Sea pigs are sea creatures closely related to sea cucumbers, belonging to the kingdom Animalia. These aquatic organisms are about four inches in length, and have 10 tentacles with tub like feet that are used not for swimming, but for marching along the ocean floor. Sea pigs are bottom feeders and detect food by scent; they remove organic particles from the mud with their deflating and inflating tentacles and eat the particles trapped in their tentacles. These sea creatures obtained their name from their pink-tint and chubby body, do not fall short of idiosyncrasy.

The yeti crab was only discovered in 2005 by Marine biologists in the Pacific Ocean. This organism resembles the mythical organism yeti with its hair-like sinuous, and resides in the hydrothermal vents of the pacific ocean that protrude a toxic liquid that to the average organism would be deadly. This organism is not well-researched yet, but its albino-like eyes suggest that the organism may be blind and it is suspected to feed off of the toxic minerals from the hydrothermal vents.

The viperfish, which can easily be recognized from the Disney film “Finding Nemo” with its hinged lower-jaw containing long stringy, pointy teeth, is a deepwater fish that lives in tropical and temperate waters. The viperfish varies from 12 to 24 inches in length and swims in depths from 250 to 5,000 feet. Although the viperfish is frightening in appearance, it is preyed on by sharks and even dolphins! This fish can live up to 40 years and holds the Guinness world record for largest teeth in comparison to head size in a fish.

This marine crab is the biggest arthropod in the word in overall size containing eight legs. The Japanese spider crab is found about 150-800 meters deep off the southern coasts of the Japanese island Honshu and has a leg span of 3.6 meters. This crab can live up to a miraculous 100 years and are known to be calm animals. The Japanese spider crab feeds off animal carcasses, plants and shellfish; they could be considered the vulture of the sea.

The giant isopod, a crustacean living in the Atlantic Ocean, is an alien-looking sea creature that exists in the pitch darkness of the bathypelagic zone in depths as deep as 7,020 feet. This interesting organism has stayed relatively the same for the past 130 million years! The giant isopod can be up to 14 inches in length and up to 30 inches in height and have four sets of jaws. The giant isopod is a scavenger that feeds with its four sets of jaws, on dead whales, fish, and squid. This organism has the ability to survive without food for more than eight weeks!

The Chinese giant salamander has stayed almost exactly the same in resemblance as its ancestors of 30 million years. This organism is the largest known salamander in existence and its habitats include mountain streams and lakes of China. This salamander can grow up to 73 inches in length and have lived up to 80 years at a time. The Giant Salamander does not have eyelids, and therefore has poor vision and rely on sensory nodes to detect possible vibrations made by predators. This amphibian has the ability to breathe through the pores and wrinkles in the skin and is mainly a nocturnal animal that hunts during the night feeding on crabs, crayfish, fish, frogs, insects, shrimps, snails and worms.

This proteus, aquatic, snake-like amphibian is a blind organism that lives in the caves of the subterranean waters. The Olm is about 8-12 inches and the small fragile superior limbs contain three fingers and the inferior limbs containing two. The olm’s skin resembles the color and texture of humans and is sometimes recognized as the “human fish” for its skin. The olm has not only external gills but also has lungs that are rarely actually used during the respiratory process. Due to their eyes that lay deep beneath the dermis and only somewhat detect light, the olm is dependent on their acute sense of smell and hearing abilities to survive.

The giant grenadier is the only member of the Albatrossia genus that is found along the north Pacific part of Japan to the Okhotsk and Bering seas. This fish can reach up to seven feet in length and has been proven to live up to at least 56 years-old. The Giant Grenadier feeds mainly on different species of squids, crabs, worms, shrimps and echinoderms and is well known for its frightening resemblance to snakes with its long pointy tail and its large eyes.

This fish, also known as the oarfish is the longest bony fish in existence. It is found in depths from 300-1000 meters in any of the world’s oceans. The king of Herrings remains in deep waters and does not surface often; typically if it surfaces, it dies when doing so. This 16 foot long fish was first discovered washed up dead on the shore in Bermuda in 1860. It is believed by scientists that the great myth of a sea serpent could have branched off of a king of herrings sighting. Despite that, this organism is a fish, it does not have any scales and although frightening in size, is not a threat to the human race based on its small teeth and one dorsal fin.

This cuddly creature is a domestic rabbit bred for long and soft wool. They originate from Angora, Turkey, are affable companions for those looking for a pet, and live up to seven years when well taken care of. There are five types of Angora rabbit breeds including English, German, Giant, French and Satin. The Angora rabbit can be up to 12 pounds and in spite of their large fluffy appearance, are very active creatures.

In the sixteenth century town of Dole, a proclamation was publicly read in the town square. Its contents gave permission for the people to track down and kill a werewolf that had been terrorizing the village.

While walking through the forest, a group of peasants heard the screams of a small child accompanied by the howling of a wolf. When they arrived they saw a wounded child fighting off a monstrous creature whom they later identified as Gilles Garnier. When a ten year-old boy disappeared in the vicinity of Garnier’s home, he was arrested and confessed to being a werewolf. He was then burned at the stake. Wikipedia has a few more details on this werewolf here.

According to old records, c. 1640, the German city of Greifswald became overrun with werewolves. The population of these beasts grew so large that any human who ventured out after dark was in danger of being accosted by one of them.

A group of students decided that they had had enough and devised a plan. They gathered all their silver goblets, plates, buttons, etc., and melted them down for bullets.

Armed and ready – they struck out into the night to challenge the werewolves. After it was over, the people of Greifswald, once again could venture out at night.

In 1685 the Bavarian town of Ansbach was being terrorized by a large vicious wolf. The rumors were that the wolf was actually a werewolf whose identity was that of the town’s dead mayor. When the wolf was killed, the people of Ansbach dressed the wolf’s carcass to resemble their mayor. It was then put on display in the town square and later moved to a museum.

In earlier times there were extensive forests rich with game in the vicinity of Klein-Krams, near Ludwigslust, Germany. Great hunts were held in the area by sportsmen who came from all over Germany to test their prowess at bringing down their choice of game. For years, however, the hunters had been stymied by the appearance of a great wolf that seemed impervious to any bullet. Sometimes the beast would taunt them by approaching within easy shooting distance, on occasion even adding to the mockery by snatching a piece of their kill, then dash away without a bullet seeming to come anywhere near it.

Now it happened during one great hunt that one of the participants, a young cavalry officer, was traveling through the village when his attention was captured by a group running and screaming out of a house. Seeing nothing pursuing them that would cause such panic, he stopped one of the youngsters and asked what the matter was. The child told him that no adult from the Feeg family was at home except for their young son. When he was left alone, it was his custom to transform himself into a werewolf and terrorize the neighborhood children. They all ran away when he achieved such a transformation because they didn’t want him to bite them.

The officer was bemused by such wild play of the children’s imaginations, that he assumed they were playing the big bad wolf after the sheep or some game. But then he caught a glimpse of a wolf in the house, and in the next few moments, a small boy stood in its place.

In 1541, Pavia, Italy, a farmer… as a wolf, fell upon many men in the open country and tore them to pieces. After much trouble the maniac was caught, and he then assured his captors that the only difference which existed between himself and a natural wolf, was that in a true wolf the hair grew outward, whilst in him it struck inward. In order to put this assertion to the proof, the magistrates, themselves most certainly cruel and bloodthirsty wolves, cut off his arms and legs. The wretch died of the mutilation.

One of the worst-ever lycanthropes was the Werewolf of Chalons, otherwise known as the Demon Tailor. He was arraigned in Paris on 14 December 1598 on murder charges which were so appalling that the court ordered all documents of the hearing to be destroyed. Even his real name has become lost in history.

Burnt to death for his crimes, he was believed to decoy children of both sexes into his shop, and having abused them he would slice their throats and then powder and dress their bodies, jointing them as a butcher cuts up meat. In the twilight, under the shape of a wolf, he roamed the woods to leap out on stray passers-by and tear their throats to shreds. Barrels of bleached bones were found concealed in his cellars as well as other foul and hideous things. He died (it was said) unrepentant and blaspheming.

Claudia Gaillard was one of the hundreds of unfortunate souls brought to trial by the witch-finder Henry Boguet. According to witnesses, she was seen behind a bush assuming the form of a wolf without a tail. For this great sin, she was set to the torture. Regarding the tortures, the judge commented, “Common report was against her. No one ever saw her shed a single tear, whatever effort might be made to cause her to shed tears.” Claudia was then burned to death at the stake.

In 1521, Jean Boin, Inquisitor of Besancon, tried Philibert Montot, Pierre Bourgot, and Michel Verdun for having made a pact with the devil and for lycanthropy. These men became known as the werewolves of Poligny.

These men came under suspicion when a traveler passing through the area was attacked by a wolf. While defending himself, he was able to wound the animal, forcing it to retreat. Following the trail of the injured creature, the man came upon a hut where he found a local resident, Michel Verdun, under the care of his wife, who was washing a wound on his body. Believing Verdun’s injury to be a sympathetic wound, the man notified the authorities. Arrested and tortured, Verdun admitted that he was a shape-shifter. He also revealed the names of his two werewolf accomplices, as well as confessing to hideous crimes: diabolism, murder, and eating human flesh. The three men were promptly executed.

