While drug abuse certainly presents several obvious risks, plenty of historical figures’ drug use was closely associated with their most famous works. Many inventors, authors, scientists, and artists turned to drugs and benefited from their use. 10Thomas Edison A famous inventor and holder of over 1,000 patents, Edison’s productivity (and frequent insomnia) may be attributed to his fondness for a drink that prominently featured cocaine. The drink, known as Vin Mariani, was a Bordeaux wine treated with coca leaves, making cocaine the active ingredient....

This was also the first time that anyone in Mesopotamia had lived in a tight-knit, walled town. They were making their lives as administrators and scholars instead of growing food for themselves. Life here was something completely new—not just for the people who lived there but for all of humanity. Little of life in 5000 BC remains today. All we have to work from is a few old tablets and the ruins of ancient towns....

Imhotep, an Egyptian polymath, is the first physician, architect and engineer whose name is known to history. He was high priest of Ra and chancellor to the Pharoah Djoser of the Third Dynasty. So great was his legacy that, despite being a commoner, he was granted divinity after his death. Imhotep was revered as a poet and fifteen hundred years after his death a song praised his acuity with language: “I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hordedef, with whose discourses men speak so much....

Original List: Your View: What is the worst human invention? longball: the womans vibrator Saffa: So you have no problem with a man’s vibrator? Original List: Top 10 Bizarre Medical Anomalies List Item 1: Diphallia is a condition in which a male is born with two penises. Baxter: I wish I had diphallia. Triphallia is a bitch. Original List: Top 10 Books Of All Time [JFrater: Next time you think I am not a tolerant moderator, remember this conversation – kiwiboi is my brother – making this a particularly personal discussion....

10Tintin Kills Every Animal In His Path A boy reporter for a major newspaper, Tintin is famous for his courage and generosity of spirit. At least, he is now. In the early days, he was far better known for mindlessly slaughtering everything to cross his path. In 1931, Tintin in the Congo hit Belgian bookshelves. Although chiefly known today for its dated portrayals of race, the book also featured a subplot where Tintin goes big-game hunting....

10Alan Clark And His Wine-Tasting Described as “the most politically incorrect, outspoken, iconoclastic and reckless politician of our times,” Alan Clark was no stranger to gaffes and controversies during his political life. However, one incident stands alone as the stupidest. In 1983, during his first speech to the House of Commons, Clark had trouble reading from the pages in front of him. Rival MP Clare Short accused him of being “incapable”—which was the term polite British politicians used for “hopelessly drunk....

As the years have gone by, we’ve found new answers for some of the mysteries, puzzles, and conundrums of our world. It’s unlikely that history will ever reveal all of its secrets to us, but at least we’ve managed to make a few more dents in our collective ignorance. 10 The Death Of Male Mammoths In 2017, scientists believed they found the answer for a quirk in the fossil record: why almost 70 percent of woolly mammoth remains were male....

10 Cancer Isn’t Always Cancer The worst possible outcome of a trip to the doctor is a diagnosis of the Big C. We’re so terrified of it that even the word is taboo in some places, and the medical community lives by one maxim: early diagnosis. The earlier you find the cancer, the more easily you can treat it. But such enthusiasm can easily lead to false positives, and treating something that isn’t there can be dangerous....

None of which is part of the holiday. As it turns out, Cinco de Mayo is easily the most misunderstood holiday on the calendar. So get ready—because you’re about to find out that everything you think you know about this “Mexican holiday” is wrong. 10 It Isn’t A Mexican Holiday Cinco de Mayo isn’t quite as Mexican as you think. It’s actually a US holiday. The first Cinco de Mayo celebration was held on May 5, 1863, in California....

Well, after compiling this list, we may have reconsidered. These are wildly far-out technologies we never really expected to see in real life that nevertheless may soon be upon us, whether they are good ideas or not (spoiler: mostly not). 10 Deleting Or Replacing Memories For some time, neurologists have known that the brain is not the biological hard drive that we may perceive it to be, with our experiences etched indelibly as memories....

