10 milligrams each) per person per year based on the total population. Approximately 33 percent of the prescriptions were for weight loss, and women made up 85 percent of all amphetamine patients.^[7]

This widespread popularity also revealed the health problems and addictive properties associated with excessive consumption of meth. Not surprisingly, it became an abused drug.

In the 1970s, the government started restricting amphetamines and listed them as controlled substances. The popular diet pill Obetrol, which was abused as a recreational drug in the 1960s, was reformulated to remove meth, although other amphetamine salts were still present. Obetrol is no longer made today.

3 Plombage

From the 1930s to the 1950s, tuberculosis was one of the leading causes of death. Antibiotics of any kind were rare at the time, and no medications were available for the treatment of tuberculosis. However, there was a medical procedure called “plombage.”

The plombage surgery consisted of filling the patient’s pleural cavity (the lung area behind the rib cage) with random materials such as mineral oil, Lucite balls, gauze, paraffin wax, rubber, or animal fat. There is even a published study of plombage surgeries performed on children in which sterilized Ping-Pong balls were used as fillers.

The procedure would cause the lung to collapse and no longer function. According to the theory, if the diseased lung was made to collapse, it would heal itself over time. The surgery would often allow the patient to live longer and experience short-term improvement.

However, many complications were seen decades later, often from infection, hemorrhage, or movement of the foreign material filler. Thankfully, after the availability of modern antibiotics for tuberculosis in the 1950s, plombage surgery was abandoned.^[8]

2 Ear Candles

This alternative method for cleaning out earwax was often advocated because it was cheap and people could try it themselves at home. The idea was to place the unlit end of a hollow candle in your ear and then burn the other end to create negative pressure and draw wax out of the ear.

Not surprisingly, a study proved that this practice was not effective and could actually deposit hot candle wax in your ear. Many people who tried this had to see a doctor for injuries resulting from candle use.

The most shocking part? This study was published in a professional medical research journal in 1996! That is surprisingly recent for people to be using their ears as candleholders.^[9]

1 Shark Cartilage Supplements

The theme behind this health fad: “Sharks don’t get cancer, so let’s all take shark cartilage.” Research on shark cartilage in the 1970s and 1980s sparked the popularity of taking this substance for cancer. These studies showed that sharks rarely get cancer because their cartilage contains a substance that inhibits tumor growth.

Understandably, everyone wanted this to be the cure for cancer and the market became flooded with shark cartilage supplements. There were over 40 brands in various dosage formats, including pills, liquids, topical creams, and even enemas.

However, over a dozen clinical trials of shark cartilage were conducted with cancer patients and no health benefits were observed. The National Cancer Institute says that shark cartilage has no effect on cancer, and supplements are not approved for use by the FDA.^[10]

I work as a chemist and a professional pianist. I have a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a bachelor’s in music. I live on a small goat farm and am an environmental enthusiast.

Humans have been killing each other in droves since the dawn of times. Wars, massacres, genocides and holocausts are depressingly common occurrences in the history of mankind, as many lists on this site can attest. But there were also many times in history when animals were massacred in large numbers — cats, dogs and other animals that men had under their power, for reasons other than eating (i.e. for superstitious, religious, economic or political motives, or for mere entertainment). Here are some of the most curious and terrifying instances. [WARNING: disturbing content]

10 Absurd Sleep Habits Of Wild Animals

10 The B.C. Sled Dog Execution, Canada, 2011

After the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the number of tourists who wanted to take a ride in sleds pushed by dogs diminished considerably. The sled dog tour industry went into crisis, and some companies were not able to continue into business if they did not cut costs – which really meant reducing the numbers of dogs they maintained. One of the companies forced to cut costs was called Howling Dog Tours. It was aptly named, for the dogs howled in desperation as they were chased and shot execution-style, or had their throats slit by the manager and owner of the company, who could not afford to maintain a large number of dogs, at the time more than 300.