This case was tried in 1692, Jurgenburg, Livonia, situated in an area east of the Baltic Sea, steeped in werewolf folklore. It involved an 80 year-old man named Thiess.

Thiess confessed being a werewolf, saying his nose had been broken by a man named Skeistan, a witch who was dead at the time he had struck Thiess. According to Thiess’ testimony, Skeistan and other witches were preventing the crops of the area from growing. Their purpose for doing this was to carry the grain into hell. To help the crop to continue to grow, Thiess with a band of other werewolves descended into hell to fight the witches and recover the grain.

The warring of the werewolves and the witches occurred on three nights of the year: Saint Lucia, Pentecost and Saint John (the seasonal changes). If the werewolves were slow in their descent the witches would bar the gates of hell, and the crops, livestock, and even the fish catch would suffer. As weapons the werewolves carried iron bars while the witches used broom handles. Skeistan broke Theiss’ nose with a broom handle wrapped in a horse’s tail.

The judges were astounded by such testimony, for they had naturally supposed the werewolves were agents of the Devil. But now they were hearing the werewolves were fighting the Devil. When asked what became of the souls of the werewolves, Thiess said they went to heaven. He insisted werewolves were the “hounds of Gods” who helped mankind by preventing the Devil from carrying off the abundance of the earth. If it were not for them, all would suffer. He said there were werewolves in Germany and Russia also fighting witches in their own hells.

Thiess was determined in his confession, denying he had ever signed a pact with the Devil. He refused to see the parish priest who was sent for to chastise him, saying that he was a better man than any priest. He claimed he was neither the first nor the last man to become a werewolf in order to fight witches.

Finally the judges, probably out of desperation, sentenced Thiess to ten lashes for acts of idolatry and superstitious beliefs.

During the early spring of the year 1603 there spread through the St. Sever districts of Gascony in the extreme south-west of France, the department Landes, a veritable reign of terror. From a number of little hamlets and smaller villages young children had begun to mysteriously disappear off the fields and roads, and no trace could be discovered. In one instance even a babe was stolen from its cradle in a cottage whilst the mother had left it for a short space safe asleep, as she thought. People talked of wolves; others shook their heads and whispered something worse.

The consternation was at its height when the local magistrate advised the puisne Judge of the Barony de la Roche Chalais and de la Chatellenie that information had been laid before him by three witnesses, of whom one – a 13 year-old girl named Marguerite Poirier of the outlaying hamlet of St-Paul in the Parish of Esperons – swore that in full moon she had been attacked by a savage beast, much resembling a wolf. The girl stated that one midday whilst she was watching cattle, a wild beast with rufulous fur, not unlike a huge dog, rushed from the thicket and tore her kirtle with its sharp teeth. She only managed to save herself from being bitten thanks to the fact she was armed with a stout iron pointed staff with which she hardly warded herself. Moreover a lad of thirteen or fourteen years-old, Jean Grenier, was boasting that is was he who attacked Marguerite, as a wolf, and but for her stick he would have torn her limb from limb as he had already eaten three or four children.

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.
A full ninety-three years later, in 1976, King Juan-Carlos of Spain made a trip to Paris, during which he was treated with great respect by the citizens of the French capital. In 1981, the town council of Lijar ruled that “in view of the excellent attitude of the French,” they would end hostilities and agree to a ceasefire with France.

War duration: (1883-1981) Ninety-eight years.
Casualties: None.

This war began in 1325, when a rivalry between the independent city states of Modena and Bologna spiraled out of control over the most unlikely of things: a wooden bucket. The trouble started when a band of Modena soldiers raided Bologna and stole a large wooden bucket. The raid was successful, but Bologna, wishing to secure both its bucket and its pride, declared war on Modena. The war raged on for twelve whole years but Bologna never did manage to get its bucket back. To this day the bucket is still stored in Modena’s bell tower.

War duration: (1325-1337) Twelve years.
Casualties: Unknown.

The President of Paraguay, Francisco Solano Lopez, was a huge admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte. He fancied himself a skilled tactician and excellent commander, but lacked one thing, a war. So to solve this problem, in 1864 he declared war on Paraguay’s three surrounding neighbors, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The outcome of the war? Paraguay was very nearly annihilated. It is estimated that 90% of its male population died during the war, of disease, starvation and battles with enemy armies. This was perhaps one of the most needless wars in history since Lopez had almost no reason to declare war on his more powerful neighbors.

War Duration: (1864-1870) Six years.
Casualties: 400,000 on both sides.

In 1925, Greece and Bulgaria were not friends. They had fought each other during the First World War and those wounds had not yet healed. Tensions were perpetually high along the border, especially along an area called Petrich. Those tensions reached a boiling point on October 22, 1925, when a Greek soldier chased his dog across the Bulgarian border and was shot dead by a Bulgarian sentry. Greece vowed retaliation and, true to its word, it invaded Petrich the very next day. They quickly cleared Bulgarian forces from the area but were halted by the League of Nations, who sanctioned Greece and ordered them to leave Petrich and pay Bulgaria for damages. Greece withdrew its forces ten days later and paid Bulgaria 45,000 pounds.

War duration: (October 23-November 2, 1925) Ten days.
Casualties: Fifty-two dead on both sides.

The Aroostook War was a military confrontation between the United States and Great Britain over the border of Maine. After the War of 1812, British forces had occupied most of eastern Maine and, despite having no troops in the area, still regarded it as British territory. In the winter of 1838, American woodcutters cut firewood in the disputed area and, as a result, incited the ire of Great Britain, who moved troops into the area. American troops moved over as well, and it looked like a war was imminent. However logistics on each side got snarled and the Americans received enormous amounts of pork and beans due to a mistake in the supplies department. This led to the war’s most popular nickname, “The War Of Pork And Beans.” For nearly a year, British and American troops waited each other out before their respective governments finally reached an agreement. Britain agreed to give America back eastern Maine and, in return, American troops backed down. The Aroostook War was devoid of military combat but there were still hundreds of deaths from disease and accidental injuries.

War duration: (December 1838-November 1839) Eleven months.
Casualties: 550 dead on both sides.

Another British/American war, The Pig War was started when a British infantryman shot a pig that was wandering on American soil. The local American militia responded by gathering at the border and waiting for the British to make a move. Eventually the British apologized and the brief war ended, leaving the pig as the only casualty.

War duration: (June-October 1859) Four months.
Casualties: One pig.

This war was fought between the Netherlands and the Isle of Scilly, which is located off the southwest coast of Great Britain. The war started in 1651, but like many wars of that era it was not taken seriously and soon forgotten about. Three centuries passed before the two countries finally agreed to a peace treaty in 1986, making their war the longest in human history.

War duration: (1651-1986) Three hundred and thirty-five years.
Casualties: None.

Some wars begin with a surprise attack, others a massacre, but this one began with a football game between El Salvador and Honduras, in 1969. El Salvador lost the game and tensions rose and rose until, on June 14, the El Salvadoran Army launched an attack on Honduras. Surprised by the sudden violence the Organization of American States organized a cease-fire that was put into effect on June 20, just one hundred hours after the first shots were fired.

War duration: (June 14-20 1969) Four days.
Casualties: 3,000 dead on both sides.

This war began shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the former Soviet bloc country of Moldova experienced a crisis. Two-thirds of the country wanted closer ties with Romania, but the remaining third wanted to remain close with Russia. As a result, war erupted. But what makes this war truly strange is the fact that the men fighting each other during the day often gathered in no man’s land at night to mingle and drink. Soldiers even made pacts not to shoot each other if they saw each other during battle the next day. And this wasn’t a one time thing, it happened nearly every night for the duration of the war. One soldier wrote in his journal: “The war is like a grotesque party, during the day we kill our enemy, during the night we drink with them. What a bizarre thing war is.”

War duration: (March 2-July 21 1992) Four months.
Casualties: 1,300 dead on both sides.

This is perhaps the only formal war where one of the belligerents was not human, but rather avian. In 1932, the emu population in Australia was growing out of control, with an estimated 20,000 emus running around the Australian desert and causing havoc among crops. In response, the Australian military sent out a task force of soldiers armed with machine guns to kill the emus and even jokingly declared war on them. In mid-November they drove out into the desert and proceeded to hunt down any emus they could find. However, they ran into complications; the emus proved remarkably resilient, even when struck by multiple machine gun bullets they continued to run away, easily outstripping the heavily laden soldiers. The Emu War lasted for nearly a week before Major Meredith, the commander of the emu-killing task-force gave up in disgust after the soldiers only bagged a fraction of the elusive birds.

War duration: (November 11-18 1932) Seven days.
Casualties: 2,500 emus.

