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Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor was one of Old Hollywood&#39;s brightest, most alluring stars - and her private life often became the subject of public fascination. Stories about Taylor&#39;s relationships dominated entertainment magazines and tabloids for decades. Widely considered to be one of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/most-beautiful-women-of-all-time" target="_blank">most beautiful women</a> of all time, Taylor is remembered for her wild love life as much as for her&nbsp;film roles.

<a href="https://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-taylor-37991" target="_blank">Born in 1932 in London</a> to American parents, Taylor became a child star in the 1940s. She cultivated a personal brand as a precocious and sweet girl through roles in films like&nbsp;Lassie Come Home&nbsp;and&nbsp;National Velvet. But Taylor proclaimed her personal and professional maturity in 1950 when, at age 18,&nbsp;she starred as a young bride in&nbsp;Father of the Bride.&nbsp;That same year she married her first husband, Conrad &quot;Nicky&quot; Hilton, Jr.&nbsp;Though the&nbsp;union didn&#39;t last, it began a long procession of marriages that captured the public&#39;s attention.

Over the course of her life, Taylor was famously <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-with-the-most-marriages/general_crack" target="_blank">married eight times</a> to seven different men: Nicky Hilton (1950-1951), Michael Wilding (1952-1957), Mike Todd (1957-1958), Eddie Fisher (1959-1964), Richard Burton (1964-1974 and 1975-1976), John Warner (1976-1982), and Larry Fortensky (1991-1996). She is also noted for her <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/strange-brando-tyler-jackson-roadtrip-facts/erin-mccann" target="_blank">legendary adventures</a>&nbsp;and stardom on the silver screen.&nbsp;

By the time she passed in 2011, Taylor had secured her status as the undisputed Queen of Hearts in Hollywood. For better or for worse, she earned her reputation.&nbsp;

Hollywood's Queen Of Hearts: The Wild Love Life Of Elizabeth Taylor

General

Behind The Scenes Of Elizabeth Taylor's Personal Life

Alan Smithee

Graveyard Shift

Interspersed throughout the vast, open landscape of the Wild West were&nbsp;settlements, towns, and cities full of saloons, brothels, boarding houses, and other establishments where pleasure was for sale. Adult pleasure&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/wild-west-misconceptions/nida-sea?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">in the Wild West</a> went along with drinking, fighting, and crime, contributing to less-than-luxurious lives for <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/life-of-a-wild-west-saloon-girl/melissa-brinks" target="_blank">Wild West saloon girls</a>. Conversely, madams could hold a large amount of wealth and influence. Madams managed their staff who serviced&nbsp;men visiting&nbsp;the boarding houses, parlors,&nbsp;and saloons where they set up shop.

<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-old-west-prostitutes-and-madams/tamar-altebarmakian" target="_blank">Wild West madams used their appearance</a>, experience, and strong-willed personality to generate a lot of money &mdash;&nbsp;sometimes employing brutality, but often with kind-hearted generosity.

What It Was Like To Be A Madam In A Wild West Saloon

What It's Like To Be A Wild West Madam In A Saloon

Medieval STI&nbsp;treatment, like many&nbsp;medical practices during the medieval era, was a lot of guesswork. In the days of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/sex-during-black-plague/kellen-perry" target="_blank">Black Death</a>,&nbsp;people had only a rudimentary understanding of how illness worked, and STIs&nbsp;were so tied in with moral issues that it was difficult to talk about them in objective terms.

This didn&#39;t stop the cavalcade of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/what-sex-was-like-in-medieval-times/aaron-edwards " target="_blank">medieval sex</a>&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;it&nbsp;was thriving in all walks of life, with kings and commoners alike turning to &quot;ladies of the night&quot;&nbsp;for satisfaction.&nbsp;

The history of STIs&nbsp;is difficult to trace because it was taboo to discuss it. In the case of the medieval era, literacy was&nbsp;rare&nbsp;and most accounts modern scholars&nbsp;have access to come from physicians and clergy members rather than from the&nbsp;&quot;workers&quot; themselves.

We may never know all the facts about how people of the medieval era treated, dealt with, and prevented STIs, but what we do know suggests that &mdash;&nbsp;despite the lack of medical knowledge &mdash;&nbsp;it was of interest to them.

How Did Medieval Brothels Deal With The Risk Of Getting STDs?

