One of the most famous famines in history, the Great Famine, was caused by a devastating potato disease. 33% of the Irish population relied on the potato for sustenance, and the onset of the disease in 1845 triggered mass starvation that lasted until 1853. The large Catholic population was suppressed by British rule and left unable to own or lease land or hold a profession. When the blight struck, British ships prevented other nations from delivering food aid....
Well, we’ve got some bad news: 2017 could be even worse. Here’s how: 10 Italy’s Banking System Collapses In a list of “boring-sounding things you should be worried about,” an Italian banking crisis would be number one. For years, Italy’s lenders have been chucking money at people like 2008 never happened. Now, experts think those banks could finally fall. Italy is the world’s eighth largest economy. It’s also a Eurozone country, so it could bring the whole EU crashing down....
Yet his disturbing and complex legacy goes deeper than simple theft. It involves repeated cases of mass murder unlike almost anything else the world has ever known. 10The September 30 Coup In 1965, Indonesia was a political mess. President Sukarno had overseen crippling inflation and managed to alienate both sides in the increasingly tense Cold War. It was from these dismal circumstances that the 30 September Movement was born. In the early hours of October 1, 1965, a group of disaffected army officers kidnapped and murdered six high-ranking generals, declaring themselves in control of the armed forces....
SEE ALSO: 10 Ways Young Generations Are Better Than Their Parents 10 They Have No Savings and Lots of Debt Millennials have been referred to as the broke generation, especially in comparison to Baby boom generations who grew up when the world was recovering from World War Two and prospering in general. Generation X, who came before Millennials, benefitted from technology advancing in the 1990’s and therefore did not feel the same economic turbulence as was seen in the 2000s....
10 Back To The Future Back to the Future was written by Bob Gale and directed by Robert Zemeckis and became the highest-grossing movie in 1985, raking in more than $381 million. It went on to win several awards, including an Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing. What some may not know is that Michael J. Fox almost didn’t get the part of Marty McFly. Not only did other great actors audition for the role, including Charlie Sheen and Johnny Depp, but Eric Stoltz was actually given the part and filmed scenes for six weeks....
Some people just embody the spirit of Christmas. From the volunteers in soup kitchens to the emergency services personnel who work on Christmas Day, it is often the unsung heroes of society who make Christmas that little bit cheerier. With that in mind, we take a look at just some of the incredible sacrifices that ordinary people have made over the holiday season. These are the saviors of Christmas....
Working under a difficult boss is a misfortune most of us have endured at some point in our lives. Difficult directors are a dime a dozen, and the things they do to get their artistic visions across can be mind-boggling. Sometimes, these moviemakers believe it is necessary to put the picture’s stars way outside their comfort zone, in more ways than one, in the pursuit of realism. Risking actors’ lives, harassing performers, and even a few deaths have been the result of a filmmaker’s insane ambition....
On top of that, at times, it’s also been known to get downright experimental, pushing the boundaries of what it can do and creating some truly avant-garde moments in the process. So, let’s take a look at some of the best examples of this today and see why, under the right circumstances, wrestling actually can approach the level of art. 10 Broken Matt Hardy Broken Matt Hardy is what happens when a wrestling character takes too many shots to the head and starts to believe they’re a real-life anime supervillain....
Warning: Most of these videos are truly not for the faint of heart. 10The Freakishly Big Spider-Worm It’s an undeniable fact that spiders are eight-legged demons from Hell. It’s also a fact that parasites are disgusting monsters that need to be wiped off the face of the Earth. And when the two get together, you end up with a YouTube video that’ll make the staunchest of animal rights activists reach for the nearest rolled-up newspaper....
Leonard A. Fish and Robert P. Cox teamed up in 1972 to create an aerosol spray-on cast for broken limbs. They failed miserably. What they ended up with was a substance they patented as a “foamable resinous composition,” and after months of apprehension, Wham-O decided to distribute it. Fast forward to 2006: stationed in Iraq, Spc. Todd Shriver and the rest of his unit were devoid of any practical way to clear buildings of trip wires that trigger IEDs, so they were forced to improvise....
