Death can be painful enough to deal with on its own, but a murder can compound the suffering for the family. For some, years and years without answers guarantees that the wounds caused by this hardship never heal.

Sometimes, detective work is a waiting game—for breakthroughs in technology or that one witness to come forward who can crack the case wide open. Unfortunately for these 10 people, life was cut short and their families were left with questions that went unanswered for years.

10 Sheila And Katherine Lyon

The year was 1975. Sheila and Katherine Lyon were supposed to meet friends for a day of fun in a shopping mall in Maryland. But they disappeared and were never seen alive by their loved ones again.

After over 40 years without answers, a pair of cold case detectives decided to look at the investigation with fresh eyes. They examined the case as if it had just been called in and pored over case records. One account stood out from a man named Lloyd Welch. He had claimed to have seen the girls when they were being abducted. After failing a polygraph, he was deemed to be an unreliable witness.

The detectives decided to look into what Welch had been doing for the last 40 years and discovered that he had accrued a lengthy criminal record, mostly for sex crimes against children. So the detectives decided to reinterview him.

After eight hours of interrogation, Welch’s story changed multiple times. He did not admit to killing the girls. Instead, he said that he had participated in the abduction and had been a witness to the dismemberment of one girl. Welch also stated that the bodies of both sisters had been taken to the land owned by his family in Bedford County and burned.^[1]

He blamed the killings on his father and an uncle, but there was never any evidence to substantiate those claims. Lloyd Welch pleaded guilty to the deaths of the Lyon sisters and two other sex crimes involving children.

9 Edmund Schreiber

In 1983, 92-year-old Edmund Schreiber was living alone in his home in Buffalo. During World War I, Edmund had been shot in both thighs and received a Purple Heart for his service. In an ideal world, he would have been able to live out his twilight years peacefully. But unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

A young woman named Saundra Adams lived on his street and ran errands for the elderly man. At 17, she and an accomplice broke into Schreiber’s home. They tied him up, and Adams strangled him with several of his neckties. They robbed him and left his body on his bed where he was discovered later by friends.^[2]

It took more than 30 years for Adams to be brought to justice. By then, her accomplice was dead. Meanwhile, Adams was working as a librarian and had two kids of her own. In 2016, DNA evidence from Schreiber’s murder was tied to Adams. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 7–21 years in prison.

8 Melanie Road

In 1984, Melanie Road was just 17 when she was found stabbed to death one early morning in Bath, Somerset. At the time, detectives had no real leads and forensics was not as solid as it is today. Nonetheless, they took swabs of every drop of blood as well as the semen that was found inside Melanie’s body and on her clothes.

Decades passed, but the detectives never gave up. In the 1990s, the DNA profile of the killer was extracted from semen samples and put into the national DNA database. There was no match at the time.

However, in 2014, a woman who had gotten into a domestic dispute with her partner had her DNA put into the system. In 2015, the familial DNA testing for Melanie’s murder was rerun and it was a match to the woman. Police looked at the woman’s father, Christopher Hampton, and he agreed to have his mouth swabbed.

His DNA was a match. Hampton was arrested, and in 2016, he was sentenced to life in prison.^[3]

7 Kylie Maybury

A young Australian girl named Kylie Maybury had been sent out by her mother to buy sugar, but she never returned home. The six-year-old’s body was discovered the next day abandoned in a gutter. She had been raped and murdered.

Thirty-three years passed, and suspects were investigated. But none panned out. Until the police decided to reinterview a man named Gregory Keith Davies. He was a suspect early in the case, but no evidence was found to prove his guilt.

During his reinterview, however, he agreed to have a DNA sample taken. His DNA was a match for that found on Kylie’s body. Davies was charged and later pleaded guilty.^[4]

6 Jacob Wetterling

Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped by a masked gunman while riding bikes with his brother and a friend in October 1989. Decades passed with no trace of Jacob or any clue about what had happened to him—until the 25th anniversary of Jacob’s abduction. Then police decided to further investigate an early suspect named Danny Heinrich.

Heinrich had been questioned previously in connection with Jacob’s disappearance, but they could never pin anything on him. Luckily, that changed with updates in forensic technology. Police matched sweat samples from a boy who was sexually assaulted to Heinrich. Police then used this evidence to get a search warrant for Heinrich’s home, where child pornography was found.^[5]

Danny Heinrich took a plea bargain. If he showed where Jacob’s remains were and confessed his crimes, Heinrich would only be charged for possession of child porn. The Wetterling family was consulted by the police. The family agreed to the plea deal so that they would finally know what had happened to their son. Danny Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years.

5 Marlene Warren

Truly one of the most bizarre cold cases was the death of Marlene Warren. She opened her door one day in 1990 to see a clown holding several balloons and a bundle of flowers. As Marlene went to take the gifts, she was shot in the face.

Twenty-seven years passed, and the main suspect seemed to be Marlene’s husband, Michael Warren. But in a Shyamalan-esque twist, Michael Warren’s current wife, Sheila Keen Warren, was arrested.

It was discovered early in the investigation that Sheila and Michael were having an affair.^[6] Over the years, police compiled circumstantial evidence against her. But they never had enough to charge her until new technology allowed them to retest DNA from the crime scene. Sheila Keen Warren was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

4 Lisa Ziegert

Lisa Ziegert was working as a teacher’s aide during the day and at a gift shop at night in spring 1992. One night, Lisa seemingly vanished from the gift shop. When her body was found days later, it was determined that she had been raped and stabbed to death.

In the days leading up to her disappearance, Lisa had told her friends and family that she felt like she was being watched. The community of Springfield, Massachusetts, was devastated by her loss.

After 25 years, police had gone through multiple means of investigating. But none had been fruitful until a breakthrough in forensics technology allowed a male DNA profile to be built using evidence from the crime scene. Using this tech, they were able to predict what the perpetrator might look like and compare that to the suspects.

One man stood out: Gary E. Schara. In late 2017, he was arrested in connection with Lisa Ziegert’s killing.^[7]

3 Karen Sue Klaas

After more than 40 years, the Klaas family can finally put to bed the mystery of what happened to Karen Sue Klaas in 1976. After dropping her son off at school, Karen was attacked, tied up, raped, and strangled nearly to death. When Karen was discovered, she was barely clinging to life. After five days in a coma, she finally passed away.

Kenneth Eugene Troyer was the initial suspect and considered the most likely perpetrator as he was believed to have committed two other sexual assaults in Karen’s neighborhood. Troyer was killed when the Santa Ana police shot him to death while he was on the run after a prison break.

It looked as though Karen’s loved ones would never have a satisfying answer about what had happened to her. Then came the breakthrough of testing familial DNA.^[8]

One of Troyer’s relatives was incarcerated, and that person’s DNA profile was put into the police database. It was a partial match to the DNA found on Karen’s body. Now her family can finally close the book on one of the most tragic moments in their lives.

2 Angela Kleinsorge

On February 29, 1992, the daughter of Angela Kleinsorge knew something was amiss when her mother didn’t answer the phone for their daily phone call. Concerned, Hedy Kleinsorge drove to her mom’s house and discovered a grisly scene. The 84-year-old was on the floor of her bedroom. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times in the neck.

It took 25 years for police to figure out who did this to Angela. Using the newly implemented forensics tool of familial DNA testing, they found a partial match in a convict. The police investigated the brothers of the convict. DNA was taken from one, and he was innocent.^[9]

The other brother had been dead for years. They had the coroner send samples, and the DNA was tested. It was a match for the DNA found on Angela Kleinsorge’s body. The man, Jeffrey Falls, had been a neighbor of Angela’s who lived across the street from her. He had died in a motorcycle accident in 2006.

1 Freddie Farah

Freddie Farah was a father of four and worked at a grocery store that he owned. On May 22, 1974, a man walked into the store, brought some items over to the counter for checkout, pulled a gun, and demanded money. Freddie was startled and swiped at the gun. The gunman shot Freddie, causing the wounds from which he would later die.

After 43 years, the case was finally solved with the arrest of Johnie Lewis Miller. He had been working as a street performer in New Orleans for the previous 20 years. He was just 17 years old when he murdered Freddie Farah.

Miller had left fingerprints on the counter. Due to improvements in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, he was positively identified as the killer and arrested.^[10]

New Year’s Eve is celebrated across the world with a mix of joy, hope, and anticipation, but it’s also steeped in superstitions that reflect the diverse cultural beliefs about starting the year off right. From wearing specific colors to performing quirky rituals, these traditions often revolve around themes of luck, prosperity, and protection. While some are widely practiced, others are truly bizarre and reveal fascinating insights into the societies that uphold them.

Here are 10 of the strangest New Year’s Eve superstitions from around the globe.

Related: 10 Traditions That Brighten the Festive Season

10 Eating Grapes for Luck in Spain

In Spain, the clock striking midnight on New Year’s Eve signals the beginning of a peculiar and high-pressure ritual: eating 12 grapes in 12 seconds. Each grape represents a month of the coming year, and participants must eat them in sync with the chimes of the clock. Successfully completing this task is believed to bring good luck and prosperity for the entire year. The tradition is said to have originated in the early 20th century when Spanish grape growers had a surplus harvest and promoted the practice as a clever marketing ploy.

The challenge is not as simple as it sounds. Participants often struggle to chew and swallow the grapes fast enough, leading to hilariously chaotic scenes at family gatherings and public celebrations. In some cities, such as Madrid, people gather in plazas like Puerta del Sol to perform the ritual en masse, creating a collective sense of anticipation and hilarity. While it may have begun as a practical solution to a farming issue, the superstition has become an integral part of Spanish New Year’s culture.^[1]

9 Smashing Plates for Good Luck in Denmark

In Denmark, New Year’s Eve involves a unique and noisy tradition: smashing plates against the doors of friends and neighbors. This act is believed to bring good fortune to the household receiving the broken crockery. The more broken plates you find on your doorstep the next morning, the more luck you’re said to have in the coming year. It’s a practice rooted in the Danish belief that shattered items ward off bad spirits and symbolize renewal.

