John the Baptist is considered by many to have started the tradition of water baptisms. Today, however, most Christians associate the baptismal process with Sunday afternoons, newborns, and beautiful churches. But this is not always the case. In recent history, some comical, remarkably tragic, and even odd baptismal processes have occurred. 10 Electrocution By Baptism It’s become popular to use microphones during church sermons. In 2005, Reverend Kyle Lake was conducting a baptism at University Baptist Church....

SEE ALSO: 10 Books That Have Been Lost To History 10Codex Seraphinianus Written in a language that no one understands and filled with illustrations of surreal, impossible things, Codex Seraphinianus is possibly the strangest encyclopedia in the world. When Italian architect Luigi Serafini published the book in 1981, he presented it as a factual, scientific work. One look at the outlandish potpourri of images, however, reveals that Codex Seraphinianus is anything but scientific....

They were wiped off the face of the Earth for a number of reasons. But their ill-fated bids for independence are worth remembering, both from a political and historical perspective. 10 TanganyikaDecember 9, 1962–April 26, 1964 Evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the 10th century, but it was “colonized” by the Germans in the 1880s, officially becoming a protectorate in 1891. (It was part of German East Africa, an area encompassing modern-day Rwanda, mainland Tanzania, Burundi, and part of Mozambique....

10Fish Bladder Jelly The Victorians gave the world many things: piano covers, huge advances in plumbing, and PBS dramas about people getting engaged and disinherited. But they were not known for their culinary advances. They used the bladder of the sturgeon fish to make a sweet jelly dessert. The process involved isolating a substance called isinglass from the bladder. It was originally an ingredient in glue but gained popularity in England as a foodstuff in the late 18th century....

10Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome In total, around 60 people have died on Half Dome and the trail leading up to it. Hiking up Half Dome takes an entire day, during which you’ll climb over 1,500 meters (5,000 ft), burn anywhere from 4,000 to 9,800 calories, and climb the last 120 meters (400 ft) nearly vertical with the assistance of metal cables. And that’s where many of the problems start to occur....

But sometimes, just sometimes, when you look at another species, it is impossible not impute human motives to nonhumans. Since many people seem incapable of romance, it may be a surprise that some animals are. Here are ten animal species which you might not expect to have a soppy side. 10 Wolf Eels If you ever think you’re too ugly to find a mate, then take heart from the love life of the wolf eel....

We investigate a few visitors from space which have come in the form of meteorites and weird, flashing lights. There’s also a new neighboring galaxy we discovered on the outskirts of our Milky Way. Besides that, we also talk about drunk raccoons, cat mummies, a fake band, and Fred Flintstone. 10 UFOs Over Ireland The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has been investigating claims of UFOs after multiple pilots reported sightings of strange lights off the coast of County Kerry....

This week’s list has a party vibe to it as we talk about beer, cannabis, and the world’s largest glory hole. Meanwhile, a snake sneaks into Scotland, a crusader gets beheaded, and sumo wrestlers shave their beards. 10 A Tale Of Two Truths The reputation of novelist Charles Dickens took a serious hit recently as newly surfaced letters detail the cruelty showed to his wife, Catherine. Dickens is hailed as a literary genius and, arguably, the greatest writer of the Victorian era....

10 Luz Miraglos Veron Analia Bouter was pregnant with her fifth child when she went into labor 12 weeks early. After the birth was completed, doctors told her that the child she had delivered was stillborn, and Bouter and her husband were sent home with a death certificate for the child. They decided to return 12 hours later to see the girl’s body, which was being kept in a refrigerated drawer in the morgue....

10 The Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart On June 5, 2002, Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee from her home while she slept. Mitchell and Barzee believed that Mitchell was an angel sent to Earth to battle the antichrist. To do this properly, Mitchell needed virgin brides; Smart was to be the first of many. While captive, Smart was repeatedly raped, shackled to a tree, starved, and given a new name—Esther—among other things....

