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Fascinating facts and interesting stories about organized crime: gangs, gangsters, mobsters, the mafia, and other criminals & crime syndicates all over the world.

Feels Good to Be a Gangster

Organized Crime

Rising through the ranks of a cartel is a&nbsp;messy&nbsp;business. Members commit <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/brutal-execution-methods-used-by-mexican-drug-cartels/harrison-tenpas" target="_blank">harsh acts</a>&nbsp;against their perceived enemies, permanently silencing them and sometimes feeding the evidence&nbsp;to their <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/09/2011921191435958546.html" target="_blank">pet lions and tigers</a>.&nbsp;Pablo Escobar was infamous not only for running one of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/el-chapo-family-empire-fate/eric-vega" target="_blank">biggest underworld empires</a> in the world&nbsp;but for using his excess cash to fund&nbsp;<a href="https://clas.berkeley.edu/research/colombia-rise-and-fall-narco-soccer" target="_blank">Colombia&#39;s&nbsp;national soccer team</a>.&nbsp;

But among the &quot;most wanted&quot; list of&nbsp;villains, few have come close to the diabolical deeds reportedly&nbsp;committed by&nbsp;Joaqu&iacute;n &quot;El Chapo&quot; Guzm&aacute;n, alleged head of the Sinaloa cartel in&nbsp;Culiac&aacute;n, Sinaloa. For the better part of three decades, Guzm&aacute;n has helped run the international syndicate, generating billions from the underground economy. Like Escobar, El Chapo reportedly used his dirty money to help his local&nbsp;Culiac&aacute;n&nbsp;community, which reveres him as a &quot;hero.&quot;

In January 2017, Mexcian authorities extradited&nbsp;Guzm&aacute;n&nbsp;to the US to await trial on charges, including trafficking, laundering, and conspiracy.&nbsp;Guzm&aacute;n pleaded &quot;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/05/664351294/notorious-drug-lord-el-chapo-heads-to-trial-in-new-york" target="_blank">not guilty</a>&quot; to the 17 counts, and his New York trial began&nbsp;November 13, 2018. On February 12, 2019,&nbsp;after a dramatic trial that included <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/02/12/690720516/el-chapo-notorious-drug-kingpin-found-guilty-after-dramatic-trial-in-new-york" target="_blank">over 50 witnesses</a> called by the prosecution, Guzm&aacute;n was found guilty on 10 counts of criminal enterprise. Although capital punishment is off the table, Sinaloa&#39;s infamous kingpin faces life in US prison. His <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/nyregion/el-chapo-verdict.html" target="_blank">sentence hearing</a> is scheduled for June 25, 2019.&nbsp;

The Most Chilling Crimes El Chapo Was Responsible For - And How They Affected His Power

General

El Chapo's Most Brutal Crimes

Jeff Richard

Culture

As they say: Midwest is best. After all, it&#39;s the central, beating-heart of a nation rich in diversity and complexity. Though the Midwest&nbsp;technically spans <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-states-are-in-the-midwest/" target="_blank">a swath of states</a> and encompasses a mass&nbsp;of people, there&#39;s a pretty universal collection of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/boston-slang/eric-vega" target="_blank">regional slang</a> that those who hail from one of the mid-section &quot;belts&quot; can probably identify, and that they most likely use.

Midwestern slang even makes its way into the vernacular of other US&nbsp;regional dialects without skipping a beat. Words and phrases from the Midwest are characteristically funny, nice to a fault, and often derivative of the area&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wiscontext.org/how-scandinavians-transformed-midwest-and-midwest-transformed-them-too" target="_blank">Scandinavian immigration</a> history.&nbsp;

Ope? Hotdish? Expressway? Head to either of the coasts, and you&#39;re not likely to get a response. But in the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/midwestern-stereotypes/ashley-reign" target="_blank">Midwest</a>? These simple, often literal phrases and words may be confusing at first, but for those in the know, they get straight to the point. The <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-annoying-words-of-2018/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">verbal expressions</a> that&nbsp;stem from the flyover states flavor the standard of continental&nbsp;English - and it may surprise you which familiar slang terms originate in&nbsp;America&#39;s midsection.

Midwestern Slang Nobody On The Coasts Knows

Lists about the history and quirks of America's highest office.

The American Presidency

Trending on Ranker

As a frequent flyer, the&nbsp;president of the United States deserves relief from typical travel nuisances like baggage fees and shoe removal in security lines. Access to the Air Force One plane, however, is&nbsp;the ultimate travel perk, based on facts we know about this&nbsp;flying fortress of freedom. The <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/things-us-president-cant-do/kellen-perry" target="_blank">president</a>&#39;s life is far from normal, from ordering at a restaurant to remaining under the watchful eye of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/secret-service-trivia-facts/ranker-news" target="_blank">Secret Service</a>, but the way the commander-in-chief travels is especially removed from the rest of the public&#39;s experiences.