Dozens of dogs were killed by him in one single terrible night. The curious thing is that the affair was only discovered because the manager himself filed a claim with the provincial worker’s board asking for compensation for having suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after the killings (he got it, too). Later, mass graves containing the remains of 56 dead dogs were found, although in the claim the number of victims mentioned goes over a 100. The case drew international outrage, and the only positive outcome was that it triggered a task force that toughened provincial animal cruelty laws.^[1]

9 The Puerto Rico Pet Massacre, 2007

In 2007 in Puerto Rico, a company called Animal Control Solutions was hired by the local government to help control the number of stray dogs and cats. Unfortunately, their “solution” involved throwing the live animals from a bridge. Worse, most of them were not even stray dogs or cats, but pets with regular owners, although most were persons who lived in projects in a poor part of the city. As the residents woke up, they found their beloved pets dead or, if they were lucky and survived, with broken bones near the bridge. After the event, thousands of Puerto Ricans took to the streets to protest, and eventually those responsible for the company were tried for animal abuse, something rare in the country. However, they were found not guilty and soon released.^[2]

8 The Ukraine World Cup stray dog killing, Ukraine, 2012

Many animal rights associations denounced a supposed killing of stray dogs led by the Ukrainian government during the build-up for the Euro 2012 soccer championship. As many other more impoverished countries in Eastern Europe, Ukraine has lots of roaming street dogs, and that, authorities feared, reflected negatively on how visitors would perceive the country. So they hatched up a plan to clear that bad image, and clear the streets of cats and dogs. However the plan did not work, for then they got the reputation of puppy-killers. While exact numbers are hard to find, some say that at least 9,000 animals were killed in three different cities. A few photos showing the carcasses of dead animals became viral and, bowing to international pressure, the Ukrainian government announced a six-month ban on the killings and ordered the local municipalities to build more animal shelters for the stray dogs instead of culling them. However, it is not clear if the measures were followed the local authorities or if it was just a way for the government to save face.^[3]

7 The Great Pre-War pet culling, England, 1939

An almost untold story of the Second World War is how after the panic of the oncoming war set in, the British government mounted a huge campaign to counsel citizens to get rid of their beloved pets in order to avoid their death or suffering during the bombings. As many as 750,000 pets were put down in just one week in 1939. While their deaths were humane, some argue that they were not necessary at all and merely represented a symptom of war hysteria.

More than the bombings, the main threat for pets was the lack of food, since there were no rations for animals and food was scarcer during wartime. However, many pets were not abandoned by their owners and were able to make it, and sanctuaries established for dogs and cats functioned during the war and saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals.^[4]

6 The Ueno Zoo Massacre, Japan, 1943

The following is also a story of preventive killing of animals during wartime, only it does not involve cats and dogs but the animals kept in a Zoo. The Japanese government believed that the animals could escape during the bombings and become dangerous, so they devised a plan to destroy them before that could happen.

It was a heartbreaking event, not so much because of the number of animals killed, between 25 and 50, but because of the way in which they died: the larger animals, including three elephants and two hippos, were simply starved to death. It took weeks for the elephants to die. Other animals such as tigers and panthers were poisoned. The event was also used as war propaganda, to prepare the population for the reality of the oncoming air attacks. The animals were described as “martyrs” that were dying for their country, even though they did not freely chose that fate.^[5]

10 Horrifying Massacres In First World Countries

5 The Zanesville Killing Fields, Ohio, U.S., 2011

In 2011, a Vietnam veteran who was heavily in debt, had been abandoned by his wife and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, decided to end his misery. Before shooting himself in the head, however, he opened the gates to liberate all the 56 exotic animals that he kept in his private farm, including bears, lions, leopards monkeys, wolves and 18 Bengali tigers – a species in grave danger of extinction.

The idea of lions, wolves and tigers roaming free among the local human population did not make anyone feel very secure, and soon the police was called to intervene. They attempted at first to shoot a tiger with tranquilizers, but that only made him more enraged, so they decided to shoot to kill. In the final count, 48 of the 56 animals ended up dead, including the 18 beautiful tigers. One monkey was still seemingly at large for weeks after the event, but the police called off the search believing it was probably eaten by one of the felines after the liberation.^[6]

4 The Great Cat Massacre, Paris, 1730

In 1730 in Paris, a group of printing apprentices, as a revenge for what they believed were bad working conditions, tortured and killed all the cats that they could find, including the beloved pet of their master’s wife. This true story is based in the diaries of a printing apprentice, who together with an accomplice killed hundreds of cats in one night. The young men that worked in the printing shop received only crumbs to eat and believed to be generally mistreated, while at the same time they saw their masters pampering their cats. So they decided to take revenge on the felines. Several cats, including the pet of their master’s wife, were captured and put into sacks. Many were killed on the spot with an iron bar. Others had to suffer a mock trial, in which they were finally ‘condemned’ to be hanged, all to the amusement of the workers of the printer’s shop, and to considerable less amusement of the masters.^[7]

