This Is Exactly What Happens To People Who Dare To Watch Sajid Khan Movies

Sometimes, we face events so traumatic that we go through different stages of emotional turmoil. Sajid Khan is one such event. Every movie that he’s coming out with is breaking new grounds, creating large cracks on those grounds and dragging the standard of Bollywood movies through those cracks underneath the ground. And just when we thought a movie made by a human being couldn’t get worse than ‘Himmatwala’ he produced yet another masterpiece – ‘Humshakals’.  The guys at bollywoodgandu finally decided that enough is enough and somebody needs to send the message to Sajid Khan.

Top 10 Ancient Monuments for Important Women

There are an innumerable amount of ancient structures still standing to this day, such as the Great Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge. However, many of these are dedicated to gods or men, with very few built for the glory of the female gender. Here are ten example of ancient buildings constructed for women.

10. The Mausoleum of Helena

Built during the 360s or 370s, this mausoleum was originally thought to have been built for Emperor Constantius’ sister Constantia, but further research has indicated it was actually meant for his other sister, Helena Augusta. She was the wife of an emperor, although he divorced her to take a more “regal” wife. She was also the mother of Constantine the Great, the first Emperor to convert to Christianity, and was sainted by the Catholic Church as a result. She’s the saint of difficult marriages, as well as divorces. In the ninth century, most of Helena’s remains were transferred to Reims, France because they were considered relics and the sarcophagus in which she was buried was later used in the funeral of Pope Anastasius IV. This was an apparently common practice of the rich families back then. The building itself has survived mostly intact, although the mosaics in the dome were destroyed during a 17th century restoration project. It was also later converted into a church, on the ruins of which now stands Saints Marcellinus and Peter at Two Laurels.

9. The Basilica of Saint Mary Major

Parts of this church date back to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III, who ruled during the 5th century, and it is dedicated to Christ’s mother Mary. It is also the oldest church constructed in her honor, as the construction began only a few short years after she was officially declared to be the Mother of God. There is an old legend told about the church, first mentioned by Friar Bartolomé de Trento in the 13th century: a wealthy and reverent Roman couple wanted to donate money to the Church because they couldn’t have children. The Virgin Mary appeared to them in a dream and told them to build a church on the one place where snow fell that night. Upon waking up, the husband and Pope Liberio, who had the same dream, ventured out to the countryside and started the construction of the church on the spot they found. This is why it is sometimes referred to as “Our Lady of the Snows”. It has undergone numerous renovations and additions but it remains one of the oldest Christian churches in Europe. Though it is technically in Rome, thanks to the 1927 Lateran Treaty, the church enjoys the same status as an embassy for Vatican City.

8. The Tomb of Shangguan Wan’er

Shangguan Wan’er was the granddaughter of a prominent official during the reign of Emperor Gaozong in the 7th century. When Empress Wu Zetian rose to power, Shangguan Wan’er’s grandfather and father plotted to depose her because of their opposition, they were executed with Shangguan Wan’er sent into slavery as punishment. Due to her intellect and talent for poetry and statecraft, Shangguan Wan’er was eventually freed, promoted to the role of Wu Zetian’s personal secretary. She was given the job after being brought to the Empress and told to write an essay from scratch in front of Wu Zetian. A tomb was built in her honor, which, unfortunately, was partially destroyed after her death. The perpetrators were most likely officials acting on the wishes of Emperor Li Longji, who had Shangguan Wan’er executed when he took power, after a lengthy power struggle.

7. Huaca El Brujo

The only entry on this list dedicated to more than one woman, this tomb found in Trujillo, Peru dates back to the Moche people, a matriarchal society in ancient South America. The pre-Hispanic building dates back to at least the 9th century and was found with a number of artifacts, as well as the remains of five children and two adults, who were sacrificed upon the deaths of the priestesses. Climate change due to a massive El Niño, or social unrest contributed to the decline of the Moche people. Another tomb, housing the 1,700-year-old mummy of the Lady of Cao, one of the first female rulers of Peru, was found in a nearby area and is believed to be the earliest example of a Moche mummy. The remains of a second woman were found nearby, possibly there as a human sacrifice.

6. Rachel’s Tomb

Known to Jews as Rachel’s Tomb and to Muslims as the Bilal bin Rabah mosque, this ancient religious site was originally dedicated to Rachel, the Jewish matriarch who gave birth to Joseph, the bearer of the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Considered one of the top three holiest sites in Judaism, it’s located on the outskirts of Bethlehem, within a Muslim cemetery. Women who are trying to get pregnant are one of the main groups who make the yearly pilgrimage to the site. A grave marker was said to have been erected on the site of her burial in the 16th century B.C., with ancient authors describing it as 12 stones, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Some sources say there were only 11 since Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. A small domed building was eventually built over the site, and it was expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries.

5. The Tomb of Shert Nebti

Shert Nebti, otherwise spelled Sheretnebty, was a 5th dynasty Egyptian princess, whose life dates back nearly 4,500 years. Very little is known about her life and no information about either of her parents has ever been found. However, markings indicate her father’s name was King Men Salbo and numerous hieroglyphs express her importance, as well as the officials buried around her tomb. It was found in the burial ground near the famed step pyramid of Saqqara, leading archaeologists to believe a number of tombs still remain hidden in the area, waiting to be discovered, their reasoning that she is buried far away from most of the rulers of that era.

4. The Tomb of Lady K’abel

Lady K’abel was a Mayan queen during the 7th century and is considered perhaps the greatest queen of the Mayan civilization. Her identity had been known for years, due to her appearance on a prominent stone slab, Stela 34 of El Perú. However, her gravesite remained elusive, hidden for nearly 1,400 years until its discovery in 2012. Her name translates as “Lady Waterlily-Hand” or “Lady Snake Lord” and the discovery of her tomb, with all its regal glory, has once again reinvigorated the discussion of women and their role in Mayan society. She did rule with her husband but was considered to have higher authority than he. Another distinguishing feature about the tomb is that it is the one of the only “classical” archaeology finds in the Americas, a site which is also backed up with historical writings.

3. The Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella

Cecilia Metella is believed to have been the daughter of an extremely wealthy family during the 1st century B.C. and her mausoleum is thought to have been built in 50 B.C. Relatively little information about the structure is known, until 850 A.D., when it came into the possession of the Catholic Church. That is perhaps the reason for its relatively good condition, as is the fact that it was incorporated into a castle in the early part of the 14th century. The reason for the opulence of her mausoleum was most likely due to the fact that her husband, as well as her son, were famous generals of Rome, although their power had begun to diminish under Julius Caesar. Her son was actually denied the spolia opima, the traditional Roman spoils of war for victorious generals.

2. Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

This mortuary temple is considered one of the most beautiful examples of its kind and it is dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut. She was a part of the 18th dynasty in Egypt and lived during the 15th century B.C., ruling for nearly 30 years and establishing herself as perhaps the greatest female pharaoh in Egyptian history. It is remarkably well-preserved, although many of the pictographs were destroyed by Hatshepsut’s nephew Thutmose III. Some scholars believe it could have actually been his son Amenhotep II, who may have done it for political reasons. For a number of years, it was used as a monastery and it was also the site of the Luxor Massacre, when 62 people, mainly tourists, were killed by Islamic extremists.

1. Bilikisu Sungbo

Believed by many to be the final resting place of the fabled Queen of Sheba, Bilikisu Sungbo is a burial site located deep in the Nigerian rainforest. (Though the monument wasn’t built until about 1,000 years ago, nearly 2,000 years after the Queen of Sheba is thought to have lived.) In the Jewish faith, she was an extremely powerful queen and she visited King Solomon, drawn by the tales of his wisdom. Biblical tradition also indicates she was black; a fact which seems to lend credence to the belief her grave is located at Bilikisu Sungbo. Whether that is true or not, the power wielded by the woman for whom the monument is built was immense, for it is larger in size than even the largest Egyptian pyramid. However, environmental erosion, as well as encroaching farmers, threaten the continued existence of the site.

