Do you ever get the overwhelming urge to run your own country? Do you ever feel that everyone else is a fool and only you, and you alone, know what is good for the world? Ever feel the need to erect lots of statues of yourself?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then there’s a good chance that you’re turning into a dictator. Hitler, Saddam, Stalin, Castro… and now, you. Here are five simple signs to look out for if you’re worried you might be turning into a dictator.

Power is a seductive mistress, an addictive thrill, one taste and you’re left thirsting for more. And with power comes the urge to conform the world to your whim, to bend reality to your designs, to forge your own heaven! As the old saying goes: absolute power corrupts absolutely. And you want that power! You want to control absolutely everything! One day you might be standing on the platform in the rain, waiting for a train which is a little late, the next you’ve vowed to make the trains run on time; not just your train, but all the trains in the country, all the trains in the world if you can get your hands on them! It happens. Just look at poor old Mussolini.

(Read the rest of this list…)

Over the centuries, history is filled with wonderful tales of mysterious people - many of whom are never identified. This list is a selection of the most significant or mysterious people of this variety. As usual, if you know of other fascinating people that would suit a similar follow up list, be sure to tell us in the comments.

Monsieur Chouchani (died 1968) is the nickname of an anonymous and mysterious Jewish teacher who taught a number of highly regarded students including Emmanual Levinas (pictured above) and Elie Wiesel in Europe after World War II. Very little is known about Chouchani, including his real name. His origins and entire life history were kept a closely guarded secret. His gravestone in Montevideo, Uraguay where he died reads: “The wise Rabbi Chouchani of blessed memory. His birth and his life are sealed in enigma.” The text was written by Elie Wiesel who also paid for the gravestone.

There is no known body of work by Chouchani himself, but he left a very strong intellectual legacy via his students. Chouchani dressed like a vagabond but was a master of vast areas of human knowledge, including science, mathematics, philosophy and especially the Talmud. Most of the details of his life that are known come from the writings and interviews with his students.

(Read the rest of this list…)

It has now been a week since our last your view and because today we find out the results of the election of the Mayor of London, I thought we should have a political question for Your View. Advocates of the Welfare system say that by giving money to the poor - either unemployed, or low income, helps them to survive - but often there is no means to get them out of the rut they are in. So, the question today is whether a welfare system really is a benefit to the poor. If not, what would be the best alternative?

Does a Welfare System Really Help the Poor?

(Read the rest of this list…)

As a kid I loved movies and I also loved to get into fake fights with my friends and jump my stingray bike over anything that was in the way. So naturally I had a good time writing this list. Sadly with the advancement of Special effects (CGI) Future memorable stunts are becoming more infrequent. Just keep in mind all of you Listversers that the criteria for this list is “most memorable” and is not the degree of difficulty of the stunt.

This French futuristic film is not well known but has received quite a bit of attention because of the great stunt work and for it’s depiction of parkour which means the aim of moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, using only the abilities of the human body.

(Read the rest of this list…)