Families and friends often save chipped or old plates throughout the year, specifically for this purpose. The tradition doesn’t just involve smashing; it’s also a test of popularity. A doorstep with a heap of broken plates signifies that the occupants are well-loved and have strong social bonds. Though the practice might seem bizarre to outsiders, it underscores Denmark’s focus on community and the idea of starting the year with a clean slate—literally and figuratively.^[2]

8 Jumping Off Chairs in the Philippines

In the Philippines, a nation rich in festive traditions, one unique superstition involves jumping off a chair or table at the stroke of midnight. This playful ritual is aimed primarily at children and teenagers, with the belief that leaping into the New Year will help them grow taller in the months ahead. Parents encourage their kids to jump as high as possible, blending cultural beliefs with a sense of fun and family bonding.

This tradition is just one of many Filipino customs designed to bring prosperity, growth, and good fortune. Families also engage in practices like filling their homes with round fruits, which symbolize wealth due to their resemblance to coins. Firecrackers are set off to drive away evil spirits, while windows and doors are left open to let good energy flow into the home. The combination of these superstitions creates a lively and symbolically rich New Year’s celebration, with the leap into the New Year serving as both a literal and figurative step toward growth and success.^[3]

7 Wearing Red Underwear in Italy

In Italy, wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is considered a surefire way to bring love, luck, and fertility in the coming year. This tradition dates back to ancient Rome, where red was a symbol of power, passion, and protection. Romans often wore red garments during winter solstice celebrations to ward off malevolent spirits and ensure a prosperous start to the year. As Christianity spread, the practice was adapted to the New Year’s holiday, keeping its vibrant symbolism intact.

Today, the tradition has become deeply ingrained in Italian culture, particularly as a playful holiday custom. Shops and markets stock up on red lingerie during the holiday season, with many couples exchanging red underwear as a romantic and lighthearted gift. The superstition even comes with a rule: the underwear must be new and ideally given as a present, as this is believed to ensure the wearer receives fresh and untainted luck. This quirky practice combines ancient beliefs with modern holiday cheer, making it both a symbolic and fun way to ring in the New Year.^[4]

6 First-Footing in Scotland

In Scotland, “first-footing” is a centuries-old New Year’s Eve tradition rooted in the belief that the first person to enter your home after midnight will determine your luck for the year ahead. According to custom, the ideal first-foot should be a tall, dark-haired man, as this was thought to bring prosperity and protection to the household. The superstition likely stems from the days of Viking invasions when blonde-haired visitors were associated with danger and misfortune.

The first-foot traditionally brings symbolic gifts such as coal for warmth, whiskey for good cheer, and bread to ensure sustenance. These items are meant to represent abundance and well-being for the coming year. The practice is central to Hogmanay celebrations, with Scots meticulously planning who their first-foot will be to ensure the best possible start to the year. In some regions, first-footing has evolved into a festive event, with neighbors visiting each other’s homes to exchange blessings, making it a blend of superstition and communal celebration.^[5]

5 Burning Effigies in Ecuador

In Ecuador, New Year’s Eve is marked by the dramatic and symbolic burning of effigies, known as año viejo (old year). These effigies, often crafted from old clothes, paper, and wood, represent the misfortunes and mistakes of the past year. At the stroke of midnight, families and communities light the effigies on fire, symbolizing a fresh start and the cleansing of bad luck. This tradition is believed to have indigenous and Spanish colonial roots, combining elements of purification rituals with festive celebrations.

The effigies are often humorously designed to resemble politicians, celebrities, or fictional characters, allowing people to vent frustrations while adding a lighthearted touch. In some regions, participants leap over the burning effigies as a way to leave their troubles behind, a daring and cathartic act. Fireworks often accompany the ritual, turning it into a spectacle of sound and light. For many Ecuadorians, the año viejo ceremony is not just a tradition but a deeply personal and communal way to embrace the possibilities of the New Year.^[6]

4 Carrying Suitcases in Colombia

In Colombia, a playful New Year’s Eve superstition involves carrying an empty suitcase around the block at midnight to guarantee a year filled with travel and adventure. Families and friends enthusiastically take part in the ritual, running or walking quickly with their suitcases as the clock strikes twelve. The belief is that this symbolic gesture sends a clear intention to the universe, ensuring opportunities for exploration and journeys in the coming year.

Some participants take the tradition even further by packing their suitcases with meaningful items, such as maps, postcards, or travel tickets, to enhance the ritual’s effectiveness. Others incorporate the practice into a broader set of prosperity rituals, like wearing yellow underwear for wealth or eating 12 grapes for luck. Entire neighborhoods often come alive with laughter and excitement as families race around their blocks with luggage in tow. Whether or not the superstition guarantees travel, it brings a sense of hope and fun, embodying the spirit of optimism that defines New Year’s Eve in Colombia.^[7]

3 Eating Lentils in Brazil

In Brazil, lentils are more than a hearty legume—they’re a New Year’s Eve staple believed to bring financial prosperity and good luck. Families incorporate lentils into their midnight meals, often in the form of soup, stews, or side dishes. The belief likely stems from Italian immigrants who brought the custom to Brazil, as lentils resemble small coins and are thought to symbolize wealth and abundance.

This tradition is typically part of a larger feast that includes other lucky foods, such as pork (to symbolize progress) and grapes (for general good fortune). Brazilian families might also set aside a few lentils to carry in their wallets, a gesture intended to “attract money” throughout the year. The focus on lentils during the New Year reflects Brazil’s vibrant fusion of cultural influences and its emphasis on starting the year with prosperity and abundance.^[8]

2 Dropping Ice Cream in Switzerland

In Switzerland, a curious New Year’s Eve superstition involves intentionally dropping a scoop of ice cream on the floor to ensure good fortune in the coming year. This quirky ritual is rooted in the belief that offering something symbolic to the universe or gods will bring blessings in return. While the origins of the tradition are unclear, it has become a beloved part of Swiss celebrations, blending humor with hope.

In some families, the ice cream is accompanied by additional symbolic foods, such as bread or wine, to amplify the gesture’s meaning. Children often take special delight in the ritual, turning it into a playful moment during otherwise formal gatherings. While modern interpretations of the tradition vary, the act of purposefully sacrificing a treat remains a lighthearted way for Swiss families to manifest luck and abundance.^[9]

1 Smashing Pomegranates in Greece

In Greece, smashing a pomegranate against the front door on New Year’s Eve is a vivid and symbolic tradition meant to bring prosperity, health, and good fortune for the coming year. The custom traces its roots back to ancient Greek mythology, where the pomegranate represented life, fertility, and abundance. Families often choose their most beautiful pomegranate for the ritual, treating it with reverence before smashing it with dramatic flair.

The scattering seeds are said to predict the household’s luck for the year ahead—the more seeds that spread, the greater the fortune. Some families incorporate additional practices, such as hanging the broken pomegranate’s remnants near the entrance as a protective charm or consuming the seeds during a celebratory meal. This tradition highlights Greece’s deep cultural connection to symbolic rituals, blending mythology, agriculture, and festive optimism.^[10]

With the celebration of a new year comes one of the most anticipated events these days: the New Year’s Eve fireworks. These fireworks shows are a common tradition around the world. People love the displays of bright colors and the figures that these pyrotechnic devices generate in the sky.

Many others are also excited to hear the thunderous sounds produced by fireworks. But in recent years, there has been a lot of controversy about the use of these little bombs. It has been scientifically proven that fireworks explosions can cause injuries and traumas in both humans and animals.

Since then, some people have started to conceive of other types of visual events for these dates—perhaps less harmful but still spectacular. Of those alternative options, we are going to see 10 of the most extreme as well as analyze if they truly are more beneficial.

10 A Swarm Of Light Drones

It is said that drones are the future of open-air events as successors of fireworks. In several countries from the United States to China, drones are used as a replacement for fireworks in aerial shows. It is difficult to imagine such small machines occupying the place and the attention of a huge explosion in the sky, but we have to think big.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the tech company, Intel decided to launch 2,018 drones into the air on its base in California. This gave Intel the world record for simultaneously flying the largest number of unmanned aerial vehicles. During the eight-minute show, drones equipped with multicolored lights formed giant images in the air—from the company’s logo to an impressive Earth globe—all while moving to the rhythm of the background music.

The drones were controlled by just one pilot. Intel created drones especially for such aerial shows. In fact, the company has already made similar presentations and plans to keep increasing the scale of its shows in the future. While a handful of drones in the air may not be so striking, thousands of drones with lights dancing in front of us would surely make us change our minds.^[1]

9 A Flame-Throwing Show

For many years, an English company called Arcadia has made unique shows for thousands of people. During the annual Glastonbury music festival in England, Arcadia usually presents the next New Year alternative on this list: a flame-throwing giant creature.

A 50-ton, 15-meter-tall (49 ft) mechanical spider is on display as the main attraction of the event. From the middle of the crowd, it can fire lasers and giant fireballs into the air. Arcadia built the giant metal spider with the recycled parts of military vehicles, such as aircraft components. The show with this machine can host up to 50,000 people and can be perfectly seen from any angle. Its main fuel for the pyrotechnic shows is biodiesel.

Although the spider is Arcadia’s most famous creation, it certainly is not the only one. Another machine called the Afterburner is also made from recycled parts and consists of a rocket-like vertical structure with flamethrowers at the top and a DJ booth in the center. Both the Arcadia Spider and the Afterburner have been in a lot of shows around the world, from America to Asia.^[2]

If you do not like the idea of welcoming the New Year with a fire-breathing monster in front of you, there are still other flame-throwing options just as interesting. For example, in some places, drones with flamethrowers are used for tasks ranging from cleaning power lines to roasting turkeys. Whatever the choice, we must admit that a machine throwing flames into the sky on New Year’s Eve would be an eye-catching event.