How STDs Were Treated In Medieval Times

Names

A name is everything whether you're a major company, a new product, or even a band. With just a word or a short phrase, a name has to capture what you're all about and elicit a certain feeling or mood in the audience you want to attract. Coming up with a name is often much harder than it seems - just ask any expecting parent - and, as you'll see from this list of famous bands that originally had awful names, even creative powerhouses can get it wrong. Horribly, even hilariously, wrong.And the bands on this list were not one-hit wonders, either. Their&nbsp;music has proved to be enduring, consistently popular, and, in many cases, nothing short of classic. Their original band names, however? Not so much. But there's something comforting about the fact that even the greats, like The Beatles and Nirvana, at one time struggled to find their initial place and their initial voice with&nbsp;something as fundamental as a name. It seems to suggest&nbsp;that while we all go through growing pains, we&nbsp;can emerge out the other side triumphant.Let's look at the stories behind the original names of some of the world's biggest bands.

Famous Bands That Originally Had Horrible Names

Band/Musician

12 Horrible Original Names Of Famous Bands

Coya Knutson

In November of 1954, Coya Knutson became the first woman from Minnesota appointed to Congress. The feat was huge &mdash; it was considered a&nbsp;stride forward&nbsp;for <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-female-politicians/reference" target="_blank">female politicians </a>and women&nbsp;everywhere in a time when women were seen as more crucial in the house than in the House (of Representatives, that is,&nbsp;where Knutson&nbsp;earned herself a seat).

Knutson&nbsp;was born&nbsp;Cornelia Gjesdal,&nbsp;the daughter of first-generation Norwegian farmers, and her rural North Dakota upbringing allowed her to connect with the public of Minnesota when she ran for Congress in 1954. The fact that this woman &mdash;&nbsp;who sang her own slogans and milked cows with farmers while discussing her campaign&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;was an underdog is a gross&nbsp;understatement. Yet Knutson won, and then she won again in 1956.

However, when she ran for a&nbsp;third term in 1958, many men were fed up with her winning streak, and used her own husband against her in a bid to lose her seat in the House. It&nbsp;worked. Her opponents penned a letter, signed by her husband Andy, begging Knutson&nbsp;to ditch Washington and&nbsp;come back home where she &quot;belonged.&quot;&nbsp;The sentiment, as overtly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tales-of-overt-sexism-from-all-time-classic-movie-sets/erin-mccann" target="_blank">sexist</a> as it was, rattled the press and the public, and Knutson&nbsp;lost, She&nbsp;never served in Congress again.&nbsp;

This Underdog Politician Had Her Career Destroyed In The Dirtiest Way Possible – By Her Own Husband

How Coya Knuts Had Her Political Career Destroyed By Her Own Husband

French History

You might remember the popular Disney movie&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/all-the-hunchback-of-notre-dame-characters/reference" target="_blank">The Hunchback of Notre-Dame</a>,&nbsp;but did you know that its source material, the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Eucl6BKvlmsC&amp;pg=PA82&amp;lpg=PA82&amp;dq=Henri+Sauval+court+of+miracles&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=kCjfSTySko&amp;sig=qDFxkbKxYYQxGnPNGvgLbJFCuJo&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiH5JCf2MfYAhUJzFMKHYEeBGEQ6AEINTAC#v=onepage&amp;q=victor%20hugo&amp;f=false" target="_blank">novel by Victor Hugo</a>, was inspired by a real, intricate society of beggars, thieves, and sex workers who lived in slums in 17th century Paris? These slums were spread out all over the city, rising in numbers due to the increase of homelessness. Historian&nbsp;Henri Sauval&nbsp;referred&nbsp;to these slums as&nbsp;Cours de Miracles, or the &quot;Court of Miracles,&quot;&nbsp;named for the beggars who would <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/court-of-miracles" target="_blank">disguise themselves as disabled or ill</a> during the day but return to the slums &#39;miraculously&#39; cured. These slums were an intricate system of laws, leaders, and some groups even had their own languages. There were initiations, rules, and even a hierarchy resembling the actual French court.&nbsp;

The Slums of Paris Had Their Own Intricate System Of Laws Ruled By Thieves And Prostitutes

