If you think the beer pong frat extravaganza you’re already planning for the day before Spring Break is going to be impressive, you’d be hard-pressed to follow these legendary bashes. Then again, maybe you shouldn’t try—hangovers exist for the same reason the police do. Perhaps it’s better to dream from afar. In fact, these are the 10 wildest parties that have ever set the world on fire.

10 Wildest Parties: A Glimpse

10 Count Etienne de Beaumont’s 1924 Automotive Ball

Beaumont and his Edith were renowned throughout Europe and North America for throwing some of the greatest parties ever seen. Their masquerade ball was celebrated at their mansion on Rue Duroc in Paris every summer. Their 1924 party may not have been any more extravagant than their others, but it featured possibly the most outlandish theme—all guests had to dress up as a car. Photos of Sara and Gerald Murphy, who were good friends of the Beaumonts, in their costumes are still around to this day.

The food was lavish French cuisine, of course, with plenty of wine and champagne. Guest Raymond Radiguet was so exhilarated by the Beaumonts’ annual parties that he wrote a novel about them, Le Bal du Comte d’Orgel. Throughout the banquet, costumed performers would run in making automotive sounds and act out vignettes about various vehicles. Perhaps the only Beaumont part wilder than this was another hosted in the 1920s in which every guest was required to leave exposed the part of his or her anatomy he or she deemed the most interesting.

9 The Papal Conclaves Of 1644 And 1667

When a pope dies, Italy goes into deep mourning. If the subsequent conclave takes a long time to elect a successor, the country very quickly loses its temper. The conclave of 1644 lasted from August 9–September 15, 1644, delayed by the previous pope, Urban VIII, appointing three members of his own family to cardinals. Two of these men were brothers Antonio and Francesco Barberini, who bickered with each other like Regan and Goneril in King Lear, and for the same reason. Finally, after several bribes from France and Spain, Giovanni Battista Pamphili was elected and chose the amusing regnal Innocent X. The entire Catholic world rejoiced, but nowhere was the celebration more bacchanalian than in Rome.

This conclave and the next, which lasted from January–April 1655, were still fresh in a lot of memories when 1667’s 18-day conclave came about in June. Eighteen days was still found to be far longer than any Catholic wanted to wait, and when Giulio Rospigliosi was elected Clement IX, Rome rejoiced in the same manner as in 1644.

The city of Rome decided to celebrate these elections at La Fontana dei Leoni—the Lions’ Fountain—at the foot of the Cordonata in Piazza Ara Coeli, leading up to Piazza del Campidoglio at the top of the Capitoline Hill. The Cordonata is a giant, wide staircase designed by Michelangelo that allows cavalry to ascend to Campidoglio without dismounting. There is a lion of black basalt on either side of the Cordonata that spew water into a huge vase, and at dusk on the day after each election, the water from these fountains was replaced with wine and dispensed to revelers free of charge. The jubilant thronged Ara Coeli, the Cordonata, and up into Campidoglio throughout the night, dipping their goblets in the vases and drinking all they wanted.

8 The Premiere Of Les Noces

Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Les Noces (The Wedding) premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris on June 13, 1923 to great acclaim. Sara and Gerald Murphy—those friends of the Beaumonts from earlier—decided to throw a lavish party for Stravinsky and a host of the intellectual elite. Rather than rush an impromptu reception for that night, they announced throughout Paris that the party would be on July 1, on a barge on the Seine River.

With this much time to prepare and a lot of money, they went all out on food, drink, and decor. Five-star French chefs were hired to cook on-site and the champagne never ran out. Even more important than the food were the guests, all personal friends of the Murphys: Stravinsky, Impresario Sergei Diaghilev, choreographer Bronislav Nijinska, the entire troupe of the Ballet Russes, Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, poet Tristan Tzara, risque novelist Raymond Radiguet, Cole Porter, and Jean Cocteau.

Sara Murphy wanted to decorate the barge with flowers, but the florists were closed on Sunday, so she bought a hoard of toys, fire trucks, dolls, clowns, stuffed animals, and toy trains. Picasso quickly decided these deserved to be a car wreck and piled them all together, topping it off with a cow on a fire truck ladder. This may have inspired Picasso’s sculpture of a monkey’s head from one of his son’s toy cars. The party lasted all night—artist Natalia Goncharova read palms, Cocteau kept terrifying people by screaming that the ship was sinking, and by dawn, conductor Ernest Ansermet took down the Murphy’s huge laurel wreath and a very drunk Stravinsky jumped through it. He called it the greatest night of his life.

7 Truman Capote’s Black And White Ball

Capote was not one to be modest. He loved to remind people that one day he would be rich and famous and would throw all his friends a party they would never forget. When his novel In Cold Blood became a huge success in 1966, he found himself in the money and spent the next three months planning a masquerade ball. He chose New York City’s sumptuous Plaza Hotel and intended to decorate everything in stark black and white. The ball may have inspired Stanley Kubrick’s use of black and white sets in subsequent movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange.

Capote invited only the choicest of his friends, along with some celebrities he admired, including politicians, actors, and mostly writers. There was a strict dress code of only black or white, and everyone would be outfitted with a black or white mask if they did not bring one. Some wore elaborate unicorn head masks, while others wore cat-shaped masks. Capote countered the black and white decorum with shockingly crimson tablecloths, gold candelabras, and smilax vines with bright red berries.

