10 Lupercalia Forget not, in your speed, Antonio, To touch Calphurnia; for our elders say, The barren, touched in this holy chase, Shake off their sterile curse. –Shakespeare, Julius Caesar The Lupercalia ritual took place in February each year. Plutarch’s Life of Romulus describes the ceremony: Two young noblemen would be taken, and two goats would be sacrificed. The bloody dagger would be touched to the men’s foreheads, and then the mark would be wiped off with milk....

Some of this indexing isn’t that insidious, more like business as usual. The federal government has over 24 agencies such as the IRS, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Social Security Administration, etc., that keep records on U.S. citizens. But for more clandestine endeavors, our government engages in advanced spying techniques and surveillance to keep tabs on us. This means they keep lists upon lists of notable individuals. And any one of us can land on these lists for a myriad of reasons....

After the Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan planet of Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a truce, the Federation soon discovers that the Romulans are planning an attack on Earth. Star Trek: Nemesis is the final installment of the Star Trek: The Next Generation film franchise, and also the final Star Trek film featuring an original cast. It’s full of action, its characters are still interesting, and the plot is intriguing....

While he may have coined the term, Hitchcock wasn’t the only one to use MacGuffins. They have been around for a long time, especially in some incredible works of fiction. Here are the 10 greatest MacGuffins from some of the greatest movies ever made. Spoiler Alert: We do tell you about some things that happen in these movies. If you haven’t seen them, tread carefully. Be especially careful of entry one about Citizen Kane because we tell you how the movie ends....

Being impaled on rods, spikes, fences, or branches is a truly horrific experience. Humans are fragile beings, and there is really nothing preventing you from becoming a human shish kebab. So prepare yourself to be faced with the stomach-churning reality. 10 Phineas Gage At 25 years old, Phineas Gage was working as a US railroad construction foreman when something tragic happened while making way for a new railway. He was using a tamping iron to push down explosives into a rock in which a hole had been drilled....

Ancient China was no exception. Unless you were a male born into a wealthy family of high status and influence, you were likely to endure a miserable existence if you managed to live past infancy. China has one of the most elaborate and captivating histories and cultures you may ever study. However, it was still an unbearable struggle just to survive for the majority of people in ancient China....

10Simon The Guide Dog In September 2013, visually impaired Dave Furakawa was walking his four-year-old son Will to school when a red Chrysler careened through an intersection. It ignored a stop sign and bore down on father and son. All might have been lost if not for Simon, Furakawa’s boxer guide dog. Simon and Dave were struck, but witnesses say the dog rose from the pavement and pushed little Will out of the way....

It’s not uncommon to read usually unfortunate stories of man’s encounters with wildlife. Sometimes our paths cross quite unintentionally, often with hilarious results. However, some stories are so bizarre that they prompt not only a good laugh but many social media shares. From rampaging seagulls to bears from above, sushi-stealing penguins, and a snakebite victim’s ultimate revenge, here are some of the funniest wildlife stories which have recently made the news....

The reality is much different. Historical events and people are puzzles that have been pieced together with any scrap of evidence that historians can find. Letters, maps, books, diaries—these all contain clues to what actually happened or what someone was really like. Our views of the past and its people are always changing and always controversial. In the 10 cases below, the sexuality of these people may be more complex than you think....

10The Queen’s Speech Documents released by England in 2013 after the 30-year rule had elapsed uncovered a planned speech for Queen Elizabeth II in the event of World War III. The speech, prepared by civil servants in 1983, was part of a NATO exercise code named “Wintex-Cimex 83,” meaning “Winter Exercise—Civil-Military Exercise.” The exercise was intended to see how prepared the West was if a nuclear war suddenly began. The address, written as if to be broadcast on March 4, 1983, showed how seriously the British took the nuclear war threat of the Russians during the Cold War....

No matter how many times we learn about the scandalous side of history, there’s always a bit more. And each time, it seems like we barely scratched the surface. Way too often, history books present a sanitized, clean version which is not only boring but also inaccurate. 10 Wives Were Sold In England During The Industrial Revolution Industrial Revolution–era England had a lot of unhappy marriages, but divorce was a long and expensive process which wasn’t available to the lower classes....