Top 10 Most Politically Incorrect Films in Hollywood History

With the release of 2013′s The Lone Ranger, audiences were treated to the latest in a long line of demeaning and politically incorrect depictions of an ethnic minority by Hollywood: Johnny Depp in red-face. From its earliest days, Hollywood populated its films with vicious racial caricatures that disenfranchised people of color by casting white actors as members of other races. Below are ten of the most egregious examples of politically incorrect filmmaking during the classical era of the Hollywood studio system.

10. Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)

Actor Stepin Fetchit may have been the subject of recent re-evaluations that have suggested that his oeuvre may have been more subversive than he was originally given credit for, but his infamous onscreen persona as a lazy, shiftless, borderline-retarded black man was one of the most damning and cringe-worthy creations of classic Hollywood.

In truth, almost any film he appeared in could have had grounds for inclusion on this list, but we’re going with with John Ford’s Steamboat Round the Bend for a couple of reasons. First, Fetchit was a regular member of Ford’s early stable of actors, appearing in many of the man’s films. Second, whereas many of their collaborations, such as Judge Priest and The Sun Shines Bright, utilized Fetchit’s persona in order to condemn racist undercurrents in American society, there is almost no justification for Fetchit’s actions in Steamboat Round the Bend. He shows up, does his hokum shtick, and sticks around almost purely for comedic relief.

9. The Good Earth (1937)

Irving Thalberg’s adaptation of Pearl S. Buck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Good Earth may have been born of the best of intentions, but the resulting film was awash in stereotypes and actors in yellowface. Buck had wanted the film to be made with all Chinese or Chinese-American actors, but Thalberg cast Paul Mini for the lead role.

Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong was considered for the role of Mini’s wife, but the Hays Code’s anti-miscegenation rules made it impossible, forcing the two lead characters of the film to be played by white actors in yellowface. In fact, special techniques were created by legendary make-up artist Jack Dawn to make the slew of Western actors used in the film look ethnically Chinese.

8. Babes in Arms (1939) / Babes on Broadway (1941)

We’re lumping these two films together as one entry because they’re remarkably similar to each other in terms of performers, plot, and ethnic stereotypes. Both films follow Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland as wanna-be performers who join forces to put on their own show. The plots of both films are relatively sparse, devoting most of their run times to energetic song-and-dance numbers.

And while most of these films’ production numbers are charming and non-offensive, both end with massive minstrel show set-pieces where almost the entire cast (Rooney and Garland especially) rub their faces with burnt cork and enact some of the most cringe-worthy blackface stereotypes to ever grace the big screen. While both films feature extensive blackface routines, Rooney goes the extra mile in Babes on Broadway by doing a very “enthusiastic” Brazilian dance number in drag, à la Carmen Miranda.

7. Little Tokyo, U.S.A. (1942)

Otto Brower’s Little Tokyo, U.S.A. is nothing short of despicable anti-Japanese propaganda. The fact that it was made and distributed by a studio as massive as 20th Century Fox is even more astonishing.

The film follows Los Angeles policeman Michael Steele as he uncovers an underground ring of Japanese saboteurs. Incredibly, it seriously suggests that nearly the entire population of Japanese-Americans in Los Angeles are collaborators and that the internment of their real-life counterparts is essential for the security and welfare of the United States.

6. Song of the South (1946)

Notorious for its romanticized depiction of Reconstruction-Era Georgia, complete with an ever-cheerful ex-slave with magical powers named Uncle Remus, Disney’s Song of the South has yet to be released on home video in the United States. A combination of live action footage and animation, the film was a collection of African-American folk tales as told by the aforementioned Uncle Remus to a couple of children whose grandparents were plantation owners. Famous folk tale characters like Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear show up to act out stories in a film which seems insensitive at best, horrifically offensive at worst.

A statement released by the NAACP explained: “The production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery. Making use of the beautiful Uncle Remus folklore, “Song of the South” unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts.”

5. The Conqueror (1956)

Dick Powell’s The Conqueror contains one of the grossest casting miscalculations in Hollywood history: John Wayne as Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. A big-budget epic about Genghis Khan’s rise to power, the film not only contains legions of white actors in yellowface, but it also contains very questionable sexual politics. The film seems to celebrate scenes where Genghis Khan forces himself on women, particularly Bortai, the kidnapped daughter of the Tartar leader. Producer Howard Hughes was reportedly so ashamed of the film that he spent $12 million to purchase all of the copies.

4. The King and I (1956)

Banned in Thailand, Walter Lang’s adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I has been accused of promoting a warped image of King Mongkut of Siam as an arrogant, ignorant tyrant. Additionally, Yul Brynner’s casting as Mongkut was insensitive because, despite his Eurasian heritage, he was not of Thai descent. Combine that with the general theme of the story (a Western woman “civilizing” an Asian ruler), and you have one of the most politically incorrect musicals of the 1950′s.

3. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

The reason why Blake Edwards’ adaptation of Truman Capote’s novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s is remembered as one of the most politically incorrect films of all time can be summarized in two words: Mr. Yunioshi. Played by actor Mickey Rooney (in yellowface), I.Y. Yunioshi was a cantankerous neighbor of protagonist Holly Golightly who pops up from time to time to flail about and shout racist dialogue. Although Edwards, Rooney, and producer Richard Shepherd have since apologized for the character, Mr. Yunioshi will forever be remembered as one of the most insulting characters in cinematic history.

2. Soul Man (1986)

Years before Robert Downing Jr. wore blackface in Tropic Thunder (2008), Hollywood made another film which tried to make comedy out of a white character wearing blackface: Steve Miner’s Soul Man. The film follows a rich young man who takes “tanning pills” to appear black so he can qualify for a scholarship to Harvard available only to African-American students.

The film was attacked and protested by the NAACP which released a statement saying: “”The film makes fun of the things we have to struggle with every day: the jokes, the hassles, the preconceptions and the demands. That notion itself–that some white kid can take a bunch of ‘tanning pills’ and all of a sudden understand all the things we have to deal with–is very offensive to us.”

1. The Love Guru (2008)

Parody is very difficult to pull off correctly. In some movies like Blazing Saddles (1974) and Airplane! (1980), racial stereotypes are evoked and deliberately made fun of. But in the case of Marco Schnabel’s The Love Guru, a Mike Myers vehicle where he plays the “eccentric” Indian Guru Maurice Pitka, the use of racial caricatures can horrifically backfire and result in a movie that is insulting to otherwise marginalized ethnic groups in America. For example, Ben Kingsley, the actor who won an Oscar for his title role in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982), was brought in to play an insulting Hindu stereotype as Guru “Tugginmypudha.” Before the film was even released, it drew ire from the Hindu American Foundation and many Hindu American leaders.

Top 10 Geniuses Who Were Shockingly Horrible People

When someone is remembered as a genius, little else about them as a person is made public. Why would we care that Einstein cheated on his wife like, all the time? The guy invented gravity, he was awesome!

In a similar vein, there are other geniuses from a variety of respective fields that are, or were, straight-up awful people, despite how little attention people pay to that fact. People like …

10. Bobby Fischer

The name Bobby Fischer is synonymous with genius, mainly because he kicked so much ass at chess he brought it back into the mainstream. People who’d never played a game in their life were enthralled by this chess wizard as he stomped all over Russian grandmasters like they were cockroaches made of eggshells.

His influence on the world of chess was so great, that his match with Russian master, Boris Spassky was front page news. Following his victory, the entire US was taken in by what is now colloquially referred to as the “Fischer Boom,” which saw chess receive unprecedented amounts of media attention.

Field Of Awfulness: Anti-America, Anti-Semitism

Despite the fact that Fischer quickly became a media darling following his victory in 1972, and many thousands of Americans cheered his name, Fischer’s stance on America was anything but kind. Claiming that he hated the country he once called home, Fischer was quoted as saying about 9/11, “I applaud the act” and within the same breath, “F**k the US I want to see the US wiped out.”