The bill of fare consisted of several of Capote’s favorite dishes: sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken hash, and chocolate and fruit dessert pastries. The beverages were water and 450 bottles of Taittinger champagne. The guest of honor was Katharine Graham, the president of The Washington Post, who claimed that Capote only needed her as a prop. Guests included Henry Ford, Jr.; Prince Stanislaw Radziwill and his Princess, sister of the late John Kennedy; actress Candice Bergen, who wore a white rabbit mask; Norman Mailer; John Steinbeck; Phillip Roth; Irving Berlin; Vivien Leigh; and Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow. It is understood that Sinatra’s departure heralded the official end of the party, since reporters were allowed to field questions outside the hotel and everyone knew Sinatra was there. When he finally tired and left at 2:45 in the morning, Capote pleaded for him to stay, since many of the partiers would follow Sinatra to Jilly’s Bar.

The party has been called the last great moment in New York City’s social history.

6 Nero’s Domus Aurea

The Golden House was a luxury party manor Nero had built for his and his guests’ wanton prodigality, and he used it almost every day for four years. Scholars cannot yet agree on just how gigantic it was, but it covered at least 100 acres of the center of Rome, across the Palatine, Caelian, and Esquiline Hills. Today, it is buried under subsequent development and currently being excavated. New rooms are discovered all the time, with original frescoes and architecture untouched since Nero’s day.

It was well-known from history but had been condemned after Nero’s suicide and filled in and over with dirt. The opulence Nero had built for it is beyond belief, and the Golden House was one of the primary reasons for the final revolt that drove him from Rome. The Roman people were starving while Nero merrily ignored them, entertaining his rich friends and political acquaintances. The Domus may have covered 300 acres at its maximum, including an artificial lake, cattle pastures, and vast, manicured groves. These were the gardens through which Nero walked at night and had Christians tied to stakes, smeared with wax, and set on fire to light his path.

The main building included a giant dome and all the exterior walls were gold-plated. The interior walls and floors were stone overlaid with solid marble, trimmed with elephant ivory, and encrusted with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and other precious stones. Nero commissioned a massive bronze statue to himself, the Colossus Neronis, which stood some 35 meters (116 ft) tall and was placed just outside the main entrance, inside a covered portico at the end of the Appian Way. There were 300 rooms in the Domus, and none of them were bedchambers.

The building was used for one thing only: partying. Incense was kept burning strongly throughout, and the central dining room was set on stone balls that could rotate the whole room with guests dining in it, in time with the changing of the sky’s color. Suetonius wrote that “all the dining rooms had ceilings of fretted ivory, the panels of which could slide back and let a rain of flowers, or of perfume from hidden sprinklers, fall on his guests.” The floors of the rooms were shaped in such a way that one room would capture the sunlight and the next would radiate it. There is very little information on any specific party that Nero threw in the Domus, but this is probably because there was a party every night. It is not overreaching to surmise that with feasts and alcohol came Roman sex orgies as well.

5 Belshazzar’s Feast

If for no other reason, you have to admire the Old Testament for how incredibly entertaining it is. Where else does God himself spoil the party? This feast occurred on the last night of Belshazzar’s reign over Babylon and ended with the Persian and Median conquest of the Babylonian capital and Belshazzar’s assassination in his sleep. The Book of Daniel is the only account of Belshazzar, but his existence has been corroborated in a few other texts or on artifacts.

Belshazzar, like so many other absolute rulers, has no concern whatever for humility, and he wines and dines 1,000 of his lordly friends. Once the party has been going well and everyone is already drunk, he orders the gold and silver goblets and bowls of the Jewish temple of Jerusalem to be brought in so his guests may drink beer from them. Why? For the same reason that people order the $25,000 sundae at Serendipity in New York City—it’s fun to indulge ourselves to excess when we have the luxury. What better way to enjoy abundant wine than by drinking from 24 karat gold? These vessels were meant for sacraments in the temple, the glorification of the Hebrew God. They became Babylon’s spoils after it conquered Jerusalem in 587 BC and razed Solomon’s Temple to the ground. Not only does gold look attractive and make us think the food will taste better, but it’s fun to thumb the nose at the conquered.

Belshazzar’s bill of fare for his guests was copious, to say the least, and consisted of unleavened barley bread, watermelons, cantaloupe (called “the Persian melon”), dates, almonds, pecans, and poultry, mutton, pork, beef, fish, and probably locusts for meat. Garlic and onions were, and still are, plentiful in the area and were used for seasoning. The Babylonians did not drink much wine, since grapes were difficult to cultivate in that area, so they drank barley beer. Drinking from some foreign god’s chalices was sure to make Belshazzar’s guests feel like gods themselves—then the hand of God showed up and ruined everything. Belshazzar’s kingdom was taken that very night and he himself killed by Cyrus the Great of Persia, whom Daniel may name Darius the Mede.

