However, a small number of people have been lucky enough to have a preternatural warning of upcoming death—assuming, of course, that “lucky” is the right word to describe the situation. These omens of doom are sometimes attached to families and have a history. Others are single occurrences. None are generally welcomed. 10 Eglinton’s Observation Archibald William Montgomerie, more commonly known as the 13th Earl of Eglinton and 1st Earl of Winton (1812–1861), is said to have been well-known and liked by his fellow countrymen....

The WBC does more picketing than praying. While they are known for their hatred of homosexuals, they have also protested the Southern Baptist Convention, Comic-Con, Kansas City Chiefs football games, and Broadway musicals. Even the Ku Klux Klan has denounced the WBC. Here are ten weird facts about the church so terrible that even the KKK wants nothing to do with them. 10 They Hate Christians, Too The WBC website claims the Assembly of God, Methodists, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches have abandoned God....

Before airplanes, cameras, and Google, most people had never seen an elephant. If they wanted to know what an elephant looked like, their only option was to ask someone who had—and they pretty much had to believe whatever they heard. Sometimes, they wrote those crazy answers down—and for nearly 2,000 years, people around Europe just accepted these things as true. 10 Elephants Constantly Fight Dragons The Greeks and the Romans were fascinated by elephants....

You probably weren’t expecting to read some of the items in that last sentence, but not all beaches are the same. Some have very unique qualities. Here are ten of the most unusual beaches on Earth to plan your next holiday around. 10 Hidden Beach Algar de Benagil in Portugal is one of the highlights of the Algarve coast. Someone walking by on the cliffs above might notice the hiss and rush of waves but not know where the sound is coming from....

His army was certainly ferocious. Soldiers of the defeated armies were not destined for a happy end. They were often beheaded, disemboweled, or occasionally even forced to swallow molten metal. Whole cities were razed, and prisoners were slain or made to march in front of the army to act as a shield. However, though his name is now synonymous with barbarity, Genghis Khan was a leader with some surprising qualities....

Over the last 100 years, though, almost all of those empires fell. Revolutions around the world have cast out the people who once held that power, stripped them of their wealth, and left them to fend for themselves. Today, heirs to those empires live in ways that are incredibly humbling—and a little bit strange. 10 The Last King Of Rwanda Lives Off Food Stamps In Virginia King Kigeli, the last king of Rwanda, ruled his nation for a mere nine months before a Hutu revolt in 1959 forced him into exile....

There are many false stories about times that results were changed because of a single vote. They usually serve as warning tales. But not all of them are false. Below are 10 verifiable examples of times when a single vote was powerful enough to change the outcome. 10 Family Matters The phrase “Get out to vote” is a staple of any election, one that all politicians will repeat countless times throughout their campaigns....

The bar for investigating outspoken citizens is now dangerously low. In 2016 alone, the British cops quizzed over 3,000 people for posting “offensive” remarks online. The London mayor has introduced the Online Hate Crime Hub, set to cost around $2 million for two years’ worth of service. And misogynistic acts, including “whistling” and “sexually explicit language,” are set to become hate crimes. This is merely the tip of the iceberg....

See Also: 10 Heartbreaking Backstories Of Famous Sideshow Freaks While this may, ordinarily, be an admirable sentiment, it can cause performers to keep going when they know they are unwell, or prevent others from calling for help, if they think that a colleague is in difficulty. And while death is usually something that usually interrupts the normal activities of those who witness it, and rightly so, many performers will carry on regardless even if death occurs in front of them, not out of callous disregard, but because of the unbreakable doctrine of ‘the show must go on’ Here are 10 performers for whom the show went on too long....

The slow creatures can also get a little creepy. They hide inside humans and, thanks to the military, have evolved into things that include cyborg spy snails. 10 Strange Survival Mystery Hahajima Island of Japan is home to a fragile snail. All right, “fragile” in the sense that it is really tiny—around 0.25 centimeters (0.1 in). A thumb can easily crush Tornatellides boeningi. When researchers recently collected bird feces on the island, they found that it contained snail shells....