Bill Gothard

The Advanced Learning Techniques (ATL)&nbsp;program&nbsp;seemed innocent enough—on the surface it was billed as&nbsp;a <a href="http://www.recoveringgrace.org/2014/02/charlottes-stori/" target="_blank">Christian homeschooling program</a>, an offshoot of the Institute in&nbsp;Basic Life Principles (IBLP) established by Bill Gothard in 1961. The program was&nbsp;advertised to give&nbsp;young people a thorough curriculum rivaling both high school and college levels of education. Yet its founder, <a href="http://www.biblicalresearchreports.com/bill-gothard-biggest-conservative-fraud-modern-times/" target="_blank">Bill Gothard</a>, was a sinister, manipulative leader. He billed himself as a follower of Christian principles, but he was actually a dangerous sexual predator who preached psychologically damaging teachings about sexual abuse, modesty, and&nbsp;sin. Even the Duggars, the famous—<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/things-the-duggars-cant-do/lyra-radford" target="_blank">perhaps now infamous</a>—family featured on TLC have <a href="http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/josh-duggar-chilling-molestation-confession-in-new-police-report-59752" target="_blank">connections</a> to Gothard and his teachings.Gothard appealed to those who desired&nbsp;a close relationship with God and their community, but instead he offered them fake science, misguided ideas about guilt and sexual abuse, and assaulted over 30 young women. Gothard has since resigned from his position at the IBLP, but his damaging influence over thousands of families remains. Many former students of the homeschooling program, the Advanced Training Institute, have told their shocking stories, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/micah-j-murray/growing-up-in-bill-gothar_b_5228166.html" target="_blank">likening the Institute to a cult</a> rather than a real schooling program.

This Insidious Cult Attracted Victims By Masquerading As A Christian Homeschool Program

Death

Jack the Ripper and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/twisted-hh-holmes-crimes/amandasedlakhevener" target="_blank">H.H. Holmes</a> might be some of history's <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-serial-killers/tool100" target="_blank">most notable serial killers</a>,&nbsp;but the crimes of America's first <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-female-serial-killers/reference" target="_blank">female serial killer</a>, Lavinia Fisher, make her equally as infamous. In the early 1800s she ran a mysterious boarding house where people strangely disappeared. Located in South Carolina,&nbsp;the Lavinia Fisher murder house&nbsp;was rumored to be the location of numerous bodies - allegedly male travelers who were chopped up after enjoying a cup of poisoned tea.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Fisher, who also has the distinction of the first female prisoner to be executed in the United States, ran the&nbsp;boarding house with her husband, John. And while she and John were executed, it's difficult to separate the fact from the fiction when it comes to their crimes. While it's true she existed, the extent of what she did in life has morphed into something of urban legend.&nbsp;Was Fisher a&nbsp;murderer who killed numerous&nbsp;house guests&nbsp;with poisoned tea?&nbsp;Or just a common thief who had the world's worst rumors spread about her?

History Remembers Lavinia Fisher As America's First Female Serial Killer - Whether It's True Or Not

Lavinia Fisher Lured Travelers Into Her Murder House With Tea

Shania Twain

Shania Twain is one of the most recognizable faces of pop country history. With over 100 million records sold, Twain is one of the most successful musical artists of all time. All of this success and monster hits like &quot;Man!&nbsp;I Feel Like A Woman,&quot; and &quot;You're Still The One,&quot;&nbsp;can make it hard to believe that Shania Twain's life has been full of dark and tragic moments. Like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-happened-to-reba-mcentires-band-in-1991/cleo-egnal" target="_blank">fellow country star Reba McEntire</a>, she used the tragedy in her life to fuel her music and ambitions.Twain has shown an incredible amount of strength as she's navigated all of the curve balls that life has thrown&nbsp;at her, from a cheating husband to an abusive father. The <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/dolly-parton-facts-trivia-stories/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">well-loved country singer's</a>&nbsp;musical career has spanned several decades, and she has won a total of 5 Grammy's throughout her career.&nbsp;Through all of her ups and downs, Shania Twain has used music to pull herself through. She's just had a few more tragedies to get through in life than most of us.&nbsp;

The Unbelievably Tragic Life Of Shania Twain

Customs & Rituals

The main message of the Church of Euthanasia was pretty clear: &quot;Save the Planet, Kill Yourself.&quot; The church was formed by Chris Korda&nbsp;in the 1990s, and managed to ruffle a lot of feathers before eventually disbanding.&nbsp;Some people might be wondering - is the Church of Euthanasia a joke, or did they actually believe that all people should die? They were legitimately <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-the-flds-church-believes/lyra-radford" target="_blank">recognized as a&nbsp;church</a>, and actually had an &quot;eco-friendly&quot; platform for the basis of their beliefs.&nbsp;They strongly believed that the world was overpopulated, and if people wanted to live sustainably and not destroy the environment they&nbsp;needed to stop reproducing. Basically the opposite of being <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/weird-catholic-beliefs/lea-rose-emery" target="_blank">Catholic</a>.The '90s were a time when euthanasia was beginning to be publicly discussed for the first time, and environmental concerns like global warming were being debated. The church could have easily engaged and had meaningful conversations with people and the media about these issues, but instead they decided to go radical and make themselves look pretty insane.&nbsp;&nbsp;The following are policies from the now <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/active-cults/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">disbanded</a> Church of Euthanasia - and it's possible you're already a member.