Used by the Māori tribes of New Zealand, this simple-looking, yet solid, club was built from nephrite jade. Strangely enough, the Māori used the 12-20 inch club for jabbing and thrusting instead of swinging downward blows in the way that most other clubs are used. To the Māori, the mere was a very spiritual weapon. They named their mere clubs and passed them down through generations. They even believed that the clubs contained a mana (spiritual force) of their own. The Māori revered their mere clubs greatly. They were a symbol of leadership, and if any mere that was considered important by a tribe was misplaced, great efforts were taken by the tribe to make sure the mere was located and returned to its respective owner.

Perhaps the most well-known on this list, the Chinese hook swords were wielded by the normally passive Shoalin monks of northern China. Beautifully and artistically designed, the blades were curved into a hook shape at the end which allowed the user to connect the blades by the tip and wield them as a single, long-ranged weapon. The crescent shaped guards were excellent at blocking blows as well as slashing enemies who got too close. The ends of the hilts were sharpened into daggers for stabbing at close range. These swords measured from 4-6 feet from the top of the hook to the end of the sharpened hilt. The blades saw most of their usage from civilians, as the Chinese military did not use them in any of their armies.

The kpinga was a throwing knife that was used by experienced warriors of the Azande tribe. The Zande people were residents of Nubia, a region in Africa composed of northern Sudan and southern Egypt. The knife (also known by its nickname, the Hunga Munga) was up to 22 inches long and had three blades that extended from the center. The blade closest to the handle is in the shape of a man’s genitals, and represented the masculine power of its owner. The alignment of the blades on the kpinga drastically increased the chances of impaling a target on contact. When the owner of the weapon was married, he presented the kpinga as a gift to the family of his wife.

The macuahuitl was basically a large, sword-shaped piece of wood, with razor-sharp pieces of obsidian embedded in the sides. Since the macuahuitl lacked a sharp point, it couldn’t be used as a stabbing weapon; however the jagged rows of obsidian gave the weapon a vicious tearing power that could cut deep lacerations in the enemy. The wood itself is heavy and strong enough to clobber opponents, thus enabling the Aztec to capture the foe alive to be used in their famous ritual sacrifices. There have been accounts of maquahuitls being able to decapitate horses, which is impressive, for a horse’s head is a good deal thicker than that of an adult human being.

This rather odd-looking weapon was used in the arenas by the gladiators of the ancient Roman Empire. Interestingly enough, the gladiators who wielded the scissor in combat were also known as scissors. The metal casing at the bottom formed a long tube that covered the gladiator’s arm, allowing the weapon to easily block and parry, as well as counterattack. Made from hardened steel, the scissor measured up to one and a half feet long. It is surprisingly light, weighing in at an easy 5-7 pounds; this allowed the scissor to be wielded with a good amount of speed. The scissor’s unique shape and design made it a crowd favorite.

Don’t be fooled, the chakram is not something you would want to play frisbee with. Unlike the frisbee, the chakram was often thrown vertically rather than horizontally. The deadly circle of metal was up to a foot in diameter. It’s extremely sharp edge ensured that the chakram could slice off arms and legs with ease. This weapon originated from India, where it was used extensively by the high ranking Indian Sikhs. Much like a distant relative, the shrunken, the chakram could be stacked one on the other and thrown repeatedly. One interesting throwing method used by professional warriors was to spin the chakram on their index finger, and then, with a sharp flick of the wrist, launch the whirring blade at their opponent.

Another Chinese weapon, the chu ko nu was basically an ancestor to the automatic rifle – it sacrificed range and power for a quick reload time. The wooden case on the top of the crossbow held 10 crossbow bolts which fell into place when the rectangular lever on the back was pulled back after firing a bolt. One interesting fact is that the chu ko nu last saw its use in the Sino-Japanese wars of 1894-1895, years after the rise of firearms. The crossbow could fire on average a total of 10 bolts within 15 seconds. Which, when compared to the reload speed of normal bows and crossbows, is a great improvement. For added effectiveness, some of the bolts were tipped with poison from the deadly aconite flower, also known as wolfsbane.

Now I have to hand it to the Chinese, their weapons have made four entries on my list. Third place is taken by the nest of bees, or flying fire. Basically it was a wooden container filled with tubes in the shape of a hexagon, which, when viewed from the front, gave the weapon the appearance of a large honeycomb. Inside each of the tubes was a rocket propelled arrow. The rockets launched the arrows with more power and range than that of a traditional bow. Up to 32 arrows could be launched from a nest at once. The Chinese would fire thousands of bees’ nests at once, killing plenty of enemies within seconds.

This Indian weapon gave its owner the claws of wolverine, minus the strength and cutting power of adamantium. The katar at first glance has a single blade, however when a trigger on the h-shaped handle was activated, the blade would split into three, one on the middle and one on each side. The three blades not only made the weapon more effective at stabbing and slashing, but they also intimidated and/or startled the opponent. The blade’s positioning on the handle also allowed it to easily block attacks. Its unusual design has yet another purpose – the triple blades could easily stab through all kinds of Asian armor with ease.

One look at this incredibly odd-looking device was more than enough to convince me that it deserved the number one place on this list. Yet another Chinese weapon, the zhua’s conspicuous iron “hand” at the end had sharp claw-like nails that would impale flesh, and then tear it off from the body. The sheer weight of the zhua was enough to kill the opponent, but the claws made it even deadlier. When wielded by a professional, it could be used to pull mounted soldiers off their horse. But the main use of the zhua was to pull off the shields of enemies, leaving them exposed to the clawed hand of iron.

An anti-rape device is a product used for preventing, or deterring, rape. In the 15th century, chastity belts were designed for this purpose. In the last ten years, a collection of anti-rape devices have been marketed in areas of the world that have high rates of sexual abuse, such as South Africa. One such device is the rape-axe, or anti-rape female condom. The rape-axe was invented by a South African woman named Sonnet Ehlers. She was inspired to create the product after working with a patient who had experienced a traumatizing event. The woman said to Ehlers: “If only I had teeth down there,” referring to the myth of the vagina dentata (or toothed vagina).

The rape-axe is a latex sheath embedded with shafts of sharp, inward-facing barbs. It is designed to be worn by a woman in her vagina like a female condom. If an attacker was to attempt vaginal rape, his penis would enter the latex sheath and be snagged by the barbs, causing the person excruciating pain during withdrawal and hopefully giving the victim time to escape. The condom would remain attached to the man’s body and could only be removed by a doctor, which would alert hospital staff and police. Once the device is utilized, the perpetrator would not be able to walk or urinate.

The device was revealed to the public in 2005, but did not get distributed until 2010, when 30,000 of the condoms were passed out before the World Cup in South Africa. Some critics of the product have objected to Ehlers’ invention, calling it “vengeful, horrible, and disgusting” and are opposed to its sale in drugstores. Other critics fear that the device could possibly enrage an attacker and further jeopardize the victim. Ehlers asserts that she created the product in gradual steps. “I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe.” Ehlers has also pointed out that some women in South Africa take extreme measures to prevent rape, such as placing razor blades in their nether regions.

Given the age of the universe and the vast number of stars, unless the Earth is very atypical, extraterrestrial life should be common. The contradiction between the probability for the existence of alien civilizations, and the lack of evidence for them, has been labeled the Fermi paradox. On August 18, 2011, The Guardian published an article titled “Aliens May Destroy Humanity to Protect Other Civilizations, Say Scientists.” The article examines the idea that reducing greenhouse gases on Earth is necessary in order to reduce the probability that an alien civilization will attack humanity. It explains that extraterrestrials may view recent changes in the Earth’s atmosphere as a threat and a civilization growing out of control.

The highly speculative scenario is one of many described by a NASA-affiliated scientist and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University. It is claimed that humans need to take action in order to reduce the possibility of aliens becoming hostile in the future. Shawn Domagal-Goldman of NASA’s Planetary Science Division put together a report titled, “Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity?” In the publication, researchers divide alien contacts into three broad categories: beneficial, neutral or harmful.

The report cautions humans in sending signals into space, and in particular warns against broadcasting information about our biological make-up, which could be used to manufacture weapons that target humans. It suggests that any contact made with an alien species should be done with the language of mathematics, until their intentions are made clear. The authors warn that aliens may be wary of civilizations that expand rapidly because it may threaten their existence. Other extraterrestrials might object to the damage humans have inflicted on the Earth’s environment. In the most extreme scenario, aliens might choose to destroy humanity. The report argues that considering these possibilities may help achieve long-term survival.

The Siberian tundra holds a collection of untold mysteries, including secret military installations and reported UFO sightings. The tundra is also a hotspot for alleged Yeti activity. In 1953, interest in the Yeti expanded when famed mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary claimed to have found large human-like footprints on his ascent of Mount Everest. In October of 2011, a team of Russian scientists released a public statement indicating that they were “95%” sure that Siberia is home to the mythical Yeti or abominable snowman. In response to the news, more than a dozen scientists and Bigfoot enthusiasts traveled from Canada, Estonia, Sweden, and the U.S. to exchange their findings with the Russian group.