10 Germanwings Flight 9525 Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed into the French Alps on March 24, 2015. Investigators quickly determined that the plane, which was scheduled to fly from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, was intentionally flown into a mountain range by copilot Andreas Lubitz. In total, 150 people died in the crash. Shortly after making final contact with air traffic control at 9:30 AM, the pilot left the cockpit. At this point, the plane’s altitude was 12,000 meters (38,000 ft)....
10Misunderstanding and Racism Discrimination against albino people has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and yet nothing has been done to stop it until very recently. In 1892, a researcher named Charles Staniland Wake from Chicago was traveling throughout Africa. He studied various tribal cultures and published a book called Memoirs of the International Congress of Anthropologie. While he was on a hunting trip, he was shocked to run into an albino man....
In 1985, the New Orleans Recreation Department held a pool party to celebrate their first summer season of swimming without any drownings. This alone should be alarming to anyone, considering that holding a party simply because no one died on your property this year seems a little unnerving. Regardless, about 100 off-duty lifeguards were present, as well as four active ones—making it one of the safest possible pool parties in existence....
This seemingly endless hole had already been baffling locals for decades. When Waters brought it to the public, it caught the interest of curious minds everywhere and quickly became an urban legend. While some listeners doubted his often outlandish claims, others were captivated and wanted more. Decide what you believe about the legend after reading 10 claims Waters made about Mel’s never-ending hole. 10 Waters Called into a Paranormal Radio Show On February 21, 1997, a man who called himself Mel Waters phoned a well-known late-night radio show that featured paranormal stories called “Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell....
How do these people pull it off? Why would someone do such a thing? What leads to the truth coming out? The following shows that not everyone takes their marriage vows to heart. 10 King Edward IV’s Alleged Secret Marriages And Children King Edward IV is remembered for many things but for mostly his role in the Wars of the Roses. And his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. But there have been many theories that allege that he secretly married another woman before his secret marriage to Woodville....
One of those customs was fighting everyone in sight. A king’s power depended on his ability to win battles and so gain land and treasure to give his supporters. He was obliged to keep fighting. If he didn’t he would find himself out of a job or deprived of his life; probably both. The power of any kingdom was only as solid as the strength of its king in battle....
The origins of Easter celebrations date back to pagan times, when the long, cold European winters finally ended. Many ancient festivals were held around the equinoxes and solstices. Spring was the time when the days suddenly became warmer, the snow melted, and flowers began to bloom, sparking celebrations to mark this time of regrowth and renewal. Easter is also a time of great religious significance for many worshipers around the world, who gather to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection....
However, there are also some truly bizarre festivals that make the barn dance in the hay shed look positively boring. Some are based on traditional ceremonies, others have commercial origins, and a handful are held in support of a good cause. From jumping over babies to mud fights and a parade of all things phallic, here are some of the most unusual festivals from around the world. 10 Boryeong Mud Festival South Korea...
If daring rescues are your thing, then this list has them in spades. Well, three of them, to be exact. There’s also a heartwarming lottery winner story, a semi-royal wedding, and a clever new use for our urine. 10 A Different Kind Of Yellow Brick Road South African students from Cape Town have created the first-ever bio-brick made from human urine. The bricks are odorless, safe, hard as limestone, and, most important of all, can be made at room temperature without the need to power kilns....
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Fascinating Diseases That You Can Smell 10It Still Exists—In Huge Numbers We usually think of leprosy in the context of the Middle Ages or a biblical plague. Leprosy is still around, however, and an estimated two to three million people suffer from leprosy even today. An exact number is impossible to document, as most of the people who contract leprosy are in poor, underdeveloped areas. An estimated one million cases of leprosy affect people in India today, and the number of reported cases are growing in some areas....