He was also a raging anti-Semite, to the point even his most die-hard supporters found him repugnant. But boy, was that a good chess game, eh guys?

9. Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf is a name that will likely always be remembered. One, because it’s awesome. Two, because she made some of the greatest contributions to the literary arts in recent history. Basically, if you haven’t read one of her books, chances are you’ve at least heard of one of them, making her more famous than 99% of writers ever.

Field Of Awfulness: Intellectual Superiority, Elitism

Today, her books are studied and read by millions of children. But unless those kids have a trust fund, Woolf would have hated the thought of them reading her work. You see, Woolf was a staunch supporter of the leisure class (In other words, people with enough money to not work) and was quoted as saying that reading and learning should be exclusive to them. Yes, Woolf felt that learning and reading was a special gift that belonged to rich people.

She took class snobbishness a step further in her own home. When her diaries were made public, people combing through them noticed a rather unsettling trend. Woolf loved talking smack about her servants. In her private diaries, she expressed everything from disgust to pity at the people literally cleaning up after her mess. She felt they deserved more, but also believed they’d never be able to enjoy life on as deep a level as she did.

Woolf eventually took to giving all her servants orders via notes she’d leave around the house and, when her orders weren’t followed, she’d note in her diary that this only proved the “inherent stupidity” of the working class. You know, instead of saying something to their faces, like an actual human being would.

8. Richard Dawkins

Dawkins is the guy who came up with the theory of social memes in his book, The Selfish Gene way back in 1976.  The book was an instant classic and is still considered by many as required reading for anyone interested in evolutionary biology or social theory.

However, despite this, Dawkins is mostly known today as the author of The God Delusion, which is a shame. Instead of being known as the guy who developed a massively important theory which helps explain cultural evolution and why we as humans act the way we do, he’s known as the guy who wrote the book on being a turd online.

Field Of Awfulness: Being A Turd Online

Dawkins has a reputation for being a very active and avid user of the Internet. However, rather than use his many years of scientific experience, and his deep knowledge of human and evolutionary biology, to educate people, he’s taken to basically becoming a comment troll.

For example, when Rebecca Watson, the founder of the mega-popular Skepchick blog, attended a conference on skepticism, a random guy cornered her in an elevator and asked her if she’d like to come to his room. At 4 in the morning, meaning he likely did not have movies and board games in mind. Watson firmly told the guy to do one, and wrote about the experience online. In a nutshell, she said that what that guy did was creepy as all hell. Which to be fair, it totally was.

Dawkins, for some unknown reason, then appeared in the comment section of her site and made a wildly sexist and demeaning comment addressing a fictional Muslim woman called “Muslima.” Essentially, he said that Watson’s experience was trivial in comparison to other things that are happening in the world, so she had no right to complain about something that made her feel massively uncomfortable. Yep, according to Dawkins, you have no right to complain about stuff that’s important or personally affects you, unless you are literally the single most oppressed person on the planet.

Unless, of course, you’re Dawkins, and you want to act super butthurt about people calling you out on proposing a sliding scale for sexual assault. Then you can complain all you want, because that’s way more important than raising awareness about sexism.

7. Aristotle

Aristotle is one of those names that is just dripping with good vibes. As one of the ancient world’s most famous philosophers, Aristotle’s life and work are still studied today, thousands of years after he kicked the bucket. Aristotle is credited with being the mind behind some of our most enduring philosophical concepts, including basic freaking ethics. Though Socrates beat him to the punch, Aristotle expanded upon the concept, and encouraged people to be good to one another.

Field Of Awfulness: Sexism

Unless that person was a woman. Aristotle’s views on the fairer sex are so expansive that they get their own Wikipedia page. He basically asserted that women should be subservient to men, to the point where they shouldn’t even be allowed to eat as much food. He also claimed that women were basically incomplete men, and thus, inferior.

But so what, right? This was 2000 years ago; surely everyone was like this back then. Except they weren’t. For example, Spartan women from the same time period were treated with a relative amount of respect. Queen Gorgo of Sparta famously responded to one person asking why Spartan women could rule men with the frankly badass line “because only Spartan women produce men.” Yes, she actually said that. It wasn’t just put into the film 300 for effect. Spartan women were that awesome, and Aristotle was that pig-headed.

6. Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton has made a bigger impact on science and physics than just abut anybody, and will go down in history as the guy who pretty much came up with the theory of gravity.

Field Of Awfulness: Endless Feuding And Grudge-Bearing

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Throughout most of his adult life, Isaac Newton had an ongoing feud with one Robert Hooke. Some of you may recognize that name, but the majority of you won’t, and that has a lot to do with Newton.

Hooke theorized the existence of gravity before Newton did. The only problem was he wasn’t smart enough to calculate the exact math behind it. When Newton published Principa, in which he shared his famous gravitational law, Hooke pointed out that he should have gotten some of the credit. Newton disagreed, since although Hooke had formulated and hypothesized gravity’s existence, he sucked eggs at the mathing part, and therefore wasn’t allowed in Newton’s book.

Because Newton was more famous than Hooke, he supposedly used his influence to suppress Hooke’s work until after his death. Newton even took to outright slandering Hooke, calling him an idiot in open letters. In fact, Newton’s famous “standing on the shoulders of giants” quote was a direct insult to Hooke, in reference to the fact Hooke was simply observing something much greater than himself.

It’s even suggested that Newton destroyed the only known portrait of Hooke after his death, because that is how you make a statement. Today, Newton lives on as one of the most famous minds in scientific history, whereas Hooke is just a footnote in a scientific textbook.

5. Thomas Edison

Though Thomas Edison’s reputation has suffered a slight knock in recent years, due to the fact that Tesla has become the patron saint of the Internet, he’s still regarded as one of the foremost inventors in history.

Field Of Awfulness: Killing Animals

During the so called “War Of Currents,” Thomas Edison had an ongoing feud with the aforementioned Tesla, over which form of electricity was superior: Edison’s DC current, or Tesla’s AC. The obvious answer was AC current, based on Tesla’s designs, because it was invented by the much more handsome scientist. Also it was, like, wicked efficient or something.

Not wanting to be proven wrong, and determined to keep America shackled by stupidly inferior DC system, Edison tried to prove to America that AC current was dangerous, by murdering puppies with it. Yes, when faced with the fact that someone had invented a much, much better system for providing electricity than his own, Edison committed puppycide as a retort. When proving that you’re smarter involves animal murder, you’re not an inventor; you’re a serial killer in training.

4. Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla is hugely famous online, and within pop culture. Though in his lifetime his contributions to science and technology were largely overlooked, today he’s widely regarded as one of the best minds science has ever known.

Field Of Awfulness: Eugenics

Eugenics, for those of you too lazy to open up a new tab on Wikipedia, is the art of selective breeding on a mass scale. It’s the act of actively denying people with undesirable traits (such as infirmity or stupidity) the right to reproduce, which supposedly betters the human race. You’ll notice that this is a terrible, horrible idea, if only because if it happened, we never would’ve gotten reality TV.

And Tesla loved that idea. In his writings, Tesla extended the notion that “The year 2100 will see eugenics universally established,” referring to it as important for “weeding out undesirable strains.” Of course, none of this alters that fact that he was a fantastically gifted mind, but it’s more than a little disconcerting to realize that this guy fully supported the thought of certain people getting denied the chance to mate. Especially once you realize he never took a wife or had a kid. This is one of the smartest people to have ever lived, and even he didn’t think he was good enough to have a baby; how high were this guy’s standards?

3. John Lennon

Peace, love, and goodwill to all men: that’s what John Lennon was all about. Well, that and taking enough drugs to cause sniffer dogs to go into early retirement. Lennon is effectively the face of the 60′s and, by extension, the hippie movement. And those guys were all about peace, so what could Lennon possibly have done wrong?

Field Of Awfulness: Hitting Women

Lennon was the Chris Brown of his day. That’s not us making a cheap joke; that’s a direct comparison that has been made about him. Lennon openly admitted that he used to beat the living crap out of women, in an interview with Playboy Magazine, a magazine literally dedicated to appreciating the awesomeness of womanind, albeit the naked variety. Woman beater or not, you have to admire his sense of irony.