4 Paul Poiret’s Thousand And Second Night

Poiret was the Lady Gaga of his day. He was a Parisian fashion designer who took France by storm with his modern dress designs when he eliminated the woman’s need to wear a corset in order to enhance her figure. He emphasized drapery instead of tightly tailoring the clothing to woman. On 24 June 1911, he finally debuted a new fragrance line, Parfums de Rosine, named after his daughter, and he had hyped this revelation for months by preparing the most elaborate party Paris would see in a very long time.

Held at his own villa in Paris, the theme was Persia—all 300 guests, men and women, were required to dress in florid Persian style. Think of Disney’s Aladdin and you’ve got a very good idea of the costumes. Those who could not supply their own were given one free of charge, but those who would not conform were forced to leave. There were live tropical birds of every color a feast fit for Belshazzar, complemented with red and white wine and champagne. Poiret greeted his guests wearing a fur-trimmed, ankle-length overdress and bejeweled turban. Poiret decorated his house like a sultan’s harem, with palm trees, huge tents housing the food, and lots of gold—Poiret’s favorite color—everywhere. Poiret’s wife Denise basked on an overstuffed divan inside a gold cage, where she laughed riotously now and then at the patrons.

3 Alexander At Persepolis

This was not merely a party. It was a rampage of hubristic debauchery of an intensity and scale that has not been seen since in the history of our species— murder, rape, unbridled drunkenness, and the looting of the entire city, culminating in Alexander’s personal and maniacally inebriated order to torch the Royal Palace.

In September 480 BC, a few weeks after Leonidas and his brave 300 (and about 7,000 others) died holding off Xerxes’s army of some 200,000, the victorious Persians marched on Athens and found it undefended and deserted. Athens then burned to the ground, and scholars will never agree on why. It may have been an accident when the Greeks were evacuating, or the Greeks may have done it themselves to deprive the Persians of supplies, or Xerxes may have done it in a rage. Greek propaganda persisted for a long time that Xerxes burned Athens down deliberately. By Alexander’s time, the Greeks wanted revenge, and Alexander may have knowingly given the order to burn down the palace out of a desire to placate his army of about 15,000. They were far from home and had been gone for five years, and he was always mindful of an atmosphere of mutiny.

Or it might simply have been the result of an atmosphere of alcoholic excess. It might have seemed to Alexander just a fun thing to do at the time. The Persian populace in the city had been thoroughly subjugated following the Battle at the Persian Gate. There, the Persians blocked Alexander’s invasion in a very narrow mountain pass, just as Leonidas at Thermopylae. Greek losses were heavy. This had not been another easy victory for history’s greatest general and his men now saw the Persians as playthings. Even though Persepolis surrendered and obeyed Alexander, he finally gave his men leave to butcher the Persian men, gang-rape and enslave the women, and ransack all buildings for Persepolis’s hoard of gold and gems that May.

Finally, Alexander ordered the central citadel—at the core of which stood Darius’s palace—razed to the ground. Much of it was stone, but enough of its foundation was wood for it to collapse. The only thing left standing of the palace and reception galleries where Darius entertained thousands of guests at a time were about forty stone pillars, still there today.

2 13, 1903

In the annals of merriment, no soiree was more convivial than the extravaganza Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra threw for their noble friends to celebrate being wealthy. At the time, the majority of the Russian people were starving and freezing to death throughout the country, and the ball was a major contributor to the revolution 14 years later. It was held in the monarchs’ official residence, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and the theme was the 17th Century: Everyone was required to dress in the flamboyantly opulent costumes of Europe in the 1600s. Some dressed as Russian, German, and French kings and queens, and others as musketeers, complete with real rapiers.

Diamonds, precious stones, and priceless artifacts of the time period were brought from the Kremlin solely for the party-goers to enjoy wearing them,. Nicholas and his wife dressed as Tsar Alexis I and Tsaritsa Maria Miloslavskaya. It is difficult to imagine the amount of luxury Nicholas could heap on his more than 200 guests when we consider that he was said to be worth a nominal $20 billion when he took the throne in 1894, but many sources claim a modern estimate of $290 to $300 billion in today’s US dollars. Nicholas was, more or less, worth Russia until the Russians got sick of what they viewed as his “let them eat cake” attitude.

The centerpiece of the first night’s festivities was a concert in the Hermitage theater inside the Palace, during which Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov was performed with Feodor Chaliapin himself in the lead, followed by Minkus’s La Bayadere and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. The guests were then treated to a Russian dance and a dinner so large it had to be held in three rooms—the Italian, Spanish, and Flemish rooms—where the food served corresponded to their respective cultures. Several bars throughout the palace served liquor, and tea and wine were present on every table. The court orchestra played Baroque music from all over Europe from behind a golden fence. Formal photographs were taken and this was the last time all the nobility of Russia was present for them.

Two nights later, the ball was celebrated again just as lavishly. Everyone feasted and danced until 1:00 AM, when the empress judged a costume contest. Russia has not seen this degree of splendor since.

1 La Sagra Dell’Uva

Every year on the first Sunday of October since 1924, the city of Marino, Italy has celebrated the arrival of Marcantonio Colonna, the admiral who defeated the Ottoman armada in the Gulf Of Corinth in 1571. Some 400 of the Marino townsfolk dress in the Renaissance garb of Colonna’s sailors, there is a jousting tournament, and every balcony, doorway, and terrace is strung with flower garlands. All the fountains are bedecked with vines of ripe grapes and you may eat as many of them as you like. If you want an actual meal, you need only browse the town and sample as you please—it’s all free.