8 Explosive Hot-Air Balloons

Many ideas have been proposed to try to make fireworks less noisy. Perhaps, a solution to this problem would be launching fireworks into the air without firing them. At least that way you avoid the rockets roaring as they go up in the sky. But the explosive ending remains.

One way to achieve this would be loading a hot-air balloon with fireworks inside its basket. Although it may seem odd or dangerous, some people already do it every year.

Since the 19th century, the inhabitants of Myanmar annually celebrate the Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival, which is a massive pyrotechnic event. Several teams attach large numbers of fireworks to decorated hot-air balloons and throw them into the air. Once in the sky, the fireworks create a great show of fire, smoke, and vibrant colors.

However, there are some serious problems with this practice. On the one hand, it takes a long time for these hot-air balloons to gain altitude, so they tend to glide dangerously close to the people below before ascending. In fact, they sometimes fail to do so.

During the festival in 2012, a hot-air balloon loaded with fireworks crashed to the ground in the middle of the crowd. Moments later, the entire load exploded, engulfing onlookers in sparkling fireballs.^[3]

In other cases, the explosive cargo of the hot-air balloon can break off in mid-flight and fall. In the 2018 celebration, the already-ignited fireworks separated from the balloon and fell to the ground, again onto a lot of people. The result was nine injured and two hospitalized. Inevitably, it seems that keeping the attractiveness of fireworks will always have its risks.

7 Movie Projections On The Sky

There are some options for dealing with a cloudy sky on New Year’s Eve. If the clouds do not let you see the lights, maybe you could project the lights onto the clouds by using them as screens.

The idea of projecting images in the clouds has been a challenge for many engineers and inventors. In 2015, British artist Dave Lynch launched a project in which he was able to project a scene of a horse galloping over the sky of Nottingham. To achieve this, he used a special laser projector (called zoopraxiscope) mounted on a small plane and flew over the area to use the clouds as a white screen.

But a couple of years before, a group of Japanese experts managed to develop a method to project images onto clouds directly from the ground. The two companies involved, Daikin Industries and teamLab, experimented with custom projectors in a cloudy sky, and the results were successful. They were able to reproduce full-color animations on natural clouds, including a concert of Japan’s virtual idol, Hatsune Miku.

Meanwhile, during a night in January 2014, the residents of London could see what seemed to be the bright outline of an airplane moving through the clouds. The image was actually a laser projection made on the occasion of airline Air France’s 80th anniversary.^[4]

The companies Curb and CMT Events used highly powerful lasers to project the plane in the sky as well as the name of the airline and a hashtag for the celebration. If you can start the new year projecting your name onto the clouds, even Batman will be proud of you.

6 Artificial Auroras

Natural auroras are truly a breathtaking visual spectacle. But this phenomenon usually occurs only at high latitudes near the poles and at specific times of the year according to the solar activity. So, unless everyone travels to countries in the polar circles, auroras are not a viable event to welcome the New Year. Well, they were not until some time ago. But now, we can create auroras on demand.

The HAARP program in Alaska consists of a facility with 180 transmission antennas capable of emitting high-intensity radio waves directly to the ionosphere, an upper layer of the atmosphere. The powerful radio waves accelerate the electrons scattered at that height, and their collisions create the characteristic brightness that forms the auroras.

The HAARP program has created numerous artificial auroras over the years, some of which have lasted up to an hour. Obviously, these auroras have a reduced size due to the capacity of the antennas, although they are clearly visible to the naked eye in a green tone.^[5]

While the best-known artificial auroras are those produced by the HAARP program, the truth is that there are many similar radio transmitters around the world. For example, Russia has a similar program called SURA and the SuperDARN is a program of research antennas across multiple countries.

The cost of running an experiment at the HAARP facility is $5,000 per hour. A radio enthusiast paid $1,200 to run a 15-minute experiment, so what is stopping you from blowing up the sky with green lights on New Year’s Eve?

5 Carbidschieten

If you do not have the necessary resources to build a superexpensive system of radio antennas in your backyard, maybe the next one could be your ideal option. In several provinces of the Netherlands, there is a rural tradition on New Year’s Eve that is far from launching fireworks. The noisy part of the show remains, though. This tradition is at least a century old and is called Carbidschieten (“Carbide Shooting”).

The celebration consists of placing a milk churn in an inclined position with a support frame beneath. In this way, the milk churn takes the form of an improvised cannon. Then a chunk of calcium carbide is placed inside with a little water. The lid is immediately placed on the churn again.

In there, the wet carbide transforms into acetylene gas, which is highly volatile. Finally, the gas that comes out of a small hole at the bottom of the churn is carefully ignited with a flame. The result is a violent explosion that sends the lid flying extremely far away.

On New Year’s Eve, many Carbidschieten competitions are held across the country in which the winner is the one who manages to shoot the churn lid farther. Of course, this option is as noisy and unhealthy as traditional fireworks. But for those who like explosive sounds, it is a perfect alternative.^[6]

4 Millions Of Helium Balloons

At first glance, throwing balloons into the air seems to be a more peaceful and less harmful kind of celebration than launching explosive rockets. For that reason, many celebrations around the world promote this type of practice.

But the problem is that if we all start throwing balloons on New Year’s Eve, there would be millions of balloons roaming the air in a few hours. And that would be truly harmful—to the point that some countries have regulated or banned the mass release of balloons.

The reason? Maybe it is better if we understand it with a real example.

In 1986, the city of Cleveland decided to launch two million helium balloons into the sky to break a world record as well as to raise funds for charity. In the end, due to bad weather, the number was reduced to approximately 1.5 million balloons, deposited under a net the size of a block.

In the early afternoon, the helium balloons were launched among the tall buildings of the area. Soon, a storm that was approaching covered the balloons and the rain made them descend back to the city.^[7]

The still-inflated balloons landed on the surface of Lake Erie next to Cleveland, preventing a search for two missing fishermen who eventually were found dead on the coast. In other regions of the state of Ohio, the balloons scared racehorses, making them suffer serious injuries.

As if that were not enough, an airport in Cleveland had to close one of its runways. So, for a small celebration, helium balloons are an interesting option. For New Year’s Eve? Not so much.

3 Skydivers With Flares

While skydiving certainly is an adrenaline-producing sport, skydiving at night must be an extreme experience. However, this discipline is frequently practiced by many experts. Although it is a spectacular event for them, it can also be that way for people below them.

Sometimes, these skydivers attach handheld magnesium flares to their boots, which leave a bright tail of sparks as the adventurers keep flying. From the ground, these parachuters look like a group of comets crossing the sky with synchronized movements.

Skydivers with flares are especially recurrent in football matches. For example, during the Fourth of July celebration in 2018, some residents of Denver were surprised to see some peculiar lights among the fireworks. These lights moved like shooting stars descending slowly.^[8]

It turns out that the lights were actually a team of four skydivers officially called the Thunderstorm. This group often impresses the crowds every time the Denver Broncos football team plays in its own stadium.

Another group, the US Army Golden Knights, usually visits many cities in the United States. They jump from an airplane while equipped with flares. In November 2018, the Golden Knights jumped over Stanford Stadium in California during the last local game of its university.

Another team of aviation experts, the Red Bull Air Force, made a parachute jump at night. While most of the skydivers carried a wind sock, one of them had a magnesium flare that left a luminous trail behind him.

Skydiving with flares during New Year’s Eve would definitely be an exclusive show for experienced people. It is a little less showy than traditional fireworks, but it is still worth a try.

2 Lightning Rockets

What can you do if New Year’s Eve gets stormy outside? Tempestuous weather can be a letdown for fireworks lovers, but there are other options. However, you may want to enjoy the next alternative from very far away.^[9]

Scientists at the University of Florida created a device called a “lightning machine.” It is a mechanism composed of a small 1.8-meter-tall (6 ft) rocket connected to the ground by a copper wire 701 meters (2,300 ft) long. When the rocket is launched into the sky during a storm, the wire unrolls and then a lightning bolt falls through it just a few seconds later. So, in essence, it is a flying lightning rod.

While a natural lightning strike is unpredictable, scientists are now able to trigger lightning falls any time they want. Undoubtedly, a New Year’s lightning show would be an impressive thing to see. But maybe it would be better to let the experts handle this type of technology, especially since the deadly temperature of a single lightning bolt is almost 30,000 degrees Celsius (54,032 °F).

1 Shooting Stars

“Shooting stars” are just small space debris burning upon entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Such debris can be from alien rocks to our own space junk. Most of these bright lights in the sky go unnoticed due to their unpredictable occurrence. But now, we can deliberately create shooting stars with the specific purpose to entertain us.

For several years, Japanese company ALE has been developing a program called Sky Canvas. This program consists of launching a satellite, which will be loaded with a thousand metallic pellets, to a height of 500 kilometers (311 miles). When the satellite is over a certain region, it releases the pellets so that they fall to Earth and burn in the atmosphere.^[10]

In this way, the satellite can produce numerous shooting stars that last up to 10 seconds at any desired time and location. In turn, the pellets will be made of different elements. When burned in the upper atmosphere, they will generate bright colors perfectly visible from the ground.

Although each meteor would have a high cost of $8,100, ALE is already preparing to perform a shooting star show at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. If you think fireworks create a great view, imagine starting a new year while watching a dozen multicolored meteors falling in the middle of the night sky.

Brian is an economy student who is passionate about graphic design and an avid enthusiast of the art of writing.

Some animals are on the verge of extinction. The difference between a related group of animals continuing for another generation or becoming just another addition to the history books may be the survival of just a few species.

Some have even gone extinct in the wild and are only around because we had them in captivity. Nevertheless, every animal on this list will be extinct in a few years unless breeding programs become successful or some miracle happens.

10 Vaquita

The vaquita is one animal you have probably never heard of. It is a small porpoise that only lives in the Gulf of California. It presently holds the title of the “rarest marine mammal in the world.” Only 10 are left in the wild, and that number is going down.

The vaquitas are endangered because of the illegal poaching of the totoaba fish, which is also native to the vaquitas’ natural habitat. The totoaba fish is in high demand in China where traditional medicine men claim that it cures several illnesses.

