The world of science fiction is almost never missing artificial intelligence (AI). However, the rate at which it is being developed and is learning things by itself sometimes raises the question of whether AI is science fiction or something that has already entered our society (and we haven’t even realized it yet). AI has the

The brainchild of entrepreneur and futurist Elon Musk, SpaceX was founded in 2002 as an attempt to rekindle public interest in space exploration and spur funding for NASA. Also, Musk really wanted to launch skyscraper-sized missiles into Earth’s orbit. And honestly, who wouldn’t? The South African–born visionary’s ultimate goal is to enable multiplanetary human existence

Some crimes are so terrible, so grisly, that they sound more like scenes from horror movies than news headlines. With films like Saw and The Human Centipede, that’s a pretty high bar. While not all of the crimes on this list surpass the horror of sewing people together end-to-end, they are nonetheless terrifying enough to

While South Africa undoubtedly has a long, rich, and intriguing history, it also has an equally rich collection of UFO and alien encounters that rival almost anywhere in the world. Furthermore, these sightings have seemingly been increasing steadily since the early 1970s. While some are more credible than others, much like anywhere else in the

There are many reasons why The Simpsons is rightly considered one of the greatest sitcoms (and one of the greatest TV shows period) of all time. It has remained at the forefront of pop culture due to its legacy of excellent storytelling, first-class jokes, and the predictions. So many predictions. Someone on The Simpsons writing

The average person throws away about 3 kilograms (7 lb) of trash a day. While most of us moan and groan about taking out the garbage on Tuesday mornings, some people have found opportunity and even fortune in the trash we discard every day. Have you ever considered looking through your trash—or anyone else’s—for treasure?

Not every fantastic creature comes from fairy tales. Some of the strangest are ones that, 2,000 years ago, explorers insisted were real. When the first natural scientists were trying to catalog every tribe and creature that existed on this Earth, they wrote down some strange things. If you traveled far enough away from civilization, they

On May 5, people around the world will celebrate Cinco de Mayo. People will flood into the bars and the streets with sombreros on their heads and mariachi bands at their sides, showing their deep respect for Mexican culture by getting as drunk as humanly possible. None of which is part of the holiday. As

They say you should never meet your heroes. They’re probably right. We all have ways we like to imagine the people we admire, especially the famous ones. We create personalities for them in our minds, no matter how little we know about them. We even get attached to them—and then get upset when we find

Keeping up with the news is hard. So hard, in fact, that we’ve decided to save you the hassle by rounding up the most significant, unusual, or just plain old mind-blowing stories each week. While much of the world was enjoying the May Day holiday, the gigantic story spinning wheel that is modern-day Washington, DC,

The history of lost libraries inevitably mentions the disappearance of the Great Library of Alexandria, which also remains one of the most frequently debated due to the mystery surrounding its downfall. Multiple conflicting accounts of how the library was destroyed have circulated over the years, ranging from allegations of fire set by Julius Caesar during

The perpetrator known as the Golden State Killer, East Area Rapist, Original Night Stalker, and now also the Visalia Ransacker was arrested on April 24, 2018. Joseph DeAngelo Jr. is alleged to be the man who burglarized 120 homes, raped nearly four dozen victims, and murdered 12 people during a more than decade-long crime spree

We’ve all heard about those wacko conspiracy theories that go around, spread through a never-ending web of rumors and gossip. No one really trusts them, as they seem so far-fetched and frankly pretty unrealistic. But what if some of them were actually true? We’re not saying they’re all true; in fact, most of them aren’t.