The kicker of this is that very few people know this about Lennon. Whereas Chris Brown has become a walking joke, and has his domestic violence charges listed very clearly on his Wikipedia page, not a single mention is made of John Lennon’s similar abuse, despite him being massively more famous and influential than Chris Brown will ever be. And when it is mentioned, his fans are so quick to defend his actions that they almost break through time and land on the receiving end of one of his punches personally.

2. James Cameron

If you’re about to complain that we’re putting James Cameron on the same list as Isaac Newton, just remember that this guy won 11 Oscars for a film everyone already knew the ending to, and convinced people to pay $15 to see Dances With Blue Aliens. If that’s not genius, we don’t know what is.

Field Of Awfulness: Ego

Cameron’s ego is legendary in the film industry, but the guy made Titanic, so surely he deserves to be a little proud of himself, right? Sure he does; we’d never begrudge him for being proud of his work. We will, however, begrudge him for yelling at actresses until they cry, and nailing people’s phones to a wall. Which are all things he has done in the past.

But to truly see how much of a douche Cameron is, you only have to read this quote he once said to Linda Hamilton, his wife at the time: “Anybody can be a father or a husband. There are only five people in the world who can do what I do, and I’m going for that.” Come on, Cameron. Yes, Titanic was good, but it wasn’t good enough to get away with saying that to your wife. It’s not like you wrote Star Wars.

1. Henry Ford

Yeah, this guy made cars and revolutionized how they were manufactured. And yeah, you’ve probably heard that he was a raging anti-Semite. However, the extent he went to express this notion will likely surprise you.

Field Of Awfulness: Inspiring Hitler

Yes, that Hitler. Though Ford’s anti-Semitic views are well known, few realize just how far they went. Hitler was quoted as saying he was directly inspired by Ford, even hanging a portrait of Ford in his office. Just re-read that last sentence again. One of the most evil, reviled men in history hung a picture of Henry Ford on his wall. He was also the only American Hitler referred to by name in Mein Kampf. Talk about an honor.

We could go on, but honestly, how the hell could we top inspiring Hitler? We don’t even think Satan has the files in his office to classify something that awful.

Top tips to choose the right bank for your student loan

Congrats, you are having your diploma and have to go on your own and finance your future studies alone, without parents’ or other family members’ help. Choosing the student loan option can be a solution for you. Before making any decision, here are several tips on how to choose the best and the right bank
for student loan. When choosing a student loan, goals remain the same: to help students in paying university tuition, documents and books that are necessary as well as living expenses.

Get prepared in advance

Every borrower often expects a clear student loans’ inventory. And they are absolutely right. A well-organized preparation is vital for this process. If you are planning this option, you have to lay the groundwork for a bank loan. You do not have to wait until after the graduation to start all processes. First then, search for offers that are available online, on Yearbook or everywhere you can come across further details about student loans (legally). After that, keep all bank offers that are interesting and advantageous for you. Put them in a secure place. Later on, you can recall for these contact information, websites, log-in information, balance and interest rate on the loan you are interested in. Keep them preciously in a safe place to avoid re-starting a new search that can be obviously tiring.

Repayment options

This is undoubtedly the fact that you have to be very careful about. With the record that you have previously saved, try to make a decision on which bank offers attracts you more. Compare what repayment options they are proposing. Is the lender offering Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) or Pay-As-You-Earn? Let’s note here that the two first options extend the payment period to 25 years giving you enough time to repay the loan. The Pay-As-You-Earn, for
its turn is a 20-year repayment period. Use your calculator if needed be and
find out which option is matching best your needs and especially your financial situation (the current amount available on bank account.

Automatic debit

Related to this same repayment, be sure that there is an option allowing automatic deduction from your bank account. Indeed, you will have to sign in an automatic debit. It just has to
be set up once and that is all. This process is making sure that you have the
repayment deduced from the credit in bank. You also have to know that some
lenders are offering a kind of interest rate reduction when on-time payments are made through their automatic debit plans. This can be of a huge advantage for students. Getting prepared few months in advance ensures students to make search and decisions wisely. Repayment options are to be taken into account. Last but not least, the bank offering an option to directly deduce the amount on students’ accounts can bring more advantages from students.

Top 10 Animated Shorts

There’s a great number of short films available on the internet. Sometimes their purpose is to sell a product, sometimes to promote an animation studio. But mostly, when real animators upload their work for free it’s just an opportunity to show off and share their awesome creations to the world. So, sit back and enjoy. And if you’re in a hurry, don’t fret as all of these are fairly short and most are only around 5 minutes long. As a side note, these films are in no way a definitive list of every great animated short ever made. So, if you feel like we’ve missed any please feel free to post them in the comments section for everybody to see.

10.  Johnny Express

The first short film on our list is Johnny Express, a CGI short Produced by a Korean animation studio called Alfred Imageworks. The main character here is a nameless thirty-something lazy, incompetent employee of an intergalactic delivery company called ‘Johnny Express’. For the most part he lets the ship’s autopilot do all the hard work while he vegges out and eats pizza. When the ship lands he puts on his spacesuit and delivers the packages. But when he’s sent to deliver a minuscule package to a tiny moon-like planet it seems uninhabited. The problem is… it’s not. There’s a real Futurama vibe to this one in style, humor and the intergalactic delivery angle so if you’re a fan of that show then you should love this short. Also, if you really enjoy Johnny Express you may consider checking out Alfred Imagework’s Vimeo channel which contains a portfolio of their other animated content.

9.  Posthuman By Cole Drumb

Posthuman was produced by an independent company called Colliculi productions and directed by Cole Drumb and starring Trish Helfer (that’s Cylon Nubmer 6 from Battlestar Galactica). If you’re a fan of anime, and in particular Japanese animated movies such as Akira and Ghost in The Shell then you’ll probably love Posthuman. It has the same techno dystopia vibes as those flicks and animation of a similar style and standard. Add to that crazy action, a fantastic soundtrack and a dash of humor and Posthuman does not fail to entertain. So far it’s been nominated for five awards, won four and been shown at a whole heap of film festivals. It’s that good. The one problem with the movie is that it’s too short, and feels like a trailer for something much bigger. Fingers crossed for a Kickstarter campaign to turn this into a movie or mini-series in the future. The plot of Posthuman involves a hacker called Terrence who’s helping a psychic super being break a test subject out of a secret government lab. NOTE: this one contains extreme violence and nudity so you may want to wait till you get home if you’re reading this at work.

8.  RPG OKC

RPG OKC is the longest film on the list at 09:39, but don’t let that dissuade you from watching as it’s also inventive, funny and sweet. The story centers on two minor characters in a role playing game (a henchman in an evil wizard’s army and a cat creature from the negative zone) and their unlikely hook up through OK Cupid. Yup, RPG OKC stands for role playing game OK Cupid. Also, the whole affair is played out within a gloriously retro 8-bit fantasy game like classic 90′s Final Fantasy or Legend Of Zelda. RPG OKC was created by a very talented animator by the name of Emily Carmichael whose work has previously been featured at the Sundance Film Festival. And if you enjoyed this you’ll be glad to know that its actually a spin-off of Emily’s full Penny Arcade series The Adventures of Ledo and IX which you can check out here.

7.  To This Day

There’s a bit of a story about this one. It started off as a spoken word poem by Shane Koyczan that was featured by TED talks. The poem illustrates stories of his childhood bullying and how it still affects him, his childhood friends and others who were bullied. Next, it was then animated by dozens of different artists from all over the world and turned into both a video and free iPad app. The aim of the video is to raise awareness of the damaging effect of name calling, which it does quite powerfully. Although that description makes it sound a bit gimmicky, like an after school movie disguised as an animated short, it’s a lot more than that. It’s funny and touching and will genuinely leave you feeling a bit teared up. Don’t let the funny pork chop story fool you, this video will give you the feels.