The Jaw-Droppingly Unbelievable Tenets Of The Church Of Euthanasia

Africa

Nzinga&nbsp;Mbande was born into African royalty, appointed herself queen when the king died,&nbsp;and kept a 60-man harem all while leading an army of her people against&nbsp;would-be Portuguese slave traders. She was a total boss who let nothing get in her way, and during her lifetime the white conquerors and&nbsp;colonizers were never successful in enslaving or destroying her people.&nbsp;Queen of the Ndonga and Matamba&nbsp;people and&nbsp;also known by the aliases&nbsp;Njinga Mbande, Ana Nzinga, and Rainha&nbsp;Ginga, she&nbsp;was born in 1583 to King&nbsp;Kiluanji&nbsp;of Ndonga&nbsp;and Matamba&nbsp;(modern day Angola).&nbsp;She was raised by her father's side and, after his death in 1617, served as an advisor to her brother-king, Ngola. She became queen after her brother's death in 1624, although the circumstances around his death remain&nbsp;questionable.Nzinga&nbsp;learned about leadership from her father and her brother during their&nbsp;reigns, but once she became queen of Ndongo and Matamba, she proved herself to be a successful ruler in her own right. A <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-warrior-queens-in-history/carly-silver" target="_blank">warrior queen</a>, a politician, a woman, and a killer,&nbsp;&nbsp;Nzinga&nbsp;fought for her kingdom and against Portuguese domination by any means necessary.&nbsp;

This Boss Led A Successful Slave Rebellion And Kept 60 Boy Toys For Herself

Weird

A well-crafted and visionary film is essentially a living entity with infinitely varying facets. For every single shot in a horror movie, there&#39;s a wealth of peripheral images to analyze -&nbsp;bizarre background action or <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/horror-film-easter-eggs/robert-desalvo" target="_blank">creepy movie Easter eggs</a>&nbsp;that are just waiting to&nbsp;be discovered.&nbsp;

Not all of&nbsp;the these Easter eggs&nbsp;are designed to be enigmatic, however. Some ostensibly &quot;hidden&quot; messages in movies&nbsp;are actually right&nbsp;there&nbsp;in plain sight. The legendary David Lynch, for example, is well known for his attention to detail,&nbsp;but&nbsp;as evinced by many bizarre behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories, even <a href="/list/creepy-terrifying-scary-disney-movies/robert-f-mason" target="_blank">Disney has been known</a> to dabble in bawdy subliminal imagery.

Creepy Easter Eggs Hidden In The Background Of Movies

10 Creepy Things In The Background Of Movies We've Never Noticed

Oklahoma

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was the <a href="https://timeline.com/history-tulsa-race-massacre-a92bb2356a69" target="_blank">deadliest massacre on American soil</a> since the Civil War - but it is rarely mentioned in history books. Over a two-day period,&nbsp;300 people were killed and over a thousand homes and businesses were looted and burned. The victims included Black veterans of World War I, the proprietor&nbsp;of the largest African American-owned hotel in the country, and scores of innocent people.

What happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921? A mob of 10,000 whites descended on Greenwood, the richest Black neighborhood in America, after a Black teenager on his way to a Blacks-only bathroom stepped on the foot of a white elevator operator. The same flimsy pretext was used for countless lynchings and riots, including the <a href="/list/facts-about-the-florida-rosewood-massacre/stephanroget" target="_blank">Florida Rosewood Massacre</a> only two years later.

The Greenwood, Oklahoma, massacre destroyed a thriving Black neighborhood as planes dropped firebombs on American citizens. The National Guard detained 6,000 Black residents - but not a single white person was arrested. The Tulsa race massacre death toll was at least 300 people, but the true number may never be known, since Tulsa&rsquo;s only Black hospitals were destroyed in the massacre, and segregated white hospitals refused to treat Black victims. In America&rsquo;s long history of racial violence, the Tulsa massacre is one of the most tragic events.

