Author: Ed Hatchet

We’ve already covered a few animal trials, but there are many more cases worth mentioning. Far from being an oddity, trying animals for crimes was a solemn and frequent affair, especially in medieval Europe. It was also legally important, persuading people that everything was under control—its control. And of course punishing “theft” whatever the species…

In cities the majority of space is off-limits. Parks and streets may account for up to half the total area, but when you factor in the vertical axis—the floors inside buildings (many of them empty)—you get a different picture. And that’s just the space that we know about. Often there’s a lot more underground. In…

‘Insect’, from Latin, literally means “cut into”, referring to the divided bodies of ants, beetles, bees, and so on. But this list isn’t about insects; it has the broader focus of ‘bugs’, a word that somehow—mysteriously—rolls into one that massive diversity of animals most feared by domesticated humans. The origin of ‘bug’ isn’t clear. It…

We’ve all heard of Area 51 but what about its equivalents around the world? Here are ten of the most intriguing, all but three of which are still in operation. 10. Station 13, South Africa (Closed) In the grasslands outside Johannesburg, near the not-quite-rural Bapsfontein, Station 13 was—allegedly—operational from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. But…

We’ve mentioned Monturiol’s Ictíneo before—a pedal-controlled sub launched from Barcelona in the mid-19th century. But he didn’t invent the submarine. In fact, there are precursors dating back more than 2,000 years.  From the earliest submarines to ancient diving bells, here are ten of the oldest—all from 1800 or earlier—ranked in reverse chronological order. 10. Nautilus,…

There’s a reason the state can’t defeat the cartels—and it’s not just that people love drugs. It’s also about technology, which the state no longer controls.  Over the past decade, technologies developed and even invented by Mexican and Colombian cartels have come to challenge not only the state’s monopoly over drug pushing and violence but…

We’ve scoured the internet for ten of the most unusual modes of travel that money can buy (either now or in the not-too-distant future), and ranked them in order of price. 10. Hoverboard (concept) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhCcC2smGMI While it’s clear by now that Marty McFly’s 2015 must have been on an alternate timeline, hoverboards are actually possible…

Are you experiencing symptoms of imbalanced frequencies? Low cellular voltage? Psychic aberrations? Well, sit back and relax. There’s a wellness device just for you—even if you don’t feel diseased. Warning: This list may contain misinformation, if the title wasn’t enough indication already. 10. Spooky2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1IbUVC84Ig Did you know that all medical conditions have specific electromagnetic…

Want to live forever? You’re in weird company. Here are 10 immortalists acting out their fear of death in very peculiar ways. 10. David Murdock Ever since losing his third wife and two of their three sons, David Murdock, the billionaire former chairman of Dole, has been obsessed with extending human life. At 100 years…

Billionaires pride themselves on their bold new ideas, which is probably why people accept them. In the areas that actually matter, however, ideas have been scarce for a long time. Mostly, billionaires are self-serving children with the power to follow their dreams — however ludicrous. Here are ten of the stupidest plans the super-rich are…

Beyond the stereotypes we have for the world, how do other countries see each other? Representing every continent but North America, here are 10 of the most interesting — ranked by mutual animosity. 10. Swedes — Norwegians The Swedish see Norwegians as cheerful, open-minded, naive country bumpkins. They also think they’re beautiful and cute-sounding. It’s…

Industrialists are honest about one benefit of war: it tends to drive innovation. But so does peace. The following ten inventions were all to that end, or at least to minimizing carnage.  It’s not their fault they tended to make things much worse. 10. The United Nations Formed as the League of Nations after WWI,…

Currently, as far as we know, there are nine countries with nuclear arsenals — the nine most dangerous nations on Earth: the US, Russia, China, the UK, Israel, India, Pakistan, France, and North Korea. Collectively, the axis of evil. And madness. And war. And ecocide. And abuse. And vacuity… You get the idea. The point…

Why are modern heads of state seemingly so impervious to old-school assassins? All the old presidents were constantly getting attacked. President Jackson famously, but unfortunately, even fought his assassins off with a cane. Well the truth is attempts still happen. They just get less coverage than they used to. In fact, plots are often foiled…

Despite their knuckle-dragging, backwards-looking territorialism, the war machines of the world are under constant pressure to stay one step ahead of the times. If they don’t, they lose wars. In theory anyway. It doesn’t always hold true in practice. These ten weapons from the distant past have all been deployed on modern battlefields — sometimes…

From Ancient Egypt to the Classical era to the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, non-heteronormativity has long been a fact of nature. But only recently has sexual and gender conformity been so rejected by the mainstream; the earliest societies didn’t have to. As annoying as “wokeness” can be, it’s only undoing the work of…

With UFOs now part of the mainstream news cycle, it’s time to get acquainted with the pilots — according to the ten silliest encounters we could find. 10. Reptoids Reptoids, or Reptilians, are a race of bipedal humanoid reptiles. Depending on who you ask, they’re from a world orbiting Alpha Draconis in the Draco system…

Earth’s magical ecosystems might be on their way out, but they’re still full of awesome surprises — like these ten animal behaviors, each of which is so totally opposite to what you’d expect that they’re practically oxymoronic. 10. Flying squid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMq89roPycI Often mistaken for flying fish, there are at least six known species of flying…

Between broken nuclear proliferation agreements, warring global superpowers, and impending ecological collapse, the end of the world seems nigher than ever. At such times, humanity turns to religion. But which one to choose? Beyond the big five, there are some religions most have never heard of let alone explored. So here’s a quick run-down of…

Freedom of religion tends to be taken for granted in the West, despite being illusory in practice. Every government in the world intrudes on religion and, contrary to what you might expect, it’s at least as bad today as it has been in the past. It’s just more bureaucratic. Ranked by how widely they’re banned,…

To “hermetically seal” something (after the alchemist Hermes Trismegistus) is to seal it in such a way, usually by magic, that it can never be opened. The following ten mysteries — a mixture of boxes, tombs and scrolls, as well as one letter — aren’t hermetically sealed necessarily, but some of them might as well…

Advances in bio-engineering have made it theoretically possible to do just about anything to plants. In fact, many of the plants we have today have already been modified beyond all recognition from what they used to be. Carrots were originally white, scrawny roots; peaches were salty and cherry-sized; watermelons were small and bitter; and eggplants…

Ireland has a rich tradition of weird and wonderful creatures – but it’s not just fairies and leprechauns. Some denizens of the Irish Otherworld are truly horrifying. Like these 10! 10. The Abhartach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn5-qXAJMNM Long before Irish novelist Bram Stoker came up with Dracula, Ireland had the blood-sucking Abhartach. Once an evil wizard king from…

Civilization is barbaric. Even today, bloodsports remain popular. From tossing wildlife into the air to chasing foxes with hounds, simpletons everywhere still get their kicks from animal cruelty. But animal cruelty kicks back.  In order of ugliness, here are 10 of the worst — and how participants have got their comeuppance. 10. Fox tossing Fox…