Sometimes they are destroyed and all evidence of even the plot is removed. Other times the houses are demolished and new ones are built in their place. Some just get left where they are, a tourist attraction for those with morbid curiosity. Below are ten examples of ‘Houses of Horrors’ and what became of them after their residents left. Top 10 Incredibly Surreal Places on Earth 10 Pier Mie Vampez Thassos is a beautiful Greek island in the Northern Aegean sea, famous for its clear waters and the traditional, simple life-style of its locals....

In some cases, physical stores have adopted online shopping techniques. But the most interesting innovations are often services that online retailers can’t provide. As you’ll see, these shopping centers are getting more than simple makeovers. They’re undergoing revolutionary transformations. 10 Crime-Fighting Robots Following the mass shooting of students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, Knightscope was founded. A Silicon Valley company dedicated to autonomous security data machines, Knightscope uses robots to collect and transmit information to law enforcement agencies and security firms....

If that sounds extreme, just check out these 10 insane cases of genetic engineering. Spider silk has approximately a million and a half uses, and we’re finding more every day. Due to its incredible strength in relation to size, it’s been researched for use in bulletproof vests, artificial tendons, bandages, even computer chips and fiber optic cables for surgery. But harvesting enough silk requires tens of thousands of spiders and a lot of waiting time, not to mention the fact that spiders tend to kill other spiders in their territory, so you can’t farm them like, say, bees....

10‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ In 1953, the US and Britain were fed up with Iran. Under Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, the country was about to nationalize the oil industry, a move that would damage British interests. The decision was taken for the CIA to oust Mosaddeq in a coup and install the autocratic Shah in place. With such a sensitive operation, it was vital that the CIA keep America’s role hidden—something it failed at to a hilarious degree....

10Todd And Shelly Schupbach After almost giving up on getting pregnant, Shelly Schupbach and her husband, Todd, were blessed with a smiling baby boy, Nash. Their lives were filled with the joy of baby firsts. Then on June 19, 2014, Shelly dropped off her precious five-month-old son at the babysitter’s while she went to work. That was the last time she saw him alive. Todd and Shelly received phone calls at work telling them that Nash had stopped breathing in his sleep....

10The Yakuza Provide Aid To Earthquake Victims The Japanese answer to the Cosa Nostra, the Yakuza are best known for acts like extortion and distributing illegal pornography. But there’s another side to the notorious crime network. In times of crisis, they’re one of the most reliable aid agencies on Earth. In the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Japanese earthquake, the Yakuza were one of the very first responders. Within days, they were dispatching trucks filled with food, water, and blankets to the affected corners of the country....

Beginning its adult life as the capital for the Eastern part of the Roman Empire, the city of Constantinople—later Byzantium, and Istanbul today—became the center of an extremely vibrant society that preserved Greek and Roman traditions while much of Western Europe slipped into the Dark Ages. The Byzantine Empire protected Western Europe’s legacy until barbarism waned, when finally the preserved Greek and Roman masterworks opened the eyes of Europeans and stoked the fires of the Renaissance....

10The Physics Of The Ark In 2014, four physics students from the University of Leicester tested the instructions given in the Book of Genesis for constructing Noah’s ark. They wanted to see if the 300-cubit-long, 50-cubit-wide, 30-cubit-high ark would actually float. A cubit is the length from the tip of a person’s middle finger to their elbow, which the students standardized at approximately 48 centimeters (19 in). That means the ark itself would have been around 145 meters (476 ft) long, 24 meters (79 ft) wide, and 14 meters (46 ft) high....

10 Pegasus and Dragon Thousands of horses have trotted through history, playing a pivotal role in transportation, city development, medical breakthroughs, and warfare. Up until the final battle of WWII, horses were used to pull heavy artillery, transport supplies, and carry brave soldiers onto the battlefield. During the Middle Ages they were trusty steeds to knights. Henry II would not have been able to travel the more than 400 miles to a battle, if not for horses....