Air Force One, which is the name given to any aircraft the president flies on,&nbsp;received its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/01/politics/first-air-force-one-columbine-arizona-desert/index.html" target="_blank">official call sign</a>&nbsp;after a near-collision with a commercial airliner&nbsp;in December&nbsp;1953. Over the years, the US&nbsp;government has steadily added more and more features to Air Force One&#39;s interior, outfitting it with everything from a specially&nbsp;designed staircase to an in-flight medic. To say this plane is loaded is an understatement.

Air Force One&#39;s amenities are luxurious -&nbsp;and in some ways downright weird, although safety is usually the reason behind the strange&nbsp;features.

All The Weirdest Features Of Air Force One

Weirdest Features Inside the President's Air Force One Plane

Here's Freddy

Horror Movies and TV

There are&nbsp;so many memorable&nbsp;figures in the slasher film world: the hockey-mask-wearing Jason Voorhees&nbsp;of the Friday the 13th franchise;&nbsp;the ominous, silent &quot;Shape&quot;&nbsp;Michael Myers from Halloween;&nbsp;the twisted&nbsp;Ghostface killer from&nbsp;Scream;&nbsp;and&nbsp;of course, the horrifically burned Freddy Krueger, the razor-claw-wielding stalker of teenage dreams in the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise.&nbsp;

When <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/never-sleep-again-nightmare-on-elm-street-behind-the-scenes/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">Freddy Kruger was created in&nbsp;1984</a>, audiences were terrified by his very presence. This was a man who was burned alive in our world, only to survive and exact his revenge in the next. While Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Ghostface&nbsp;could stalk any of the unsuspecting teens in their films, they&nbsp;still have the ability to run and hide&nbsp;when trying to evade these killers.&nbsp;Not so much with Freddy Krueger. Instead, Freddy came to them in their nightmares the moment they fell asleep. Shut your eyes, and there was nowhere to hide.&nbsp;

As time went on, Freddy lost his edge (so to speak). The once-wonderful villain&nbsp;became saddled with slapstick-grade quirks and was&nbsp;known to let a few quips fly before cartoonishly&nbsp;slaughtering his victims in the sequels. One girl was turned into a bug before Freddy squished&nbsp;her. Another movie featured&nbsp;Freddy taking control of a TV and smashing someone&#39;s face into it.&nbsp;Granted, the Elm Street series&nbsp;remains one of the most successful horror franchises in history, alongside the hard-to-resurrect&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/how-friday-the-13th-failed/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">Friday the 13th</a> and Halloween, but&nbsp;it&#39;s certainly had its fair share of bumps along the way.&nbsp;

A Timeline Of How 'Nightmare On Elm Street' Went Completely Off The Rails

A look at the happenings and goings-on in and around America's wang.

Meanwhile, in Florida...

Ghosts

There are an infinite amount of terrifying stories that&nbsp;come from Florida. A few of those <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-florida-stories-legends/lyra-radford" target="_blank">creepy Florida stories</a> include the&nbsp;infamous 2012&nbsp;<a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/26/miami-police-confrontation-men-leaves-1-dead-1-hurt/" target="_blank">Miami cannibal&nbsp;incident</a>&nbsp;where a man tried&nbsp;to eat another man&#39;s face. Then there&#39;s the onslaught of hurricanes,&nbsp;and let&#39;s not forget the <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/look-monster-15-foot-gator-named-after-happy-gilmore-character-shocks-florida-golfers/" target="_blank">giant alligators</a> that keep appearing on Florida golf courses.

Florida certainly provides a fair share of nightmare fuel, and to make matters worse,&nbsp;some of the paranormally freaky things that happen in Florida are considered the&nbsp;real deal.&nbsp;

From the Key West Cemetery to the Apollo 1&nbsp;launch site, there have been a number of suspected supernatural sightings down in the Sunshine State.&nbsp;If you have the travel bug and&nbsp;the desire to see some possibly sunburned spirits, here are a few of&nbsp;Florida&#39;s haunted locales&nbsp;you can actually visit.&nbsp;

The Most Haunted Locations In Florida That You Can Actually Visit

15 Most Haunted Places in Florida

TV Trivia

Television makes it look easy to form lifelong friendships as adults. Exciting, tragic, or altogether hilarious situations can turn polar opposites into instant BFFs. After 30&nbsp;to 60&nbsp;minutes, even the most intense of&nbsp;conflicts are&nbsp;resolved, and everyone&#39;s ready to start fresh on the next adventure.

But not every <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tv-best-friends-who-hate-each-other/zach-seemayer" target="_blank">TV character&#39;s relationships</a> would pan out in real life. Maybe a few&nbsp;of them aren&#39;t quite as <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/secretly-horrible-tv-nice-guys/alexandra-plesa" target="_blank">nice</a> as we&#39;d like to think<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/secretly-horrible-tv-nice-guys/alexandra-plesa" target="_blank">.</a> Maybe some are even <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tv-husbands-you-never-realized-are-awful/evan-lambert" target="_blank">married</a> to particularly awful people.