See Also: 10 Times Santa Claus Was More Naughty Than Nice 10 The Christmas Book Flood: Iceland Iceland became independent from Denmark in 1918 but didn’t become a fully-fledged republic until 1944. Unyielding import restrictions, inflation and rations during the Great Depression led to a shortage of many products in the country. The only product that was easily imported was paper, which led to books being the gift of choice each Christmas....

10 The Sneaker Sneak In 1979, David Dickson got court-martialed for a curious string of offenses. While stationed at a US Army base in Korea, he stole white sneakers from a number of different women. His motives were neither monetary nor malicious. Dickson simply had an insatiable lust for women’s white sneakers. Years later, that proclivity got him tried for murder. On November 30, 1984, 20-year-old Deborah Wilson was working late on a project in a Drexel University computer room in Philadelphia....

We have a lot of nice tales for you this week. There is “The Fisherman and the Baby,” “The Mermaid Who Saved the Cow,” and that all-time classic “The Smiley Face of Galaxy Cluster SDSS J0952+3434.” There’s also good news about the ozone layer, a possible flu vaccine, and the fate of whale sharks. 10 Do Llamas Hold The Holy Grail Of Influenza? A medical team from the Scripps Institute in California has found an unlikely ally in the fight against the flu—the llama....

10 Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone Discovered in 1872 buried close to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, the eponymous mystery stone is dark, smooth, egg-shaped, and about 10 centimeters (4 in) tall and 6.4 centimeters (2.5 in) wide. On its surface are a number of carved symbols and images, including a face, ears of corn, and a teepee, among other unknown images. Questions have emerged regarding the stone: Who made it? And what is it?...

10 Bobo Gets A Beating In 1961, Albert Bandura’s landmark experiment showed that children could learn aggressive or violent behaviors simply by being exposed to them. This contradicted the prevailing view that learning required rewards or punishment. Bandura worked with three groups of nursery school children. The first group watched an adult showing aggressive behavior toward an inflatable clown called Bobo, kicking and hitting it. The second group observed a nonaggressive adult, who did not engage with the clown....

10 Ham Common Torture Recently, controversy has centered around the use of torture—or “enhanced interrogation”—to get information from suspected terrorists. But it’s not a new tactic. As part of World War II’s Operation Fortitude—the plan to deceive the Germans about the D-day landing location—the SIS (British Intelligence) held 19 German agents in a cellar in a home in Ham Common. The German agents were “turned” into double agents through sleep deprivation and gross physical and mental abuse that was in direct violation of the Geneva Convention....

10 Mousers Cats were first domesticated for their appetite for mice and rats. Today, the average pet owner is content to have kitty do little more than nap, but the cat still possesses a fierce hunting instinct. Those who allow their cats to roam outside will often attest to receiving “gifts” on the welcome mat, the corpses of birds and rodents their pet has hunted down. Even today, cats are employed to kill off rats and mice at such places as Disneyland and the State Hermitage Museum in Moscow, Russia....

Many of these works still speak to us today and elicit powerful emotions. Sometimes, though, the images that were meant to evoke reverence bring a smile to our lips. These are not one-offs done by dodgy artists but typical, if offbeat, symbols used to depict saints. Here are ten images of saints that are just downright weird. 10 St. Bartholomew’s Skin St. Bartholomew, one of the apostles of Jesus, had quite the exciting life after the crucifixion....

Recognized since at least Ptolemy’s time, Jason’s ship “Argo” has occupied a large portion of the southern hemisphere’s summer/fall sky. It has been divided into the constellations of Carina (the keel), Vela (the sails), Puppis (the stern or poop deck) and Pyxis (the compass). Canopus, alpha Carinae, is the second brightest star in the sky (second to Sirius). Argo Navis represents the 50-oared galley in which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to fetch the golden fleece from Colchis in the Black Sea....

Probably better known as WCW wrestler Raven, Levy studied criminal justice at the University of Delaware and originally wanted to be a lawyer. He has a reported IQ of 143. Star of over 250 hardcore adult movies, Carrera has an IQ of 156. Before her successful porn career, at the age of 13 she played piano at Carnegie Hall and later attended Rutgers University. Jeffrey is a young actor who does a lot of voiceover work....