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10Joan of Arc’s Epilepsy Joan of Arc is famous today for using divine guidance to fight against invading English armies during the Hundred Years War. However, the fact that Joan claimed that heavenly voices inspired her actions has caused many modern researchers to suggest more organic causes. Namely, epilepsy. Joan of Arc may have suffered from a particular type of epilepsy called idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features, or IPEAF. She claimed to have heard and occasionally saw saints like St....

As we come to the close of another year I always look forward to the year in pictures put together by many of the television networks. It gives us a chance to remember the year’s triumphs and tragedies and to also look forward to the year ahead. I thought it might be interesting to go back in time and look at what the year in pictures might have looked like 100 years ago....

10 The Sunni/Shia Split In AD 632, things must have been looking pretty rosy for Islam. The outcast sect had swept through Mecca, uniting the entire Arabian peninsula. Muhammad’s clan was strong, they had God on their side, and there were fresh lands for conquering. Then Muhammad died without naming an heir, and everything went to hell. Between all his conquering and religion-founding, Muhammad hadn’t found time to father a son....

10 Whirling Logs Similar in design to the swastika, a symbol known as the “whirling log” has been used by Native Americans in the US Southwest for centuries, dating back to at least the time of the mysterious and ancient Anasazi. In Navajo myth, the symbol depicts the tale of the whirling log (or “Tsil-ol-ni”), in which an outcast faces troubling times as he travels down a river in a hollow log....

Many might fear that losing limbs would limit their abilities to do many things. However, throughout history, there have been many people who have had fulfilling, fun, limitless, and incredible lives without the use of their limbs. The stories of these limbless legends exemplify how amazing and courageous the human spirit can be when given the toughest of odds. 10 Kittie Smith Born in October 1882, Katherine “Kittie” Smith was the third child of a poor Chicago family....

10 Arctic Oil Drillers Summer ice over the Arctic has plummeted in mass by 40 percent over the last decades. Most of us are worried how this will affect the climate, sea levels, and polar bears, but many drillers are chomping at the bit waiting for the ice to melt so they can get access to underground oil. The US Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds 47 trillion cubic meters (1,670 trillion cubic ft) of natural gas and 13 percent of Earth’s undiscovered crude oil, the equivalent of 90 billion barrels....

10 Space Object 2014-28E In 2014, Russia launched three military satellites on the same rocket, which isn’t an uncommon occurrence. What wasn’t common was when something originally thought to have been a piece of debris started to maneuver in space. Given the designation 2014-28E by NASA, the object moved around and then settled into a position near the upper stage of the rocket that had launched it. Russia then updated their launch details to include a fourth satellite....

10 Walter Francis WhiteSouthern US Racism Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1893, Walter Francis White grew up as a witness to some horrible things. When he was 12 years old, he saw the unfolding of a race riot that engulfed the city, killing and injuring hundreds of people. The experience not only shaped his childhood, but his future career as a journalist. Light-skinned and blue-eyed, White was in a unique position....

10Lincoln’s Last Breaths May Have Saved Others For Years To Come Dr. Charles Leale, the doctor who initially treated Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre after he was shot, performed a then-unconventional treatment on the dying president: mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Although it was considered an acceptable treatment in some places in the 1700s, mouth-to-mouth was no longer in fashion in the 1800s. Doctors of the time believed it went against the will of God to bring someone back from the dead....

Let’s start with a funny one, shall we? If you haven’t seen it, you should, because it was unjustly panned by the critics (they don’t know good movies, especially comedy), so you know it’s good! Leibman plays the alcalde (mayor) of a small Mexican town, and he’s ruthless beyond belief. Everything he does, from masked balls to torturing the innocent “pipples” is sent up hilariously over the top, and he’s an absolute riot with every line....

No matter how you feel about it, though, cool uses for snow and ice are limited only by our imaginations. Here are 10 of the most mind-blowing and entertaining uses we have today. 10 Snow Can Be Turned Into Drinking Water If you ever are in desperate need of drinking water or just want to have some fun, having snow on the ground could come in handy. To make drinking water from snow is not as simple as just letting it melt....

10 The Diamond Oceans Of Neptune And Uranus At the outer edges of the solar system lie two icy gas giants, Neptune and Uranus, both of which may play host to incredible diamond oceans. Beneath their atmospheres, both planets have similar mantles made up of water, ammonia, and methane ices. Due to their massive weights, their mantles are under a colossal amount of pressure where the temperature ranges between 1,727 degrees Celsius (3,141 °F) and 4,727 degrees Celsius (8,541 °F)....

Top 10 Creepy Cursed Objects 10 The Swansea Devil How far would you go if you missed out on getting a job? Would you anonymously post one-star reviews about the company that snubbed you? Maybe you’d stalk and harass the guy or gal who got the job instead of you? Maybe you’d set a creepy carving of Satan opposite the company building with a curse that foretold the destruction of the place?...

Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher/writer, and is considered one of the main founders of modern political science. Since the sixteenth century, generations of politicians remain attracted and repelled by the cynical approach to power posited in The Prince and his other works. Whatever his personal intentions, which are still debated today, his surname yielded the modern political word Machiavellianism—the use of cunning and deceitful tactics in politics. Machiavelli studied the way people lived and aimed to inform leaders how they should rule and even how they themselves should live....

As a means of torturous capital punishment, death by wild beasts was a punishment for enemies of the state, a category which included those taken prisoner and slaves found guilty of a serious crime. These were sent to their deaths naked and unable to defend themselves against the beasts. Even if they succeeded in killing one, fresh animals were continually let loose on them, until the bestiarii were all dead....

Within a cell, there is a structure called a chromosome, which contains proteins and DNA. There are normally 23 pairs of chromosomes. Mutations appear when there is a change in the sequence of DNA. Mutations are essential because, without them, evolution can’t take place. Mutations are caused by three things: 1) an error in replication when cells divide, 2) exposure to chemical or physical agents such as radiation, tobacco, or chemicals, and 3) viral infections....

There are easy, “walk in the park” type hikes worldwide, but we aren’t focused on that type of hike today (because what fun would that be?). Instead, we are looking around the world at some especially extreme trails. All the trails below have beautiful views, sure. But they are also treacherous and can sometimes be fatal. All the hikes on our list would take serious guts even to attempt. Make sure you have proper hiking boots, hydration, and a good compass along the way as we navigate the 10 most dangerous hikes in the world!...

10 The Library Of Alexandria Was Destroyed The Library of Alexandria was possibly the greatest institution of knowledge in history. It was also the first library to allow almost universal use: Scholars from all walks of life were allowed to study its contents. But centuries of looting and censorship destroyed this great library, not Julius Caesar as many believe. Its complete destruction stretched over a long period of time. First was the attack by Julius Caesar, which probably didn’t do much harm to the library....

10Promises! Promises! (1963) Even the most reserved individual can vividly remember the sexiest scenes they have seen in the cinema. From Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High to Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan, sex has spiced up film forever. Of course, it had to start somewhere. Nudity has been a part of cinema since its inception, but for a long time, filmmakers had to wrestle with restrictive morality-based policies such as the Hays Code....

Sometimes, admirers morph into demented stalkers. Powerful criminals want trophy girlfriends. And owning a pageant title is no protection during robberies or when these women face violence for standing up for their beliefs. 10Monica SpearMiss Venezuela Venezuela is famous for its crop of Miss Universe winners—seven of them in all. Venezuela also has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The lovely and sultry Monica Spear won the Miss Venezuela crown in 2004 and proudly went on to represent her nation at the 2005 Miss Universe....