The festival lasts from dawn to well into the dark of the next morning, but the highlight of the party comes at dusk. Just as the sun hits the horizon, the water is drained from the main fountain in the center of town, La Fontana dei Quattro Mori (“the Fountain of the Four Moors”), and sweet white wine is dispensed freely for everyone to drink as much as they want. The city spends about $250,000 on the wine alone. You are advised, however, to drink your fill and then lay low, because the crowd does get out of hand.

A week later, on the second Sunday, they celebrate their annual doughnut festival. The doughnuts are a local delicacy, ciambella al mosto, which are baked buns with raisins, rolled in sugar and “must” or pressed wine skins.

Most drivers stick to ordinary highways, but the world hides a handful of truly extraordinary routes. In this roundup of 10 unusual motorways, we’ll take you on a global tour of roads that sound, float, soar, and even house a stubborn homeowner. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Discover 10 Unusual Motorways That Defy Expectations

10 The Highway That Sings

Speeding is a leading cause of crashes, yet New Mexico’s Department of Transportation has turned the problem into a melody. Along Route 66, a set of rumble strips on the right‑hand side emits the patriotic tune “America the Beautiful” when a vehicle cruises at exactly 72 km/h (45 mph). The musical cue not only rewards drivers for obeying the limit but also keeps them alert, combating the fatigue that often leads to accidents.

Drivers hear the anthem only when they maintain the prescribed speed, turning the road itself into a giant instrument. By slowing down to enjoy the tune, motorists also gain a better view of the surrounding desert landscape, turning a safety measure into a scenic experience.

The project was funded by the National Geographic Channel as part of its series Crowd Control, which experiments with human behavior. The channel’s involvement turned a practical traffic solution into a headline‑grabbing, road‑side concert.

9 The Highway With A House In The Middle

Imagine refusing to move when a highway is planned right through your front yard. That’s exactly what 67‑year‑old Luo Baogen and his 65‑year‑old wife did in China. When authorities announced a new road to a railway station, they offered compensation that the couple deemed insufficient for rebuilding their home.

Undeterred, the government proceeded, constructing a four‑lane highway that wrapped around their five‑story residence, creating a literal “nail house” perched amid traffic. Chinese law protects private property from forced demolition, leading to several high‑profile standoffs like this one.

Eventually, Baogen accepted a payout of 260,000 yuan (about $41,000) and the house was demolished, allowing the road to continue unimpeded. The couple chose anonymity, weary of the media spotlight their unique situation attracted.

8 The Highway Through A Runway

Gibraltar’s cramped geography forces a remarkable compromise: Winston Churchill Avenue, the peninsula’s busiest road, literally runs across the Gibraltar International Airport’s runway. Every time a plane lands or takes off, massive barriers seal the highway, stopping all traffic until the aircraft passes.

The intertwining of road and runway creates safety challenges for both drivers and pilots. Litter or debris left on the runway can jeopardize aircraft, prompting strict warnings to keep the strip spotless.

With only about 30 flights a week, the disruption is manageable, but plans are afoot to tunnel the road beneath the runway. The proposed underground passage would eliminate the stop‑and‑go routine, boosting safety and traffic flow.

7 The Road With The Highest Speed Limit

If you crave velocity beyond the ordinary, the High Speed Test Track at Holloman Air Force Base offers a sign that reads “Mach 10.” This isn’t a speed‑trap; it’s an invitation to celebrate breaking the sound barrier, not a ticket‑issuing menace.

Built in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the track isn’t meant for casual cruising. It serves as a proving ground for rockets, parachutes, and seat‑belt technologies. In 1954, Captain John P. Stapp rode the Sonic Wind Rocket Sled 1 to a record‑breaking 1,017 km/h (632 mph), a feat still revered today.

The closest any other driver has come to the posted Mach 10 limit was Mach 8.5, achieved with a later rocket sled. The track remains a testament to human ambition and engineering daring.

6 The Atlantic Ocean Road

Norway’s Atlanterhavsveien, known as the Atlantic Ocean Road, stretches 8.3 km (5.2 mi) along a jagged coastline, linking islands via a series of bridges, causeways, and viaducts. Originally conceived as a single bridge, the project morphed into this iconic ribbon of road after six years of construction.

The build faced twelve hurricanes and a budget of 12 million Norwegian kroner (roughly $1.5 million). When it opened on July 7, 1989, it earned the title “Norwegian Construction of the Century” and quickly became a national tourist route.

Tourists and cyclists flock to its dramatic sea‑level views, and eight of its bridges even feature dedicated fishing landings, blending utility with pure scenic wonder.

5 The Tallest Bridge In The World

The Millau Viaduct, completed in 2004, towers 343 m (1,125 ft) above the Tarn valley, making it the world’s tallest bridge. French President Jacques Chirac praised it as a “marvel of art and architecture,” while architect Lord Norman Foster and engineer Michel Virlogeux oversaw its sleek design.