 6.  Paperman

Paperman is a sweet black and white story about a guy meeting a girl by chance while travelling and then desperately trying to catch her attention when he later notices that she works in the next building over. If the animation for this one looks like it’s of a ridiculously high standard here it’s probably because it was made by Walt Disney. Paperman was the brainchild of Disney animator, John Kahrs, when Disney were looking for potential projects to work on between movies. Kahrs took the opportunity to suggest they make a short film based around an idea he’d had while commuting through New York, kind of making him the hapless protagonist, we guess. Paperman then went on to win an Oscar for best animated short in 2013. It’s not hard to see why. Paperman is simply beautiful and also serves a reminder of Disney’s golden age of animation.

5.  Metamorphosis

This is a list about short movies, not adverts that simply encourage people to buy products. However, Metamorphosis is an exception to that rule for two reasons: 1) It’s made by Goodbooks which is a non-profit company that donates all its proceeds to Oxfam; and 2) the quality and artistry here is simply too hard to ignore. Whereas most retailers would choose to make an inoffensive advert that promoted their product, Goodbooks decided to create a homage to Hunter S Thompson. What they ended up creating is a psychedelic mixture of the writing style of the king of Gonzo and the paranoid ravings of Franz Kafka. It’s easy to imagine that this video was based on something that Thompson might have actually wrote, but it’s actually an entirely original piece that Goodbooks ‘suggest Hunter S Thompson might have liked’. And we believe them. In the film Hunter S Thompson wants to buy Kafka’s Metamorphosis simply because it’s the right size to steady his desk but he doesn’t want to help fund greedy book conglomerates so turns to Goodbooks.

4.  Writer’s Block

Writer’s Block is the one film on this list that isn’t featured on Youtube, at all. But don’t worry because you can watch it in glorious HD on Vimeo by clicking here. Writers’ Block was made in collaboration with WONKY Films and Gran and Martin Wooley, better known by the frankly awesome nom de plum: The Spinkick Brothers. In the film Writer’s Block is an institution for criminally bad writers where a group of some of the toughest bad guys in the slam have come up with a plan to escape — it involves the best writer in the joint, a typewriter and some well placed prose. Writer’s Block has a very distinctive animation style, great pacing and a sense of humor that makes it very watchable. If you liked this and would like to see more of the Spinkick Brother’s work you can visit their website here.

3.  There’s a Man In The Woods

There’s a Man in The Woods starts off being quite a nice tale about a kindly teacher who works at a picturesque school where nothing could ever go wrong. Without giving too much away tension is soon ramped up as our main character begins to disintegrate as he watches his life fall apart due to the wicked rumors of one bad kid. There’s A Man In The Woods was actually made by a Cal Arts student named Jacob Streilein and posted to Cal Arts Character Animation Studios Vimeo account. Shortly after it was released it quickly went viral and caught the internet’s attention, getting over a 100k views in just a few days. Give it a look and see what all the fuss is about but don’t be surprised if you still can’t get the phrase “There’s a Man In The Woods…” out of your head in a few days time. This one’s haunting.

2.  8bits

It’s kinda hard to say exactly what’s going on in 8bits. There’s an evil CGI toad creature and his henchman, a captive princess (called 8Bit) and a pantsless hero in a ratty hoody. The villain seems to want to kill off 8bit forever, therefore rendering the world three-dimensional and winning…we think? Yeah, we weren’t kidding about it being hard to describe. This is one video you simply have to watch to understand. The action is quite intense, as it jumps from CGI to 16bit platforming in the style of various old school games that’ll give older gamers in their thirties a warm nostalgic glow in their bellies. Basically, if you ever owned a console that existed before the Playstation 1, this one’s for you. 8bits was directed by Valere Amirault, Jean Delaunay, Sarah Laufer, Benjamin Mattern for Supinfocom animation studios If you enjoyed 8bits you can find the artists portfolios here as well as a list of the festivals it was featured at

1.  Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”

The Simpsons wouldn’t usually be featured on a list of animated shorts mostly dominated by independent artists and studios. However, The longest Day Care was released as a standalone short movie — that ended up being nominated for an Oscar, no less — and as its free to watch as per the other videos on the list, it definitely deserves its placing. The short itself plays out like a really good episode of The Simpsons with great quality animation and humor. Because Maggie is the main focus in this one there’s actually no dialogue but it still manages to be funnier than most episodes of The Simpsons — especially the later ones. The Longest Daycare was proposed by James L Brooks as a way to thank fans for watching the show and was originally shown just before screenings of Ice Age: Continental Drift. Directed by David Silverman (a regular Simpsons director) and carrying on from a previous Simpson’s episode where Maggie checks into the Ayn Rand school this is a must see for all Simpsons fans.

10 Most Bizarre Flying Machines in Aviation History

The invention of elaborately constructed flying machines to travel through the Earth’s atmosphere ranks among mankind’s greatest innovations. The field of aviation is defined by challenging the limits and coming up with bold new ideas, but these aircraft simply defy all concepts of normalcy.

10. Convair V2 Sea Dart

To supplement standard aircraft, a variety of interesting combination machines are available to pilots. However, a jet fighter designed to land right in the ocean adds an entirely new definition to the job description, turning pilots into jet ski operators. The Convair Sea Dart was an experimental American Jet Fighter built in 1951 as a prototype supersonic seaplane, complete with a waterproof hull and two hydrofoils. The Sea Dart concept was retired after a fatal crash, but not before it became the first — and so far only — seaplane to break the sound barrier, with E.D. “Sam” Shannon at the controls.

9. Goodyear Inflatoplane

When a tire company attempts to enter the aircraft market, you can expect bizarre results. In 1959, Goodyear Tire responded to market demands for a convenient airplane in a spectacular manner. The open cockpit Inflatoplane was built entirely out of rubber except for the engine and control cables. The plane fit into a meter long box, and could be fully inflated with a bicycle pump in just 15 minutes.  The machine was an aerodynamic success,  as it took to the skies with ease. However, Goodyear encountered some challenges in convincing the military to buy the aircraft when they pointed out that the plane could be downed with by a single bullet, or even a well-aimed slingshot.

8. NASA A1 Pivot-Wing

NASA’s AD-1 brought the standard for strange aircraft to an entirely new level. Designed in the early 1980s to test the concept of a pivoting wing, the jet’s long, thin wing rotated on an angle, up to the point where the right wing tip could be brought parallel with the cockpit. The idea behind this unorthodox and completely new arrangement was to offset airflow disturbance patterns and increase streamlining. The strange aircraft flew a number of missions, and performed surprisingly well, but the results were not convincing enough to justify service production. However, modern drones based on this aircraft design are now under development.

7. Vought V-173

The Vought V-173 was developed in 1942 as a prototype vertical takeoff and landing aircraft capable of intercepting enemy fighters from an aircraft carrier. The bizarre design of the aircraft nicknamed “the flying pancake” by its test pilots consisted of an almost perfectly circular fuselage that also doubled as the machine’s wing. The two engines supported immense propellers which could only clear the ground through the use of exaggerated landing gear struts, while the power system was located in the wingtips, unlike any other aircraft ever made. Limited demand and a crash helped seal the fate of the project, but it began the lineage that led to the famous Harrier Jump Jet.

6. Bell P -39 Aircobra

Sometimes it’s best for experts to stick to what they’re good at. During the Second World War, Bell Helicopters produced a powerful, highly maneuverable fighter craft with superior strike and air to air combat skills. Most airplanes have their engines at the front, but Bell, being a helicopter company, created an airframe with the engine centered behind the cockpit. A long shaft spun the propeller at the front, but while the design offered amazing power, building an airframe around a helicopter style power source resulted in an unusual center of gravity. More enemy planes were shot down by this “sky serpent” than any other U.S. dog-fighter design used by the Soviet Air Force, but some Aircobras plummeted to their demise without so much as a shot from the enemy.