Poachers often use gill nets to catch the totoaba fish. Unfortunately, the vaquitas often get entangled in the illegal nets. The vaquitas are useless to the poachers, who just dump their carcasses back into the water. For the poachers, it is all about the money. The stomach of the totoaba fish sells for $46,000 per kilogram ($20,865 per lb).

For the vaquitas, it could be the difference between survival and extinction. Lots of them get entangled in those nets. In fact, over 20 vaquitas could have become entangled in nets since 2017 when their population was put at 30.

The Mexican government has declared a part of the Gulf of California as a refuge area for vaquitas. However, it does not seem like it will save the animals. Poachers still hunt for totoaba fish within the refuge, and the government seems to be incapable of stopping them.^[1]

9 Northern White Rhino

Until March 2018, only three northern white rhinos were left in the world. Now there are only two. Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, was euthanized at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in March 2018 after suffering a series of complications caused by old age. Sudan was 45 years old, which is equivalent to 90 in human years.

At their height, northern white rhinos roamed through Uganda, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Chad. However, their population was dramatically reduced by illegal poaching, which reached its height in the 1970s and 1980s. Their population has been in decline ever since. In 2008, the northern white rhino officially went extinct in the wild.

Sudan was survived by his daughter and granddaughter, which are the only two northern white rhinos left. Both females are past childbearing age and are possibly the last of their kind unless some northern white rhinos miraculously turn up somewhere.

Scientists are trying to stop the extinction of the critically endangered rhino by artificially inseminating female southern white rhinos with the sperm of the northern white rhino. This is the first stage of a grand plan to implant the embryo of the northern white rhino into a southern white rhino.

Javan and Sumatran rhinos are two other species of rhinos at the brink of extinction. The Javan rhino has a population of just 67, while the Sumatran rhino has just 100. The southern white rhino is much better off. There are between 19,000 and 21,000 left in the wild.^[2]

8 Fernandina Island Tortoise

The Fernandina Island tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus) is native to Fernandina Island, one of the several islands that form the Galapagos Islands. The tortoise was considered extinct until one showed up this year.

Before this discovery, the last time a Fernandina Island tortoise was spotted was in 1906. It disappeared thereafter. In fact, some began to doubt whether it really existed or was just another joke or misidentified species.

This year, a team from Galapagos National Park and the Galapagos Conservancy proved that the Fernandina Island tortoise really existed when they visited the island to find the tortoise. They discovered an adult female that is over 100 years old. Researchers also found tortoise footprints and droppings, indicating that more tortoises could be in the area.

Interestingly, unlike most other animals that are at the brink of extinction due to human action, the Fernandina Island tortoise is at risk because of its habitat. Fernandina Island contains active volcanoes. Lava sometimes flows down the sides of the mountains, killing the tortoises.^[3]

Humans played a part, too. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, Fernandina Island was a fertile hunting ground for passing ships, which often stopped by to hunt tortoises. Over 100,000 tortoises were hunted during that time. Today, feral non-native animals like pigs, dogs, cats, and cattle also prey on the tortoise eggs or compete with the tortoises for food.

The Fernandina Island tortoise is not the only tortoise at risk of extinction. The other nine species of tortoise on the Galapagos Islands are also endangered. A few centuries ago, there were 15 species of tortoise on the islands. Five are already extinct.

7 Amur Leopard

Several species of leopard across the world have been experiencing a declining population over the past decades. They are often killed by poachers and humans who consider them a threat. They have also lost large tracts of their natural habitats to deforestation.

The Amur leopards are the worst hit. Only 60 cats are estimated to be left in the wild, making this subspecies one of the most endangered cats in the world. The majority of the surviving leopards live in the Land of the Leopard National Park, an Amur leopard nature reserve in Russia. The reserve covers 60 percent of the cats’ natural habitat.

While considerably safe from humans, the leopards are at risk from other predators in the forest, including the Amur (Siberian) tiger. Determining the population of the Amur leopard has been difficult because it is one of the world’s most elusive cats. To help with the count, park officials installed motion-sensitive cameras at strategic locations.^[4]

6 Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is native to the Red River of China and parts of Vietnam. This is why it is also called the Red River turtle. Unfortunately, this animal has lost a large part of its habitat to the massive infrastructure development in China. And it continues to lose more, especially as China builds more dams.

Only three Yangtze giant softshell turtles were left in the world as of 2017. A male and female pair are held at Suzhou Zoo, China, while the third lives in Dong Mo Lake in Vietnam. The sex of the third is unknown because the turtles are naturally elusive, making them difficult to spot and observe.

Besides the loss of habitat, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle also suffers a declining population that is caused by poachers killing them for their eggs, meat, and skin. Poaching has actually caused a decline in the population of every other turtle species across the world.^[5]

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle got a population boost in 2018 after a wild turtle was found in Xuan Khanh Lake in Vietnam. There may be even more as locals living around China’s Red River have reported spotting one or two turtles.

5 Hainan Gibbon

The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is the world’s rarest primate. Only 25 are left in the wild. They are cramped into a pitiable 2-square-kilometer (0.8 mi²) area of Bawangling National Nature Reserve on Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

The Hainan gibbon suffered a massive population decline after losing most of its habitat to deforestation. Poachers also took their toll on its population as the animals were widely hunted for food, for their supposed medicinal properties, or just to be sold as pets.

The massive population loss has led to inbreeding and a decline in general health. Almost every gibbon on the island is related. Curiously, the Hainan gibbon is not the only gibbon at risk of extinction. Eighteen of their 19 species are endangered.^[6]

4 Sehuencas Water Frog

The Sehuencas water frog is native to the cloud forests of Bolivia. In recent years, the frog has suffered a population decline after losing large areas of its habitat to pollution and climate change. The loss of population has been worsened by the deadly Chytrid fungus and an invasive trout fish that eats the frog’s eggs.

There are only six Sehuencas water frogs left in the world. Interestingly, five of them were found recently. There was only one Sehuencas water frog left as of February 14, 2018. He was named Romeo and was called “the world’s loneliest frog.”

Romeo was alone until Match.com, the Global Wildlife Conservation, and the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny decided to raise funds for an expedition to find a partner for the frog. It started with Match.com creating a profile for Romeo. This raised awareness and the needed funds for the expedition.

The expedition team found five more frogs. Two were male, and three were female. Each female was paired with a male, including the third which was paired with Romeo. She was called Juliet.^[7]

3 Marsican Brown Bear

The Marsican brown bear (Ursus arctos Marsicanus) is a subspecies of the brown bear. It lives in the Apennine Mountains of Italy, which is why it is also called the Apennine brown bear. Hundreds of bears lived in the mountains a few centuries ago. But they soon got into conflict with shepherds and farmers, who considered them pests. Only 50 are left today.

Italy is making conservation efforts and trying to tag the bears to monitor their movements. Unfortunately, in 2018, a tagging operation ended badly after a bear died during a botched capture attempt. The bear suddenly suffered breathing difficulties and died after it was sedated to be tagged with a radio collar.^[8]

2 South China Tiger

The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is a subspecies of the tiger. It is believed to be the major tiger from which other subspecies descended. However, that would not matter anymore if it goes extinct—which could be soon. Only 24 are estimated to remain in the world.

The South China tiger became endangered in the 20th century when deforestation put it in close proximity to humans. It was massively killed at the time because it often fed on livestock. The tiger’s population never recovered. In the 1970s, there were 4,000 left in the wild. Today, there are none. All 24 survivors are in captivity.

However, there are claims that 20 South China tigers are in the wild. Some even argue that the wild population is far more than 20. However, nobody has reported a verifiable sighting of the tiger in 20 years. The captive population is not faring any better. The current population is way below the 50 tigers that were in captivity in the mid-1990s.^[9]

1 Asiatic Cheetah

The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) freely roamed through several Asian nations a few centuries ago. India had lots of these cheetahs, but they were hunted to extinction as sport. The Asiatic cheetah started to suffer habitat loss in other parts of Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries when huge parts of its natural range were turned into farmland.

The Asiatic cheetah soon went extinct everywhere except Iran. Today, it is considered native to Iran. With only 50 left in the country, it’s only a matter of time before the animal becomes native to nowhere.

In Iran, the Asiatic cheetah will occasionally kill sheep and goats, drawing the ire of herders who hunt and kill it in return. Its range also crosses the highway, where it often ends up as roadkill. Mines are also springing up within its range, further reducing its territory.

Conservation efforts have been frustrated by the economic sanctions imposed on Iran. It worsened in 2017 when the UN stopped funding the conservation and suggested that the Iranian government take over. However, that could be difficult because Iran has reduced the budget of the Department of Environment that is responsible for overseeing the cheetah’s habitat.^[10]

Most films are ephemeral, some are slow burners, but there are just a few which become instant classics, and immediately connect with audiences. On average one movie a year will make to the list of the list of classics.

They are not necessarily the films that make the most noise, or have the highest grossing openings, because those movies often do not bear watching more than once.

To make it onto a list of Movie Classics a film has to make you want to keep rewinding.

They are films that you are still thinking about long after the end credits roll, they tell us something about ourselves or our relationships, and sometimes they even take cinema in a new direction.

Top 10 Movies Better Than The Best

10 2011—Drive

There aren’t many Car Chase movies that make it onto a list of classic films. They are usually full of flashy cars, high-octane music, and people shouting ‘Drive!’ as if the person behind the wheel of the getaway car does not comprehend their role in the operation.

Not Drive. Ryan Gosling stars as Driver, an imperturbable stunt man/getaway driver with no name who is economic with his words. Stingy even.

He prefers to drive a nondescript family car within the speed-limits, observing all stop signs, whilst listening to police scanners and sports on the radio.

Drive is a Neo Noir car chase movie, with Carey Mulligan as the neighbor in falls in love with from afar. Like all Neo Noir love affairs, the course of true love does not run smooth. Not even close.