3 Cat-burning and cat-throwing festivals, Europe, Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, cats were associated with witchcraft and Satanism, so it was not uncommon for them to be killed in high numbers. In most cases they were burned in giant fires in the main square of the cities, as people danced and cheered around. In one of those occasions, even the King of France took part. In some occasions, however, they suffered other more original forms of death. In the city of Ypres, Belgium, for instance, they were traditionally thrown from the belfry tower into the square below, to the amusement of the crowds. Today the macabre killings are remembered every three years during the Kattenstoet parade, which is however a cat-friendly event in which only toy cats are thrown from the tower, and people dress as cats and dance in the street, perhaps in a request of forgiveness to cats for their former ways.^[8]

2 The Swine Flu Killing, Egypt, 2009

During the swine flu scare of 2009, Egypt ordered the killing of its whole population of pigs. More than 300,000 animals were killed in a short time. While no cases of swine flu were ever documented in Egypt, the culling was announced as a preventive measure, in order to avoid possible contamination. Others, however, say that it was a punishment measure against Christians, since they are the only ones who raise pigs in the country, because Islam prohibits the consumption of swine. Be as it may, none of the pigs killed had the flu, and they were disposed of without their flesh being consumed. However, the measure later backfired badly on the government. In Egypt, the pigs were traditionally fed with the same organic trash that otherwise littered the cities. The swine were basically used as recycling machines. After their sudden disappearance, the streets of Cairo became literally covered with tons of trash, ironically exposing people to all sorts of diseases. It is possible that this added to the general discontent of the population with the government and helped the dethroning of Mubarak during the Arab Spring, a year later.^[9]

1 Gadhimai Festival, Nepal, today

The largest animal sacrifice festival in the world happens every five years in Nepal. It is called the Gadhimai Festival, in honor of the Hindu Goddess of power, Gadhimai. We tend to think of Hindus as vegetarians who would not hurt a cow, which they consider sacred. That may be true for cows, but apparently it does not apply for water buffaloes, chickens, goats, pigs and rats, which are sacrificed in the numbers of hundreds of thousands. In 2009 it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 animals were killed during the three days of the festival, which was witnessed by at least a million of worshipers. The way it works is that participants bring their own animals to the feast. The animals are then decapitated with traditional khukuri knives by 250 authorized slaughterers. The blood of the animals is supposed to bring good luck. Afterwards the remains are sold to tanneries or eaten. The next Festival will take place in 2024.^[10]

Top 10 Surreal Animals That Really Exist

About The Author: Tom Creus is a freelance writer, translator and teacher. He blogs occasionally at tomwaiting.wordpress.com.

Adoptive Parents are heroes in the eyes of our society. They take in children whose families cannot care for them and give them homes, food, clothes and other basic essentials. At least that is what they are supposed to do. In some (thankfully few) cases adoptive parents choose to neglect, abuse and even kill the children in their care. While not all adoptive parents are bad, society does not recognize that not all adoptive parents are heroes, even to the detriment of the children in their care.

10 Times Virtue Signalling Ended In Disaster

10 Myka Staufer

“Re-Homing” is the euphemism for the process of adoptive parents changing their minds and giving away their adopted child. Although it is an alarmingly common occurrence, no instance of re-homing has been more published than the Huxley Staufer case. Huxley is a young boy from China, who was adopted by the Staufer family in 2017, and helped accelerate Myka’s fame as a Mommy Blogger slash “influencer”. Particularly in regards to Huxley’s autism and Staufer’s seeming willingness to care for him. That was the story that was portrayed across the family’s social media, however behind closed doors, the truth was anything but.

According to the Staufer’s, Huxley had become too difficult for them to handle so they decided to place him in a care home, both for his benefit and the benefit of their other children. Backlash to the Staufer’s decision was quick and severe, with the couple receiving international condemnation. Recently, law enforcement in Ohio have announced an investigation into the Staufer’s and Huxley’s rehoming, particularly in regards to ensuring Huxley’s safety.^[1]

