Site Update September 2008

Since our last update we have appeared on Radio Scotland where I was interviewed (or grilled as the case may more aptly be stated). You can listen to the interview here. Many thanks to my brother-in-law Geraint for providing the recording for us. In addition, we recently appeared on the BBC television program “Click” which has nearly doubled our traffic! The injection of “fresh blood” in the comments has been interesting – we have some great new commenters and some rather questionable ones – but all are welcome and we certainly appreciate the new attention....

January 20, 2023 · 6 min · 1200 words · Cody Albanese

Ten Absolutely Insane Conspiracy Theories About Celebrity Deaths

In some shocking cases, celeb deaths turn into quirky and even disturbing conspiracy theories. No matter what the official line may be, certain fans stick to their guns about outlandish allegations. In these cases, conspiracy theorists have claimed crazy tales about celebs passing on. Some say late celebrities aren’t actually dead but in hiding. Others claim stars took on new identities. Whatever the case, in these ten instances, fans have thrown mystery into the mix....

January 20, 2023 · 12 min · 2537 words · Randy Goodwin

Ten Hauntings At Breweries Distilleries And Vineyards

This list will cover ten different beer breweries, liquor distilleries, and vineyards from North America and Europe that claim to have poltergeists sticking around to sample their ports, porters, and pastis. After all, the world has a rich history that flips back and forth from prohibition to sheer bacchanalia, so it should come as no surprise that a few particularly dramatic events should occur at these places that might lay the groundwork for a ghost story....

January 20, 2023 · 9 min · 1709 words · Penny Peterson

Ten Ways Your Nurse Might Kill You

Can you feel this? No? OK. Could just be the third-degree burns. You’re on the mend, I’m sure. Just a couple surgeries, a six-drug medicine regimen, and several shifts of questionably engaged healthcare professionals, and you’ll be outta here in no time. What could go wrong? Wait…which syringe was I supposed to use again? Anyway, for now, just rest up. Or maybe rest in peace. Nurses are a reflection of the labor force as a whole: many are overworked, and others are simply morons....

January 20, 2023 · 12 min · 2374 words · Jesica Woods

Top 10 Astonishing Lost And Found Objects

10 Journal Of ‘The Father Of The Yukon’ Early pioneer Jack McQuesten (aka “The Father of the Yukon”) helped to establish trading posts for gold prospectors who went north in the late 1800s. His handwritten journal, thought to have been destroyed in a 1967 Dawson City fire, was found by Dawson resident Ralph Troberg while Troberg was examining the contents of boxes left to him by his late father. The journal chronicles McQuesten’s life during 1871–1885, the years he spent in the Yukon....

January 20, 2023 · 8 min · 1525 words · William Flora

Top 10 Baffling Phenomena That Medicine Can T Fully Explain

Although we can’t list every medical mystery here, these 10 examples are a great way to illustrate how medicine continues to grow and transform over time. They also show how much new research is always needed. 10 Medical Student Syndrome Nearly everyone has had those fleeting thoughts that they’re experiencing a symptom from a severe, undiagnosed disease. Throughout medical school, future doctors learn about thousands of diseases with various signs and symptoms that they are expected to recognize in their own patients one day....

January 20, 2023 · 10 min · 2010 words · Edward Falcone

Top 10 Best Beaches In The World

The beaches of the Dominican Republic are renowned for their beauty and tranquility. Pristine, unspoiled and scenic, you almost can’t go wrong anywhere in the D.R. The only way to access La Minitas Beach is by a ten minute shuttle or golf cart ride, making this a great pick for those that prefer to sunbathe in relative seclusion. Despite being relatively secluded, there are restaurants fairly close if you get hungry, and, best of all, there is a massage room directly on the beach....

January 20, 2023 · 5 min · 891 words · Claudia Vazquez

Top 10 Biggest Explosions

Type: Largest explosion created by a non-nuclear weapon FOAB (Father of all Bombs) is a Russian tactical weapon, designed to detonate in mid-air and deliver an incinerating shockwave to the target area below it. The bomb yields the equivalent of 44 Tons of TNT, making it about as powerful as the smallest nuclear weapons in existence. However, FOAB does not generate the radioactive fallout that nuclear weapons do. FOAB is part of a “miniature arms race” between the United States and Russia....

January 20, 2023 · 7 min · 1455 words · Cleo Anderson

Top 10 Bizarre Bats

A species exclusive to western Mexico, the banana bat is noted for its very long snout, the longest of any bat (relative to size). It is nectarivorous, which means it feeds mostly on nectar and is an important pollinator in its tropical deciduous forest habitat. It gets its name because it is often found in banana plantations. This white furred bat is found in tropical rain forests from Mexico to Brazil, and also in the island of Trinidad, in the Caribbean....

January 20, 2023 · 3 min · 493 words · Sha Mchale

Top 10 Bizarre Biblical Tales

A lesson for those who dare mock male pattern baldness Found in: 4 Kings 2:23-24 One of the more inspirational passages in the Bible tells the story of Elijah, a wise man, yet one cursed with male pattern baldness. One day he was minding his own business, making the long walk to Bethel, when he is attacked by a roving band of children who tease him with names like “bald head....