But if you want an intelligent, softly spoken car chase film that still delivers thrills ‘n’ spills, Drive is definitely the one.

9 2012—The Master

The Master stars Joaquin Phoenix as a mentally fragile war veteran and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the charismatic leader of a new religious movement, known vaguely as The Cause. Phoenix initially finds comfort and acceptance with his new family, which he needs after his haunting experiences during World War II, but he begins to realize that Hoffman may not be quite the Messiah that he. at first, seems.

Based (very) loosely on Scientology, The Cause is a religion made up ‘on the spot’ by Hoffman. Phoenix, however, is convinced and begins to work for The Cause.

However, the PTSD that he suffered during the war, keeps recurring, and, it turns out, PTSD does not mix well with charismatic religion and moonshine. Who knew?

The Master won multiple awards on its release, and received Oscar nominations for both Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Both actors were awarded the Volpi Cup at The Venice Film Festival, and the film was also awarded The Silver Lion. It should have won The Golden Lion for Best Film but was downgraded because of a rule that prevents any film from winning both best acting and best directing honors (Quentin Tarantino appealed this when he was Chair of Judges in 2010, but to date it has not changed).

There is no sweeping the boards in Venice.

8 2013—Her

Joaquin Phoenix was on great form in the 2010’s and in 2013 he starred in another classic movie, Her. Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly, a lonely man who spends his days writing love letters to people he doesn’t know. When he upgrades his computer to include a virtual assistant that has Scarlett Johannsen’s voice, he slowly falls in love with her.

The computer is programmed to evolve based on their interactions, and she becomes, literally, his ideal woman. Except for the part where she is not actually a woman. Can their love conquer all? Of course not, but the film is a beautiful investigation into what makes us happy, and why we often struggle to express our feelings.

Her could probably win the award for Lowest Grossing Movie To Be Nominated For A Best Picture Oscar.

That’s not a real award. The lowest grossing movie ever for a film with a theatrical release is Zyzzyx Road, which made $30 in its opening (and closing) week. Probably because no one could pronounce it. ‘I’ll have 2 tickets for Zyz…, I’ll have 2 tickets for We’re The Millers please’. It was not nominated for an Oscar, or anything else.

Her made only $258,000 in its opening weekend, proving that you cannot judge a film’s quality by how much money it makes. We’re The Millers, a dreadful ‘comedy’ with Jennifer Anniston as an unconvincing stripper, was released the same year as Her, and made $26.5 million on opening weekend. Not all cinemagoers are smart.

7 2014—Birdman

Actors sometimes have fragile egos. And large egos. Really large egos.

Birdman, subtitled The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, is a film about ego. The fragile ego of the aging star who never played the roles he wanted (it’s hard to have gravitas in a bird costume), and the enormous ego of the young pretender who believes that they are invincible.

Michael Keaton stars as the aging actor who is sick of his most famous character—a bird/man with superpowers -but he just can’t shake him. In order to try and reinvent himself as an actor, he invests all his savings in a Broadway show that he writes, directs and stars in, while his mental health is crumbling around him.

No one plays Man On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown as well as Keaton. Edward Norton also stars as the gifted but extremely demanding actor hired to co-star in the show. Both men put in outstanding performances, and the film won a Best Picture Oscar, and a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

If you want a movie about unfulfilled dreams, the backbiting and shallowness of actors, or the fragility of ego, this is the film for you. A word of warning, though. There are an awful lot of scenes in which Keaton and Norton are dressed only in tighty-whities. No idea why.

6 2015—Spotlight

Sometimes a movie becomes a classic because of its subject as much as it is for its acting. All The President’s Men was a great film, certainly, and Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman put in stellar performances. But the thing that really makes that movie a classic is Watergate, and how 2 reporters broke the story.

The film is a great film not just because of the actors and directing, but because it made a great job of telling a story that was already important. The same can be said of Spotlight.

The story follows reporters from The Boston Globe’s team of investigative journalists, known as Spotlight, and their investigations into child sex abuse.

The film had a stellar ensemble case, including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and Rachel McAdams.

The team begin to investigate reports that a pedophile priest has been operating in Boston, and the diocese covered it up. As they continued to investigate, however, they found evidence of systematic abuse going back decades.

Based on the real-life investigation into the pedophile ring in Boston, published in 2002, the film is genuinely suspenseful. It won a number of Oscars, including Best Picture, with supporting actor nominations for Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams.

This one probably falls into the category of Important Movie, but it’s not a feel-good film.

Top 20 Greatest Movies Of All Time

5 2016—Hunt For The Wilderpeople

If you are looking for a lighthearted feel-good film, you need look no further than Hunt For The Wilderpeople. An adventure-comedy from New Zealand, the film stars Sam Neill and Julian Dennison, who seems to have made a speciality of delinquent foster kids who really just want to be loved (see also Deadpool 2).

Dennison is a city kid whose criminal past includes ‘littering’ and ‘kicking things’. He is fostered by an empathetic but short-lived foster mother, and Sam Neill as a reluctant foster father who finds it difficult to express emotions of any kind.

The story of their escape into the bush so that Dennison is not taken back into foster care is funny and touching, without ever being sentimental. Neill teaches his foster son how to survive in the bush, and Dennison teaches him how to love. And read. Hunt For The Wilderpeople was a modest success on release, but its reputation has grown and continues to grow. It definitely deserves a watch.

4 2017 Call Me By Your Name and The Shape Of Water

Some years produce a bumper crop of classic movies, and 2017 produced 2 great, but very different, movies.

Call me By Your Name is a beautifully shot simple coming-of-age first love movie, set in Italy in the sort of summers that exist only in nostalgic memory. Bright colors, languid afternoons, bicycles and a young man’s intense arousal by, well, everything.

Timothée Chalamet is wonderful and Armie Hammer turns out to be a much better actor than anyone gave him credit for.

The Shape Of Water is an entirely different sort of film, although every bit as beautiful. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, The Shape of Water is like a fairy tale. A mute woman falls in love with monster when they learn to communicate over hard-boiled eggs and dancing.

The film has moments of comedy, fantasy and drama, as well as a fair few moments that are, frankly, bizarre. Sally Hawkins stars as the young woman, and Michael Shannon is chilling as the soulless ministry man with no heart, who comes between them.

The Shape Of Water is as beautiful as it is dark, and as romantic as it is peculiar. If you have never seen it you should watch it, and if you have seen it, you should watch it again.

3 2018—Roma

Most great movies have epic themes. But some work on a much smaller stage and examine small lives minutely.

Alfonso Cuarón’s movie, Roma, is one such example Set in Mexico City, the film follows the life of an ordinary woman and her unglamoros life. Yalitza Aparicio plays a domestic worker in a middle-class Mexican household, who is abandoned by her boyfriend after she becomes pregnant.

Roma is the story of women who support each other, and the men who let them down. It is about resilience and solidarity and prevailing.

Roma is beautiful, too. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and became the first winner of the Best Foreign Language award to also win the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

2 2019—Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

2019 was a Tarantino year.

Tarantino years are always good years. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Tarantino’s 9th movie, depending on a counting system that only he really understands, was something of a departure. While his movies have always heavily referenced Hollywood, they have never been set in the world of Hollywood. Until now.

The film weaves together stories of the glamour of Hollywood stars, and the darker glamour of the Manson Family. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Rick Dalton, the has-been TV star reduced to guest starring roles in other people’s show, with Brad Pitt as his stunt double, Cliff Booth. As with all Tarantino movies, it references a million other films, songs and even TV adverts that most of us have never heard of. That doesn’t matter.

Unlike the other 8 movies, the heroes are pretty straight guys. Almost normal, at least in comparison with his usual characters.

If you are expecting another Pulp Fiction, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood takes a little getting used to. It’s better on the second viewing, and by the third it is a masterpiece.

1 2020 Placeholder—Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2020 has been pretty much a washout for new movies, so we thought we would take the opportunity to pick a film from the first decade of the 21st century to round out this list. We considered Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro’s stunningly beautiful fantasy, but we already have one of his films on our list.

Then we considered Mulholland Drive, David Lynch’s complicated neo noir/psychological suspense masterpiece, and Boyhood, the astonishing project of growing up filmed over 12 years.

But in the end, romantics that we are, we went with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Starring Jim Carrey giving a much more restrained performance than usual, with Kate Winslet as the woman he can’t quite forget.

The film is about love and loss and the bitter sweetness of memory. If you erase the past from your mind, are you doomed to repeat your past mistakes?

Eternal Sunshine is just the right amount of soppy. You might need tissues, but that’s OK. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You will watch a lot of movies that are best forgotten. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not one of them.

Top 10 Best Movies From The Top Genres

About The Author: Ward Hazell is a freelance writer and travel writer, currently also studying for a PhD in English Literature

When many of us think of New Year’s traditions, noisemakers, champagne, a ball drop, counting down the minutes, and maybe a kiss comes to mind. Some people may do these things wearing adult diapers knowing rest rooms will be scant in Times Square, some people in North Carolina may be watching a live opossum drop instead of a ball, but the general jidst remains. All diapers and opossums aside, here we take a look at some of the stranger New Year’s traditions from around the world.

See Also: 10 Craziest Alternatives To New Year’s Fireworks

10 Colored Skivvies

The color of one’s drawers is a matter of great importance in a few countries on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. In Italy, it is tradition to wear red underwear during this period in order to bring good luck. This tradition is said to span back to medieval times; men would drape their groins with a red cloth to protect their twigs and berries – those “family jewels” – from witches who were roaming the village streets by midnight seeking to cast spells and cause a ruckus.

Some South American countries, such as Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia hold the belief that the coming year’s fortune is determined by the color of your underwear. For example, red brings love, white brings peace, and yellow brings wealth and luck. I wonder what this means for those who prefer to go commando.

9 Broken Plates

In Denmark, people hurl crockery at the doors of their loved ones. Old dishes are saved year round, and once the clock hits midnight, people run around their neighborhoods throwing them against the doors of their friends and families. The more broken pieces laying outside your door, the more friends you have and the better your luck will be for the year. Afterall, one man’s vandalism is another man’s fortune. Lately, it[s been acceptable for the less enthused or violent to set pre-broken pieces outside of people’s doors.