9 Tony Spilotro

The psychotic Las Vegas mobster Tony Spilotro was feared by everyone who knew of him. Among his numerous exploits, Spilotro allegedly killed a man by crushing his head in a vice, ran the Hole in the Wall Gang in Las Vegas and was chief enforcer for many of Las Vegas’s mob owned casinos. His life was immortalized in the movie Casino where the character Nicky Santoro was based on him. He also brought his work home with him, affecting his wife Nancy and their adopted son Vincent. According to Vincent’s own recollection, he watched his father beat a man unconscious over a gambling debt, and was home when drunken Las Vegas police officers shot up the Spilotro home. After Tony Spilotro was killed in 1986 his son was left without a father, which may have saved his life, as Vincint lives a law abiding life today, free from Tony Spilatro’s legacy.^[2]

8 Mr and Mrs Hammersley

In 1952 Mr and Mrs Hammersley adopted a young boy who they named William, in what was supposed to be a happy forever home, caring for him when his mother couldn’t. Throughout his childhood, William was whipped repeatedly by his adoptive father, sexually abused by an Anglican minister in what William later wrote was a way for his adoptive parents to gain favour in the church in order to adopt a daughter. Eventually William dropped out of school and left his adoptive parents’ home, full of anger. As a result of his abandonment and subsequent abuse, William fell into drug and alcohol addiction, drug addiction, and depression. He was eventually able to put his life together and live as a productive member of society, but he could never fully shake the demons of his past. William, unlike many adoptees who were adopted into bad situations, was able to legally rectify his situation. In 2019 he applied for an Adoption Discharge, which under Australian law would nullify his original adoption order and legally recognize his biological parents as his legal parents. This order was granted on August 1 2019 and William had his status at birth restored. Unfortunately William died from cancer on September 3 2019 shortly after his discharge was granted.^[3]

7 Jeane Newmaker

In 1996 pediatric nurse Jeane Newmaker adopted 7 year old Candace Newmaker, a child who had been in and out of various foster homes her entire life. Candace had difficulty attaching to her adoptive mother and new surroundings and acted out frequently. Newmaker took Canadace to a variety of therapists in an attempt to get her to better bond. In 2000, Newmaker took Candace to a psychotherapist named Connell Watkins, who specialised in, “re-birthing,” therapy. This therapy, which has been discredited by all psychiatric organisations, involves wrapping a patient in pillows and blankets in order to simulate birth. According to Newmaker, she had hoped that the therapy would lead to her adopted daughter bonding to her as if she had been born to her. Unfortunately, the reality could not be further from the truth.

On April 18 2000 while in Watkins office, Candace was covered in pillows and blankets forcibly by 5 adults, weighing roughly 600 pounds compared to the 70 pound child. Throughout the 40 minute session, Candace repeatedly said that she could not breathe and that she was going to die. Nobody did anything to alleviate the pressure on Candace as they were assured it was normal. After 40 minutes Jeane asked her if she wanted to be born, and Candace responded with the word, “no.” It was her last word before slipping into a coma and dying the next day. All parties involved in the death were charged and convicted of varying degrees of child abuse, and served prison time for their actions.^[4]

6 Woody Allen

Although he never formally adopted his partner Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon Yi Previn, Farrow’s partner Woody Allen had a large role in her upbringing, being the closest thing she ever had to a father. This makes Allen’s relationship and marriage to Soon Yi extremely shocking even by today’s social standards. Allen first met Soon Yi in 1979 when Soon Yi was adopted by Mia Farrow. Although they did not begin their relationship until Soon Yi was 20, nude photos were rumored to have been found of her when she was allegedly underaged, supposedly taken by Allen. This was not the only time Allen was accused of inappropriate behavior with an adopted child. In 1992 Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow accused him of sexually abusing her throughout her childhood beginning when she was 7. According to Allen, he does not listen to the public condemnation of his relationship with the woman whom he helped raise. Soon Yi says that she is upset by the treatment that Allen has endured in the public sphere in the 2 decades since they’ve been together. As of today, Allen and Yi are still married with children, with Allen never facing legal actions or investigation for his activities.^[5]

10 Parents Who Pretended Their Children Were Seriously Ill

5 Lauri and Britta Wuornos

Lauri and Britta Wuornos were the parents of Diane Wuornos and the grandparents of Kieth and Aileen Pittman, the children of Diane, and a man named Leo Dale Pittman. Given the instability in Diane’s life, Keith and Aileen went to live with their grandparents in 1960 and were legally adopted by them a few months later, changing their last name to Wuornos. According to Aileen, both of her grandparents were alcoholics, and that her adoptive father was extremely abusive. In particular he would force Aileen to strip naked before heavily beating her. He also sexually abused her, and allowed his friends to do the same. In 1971 Aileen, at the age of 14 gave birth to a son fathered by one of Lauri’s friends, which she was forced to give up for adoption. The abuse continued until Britta Wuranos died of liver failure and Lauri subsequently kicked Aileen out of the house. The despreate and alone teenager turned to prostitution to survive.

