Monsters have always been with us. The oldest stories hint at tales stretching back before the invention of writing. One myth common across Indo-European cultures features a monstrous dragon—and its slaying by a brave hero. More modern monsters often do not offer us the comfort of showing us how to defeat them. They can also

Hacking is a misfortune we’ve had to deal with since even before computers and the Internet came along. We often think of e-mail accounts, websites, and cloud servers when we think of hacking. This is even though hackers can strike plenty of other things, including live television broadcasts. Hackers have been hacking television stations for

Most of us just want to pee and flee the bathroom. Urine does have its fans, though. Scientists are coddling the warm liquid to grow vegetables on Mars and generate electricity from pee-powered batteries. The fluid is also central to several weird moments and studies. From walls that nobody wants to urinate against to advertisements

Prisons are somewhere few want to be, so it’s surprising to learn that people have actually asked judges, police officers, and probation officers to send them to prison. In some cases, these people committed offenses that warranted jail time anyway and just asked the judge to send them to prison or add a few years

“Food fight!” is a call which has echoed through many school playgrounds and dining halls throughout history. However, this seemingly childish waste of food is not restricted to juveniles. In many cultures around the world, a food fight has been part of end-of-harvest traditions and a fun way to dispose of inedible food. Other events

The right item at auction can bring instant wealth. Where there is a chance to make quick money, things often turn controversial, strange, or utterly dark. Renowned auctioneers are accused of peddling stolen artifacts, artists destroy their work after a sale, and scientists lose valuable fossils to private collectors. Auctions also prove that whale hunting,

Everything you come in contact with has its own story. Familiarity has drained some items of any interest. However, when looking at even the most mundane things, there is almost always something surreal. Just because that item is banal doesn’t mean that its history is. The people behind even the most mundane things lived lives

We all love a good festival. Community gatherings to celebrate everything from the coming of spring to a good harvest or religious milestones have occurred around the world since man first learned how to party. Many of these events are time-honored traditions, steeped in history and local custom. Modern festivals celebrating food, music, and culture

We are all taught when we are young that stealing is wrong, but at the same time, most of us can understand why people steal the things they do. When thieves take money, gold, drugs, or any of the other common choices, they are doing so in hopes of becoming rich. On the other hand,

According to legend, the first emperor of Japan took the Chrysanthemum Throne in 660 BC. Since Emperor Jimmu’s ascension, some 126 emperors are counted to have ruled Japan, although some early emperors might have only been legendary figures. Historically, the role of the emperor has alternated between being a public symbol and a powerful monarch.

Smell is most ephemeral of senses. We can easily imagine how the past looked, but rarely do we think about how it smelled. Given the lack of hygiene for much of human history, perhaps that is for the best. But for as long as there have been bad smells, humans have been trying to cover

There are many things around us that we think work but actually do nothing, like that hotel thermostat. It’s essentially a placebo, intended to trick you into thinking you’re controlling the temperature in your hotel room. Now you know why you always feel hot despite adjusting the thermostat several times. There is no single reason

There’s something tantalizing about archaeology. It’s like watching a Sherlock Holmes mystery being solved right before our eyes. The clues are all there, buried under the ground. We just need to go and find them. Archaeology is sometimes seen as the “poster boy” of history by other historians. Its flashy discoveries often steal the limelight,

Charles Darwin used his theory of natural selection to explain evolution. That is, organisms are able to adapt and survive in their environment better than their predecessors did. These organisms pass their most favorable features to their offspring, which continue the cycle. However, technology is already interfering with natural selection—at least in humans. Almost every

Ted Kaczynski, known to most as the Unabomber, was a genius who used his talents to construct and plant bombs that would lead the FBI around in circles for 17 years.[1] He was a mathematician-turned-ecoterrorist who used threats to get his 35,000-word manifesto published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. According to

Although many of the procedures we perform on animals are for their own welfare, other times, we might just cut off a body part because it looks good. (Or we humans like to think so, at least!) Putting things in animals (or taking them out) can also make the critters more manageable. Or make us

Iron swirls at the center of the Earth and even in our blood. The metal also resides within mysteries like Earth’s disappearing iron and the ancient Chinese potters who created a rare variant that no modern laboratory can. Iron’s reputation might be dull, but it turns up in strange places in ways that are spectacular—from

For those outside of a religion, there are certain aspects of faith that will always be hilarious no matter how seriously believers take them. Religion is impenetrable to reason. However, even within a religion, there can be debates among the faithful. These might strike outsiders as funny, but to those in the middle of them,

Slavery is one of the most controversial topics out there today. Although we all agree it was terrible, we probably never learned enough about it in school. Slavery was much more complicated than we think, and contrary to what most people believe, it was not all about blacks. Whites were also kept as slaves. Nevertheless,

Many people who only encounter the Greek and Roman myths as children never learn just how weird some of them are. In the versions told to young people, the gods can be capricious and cruel, but the darker aspects of their actions are often hidden. Zeus’s sexual conquests alone could fill a book with bizarre

Not every sound we hear around us is what we think it is. Some are created specifically to play on our imaginations and beliefs. This often happens, for example, when we consider a specific sound as an indicator of the quality or effectiveness of a product. Manufacturers know this, too, and often engineer the noises

Islands remain a mainstay for vacationers and romance novelists. Beyond stress relief and imaginary heroes, islands are complex worlds. There are mysterious places that challenge experts with artificial islands and unknown rituals. Islands are also mass graves and the ocean’s trash bins—to a horrifying degree. Then there are the hills where sheep carry cameras for

Human history is filled with dark, depressing stretches of misery and suffering. It should be treated with reverence and awe. Yet, most of it is hilarious. Plenty of historical and cultural milestones only began when one joke spun out of control. The lives of millions of people were shaped just because one person wanted to

Famous fiction authors have the ability to tell stories like nobody else. They create amazing worlds filled with exciting characters that are part of an incredible story, and millions of readers are drawn in, hanging on every word. Some authors find inspiration through their own experiences, though, that are much stranger than fiction. In the

Most zoo visits happen without incident, but sometimes, things go wrong. Visitors scale enclosure walls, and chimpanzees lure people closer for bad reasons. However, it is when zoos close for the day that things truly get weird. From strange thefts and maulings to bizarre drills, this behind-the-scenes strangeness cannot beat the time when three zoos

If the week has got you down, this list might help lift your spirits. We looked at all the positive, inspiring, and amusing stories that made the headlines over the last few days and put them into one list. It goes well with a side of offbeat quirkiness. Music plays an important role in this

Everyone should have a hobby, they say. According to psychological studies, hobbies help us to deal with stress, develop friendships, and build a life-work balance.[1] Sometimes, hobbies can even make us appear more attractive to others or be used to spice up an otherwise boring CV. Initially, hobbies tend to be undertaken purely for the

The notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy was convicted of the sex-related murders of 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978. He was sentenced to death and executed for 12 of those killings. Investigators eventually found the bodies of many victims buried in the crawl space beneath Gacy’s home. By day, he appeared

More often than not, a bride’s wedding day is one that has been dreamed of and meticulously planned for years, perhaps even dating back to childhood. Such treasured and idyllic ceremonies are expected to be flawless, with the blissful newlyweds riding off into the sunset, cheered on by their adoring guests. The following ten ceremonies,

When looking for the ick factor, old teeth are the best. Nothing beats scores of cavity-ridden teeth inside the subway or fangs stitched into a Stone Age purse. As curious as gruesome finds are, ancient teeth are not just about the gore. In recent times, they rewrote Egyptian jobs, proved that dinosaurs migrated, and finally