8 Stuffing Your Face With 12 Grapes

In Spain, the tradition of stuffing one’s face with grapes carries both luck and superstition. A Spaniard will rarely risk spoiling their fate in the coming year by skipping out on stuffing grapes in their mouth, one for each of the twelve strokes of midnight. Dating back to at least 1895, but being popularized and established by some vine growers to better sell huge batches from an excellent harvest, this tradition leads to twelve months of good luck and prosperity as long as you get them in there by the twelfth stroke. Just don’t choke. Oh, and something about red underwear—convention has it they wear those while stuffing the grapes in their mouths, too. But in Spain, this red underwear should have been given to you by someone else.

7 Animal whispering

A tradition dating back to old agrarian superstition, it is believed in Romania that animals get the gift of communication only on New Year’s Day. So if you happen to be there on New Year’s day, you just may spot a farmer chatting with his animals and whispering well-wishes in their ears. It is hoped, however, that the people will not understand what their animals are saying. Successful communication and deciphering what they say means bad luck. If unsuccessful, the year ahead will be a good one. Of all of these to try, one can bet I’ll try this one with my dogs New Year’s morning. Bad luck or not, I can only hope to know things like if they think their kibble is alright or if they lay on their back because they love me or they solely want their belly rubbed. I’ll toss some red underwear in.

6Sleepovers With the Dead

New Year’s Eve tradition takes the residents of Talca, Chile, to their local cemeteries for a sleepover. It is believed that their dead loved ones come back to the graveyard to celebrate the year’s end, so the town’s people join the party by making fires, bringing meals, decorating the graves and setting up their beds among the dead when they decide to call it a night. Way to add some extra spirit to the New Year. Grandma and grandpa, I love you but… no. You are always welcome to come here if you want.

5 Dropping Ice Cream

While dropping ice cream on the ground has sent countless children into a cry fest (and maybe adults), it is a New Year’s tradition in Switzerland to purposely drop their ice cream on the ground or floor as it symbolizes, and is thought to bring, overflowing abundance in the coming year. If that’s all it takes, I am heading to the store for some Ben and Jerry’s stat.

4 Lugging Suitcases

Who doesn’t want a year full of travel and adventure? Apparently Colombians want it bad enough that they have an entire midnight tradition on New Year’s surrounding this desire. As the clock strikes 12, they grab their suitcases and run around the block as fast as they can. If they do this in the right spirit, they are guaranteed to travel during the coming year. Sign me up for this obvious cosmo science—this wanderluster has waited a lifetime for this.

3 Talc Smearing

The new year in Thailand comes in April and is celebrated by going around pouring water and smearing talcum powder on random people. The water is a way of showing people respect and to symbolize a cleansing. In some areas, the water is mixed with flowers and traditional perfumes before spraying people. The talc is considered a blessing for the year ahead. This celebration is referred to as Songkran, which comes from the Sanskrit word “samkranti,” which means “astrological passage,” transformation and change. I’m down for getting messy, but can I trade in that talc blessing for some mulah?

2 Scarecrow Burning

When midnight strikes in Ecuador, people light scarecrows decked with the faces of pop culture figures, politicians and various other icons on fire. Symbolic of cleansing the bad from the previous year, this tradition of effigy burning is said to date back to an 1895 yellow fever epidemic, when people packed coffins with the clothing of the dead and set them on fire as a symbol of purification. A pyro’s dream arsony party. For extra luck, try jumping over the burning effigy twelve times without becoming a part of it.

1 Fist Fighting

How about wiping the slate clean for the new year with a brawl? In Peru, this festival to settle old grievances, Takanakuy, translates to “when the blood is boiling.” These celebrations include brightly colored costumes, eating, drinking, music, dancing, and, you know, the usual – gathering around arenas to watch members of the community fight each other. A tradition that includes all ages and genders, the festival is held in hopes of creating stronger bonds within the communities, solving conflict, and hopefully arriving at a greater peace, wiping the slate clean for the coming year. I personally will be hugging it out.

About The Author: Jackie Haze currently is an MFA candidate living in New Orleans with her two chihuahuas, Bacchus and Lola. She has a smattering of publications, including memoirmixtapes, Via Nola Vie, Curve, and Happy Cow.

While a lot of bad movies somehow make a lot of money at the box office, Hollywood has often proven the opposite to be perfectly true as well. There is a number of movies out there that are far less appreciated than others, despite being superior in every way. No matter the genre, we all have seen an underrated movie that deserves so much more recognition, but remains in the shadows of bigger projects that, good or bad, took the world by storm. So, here are 10 criminally under-appreciated movies released in the last 20 years:

10 Movies You Had No Idea Were Filmed In The Wrong Locations

10 The Gift (2015)

When a happily married couple relocates from Chicago to Los Angeles for a new job, the future seems bright. But things take a turn when an old high school acquaintance of the husband’s walks back into their lives, and slowly becomes an overbearing presence with very specific intentions, making the couple realize that their reunion may not have been a happy coincidence.

Starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Joel Edgerton (who also directed the movie), “The Gift” was a film that came with low expectations from critics and audiences, but turned out to be a face-slapping surprise to anyone who laid eyes on it. It is a shockingly smart thriller with intense performances and an ever-changing plot that consistently manages to keep you on edge. Due to a subpar marketing campaign, “The Gift” was skipped by many people upon released in 2015, but has since built a bit of a cult following once people realized that it is one of the most unique thrillers of the past few years.

9 The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Charlie, a 15 year-old high school student who suffers from clinical depression, learns to move forward with his life after the sudden suicide of his best friend. While the road ahead looks dark and hopeless, Charlie begins to regain his taste for life when he meets Patrick and Samantha, two eccentric seniors who decide to take him under their wing and bring him along on their weird adventures.

“The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” is the adaptation of a novel by Stephen Chbosky, who wrote and directed the movie himself. It stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson (in her first main role following the end of the Harry Potter series) and Ezra Miller in his breakout role. Every single performance in this movie is fantastic, with Lerman shining as the main character Charlie. It is probably one of the most emotional and well-crafted teen dramas of the last decade or so, and it deserved to be way more popular upon release than it ended up being.

8 Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

One of the few Japanese Christmas films, this mature and heartfelt animated film tells the story of three homeless people, who find themselves facing an incredibly daunting challenge when they find a newborn baby abandoned in a dumpster. Their relationships and life choices are all put back into perspective as they navigate the streets of Tokyo at night, in a desperate attempt to find the baby’s parents.

Coming from director Satoshi Kon, who went on to be behind the legendary “Paprika” a few years later, “Tokyo Godfathers” is beautiful, emotional and powerful tale of identity and family, with a cast of characters that are incredibly attaching and feel like real people, thanks to the amazing writing. It is easily one of the most underrated Japanese animations ever made, and it showcases a part of Japanese culture that most people do not get to see.

7 The Intouchables (2011)

“The Intouchables” tells the heartfelt story of Driss, a street smart immigrant with who was caught on the wrong side of the law one too many times, who meets Philippe, a rich and powerful aristocrat who hires him to become his caregiver after a paragliding accident leaves him quadriplegic. While everything seems to be at odds between the two, we follow as they begin to develop a friendship that transcends the widely different world that opposes them.

Based on a true story, this beautiful French film stars Omar Sy and legendary French actor François Cluzet as the two main characters. A story full of emotions, yet with a surprising deal of humour, “The Intouchables” is a movie with a lot to say, and it goes to great lengths to make its messages engaging with fantastic storytelling and incredible characters. An American remake of the movie titled “The Upside” (starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman) was released in 2019, after spending a few years on the shelf, but it terribly flopped and was widely criticized by critics and audiences, with most people affirming that it cannot hold a candle to the original film.

6 Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

In 2049 Los Angeles, Agent K, a replicant (or artificial human beings) made with the unique goal of hunting down and killing his own kind, finds himself at the centre of a strange investigation when he learns during one of his busts that a replicant gave birth to a biological child. Considered to be a threat to humanity, the child becomes a target of several entities, and K seeks out to find it first.

Taking place 30 years after the events of the first “Blade Runner”, released in 1982, “Blade Runner 2049” was widely overlooked upon release, mainly due to a misguided marketing campaign that failed to give audiences any indication on what the story of the movie was going to be, and sold a psychological thriller with deep philosophical themes as an action extravaganza with explosions and guns. As a result, the movie did not do very well at the box office, despite being an incredibly well made movie with mesmerizing visual effects, fantastic acting, and a beautiful story at its centre.

Top 10 Banned Movies

5 The Wailing (2016)

This brilliant South Korean horror movie tells the story Jong-Goo, a police officer from a small village who investigates a series of brutal murders and illness cases that may or may not be linked to the arrival of a mysterious Japanese traveler. When his daughter becomes sick as well, Jong-Goo begins a frenetic race against the clock, as he tries to figure out what is going on in the village in order to save her.

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Hong-jin Na, “The Wailing” (also known as “Gokseong”, its original title) is an insanely weird and creative film that, unlike other Korean creations like “Parasite”, is not well known by Western audiences. The atypical storytelling and mystery is extremely engaging and will leave you at the edge of your seat. The acting is great, the writing is fantastic, and the dark and gloomy noir atmosphere will send chills down your spine when you realize what this movie is really about.

4 Good Time (2017)

A lonely and down on his luck lowlife named Connie Nikas finds himself in a terrible situation when his mentally troubled little brother is arrested as a result of one of his robberies going incredibly wrong. Desperate to get him out of jail as soon as possible, Connie goes through a dark and violent hell of a night in New York City, as he miserably attempts to obtain $10,000 to pay his bail.