The scientists conducted a day-long conference in the town of Tashtagol, approximately 2,000 miles east of Moscow in the Kemerovo region. The area has a long history of Yeti encounters and the locals have reported an increase in sightings of late. The Russian researchers gathered evidence after conducting a two-day expedition in the region’s Azassky cave and Karatag peak. The group detected tracks, hairs, sleeping quarters, and various other markers for the Yeti. After the information was presented at the conference, participants agreed that the artifacts provided strong evidence for the existence of a large creature in the Kemerovo region. It has long been thought that Siberia is a good habitat for Yeti. The story was reported by various media outlets, but unfortunately without pictures, video, a body, or strict DNA evidence, the mystery of the Yeti will remain unproven.

In 2011, Canadian doctors at Queen’s University were shocked when they discovered a bizarre ultrasound that shows the testicle of a man that was complaining of severe pain. After examination of the image, it became clear that a human face can be identified near the man’s testicle. You can see a large mouth, noise, and two eyes in the image. The face seems to be in distress. Dr. Naji Touma, a professor at Queen’s University Medical School was quoted as saying “The image was very ghoulish, like a man screaming in pain. His mouth was open and it looked like one eye was gouged out.”

The ultrasound shocked medical professionals, and a brief debate ensued about whether the image could be a sign from a deity (perhaps Min, the Egyptian God of male virility). However, the consensus ruled that the shape was a mere coincidental occurrence rather than a divine proclamation. The case has been identified as an example of pareidolia, which is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people perceive a vague and random stimulus (often a face) as being significant. The ultrasound was sent to the journal Urology, and in 2011 an article was published under the tongue-in-cheek headline: “The face of testicular pain: A surprising ultrasound finding.” As for the patient, the 2-inch (5.1 cm) growth was diagnosed as a benign tumor, the result of an infection, and the testicle was removed.

In 2006, an American man living in Edinburgh named Tom MacMaster decided to create a fictional Internet character named Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari. The identity of Amina was presented as a Syrian-American blogger. She was made to be a lesbian, and in 2011 MacMaster started a popular blog named A Gay Girl in Damascus under the name. In his postings, MacMaster preached in support of increased civil and political rights in Syria. He said that he created the Amina character in order to participate in discussions about the Middle East. MacMaster believed that if he used his real name, people would have presumed him too closely tied to the United States.

Tom MacMaster developed an extensive background for the character and began writing a novel based on her fake life. He created various profiles for Amina on social networking websites, and began to participate in conversations about Middle East politics. On February 19, 2011, after the Syrian uprising started, MacMaster created the A Gay Girl in Damascus blog. The publication was known for its witty commentary on politics, gender, sexuality and Syrian culture. In the words of Nidaa Hassan of The Guardian, “the site was increasingly popular after capturing the imagination of the Syrian opposition as the protest movement struggled in the face of the government crackdown.”

On June 6, 2011, MacMaster’s blog posted a statement from “Amina’s” cousin which claimed that she was abducted. The information sparked a strong backlash over the Internet and the story was covered widely in the mainstream media. In the wake of the reports, questions began to come up regarding the possibility that Arraf al Omari was an elaborate hoax. It was soon proven that the photos of Amina were really of a woman residing in Britain who had no relation to Syria. On June 12, 2011, Tom MacMaster posted a statement on the blog that indicated the character was an elaborate hoax. The event showed how easy it is for an individual to create a false identity on the Internet and impact political movements around the world.

In 1920, John Demjanjuk was born, in Dubovi Makharyntsi, Ukraine. When he was 21-years-old, Demjanjuk joined the Red Army after Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In the middle of World War II, Demjanjuk became a German prisoner of war and was enrolled in a Nazi propaganda program. He was sent to the Trawniki concentration camp, where he trained guards that had been recruited from Soviet POWs. Demjanjuk became a high ranking German guard and served in the Majdanek, Sobibor, and Flossenbürg Nazi extermination camps. In 1952, Demjanjuk, his wife and their child immigrated to the United States. On November 14, 1958, Demjanjuk became a naturalized citizen of the U.S.

In August 1977, the U.S. Justice Department submitted a request to have John Demjanjuk’s citizenship revoked, based on the fact that he had allegedly concealed involvement with Nazi death camps on his immigration application. An investigation ensued and Demjanjuk was identified in a photo spread by five Holocaust survivors as a Nazi guard. In October 1983, Israel issued an extradition request for Demjanjuk. After a lengthy appeal, he was deported to Israel on February 28, 1986. Demjanjuk was put on trial before a special tribunal. The principal allegation was that three former prisoners identified him as Ivan Grozny of Treblinka, which is Russian for “Ivan the Terrible,” who is said to have operated the diesel engines sending gas to the death chamber.

On April 18, 1988, the court found Demjanjuk guilty of all charges. One week later he was sentenced to death by hanging. On July 29, 1993, five Israeli Supreme Court judges overturned the guilty verdict. The ruling was based on the written statements of 37 former guards at Treblinka that identified Ivan the Terrible as Ivan Marchenko. The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the KGB had possibly formed a plot to frame Demjanjuk as Ivan the Terrible, in order to get retribution for his betrayal. In 1993, Demjanjuk was released and returned to the United States. On May 19, 1999, the U.S. Justice Department filed a new civil complaint against Demjanjuk.

The complaint alleged that Demjanjuk served as a guard at the Sobibór and Majdanek extermination camps in Poland under German occupation. On December 28, 2005, a U.S. immigration judge ordered Demjanjuk deported to Germany, Poland or Ukraine. He filed a collection of appeals based on the fact that, if deported to Ukraine, he feared torture. On June 19, 2008, Germany announced that it was going to seek the extradition of John Demjanjuk to Germany. They released a statement: “For the first time we have found lists of names of the people who Demjanjuk personally led into the gas chambers. We have no doubt that he is responsible for the death of over 29,000 Jews at the Nazis’ Sobibor death camp.” On May 12, 2011, John Demjanjuk was convicted as an accessory to the murder of 27,900 Jews and sentenced to five years in prison. He was released pending appeal and is now living in a German nursing home.

Michelangelo was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer who had a great influence on the development of Western art. During his lifetime Michelangelo completed dozens of sculptures that examine the life of Jesus, Mary, and themes of Christianity. Approximately 40 of his sculptures still exist in museums around the world. However, the paintings of Michelangelo are less common, with only 8 remaining examples. As with any great artist, international collectors are always on the lookout for lost and misplaced paintings. Since 2010, there have been two separate cases where a Michelangelo painting may have been discovered.

The first involves a family from Buffalo, New York, who claim they have a lost Michelangelo painting. In 2003, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Martin Kober contacted museum directors in Italy to try and authenticate a painting that was passed down in his family. The information caught the attention of art restorer and historian Antonio Forcellino, who became convinced that the painting was a genuine Michelangelo. The painting is named “Pieta bread” and shows a portrait of Jesus’ body at the feet of Mary. The theme of the work is similar to the famous Michelangelo sculpture titled Pieta, which shows the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother. It has been determined that Michelangelo painted the image in 1545 for his friend Vittoria Colonna.

A scientific analysis of the painting, including an infrared and X-ray examination showed that the artist made a series of alterations to this copy of Pieta bread. The bottom right portion of the woman’s leg is missing and the artwork is incomplete. The evidence demonstrates that the painting could not be a copy. If authenticated, Pieta bread has been valued at $300 million. In 2011, another possible Michelangelo painting surfaced in Campion Hall, at Oxford University. The artwork is titled “Crucifixion with the Madonna, St John and Two Mourning Angels.” The painting was previously believed to have been done by Marcello Venusti, a Mannerist painter who sometimes worked from Michelangelo’s designs.

In 2011, art historian Antonio Forcellino (the same man involved with the previous case) became convinced that the Oxford painting was an authentic Michelangelo. Forcellino scientifically examined the art using infrared photography and found that the painting was based on a cartoon that Michelangelo created. Forcellino was able to associate the painting with a close friend of the famous artist, Tommaso Cavalieri, by the presence of 18 seals of the Cavalieri family coat of arms still present on the edge of the panel. The Oxford artwork is owned by the British Province of the Society of Jesus, who plans to take advantage of the news and sell it at auction. The painting has been estimated to fetch at least $100 million.

Since 1972, there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of feral honey bees in the United States, which are now almost extinct. It has become clear that an unknown factor is threatening the existence of bees around the world. The phenomenon has become known as colony collapse disorder. By February 2007, large commercial migratory beekeepers in several U.S. states had reported heavy losses associated with CCD. Colony losses were also reported in five Canadian provinces, several European countries, and in South America, Central America and Asia. The mechanisms of CCD are unknown, but many causative agents have been proposed, including malnutrition, pathogens, immunodeficiencies, mites, fungus, pesticides, and electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

In October 2011, a review study was published by the Indian government’s Ministry of Environment and Forests that looked at 919 peer-reviewed scientific studies that investigated the impact of electromotive force (EMF) on birds, bees, humans, animals/wildlife and plants. Six articles on bees claimed to find evidence for negative side effects related to the exposure of EMF radiation. One experiment noted that when a mobile phone was kept in a beehive, worker bees stopped coming to the hive after ten days. The same study found a drastic decrease in the egg production of queen bees when a mobile phone was present. The authors concluded that “Existing literature shows that EMRs are interfering with the biological systems in more ways than one.” They recommended recognizing EMF as a pollutant.