But how about prehistory? Some people might say it’s irrelevant, but experts will tell you that examining prehistory is just as important as studying history. Thanks to advances in technology, especially in genetic analysis, we are starting to gain a deeper understanding how prehumans and humans evolved and lived. By studying the lives of prehistoric individuals, we can gain an in-depth knowledge of our humanity and a tiny glimpse of our future....

Or is it? In the last few years alone, academics, historians, and ordinary Joes have stumbled across enough lost treasures to fill an entire museum. 10Captain Kidd’s Treasure Former pirate-hunter turned vicious pirate, Captain Kidd’s life story is potential Hollywood gold. It even has one of the most famous MacGuffins of all time: a haul of treasure stolen by Kidd and missing for over three centuries. At least it was ....

I have always suspected that this was a fake or manipulated photo, but it’s the real thing. The legendary photograph was taken by daredevil photographer Charles Ebbets, on September 29, 1932. The photo shows 11 workers having a lunch break on the 69th floor of the RCA Building (now the GE Building) in New York, during the last months of construction. Most of the men have now been identified by family members....

10 Esther Lederberg: Microbial Genetics Esther Lederberg, an ambitious and determined woman, stood headstrong in front of all the obstacles a woman pursuing a profession in science and advancing technology would face during the mid-20th century. This was a time when it was considered highly unusual for women to be involved in affairs outside of the four walls of their homes. Despite her professor, friends, and family’s consistent persuasion to make her rethink her decision to enter the profession of biochemistry, she remained obstinate....

But what about the Japanese? We often think of them as primitive with their banzai charges and kamikaze aircraft, but Japan produced some high-tech weaponry that was superior to that of the US. If the Japanese had deployed these weapons earlier, they might have been game changers during the war. 10 The I-201 Class The Nazis weren’t the only ones during World War II who fielded submarines that could travel extremely fast underwater....

10The Wedding Of John Henry Thompson And Mildred Collins In the early morning hours of July 25, 1966, Mildred Collins was preparing for her wedding and reception that was to be held later that day in Baltimore, Maryland. She sent her husband-to-be, 25-year-old John Henry Thompson, out before 2:00 AM to get more rum. A short time later, Collins received a call from an unidentified man asking her to pick up Thompson....

10 Clarence Allen Lackey Clarence Lackey abducted, raped, and slit the throat of Toni Diane Kumpf in 1977. He spent 17 years on death row, and his appeals attracted media attention for his defense’s unusual claim that execution violated the Constitution’s provision against cruel and unusual punishment. The intended punishment, apparently, was “grossly out of proportion” to his isolated act. That argument was unsuccessful, and he was taken to the death chamber on May 20, 1997....

Over the centuries, the world has witnessed leaders who served for a considerably short time. Whether it’s because of forceful removal (coups), scandals, or sudden death, here are ten leaders with the shortest time in power. 10 Joseph Goebbels Most people, and some part of history, too, assume that the Nazi state died with Adolf Hitler in his bunker in Berlin, an event that happened on April 30, 1945. The renowned dictator and mass executor took his life after realizing his reign was ending....

Our extensive range of senses is often quite surprising to people, until they realize that they use them every day without thinking about it. Many of the human senses that we take for granted are incredibly important to our regular function—as you’ll see: When you’ve had enough to eat and drink, your body always seems to let you know. It turns out that this is a separate sense within your body, involving its own cluster of sensory receptors that tell you when you need to stop eating....

However, the sheer magnitude of the number of rides and attractions, combined with the millions of people who come in and out of the parks each year, the odds are that something will inevitably go wrong. Here are ten major malfunctions that happened at Disney Parks. 10The Not-So-Magic Carpet Ride At Disney parks, live musical shows reenact some of the most famous scenes from animated films. Kids love watching their favorite “real” characters on stage....