Sure, the bond between friends on television is supposed to overcome all obstacles, but when we really take them out of their element,&nbsp;would many of these characters actually be able to stand one another in real life? Would Joey and Chandler from Friends&nbsp;really&nbsp;get along? Would Barney and Ted on How I Met Your Mother actually find the time to bond over anything if in reality, they would have likely dismissed each other on the streets of New York?&nbsp;And would anyone on It&#39;s Always Sunny In Philadelphia ever make it a single day without&nbsp;pushing everyone&nbsp;in their lives to the brink of insanity?

Television can be an unrealistic, fantastical escape, but if these characters existed outside the confines of your screen, they would not give each other the time of day, let alone be friends.

TV Characters Who Would Never Be Friends In Real Life

TV Friends Who Should Hate Each Other

Insane foods people actually eat—but YOU should not—because they are way too decadent or just downright disgusting.

Food Abominations

Gross

We've all heard gross food stories about people finding strange items in their lunch or dinner. Maybe it's the Milky Way bar&nbsp;that had a <a href="https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/01/18/Woman-finds-tooth-in-candy-bar/UPI-11141263841107/" target="_blank">human tooth</a> in it. Perhaps it's the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/04/25/skin-found-on-arby-sandwich-man-says.html" target="_blank">slice of human skin</a>&nbsp;in an Arby's sandwich, or the&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/young-boy-arrested-putting-needles-fruit-australia-police/story?id=57932589" target="_blank">needles in strawberries</a>.Finding an unwanted piece of grossness in your food can&nbsp;undoubtedly be traumatizing... but what about the ingredients that are supposed to be there?&nbsp;Have you ever wondered about the processes behind processed food? Thankfully, manufacturers are not legally allowed to mix human teeth or needles into&nbsp;our food. However, you might be surprised by some of the ingredients they use.These gross food-processing facts might&nbsp;spoil your next meal, but they're&nbsp;still not as unappetizing as an Arby's&nbsp;thumb-skin sandwich.

Foods You Don't Want To See Made

Gross Food Processes: How Delicious Foods Are Made

Roommates can be irritating. Maybe they come home at odd hours, leave the lights on, eat all your food, or refuse to take out the garbage.&nbsp;But while these&nbsp;habits&nbsp;may annoy&nbsp;you,&nbsp;they don't compare&nbsp;with not knowing you have a roommate in the first place.Perhaps you come home one day and discover a few things out of place, or can't find the groceries you swore you just bought, leading you to ponder,&nbsp;&quot;Is there someone secretly living in my house?&quot;&nbsp;It's hard to imagine someone invading&nbsp;your home without your knowledge, but news accounts of secret house guests&nbsp;suggest it's not an impossible scenario.Certain signs can&nbsp;tell you if someone secretly lives&nbsp;in your house, but there are a lot of ways an&nbsp;unwanted guest&nbsp;can turn your home...&nbsp;into theirs.

Signs Someone Might Secretly Be Living In Your House

12 Signs Someone Secretly Lives In Your House

These are the most dramatic, petty, savage, and entertaining rivalries since Cain & Abel.

Where's the Beef?

Detailing the most dramatic, pettiest, most savage and entertaining feuds in the history of the music biz.

Dueling Divas

Feuds

Update: <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-rap-songs-2020/music-lover" target="_blank">Dive into the best new hip hop with our list of 2020&#39;s top rap songs</a>.

Beefs in music go back practically as far as the first note ever played. Even classical composers took a few digs at fellow artists, with <a href="http://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/composer-insults/copland/" target="_blank">Beethoven once remarking</a> &quot;[Gioachino] Rossini would have been a great composer if his teacher had spanked him enough on the backside.&quot;

Maybe that&#39;s not the type of razor-sharp diss you&#39;re going to find on Eminem&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vibe.com/2018/08/joe-budden-mgk-eminem-kamikaze-diss-list/" target="_blank">Kamikaze album</a>,&nbsp;but when today&#39;s artists go for each other&#39;s throats, a quick diss can snowball into a massive feud that ends up lasting for years. That&nbsp;can be especially true when a feud crosses musical genres.

These days, we have the &quot;luxury&quot; of social media to <a href="https://jezebel.com/cardi-b-threw-a-shoe-at-nicki-minaj-but-why-1828907252" target="_blank">watch these spectacles unfold</a>, resulting in some feuds rising to legendary status - but only you can decide&nbsp;which beef is the biggest.

