As one can imagine, there have been a number of fatal ballooning accidents, many of which have received little to no media coverage. These horrifying deaths fuel the fear of flight for many of us, but others respond with increasing curiosity for aerial views of popular vacation destinations. Here are ten of these horrific balloon accidents. 10 1785 Calais Crash In 1783, Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier became the first person to ever ascend in a hot-air balloon....

Top 10 Human Sideshow Freaks 10 Cat Burning The people of medieval Europe associated cats with all kinds of wickedness. Burning “witches” was acceptable, and burning cats, which were associated with them, actually became a tradition in some areas. In Paris, a pyre was erected on the eve of Saint John’s day for the purpose of burning dozens of cats alive (and occasionally a fox, depending on the mood.) The king would be in attendance, and would even hold a feast after the cats were incinerated....

In the same vein as the well-known classics, these urban legends have been carried over from one generation to the next. They will likely continue to scare our children’s children for a while yet. 10 El Silbon As told in Venezuela and Colombia, El Silbon is a tale about a creature that has been damned to roam the Earth carrying a bag of bones. The creature was once a little boy who lived with his parents in Venezuela....

10 Must-See Animated Short Films 10 Alone Time (2014) This 2014 horror-thriller directed by Rob Blackhurst tells the story of a young woman named Ann, who is feeling a bit overwhelmed by her busy and fast paced day-to-day life in New York City. Feeling constantly stressed at work and at home, Ann decides to go on an impromptu hiking trip all by herself, in an attempt to get some quiet and recharge her batteries....

During the decomposition process, the compost heap produces a considerable amount of heat, reaching around 66–82 degrees Celsius (150–180 °F). From culinary feats to matters of green energy, people have come up with imaginative ways to make the most of the heat from their compost heaps. We know that compost enriches our soil, but here are some other ways it can enrich our lives. So kick back, brew yourself a cuppa compost tea (don’t), and enjoy the ingenuity of some of our compost pioneers....

Representing your country at the international level is like walking a tightrope. Cultural differences, language barriers, and social mix-ups can quickly turn fruitful discussions on their head. And that’s putting aside any existing political grievances. While diplomats are supposed to diffuse international tensions, occasionally they end up becoming the source of a diplomatic incident themselves. From drunken mishaps to vehicular manslaughter, let’s take a look at just some of the most astonishing diplomatic screw ups....

Richie Havens Jan 1941 Havens is a folk singer/guitartist best known for his performance at the original Woodstock. He is also known for his unusual method of using open D tuning and fretting all strings which creates an intense rhythmic style. Also heard on some song recordings is a unique drumming sound which is actually his foot tapping. He had moderate fame when he reached the Billboard charts in the 70’s but until then had maintained a fairly local success within his Greenwich Village scene....

10 We Found The Building Blocks For Life On One Of Saturn’s Moons Orbiting Saturn is one of the strangest moons in existence. Enceladus is a ball of ice about the size of England that was ignored for years in favor of its more exciting big brother, Titan. Then, in 2005, NASA’s Cassini-Huygens spacecraft photographed gigantic jets of water exploding out Enceladus’s poles. Suddenly, little Enceladus began to look mighty interesting....

10 A Super-Evolved Mosquito In The Underground Aboveground in London, the mosquitoes behave just like those in any other big city: mostly feeding off birds, hibernating in winter, and requiring a lot of space to reproduce. But venture down to London’s underground rail network, and you might find a much scarier mosquito on the prowl. First documented just after World War II, the London Underground mosquito evolved in the specific conditions of the subterranean tunnels and trains, meaning that it developed a taste for human blood....

Full title: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or more simply, the Baltimore Basilica, was the first major Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States. It was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who also was enlisted by Thomas Jefferson to design the Capitol Building. Construction began in 1806 and was completed in a relatively short period of 15 years in 1821....

Top 10 Celebrity Deaths That Never Happened Since the virus began sickening people in China in 2019, there have been thousands of recorded deaths, and some of those people who died have been celebrities, performers, politicians, and the like. While every death is a tragedy, these ten, presented in no particular order, are notable people for what they gave society during their lifetimes, and like so many others, they will be missed....

Every Olympic Games has met with some form of contention or drama, from small spats to outright violence to clandestine long-term schemes. And with no truly neutral third party (no unaligned nation just volunteers to sit this one out and referee), disputes can last a long time or even go unresolved entirely. As a result, the Olympic Games go perpetually hand in hand with scandal. Here are ten of the best/worst Olympics scandals of all time....

How is it even possible to be stateless when everyone was born and probably living in a country? There are many reasons. In the rarest of instances, some people renounce their citizenship. Others are denied citizenship by their countries or just lose it after failing to meet some requirements. Then there is one special class of people who become stateless because their country no longer exists. 10 Vasily Babina Vasily Babina, 58, only realized that he was still a citizen of the Soviet Union in February 2017, 26 years after the republic collapsed and split into several states....

Romas Kalanta Romas Kalanta (February 22, 1953 – May 14, 1972) is considered a national hero of Lithuania, and is the subject of several books. Romas Kalanta set himself on fire in a public place in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas on May 14, 1972, in protest of the oppression of the Lithuanian language, culture and people by the government of the Soviet Union. At the time it was very difficult to tell the western world about this oppression, as the Soviet government made foreign communications nearly impossible....

10 Battle Of Bunker Hill In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought as an offshoot of the Siege of Boston. The Americans learned of the British plan to occupy the high ground (which would allow them to control Boston Harbor), so the Americans fortified the hills themselves in preparation. When British Major General William Howe realized this, he ordered his ships to launch a bombardment against the position, but they made little progress....

See Also: 10 Things Rich People Do That You Don’t 10 Jaylen Bledsoe Jaylen Bledsoe is a child genius who, at the age of 17, is already the CEO of his own IT company by the name of Jaylen D. Bledsoe Group. The company was last valued at 3.5 million dollars and aims to partner with big brands and celebrities to promote and expand their brand names. Since then he has also started the ‘Young Entrepreneur University program for teenagers....

10 Princess Mako Of Japan It was announced in May 2017 that Japan’s Princess Mako is engaged to a man she met while studying at the International Christian University in Tokyo. Since her fiance, Kei Komuro, is a commoner, their engagement means that Mako must now give up her royal title in accordance with Japanese imperial law.[1] With Japan’s Emperor Akihito hinting that he is considering abdicating soon, Mako’s decision has sparked intense debate about the Japanese line of succession....

SEE ALSO: 10 Strange Societies You’ve Probably Never Heard Of Freemasons are commanded not to testify truthfully when another Mason is on trial. They admit that it may be perjury, but to them, it is a far greater sin to not protect one of their own.
Though some members deny it to the public, the Freemasons have at least one secret masonic handshake. Supposedly, there are even phrases a Freemason can utter when facing grave danger – causing other members to rush to their aid....

Scientists continuously study animals and their unique qualities and find ways to apply those qualities to problems humans face every day. This includes utilizing our most intelligent and trainable animals but also the evolved chemical traits of smaller, lesser-known animals. So, here are ten ways animals help us out that you may never have realized even existed. 10 Keyhole Limpet Proteins Keyhole limpets are sea snails with, wide, conical shells that feature a small hole at the top, and they have a secret superpower....

Circleville, which is smack-dab in the middle of Ohio in Pickaway County, is not the kind of place that ever makes the news. Some might call it boring; others might call it quaint. However, from 1976 until 1993, the town of Circleville was haunted by a poison pen writer who ruined several families and kicked off one of the strangest unsolved mysteries in US history. Top 10 Curious Letters Linked To A Crime...