In 1921, A Mob Destroyed America's Richest Black Neighborhood And Killed 300 Innocent People

Marriage

The concept of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-modern-mail-order-brides/cheryl-adams-richkoff" target="_blank">mail-order brides</a>&nbsp;traces back centuries, and mail-order bride horror stories continue to engross&nbsp;people today. The mail-order bride phenomenon goes all the way&nbsp;back to&nbsp;19th&nbsp;century America. Men working on the frontiers of the western United States posted advertisements for wives in eastern publications. In the 20th and 21st centuries, mail-order brides were exclusively from foreign countries, mostly the former Eastern Bloc and Southeast Asia. Naturally, many mail-order marriage horror stories arose from this practice, acting as a sort of predecessor to <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/online-dating-horror-stories/casey-cavanagh" target="_blank">online dating nightmares</a>.&nbsp;Most of the instances below deal with scummy men who took advantage of vulnerable and trusting women, but some detail mail-order bride crimes where the leading lady makes off with her husband's money, and sometimes his life. When ordering a bride through the mail goes wrong, any number of abusive, deadly, or even awkward situations can arise.&nbsp;

15 Mail-Order Bride Horror Stories

True Stories Of Mail Order Marriage Gone Wrong

Franklin D. Roosevelt

In 1919, the Navy launched an investigation into the queer culture of the Navy in Newport, Rhode Island. Led by the then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), the Navy sent straight men undercover to <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/franklin-d-roosevelts-forgotten-anti-gay-sex-crusade" target="_blank">entrap gay sailors</a> in what became known as the Newport Scandal. Because FDR is remembered as one of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-u-s-presidents-from-best-to-worst" target="_blank">greatest Presidents of all time</a>,&nbsp;Roosevelt's anti-gay crusade is often overlooked and forgotten.&nbsp;Was Franklin Roosevelt homophobic? His anti-gay actions certainly lend support to a resounding, &quot;Yes.&quot;&nbsp;FDR approved of an investigation that&nbsp;had straight men seduce known gay sailors in order to have these 'depraved' men arrested. In the early 20th&nbsp;century,&nbsp;homosexuality was not tolerated by any means in the military and was seen as the source of &quot;vice&quot; and &quot;depravity&quot; threatening the Navy.&nbsp;The only positive thing to come out of the investigation was a great deal of insight into the fascinating queer subculture of early 20th century Rhode Island.&nbsp;

FDR's Forgotten War Against Homosexuality

Weird History

Catalina de Erauso was not your typical 17th-century nun. She was a gambling conquistador who <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/women-disguised-as-men-in-history/katiefustich" target="_blank">disguised herself as a man</a>, romanced women, and accidentally murdered her own brother. After escaping from a convent as a teenager, Catalina fled to the New World, where she made frequent stops in churches to claim sanctuary after killing people.Catalina became known as la monja alf&eacute;rez, “the Lieutenant Nun,” and she stabbed anyone who crossed her. When she wasn’t on the run for murder, she tricked women into engagements to fleece their families.How does a 17th-century cross-dressing nun, guilty of dozens of murders, convince the pope to pardon her? Only a show-off with as much swagger as Catalina de Erauso could pull off that con.

The Cross-Dressing Nun Who Murdered A Lot Of People (And Got Pardoned By The Pope)

Interesting

You might not find the average mushroom especially beautiful, but bioluminescent mushrooms – those unique species that glow in the dark – are undeniably alluring.&nbsp;Glowing mushrooms can be found around the world, but typically pop up in tropical and temperate climates given their need for moisture and warmth. With at least 71&nbsp;species of mushrooms that glow in the dark, there are specimens on&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bioluminescent_fungus_species" target="_blank">nearly every continent</a>.These pictures of glow in the dark mushrooms show how beautiful they can be. That beauty is more than just skin deep, too. Fungi tend to glow to <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/03/21/394089178/why-some-mushrooms-glow-in-the-dark" target="_blank">attract pollinators</a> like flies and other insects, but the way they do that is pretty interesting. They use a <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/04/28/glowing-mushrooms/#.Wbv03tOGP-Y" target="_blank">similar technique</a> to fireflies and other animals that glow, creating an internal chemical reaction that exhibits energy in the form of light. Their glow isn't just cool to look at in photos; it's a power they have as a kingdom of organisms that's neither plant nor animal.

These Glow In The Dark Mushrooms Will Leave You In Awe Of Mother Nature

16 Amazing Pictures of Glow in the Dark Mushrooms

Weird Nature

Despite what humans may try to say on the matter, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-most-efficient-murderers-in-nature/justin-andress" target="_blank">nature's most effective predators</a> are typically animals, especially animals that eat bigger meals than them. It takes more than just guts to go after prey larger than yourself; smaller predators need to utilize some <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/crazy-predator-animal-hunting-techniques/lisa-waugh" target="_blank">crazy hunting techniques</a> or possess a powerful weapon in order to bring down animals that outrank them in size. Yet these little fighters never back down from a challenge, determined to get their big animal meals one way or another.&nbsp;From tiny insects taking out birds to reptiles consuming entire water buffalo, animal meals present a fascinating look at the remarkable ways organisms must fight to survive. Some of the hunters in this list are literally infants, and they almost always get their prey.&nbsp;Even in the natural realm, size, as it turns out, doesn't matter.

