Author: Adrian Chirila

Wanting to travel and see the world in all its beauty and diversity is a frequent dream for a lot of people. Different cultures, traditions, and ways of thinking found in every corner of the world can broaden the mind of any traveler. Each continent is different, not just in geographical terms, but in almost…

Not that long ago we comprised a top 10 list about America’s most beloved fictional family, the Simpsons. But since the list had only 10 entries, it didn’t even come close to doing them justice. After all, this is a show that’s been on TV for nearly 30 years. So, we’ve decided to make another…

Experiments enable scientists to solve the mysteries of the world and everything around it. They are the very way through which knowledge is created and problems are solved. Granted, experiments are based a great deal on trial and error, but whatever the outcome, we can rest assured that we’ve found out a bit more about the…

Traveling is something most of us want to do as much as possible, assuming we can afford it. But visiting the standard tourist destinations around the world, which do have plenty of great characteristics, does become boring after a while. For those of us with a sense of adventure, and who want to see our…

The Lord of the Rings universe was written and imagined by none other than J. R. R. Tolkien. After serving in the British Army during WWI, he began working on the novels about wizards, hobbits, elves and dwarves in the 1920’s, completing the The Hobbit and the first two books from Lord of the Rings.…

Technology sets us apart from all other living things. It’s true that, compared to other animals, we have larger brains and opposable thumbs, but these are what made technology available to us in the first place. And with the use of this technology, we became the dominant species on Earth. But unfortunately, not all of…

Humanity’s rise to become the dominant species on the planet seems to have been a fairly orderly progression from one species to another. But this could not be further from the truth. It was more like an arbitrary, often brutal process; a sort of “survive or die” situation. Since life began on our planet, probably…

We all have heard about the mafia, and a lot of us have somewhat of a fascination with the lives of mafia members. And when we think about them, we mostly imagine they either died in prison, or they were made to “sleep with the fishes” or were “wacked”. This list however presents those important, but few…

The Simpsons is among the best known TV series’ of all-time. With 26 seasons under its belt and counting, The Simpsons has not once been canceled and somehow manages to surprise us with new jokes and puns in every episode. It’s even won the Guinness World Record for the longest running, primetime TV animated series…

Today we’re going to talk about weapons which have been developed over the years and can only be described as being invented by heartless maniacs, bent solely on human suffering. These weapons are off course very effective in what they do, and this is probably why they were designed in the first place. Nevertheless, the power…

World War II started off with the Nazis pretty much wanting to control the whole world. Twenty years after the previous World War, Europe was still in a period of recuperation and Germany was one of the countries worst off in the aftermath. In an astonishingly short period of time, they were able to rebuild…

Starting off in one direction and ending up exactly where you first left off without changing your course, is something not many of us will ever experience. Without doing this at least once in your life, it’s fairly difficult to truly comprehend the fact that we live on a sphere, floating in the middle of…

There’s a common misconception in the public consciousness that animation films and TV shows, or more commonly known as cartoons, are made for children. This, of course, is not always the case. While it is true that most animations catch on better with kids than adults, it’s only because most children use their imagination better…

In a world dominated by consumerism and the accumulation of wealth, some people have decided to revert to a simpler way of life. By ridding themselves of everything they deem unnecessary or wasteful, they live in a community based on subsistence and barter. What most hope to achieve is to have an almost zero carbon…

Up until the time of Christopher Columbus, the world was divided in two, both geographically and culturally. Planet Earth was made up of two distinct “universes” that had no idea about the existence of the other. The Old World, comprised of Europe, Asia, and Africa, was the cradle of modern civilization and all its three…

The old gods in their many shapes and sizes are as diverse as the people who worshiped them. Before the arrival of monotheism on the world stage, tribes and or other pagan kingdoms were bowing down to an entire pantheon of deities, some good, and some bad and all responsible for everything that’s happening around…

Slavery appeared alongside the agricultural revolution some 12,000 years ago, when humanity went from hunting and gathering to a sedentary and more hierarchical society. With the appearance of agriculture and animal husbandry came the first abundance, and along with it the material advantage of owning another person. This phenomenon has afflicted almost all of mankind.…

Humanity has flown people into outer space and landed them on the moon. We live in an age where we could go out and find other places to expand. But there are a few reasons we should continue to stay put, at least for a little while longer. 10. The Financial Cost While it’s true…

There are countless reasons a once bustling location could be abandoned. War, climate change, famine, economic instability, even religion. Whatever the cause, these places have become shadows of their former selves, reminding us that everything will inevitably come to an end. 10. Fengdu Ghost City Dating back more than 2000 years, this abandoned Chinese city…

Like it or not, resources are finite. If we don’t use them carefully, we’ll run out. But while we’ve all heard the scary stories about peak oil, we’re guessing you had no idea that we’re running the risk of hitting peak banana. 10. Bananas Latin America is the largest cultivator of bananas in the world,…

Back in a time before humans had even discovered the benefits of a sedentary life, the world was far more wild, unaltered and diverse than it is today. During the First Agricultural Revolution which took place roughly 10,000 years ago, early man was just beginning to transform the environment around him to better suit his…

Everyday weather has a tremendous impact on day to day life. While it generally tends to just slow down our commutes or affect our picnic plans, extreme weather can flip the tides of a war or bring a civilization to its knees. Mother Nature doesn’t take sides, and the world as we know it would…

A Mechanical Revolution is taking place all around us. It’s still in its inception, but progress is constantly accelerating. This is a process by which we exchange more and more human laborers in favor of mechanical ones. We’ve been doing that, in one form or another, ever since we discovered the first tools, but today…

New York City is a world capital in every sense of the word — it’s a cultural and economic powerhouse, and arguably the most influential city on the planet. But it wasn’t always this way, as the following cities once dominated the world around them. 10. Vijayanagara The city of Vijayanagara (“the city of victory”),…