Inside The Biggest And Nastiest Rap Vs. Rock Beefs Ever

Band/Musician

Rap Vs. Rock Beefs: A Recent History of Feuds

Medicine

The <a href="https://www.deathwithdignity.org/take-action/" target="_blank">right to die</a> is one of the most widely-talked about topics in the world. When a person&#39;s life reaches a tipping point, and their suffering outweighs the joys of living, an argument can be made to end it sooner rather than later.&nbsp;

To some, it is&nbsp;a humane and dignified way to exit this world. To others, it is inexcusable&nbsp;to assist someone in taking their own life. No matter the case,&nbsp;every situation&nbsp;will always be unique.&nbsp;But if there was ever a single individual who pioneered the discussion itself, it was&nbsp;Dr. Jack Kevorkian, also known as &quot;Dr. Death.&quot;&nbsp;

Kevorkian advocated for patients taking their own lives if they ever reached that tipping point. He argued their decision went beyond any law a government put&nbsp;in place &ndash; that it wasn&#39;t legal&nbsp;or illegal,&nbsp;but a <a href="http://biography.yourdictionary.com/jack-kevorkian" target="_blank">personal right.</a>

Remembering Jack Kevorkian, The Controversial Physician Called 'Dr. Death'

12 Things You Didn't Know About "Dr. Death" Jack Kevorkian

Let's face it: People are gross. The world is gross. Life is gross. Ugh, go wash your hands.

That's Disgusting!

Have you ever thought about where your meal has been before it's arrived safely onto your plate? If you knew, it might make you&nbsp;think twice about what you make for dinner tonight.<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/bugs-you-eat-without-realizing/rylee_en" target="_blank">Insects</a>, fecal matter, hair, and even cigarette butts are just a few &quot;unpleasant bits&quot; the FDA&nbsp;allows in&nbsp;your food. The regulated filth may not be visible at first glance,&nbsp;but it could&nbsp;be&nbsp;lurking in the cracks and crevices of your berries, fish, and candy.

12 FDA Regulations That Will Scare You

Weird

The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards a person can earn. Among its many recipients, it is an honor&nbsp;won by chemists, physicists, and authors who have contributed vast amounts of tireless work to shaping the world we live in, and for their efforts in&nbsp;paving the way for humanity to move forward. The prize is named after its benefactor, <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/alfred-nobel-9424195" target="_blank">Alfred Nobel</a>, who, among a great many other things, was noted for his revolutionary invention that oftentimes&nbsp;literally helps to shape our world: dynamite.&nbsp;Most often used in construction, demolition, or by Wile E. Coyote, dynamite quickly became a necessary tool for making large things go away very quickly. Although it would eventually be used as a weapon, dynamite was commonly used to blast rock underwater or to carve away tunnels. That is, at least, until&nbsp;November 12, 1970,&nbsp;when&nbsp;local authorities in Florence, OR,&nbsp;realized Mr. Nobel's invention could be put to another use: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vmnq5dBF7Y" target="_blank">blowing up the rotting carcass of a beached&nbsp;whale.</a>&nbsp;What followed became one of the most <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-oregon-stories-legends/isadora-teich" target="_blank">bizarre urban legends</a>&nbsp;in American history.

That Time They Blew Up A Whale On The Oregon Coast

11 Weird Facts About The Whale Explosion In Oregon In 1970

True Crime

Murderer Richard Crafts killed his wife on November 18,&nbsp;1986, then tried&nbsp;to dispose of his criminal&nbsp;evidence in the most efficient way to ensure <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/killers-caught-years-later/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">he wouldn't get caught</a>&nbsp;— by&nbsp;feeding&nbsp;his victim's body into an industrial wood chipper.&nbsp;Without bodily evidence, investigators were stumped for a time. But despite his best efforts, Crafts&nbsp;turned out to be <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/killers-caught-because-they-were-sloppy/timothy-ryan-white" target="_blank">a sloppy killer.</a>&nbsp;Although he <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/criminals-who-got-away-but-were-caught-later/amandatullos" target="_blank">got away with his crimes</a> for a while, Crafts was eventually tracked and brought to justice in 1989 using meticulous investigation and revolutionary DNA analysis. Not every murderer&nbsp;gets so creative with their methods of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/killers-unconventional-body-disposal/lyra-radford" target="_blank">human body disposal</a>,&nbsp;but Crafts's&nbsp;heinous act ultimately&nbsp;revolutionized criminal forensics and DNA identification.

He Used A Wood Chipper To Get Rid Of A Body - But His Plan Wasn't Foolproof

Murderer Richard Crafts Killed His Wife With a Woodchipper

All the ways drugs have been used, abused, and influencing the world throughout history.