5. SR 71 Blackbird

Before the age of universal satellite technology, design specifications for a first class spy plane with unprecedented speed, endurance and the ability to reach the edge of space birthed the SR 71 Blackbird. A fearsome, almost alien ship, the SR 71 had devilish performance capabilities. But in a bizarre twist, the SR 71’s special permeable tanks would leak explosive jet fuel until the 900 plus degree Fahrenheit frictional heat caused them to seal. As it soared to altitudes of over six miles it exceeded speeds of 3,000 miles per hour, causing the surface of the aircraft to glow bright red. The hellish scene outside was no comfort to the pilot cocooned in the asbestos insulated cockpit, who would have to wait up to half an hour upon landing to avoid melted feet upon exit. Even the canopy would reach 572 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Convair Pogo

The Grumman X23, or “Pogo,” represents a radical departure from the norm of aviation design, taking it past eccentricity and into full blown absurdity.  The body of the Pogo was shaped somewhat like a regular airplane, except for the rotor attached to the nose cone that lifted it vertically into the air. Unlike most “VTOL” aircraft, the Pogo took off nose first like a rocket with the wheels attached to its tailfins. The canopy pointed 90 degrees outward, causing the pilot to lie at right angles with the ground as the machine rose. The “Pogo” was supposed to then fly forward though the air once it had stabilized. Several successful test flights were made, but like many aerial misfits, the project never got far off the ground.

3. McDonnell Douglas X-15

The X-15 is an older design, but it was such a significant and anomalous leap forward it remains unsurpassed in the arena of aircraft performance.  First tested in 1959, the X-15 Rocket Plane measured 51 feet in length, with two tiny, 9 foot wing stubs on each side. A series of tests saw the plane reach altitudes of 100,000 feet, with two missions qualifying as space flights. During the aircraft’s passage through the atmosphere, the small, rocket like jet reached speeds of over six times the speed of sound. The X-15 was coated with a special nickel alloy similar to that found in natural meteorites, which prevented Planet Earth’s fastest ever machine from burning up in the atmosphere.  The X-15 defined the niche of extreme specifications with its high weight, high power and low lift.

2. Blohm und Voss BV 141

In the natural world, symmetry is the rule in everything from eyes to wings. In the reverse engineering principles nature inspires, that rule holds true for engines, fins and tails. But during World War II, in a marked departure from the norm, German aircraft engineers at Dornier conceived a reconnaissance plane and light bomber with a single wing, a tail boom with an engine on one side, and right beside it, a pod to carry the pilot. Although such an arrangement would appear unbalanced, placing the pod on the right hand side of the propeller boom counteracts the torque and helps the aircraft fly straight.  Thus, this freakish flying machine not only made it off the ground, but inspired a modern sport aircraft with a similar design.

1. Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano

Consider a house boat crossed with an airplane. That was the idea behind Count Caproni’s Ca.60. This 1920 machine set the standard for bizarre multi-wing aircraft so high that even Richtofen’s Red Fokker would look definitively mundane in comparison. Measuring 70 feet in length and weighing a whopping 55 tons, Caproni’s enormous floating flying machine was built to be the first transatlantic airliner in aviation history. Borrowing from the theory that enough wings will make anything fly, the ship-like fuselage bore a stack of three wings at the front, three in the middle, and instead of a tail, a third set of three wings at the back. The unearthly machine could only be described as a triple triplane and nothing similar was ever built. Lifting off was not a problem, but the plane crash landed on its first flight after reaching a height of about 60 feet. Caproni announced that he would repair it, but the wreckage was later burned overnight.

10 Martyrs to Civil Rights

A Brief History

On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers were kidnapped and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi, an event commemorated in the 1988 feature film, Mississippi Burning.  Advocating or campaigning for civil rights of various groups of people has been an historically dangerous business.  Many people engaged in the struggle for civil rights throughout history have been murdered or executed for their efforts.  Here we list 10 such people who have been martyred in the cause of freedom.  Who would you add to the list?

Digging Deeper

10. Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman, 1964.

A 21 year old African-American from Mississippi and 2 Jewish New Yorkers had been conducting voter registration efforts and investigating the burning of a church when Klan members, including a deputy sheriff kidnapped and murdered them.  In 1967 5 suspects were convicted in federal court of depriving the 3 martyrs of their civil rights by killing them, and the last living suspect was convicted of manslaughter X 3 in 2005.  Cracked fact:  Chaney’s brother was radicalized by his brother’s murder and became an anti-white extremist, eventually going to jail for the murder of a man in Florida.  Friends of Chaney were also likewise radicalized and murdered people in South Carolina and Florida.

9.  Paul Guihard, 1962.

A French journalist covering the admission of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi in Oxford (the first African-American student there), he was shot in the back by a white mob.  His last report on the day of his death included “The Civil War has never ended.”

8.  Malcolm X, 1965.

At first preaching a violent anti-white, anti-integration agenda and a representative of The Nation of Islam (Black Muslims), Malcolm (born Malcolm Little) took a trip to Africa and the middle east that cause him to reassess his platform.  Still advocating for African-American rights, he left the Nation of Islam for more conventional Sunni Muslim faith and moderated his previously radical platform.  He was killed by members of the Nation of Islam that felt betrayed.

7.  Malala Yousafzai, 2009.

Although not actually killed, this girl was only 12 when she was shot in the face by an Islamic militant in her native Pakistan.  Malala had been advocating for the rights of women and girls, especially for girls to be educated.  In the incident that gained international notoriety the severely injured girl was taken to England for treatment, made a miraculous recovery, and continues to advocate for women’s rights despite death threats against herself and her father.

6.  20 Coal Miners, Ludlow Colorado, 1914.

In a massacre known as the bloodiest day in the US labor movement, about 20 coal miners were killed by Colorado state militiamen who were attempting to evict the 1000 or so miners and their families from their camp that they had occupied for about 7 months, on strike for the right to unionize and other workers’ rights.

5.  Medgar Evers, 1963.

An NAACP field secretary, this activist for African-American civil rights was murdered by a member of theWhite Citizen’s Council.  Shot in the back, he was rushed to a hospital that refused him entry because he was black!  Only when the hospital officials realized who he was did they admit him, but it was too late.  His murderer was subjected to trial by all white juries twice that resulted in hung juries both times.  In 1994 Byron De La Beckwith was finally convicted of the murder.

4.  Harvey Milk, 1978.

Milk was originally quiet about his homosexuality until about age 40, at which time he became a vocal advocate of gay rights and moved to San Francisco where he unsuccessfully ran for office.  Appointed as a city supervisor, in the 11 months he was in office he was instrumental in passing gay rights legislation.  He was gunned down along with Mayor Moscone by Dan White, another city supervisor that had resigned and resented what he thought was reverse discrimination against himself.  Cracked fact:  White used the famous “Twinkie” defense, claiming that his diet of junk food affected his thinking.

3.  Rev. Bruce Klunder, 1964.

Protesting the building of a segregated school in Cleveland, Ohio, Klunder and other protesters put themselves in front of construction equipment to block constructions.  Klunder was killed when he was crushed by a bulldozer that backed over him.

2.  Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968.

Probably the most famous person in the civil rights for African-Americans movement, King was gunned down under mysterious circumstances that many, including his family, believe was covered up by the US government.  Cracked fact:  King’s real name was Michael King.  His father changed both of their names to Martin Luther King during a 1934 trip to Nazi Germany and the change was never legally registered.

1.  John Brown, 1859.

A white abolitionist that was attempting to arm American slaves in order to foster abolition of slavery by force of arms, Brown had led a raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia and was captured, tried, and convicted of murder and treason (against the state of Virginia), sentenced to death and executed.  At his trial, Cleveland, Ohio attorney Hiram Griswold argued that Brown had not personally killed anyone and that he could not commit treason against a state that he did not live in or owe loyalty to.  Brown was and is often portrayed as a crazed radical, perhaps even mentally ill, but people who corresponded with him while awaiting execution found him quite thoughtful and rational.