Animals That Eat Things Way, Way Bigger Than They Are

Animal/Plant

11 Animals That Eat Things Way, Way Bigger Than They Are

Literature

No matter how brilliant or groundbreaking or bro-appealing a piece of literature may be, it fails to make up for the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/worst-quotes-about-writing/jenniferlennon" target="_blank">pretentious authors</a> behind them. The most pretentious writers of the world, despite their ways with written words, fail terribly when it comes to opening their mouths, usually because their foot is in the way. Many&nbsp;authors who are douches&nbsp;retain any semblance of&nbsp;literary cred only due to the equally douchey&nbsp;masses who praise their often <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-overrated-books-of-all-time" target="_blank">overrated books</a>. Relying heavily&nbsp;gimmicks or &quot;their own personal style&quot; instead of true substance,&nbsp;numerous&nbsp;douchey&nbsp;writers&nbsp;give off an air of trying to be deep (read this <a href="http://nationalpost.com/entertainment/celebrity/natalie-portman-and-jonathan-safran-foers-intimate-emails-are-every-bit-as-pretentious-as-you-wouldve-guessed" target="_blank">back-and-forth</a> between Natalie Portman and Jonathan Safran Foer&nbsp;to get an idea).The annoying writers of this list frustrate the world for a number of reasons. Some actively embodied the term &quot;hypocrite,&quot;&nbsp;taking support from the very systems their works admonished (hello, welfare recipient&nbsp;Ayn Rand). Others simply ride the coattails of their past works to remain relevant, unable to understand no one's actually read American Psycho. But what unites all these writers are their acolytes, who will stop their fixed-gear bikes&nbsp;to tell you &quot;Well, actually,&quot; your negative opinion of their books&nbsp;is wrong. Never mind them though, for you know the truth: that Walden pond was nowhere near the wildnerness.

The Most Unbearably Pretentious Authors In Literary History

Author

25+ Pretentious Writers Whose Books Are No Fun to Read

Rites of passage usually symbolize&nbsp;an important change of status in society,&nbsp;and are thus regarded as important and cherished traditions. And Native&nbsp;American rites of passage, specifically,&nbsp;are generally&nbsp;vibrant, colorful, and joyous affairs rich with sentimentality and merrymaking. However, there's always the odd and perhaps inevitable&nbsp;bloodcurdling&nbsp;exception. A handful of&nbsp;tribes are notorious for implementing&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/mutilation-and-tests-8-intense-female-rites-of-passage/joanne" target="_blank">harsh tests that men</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/mutilation-and-tests-8-intense-female-rites-of-passage/joanne" target="_blank">women</a>&nbsp;must pass.&nbsp;And while many of these rituals&nbsp;unlike a lot of their ultra-violent overseas counterparts&nbsp;have long since been relegated to the distant past, that doesn't make their legacy&nbsp;any less intense.&nbsp;Most of the following ancient&nbsp;practices will make jumping into a pit of tarantulas&nbsp;seem almost mild by comparison. Read on for a list of initiation rituals that are enough to make anyone think twice about the benefits of growing up.&nbsp;

5 Facts About Rites Of Passage In Native American Cultures

5 Horrifyingly Brutal Native American Rites Of Passage

Olympics

Few moments in Olympic history are as visually memorable as the Black Power salute at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and this moment&nbsp;had very little to do with sporting competition. Two Black American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raised their fists in defiance while a third man stood in silence. That man was Peter Norman, sprinter for the Australian team, and he&rsquo;s often thought of as a visual footnote in that powerful image. If anything, Norman looks awkward and out of place.

Appearances may, however, be deceiving. Not only was Peter Norman a willing participant in the brazen protest for human rights, but he was also more than eager to play a role in it. Smith and Carlos found an ally in their fellow sprinter, setting up what should have been an inspiring story of interracial togetherness. Unfortunately, Norman also ended up being the individual most personally affected by the photo, as he watched his sudden infamy destroy his career, reputation, and place in his own home country.

The White Guy In The Black Power Olympics Photo Paid A Huge Price For His Help

What Happened To The White Guy In The Black Power Photo From The 1968 Mexico Olympics?