Historical Highs

Picture this: you're in a cherry red&nbsp;1971 Chevrolet Impala, gunning it across the desert&nbsp;along I-15 from Las Vegas.&nbsp;You can't be entirely sure, but it appears there are bats headed your way in a great swarm, soon to be overtaking the &quot;great red shark&quot; you're driving and perhaps whisking you away to another dimension entirely. You've taken cocaine to stay awake for the drive, but that was only because you haven't slept&nbsp;for the last 72 hours, instead&nbsp;bouncing between&nbsp;the chaotic highs of molly&nbsp;and mescaline.&nbsp;The guy sitting beside you? A drifter from somewhere in the&nbsp;Florida panhandle, still feeling the effects of the three &quot;powder bombs&quot; of&nbsp;bath salts he ingested last night.&nbsp;For a brief moment, you wonder if he's just a figment of your imagination - or if you're a figment of his.&nbsp;But there's no time to dote on&nbsp;these things because&nbsp;you've got a trunk full of nearly every illegal drug in America. This car isn't just four wheels and an engine - it's a vessel from another world, ferrying&nbsp;nightmares through space and time like Charon taking the dead across the river Styx.To answer your first question -&nbsp;yes, you are freaking out right now.That's because there is a long list of illegal drugs circulating throughout the United States, all with varying degrees of effects. And in order to keep those highs in check (and those bats out of your hair), the government made sure to criminalize each and every one. When did America make drugs illegal? Many federally outlawed drugs were actually once perfectly legal to purchase and use in America.If you want to learn when and why possessing substances like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/your-body-on-cocaine/anna-lindwasser" target="_blank">cocaine</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-heroin-addiction-does-to-your-body/laura-allan" target="_blank">heroin</a> could lead to substantial jail time, browse this timeline of illegal drugs in America.&nbsp;Click through below to free your mind, stimulate your senses, and hopefully not leave too addicted to anything.&nbsp;

A Timeline Of When And Why Every Drug In The United States Became Illegal

Drug

Fun facts and insane true stories from behind the scenes of some of history's most beloved and infamous thrillers and chillers.

Horror Movies in the Making

Long before the internet made it far too easy to see graphic, inhumane scenes of violence, viewers had to go out into the real world to&nbsp;hunt for stomach-churning videos. Sketchy video stores and limited-release screenings were the only way to see the most <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/real-horrifying-snuff-films/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">grotesque imagery ever put to celluloid</a>. Far from the eyes of the mainstream, shady establishments existed to showcase horror films that were so terrible the police thought they were real.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Of all the snuff films that went too far,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078935/" target="_blank">Cannibal Holocaust</a>&nbsp;is perhaps the most notable, as its release managed to attract the attention of audiences around the world. It has blood, guts, extreme violence, and it&#39;s a bit more real than your average Hollywood release. The film is&nbsp;deemed to be one of the vilest and reprehensible movies ever made&nbsp;due to its graphic depictions of animal slaughter&nbsp;and cannibalism.&nbsp;

While the final cut of the film will certainly make you lose your lunch, the Cannibal Holocaust&nbsp;behind-the-scenes facts&nbsp;are almost certainly just as bad.&nbsp;

The Making And Release Of 'Cannibal Holocaust' Was Just As Nasty As The Film Itself

The Making Of Cannibal Holocaust Was Just As Nasty As The Film Itself

Are we all alone in the universe? Probs not.

Close Encounters

Secrets

Area 51 was once believed to be a whacky conspiracy theory.&nbsp;But with the advent of new technology, authorities were forced to admit the mysterious military installation in the middle of the Nevada desert was, is, and continues to be, very real.It's hard to continuously deny something as “non-existent” when there are extremely “existent” armed soldiers ready to use lethal force to prevent anyone from discovering it. And just what were these authorities trying to protect? <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/area-51-creepy-stories/kellen-perry" target="_blank">Rumors were rampant</a> about everything from aliens to ultra-top-secret government weaponry, so it goes without saying that any place holding Earth-shattering secrets will likely be one-of-a-kind.Wrong.Constructed in the early 1990s, Russia's own hidden military&nbsp;base is slightly more than just a base -&nbsp;it is Russia's Area 51, and it is a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ozyorsk-russia-city-40-facts/david-sharp" target="_blank">top secret town</a>.&nbsp;Mezhgorye&nbsp;is nestled within the Ural Mountains&nbsp;and is&nbsp;said to be 400 square miles large but still completely off the radar. Below are some facts about Mezhgorye, Russia, one of the world's mysterious closed towns with a host of secrets and intrigue.&nbsp;

Russia Has Its Own Area 51 - Only It's An Entire Town, And It Might Harbor Catastrophic Secrets

Russia Has Their Own Area 51 - And It's Even Creepier Than You'd Think

Shining a flashlight on real places around the world that are really haunted and really spooky.

Hello Is There a Ghost Here?