In early October 2011, millions of honey bees died in the area of Brevard County, Florida. The case has baffled experts because the bees appear to have been poisoned. The bodies do not resemble any recorded examples of colony collapse disorder. It cannot be determined exactly what killed the colonies, but as many as 12 million bees from 800 hives in Brevard County, on central Florida’s Atlantic coast died during a seven day span. The bee carcasses show signs of pesticide poising and the case is being investigated as a possible crime. In an interesting coincidence, county officials sprayed mosquito-killing pesticide from the air in the week prior to the deaths. They said the poison dissipates quickly and should not have harmed the bees. The colonies are being tested to determine the exact cause of death, but no official information has been released.

Muskingum County Animal Farm was a private zoo located in Zanesville, Ohio, United States, that was owned and operated by a man named Terry Thompson. On October 19, 2011, Thompson freed dozens of his exotic animals and then committed suicide. His property housed approximately 60 dangerous animals, including a large collection of Bengal tigers, bears, lions, wolves, monkeys, baboons, and mountain lions. After assessing the immediate danger of the situation, local officers decided to kill the animals instead of trying to bring them down with tranquilizers, for fear that those hit would escape into the darkness.

In the hours following the escape, 49 of the 56 animals were killed, including 18 Bengal tigers, 9 male lions, 8 female lions, 6 black bears, 3 mountain lions, 3 grizzly bears, 2 wolves, and a baboon. Six animals were captured alive and taken to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, including a grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys. The last animal missing was a monkey that is thought to have been eaten by one of the big cats. As the hunt was completed, a photo showing the remains of tigers, bears and lions scattered in an open field went viral and inspired strong reactions of anger and sadness on the Internet.

In the aftermath of the event, The Humane Society of the United States criticized the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, for allowing a statewide ban on the buying and selling of exotic pets to expire in April of 2011. Terry Thompson, 62, had previously received numerous complaints about animals escaping onto his neighbors’ property. The sheriff’s office said that Thompson had been charged with animal cruelty, animal neglect and allowing animals to roam. In June of 2008, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided Thompson’s property and seized more than 100 guns. The tragic event has sparked concern over laws that manage exotic animal ownership in the United States.

The Phantom of Heilbronn, or the woman without a face, is a hypothesized unknown female serial killer whose existence was inferred from DNA evidence found at numerous crime scenes in Austria, France and Germany, from 1993 to 2009. The DNA sequence of the woman was discovered at over 40 separate crime scenes, including six murders and several burglaries. In 2009, German authorities became baffled by the occurrence and put out a $400,000 reward on the woman’s head. Profilers from around Europe came to help the investigation and a collection of newspapers declared it “the most mysterious serial crime of the past century.”

As the DNA of the woman continued to appear, contradictions emerged. The accomplices of the phantom showed no identifiable patterns, and the criminals territory stretched throughout Germany and into Austria and France. The woman had never been captured on camera or been described by a witness. In 2009, for reasons unknown, police became interested in the corpse of a burned man that was discovered in 2002. While trying to establish the identity of the body, investigators pulled the phantom’s DNA from the man’s fingerprints. The event was an anomaly as the sequence of the phantom’s DNA was that of a female and the victim was a male. The event caused researchers to repeat the test with a different cotton swab and this time they found no trace of the phantom’s DNA. In Austria, the phantom’s DNA sequence showed up on the test of an unidentified male donor.

The two cases raised suspicion that the DNA found at all the crime scenes might be traced to a single factory worker, probably employed to package the swabs. According to reports, the tainted material was traced to the Austrian company Greiner Bio-One International AG. The Austrian manufacturer hurried to declare that the Greiner Bio-One cotton swabs are not certified for DNA analysis and should not have been used for that purpose. In late March 2009, investigators concluded that the Phantom of Heilbronn did not exist, and the DNA recovered at the crime scenes had already been present on the cotton swabs used for collecting DNA samples.

It was a shocking realization, and Stefan König of the Berlin Association of Lawyers said the case of the phantom illustrates the risks of basing an investigation solely on DNA evidence. The explanation has spawned a large collection of conspiracy theories, as the mathematical probability of only one worker being identified as the tainted donor for the swabs is bizarre. The governments of Germany, Austria and France admitted that they extensively used tainted DNA swabs from 1993-2009. Based on the detailed timeline, you would think that the worker responsible for the contamination would have been tracked down, but the individual has never been discovered. The case remains open and officials continue to monitor DNA swabs.

As seen in George A. Romero’s original classic, Dawn of the Dead, this is one zombie that undoubtedly most everyone has seen. On nearly every poster and advertisement for the film’s numerous video releases (from Beta to Blu-ray), this example of the walking dead holds high marks for being disturbingly real, and more than a pop icon. Added to that resume, this is one of the few zombies who manages to almost catch African-American hero Peter Washington (Ken Foree) off guard.

It’s not difficult to envision Private Mailer as a most unremarkable soldier in life, one who was likely failing at even the most standard military obligations. Given the weeks since the initial outbreak of a deadly monkey “Rage Virus”, as well as the optimal safety-in-numbers that Mailer shared with his squad of perverted cohorts, it’s somewhat ridiculous that he managed to get himself infected at all. One must also stress the term “infection” here. Purists, of course, understand (and enforce) the concept that Mailer is no real zombie – despite the overwhelming media-fueled misconception. However, despite my own puritanical leanings, I’m willing to accept the inclusion of Private Mailer on his own terms. He is, let’s face it, a member of 1) an overwhelming population of diseased individuals, 2) intent on killing or subverting any non-infected individual who comes across, and of course, 3) a victim of his own nature. This qualifies as a “non-dead zombie status” in my book. Added to those similarities, Mailer is also one of the more ferocious and dangerous “revivals” that you could hope to meet. Thrashing about as a backyard surprise in the third act of Danny Boyle’s 2002 film, Mailer quickly proves his lethality when Cillian Murphy’s leading hero, Jim, literally lets him off the chain.

Zombie speak? It’s certainly not the first time that it has happened. It is, however, one of the few instances where a zombie demonstrates a seething hatred for his own murderer – in this case, Dr. Herbert West, played by Jeffrey Combs. After decapitating Hill with a shovel, West quickly re-animates his former colleague with his serum. What follows is a frighteningly surreal and camp-filled satire of revenge. Never before has a zombie been so manipulative, cunning, or purposeful – a trend that has continued with pack-leading performances such as Eugene Clark’s “Big Daddy” in Romero’s fourth-installment Land of the Dead. Thank you Dr. Hill.

Half a face and rancid with worms, this zombie includes mention merely for the fact that is a well-realized depiction of the walking dead. ‘Nuff said.

The mention of the Basement Zombie is not merely to appease fans from the John A. Russo camp of Return of the Living Dead films. Totally not. While those films are semi-enjoyable shlock that are best taken on their own terms, the #6 spot has to go to the one zombie in the original “Return” film that, well, looked the most like a zombie. Slimy, rotten, and putrid to the touch, the Basement Zombie is actually pretty gruesome in its detail. It also affects what is perhaps one of the more memorable “zombie walks” that is complete with a total lack of muscular coordination. Don’t let it fool you though, this is the zombie that got the drop on gang-leader and angst-ridden nihilist “Suicide” and effectively renamed him to “Murdered.” If the gruesomeness of his appearance and the hilarious gait weren’t enough, please consider that this zombie is perhaps responsible for popularizing the phrase: “Mooooore Braaaaains.”

Having come so far and shown to be so profitable, it’s an enormous treat for zombie-followers everywhere that we now have our own TV program. Based off Robert Kirkman’s ongoing “The Walking Dead” graphic novel series, the show features a cast of desperate human characters attempting to survive in a world without a pulse. As the first fully visible (no pun intended) zombie on screen, the “bicycle zombie” is an astonishingly well-designed piece of craftsmanship from FX designer Gregory Nicotero, but it’s not just the make-up. As bewildered Rick Grimes, the show’s main protagonist, takes pity on this zombie, it’s a poignant reminder that the walking dead are victims of their own nature.

Taking a moment to be real, answering what has been (perhaps) the single most frightening depiction of an animated corpse on screen is likely to involve at least some mention of one of Stephen King’s more gruesome creations. Killed in the World War II and laid to rest in a cursed Indian burial ground, young Timmy Baterman returns to his father’s house in a small town in Maine, but is clearly not the person he used to be. Depicted as a demonically-possessed resurrected corpse, Timmy (like all those that lie in the sour grounds beyond the pet cemetery) is a shadow of his former self. So unnerving an idea as it is, producers of the 1989 Mary Lambert-directed film adaptation chose wisely to include Timmy’s story pretty much as it is read in the book.