10 People Who Lived Out Your Childhood Dreams

Let’s face it: most of us have ordinary lives. Even those of us with awesome job titles like astronaut, professional bear wrestler or Internet list writer probably spend more time eating Doritos and watching TV than we do divesting cheerleaders of their underpants

But then there are the handful of people for whom “ordinary life” is simply not enough. For the following folks, doing anything other than living out their childhood dreams counts as a waste of time.

10. The Guy Who Built a Jetpack

Yves Rossy started his career as a revolutionary engineer and daredevil pilot, two things most of us would be content to end our careers as. But Rossy wasn’t satisfied with the thrill of flying a high-tech military fighter jet and inventing endless cool stuff. He wanted to have his own personal jetpack.

So he built one. And it worked. It worked so well that Rossy’s probably now verging on potential superhero/villain territory. Don’t believe us? Here’s a video of him racing three military jet planes high above the Alps. Rossy gets up to these sorts of shenanigans all the time. In the last few years he’s flown over the Grand Canyon, Mt Fiji, across the English Channel and spent uncountable hours buzzing actual planes for kicks. The best part? You can totally get in on that action. Rossy’s jetpack rival, Eric Scott, has opened his own special “jet pack school.” Yes, you too could one day earn the nickname “Rocket Man.”

9. The Dwarf Tossing Saudi Prince

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal is the sort of guy who necessitates the term “rich douche.” He’s one of the 25 richest people on Earth, and has a reputation for harassing his employees and generally being a bit of a dick. He also looks uncannily like a villain from 1970s Doctor Who. Oh, and he’s completely crazy.

Christened the “dwarf throwing billionaire” by Business Insider, Alaweed lives life like the biggest pimp imaginable. His mansion has 371 rooms, each filled weekly with fresh flowers flown in from Holland. He owns his own private zoo, 300 classic cars, a 280 foot yacht and a private jet with a solid gold throne. Oh, and he’s been known to eat roasted camel at some of the gigantic banquets his personal army of chefs prepares for him at every meal time. As for his nickname, well, you get three guesses as to how he earned it. He’s the kind of guy who makes Snoop Dogg look thrifty. He’s a man living an 8-year old kid’s dream of what it’s like to be rich, and he’s loving it.

8. The Shy Man who Lived the Ultimate Male Fantasy

Leif Ueland was a shy photographer who hadn’t had sex in five years. Out of the blue, he managed to pick up a gig travelling on the Playboy Bus as it made its way across America in search of Playboy’s Miss Millennium. His task was to photograph hundreds of beautiful, naked women. It was practically a sitcom premise.

It sounds like the ultimate “bro” fantasy, partially because it is. But what made Ueland’s journey unique was how uptight he was about the whole thing. In his book, he recalls how he was raised in a repressed, religious Midwest family to show absolutely no desire towards girls whatsoever. When he first got the gig he was mortified, but travelling with a group of relaxed, beautiful and flirtatious women ultimately helped him get over his sexual hang-ups. By the end he was unashamedly living the shy nerd’s dream, romancing and sleeping with Playboy girls and getting paid to do it. It sounds like the plot to another Revenge of the Nerds sequel, with the added bonus that it’s true.

7. The Guy Who Befriends Lions

Kevin Richardson may be a secret superhero. Known as the “Lion Whisperer,” he cuddles, plays and even sleeps besides the big, deadly cats. This would be intense enough for most people, as simply standing within a few feet of a lion can be terrifying in an utterly primal way. But Richardson isn’t content with just befriending a couple of captive murder machines. He specifically goes out to befriend them in the wild.

This video shows him on a standard morning’s walk. All alone on the African savannah, he suddenly starts calling out. At this point, two wild lions come over to see what’s going on. Not only do they not eat him, they play with him like he’s their long-lost best friend.

Think that’s impressive? Here’s another video, this time showing him playing with a pack of hyenas. Richardson is essentially living out every young animal lover’s dream, with the added bonus that so far nothing’s gone crazy and decided to eat him.

6. The Rich Geek with Iron Man’s Lab

Elon Musk is already living the dream. He’s practically the god of engineering geeks, a self-made billionaire who runs his own rocket building programme. Then he went one better by building his very own lab straight out of Iron Man.

For those of you who haven’t seen the films, protagonist Tony Stark gets his super futuristic lab work done by manipulating 3D holograms with his hands. Musk evidently liked the look of this, because in 2013 his company made this slice of Hollywood fantasy a bona-fide reality.

Using (mostly) affordable technology, Musk and his team created a 3D screen where parts of his rocket engine designs can be projected and moved about at will. The full video is here and while it’s slow to start, by the end you won’t believe your eyes.

5. The Real Life James Bond

Ask most adolescent males and immature grownups who they’d most like to be and there’s a good chance the answer will be “James Bond.” And they’re not the only ones—in the 1940s an Allied spy known as “White Rabbit” decided he couldn’t be bothered waiting for Ian Fleming to create the character, and became James Bond instead.

Forest “Tommy” Yeo-Thomas was the sort of man they no longer make. A charming womaniser, he spent his life adventuring, drinking, saving the world and (probably) starring in orgies. In 1920 he escaped from a Soviet gulag by killing a guard with his bare hands. During WWII British Intelligence parachuted him into occupied France three times before he was captured and tortured by the Gestapo. The Germans sent him to the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp, only for Tommy to escape again. When he accidentally found himself on a train full of German soldiers he shrugged off any ideas of “hiding” and sat down to eat with the Gestapo butcher Klaus Barbie, who presumably spent the entire meal stroking a white cat and talking about his plans for world domination. Then, just to rub Germany’s face in it, Tommy finished the meal by escaping again.

His biographer claimed he was the inspiration for Bond. With a résumé like that, we’re inclined to believe her.

4. The Bipolar Adventurer

 

Wealthy businessman Paul Downes has a case of bipolar disorder so intense he swings between dark depressions we can’t even begin to describe and impossible, dizzying highs. He refuses to medicate, claiming that the highs are worth the lows. If this video of one of his manic episodes is anything to go by, we can see his point.

In 2010, Downes went through an incredible manic phase. Renting a gigantic fairy tale castle on a private island in Jamaica, he flew out 12 beautiful Ukrainian supermodels to compete to be his wife. For the next two weeks he lived a playboy lifestyle consisting of sun-drenched beaches, wild parties and rampant sex, one made even more intense by his sudden conviction that he was Allah.

But that wasn’t just a crazy one-off. Downes himself says that he goes through such periods with astonishing frequency, and that looking forward to the next insane adventure more than makes up for his hideous lows. It’s not a lifestyle most of us would want (at the risk of sounding controversial, TopTenz always recommends seeking proper medical help), but it’s impossible to deny that Downes’ bipolar condition has helped him become the wild adventurer he always wanted to be.

3. The (Maybe) Real Life Indiana Jones

British adventurer Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges is, by his own account, the closest the world has come to having a real life Indiana Jones.

Mitchell-Hedges supposedly spent most of his time in (then) remote parts of the world, where he alternately uncovered ancient civilisations, became deified by local tribes and battled Nazis to get hold of hidden treasures. He’s even credited with starting a couple of revolutions here and there, including a stint working for Mexico’s notorious Pancho Villa. During his lifetime, he’s said to have lived with Trotsky, fought “sea monsters” (read: sharks) and worked for British Intelligence. His entire existence reads like a mash up of all four Indiana Jones films, including all the nonsense about crystal skulls.

Of course, that’s assuming he’s telling the truth. Mitchell-Hedges sounds like he was a man who lived an amazing life, but several historians have poured cold water on some of his claims. But if nothing else, he was unafraid of adventure and really good at making up stories.

2. The Daredevil Who Jumped From Space

How many of us dream of one day doing something so crazy, so dangerous, so flat-out incredible that the world has no choice but to bow down before us? Felix Baumgartner had that dream, so he went and lived it.

In 2012, Felix caught a balloon into space (as you do), then calmly jumped out. What followed was over four minutes of freefall in a descent that saw him break the sound barrier. His descent speed peaked at over 800 miles per hour, which you may recognise as a speed that human beings aren’t really designed to travel at.

