After the German conquest of Poland in September 1939, Hitler turned his attention to the west. His ultimate goal was to invade the Soviet Union, but he knew the defeat of the Western European nations was a necessity to avoid a two-front war. The first step was to invade the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium) and France. Hypothetically, Germany could then conquer Britain, re-deploy to the East, and fight a one-front war against the Russians....

To this day, the iconic filmmaker still uses his artistic talents to brainstorm ideas, infusing his work with the gothic style that audiences have come to know and love. Burton’s movies have now racked up over $4 billion worldwide, making him one of the top grossing directors of all time. Given this impressive milestone, we take a look at just 10 behind-the-scenes facts from the director’s career in film. Top 10 Behind The Scenes Facts About Dystopian Sci-fi Movies...

Top 20 Greatest Movies Of All Time Before beginning I would like to mention that I have made a couple of references to politics in the list. But . . . and it’s a big “but” (that’s what she said!) . . . the mentions are not at all inflammatory or controversial. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t be necessary, but comedy, more so than any genre, has, in the last ten years, become tainted with political opinions, and outside of Washington pundits, who needs that?...

SEE ALSO: 10 Oddball Things To Make You Believe In An Afterlife EVP (electronic voice phenomena) is a mysterious event in which human-sounding voices from an unknown source are heard on recording tape, in radio station noise and other electronic media. Most often, EVPs have been captured on audiotape. The mysterious voices are not heard at the time of recording; it is only when the tape is played back that the voices are heard....

In the Victorian era, smoking was commonplace. Opiates were as freely available as present-day crisps, and pipes filled with various types of tobacco were to be found in most every home. All this open smoking resulted in fine establishments such as bars and pubs being clouded with varying types of smoke. But what if your own establishment lacked smokers? What if you desperately desired the unpleasant stench and poor visibility which came with popularity?...

The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were Robert Ingpen This comprehensive compilation references myths and fantasies from around the world and spanning human history. Detailed yet succinct, the very readable articles are collected under seven topics and arranged alphabetically by subject. The diverse coverage examines myriad imagined powers and creatures from historical, sociological, cultural, and artistic perspectives, and while many of the ghosts, wizards, gremlins, gods, fairies, and so forth are familiar, many more, e....

Some believe that the movement became a witch hunt because some cases of sexual misconduct were incorrectly treated as rape. These 10 cases were misrepresented, exaggerated, or prematurely judged by the #MeToo movement. Top 10 Obscure Political #MeToo Moments 10 Aziz Ansari In 2018, a woman referred to as “Grace” told the story of her date with actor/writer Aziz Ansari. As published by Babe.net, it is the quintessential tale of the dreaded #MeToo gray area....

But sometimes, the students have a point. Some teachers have asked their young scholars—from elementary school to college—to complete assignments that may be considered controversial and unethical. And when word got out, bam! The public firestorm led to debates that put the embattled teachers smack-dab in the middle of those controversies in ways they never expected. Feelings were hurt, jobs were on the line, and content was created for an intriguing Listverse list....

The Homemade Volcano Everyone at one time or another has constructed one of the most tried and true home science experiments: The Volcano. This is a simple and really impressive use of household acids and bases that can be made again and again. What you’ll need: A small empty plastic pop bottle (500 mL) A funnel Two measuring cups 1 cup of baking soda 1 cup of vinegar 1 tsp of Sunlight liquid dish detergent Food coloring (optional) Glitter (optional) What to do: 1....

10 Infectious Diseases That Changed History 10 The Cult that Created Fleetwood Mac Before Fleetwood Mac made cocaine imbued sundrenched pop, they made cocaine imbued gritty blues. Cofounded by Jeremy Spencer, Fleetwood Mac had early success in America with their single “Albatross.” While promoting the record, Spencer left to pick up some groceries. He never returned.[1] On the way to the store, he started talking to members from the infamous cult, the Church of God....