Veronica Guerin

Journalist Veronica Guerin was known for her tenacity when it came to getting the facts. Working as a crime reporter in Dublin, Ireland, in the '90s, she had no qualms about having a chat with a hardened criminal if it meant getting a story. Her brave reporting brought her awards and accolades, as well as respect from her peers, and her direct impact on crime in Ireland had a lasting effect.Tragically, it was Veronica's fearlessness that brought about her untimely death. After numerous brushes with several violent figures from Dublin's criminal underworld, she was murdered in 1996 by the Gilligan drug gang for what she'd uncovered.&nbsp;&nbsp;Guerin's legacy is an enduring one of journalistic courage&nbsp;and she is remembered to this day for setting an incredible standard in crime reporting. The Veronica Guerin movie, starring Cate Blanchett, brought her heroic and tragic tale to life in 2003. This list explores the amazing story of Veronica Guerin, the Irish journalist who lost her life in a quest for the truth.&nbsp;

The Incredible &amp; Tragic Story Of Veronica Guerin, The Journalist Murdered By Irish Drug Lords

The Incredible & Tragic Story Of Veronica Guerin, The Journalist Murdered By Irish Drug Lords

Royalty

Just because you&#39;re related to royalty - or hold a title yourself - doesn&#39;t mean you&#39;re immune to embarrassment. Many scandalous royal relatives have caused a media sensation.

Within the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/weird-royals-in-history/danielle-ownbey">weird British royal family</a>, Sarah, Duchess of York, Prince Andrew&#39;s ex-wife,&nbsp;and the Countess of Wessex have had embarrassing run-ins with tabloids. And Queen Elizabeth&#39;s cousin,&nbsp;Princess Michael of Kent, has said&nbsp;too&nbsp;many&nbsp;all-around offensive things to count.

Royal family members in other European monarchies caused scandal as well. The Prince of Monaco&#39;s aunt&nbsp;broke up her brother and his true love and tried to put herself on the throne. The House of Orange-Nassau (which rules the Netherlands)&nbsp;has also had its fair share of&nbsp;embarrassing people related to royals.

As the&nbsp;dirty&nbsp;secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;royal&nbsp;families prove, glittering jewels and priceless crowns don&#39;t stop <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/us-presidents-with-problem-children/stephanroget">problem children</a>&nbsp;or <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/rulers-who-executed-members-of-their-own-families/carly-silver">scheming relatives</a>.

11 Real-Life Royals With Scandal-Plagued Relatives

Person

Real-Life Royals With Scandal-Plagued Relatives

Fails

When it comes to the world's most regrettable tattoos,&nbsp;girlfriend tattoo fails always appear to&nbsp;make the list. To be fair, funny girlfriend tattoos <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/trashiest-tattoos-ever/ashley-reign">don't stem from a trashy place</a>, but their owners should know that a crime of taste is not the issue here (though some of these portraits do warrant an&nbsp;explanation).&nbsp;Despite centuries of evidence that such ink is almost always a bad idea, each generation seems to usher forth a new group of dudes who somehow believe their regrettable girlfriend tattoos will age with grace.&nbsp;Here you will meet several such men.As you'll see, some of them&nbsp;made the cardinal mistake of tattoo fails waiting to happen by getting their now ex-girlfriend's name inked onto their bodies in a moment of misguided passion. Others ended up with not-so-lifelike regrettable girlfriend portrait tattoos. Perhaps the most regrettable&nbsp;have a girlfriend literally inked onto themselves,&nbsp;because that may be the closest they'll&nbsp;ever manage&nbsp;to get to a woman, even a cartoon one. Luckily, no one <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/face-tattoos/lauren-slocum">got a facial tattoo of their girlfriend</a>.&nbsp;Regardless of the circumstances, prepare to get a load of a collection of funny girlfriend tattoos that'll hopefully inspire you to come up with other ways to prove your undying love.