Supernatural & Paranormal

In the United States alone, there are reportedly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reportedly_haunted_locations_in_the_United_States" target="_blank">hundreds of locations</a>&nbsp;haunted by restless spirits.&nbsp;And while one haunted location is certainly frightening to think about... what happens when there's an entire island&nbsp;overrun by wandering spirits?&nbsp;Sitting in the middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens, Roosevelt Island is full of bizarre&nbsp;mysteries that have gone unanswered for decades. The creepy history of Roosevelt Island includes a smallpox hospital which functioned more like an overcrowded hospice;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/life-in-19th-century-mental-institutions-and-insane-asylums/christopher-myers" target="_blank">an insane asylum</a>&nbsp;infamous for its <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/nellie-bly-womens-lunatic-asylum-blackwells-island/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">abysmal treatment of its patients</a>;&nbsp;and&nbsp;a creepy lighthouse that started as the project of an escaped asylum inmate. While there are many haunted places in New York City, none of them have as dense and horrifying of a history as Roosevelt Island.&nbsp;

Once A Prime Spot Of Cruelty And Suffering, New York City's Posh Roosevelt Island Is Deeply Haunted

New York City's Posh Roosevelt Island Is Deeply Haunted

Lists about life in the Empire of Japan from 1939, at which point it was already at odds with China, to the aftermath of the devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki post-1945. 

WWII Japan

Over the course of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-world-war-2-changed-the-world/kellen-perry" target="_blank">WWII</a>, there were countless tales of tragedy, heroism, and triumph: The Invasion of Normandy. The Battle Of Midway. Oskar Schindler&nbsp;saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.&nbsp;

Although these are among the more <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ww2-spy-stories/philgibbons" target="_blank">well-known events</a>, the story of the Angels of Bataan stands as one of the greatest tales of survival throughout WWII.&nbsp;While stationed in the Bataan Peninsula in the&nbsp;Philippines, 77&nbsp;members of the US&nbsp;Army Nurse Corps and US Navy Nurse Corps were captured by Japanese forces. Soon after, they were interred as prisoners&nbsp;in and around Manila, where they not only strengthened one another to survive their terrifying ordeal, but also bravely continued to serve as a nursing unit, dressing soldiers&#39;&nbsp;wounds and tending to those who had become sick.

But their time within the Japanese camps was not easy, and for many years their own battle took its toll. They survived extreme hunger,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-japanese-torture-methods-from-world-war-two/peterdugre" target="_blank">Japan&#39;s notorious wartime torment</a>, and three years of prison. But the story of how the Angels of Bataan and Corregidor, as they&#39;re now known,&nbsp;endured these horrors while selflessly helping and serving others is absolutely remarkable, and should not be forgotten.

Japan's War Prison For Female American Nurses Abroad Was Shockingly Brutal

Japan's Shockingly Brutal All-Female War Prison For American Nurses Abroad Ended In The Most Unpredictable Way

The most bananas stories and insane 100% true tales about the lives and behind-the-music antics of your favorite rock stars and legendary bands.

Freakin' Rock Stars

In the annals of rock history, there are hundreds of legendary stories from <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-rock-bands-of-all-time" target="_blank">some of the biggest bands</a> to&nbsp;ever have graced the stage: <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crazy-ozzy-osbourne-facts/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">Ozzy Osbourne</a> biting the head off a bat in 1982,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crazy-led-zeppelin-stories/harrison-tenpas" target="_blank">Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page</a> dating a 14-year-old girl (AKA David Bowie's ex...), and&nbsp;Nikki Sixx, guitarist for Motley Cr&uuml;e, <a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/nikki-sixx-dies/" target="_blank">literally dying and coming back to life</a>.These figures' lives were&nbsp;as loud and dangerous as the songs they created. Even so,&nbsp;AC/DC stories tend to steal the top spots on many lists of insane band trivia.&nbsp;From drugs, to&nbsp;dementia, to the death of guitarist Malcolm&nbsp;Young, it's a long way to the top... but a fast trip all the way down.&nbsp;

Insane Stories From The Heyday Of AC/DC

The Joker first appeared in the debut issue of Batman in 1940. He has been wreaking havoc throughout the universe of DC Comics ever since.

Joker: Gotham's Nightmare

Villains

When it comes to comics,&nbsp;a hero is only as good as his villain. The contrast between them must be so significant that both are elevated from their respective positions; or, rather, they must be equal in their opposite tendencies. Superman is only as virtuous as Lex Luthor is evil. Same goes for Green Lantern and Sinestro. Or Professor X and Magneto.

Some villains are so twisted, their malevolence exceeds their rival&#39;s&nbsp;capacity&nbsp;for heroism; they aren&#39;t just at the other end of the &quot;good vs. evil&quot;&nbsp;spectrum, but&nbsp;in a league all their own.&nbsp;Perhaps the most notable of these rare figures appeared in Batman #1, on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(comics)" target="_blank">April 25, 1940</a>,&nbsp;a&nbsp;cold-blooded serial killer who left a signature calling card after poisoning his marks,&nbsp;an act that left them with grotesque smiles similar to his own. His name? Joker. Due to the character&#39;s inherent nastiness, there&#39;s been some serious gore in the Joker comics.