“Good Time” is the movie that finally took Robert Pattinson out of the grim shadow of the “Twilight” franchise. The A24 flick became a true revelation for his detractors, and they realized that he is actually a brilliant actor with a lot of merit. Others even consider this movie to be the reason why Pattinson eventually got the role of Batman. “Good Time” is a surprisingly dark and realistic movie, headlined by a main character with questionable morals that isn’t bogged down by a cliché Hollywood redemption arc. It is a movie about survival, and how some people will do anything to help the ones they care for, no matter how bad.

3 Drive (2011)

A quiet and mysterious stuntman, who doubles as a getaway driver for criminals at night, finds himself in a difficult situation when he begins to develop a relationship with his neighbour Irene and her young son. Irene is the wife of a convicted criminal she has felt trapped with for years, and when he inevitably comes out of prison, becoming the target of a local mob boss, things take a turn that lead to violence and danger

Based on a 2005 novel of the same name by American author James Sallis, “Drive” is a modern masterpiece that, upon release in 2011, fell victim to a terribly misguiding marketing campaign that even led to a highly publicized false advertisement lawsuit. This deep, character-driven and incredibly tense movie was sold as a brainless action flick reminiscing of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, which ended up confusing many when they sat in theatres to watch it.

“Drive” has built a massive cult following over the years, and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest films of the 21st Century. With a world class cast including Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaacs, Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman, it is an expertly crafted movie (both in front and behind the camera), featuring incredible characters and a deeply intimate story that carries a great deal of emotion.

2 Equilibrium (2002)

In a futuristic totalitarian state founded after World War III, society has been reinvented — emotions have been deemed illegal and are suppressed through a daily injection of a drug. John Preston, a top officer of the state, accidentally misses one of his daily doses, triggering the gradual return of his emotions. The incident causes him to question his morals and the government’s true intentions, and he begins to experience the crushing guilt of letting his wife be executed after she was arrested for having emotions.

“Equilibrium” is a film that, an all accounts, was way ahead of its time. Full of clever social commentary, great acting (mainly from Christian Bale in the role of John Preston) and fantastic action sequences that involve a spectacular fictional martial art created just for the movie, it is without the shadow of a doubt the most overlooked science-fiction thriller in recent history. “Equilibrium” is a brilliant flick with amazing world building that more people need to know about.

1 The Nice Guys (2016)

In 1977 Los Angeles, a down on his luck private investigator, who tries (and mostly fails) to be a decent father to his daughter, is forced to team up with another, more brutal private investigator, in an attempt to find a missing young woman who’s strange disappearance may or may not be connected to the sudden death of a beloved porn star.

A passion project by “Iron Man 3” director Shane Black, “The Nice Guys” is an action comedy that feels like a direct throwback to 70’s and 80’s buddy-cop films. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling absolutely kill it as the star duo, and the supporting cast (featuring the likes of Matt Bomer and Margaret Qualley) definitely leaves a mark as well. The movie was widely overlooked by audiences, and the possibility of a sequel has become foggy, even though Black, Gosling and Crowe have all expressed great interest in coming back.

Top 10 Amazing Actors Who Are Always In Awful Movies

Some folks say that patience is a virtue or that good things come to those who wait. Instant gratification isn’t something you should expect and may not even be a good thing. But all things in moderation is another idiom worth keeping in mind. You don’t want to wait too long for something or else it can be a little out of hand. Despite that, people will wait for a long, long time for certain things. Here are 10…

10. There’s a Nearly 40 Year Waitlist For Japanese Beef Croquettes 

Have you ever gone into a business like a hair salon or a butcher and been forced to wait in line, maybe even take a number? It can be frustrating if the place is busy while you just stand there and hope you’re next to be served. Now imagine if your number hadn’t been called for 38 years.

In Japan, there’s a family-owned butcher called Asahiya, and they are known for their Kobe beef croquettes. They are potato and beef dumplings that are covered in a crispy coating and deep-fried. That sounds tasty enough and you have to assume they are since the waiting list to buy a box in 2022 was 38 years long. 

Other croquettes only have a four-year wait which you can probably just nap your way through, but their “extreme croquettes” come in at nearly four decades. What makes them extreme? Marketing.

The owner of the shop realized when he started online sales that people didn’t like to pay premium prices for beef online. So he sold croquettes for $1.80 when they had $2.70 worth of beef in them. It’s a proof-of-concept product that they sell at a loss to prove how good they are in the hopes you’ll come and buy something else at a normal price. 

The limited supply comes from the fact that not only are they sold at a loss, but they are handmade fresh every day with local ingredients. It’s impossible to keep up with the demand, especially when word got out about how good they are, so the wait list keeps growing. In 2024, it hit 43 years. 

9. The Waitlist for Packers Season Tickets is 30 to 50 Years

Americans love football, just look at the hype over the Superbowl every year even among people who ironically don’t like football at all. People will watch it just for the commercials or the halftime show. That’s solid marketing by the NFL. But for diehard fans, being at a game in person is the real treat and few fans love the game more than Green Bay Packers fans.

If you’re a true Cheesehead you want to get season tickets. Just imagine seeing every Packers game for the entire season. Except, for most fans, that’s exactly what’s going to happen – you’re going to imagine it. The waitlist for season tickets is decades long. Michelle Hensel’s parents put her name on the list when she was two years old. She got her tickets when she was 49. 

The decades-long list has 147,000 names on it. Every year those people get a postcard telling them where they are on the list. Every year they move up a few places as the glacier slowly but surely moves you towards getting your shot.  

When the time comes, you get warned it’s approaching, then a letter tells you when the tickets are available, and then you have a window in which to pay for the tickets. If you miss your window, you get dumped and the next person on the list has a chance. Numbers only move by about 100 to 200 every year.

8. The Wait for a Free Flag from the Canadian Government is a Century

If you’re a patriotic sort of person, then you probably fly your country’s flag somewhere around your home. In Canada, you can even get a flag that has flown over the Canadian Parliament on what is known as the Peace Tower, one of Canada’s most recognizable landmarks. Every day they raise a new flag above the tower. Old flags are given out, free of charge, to any Canadian who requests one. 

While it sounds very cool that you can just ask for such a flag, you need to remember there can only be 365 available in any given year and there are over 30 million Canadians, not to mention institutions that may ask for one or people who just want a second, third, or fourth one. That means you’re getting put on a waitlist if you’re interested, which is currently over 100 years long. 

About 20 years ago if you requested one you’d probably have it by now. Some people got theirs ahead of schedule, a mere 14 years into an anticipated 17-year wait. But the list only grows longer as more people learn about it and that puts the newest people basically requesting flags for their children or grandchildren. 

7. There’s a 5-Year Wait For Service Dogs That Didn’t Graduate

You’ve probably seen service dogs out in the world before. These dogs have to go through some rigorous training to meet the demands of aiding a person who can’t see, or whatever other service they provide. So what happens when a dog can’t actually do the job? Like any school, service dog school has failures. 

Turns out you can adopt a failed service dog, as depressing as that title makes them sound, and they are in high demand. Just because they didn’t make it as a service dog doesn’t mean they’re not well-trained. If you want one, depending on which service you’re trying to adopt from, the wait can be as little as a few months but up to a few years in some cases. 

Guide Dogs of America doesn’t call them failed service dogs, they call them Career Change Dogs because isn’t that adorable? It’s a five-year wait and they also don’t accept new names on the list, either. 

6. There’s a New York Restaurant That Is Working Through a 10-Year Waitlist

You knew restaurants had to be on this list somewhere, right? They may be the most common thing most of us have heard of that sometimes requires a substantial wait period. If there’s an exclusive, high-brow restaurant in town with a fancy chef, you could wait months to get into some places. And that’s if you’re lucky. 

There’s a New York restaurant that stopped taking reservations in 2014 and is still filling old ones in 2024. Damon Baehrel only seats 20 people which is part of the reason the waitlist got so out of hand. It’s also in the basement of the chef’s house and he works alone, with no sous chefs or other staff, so he’s arguably limiting his workload by keeping things kind of tight with bookings. 

The restaurant has no menu, it’s literally just whatever the chef cooked that day. He’s the sort of guy who forages local ingredients and then makes your meal for you. Something like a 20-item tasting menu. Reviews say the wait is worth it. 

5. It Can Take 12 to 14 Years to Get Subsidized Housing in the US and Canada

Both Canada and the US offer subsidized housing for people unable to afford the cost of rent. However, the demand for housing has always far exceeded availability in both countries. In parts of the US, waiting lists for affordable housing are about seven years long. That’s when the lists are still open and accepting new applicants. In 2021, the people in San Diego who received housing vouchers had waited an average of 12 years.

Canada follows the American trend. Those hoping for an affordable, one-bedroom home in Toronto, one of Canada’s most expensive cities, could wait 14 years. In Montreal, the wait time was 6 years. In all of these cases, you can see the issue. Where exactly do you live for years before you can get a place you can afford?

In Canada, community housing used to be a government responsibility but in the early 90s the federal government made it a provincial matter. Provinces then made it a municipal matter and that meant only cities with a surplus of money could even think of affording such things. The result was that barely any construction happened thereafter. Thus, the wait lists continued to grow.

4. It Takes 3 to 5 Years to Get a Kidney Transplant 

Your kidneys are doing some good work in your body and it’s always a good idea to have at least one that works properly. But sometimes things happen and your kidneys fail. What then? Luckily for most people, kidney transplants are often very successful and you can continue to live a good life after getting a new one. But we did skip a step in the middle there and that’s waiting for one to turn up.

While people who need new hearts are often on the list for a shorter period, what could even be a few days but also up to several months, kidneys are a little different. If you’re on the transplant waiting list, you can expect to wait three to five years. 

That wait time is the average. Some parts of the US will see you wait even longer. Of course, the opposite can be true as well. Your circumstances could get you bumped up the list to a much sooner operation but, again, that’s your average. 

3. You’ll Wait 13 Years For Vienna Philharmonic Tix

If you’re a fan of orchestral music, then you are familiar with the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the most famous orchestras in the world. The orchestra has existed since 1842 and is famously run by the musicians themselves, not some director. They have only used guest conductors for the better part of a century now. 

