Top 10 Deadliest Prisons in the World
Of course, nobody wants to go to prison, but there are some prisons that you really, really don’t want to be imprisoned as an inmate. Being in jail is only part of the problem, staying alive is the bigger issue. Here are the top 10 most dangerous prisons in the world.
10. San Quentin Prison
San Quentin, California - In the 1930’s, San Quentin was rife with corruption by management, until a new director, Clinton Truman Duffy, appalled at the inhumane conditions at the prison, decided to implement reforms in the 1940’s. Prior to his appointment, prisoners made counterfeit currency in the prison shops, had their heads shaved and were forced to wear numbered uniforms, while eating out of pails and enduring solitary confinement in poured-concrete cells that had little air and no light. Even a petty offense to prison regulations would land an inmate in solitary, and race riots would put inmate lives at risk on a regular basis. San Quentin is still a harsh environment, filled with California’s most violent offenders, and the high ratio of guards to general population, just barely keeps the prison system from spiraling out of control.
Top 10 Movies that feature the Statue of Liberty
The Statute of Liberty is not only an iconic symbol of America, freedom and worldwide friendships – she has also been in more cinemas than popcorn. In most of her movie appearances she has played a peripheral role, lurking in the background as a torch-carrying part of the scenery.
The flying limousine in Team America (2004) took a detour round her diadem rays. Her decapitated head appeared on the VHS box cover of Escape from New York (1981). She was seen in the background in The Fantastic Four (2005), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) and Maid in Manhattan (2002), and who can blame her for lurking in the background of that movie?
However, in the following ten movies Liberty’s role has been much more integral than a mere background extra.
10. Cloverfield (2008)
Twenty years ago films with wobbly camerawork and incomplete stories were called B-Movies. Nowadays, these features are seen to represent artistic quality. Cloverfield is a movie with very wobbly camerawork and an inconclusive storyline. As with the box cover for Escape from New York, Liberty again loses her head for a movie with this one. For those who haven’t yet seen the whole film, it’s enough to say that Cloverfield is a strange tale of alien invasion, everlasting love and even longer lasting camcorder batteries.
Top 10 Sea Stories
Here are the top 10 famous sea stories with plenty of atmosphere, adventure and excitement. Runners-up include the Bounty Trilogy, Forrester’s Hornblower saga, Ed Beach’s Run Silent, Run Deep and Tom Heggen’s Mr. Roberts.
10. The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
Updating the Bounty mutiny, ex-navy man Wouk refashioned Bligh as neurotic petty tyrant Queeg, driving the Caine’s crew to mutiny during a dangerous storm. Though Navy lawyer Greenwald stands up for Queeg at book’s end, we still know what a rule-happy, inflexible screw-up Queeg is.
10 Dangerous Exotic Pets
Most countries have laws against them. In most places around the globe it is illegal to capture, breed, or sell them. Yet world wide there is a fascination with owning wild, bizarre, exotic, and most of the time dangerous pets. What are this fascination with being different and the need to own something illegal and dangerous? Who owns these animals? And, what are these animals that are owned, sold, and traded worldwide regardless of the consequences?
The United With Animal Protection Institute issued a report of incidents involving captive held animals, which provided an interesting background report to base the list upon. There are also stories like this in papers around the world concerning the practice of keeping dangerous and exotic pets.
10. Turtles
A turtle may seem harmless enough, but did you know that they actually carry salmonella? It seems that the main concern is the baby turtles. It is not that the little guys have more cases of salmonella, it’s that the smaller they are the more attracted little kids are to them. And we all know how little kids can be; they will stick just about anything in their mouth - including their fingers after touching the turtles and the turtles themselves.
Top 10 Sports Teams We Love To Hate
We can all understand the reasons to root for a team, but what goes into truly despising and hating a team so much that we expend energy on praying and wishing for them to lose? It would seems success breeds contempt and a loathing we can’t deny. You’ll find 10 successful sports teams that many people love to hate on this list.
10. Miami Hurricanes
Drop him, drop him!
“Thug U” - that was the name given to critics of the Miami Hurricanes football team during the 1980s. They were bold, they were brash, they were cocky, they had attitude, and they won a lot. Under head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson, the Canes won three National Championships. However, the reason critics loved to hate them wasn’t just because they were successful. It wasn’t even just their in-your-face style of play and their trash-talking. It was because of off the field incidents that included a pay-for-play scandal involving a nationally known rap-artist, as well as an improper benefits ring during the late 80s and early 90s that led the NCAA to uncover widespread, unpunished drug use and declare that the university had lost institutional control of their football program. While recent coaches have worked hard to change the program’s image, some say the “Thug U” mentality is alive and well, pointing to the team’s 2006 brawl with Florida International as evidence.