Spanning 2,460 m (8,070 ft), the bridge was built to ease traffic between Paris and Barcelona. Construction cost roughly €400 million ($440 million) and was financed privately by Eiffage, the firm behind the Eiffel Tower. Tolls collected until at least 2080 (or as early as 2044 if profitability so dictates) fund its upkeep.

On clear days, the viaduct appears to float among the clouds, dwarfing even the Eiffel Tower, and offering drivers an unforgettable high‑altitude crossing.

4 The Extraterrestrial Highway

Nevada State Highway 375, affectionately dubbed the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” stretches 158 km (98 mi) through the stark desert of the American Southwest. The moniker stems from a long‑standing tradition of UFO sightings reported by travelers along the route.

The highway’s fame skyrocketed after engineer Bob Lazar claimed on television in 1989 to have worked on alien spacecraft at nearby Area 51. The state capitalized on the buzz, officially naming the road during a ceremony attended by the lead actors of the movie Independence and Fox executives.

While UFO lore captivates the imagination, most sightings have mundane explanations. The road also skirts Nellis Air Force Base, a hub for secret aircraft and missile testing since the 1950s, adding a tangible layer of intrigue.

3 The Highway Without Vehicles

M‑185 winds around Mackinac Island, Michigan, and holds the distinction of being America’s only car‑free highway. Spanning 13.4 km (8.3 mi), it’s reserved for pedestrians, horses, carriages, and bicycles, a ban that dates back to the 1890s when locals protested the “mechanical monster” of early automobiles.

The island’s 1898 ordinance still stands, with only a few exceptions: a police Jeep assists elderly residents in winter, and snowmobiles are permitted for children over 12. Even electric bikes are barred to protect the island’s horses.

Occasional mishaps occur, typically tourists who ride while intoxicated, but overall the highway offers a tranquil, vehicle‑free experience reminiscent of a bygone era.

2 The Underwater Motorway

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge‑Tunnel, celebrated among modern engineering’s “seven wonders,” spans 37 km (23 mi) of water, linking Virginia’s mainland to the Eastern Shore via four artificial islands, two high‑level bridges, and two submerged tunnels each 1.6 km (1 mi) long.

Conceived in 1956 and championed by Lucius J. Kellam Jr., the project cost nearly $200 million. The U.S. Navy initially opposed a solid bridge, fearing it would block naval access, prompting the inclusion of the underwater tunnels to satisfy military concerns.

Extreme weather can close the bridge‑tunnel 15‑20 times a year, with wind gusts strong enough to lift cars off the road. These closures ensure safety amid the Bay’s notorious storms.

1 The Highest Highway

The Karakoram Highway climbs to an astonishing 5,000 m (16,000 ft), making it the world’s highest paved international road. Stretching 1,300 km (800 mi), it links Pakistan and China through the rugged Karakoram range, a joint venture completed in 1986 after a decade of grueling construction.

Every mile claimed a life, underscoring the perilous nature of the project. Today, the route remains hazardous, plagued by terrorist attacks, frequent landslides that can bury entire villages, and occasional encounters with elusive snow leopards.

2022 has been a hell of a year. For most of the world, it was the first year that things properly opened up after lockdown—a chance for our lives to hopefully go back to normal. And for scientists and researchers all across the globe, that meant a chance to go back to the lab full-time.

Yes, 2022 has been a busy old year for science. Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen tremendous advances in immunology research, huge breakthroughs for space travel, and, in just the past few weeks, tantalizing evidence that nuclear fusion could be a possibility here on Earth. But it’s also been a year for the surreal and unexpected, like rhino-sized turtles and nose-picking primates.

Here are ten of the most bizarre and exciting discoveries that made headlines this year.

10 Researchers Teach Brain Cells to Play Pong

Brain cells are fascinating things. In 2022, researchers from Melbourne’s Cortical Labs set about experimenting with some as part of the DishBrain project. They grew synthetic neurons in a petri dish and then allowed them to develop on a micro-electrode array chip. These chips are well suited to this sort of task because they can electrically stimulate the cells while monitoring their activity.

As brain cells grow, they branch out, link together, and form neural networks like the ones in the brain. Once this happened on the chip, the researchers hooked DishBrain up to a computer and ran the game, Pong. Every time DishBrain performed well, like the paddle making contact with the ball, the neurons received a positive stimulus through the chip. But poor play resulted in a negative, entropically unfavorable stimulus.

Within five minutes of this, the neutrons became noticeably better at the game, essentially “learning” to play better. The team described DishBrain as a breakthrough in “synthetic biological intelligence.”^[1]

9 T. Rex’s Tiny Arms May Have Been Useful for Sex

The Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the most fearsome predators to walk the Earth. But why did it have such stubby arms? Well, a recent study by scientists in Argentina may hold the answer. They say the tiny limbs helped the giant lizard mate, a handy tool in the throes of passion.

The team came to this conclusion after discovering a new species of dinosaur. Much like the T. rex, Meraxes gigas was an enormous predator with diminutive arms. Fossil evidence shows the beast was around 36 feet (11 meters) long but with a forearm half the size of its skull.