From his insane vantage point, the plummeting Felix could see the entire Earth. Every single scrap of humanity was laid out below him. It was the sort of thing only unfortunate astronauts should experience after some hideous malfunction, and Felix survived without incident. In that moment, he must have felt like the most incredible person who has ever lived. And when it was over he probably wanted to go straight back and do it again.

1. The Kid Who Became Batman

Most stories that open with a five-year old battling leukaemia don’t exactly belong in a light-hearted article. But Miles Scott is the kid who lived the wildest dream that even the other people on this list still have. Miles Scott is the kid who became Batman.

In 2013, the Make-A-Wish Foundation splashed out an insane amount of money and goodwill to transform San Francisco into Gotham City. Early in the morning, a genuine live news report was interrupted by San Fran’s real police chief asking “Batman” for help. Instantly, young Scott was whisked into his Batmobile and driven to a woman who’d been strapped to a bomb he needed to defuse (we assume the bomb was not real). Job done, the world’s luckiest kid was then taken to foil a staged bank robbery in an actual bank, battle the Riddler’s goons in a park and finally receive the key to the city. He was honoured by the mayor and even received a personal congratulation from the President himself, because deep down we all want Batman to be real. Take note, everyone—this is how you make a kid’s wish come true.

Top 10 Largest and Most Astonishing Aquariums in the World

The ocean is a place of ceaseless wonder, and what is just as magical is the replication of such beauty on land. There are amazing aquariums that have been designed to showcase the beauty of the ocean all over the world. Some of them are so impressive that they rival Mother Nature in beauty and detail.

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10. The Okinawa Chiraumi Aquarium, Japan

The Japanese are known for their over-the-top projects, and the Okinawa Chiraumi aquarium is no exception. Built in 2002 with one of the largest acrylic viewing panels in the world, the Okinawa Chiraumi Aquarium has come to attract millions of visitors from all over the world. The aquarium has a large number of fish species and different types of aquatic plant life as well. The aquarium also features dives and other fun activities that make anyone’s visit to the aquarium truly magical.

The aquarium has been designed in a descending manner to imitate the deep sea. The Kurosio tank – which is the main attraction – is home to whale sharks, shoals of sardines, sting rays, and other life forms.

9. Ushaka Marine World: South Africa

The Ushaka marine world is a sixteen-acre marvel situated in Durban, South Africa. The marine theme park was built to resemble a shipwreck and is divided into many different sections. The Ushaka sea world comprises of shark dives, dolphin shows, ray feeds, and seal shows. The wet and wild section is a fun place, consisting of fun slides and pools. The park also has a shopping and entertainment area as well as a play area where kids can be kids.

The Ushaka marine world has unique species of marine life — visitors will be amazed by the collection of different species of fish and other animals found in the ocean. The aquarium boasts both common and unique forms of marine animals and acts as a sanctuary for endangered animals. The Ushaka marine world is a spectacular place that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

8. Shanghai Ocean Aquarium: China

The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium covers 263,910 square feet of aquatic wonder. This aquarium showcases some of the rarest animals in the world. Visitors will be delighted to see Antarctic penguins, the Yangtze alligator, and the giant salamander, creatures rarely seen in the wild. Some of other interesting marine creatures that have been featured at the shanghai ocean aquarium are the Chinese water dragons, white sharks, and the black and white sting rays. The shanghai ocean aquarium also delights the guests with a spectacular walk through a tunnel that is built inside the aquarium. This walk makes the visitor feel as though he was walking inside the aquarium, and provides a spectacular point of view which will captivate even the most discerning of tourists.

7. Monterey Bay Aquarium: California

Monterey Bay Aquarium is dubbed as the window to the marvels that are found in the ocean. It is one of the most unique attractions of the west coast of America because it features spectacular aquatic life. The aquarium is a conservation initiative that seeks to find endangered species and provide a safe and favorable environment for them to thrive. The aquarium boasts over 35,000 animals and about 620 different species.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a fun and educational spot for people who love aquatic animals and offers a unique experience. Guests can participate in animal feedings, enjoy fantastic animal shows, and go on enjoyable educational tours. The animals featured in the aquarium include seals, whales, sharks, octopi, jelly fish, wolf eels, and sea sardines.

6. L’Oceanografic Aquarium: Spain

This aquarium is an aqua lover’s paradise. L’Oceanografic Aquarium is one of the most beautiful places in Spain and the world in general. Visitors can delight themselves in seeing amazing shoals of fish, from the common goldfish to unique and strange species that can only be found at an aquarium of such caliber. Prepare to be amazed by dancing seals, dolphins, and delightful penguins.

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The L’Oceanografic Aquarium is the largest aquarium in Europe and features twelve buildings, which have been created to emulate the different marine ecosystems. When visitors come to the aquarium, they are sure to experience all that marine life has to offer. It’s not only fish that are found there, but also birds that are found in the wetlands. The 500 different species of animals found at the aquarium ensure a unique marine experience for all visitors.

5. Sydney Aquarium: Australia

Marine beauty has been redefined by the Sydney Aquarium. Located at the Darling harbor, Sydney Aquarium is known to be the home of over 650 different species of animals and a total of 6000 animals since 1988. It is well known that the Australian continent is home to some of the world’s most unique marine animals, and the Sydney aquarium has best represented this with their unique marine life. The Sydney aquarium features a unique acrylic panel tunnel where visitors can walk through as they see fish swimming all around them.

The aquarium also has a recreation of the world’s greatest barrier reef, which is indigenous to the Australian coast. There, visitors can delight themselves with penguin and seal displays inside and out of water. There are also different types of sharks, sardines, octopuses, crocodiles, and sting rays that will impress even the most discerning of people.

4. New England Aquarium: Boston, Massachusetts

The New England Aquarium offers the closest thing to a natural habitat for marine wildlife. The aquarium was built in 1969 and has become a sanctuary for endangered species to this day. The aquarium has revolutionized marine displays because it features a cylindrical coral reef that is built to replicate the Caribbean coral reef. The reef has most of the wildlife that you will find in the wilderness, such as great white sharks, beautiful and multicolored tropical fish, sea turtles, and octopi.

The aquarium also features a South American river display, with legendary animals such as the anaconda, piranha, electric eels, and many more. There are seal and penguin exhibits at the aquarium too, featuring rare and unique species of the animals that have found refuge and a home at the New England aquarium.

3. Two Oceans Aquarium: South Africa

The cape in South Africa is located where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. At this point, warm and cold currents meet, and this creates a very favorable condition for marine life to thrive. But there is no need to go scuba diving to see the amazing marine life, because Two Oceans Aquarium has brought the spectacular marine life to land. The aquarium has six themed exhibits that host over 3,000 animals. The exhibits include animals that are found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the river of Sappi, and the Kelp forest. Thrill seekers have the opportunity to dive with sharks, feed the animals and walk through the kelp forest.

2. National Aquarium: Baltimore, Maryland

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is one of the most comprehensive aquariums in the world. It has been in existence since 1981 and has become a home to over 660 different species and over 16500 animals. The aquarium boasts a representation of a tropical rain forest that is filled with different types of tropical birds on the first floor. It also features amazing shark tanks over 30 feet high, featuring species such as the hammerhead and the deadly great white. Another unique feature here is the frog tank, featuring the largest display of frogs in the world.

1. Georgia Aquarium: Atlanta, Georgia

The Georgia Aquarium is the world’s greatest aquarium, home to some of the rarest species of marine life on the planet. The aquarium has been organized into five different galleries: the Ocean voyager, Georgia explorer, tropical diver, river scout and the cold water quest. In these galleries, visitors have the chance to see a wide range of animals in their habitats. The ocean voyager is home to the manta rays and sharks — it has 6.3 million gallons of water and the largest viewing acrylic panels in Northern America. The Georgia explorer has animals that are unique to Georgia, such as the rare loggerhead sea turtle and lionfish. The river scout hosts animals that can only be found in the rivers of Africa and South America, and the aquarium also has amazing displays of penguins, dolphins and other spectacular marine animals.