26 Of The Most Regrettable Girlfriend Tattoos Ever

26 Regrettable Girlfriend Tattoos That Are Beyond Trashy

Warren Beatty

Warren Beatty - actor, writer, director, loverman - has developed quite a reputation in Hollywood thanks to&nbsp;three decades spent&nbsp;pork pieing any woman who would have him. He was also in some pretty damn good movies in that time (and continued his streak of hits after marrying Annette Bening in 1992). But who is Warren Beatty, the man friends know as The Chief? He famously shies away from interviews, preferring to let speculation about his life exist in <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-parallel-universe-manga/ranker-anime?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">a parallel world</a>.Despite <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000886/bio">The </a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000886/bio">Cheif</a>'s&nbsp;desire to avoid discussing his private life, crazy stories about Warren Beatty are around every corner in Los Angeles. Not only has Beatty been connected&nbsp;to super famous women like Edie Sedgwick and Madonna,&nbsp;he’s&nbsp;been rumored to have worked on a secret construction project under the Playboy Mansion with Jack Nicholson. What on earth were they erecting? Hollywood must have been&nbsp;weird in the 70s.This is no ordinary list of Warren Beatty trivia. Rather,&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;a look at a life lived between the sheets.&nbsp;And on floors in hotel rooms. Whether you know it or not, you probably love at least one movie&nbsp;Beatty had a hand in (or a movie whose leading lady Beatty got more than a hand in).&nbsp;A short list of projects he acted in, produced, and/or directed includes Bonnie and Clyde, Reds, Bulworth, Shampoo, and McCabe and Mrs Miller.&nbsp;If you don’t know any facts about Warren Beatty, now's the perfect time to start&nbsp;combing through his early work; what better way to understand a&nbsp;shy boy from Virginia who became one of the greatest lotharios the world has ever seen?&nbsp;Even if all these&nbsp;shagtastic stories about Beatty aren’t true, he’d never dispute them, likely because it makes life a little more interesting.&nbsp;They can be real in your mind, if you'd like.&nbsp;

Buckwild Tales And Facts From The Wild Life Of Warren Beatty

16 Things You Didn't Know About Warren Beatty

Disney

Disney&#39;s self-proclaimed squeaky clean reputation is not completely without blemish. Throughout its history, the studio has come under fire numerous times for its misrepresentation - and lack of inclusion -&nbsp;of people of color. Racial bias within the Disney brand reaches back to the company&#39;s beginnings in the 1920s and &#39;30s.&nbsp;Notably, Disney&#39;s The Princess and the Frog, released in 2009, introduced&nbsp;the first Black princess to <a href="/crowdranked-list/best-disney-princesses" target="_blank">Disney&#39;s lineup</a>, and while&nbsp;many praised Disney for this&nbsp;step towards inclusivity, others contested that one film could not atone for decades of racial and cultural&nbsp;insensitivity.&nbsp;

Since the release of The Princess and the Frog - and especially since the studio&#39;s earliest offerings - Disney has substantially&nbsp;improved its inclusion and representation of non-white groups; however, many believe this representation&nbsp;could still be increased. Since Disney&#39;s acquisitions of blockbuster properties such as Marvel and&nbsp;Star Wars, characters of color have appeared more consistently - 2018&#39;s Black Panther became the highest-grossing solo superhero movie of all time, and the third&nbsp;Star Wars&nbsp;trilogy features a much more diverse cast than its 1970s progenitor. Despite this diversity increase, many claim the Disney brand can always expand and improve its representation.&nbsp;

In order to truly understand the Disney studio&#39;s growth, we must reexamine their past offerings. Some of these films are widely regarded as insensitive and have been for some time, while others still largely bask in a rosy, nostalgic glow.

Seven Disney Cartoons Whose Depictions Of People Of Color Didn't Age Well

Film

Seven Racist Disney Cartoons | Disney Racist Cartoons

Unscripted

Which famous people were the valedictorians in their class? This list includes the most famous valedictorians to date, with everyone from the politically influential Hillary Rodham Clinton, to the Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, to the late night talk show host Conan O'Brien, and supermodel Cindy Crawford. Some of these smart celebs went on to <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-went-to-ivy-league-schools/celebrity-lists">attend Ivy League schools</a> as well.A valedictorian is the highest ranking student in his or her class, whether it's in high school or college. The student's overall grade point average determines whether he or she ranks as No. 1 in the senior class, but extracurricular activities such as sports, school clubs and volunteer work are also taken into consideration. It is common for the class valedictorian to deliver a moving and memorable graduation speech to the entire class and audience at the commencement ceremony. In fact, the widely used term valedictorian is derived from the Latin phrase &quot;vale dicer,&quot; which loosely translates to &quot;to say farewell.&quot;&nbsp;Check out the list below of famous valedictorians past and present. And to get even more school spirit, check out these&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-most-amazing-celebrity-yearbook-photos/marc-cuenco">hilarious celebrity yearbook photos</a> and this list of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/30-famous-people-who-once-were-in-marching-bands/robert-wabash">famous people who were in marching bands</a>.

26 Famous People Who Were Valedictorians

Famous People Who Were Valedictorians | Celebrities Who Graduated Top of the Class

What are the most common names for gays? For some reason, there are certain names popular within the LGBT community.&nbsp;Vote for the names you think are the most common among gay people. Feel free to add any missing names you think belong on this list.&nbsp;

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