The silver screen’s ultimate zombie-like character deserves mention on this list, if not for his memorable depiction throughout the years, then for his longevity. Written as the “Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley in the early 19th century, Frankenstein’s Monster has endured as one of the most frightening symbols of science and genius run amok. A damnation from birth, the monster represents all that is misunderstood and feared about the unknown. Alas, it’s easier to destroy what we hate. As curious as he is deadly, the Frankenstein Monster is one zombie in particular that has consistently retained a reputation for sympathy from all audiences. How can you blame a beast?

The stuff of nightmares. The cemetery zombie in George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead could easily be considered the #1 contender, and by rights, at least deserves that recognition. This is the zombie that started it all, the first of the Romero zombies, and the first of the “leading role” zombies. After killing her brother by smashing his head on a grave marker, cemetery zombie turns his deranged-grimace towards Barbara and then mercilessly chases her through the woods. The cemetery zombie is also uniquely agile and can trot at a good clip. Though he’s free of any severe deformity or apparent cause of death, this is the kind of zombie that reminds us that death is on the cards for everyone and that the walking dead can be our own neighbors turned rabid.

“Dr. Tongue” as he was nicknamed by designer Tom Savini, is arguably the single greatest zombie-design for any living corpse in either film or print. Seen in the opening moments of George Romero’s Day of the Dead, Dr. Tongue emerges from a desolate Ft. Myers, Florida, beckoned by the desperate cries of a human rescue effort. With his lower mandible likely blasted away by a poor marksman, Dr. Tongue is a curiously pathetic example of a zombie because he may or may not represent any real threat! Although Romero’s films make it clear that all zombies eat not for nourishment, Dr. Tongue is likely not even a threat for contamination. In the almost 30 years since Day of the Dead’s original release, few zombie designs have come close to matching the gruesome reality that Dr. Tongue represents: there’s only one way to kill a zombie. You have to shoot them in the head.

Chrysippus was a Greek stoic philosopher. He spent his life thinking about the world and how it works. During his lifetime, he devised various theories on topics such as ethics, mathematics, physics, epistemology and religion. His favorite topic of thought was, without a doubt, logic. He made it onto this list because of the humorous way that he died. He fed a donkey some wine and watched it eat figs from a tree. He found this visual so funny that he started laughing and he never stopped. Laughing causes strained breathing, and continuous hard laughing can put the heart at strain and, as in this case, cause death.

Sigurt Eysteinsson was the second Viking Earl of Orkney. He was a vicious and relentless Viking leader with many enemies. Late in his rule, he challenged one of his enemies (Máel Brigte the Bucktoothed) to a 40 man-per-side battle. Sigurt was an untrustworthy Viking, and he brought 80 men to the battle; they cut down Máel and his troops effortlessly. After the battle, Sigurt decided to take a trophy of his win and tied Máel’s head to his horse. As he rode, the head knocked against his leg, causing a tooth to make a small scratch. Considering there are more bacteria in a person’s mouth than in their butt, and the poor medical knowledge of the age, it is not surprising that his leg became severely infected and he died days later.

Sir Arthur was a lifelong soldier and served under King Charles I in the English Civil war. During his life at war, he lost a leg. This lost limb would eventually be his downfall; his untimely demise came as the result of thieves beating him to death with his own peg leg. They believed that he hid money in a chamber in the leg (he did not) and continued to beat him with it until it broke open to reveal nothing. By this time Arthur had died a brutal death in vain.

Henry Hall was the lighthouse keeper of the Eddystone Lighthouse, in Cornwall. On the 3rd of December, 1755, a fire broke out in the wooden Rudyerd’s Tower. Henry and his two companions tried in vain, but could not put out the fire. They escaped onto the rocks outside the lighthouse, before watching the rest of the lighthouse burnt down. The next morning, all three of them were rescued off the rocks by boats. On the 5th of December, Henry suddenly died, regardless of showing signs of improvement. An autopsy performed after his death revealed that, whilst looking up at the burning light house, a piece of molten lead fell into his mouth, burning its way through his esophagus and ending in his stomach. The doctor removed a six ounce piece of lead burnt into his stomach lining.

Clement Vallandigham was a US congressman and political opponent of President Abraham Lincoln, and was representing a defendant in a murder trail when he died. The accused was said to have killed a man during a barroom brawl. Clement argued that it could have been possible for the man to shoot himself in the leg as he drew his pistol out of his pocket. While demonstrating with a loaded gun, Clement accidentally shot himself in the leg, severing the femoral artery, resulting in death a few minutes later. The defendant was acquitted and set free.

On the 6th of April, 1926, Phillip McClean and his brother (16 and 13) walked into their garden to discover a cassowary (3rd largest flightless bird) relaxing on their lawn. The boys decided to kill the bird by hitting it with a bat. Phillip took a swing but missed, managing only to anger the bird. The bird jumped up and aimed a round house kick at Phillip’s neck, catching him dead on. Phillip managed to get up and run away, only to drop dead after a short distance, from severe blood loss. Cassowaries are known to be dangerous birds, but out of 221 recorded attacks, this is the only death.

Len was a Major League baseball player, who played for both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. During an unsuccessful season playing for the Dodgers, Len was cut due to his ever-increasing alcohol problem. On the flight home to New York he became aggressive and had to be restrained after fighting with flight attendants, other passengers and the captain. Once in New York, Len chartered a flight to Buffalo. On the flight his alcohol consumption increased and, again, he became aggressive. He decided to pick a fist fight with the pilot in mid-flight. When the co-pilot and flight attendant could not intervene in the assault, the pilot then hit him over the head with a fire extinguisher to subdue him, and made an emergency landing on a race track. Len died of a fractured skull and severe hemorrhaging of the brain.

Alan Stacey was a British Formula 1 driver for Lotus. During the Belgian Grand Prix of 1960, Alan was driving 120 mph/190 km/h, when a bird flew into his face. Alan lost control of the car and he climbed the embankment on a tight turn, which sent him flying into thick bush hedges, only to come to a stop in a field beyond the hedges. It is still unknown exactly how or when in this accident Alan died: it could have been the force of the bird that broke his neck, or the bird could have knocked him out and then he died in the colossal accident that resulted. Ultimately, it’s irrelevant when he died during the accident because, with luck like that, death could never have been very far away.

In October 1998, during a football/soccer match in the eastern Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a freak strike of lightening hit the pitch. The score was 1-1 when the lightening hit the visiting team. It killed all 11 members of the Bena Tshadi, team and burned 31 other people on and around the field. The home team (Basanga) was left completely unharmed, which called up a lot of suspicion of witchcraft. Strange as it may seem, this was not the first instance of lightning hitting a football field, as a similar incident was reported only weeks prior to this incident in South Africa, where lightning struck the field, causing several players to fall to the ground and seven to be taken to hospital. Luckily, in that case there were no fatalities.

Acton Beale fell seven stories from a balcony of a flat block in Brisbane. This all happened whilst attempting to plank on the balcony railings of the 7th story. Planking is a fairly modern internet craze in which participants lie face down on various objects and upload photographic evidence of it online. Planking is known in various other countries as playing dead, extreme lying down and face-downs. Beale’s untimely death has provoked a growing concern regarding the fad, but has not stopped millions of people around the world, including Hugh Hefner, from trying it out.

In 797 AD, Harun al-Rashid, the caliph of Baghdad, presented Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans, a clock that had a mechanical bird inside to pop out and chirp on the hour. He also gave him an Asian Elephant. While one has to assume that Charlemagne was enchanted with the cuckoo clock (this being well over a thousand years before one could pick up such delightful items at Pier One), the pachyderm obviously made quite an impression on him. As there is remarkably little dependable history on Charlemagne, so too are the history books relatively devoid of mention when it comes to Abul Abbas. We know for instance, that he was utilized in battle against the Danish. In 810, when he was in his forties, he died of pneumonia (Abul, not Charlemagne). This was likely exacerbated by one of his regular dips in the Rhine, and the understandable dearth of exotic animal veterinarians within shouting distance.

On 13 April 1796 on the Private Armed Ship America, the second elephant to ever grace the Americas arrived. Oddly enough, the record of the elephant’s passage was kept in the logbook of one Nathaniel Hathorne (father of literary icon Nathaniel Hawthorne, who added the “w” later on). The elephant, named Old Bet, was on display across the eastern seaboard in the early 1800s. Somehow she came to be purchased by a farmer named Hachaliah Bailey (whose ancestral namesake would later be tacked on to the end of the most famous circus in the world, the renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus) for use as a draught beast of burden. But he soon realized that he could make far more money displaying the elephant throughout the country than he ever could having her pull a plow around his farm. He established a traveling menagerie with Bet as the centerpiece. The admission for a family into this rudimentary show was a coin or a two gallon jug of rum. Bailey asserted that Old Bet was killed on 24 July 1816, while on tour near Alfred, Maine, by a farmer who deemed it sinful for the impoverished to fritter away their limited funds on such frivolous things as circuses.