10 “Popular” Poisons
It used to be that poisoning was the murder method of choice for those cunning villains who wanted to “get away with it.” However, following advances in forensic science, poisoning no longer allows murderers any anonymity. Nowadays, the use of poison is so easily detectable it is comparable to the murderer writing a confession. “And, to think, I could have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for those pesky CSI investigators.”
10. Castor Bean
- Castor Bean Plant
When you consider that castor oil is used as a food additive in candy and chocolate, it’s disconcerting to discover that the fruit of that plant, the castor bean contains a supertoxic level of the poison ricin. As little as one bean, well chewed, could prove fatal. However, according to figures from the American Association of Poison Control Centres (AAPC) only two Castor Bean fatalities were recorded in the period from 1999 to 2004.
VERDICT: Flava Beans or Castor Beans? Perhaps it would be best to just go for a meal with Dr Hannibal Lecter.
Top 10 Metrosexuals
These truly modern guys are unafraid to buy beauty products, wear makeup, and get pedicures. Confident in their masculinity, they push the envelope as society’s top ten metrosexuals. Metros have been defined as “straight guys who look gay”.
10. Dave Navarro
Rockers are renowned for their use of makeup and their love of chains and leather: Dave Navarro takes it even further. In his reality show with Carmen Electra, she confessed that she never thought she would end up with a guy who “spends more time in front of the mirror than I do”. They are now divorced, but probably not because Dave is a confirmed metrosexual.
Top 10 Greatest Upsets in Sports History
Who doesn’t root for the underdog, unless of course, the underdog is playing your favorite team. America loves an upset and that is why many upsets of become legendary with books being written and films being made to document the amazing feat that is an upset. And while upsets usually involve a team, we have listed some individual upsets that rocked the sporting world as well. Take a moment and relive some of these magical moments, unless you were rooting for the favorite.
10. Jack Fleck Beats Ben Hogan in 1955 U.S. Open
- Jack Fleck and Ben Hogan
From humble beginnings came the man who would pull of the greatest upset in golf history. Jack Fleck was born in Iowa, the son of destitute farmers who would eventually lose their land. He was a caddy, a dentist and an assistant golf pro before joining the Navy and serving in World War II. Shortly after the war, Fleck made the decision to join the PGA Tour on a full-time basis. His first win would come in 1955, as he knocked off the legendary Ben Hogan in a three-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open. It would wind up being just one of three PGA Tour events Fleck would win during his golfing career.
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10 Extremely Dangerous Gangs
The word gang has taken on many meanings throughout the years. Originally, the word was just used to express a group or band of people. You probably have heard someone talk about the local gang of boys or something of that sort. In older times, the word gang didn’t have such the negative tone that comes along with it today. As time has gone on, the word gang has grown to be a word that many worry about when they hear it. It seems a “gang” has evolved from just being a group of people to a group of people that associate for some criminal or other antisocial purpose.
Depending on where you live, you have probably heard about gang crimes. If you don’t live too close to a big city, it is sure that you have read or watched the news and heard about some sort of gang activity. Gangs exist all over the world, not just in your own country. Here are the top 10 of the most dangerous gangs that you definitely don’t want to come into contact with.
Aryan Brotherhood (AB, The Brand)
Another jailhouse gang for you. Even though they are not one of the biggest prison gangs, the Aryan Brotherhood is known to have murdered many prisoners in jail. The gang only makes up about 1% of prison populations, but size doesn’t matter to the AB. In fact, this gang is known for at least 26% of the murders that occur in prisons around the U.S. The AB is split into two groups, usually those in federal prisons and other members that are located in some of the smaller state prisons, especially those in California. In order to join the Aryan Brotherhood, one has to kill or assault another prisoner. This is known as blood in, blood out. Any who try to leave the gang are generally assaulted or murdered by a member. The AB is known for organized crime, extortion, inmate prostitution, drug trafficking, and murder-for-hire.
10 Crazy Royals
When someone is talked about as being crazy, they usually aren’t the ones calling the shots. However, there have been a few notable cases of these mad men or women, all of royal blood, ruling countries, much to the chagrin of their subjects or much to the delight of their parents who act as regents. Luckily it hasn’t happened all that recently – can you imagine the posh padding required to hold an insane royal? Only the finest 1,000 count Egyptian cotton for the cell walls and a straight jacket made of the best royal purple silk and tied with gold roping.
And hopefully these 10 wackos will stay in the recesses of history and not pop up again – you know the whole history repeating itself?
10. George III of the United Kingdom
King George III ruled Great Britain and Ireland for some 59 years of his life. While he was somewhat gifted in the military campaign aspect defeating France in extended engagements once during Napoleon’s reign and once during the Seven Year War, his biggest loss, besides his marbles, was that of the American Colonies. Born in 1738, he didn’t start losing his mental health until later in life, supposedly from arsenic poisoning. If someone was trying to kill him, they should have tried harder.