A few people who married non-human entities have already been covered on Listverse. Two women who became known for marrying famous monuments are Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer, who wed the Berlin Wall in 1979, and Erika Eiffel, who married the Eiffel tower in 2007. These women were well-known for their choices, but they weren’t the only people to wed lifeless spouses. Below are ten people who married inanimate objects. None of the unions are officially recognized, of course, but many of the people on this list swear that their marriages are just as real as any union between two humans....

Top 10 Famous People Who Never Existed 10 Joyce Carol Vincent Debt collectors made a gruesome discovery after breaking into a flat in North London. A decomposing skeleton lay on the sofa surrounded by half wrapped Christmas gifts. Dental records confirmed the deceased as Joyce Carol Vincent, aged 38. Shockingly, she had been dead for three years and in that time, no one had reported her missing. Joyce’s lonely death garnered just a few headlines....

While one would think that these are fairly easy rules to follow, they weren’t for the 10 people on this list. All of them somehow managed to screw up their diabolical plans by doing something stupid that got them arrested. 10 Michael Rosen In 2010, 42-year-old Michael Rosen of Salem, Massachusetts, was due in court for driving with a suspended license. He was also facing charges because a former girlfriend accused him of stealing her credit cards and running up charges....

10The Last Of The Shakers The Shakers are a religious sect from England who arrived in the United States just prior to the American Revolution. An offshoot of the Quakers, the Shakers were so called because of their tendency to speak in tongues. They believed that both men and women were made in God’s image, making them one of the first religious movements in which women played a major role. The Shakers’ leader, Mother Ann Lee, considered herself a female counterpart to Jesus Christ....

Most of the time, we use them as instructed, and everything is quite fine, but occasionally, people misread a bottle or ignore a warning label, and the results are disastrous. Here are ten poisonings with everyday, common household items, ranging from cleaners we use for our bathrooms to even table salt. 10 Pesticide In January 2017, emergency services in Amarillo, Texas, responded to a tragic scene where an entire family was very sick and one child was already dead, and they were instantly sure they had a case of carbon monoxide poisoning on their hands....

Or are they? Despite what pollsters and pundits would have you believe, “unelectable” is an extremely nebulous concept. Trawl through the history books, and you’ll find plenty of presidents and prime ministers who won elections that everyone thought they were destined to lose. 10 Margaret Thatcher Was Considered A Toxic Extremist By most measures, Margaret Thatcher was one of Britain’s most successful prime ministers (and also one of the most divisive)....

It is also important to note that some of the entries may contain mild spoilers. 10 Saving Matt Damon What is it with Matt Damon and needing to be rescued? It seems in a lot of his movies that he’s either stranded or needs to escape a catastrophe. The fact that he needs to be saved so much inspired one Quora user to look up how much money would have been spent on rescuing Matt Damon’s many characters....

Reason: People want it Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, the wants and needs of the many out weigh the wants and needs of the few and according to a poll of several thousand Americans, twenty percent believed that only evolution should be taught in schools, and sixteen percent believed that only creationism should be taught. The remainder supported the notion of teaching both: evolution in the science class, and creation in a philosophy class....

It’s impossible to predict when new developments will happen in old mysteries. A chance discovery here, a deathbed confession there, and you have a hot new lead in a case that has lain dormant for decades. Other times, you just need a fresh pair of eyes that might see things everyone else missed. 10 The Claremont Serial Murders For over two decades, the Claremont serial murders remained one of Australia’s most harrowing mysteries....

10Jay-Z Is A Time-Traveling Vampire A man resembling Jay-Z’s mysterious appearance in a photograph from the 1930s has conspiracy theorists convinced that the rapper has the ability to travel back in time. The picture, taken in 1939 by legendary American photographer Sid Grossman, depicts “Jay-Z” looking into the camera while sitting on a metal railing in front of a building. The photo was unearthed by a curator at the New York Public Library in 2013 and quickly became the subject of conspiracy theories, including the suggestion that Jay-Z journeyed back to 1939 to do research for the soundtrack to The Great Gatsby....