Scientists believe that these Meraxes used their heads and mouths to fight, whereas their arms came in handy during other, perhaps more intimate, acts like holding onto a sexual partner. And if it’s true for Meraxes, then it should follow that the same is true of the Tyrannosaurus. “I’m convinced that those proportionally tiny arms had some sort of function,” explained lead author Juan Canale. “The skeleton shows large muscle insertions and fully developed pectoral girdles, so the arm had strong muscles.”^[2]

8 Fetuses Screw Up Their Faces at Kale

Getting children to eat their greens can be difficult at the best of times, but it appears an aversion to certain veggies could go as far back as the womb. In September 2022, advanced imaging techniques revealed that babies in the womb grimace when the mother eats kale. Carrots, however, are said to elicit a much more pleasant reaction.

Scientists from Durham University in the UK used 4D ultrasound to monitor 100 fetuses. The mothers were then given a capsule with either carrot or kale powder inside. On the scans, those who were fed carrots seemed almost to laugh with joy. But the kale-eating babies screwed their faces up in disgust.

Scientists have long suspected that unborn babies experience taste when they ingest nutrients, but until recently, studies only focused on behavior after birth. According to author Beyza Ustun, this study “is the first to see these reactions prior to birth.”^[3]

7 Turns Out You Can Smile Yourself Happy

A sweet entry here at number seven. For years it has been said that smiling makes you feel a little more cheerful, and in 2022, psychologists found it to be true.

The Many Smiles Collaboration, headed by Nicholas Coles of Stanford University, took almost 4,000 volunteers from 19 countries and asked them to smile using different methods. Some smiled naturally, using the muscles around their mouth. Others mirrored an actor. And the third group held a pen between their teeth to stimulate the same muscles we use when we smile. They were then asked to rate their happiness as they smiled and as they looked neutral. They were also shown images of pleasant things to judge their happiness levels, like puppies, kittens, and flowers.

Coles found little emotional difference for the forced smilers with a pen in their teeth. But the natural smilers did report feeling slightly more cheerful. Those happy grins tap into something known as the “facial feedback hypothesis.” Essentially, if your face looks happy, you’re more likely to feel good inside—whereas frowners tend to become a little sadder.^[4]

6 Aye-Ayes Use Their Long Middle Fingers to Pick Their Noses

The animal kingdom is home to all kinds of strange and unexpected phenomena. One such bizarre occurrence is the aye-aye, a small Madagascan primate with a dirty habit: nose-picking. Aye-ayes are known in some cultures as omens of death. If an aye-aye points a crooked, spindly finger at you, then you’re said to be nearing the end of your mortal coil.

But those unnerving digits have other uses aside from marking out the soon-to-be-dead. Aye-ayes use their finger to dig out grubs for a tasty snack. Well, it now turns out they do the same with boogers as well. Scientists looking into aye-aye behavior created a CT scan reconstruction showing just how far back their fingers go when they pick their noses. According to the image, the mammals practically scrape the back of their own brain.

Researchers are now interested to learn why so many animals pick their noses when there seems to be no advantage. To date, over 12 species of primate have been caught in the act, including orangutans, chimpanzees, and, of course, us humans too.^[5]

5 Scientists Uncover a New Type of Molecular Bond

In July 2022, physicists in Germany were delighted to announce a never-before-seen breakthrough in particle science. The group from the University of Stuttgart detected a new type of molecular bond between a positive ion and a mammoth particle known as a Rydberg atom. Rydberg atoms occur when an outer electron becomes extremely excited and leaps much further from the nucleus than usual. In some cases, Rydberg atoms can be 1,000 times the size of their regular counterparts.

The scientists achieved this spectacular feat using a cloud of rubidium at a whisker above absolute zero—the temperature at which everything stops moving. They used lasers first to strip some of the rubidium atoms of their electrons, turning them into positively-charged ions, and then to excite other atoms into a Rydberg state.

When ions and Rydberg atoms are together at such low temperatures, they begin to interact. The ions alter the electromagnetic structure of the atoms, and bonds can form—like the one seen in the Stuttgart experiment. Unlike most known molecular bonds, which measure a fraction of a nanometer, this newly-observed one is longer than some types of bacteria. Definitely a record discovery.^[6]

4 Turtles the Size of Rhinos Lived in Prehistoric Europe

When a newly-discovered species gets named after a biblical sea monster, you know it must have been gigantic. Leviathanochelys aenigmatica is thought to have measured around 13 feet (4 meters) in length when it roamed the oceans around what is now Europe. The marine behemoth lived some 83.6 to 72.1 million years ago.

Scientists named the rhino-sized beast after Leviathan, a primordial sea serpent with multiple heads. It was discovered after a pelvis and parts of a carapace were unearthed in the Cal Torrades area of northeastern Spain. Until then, scientists had only ever seen evidence of giant marine turtles around the Americas. The team that uncovered L. aenigmatica was surprised to find another of such enormity in Europe.

Appearing around six million years after L. aenigmatica, Archelon is still the all-time largest known marine turtle. But this newly-found colossus poses stiff competition. As the researchers explained in their study: “The discovery of the new, gigantic and bizarre chelonioid Leviathanochelys aenigmatica from the Middle Campanian marine deposits of the Southern Pyrenees, which rivals in size to Archelon, sheds a light on the diversity of marine turtles and on how the phenomenon of gigantism in these groups was also occurring in Europe.”^[7]

3 The Cannibals of Prehistoric Britain

In 2022, we learned that at one point in time, the UK may well have been populated by cannibals. Scientists discovered human remains at Gough’s Cave in Somerset and Kendrick’s Cave in Llandudno. Both date back to around the end of the last ice age. These bodies provided the oldest DNA ever found in Britain, and through analysis, molecular biologists were able to find out a lot about the country’s prehistoric forebears.

