Author: Dustin Koski

If it happens to you in the womb, it could threaten your health forever. It could mean that you were conceived with a twin but something went horribly wrong. If it’s visible at a glance, it could mean you will have eyes on you everywhere you go for the rest of your life, through no…

It’s been 70 years since the Third Reich was sponged, purged, and blasted from the surface of the Earth, yet popular culture can’t get enough of the Nazis, hence programs like the recent Amazon show The Man in High Castle. They’re people it’s perfectly politically correct to hate, but they’re such symbols of power that…

Since audiences believing propaganda tends to be of dire importance to the governments and organizations creating it, you’d expect it to try to be as believable and somber about subjects that are a matter of life and death as they can be. You would at least expect basic tact and decorum. If not that, at…

These days the atheist movement has made bashing religion almost passe. They would have us believe that religion only strips people of basic rights when it’s not busy inspiring violence or taking money. They are in no place to complain. The persons who had to endure or even witness these horrible ceremonies have plenty of…

Emerging from the clear blue sky often without warning, meteors have been thought to be both harbingers of doom (sometimes with good cause) and up until the 19th century, a source of heated controversy over whether they even existed. The Earth is pockmarked by sites of devastating strikes. Yet whenever someone gets lucky enough with…

Mainstream, major video games today are a bigger industry than movies or music. It’s so pervasive that people are making livings out of being watched while playing video games. But since consumers often want to have variety and support smaller companies, it’s important for some time to be taken to acknowledge games made independently of…

We tend to expect a certain kind of behavior from people on camera; namely, the non-criminal kind. The fact that we might later be watched by someone, especially someone who could punish us, is supposed to keep us in line. Oftentimes, in surprising ways and to shocking extents, it turns out not to inhibit behavior…

People risk their lives for others every day, but their actions usually go unseen. But in these cases, their heroism is on full display for us to applaud and marvel at. 10. Humpback Whale Rescue Marine researcher Michael Fischbach and company were boating in the Gulf of California on February 15, 2011, when they stumbled…

TopTenz is an appreciator of both the high points and the low points. And as contentious as gender politics in nerd culture tends to get, it’s great that there are large numbers of women who feel society is tolerant enough that they can pretend to be fictional characters without being mocked. Unfortunately, many times, female…

The idea of a mail order bride is so ubiquitous that there have been numerous movies, books, and most importantly, a TopTenz video devoted to the subject. Some might feel this is potentially sexist, treating women as some sort of rankable commodity for men. How would men feel if someone ranked husbands by country? Well,…

War profiteers are such a loathsome notion. The idea that while people are struggling for causes while others use the confused nature of military logistics to make dishonest money is appalling. The thought that these companies supported the most deadly regime in the world and went on to become fixtures in our daily lives is…

The intact body of a deceased human is a valuable thing, with the kidneys alone being valued at $160,000 on some black markets. Some of the following options aren’t nearly as practical or intuitive, but they all confront us with the banal nature of our own mortality and remind us that these bodies we devote…

Not many buildings become world famous for their ceilings. The amazing array of frescoes that Michelangelo painted over the course of four years is full of instantly recognizable scenes and attracts more than five million visitors annually. Naturally, there’s much to be said about the creation of such historic art. 10. People Hated It When…

Not every horror flick has to be 90 minutes of blood, guts, and screaming. Sometimes, all you need is a minute. Here are ten horror films that get their scare across in 90 seconds or less, in a manner that is completely safe for work. Unless of course you shriek in terror too loudly. Your boss might not appreciate that.

Game makers sometimes feel like they can’t just make a fun product in today’s extremely competitive market. They need to make a fun game with a twist in its plot, themes or gameplay. They need to flip some significant trope or some other aspect of their game on its head. These ten games pulled that…

We tend to think of movies as being funded solely by rich Hollywood studios, but crowd-funding movies through Internet donations has established itself as a legitimate practice. Audiences have been responsible for some splendid films, and now there are even film festivals being arranged through Kickstarter. We’d like to show you 10 highlights from the…

The blistering heat that comes from a restaurant grill. That humid heat that comes after a summer shower that makes it practically uncomfortable to move. The inside of a car where you left the windows rolled up on a hot day because you were worried someone might swipe something which resulted in air that wafts…

So many things will send our society flying into a rage, albeit usually an impotent one. Violence, perceived injustice and celebrity rudeness are but a few things that the media can goad us into being angry enough about that we follow stories with rapt attention and let everyone in our social circles know how we…

There’s a certain arrogance and laziness to people who buy into conspiracy theories and the paranormal. They want a cheap, easy way to gain an advantage over people that are having more conventional success than them. They want an easy insight, a “truth” they can cling to and claim as their own, to imbue them…

When Anita Sarkeesian and Rebecca Watson brought attention to the sexism pervasive in video games, one of the popular responses (including by net comedian Maddox) was that games tend to be pandering to male interests because they’re made by and marketed to males. The logic was that if women wanted games they thought wouldn’t be…

Imagine the beauty of the world around you. Not distant areas that take a lot of time and effort to reach, so that by the time you reach them you’re often so tired or jetlagged that you can’t appreciate them anyway. We’re not even talking about the beauty of places like parks that you can…

Ever been surprised or devastated by an Oscar win? Are you one of those still angry that Shakepeare in Love took Saving Private Ryan’s Best Picture, that it took forever for Martin Scorsese and others to get an award, or that Crash won anything? Well, as these Oscars wins and nominations will make clear, it…

Everything is becoming increasingly democratized, especially technology. The opportunity exists for every citizen with disposable income to be a part of the march of progress, and sometimes the investment has — get this — actually paid off. From advances in gaming to the health industry, the ever-expanding impact of these advances will reach people from all…

Gaming hobbyists have gained massive mainstream acceptance, albeit without much actual mainstream affection. The classic fat nerd stereotype is still going strong. Many pop culture critics insist that popular games are bigoted and sexist, and online gaming is still widely described as a bunch of people in their early teens being homophobic and such. This…