January 20, 2023 · 8 min · 1641 words · Dana Paull

Top 10 Bizarre Cases Of Mass Hysteria

The 2006 Mumbai “sweet” seawater incident was a phenomenon during which residents of Mumbai claimed that the water at Mahim Creek, one of the most polluted creeks in India that receives thousands of tonnes of raw sewage and industrial waste every day, had suddenly turned “sweet”. Within hours, residents of Gujarat claimed that seawater at Teethal beach had turned sweet as well. In the aftermath of the incidents, local authorities feared the possibility of a severe outbreak of water-borne diseases, such as gastroenteritis....

January 20, 2023 · 8 min · 1529 words · David Rancourt

Top 10 Bizarre Musical Genres That You Need In Your Life

Top 10 Musicians Who Were Ahead Of Their Time 10 Bardcore Taking existing songs and re-imagining them within a different, often older genre has been a view-generator online for a while now (check out the views gathered by Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox). This trend is normally limited to taking contemporary songs and making them seem like songs of a by-gone 20th century style. What if we go back further?...

January 20, 2023 · 8 min · 1585 words · Elma James

Top 10 Bizarre Wars

In 1883, the citizens of Lijar, a small village in southern Spain were infuriated when they heard reports that, while visiting Paris, the Spanish king, Alfonso XII had been insulted and even attacked in the streets by Parisian mobs. In response, the mayor of Lijar, Don Miguel Garcia Saez, and all 300 citizens of Lijar declared war on France on October 14, 1883. Not a single shot was fired, and not a single casualty sustained on either side during the confrontation, but despite the anticlimactic war, Mayor Saez was declared “The Terror Of The Sierras,” for his exploit....

January 20, 2023 · 6 min · 1271 words · Anthony Zukowski

Top 10 British Inventions That Changed The World

Let’s open with a little controversy. The United States of America (USA) is a country occupying roughly half the continent of North America, mostly the southern half. As the sole current global superpower (by definition), The USA has been, and continues to be, one of the most influential countries in the world, especially in industry, culture and military power. The USA was formed when British colonies in North America declared independence after continued and growing disputes with the Kingdom of Great Britain (as it was then known) over taxation of the colonies without representation in British parliament....

January 20, 2023 · 8 min · 1501 words · Robert Carpenter

Top 10 Character Transformations In Movies

Fight Club (1999) Notable Change: The Narrator IS Tyler! Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. When the Narrator (Norton) meets who is to become his new fast friend, Tyler Durden (Pitt), they set up a common pleasure game galled the Fight Club. Things escalate, Marla Singer (Carter) arrives, and the Club becomes far more than the narrator ever intended. Never before has one seen split-personality sleepwalking turn into such a scary event!...

January 20, 2023 · 5 min · 991 words · Phyllis Pope

Top 10 Chilling Revelations About The Stasi Of East Germany

From imprisoning political opponents and closely watching every citizen of East Germany to sending “sleeper” agents to live secret lives in various places in the West, the Stasi remains an organization of deep interest to those who study such repressive groups. Here are 10 things we learned about the Stasi’s activities after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. These revelations show just how brutal and harsh an organization it really was....

January 20, 2023 · 9 min · 1746 words · Tracy Grunden

Top 10 Chilling Unexplained Sos Calls

The mysterious SOS was later revealed to have been created four years earlier, when a couple became stranded on their yacht in Swift Bay. They survived on meagre rations before being rescued by a passing yacht days later. Despite this SOS signal not aiding their survival, it was certainly a smart way to increase their chances of rescue, however not all SOS stories have such a positive and logical conclusion, so here are 10 Chilling SOS Calls That Have Never Been Explained....

January 20, 2023 · 11 min · 2224 words · Rudolph Switzer

Top 10 Christmas Songs Dark Enough To Ruin Your Christmas Spirit

There are some festive tunes that dwell on the black side, from depression to unemployment. So switch on your Christmas lights, because we think you will need them to banish the darkness that these songs bring. Top 10 Fearsome Christmas Creatures 10 East 17 – ‘Stay Another Day’ During the 1990s East 17 were one of the UK’s two big boy bands alongside Take That. Their image was of the hipper and more streetwise of the two, but their biggest hit was a typical boy band ballad that dominated the UK charts at Christmas 1994....

January 20, 2023 · 10 min · 2076 words · Paul Preston

Top 10 Codes You Aren T Meant To Know

The Ten Codes are a list of codes used by law enforcement officers in the United States. They are available on the Internet, which would make them seem inappropriate for this list, but a large number of police departments have tried to have them made illegal for distribution, so they deserve mention. The codes were developed initially in 1937 and were expanded in 1974. The California Police use a variety of extra codes which predated the ten codes....

January 20, 2023 · 7 min · 1438 words · Jennifer Byrd

Top 10 Creepy And Mysterious Places In Eastern Europe

So from the crumbling ruins of a genocidal dictator’s lair to a cave regarded as the entrance to hell itself, here are ten of EasternEurope’s creepiest and most mysterious locations, both man-made and natural. 10 Doftana Penitentiary, Romania Nicknamed the “Romanian Bastille” for its use as a brutal political prison, the Doftana Penitentiary started life as a housing complex for workers at a nearby mine. In 1921, however, the Romanian king converted it into a prison for communists....

January 20, 2023 · 9 min · 1781 words · Antonio Partain