The team was surprised to learn that the DNA shows there were two groups of humans living in Britain at that time. Based on the evidence found in Kendrick’s Cave, the first lived mostly on fish and other marine life. But the one in Gough’s Cave showed signs of cannibalism. This potential people-eater was found to be of the same lineage as Goyet Q2—a 15,000-year-old body discovered in Belgium.^[8]

2 World’s First Synthetic Embryo

The use of stem cells in scientific research is still a contentious topic. But in August, a group from the Weizmann Institute in Israel used them to build the first-ever synthetic embryo. No sperm or eggs were involved in the creation process, and there was no fertilization. Instead, researchers took stem cells from mice and guided them to amass into an embryo-like structure, complete with a fledgling brain, intestinal tract, and beating heart.

In their paper, the team explained how this first-of-its-kind breakthrough opens the possibility for further insight into embryonic development. But they also reckon that it could also lower the number of experiments carried out on animals in the long term. Similar technology, they hope, may one day be used to grow cells and tissue for human transplants. The breadth of potential uses is certainly impressive.

“Remarkably, we show that embryonic stem cells generate whole synthetic embryos, meaning this includes the placenta and yolk sac surrounding the embryo,” explained study lead Jacob Hanna. “We are truly excited about this work and its implications.”^[9]

1 Male Mason Wasps Fight Predators with Their Penis Spines

Just imagine the scene. You’re a hungry tree frog in search of a snack. You discover a tasty-looking mason wasp, get ready to take a bite, and it stabs you with its barbed penis.

Until recently, scientists believed only female mason wasps could defend against predators. The women can sting and use their toxins, whereas the men had no means to fight back. But now they know this to be untrue. Along his penis, the male has two retractable genital spines that they use against dangerous foes.

It was Misaki Tsujii, a graduate student in Japan, who first made the discovery. She was handling some as part of a different study into their life cycles when unexpectedly, one of them pricked her finger. To find out more, scientists watched what happened when they fed mason wasps to hungry Japanese tree frogs. The insects fought back using their mandibles and their spiky penises. Almost 65% of the wasps were still consumed, but 35% survived the ordeal. They also repeated the experiment with different mason wasps whose genitals they had removed. Unsurprisingly, without their retractable penis stabbers, the wasps with no manhood were eaten more quickly.^[10]

Animals, especially wild animals, are predictably unpredictable. Seemingly cute and cuddly one minute, vicious predators the next. Most people who live close to nature understand this and take reasonable precautions. But these animal attacks from 2022 show that sometimes the unexpected occurs and can have horrifying consequences

10 Tiger Attacks Zookeeper

The year 2022 got off to a rough start for three zookeepers at Nasu Safari Park in Japan when they were attacked by a 400-pound (181-kilogram) Bengal tiger. On January 4, the first worker to arrive at the park, a 26-year-old woman, went into the building where the animals are caged to do a safety check. But the tigers hadn’t been locked up properly the night before.

So once inside, she found the tiger, Volta, in the corridor. Volta pounced, eventually biting off the young woman’s hand. Two of the woman’s co-workers heard her screams and tried to help but were also attacked. It took over 30 minutes for the veterinarian on staff to tranquilize Volta. In the end, all three workers were hospitalized but survived. ^[1]

9 Hippo Attacks Toddler

When listing the most dangerous animals in the world, hippos probably aren’t the first creatures that come to mind. However, these huge animals kill approximately 500 people a year. In December of 2022, Iga Paul almost became one of these statistics.

Two-year-old Iga was playing outside his family home in Uganda when a hippo from nearby Lake Edward attacked. Initial reports claimed that the animal swallowed the child whole and then miraculously vomited him up when a neighbor began pelting it with rocks. However, officials later clarified that only Iga’s head and shoulders were in the hippo’s mouth. Either way, the boy is lucky to have made a full recovery since a hippo’s sharp teeth can grow to be 20 inches (51 centimeters) long, and their bite can equal 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of pressure^[2]

8 Giraffe Attacks Toddler and Mother

Nicole Panos of South Africa wasn’t as lucky as Iga Paul when she and her children were attacked by a giraffe in the Kuleni Game Park. The park bills itself as a luxury resort for people who want to “experience the abundance and diversity of wildlife” and says guests can explore a variety of trails while getting an up-close look at zebras, wildebeest, and giraffes. However, guests are prohibited from feeding the animals and are encouraged to keep a safe distance.

As an experienced guide at the park, Nicole would have been familiar with these rules but was also used to seeing the animals throughout the property. On October 20, 2022, she was taking her two children back to their cabin when they came across a herd of giraffes. The trio continued past the herd, and although giraffes are normally peaceful, one of them attacked the small family, severely injuring Nicole and tragically killing her 16-month-old daughter. Authorities reported no known reason for the attack but noted that several calves were in the herd and that female giraffes can be aggressive in defense of their young. ^[3]

7 Pet Kangaroo Attacks Owner

Peter Eades was a lifelong animal lover and Alpaca breeder in Australia who also has the sad distinction of being the first Australian killed by a kangaroo since 1936. And not just any kangaroo but one that he’d raised from a small joey. What he didn’t realize is that in 2022, his pet had just hit the turning point age for kangaroos, especially those in captivity. According to wildlife expert Michelle Jones, when a kangaroo is right around three, these cute pets tune into their wild animal instincts, and their behavior becomes unpredictable.