Warning: Some of these images are rather disturbing and not suitable for sensitive viewers. Also: potential spoilers ahead. Top 10 Creepy Scenes In Movies 10 Bear suit – Midsommar The movie Midsommar was truly nothing to write home about, but the scenes with the old folks jumping off a cliff and suffering horrific injuries (including a face smash) are fairly disturbing. However, arguably the most horrifying part comes towards the end of the film when one of the male characters, Christian, is dressed up in a bear suit and burned alive....

The British populace scorned Camilla for her suspected involvement in the breakup, and women threw bread rolls at her while shopping. But “Camillagate” was just one of the many embarrassing incidents that have plagued the British monarchy. 10A Man Sneaked Into Queen Elizabeth’s Bedroom Queen Elizabeth II got the shock of her life on the night of July 9, 1982, when she was startled from sleep by a stranger standing by her bedpost....

Scientology is a Secret Organization The swift and calculated responses from the group have managed to do what no other organisation or government has done – censor certain information from the internet. You can find out how to make a bomb on the internet, but you can not find out what you have to do to pass the top levels in the Church of Scientology. Ironically, considering they are so secretive, it does not stop them using information taken from people they audit against them if they turn on the group....

At the time, the astronauts and rocket engineers were often portrayed as almost superhuman. In reality, they were just as flawed as the rest of us, so not everything that happened fitted in with NASA’s corporate image and public relations plan. 10Images Of Playboy Playmates Were Flown To The Moon Alan Bean and Pete Conrad were about two and a half hours into the second moon walk of Apollo 12, when Bean turned the next page of his checklist book....

10 Apollo And Daphne Daphne was the daughter of the river god Peneus. Apollo, the god of the Sun and music, fell in love with Daphne, but unfortunately, she didn’t want anything to do with men. One day, Apollo was chasing Daphne through the woods, and obviously, this freaked her out a little bit. Desperate, she called for help. Daphne prayed both to her father and to the Earth, asking for a little assistance....

Also, the politics are insane, the volcanoes might blow at any moment, and nobody can remain in charge for long without fighting off a coup. Come with us, to Comoros! 10Massive Inequality Keeps the Population Poor The population of the Comoros lives with the worst income inequality of any nation, with a Gini coefficient of over 60 percent, while also ranking in the worst quartile on the Human Development Index....

These slightly xenophobic stereotypes about the French are widespread wherever English is spoken. And with good reason. France is a terrible country that looks down its nose at the rest of the planet while making a noise like “haw hee haw hee haw.” Despite this horribleness, we found 10 fascinating facts about the country to delight and amaze you. 10 They Are Not Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys The French military actually has the best military record in Europe....

The List: Top 10 Poisonous Foods We Love To Eat I am a food fanatic – as you will see as you progress through this list. I wrote the list of poisonous foods because I find it fascinating that so many things we take for granted are potentially deadly – though most people don’t realize it. In a way I hope these lists will make people more aware of what they eat and I hope that they prompt people to read the back of a packet to see what it really is that they are going to shove down their gullet....

This movie often gets a bad rap but I consider it to be pretty solid. Though it’s a comedy, the film doesn’t really make light of the main character’s alcoholic state. In the film the main character Willie T. Stokes is a bitter, lonely alcoholic. Willie works the holiday seasons as a mall Santa along with his dwarf friend, Marcus, who works as Santa’s elf. Every Christmas Eve, the two of them disable the security alarm after the mall closes and rob the mall safe; afterwards, Marcus returns to living with his wife, while Willie goes to Miami and spends all his money on booze....

This is a hard list to make because some were movie stars, some slap stick, some stand up comics – so a lot will depend on individual tastes, but here’s a list for ten of the funniest “big guy” comics ever. In no particular order: Chris Farley shot up through the world of improvisational (improv) comedy, and ended up becoming a huge star on Saturday Night Live. This was followed by a short but successful movie career before his tragic death....