This trauma stayed with Aileen for the rest of her life as she drifted across the United States, commuting small crimes and engaging in a series of extremely unstable relationships. Eventually Aileen would become America’s first female serial killer, murdering at least 7 men with a handgun after posing as a prostitute to get into their cars. At her trial, her defence used the abuse she suffered during childhood as a mitigating factor in her sentencing. According to several mental health experts, Aileen was suffering from a myriad of mental illnesses brought on by her childhood experiences. This did little to sway the court and Aileen was sentenced to death and executed in 2002.^[6]

4 Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz

Unlike Aileen Wuoranos who was adopted within her family, David Berkowitz was adopted by 2 complete strangers who were totally unprepared to raise a child, with Nathan considering his adoption a mistake. The couple did little to contain their son’s violent anger even as he grew bigger and more violent. David’s behavior got worse after his adoptive mother Pearl died when he was 14. Nathan soon after remarried and moved the family to Florida, which would negatively affect David’s mental state. In order to escape, David joined the army where he learned how to properly handle firearms and excelled as a marksman.

This isolation and anger followed David in the army, and in his post army life, where he returned to New York City and lived alone, working a series of odd jobs. Eventually mental illness and anger took control of David’s life and a compulsion to kill formed. Berkowitz committed his first murders on Christmas Eve 1975 when he stabbed 2 women, only one of which was identified. He proceeded to terrorize New York City, gunning down random couples with a .44 revolver. He made contact with New York Police through a letter in which he declared himself to be The Son of Sam and that he would not stop killing. Eventually he was caught after receiving a parking ticket at the scene of his final murder. He pled guilty to his crimes in 1978, and was sentenced to life in prison, where he remains to this day.^[7]

3 Mathew Scully Hicks

In what British authorities now acknowledge was a wrongful adoption, Mathew Scully Hicks and his husband Craig Scully-Hicks adopted a baby named Shayla O’Brien, who they renamed Elsie Scully-Hicks on May 12 2016, after several months of pre-adoption care. Mathew subjected her to months of horrific abuse before she succumbed to her injuries on May 25 2016. According to police and social service reports, Scully-Hicks threw the young child down the stairs, shook her, screamed explicitly at her, broke her legs, among other abusive actions. Scully-Hicks, who denied abusing his adopted daughter, and claimed that a fall from a changing table had led to her death. Even after he was convicted, he expressed no remorse for his crimes, remaining emotionless throughout his trial and sentencing. Given this lack of remorse and responsibility, Scully-Hicks was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 18 years for his appalling crimes.^[8]

2 Lori Vallow

Lori Vallow was once a normal mother to 2 children, her biological daughter Tylee Ryan and adopted son JJ Vallow. This came to an end at an unknown time, when the children were murdered and buried on a property owned by Vallow’s husband Chad Daybell. The children first disappeared in September 2019, and after extended family members contacted authorities to have a welfare check performed. The children were obviously nowhere to be found, leading Vallow and Daybell to flee Hawaii where they were arrested on February 20 2020 in connection to the children’s disappearance, however they have yet to be charged with murder.

Further investigation into the couple revealed that they believed in a number of doomsday conspiracy theories and that the world would be coming to an end soon. As of now Lori Vallow, along with Chad Daybell are the prime suspects in the deaths of the children as well as deaths of their previous spouses which are now under reinvestigation as they sit in prison charged with a series of smaller offenses.^[9]

1 Jennifer and Sarah Hart

Jennifer and Sarah Hart were a lesbian couple who adopted 6 African American children from foster care at varying ages. One of their children became famous after a photo of them hugging a police officer at a protest went viral as a sign of unity between 2 communities that had long been at odds. The illusion of a happy, multicultural lesbian family came to an end on March 26 2018 when Sarah and Jennifer fed each of their children a large quantity of benadryl, knocking them unconscious, and put them into the family car, and Jennifer Hart drove off of a cliff into the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that the pressure of a CPS investigation into the couple on the suspicion of neglect led to the Harts murdering their children. According to reports filed by the neighbors, the Harts had been starving the children as punishment for minor infractions, and the children were becoming malnourished. Given their reaction to the abuse allegations, it is clear they had some merit.^[10]

10 Terrifying Examples Of Children Murdering Their Parents

The celebrity merchandise machine knows no bounds. Fragrances, toys, and fashion lines are all ways to capitalize on celebrity success. However, these products need to be advertised, and there is no buying power as strong as that commanded by a persistent child.