Joker&#39;s true identity is&nbsp;a constantly fluctuating enigma. He&nbsp;inhabits an absolute&nbsp;role, one that&nbsp;doesn&#39;t require backstory. There are&nbsp;many, varied origin stories explaining&nbsp;how Joker&nbsp;became who he is, one whose&nbsp;manic grin instills fear, and whose motives are driven only by madness. In some cases,&nbsp;he&#39;s been described as not&nbsp;insane, but rather <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1rq9y5/the_joker_and_super_sanity/">super-sane</a>, a person&nbsp;so intelligent&nbsp;his&nbsp;intellect goes beyond what anyone else could possibly understand.

Joker has been called the Harlequin of Hate. The Jester of Genocide. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(comics)">The Ace of Knaves</a>. And, although&nbsp;he&#39;s a fictional character, his deeds are nonetheless the things of absolute nightmares. Read on for a list of some of the goriest moments in the Joker comics.

The Most Insanely Gory Moments In The Joker's History

Most Insanely Gory Moments in the Joker's History

Controversial

Censorship in any form is a tricky issue. While we&#39;re lucky&nbsp;to not&nbsp;live in the world of&nbsp;Ray Bradbury&#39;s Fahrenheit 451 (a novel which, by some cosmic&nbsp;irony, was at one point&nbsp;<a href="https://www.comparehare.co.uk/banned-books-that-shaped-america/" target="_blank">banned itself</a>), there have nevertheless been countless instances in which some of the most profound novels, poems, or essays of all time have been kicked out of libraries. The list of banned books is long and fraught with controversies, but the list of books banned in Texas prisons is even stranger.

Whether it&#39;s due to moral, political, religious, or even commercial reasoning, certain institutions selecting which books can stay&nbsp;and which will be given the silent treatment has, sadly,&nbsp;been in practice since the invention of the book itself.&nbsp;The Texas state prison system has some very strict rules on the subject, mostly because of what&#39;s described as &quot;<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/09/texas-prisons-banned-book-policy-is-a-national-disgrace.html" target="_blank">deviant sexual behavior</a>&quot;&nbsp;found in more than a few pages. Below, you&#39;ll find several confounding, outrageous, and truly unbelievable titles that have made the banned books list in Texas prisons. Vote up the books you think shouldn&#39;t be banned.

Women Behind Bars

Books You Will Not Believe Are Banned in Texas Prisons

Book

15 Banned Books in Texas State Prisons

Fun and horrifying facts many weird, gross, and excruciatingly painful things that can happen to you & your body in your final moments.

Terrible Ways to Go

Biology

It looks like your day has finally come.&nbsp;You've spent years on death row. Eating the same gruel. Pacing your cell. Just waiting for today.And now? Now, it's time to go.&nbsp;The rattle of your cell door echoes down the block. The other inmates remain silent, as they're waiting for their own days. For now, a guard snakes a chain around your hands and feet. Leads you down a long hallway&nbsp;which ends in a small room. There, three walls are cold&nbsp;gray concrete. The fourth? It's a one-way glass mirror.&nbsp;You know who's on the other side. And they've been waiting for this day, too.&nbsp;Soon, a doctor -&nbsp;a specialist -&nbsp;enters the room, followed by a priest, and they're here because today is your day to die. What's your crime? It doesn't matter, because your mind is far from it. All you can focus is on is the small cart of medical equipment -&nbsp;vials and needles&nbsp;- being wheeled in, along with a set of lethal injection serums that will steadily enter your bloodstream.Within a few moments, you'll be dead.&nbsp;&nbsp;Read on to find out exactly what happens during a lethal injection.

What Happens to Your Body When You Die of Lethal Injection

Lists of fascinating and bizarre real cases that continue to stump detectives and amateur sleuths.

Unsolved Mysteries

People have been living all around the world for literally thousands of years. Here are some of the most interesting things human beings have ever done (that we know about).

Fascinating Ancient History

Unsolved Mysteries Test

History

At last count, the world contained about 7.4 billion people. That&#39;s quite a lot already, and it&#39;s impossible to say exactly&nbsp;how many have lived before us. With so many people in total, it&#39;s no wonder that&nbsp;countless stories have been left untold, objects left buried, and mysteries left&nbsp;unsolved.&nbsp;As much as we know about the world, and as many mysteries as <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scientific-explanations-for-famous-mysteries/jim-rowley" target="_blank">we&#39;ve already solved</a>, there is still so much more we can&#39;t fully comprehend -&nbsp;and perhaps never will -&nbsp;about the distant past.

Symbols. Scrolls. Artifacts. Sometimes it&#39;s hard to fathom exactly what else could be out there, or even <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/glass-coffin-san-francisco-discovery-facts/trilby-beresford" target="_blank">in our own backyards</a>. Some believe there is <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/mysterious-ancient-scientific-discoveries-and-inventions/kellen-perry" target="_blank">ancient technology</a> yet to be discovered, or even entire civilizations left to be found. And sometimes, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/archaeology-that-changed-history/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">ancient artifacts</a> can change how we view our history. Let&#39;s take a look at some of what our ancestors have left behind.