Paris, despite its culturally profound heritage, has seen horrific strife over the years, and the year 1870 brought one of the darkest periods in its history. German forces surrounded the capital of France, a blockade referred to as the Siege of Paris. With supply lines cut, the French turned to butchering whatever animals were at hand. Menus included such gourmet fare was Epaules et filets de Chien braises (dog in tomato sauce) and Civet de Chat aux Champignons (cat with mushrooms). The zoo animals were next. Enter Castor and Pollux, a pair of elephants. Named for the Gemini twins, they were done in with sum sum bullets and sold off to local butchers by the pound (with the trunks fetching a premium). Henry Du Pre Labouchere (a rich English politician and writer) sampled some of this fare, and had the following critique: “Yesterday, I had a slice of Pollux for dinner. Pollux and his brother Castor are two elephants, which have been killed. It was tough, coarse, and oily and I do not recommend English families to eat elephant as long as they can get beef or mutton.”.

Arguably the most famous elephant ever was Jumbo, a huge African bull captured in Ethiopia in 1869. He spent some years in England at the London Zoo giving rides, but was eventually sold in 1882 to showman P.T. Barnum for $10,000. Jumbo, whose name has become one of the foremost synonyms for “big”, got his name from a bastardized Swahili word; either jambo (which means “hello”) or jumbo (“chief”). He was indeed an exceptionally large specimen, probably at least twelve feet tall. On 15 September 1885, the circus was loading onto their train in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Jumbo and a baby elephant named Tom Thumb were on their way to their car when an unscheduled freight train rolled into the station. The little elephant caught a glancing blow that broke his leg; Jumbo got hit full on, his skull crushed. In his final moments, his trainer sunk down to his knees and cried like a baby, holding Jumbo’s trunk until he died. Jumbo’s stomach was found to be littered with English coins, keys, rivets, even a bobbie’s whistle. His skeleton was donated to New York’s Natural History Museum, and his heart was sold to Cornell University. Barnum had the hide stuffed and brought on tour for some years. In 1889, he finally parted with the last piece of Jumbo, donating his stuffed elephant to Tufts University, where he subsequently became the mascot.

Any study of Brooklyn’s Coney Island must include the sad tale of Topsy, doomed to encounter the self-serving wrath of none other than the Wizard of Menlo Park, Thomas Edison. Topsy was an attraction at the Forepaugh Circus, and dealt rather permanent justice to at least three abusive trainers. The last made the mistake of trying to feed her a lit cigarette. Topsy was soon sentenced to die for her murderous ways. Enter Thomas Edison. The great inventor was in the fight of his life trying to prove that his model of direct current electricity was safer and more efficient than alternating current. Edison, being a shrewd if somewhat ruthless businessman, decided the best way to debunk AC technology was to electrocute defenseless animals with it. Surely if he could show the American public that alternating current was sufficient to zap such a tremendous beast, no reasonable man would risk the safety of his household using it. They pre-gamed Topsy’s execution by feeding her carrots laced with 460 grams (a little more than a solid pound) of potassium cyanide. Then they strapped on metal shoes and hit her with 6,600 volts of pure death. This spectacle was seen by around 1,500 people (apparently there wasn’t much to do back in the day) and was by all accounts, rather unspectacular. Topsy died within seconds. And while Edison would eventually lose the War of Currents, the incident was far from a failure for him. His film of Topsy’s demise, the rather obviously titled “Electrocuting an Elephant” was viewed in theaters throughout the world.

Mary was a five ton Asian elephant who performed for the Sparks World Famous Show circus. She was accosted by a new assistant handler named Walter “Red” Eldridge in September 1916 in Kingsport, TN. In response, she picked him up with her trunk, flung him into a snack stand, and crushed his head. Seeking justice, a local blacksmith decided to cap Mary, but unless you have a big gun and superb aim, shooting an elephant is a rather poor idea. Mary’s hide absorbed a couple dozen bullets with little effort; it was decided she would have to be hanged. A crowd of 2,500 had gathered, many of them children— to watch something that it would seem no human before or since would ever witness. A derrick chain was looped around her neck and a railcar-mounted industrial crane lifted her off her feet. But someone had forgotten to release the ankle chain which bound her to the track. For an awful moment she hung suspended in torment. Witnesses indicate the sound of her ankle tendons tearing was quite audible. The chain around her neck snapped, her hip shattering as she crashed to the ground. A subsequent attempt was more successful. Several grainy, sepia-toned photographs of Mary hanging pendulous in mid-air have survived the decades, and though a casual glance suggests Photoshop tomfoolery, they are quite real.

An enormous Indian elephant weighing some 18,000lbs., Black Diamond was owned by the Al G. Barnes Circus. He’d been a naughty boy in the past, so they kept him chained up to a couple of female elephants to calm him down when he was displayed in public. On 12 October 1929 in Corsicana, Texas, he went on another tear, injuring a former trainer and killing a woman. When his rage was finally quelled, the circus decided he was too dangerous to continue on with the show. They attempted to poison him, but the elephant was too shrewd for this ploy. Black Diamond was shot to death by Hans Nagel, the keeper of the Houston Zoo. He took at least 60 bullets before he fell.

Pope Leo X (of the sordid Medici clan) received Hanno as a gift upon his coronation from King Manuel I of Portugal. The Pope loved his pet and often showed him off. Like Abul Ammas, Hanno was a white elephant (actually a shade of pink), an animal considered sacred to this day by cultures in Southeast Asia. Two years later, Hanno became suddenly ill. Again owing the antiquated understanding of medicine in the day, he was fed a laxative tempered with gold and died on June 8th 1516 with the heartbroken Pope beside him.

By 1994, the technological media available to capture such events as elephant rampages for posterity had improved greatly. Indeed, several camcorders were on site for the August 20th Hawthorn Circus in Honolulu Hawaii’s Neal S. Blaisdell Center. During the show, a 20 year-old lady named Tyke, who’d shown a marked propensity for naughty behavior in the past, had her last temper tantrum. Before hundreds of terrified witnesses, she killed her trainer Allen Campbell and gored groom Dallas Beckwith before escaping onto city streets. In their horror, the crowd dispersed rather spontaneously, resulting in several minor injuries. Unfettered by chains, wearing a garish red headdress, Tyke stormed down the streets. A gentleman named Steve Hirano, the event’s publicist, tried valiantly to curtail the mutiny, attempting to gate her into a parking lot. But a chain link barrier is little more than a casual suggestion to a furious elephant. Steve’s life was spared by quick thinking police, who fired into the air, scaring her off. Cops shadowed Tyke, emptying their service pistols into her hide. Over eighty bullets later, Tyke finally surrendered. She lay down in the street and perished of massive nerve damage and hemorrhaging of the brain. It is more than likely you have seen some of the footage from that fateful day, a sanitized clip on When Animals Attack! or its poorly budgeted shockumentary ilk.

Drawn into a high plateau in Peru’s Nazca Desert, a group of ancient designs stretching more than 50 miles has astounded archaeologists for decades. Along with simple lines and geometric shapes, drawings of animals, birds and humans have also been made, some measuring 600 feet across. From their colossal size, the drawings can only be viewed and appreciated from way up in the air – and there is no evidence that the Nazca people invented flying machines. According to ancient astronaut theorists, the figures were used as guidelines for spaceships as they came in for landing, and the lines served as runways.

Many Sanskrit stories, which were written in India more than two millennia ago, contain information about mythical flying machines called “Vimanas”. Comparing the similarities between descriptions of Vimanas and people who have observed UFO’s, ancient alien theorists have suggested that India was visited in the past by astronauts from other planets.

Ancient alien theorists believe that visitors from other planets helped humans build architectural wonders like Egypt’s Giza Pyramid. Not only is Giza an incredible feat of engineering for its time, but it lies at the intersection of the longest lines of latitude and longitude. How is this possible? Did the builders of the pyramids already understand the Earth was round and its dimensions?

Ancient alien theorists have pointed out that some ancient monuments demonstrate a thorough knowledge of astronomy surpassing knowledge of later cultures. The Pyramid of the Sun at Mexico’s Teotihuacan, lies at the center of a complex of pyramids, each aligned with a planet in the solar system.

The Sumerians are one the oldest civilizations known to man. The Sumerians believed they were created by the Annunaki, which was a group of E.T’s. The Sumerians believed the Annunaki came from the stars to planet earth to mine for gold. According to ancient myths, the Annunaki needed workers to mine for gold, so they genetically engineered and created the Sumerians (or humans).

From Southern Mexico, Pacal the Great ruled over the Mayan city of Palenque, during the seventh century. He was buried inside a pyramid called the Temple of Inscriptions. The intricately carved lid of his sarcophagus has become a classic work of Mayan art and also proof and evidence for ancient alien theorists. In their view, Pacal is pictured in a spaceship during takeoff, with his hand on a control panel, his foot on a pedal and an oxygen tube in his mouth.

These are Ancient Indian Epics that talk about a great battle with men in flying machines, nuclear like explosions and large powerful weapons. Written over 2000 years ago. Are they just a good story or did they witness something in the sky back then? There are also interesting parallels to this concept in the Bible.