The perfect gateway to this consumer market is to create a cartoon. It is a quick way to get your product into the mind of a kid. In addition, you do not even need a great premise or plot. Children will watch anything. Or so adults think. With the exception of one on this list—not really marketed to children anyway—I can’t imagine these as part of a Saturday morning cartoon tradition.

Below, we list our top celebrities who delved into their own animated world. From wrestlers to rappers, all of them produced some truly awful animation. So read on for our 10 celebrities who got their own terrible cartoons.

Related: 10 Unsettling Cartoons From Around The World Meant For Children

10 Mister T

Why Mr. T had his name changed to Mister T for his animated outing remains unknown. However, he was one of several big-screen actors given a cartoon series by the studio Ruby-Spears. Unfortunately, fresh from his stints on the A-Team and matches at Wrestlemania, his popularity failed to transfer to animation.

Each episode would begin and end with Mr. T (correction, Mister T) in a live clip. Like most ‘80s animations, this was to dispense moral lessons and safety tips to avoid the glare of censors.

The rest of the show would focus on Mister T and his group of friends solving various mysteries and adventures. These were as wide-ranging as searching for Mister T’s missing chains to a stunt man committing insurance fraud. The show ran for three seasons between 1983 and 1986.^[1]

9 ProStars: Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson

Imagine a cartoon that featured not one major sports star but three! Michael Jordan, basketball superstar. Wayne Gretzky, ice hockey ace. Bo Jackson, a multi-talented superstar from both baseball and football.

These stars combined in ProStars, an odd early ‘90s animation from DIC Entertainment. In this, the three would fight crime, solve mysteries, and help the environment. Unfortunately, this was a carton that aired for a paltry single season in 1991.

While none of the stars did the voiceovers for the show, they did appear in short filmed segments. This consisted of children asking questions, to which the stars would usually give a one-word response.

Oddly enough, the show had some great talent working on it. Producers DIC Entertainment had worked on some of the biggest cartoons of the 1980s. The short live segments were directed by Brad Kreisberg, who would later direct for MTV.^[2]

8 Macauley Culkin

After success in Uncle Buck, My Girl, and Home Alone, how could Macauley Culkin have not been given a series? The answer to that dilemma was Wish Kid. In it, Culkin played Nick McClary, a child who tapped his magic baseball glove to make wishes come true.

While Culkin did not play himself, both the character’s likeness and personality were modeled from his on-screen personas. Culkin himself would introduce each episode in a filmed segment. His younger sister, Quinn, even voiced the character’s on-screen sister.

It would not be the last animation to attempt to capitalize on Culkin’s runaway success. Culkin would play the lead in the 1994 movie The Pagemaster. This would attempt to blend animation and live-action sequences. Despite a stellar cast (Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy), it would fare no better.^[3]

7 MC Hammer

Celebrity tie-in cartoons never tend to make a lot of sense. However, Hammerman goes the extra mile. First, this cartoon was based on a musician who had not enjoyed that much success. At the time of release, he only had one album to his name.

Second, the cartoon pushed the boundaries of weirdness. The protagonist is Stanley, a worker at the local recreation facility. Once he puts on a pair of magical shoes, he transforms into a superhero known as Hammerman. If that were not odd enough, the leather would detach from the soles of his shoes and begin talking to him.

Sadly, the series seems lost, having only aired between 1991 and 1992. Many of the available episodes are Spanish and Polish dubs. Screenshots and clips have surfaced on message boards, but no known DVD or digital release is available.^[4]

6 Gary Coleman

The phenomenon of Gary Coleman is something that is hard to comprehend today. He could be described as the television equivalent of a meme. Despite being one of the highest-paid child actors of his generation, his crowning glory was playing himself, Gary Coleman.

The Gary Coleman Show was a series created on the back of his movie The Kid With The Broken Halo. In this, Coleman voiced an angel grounded on Earth. His aim was to help children with their problems. It was produced by animation heavyweights Hanna-Barbera.

Each episode would focus on Andy, Coleman’s character, as he faced antagonism from a small devil. This would often play on the moral dilemma trope mentioned in previous cartoons. Hornswoggle would always try to get Andy to make the easy—yet wrong—decisions.