Although fatal attacks are rare, male kangaroos can be aggressive and see people in an upright position as threatening. No one is sure if that’s what provoked Eades’s pet; when a relative found him later in the day, he’d already been seriously injured by the angry kangaroo. Unfortunately for Eades, medical help was delayed even longer because the kangaroo wouldn’t let the paramedics near the man. Police eventually shot the creature, but it was too late for Eades, who succumbed to his injuries.^[4]

6 Python Swallows Woman Alive

People always say that snakes are “more afraid of you than you are of them.” But that’s hard to believe in the case of a 22-foot-long (6.7-meter) python capable of eating anything that crosses its path. And in October of 2022, a 54-year-old grandmother named Jahrah apparently crossed paths with the wrong snake at the wrong time.

According to her husband, Jahrah left home to go to work and never returned. He later found some of her belongings in the forest and organized a search party. The rescuers found the huge snake with a suspicious bulge in its stomach. Sure enough, once they killed the snake and cut it open, they found Jahrah’s body inside^[5]

5 Elephant Kills Woman and Attacks Her Funeral

One of the strangest stories of the year involved an elephant who not only killed a woman but then stormed into her funeral and attacked her corpse. In June, 70-year-old Maya Murmu was walking to a well in Odisha, India, when she encountered an Asian elephant that had escaped from a nearby animal sanctuary. The huge beast trampled Murmu and ran away. Murmu was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but never recovered.

This is when the story takes an even odder turn. Murmu’s family was in the middle of her funeral ceremony when the elephant reappeared and charged toward the unlit pyre. It grabbed Murmu’s body, flung it in the air, and trampled it again before disappearing back into the brush^[6]

4 Alligator Drowns South Carolina Man

Alligator sightings are common in the southern U.S. states. In fact, there are approximately 100,000 of the giant reptiles living in South Carolina alone. Despite their fearsome appearance, alligator attacks are rare. When they do happen, it’s largely attributed to animals that have lost their natural fear of humans. For example, when humans feed alligators and condition them to think of people as a source of food. Or when the gator is surrounded by humans daily and has gotten accustomed to their presence, like on golf courses and in neighborhood ponds.

This seems to be the case in the death of Michael Burnstein in June of 2022. According to reports, Burstein was mowing the grass on the side of a pond at the Myrtle Beach Golf and Yacht Club community when an 11-foot (3.4-meter) alligator lunged from the water, grabbed him, and dragged him back below the surface. Burnstein was then held underwater until he drowned, and first responders were eventually able to retrieve his body.^[7]

3 Monkey Mob Kills a Baby

July featured one of the most horrifying attacks of the year when a group of rhesus macaque monkeys attacked a family in Uttar Pradesh, India, and threw the youngest child to its death. According to reports, on July 18, Nirdesh Upadhyay and his wife and infant son went out to relax on their third-floor terrace. While they were out enjoying the fresh air, some of the monkeys that roam the city climbed onto the roof.

Upadhyay tried to run back into the house but tripped and lost hold of his four-month-old son. With terrifying speed, one of the monkeys grabbed the baby and threw it off the roof. By the time his parents had fought their way through the monkeys and rushed downstairs, the boy had died.^[8]

2 Leopard Attacks 15 People

India was also the site of one of the last animal attacks of the year when a leopard injured 15 people on December 27, 2022. It started at the Rain Forest Research Institute campus on a Monday morning in Assam, India, when the huge cat began prowling around, searching for food. For the next 24 hours, the leopard ran rampant through the village, jumping onto vehicles and terrifying residents. The majority of people injured were forest officials, but a woman and two children were also wounded. Luckily, all the victims survived.^[9]

1 Bear Wrestles College Wrestlers

Animal attacks usually aren’t uplifting stories, but it’s nice to be able to round out the 2022 list with a story that also shows friendship, bravery, and incredible selflessness. Brady Lowry and Kendell Cummings, wrestlers at Northwest College in Cody, WY, went into the Shoshone National Forest on October 17 to hunt for dropped antlers but found a bear instead.

According to Lowry, the grizzly charged out of the trees and knocked him to the ground. Then it bit him, breaking his left arm in the process. That’s when Cummings jumped in to help, grabbing the bear’s ear and trying to pull the animal off Lowry. His attempts worked a little too well since the grizzly turned its attention to Cummings, knocking him down and biting him too. The wrestler fought back, bravely shoving his hands into the bear’s mouth so it couldn’t bite his neck.

The strategy worked at first, with the grizzly retreating, but then it returned to attack Cummings again, this time crunching down on his skull and face. Eventually, the pair was able to get away and get help. Although hospitalized with serious injuries, both young men survived. Because according to Lowry, the bond between the best friends meant neither would leave the other behind.^[10]