The orchestra is so famous that every show is sold out and has been so pretty much forever. If you wish to subscribe to their concert series, you can do so by putting your name on the waitlist for tickets. It’s about 13 years long right now. 

2. You Can Wait 5 Years for a Rolex Daytona

Most of us have a few brand names in mind when we think of things that signify wealth. Things that rich people buy. Like Cristal champagne. Or a Ferrari. Or a Rolex. But just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you get faster service. If you want a Rolex Daytona watch, be prepared to wait up to 5 years for one.

According to jewelers who sell the watches, there are actually a few reasons for a longer wait. First, Rolex isn’t rushing these things out. If they have precious metal parts included, they might take longer to manufacture. But there’s also the discretion of your seller. Jewelers don’t really do the “first come first serve” thing. Instead, they give preferential service to favored customers. 

If your watch seller likes you, or you have already spent a lot of money there and they know you’ll spend more, they’ll bump you up the list. If you’re just some stranger looking for a watch, expect a much longer wait. 

1. Nursing Home Spots in Beijing Have a 100-Year Wait List

Here’s a concept that’s hard to wrap your head around. If you or a loved one gets to be a certain age and they can no longer adequately care for themselves, where do they go? A nursing home is the typical response here. But how much time do you have, if you’re already a person who needs to be in a nursing home, to wait to get into a nursing home? 

In China, the wait for some spots in Beijing nursing homes has hit 100 years. That means, to safely secure one, you’re going to want to reserve a spot for your unborn child and hope for the best. 

To be fair, this was not all nursing homes, it was the most popular nursing home. And, no doubt, this place must have been the Ritz of nursing homes to develop a wait list that long. Ironically, the deputy director of the facility was quick to point out they don’t even have the best facilities, but they do pride themselves on their service. 

The turnover rate is very low with a few dozen to maybe 100 openings per year with 1,100 beds total and with such a massive population that China has, there are far more people who want to get in than there are spots available.

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.

As we all know – whether we believe in them or not – there are hundreds of UFO sightings on record over the years. However, these sightings continue to happen all around the world today. And while most of us only hear of some of the better-known and fully investigated sightings from many years ago, some of the most intriguing have happened within the last two years alone. And what’s more, dozens of further intriguing sightings will happen in the years ahead.

Perhaps what is a bonus of the contemporary age is that most people have instant access to cameras on their phones. With that in mind, then, here are ten sightings from recent years, all of which have video footage to back them up. Make of all of them what you will.

10 Bible Accounts That Could Be Interpreted As UFOs Or Aliens

10UFO Caught On Video Flying Past Doncaster Airport, United Kingdom, August 2020

We will start with arguably the most recent UFO sighting on our list. It involves an intriguing piece of footage captured at Doncaster Airport in the United Kingdom. A local father and son were watching arriving airplanes when they began to film one that was approaching. However, unbeknown to the witness, he had the setting on slow motion. This meant the footage, when played, was much slower than it should have been. However, because of this, the pair were able to see a strange disc-shaped object speeding across the screen in the background.

They had not seen it with their naked eye. However, the more they viewed it, the more convinced they were that it was not a bird or a drone. Once the footage appeared online many UFO researchers were quick to state how credible the video likely was. Not least due to the straight-line motion that it moved in and the fact that it moved much too fast.

9Meadow Park Football Stadium, United Kingdom, February 2019

Perhaps what makes a UFO sighting at Meadow Park Stadium during a women’s football match in February 2020 all the more intriguing is that the game was being broadcast on television at the time. Not only did this mean that those at the stadium witnessed it (and quite possibly managed to capture footage themselves) but many witnessed the object from the comfort of their own homes. In fact, it was a viewer in London who happened to be watching the match who first spotted the strange orange orb over the stadium.

As we might imagine, there was much debate as to the credibility of the sighting. Many believed the object was nothing more than a drone in the area. If it was an alien craft, what might the reason be for it seemingly approaching a packed stadium? Might it have been there as part of an alien spying mission?

8Object The Size Of A Bus Captured Near The International Space Station, February 2020

There have been many UFO sightings captured from the live feed of the International Space Station over the years. At the end of February 2020 one of the most recent of those would unfold.

The footage – which appeared online almost immediately – shows what appears to be a “bus-sized object” enter into the frame. What’s more, it seems to be heading toward the space station itself. It would even remain in view for around 20 minutes. As with many sightings of this nature, there is a difference of opinion as to whether the strange object was an alien ship or a top-secret space vehicle of the American military or space program.

Whether it is of consequence or not, there has been no word given by NASA or the space station as to what the object might have been. Perhaps that silence on the matter should tell us all we need to know.

7Resident Captures Two Strange Objects Over New South Wales, November 2019

While on vacation in New South Wales in Australia a witness captured footage of two UFOs in the sky overhead. Some UFO researchers would claim the footage was the “clearest daylight footage” ever recorded.

What is perhaps particularly interesting is that the two UFOs are different from each other. One appears to be a disc shape, while the other is seemingly distinctly triangular. One thing we should perhaps consider – and something which will come up later in our list – is that many people claim to see such UFOs actually changing shape in midair. With this in mind, might it be that as opposed to being two UFOs of a different type they were simply captured each in a different form?

The witness would report that they watched the UFOs for around 5 minutes before they finally disappeared into the distance. The footage will undoubtedly be studied for some time to come.

6Disc-Like Object Circles Small Plane Over Spangdaheim Air Base, Germany July 2020

A particularly interesting UFO sighting was captured over a United States base in Germany (Spangdaheim Air Base) on the evening of 7th July 2020. The disc shaped object was captured flying extremely close to a small airplane making many who viewed video ask if the pilot themselves had also witnessed the strange craft. This would appear even more likely when we see that the disc-like object circle the plane.

There is much to investigate about the sighting. For example, was the plane in the region as part of an intercept mission? If so, what do the US military working out of the base know about the incident? Might it even be that the craft was, in fact, a top-secret military vehicle? Like many of the sightings on our list, there are numerous other similar incidents on record. And UFO sightings over military air bases are in abundance within the records over the years.

10 Government Officials Who Admitted The Existence Of Aliens

5Metallic Object Hovering Over Shopping Center, Panama, Cuba, October 2019

An intriguing UFO was captured on video at just after 10 am on 9th October 2019 when an unnamed resident noticed a strange, metallic object hovering over a shopping center in Panama in Cuba. The witness, along with a friend, were driving into the shopping complex looking for a place to park. It was as they were heading directly toward it that they noticed the strange craft.

They managed to take in quite a few details of the bizarre aerial anomaly. They would claim as well as being metallic there was a strange white glow to the exterior. What’s more, there appeared to be multiple domes on top.

Many from the UFO community feel confident that this piece of footage is one of the more credible of recent years. We should also note that the video only surfaced online via the witness’s personal social media account. Many “suspect” videos are often pushed on larger and more public platforms in order to earn money from the views.

4Speeding Disc Captured By Volcano-Cam Popocatepetl, Mexico, August 2019

Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing UFO sightings captured on film in recent years took place in August 2019. Volcano-cam watching a volcano in Popocatepetl in Mexico captured what appeared to be a disc shaped object zipping past the screen. Closer examination of the speeding object appears to reveal a black dome on the top, as well as a bright light in the center. Some viewers of the footage have even claimed that the domed part could even be a cockpit of the craft.

It is certainly intriguing footage. And would appear to be something much more solid than a passing bird. As well as much too fast for a drone or other known aircraft.

We have also examined before on these very pages how mountains and volcanoes are claimed by many in the UFO community to house secret alien bases. Whether that is true or not is very much open to debate.

3Rotating UFO Caught Hovering Over The Bristol Channel, United Kingdom June 2020

At some point in early June 2020 a local resident looking out on the Bristol Channel suddenly noticed a strange “rotating object” hovering over the water. What’s more, the strange craft appeared to be near to a ship on the water.

As soon as the footage appeared online there was an abundance of theories as to what it might be. A particular split developed as to the actual shape of the apparent craft. Some who viewed the video asserted that it was most definitely disc shaped. Others, however, were equally certain the craft had triangular dimensions. There also appears to be a white light on the underside of the craft – something also associated with triangular UFOs.

The claims of the craft being triangular are particularly interesting. Many believe triangular UFOs are not the result of alien visitation but of secret military vehicles. Might this have been a case of such top-secret tests?

2UFO Captured “Soaring Away” In Cathedral City, California, January 2020

One of the most intriguing pieces of footage to find its way online in recent years came from Cathedral City in California. The video was captured by a security guard, Douglas Benefield, at a construction site on the evening of 11th January 2020.

When he submitted the video online, Benefield would state that he was merely going about his duties as he normally would do when “everything just felt weird all of a sudden”. Then he noticed something moving in the sky a little way in front of him and reached for his phone. He filmed for several seconds and then immediately watched the footage back. He was amazed to see something enter the frame and hover for a moment. The strange object would then ascend upwards with alarming speed.

He was uncertain of exactly what the object was. However, he was certain that it was a craft that was unlike anything else he had seen.

1Shape-Changing UFO, Monroe City, Missouri, June 2020

Just before midnight on the evening of 30th June 2020 in Monroe City in Missouri, a local resident was going around her home ensuring it was secure before turning in the for the evening. As she walked into her backyard, however, she saw a strange orange glowing object overhead. To begin with, it was completely motionless. What’s more, it was completely silent. After several moments, though, it suddenly began to move in a fast “zig-zag” motion. Even stranger, as it moved, it appeared to change shape.

The object remained in view for around a minute, eventually moving toward the front of the house before finally disappearing back in the direction it arrived. She managed to capture several seconds of footage of the incident, though. Incidentally, the detail of a UFO changing shape in midair is one that surfaces relatively frequently in UFO reports. Whether this is a trick played on the eye or whether it suggests a truly advanced vehicle is open to debate.

Top 10 Military Bases Linked To UFOs (That Aren’t Area 51)