For such an odd, out-of-time show, it did manage to sustain a long shelf life. It ran for only one season of 13 episodes. However, it was still being played on the cartoon channel Boomerang as late as 2006.^[5]

5 Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris’s Karate Kommandos was a triumph exercise in how far ‘80s marketing machines pushed, yet could be so wide of the mark. On paper, everything about the Karate Kommandos should have been excellent. It featured Chuck Norris. for god’s sake.

Not only did he have an animated series—another one from Ruby-Spears—but he also had a comic produced by Marvel and a tie-in toy line. So, why did the series only last one season then sink without a trace?

The reason is that the concept was not that good or well thought out. Chuck Norris is featured in live-action segments at the start and end of the show, which made it bearable. Between this was an ill-conceived premise whereby Chuck was joined by a “paint by numbers” cast of team members and villains. The imagination was so lacking that one main villain had the moniker of “The Super Ninja.”^[6]

4 Hulk Hogan

Rock ‘n’ Wrestling featured not only the Hulkster himself but also a banquet of the best that 1980s wrestling could produce. Imagine a cartoon with Andre the Giant and Roddy Piper, and any child of the era would be salivating at the prospect.

The cartoon featured a team of good guys and bad guys who came into conflict regularly. The problem was that on WWF programming, they would flick from heel to face very quickly. By the time the series aired, wrestlers were already on the wrong team or had left the company. Along with the cartoon came a number of comedy segments filmed by wrestlers of the WWF.

The cartoon was part of a larger movement to brand wrestling as sports entertainment. The era featured a lot of moves to instill WWF wrestlers in other mediums. From music to video games, Rock ‘n’ Wrestling was one facet of a larger, grand plan for WWF.^[7]

3 Jackie Chan

Unlike many of the celebrities on this list, Jackie Chan has a history of producing quality products alongside his movies. If in doubt, check out his more than passable history of arcade and video games. Jackie Chan Adventures was his first animation and a criminally underrated cartoon—though some may doubt this conclusion.

Starting in 2000, the series ran for five years until 2005. It had a great premise, whereby Jackie Chan was a museum curator. Finding an ancient, mystical talisman, he sets off to reclaim similar ones that give the wearer the powers of the Chinese zodiac.

This brings him into contact with a host of interesting characters. Some of them were unique, while some were characters from his movies.

The love and care in this program were evident at the end of the show’s live sequences. Jackie did not opt for simple household safety tips or self-promotion. Instead, he would talk about aspects of Chinese history, culture, and beliefs.^[8]

2 Roseanne Barr

The last time we heard from Roseanne was when she was axed from her namesake show’s recent reboot for racist tweets. It might be hard for many people who were not watching U.S. sitcoms in the ’80s and ’90s to understand how popular she once was.

Her own show became commissioned due to her appearances on The Tonight Show. This series, Roseanne, was the first real glimpse into the world of the American working-class woman.

Why someone thought this would transfer to a children’s animation show is unknown. Little Rosey was that experiment, and it took a young Roseanne Barr and her friends and placed them in a cartoon. All her friends were child versions of older characters in her central sitcom.

The show only lasted for one season. Rumors are that Roseanne was not happy with interference from network executives. In reaction, a pilot for a second show was scripted. The plot was that Roseanne and her friends would take over a cartoon land to stop the interference of her bosses. It never aired.^[9]

1 Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson’s cartoon outing was everything that was utterly insane about the early 2000s. Based on Pamela Anderson, the show featured a superheroine stripper who fought crime. Of course, one of the villains was WWE chairman Vince McMahon, and the whole thing was masterminded by Stan Lee.

To understand how it came about, you must look back at the channel it aired on. Now known as the Paramount Network, Spike TV has only recently closed its doors. Back then, it was programming for randy, angst-ridden young men.

In its early days, it faced a court battle with director Spike Lee over its name. It featured male-centric programming, such as Bellator MMA and Bar Rescue. Its launch was to feature a kick-off party at the Playboy mansion, which was later canceled.

Imaginatively titled Stripperella, the show was one of Spike TV’s first original broadcasts. This risqué cartoon played alongside favorites such as Ren and Stimpy, but without any of the humor or wit. Episodes about exploding breast implants and animal rights organizations named ANUS failed to make even a pubescent early-2000s male audience laugh.^[10]