Located in South America, in the Bolivian highlands, Puma Punku is a field of stone ruins scattered with enormous, finely carved blocks. Such precise workmanship on a massive scale would have been nearly impossible without modern tools and machines, yet the ruins are more than 1,000 years old. Ancient alien theorists have hypothesized that extraterrestrials with advanced engineering techniques created the site or advised the people who built it. The Stones of Pumu Punku are made up of granite and diorite, and the only stone harder is diamond. Not only were these stones really hard to cut, but they were also extremely heavy. One of these stones weighs 800 tons!

Invading armies of almost invincible power, incredible weaponry designed to intimidate and annihilate. During the second world war, Germany possessed the most technologically advanced military in the world. Weapons such as the jet aircraft, precision bombers and guided missiles, all designed to blitzkrieg along Europe. They developed the first cruise missile, the V1 buzz bomber and the V2 – the first ballistic missile. German scientists were the envy of the world, but what made them so advanced? Were they simply smarter than others? They were simply viewing ancient texts not as legendary myths, but as source of historical and scientific fact. The Nazi’s were the best oriental scholars in the world, so they translated ancient texts such as the Hindu Sanskrit in to German.

In 1939, German scientists invented their own flying saucer shaped aircraft and called it the “Haunebu”. When the Nazi party swept in to power in 1933, The Vril society encouraged Hitler and his henchmen to fund a world wide search of ancient alternative technologies. German scientists and researchers scoured the planet for ancient texts and relics, such as the holy grail and the arc of the covenant. Much more evidence points to the Nazi’s dealing with alien technology.

The Flower of Life was known around in ancient times, occurring in Temple of Osiris, Romania, Israel, China and many more places. Everything in the universe is Geometric, whether its people, trees, animals, planets, solar systems, stars, you name it. Everything in the universe comes out of this single pattern. The Metatrons cube forms from the Flower of life which forms the five platonic solids (Tetrahedron, Hexahedron, Octahedron, Dodecahedron, Icosahedron) which makes up the whole universe. Every element in the periodic table of elements has a geometric relation to one of the five platonic solids. So everything that modern science knows about elements and reality are tied together to the platonic solids, which comes from the Metatrons cube, which is formed from the fruit of life, which comes from the flower of life.

The Cockatrice can cause death with a single glance. Reports indicate that anything catching sight of the lethal bird’s eyes is turned instantly to stone. Just as deadly is their poisonous saliva, which can fell even an elephant. Also known as a Basilisk, a Cockatrice has the head and feet of a cockerel and the tail of a serpent. The Cockatrice is believed to be the product of a seven-year-old cockerel’s egg, laid during a full moon, and then hatched for nine years by a serpent or toad. There are a few ways to protect oneself from a Cockatrice. One is to carry something reflective – like a mirror – and turn the creature’s gaze back on it. Another is to keep either a weasel or a cockerel nearby. The weasel is said to be the mortal enemy of the Cockatrice, While the crowing of the cockerel is even more effective as it causes the Cockatrice to have fatal fits and ultimately thrash itself to death.

The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged or both. The tail is that of either a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims. It devours its prey whole. It leaves no clothes, bones or possessions of the prey behind. The creature’s feet may be those of a dragon, but are most often described as the paws of a lion. Its size ranges from the size of a lion to the size of a horse. It is also mistaken as a bearded man when seen from a distance – a deception which makes it easy to fall victim to the creature.

The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore, that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland. The horse’s appearance is strong, powerful and breathtaking. Its hide was supposed to be black (though in some stories it was white), and it will appear to be a lost pony, but can be identified by its constantly dripping mane. Its skin is like that of a seal, smooth, but is as cold as death when touched. Water horses are known to transform into beautiful women to lure men into their traps. The water horse is a common form of the kelpie, said to lure humans, especially children, into the water to drown and eat them. It performs this act by encouraging children to ride on its back. Once its victims fall into its trap, the kelpie’s skin becomes adhesive and it bears them into the river, dragging them to the bottom of the water and devouring them—except the heart or liver.

Not only is the soucouyant scary – it is probably the most bizarre entry here. The soucouyant in Dominica, Trinidadian and Guadeloupean folklore, is a kind of vampire. The Soucouyant lives by day as an old woman at the end of the village. By night, however, she strips off her wrinkled skin, puts it in a mortar, and flies in the shape of a fireball through the darkness, looking for a victim. Still in the shape of a fireball, the soucouyant enters the home of her victim through the keyhole, or any crack or crevice. Soucouyants suck the blood of people from their arms, legs and other soft parts, while they sleep. If the soucouyant draws out too much blood from her victim, it is believed that the victim will die and become a soucouyant herself, or else perish entirely, leaving her killer to assume her skin. The soucouyant practices witchcraft, voodoo and black magic. Soucouyants trade the blood of their victims for evil powers with Bazil, the demon who resides in the silk cotton tree.

Umibōzu is a spirit in Japanese folklore. The Umibōzu is said to live in the ocean and capsize the ship of anyone who dares speak to it. This spirit’s name, which combines the character for “sea” with the character of “Buddhist monk,” is possibly related to the fact that the Umibōzu is said to have a large, round head, resembling the shaven heads of Buddhist monks. Alternatively, they are enormous Yōkai (spectres) that appear to shipwreck victims and fishermen. They are believed to be drowned priests, exhibit the shaven head and typically appears to be praying. It is usually reported as having a grey, cloud-like torso and serpentine limbs. As you can see from the image above, this is not a creature you want to bump into in the middle of the night.

A hidebehind is a nocturnal fearsome critter from American folklore that preys upon humans that wander the woods, and was credited for the disappearances of early colonial loggers when they failed to return to camp. As its name suggests, the hidebehind is noted for its ability to conceal itself. When an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature hides again behind an object or the observer, and therefore can’t be directly seen; a feat it accomplishes by sucking in its stomach to a point where it is so slender that it can easily cover itself behind the trunk of any tree. The hidebehind uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed, and to attack without warning. Their victims, including lumberjacks who frequent the forests, are dragged back to the creature’s lair to be devoured. The creature subsists chiefly upon the intestines of its victim. Tasty.

Cats are meant to be furry and cute – but not when it is five feet high and shoots fireballs! A bakeneko (“monster-cat”) is, in Japanese folklore, a cat with supernatural abilities akin to those of the fox or raccoon dog. A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may reach a certain age, be kept for a certain number of years, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail. A bakeneko is a cat that gains paranormal powers after certain circumstances. They also have the ability to eat (bigger or smaller) anything in its way, no matter what it is. Poison is its main food. A bakeneko will haunt any household it is kept in, creating ghostly fireballs, menacing sleepers, walking on its hind legs, changing its shape into that of a human, and even devouring its own mistress in order to shapeshift and take her place. When it is finally killed, its body may be as much as five feet in length. It also poses a danger if allowed into a room with a fresh corpse; a cat is believed to be capable of reanimating a body by jumping over it.

A draugr is an undead creature from Norse mythology. Draugar were believed to live in the graves of dead Vikings, being the body of the dead. As the graves of important men often contained a good amount of wealth, the draugr jealously guards his treasures, even after death. Draugar possess superhuman strength, can increase their size at will, and carry the unmistakable stench of decay. The draugr’s ability to increase its size also increased its weight, and the body of the draugr was described as being extremely heavy. Thorolf of Eyrbyggja Saga was “uncorrupted, and with an ugly look about him… swollen to the size of an ox,” and his body was so heavy that it could not be raised without levers. In folklore the draugar slay their victims through various methods including crushing them with their enlarged forms, devouring their flesh, devouring them whole in their enlarged forms, indirectly killing them by driving them mad, and drinking their blood. Animals feeding near the grave of a draugr may be driven mad by the creature’s influence.

Pliny (in his Natural History, 77AD) gives us the first accounts of monstrous races in his attempt to describe the various unknown peoples of foreign lands. Some of the races he describes are hairy choromandae, which make a terrifying gnashing noise, half-beasts and half men created by the gods to terrify men for their amusement, and perhaps most horrifyingly a race of creatures who feed exclusively on the milk of dog-headed men (cynocephalae). In medieval history we find men with chests in their heads, and gigantic men who roam about on one leg, but prefer to lie on their back using their giant foot to protect them from the sun (sciapods). Pictured above is a weird mix of a man with a head in his chest, mixed with a bird.

We are all familiar with dragons from various historical tales and myths, but Tiamat really takes the cake for inspiring terror. Tiamat comes to us from Babylonian mythology. She is often wrongly described as being a sea-serpent or dragon, but it is far worse than that. First, here is a description: “[Tiamat had] a tail, a thigh, “lower parts” (which shake together), a belly, an udder, ribs, a neck, a head, a skull, eyes, nostrils, a mouth, and lips. She has insides (possibly “entrails”), a heart, arteries, and blood.” She was made up of such a jumble of things that she truly was a creature of chaos. But it gets worse. Tiamat was so horrifying, so monstrous, and so dread-inspiring because, from her bizarre pseudo-human cum cryptozoological body, she gave birth to dragons, scorpion-men, merpeople (yes, that is a real word), and countless other horrifying things. The Tiamat myth says that she was eventually killed by the god Marduk, who then split her body in two forming heaven and earth.