Med students have to learn about a vast amount of drugs in medical school and are expected to know about them. You might be surprised how many medicines were actually derived from nature. Many know that aspirin is derived from willow bark, but few realize just how many other medications are derived from plants. A

There’s nothing like sports to remind you how incredibly fragile the human body is. For almost any activity or sport that’s physically demanding, getting hurt is not just a possibility but an eventuality. Baseball players tear their elbow ligaments. Pro football players can recount dozens of concussions—if they haven’t had too many. Athletes who accelerate

“Somebody built the Moon.” This is one radical theory supported by many UFO investigators and ancient astronaut theorists—but one some surprisingly smart people are also supporting these days. Now, before scoffing too loudly, have you ever wondered why we never went back to the Moon after the Apollo missions or why the Russians never followed

For decades, the world has questioned the space exploration narrative propounded by NASA. While this is not widely known, NASA is essentially a military organization, which means that this agency could protect sensitive information under the guise of defending national security. While the evidence seems to suggest that NASA did indeed send human beings to

It’s easy to write off our prehistoric ancestors as idiots. When we think of the Stone Age, we usually think of a couple of big, dumb lugs in caves banging rocks together. But that’s not exactly accurate. Even before we moved into towns and created an alphabet, we could do some pretty impressive things. Prehistoric

Nature is a beautiful thing that we remain endlessly fascinated by, despite our various attempts to move out of it throughout our history. It is also scary and full of things that can kill us. Not only do we have to worry about tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, but there is also the

Prescription drugs have had detrimental impacts on countless men, women, and children suffering from illness. Those who fall victim to the side effects of life-threatening medications may become zombielike and are even prone to drug abuse, addiction, and deadly overdoses. Some patients have gone beyond pharmaceuticals and have tried cannabis (aka marijuana), which has not

In our world, it’s very hard to predict what will happen in the next few years, months, days, hours, minutes, or even seconds. Obviously, if we don’t know what will happen, we can’t prepare for what is to come. However, for some people in perilous situations, preparation for worst-case scenarios would be getting ready like

When we think of the ancient Egyptians, we typically think of Cleopatra or the oh-so-glamorous process of mummification. We do not, however, think of everyday objects and ideas that we use in our lives today. Although some of the biggest modern-day tools are credited to those of later existence, ancient Egyptians were way ahead of

The world has nearly 200 countries. We often hear of unique customs, natural wonders, and remarkable structures that are dotted around the globe. Tourist boards are quick to advertise the exclusive treats they have to offer. But how much do you know about what countries don’t have? Are you ready to embark on a journey

There are at least 500,000 objects orbiting the Earth today. Some estimates put the figure closer to 700,000. More than 21,000 are larger than 10 centimeters (4 in), and these objects pose a threat to future space travel and life on Earth. Many are fragments of artificial satellites that were destroyed when they collided with

They say that beauty is pain, but some fashion trends are so horrifying that they’re actually painful for everyone who sees them. Strange moments in history have created some pretty strange fashions over the years, looks that (hopefully) will never be repeated or ever be seen again now that their time to be trendy has

Hollywood loves a sequel. When a movie is a hit, it’s almost a sure thing that there will be a part two. Sometimes, sequels are even planned early based on the assumption that the first film will succeed. Sequels are moneymaking machines that cash in on name recognition garnered by the original films. Nevertheless, despite

Ever since the revelation that Tyrannosaurus rex (T-rex) may have had feathers, most people seem to have built up a knee-jerk reaction to phrases like “scientifically accurate,” as though learning any more about the tyrant lizard king would ruin their childhood memories of big, scaly, tail-dragging monsters. A more accurate vision of T-rex, the logic

When the Columbine massacre happened 19 years ago, it was Earth-shattering. Teenagers carrying out a mass murder inside a high school was unheard-of; it was almost unimaginable. The news was filled with every detail possible for months afterward. Today, though, mass shootings like Columbine are nearly a daily occurrence. That’s not even an exaggeration. In

Today more than ever, we are hammered by information overload. The more facts thrown at us, the fewer we process and remember. Wouldn’t you love to find a way to cut through the clutter to get to the really good stuff? We believe that Listverse does that for you at least three times a day.

Ring-tailed bandit, masked bandit, night raider, dumpster panda, guardian of the galaxy, or whatever you choose to call them, raccoons can be quite the nuisance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the raccoon a major carrier of the rabies virus in the United States, second only to bats.[1] Raccoons, which can attack if