17 Eerie And Incredible Unsolved Ancient Mysteries From Around The World

17 Eerie and Incredible Unsolved Ancient Mysteries Around the World

Science

As children, many of us believed the world harbored the types of dangers we often only read about&nbsp;or saw in films.&nbsp;One could step in quicksand if they weren't careful. A clown outbreak could strike at any moment. And if we learned just one thing from My Girl, bees were stinger-wielding lunatics, bent on attacking us if we got too close to them.&nbsp;Of course, as we grew older, we realized how irrational some of these fears were. <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/quicksand.htm">Quicksand</a> is&nbsp;virtually nonexistent, and <a href="http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/80324efb4e63252ba5ea8cd36fd5799a">clowns</a> only attack if you happen to walk a little too close to a storm drain.&nbsp;And as for bees? Well, bees turned out to be pretty great the more we got to know them.&nbsp;Not only are they nice enough to make honey - something&nbsp;which more than makes up for a sting or two growing up -&nbsp;but they're&nbsp;responsible for virtually our entire system of crops.&nbsp;Fruits, vegetables, plants, they all come&nbsp;down to bee pollen. And the problem is, the bee population has been steadily dwindling over the past several decades due to the rampant use of pesticides.&nbsp;So, <a href="http://elitedaily.com/news/world/humans-need-bees-to-survive/755737/">what happens if the bees die</a>? Click through to find out exactly why we were wrong to be afraid of them, and why we should be afraid for them. Colony collapse disorder is real, and its effects have the potential to be&nbsp;disastrous.

Unexpected Things That Would Happen If Bees Died Out

Unexpected Things That Would Truly Happen If All the Bees Died Out

Lists about astronauts, space exploration, and what we've learned about the effects of space travel on the human body.

Life in Outer Space

The Space Page

Everything seemed to be going great on your <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism">space tourism</a> adventure. You were able to indulge in all kinds of freeze-dried astronaut food, see the celestial majesty of the stars from miles above the Earth's atmosphere, and drift around in zero-gravity for a few hours before it was time for your shuttle to make its descent back down to Earth.&nbsp;At least, that was the plan until someone accidentally opened the air lock, and you've found yourself sucked out into the cold, vacuum of space without your trusty space suit.&nbsp;But&nbsp;so what? Things couldn't be that bad, could they?&nbsp;Actually, being sucked out into the black void of the heavens is so colossally dangerous&nbsp;that even if you were miraculously saved after a short amount of time, there would be no way to reverse most of the damage your body has sustained.&nbsp;Read on to find out what you're in for if you ever find yourself lost in space.&nbsp;

When Your Body Is Exposed to the Vacuum of Space, Your Blood 'Boils' And You Inflate Like A Balloon

What Would Happen If Your Body If It Was Exposed to the Vacuum of Outer Space

Lists about polite manners, celebrations, and cultural traditions around the world.

Strange Customs & Rituals

It might be hard to believe, but the notion of sex around the world can be very different depending on where you are. It's not always a cut and dry act - for some cultures it's seen as taboo, while others it's an open celebration that people love to partake in (and talk about). But how many of these alternative cultures do you really know about?To say there are more than a few shocking examples is quite the understatement. Whether it's mutilations, traditions, or seemingly trying to knock out <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/bucket-list-ideas/lauren-slocum?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">a bucket list</a> of every tip Cosmo conjures up, here is a list of some of the most bizarre sexual rituals around the world. &nbsp;

Strange Sexual Practices from Cultures Around the World

Originally known as Timely Publications and then as Atlas Comics, the comic book publishing company known as Marvel began in 1961 when it launched The Fantastic Four.

The Universe of Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

For several decades following Marvel&#39;s inception, the levels of violence depicted in its comics were fairly tame. The Golden and Silver Ages of Marvel comics contained very little gore; it was mainly fisticuffs, with the occasional <a href="/list/comics-that-are-not-for-kids/ranker-comics" target="_blank">shocking&nbsp;demise</a> peppered in to keep the stakes high for <a href="/crowdranked-list/top-marvel-comics-superheroes">our heroes</a>.

But &quot;gore,&quot;&nbsp;or really, any high level of brutality now&nbsp;seen in Marvel&#39;s books, has only truly emerged in recent decades. While the books have always dealt with relatable issues that us non-superpowered folks face each day (Peter Parker&nbsp;fitting in at high school, Tony Stark&#39;s alcohol dependency, etc.), the physical aggression has steadily increased, sometimes to the point of being&nbsp;downright shocking.

In many cases, non-readers still perceive comic books as being nothing more than early-era novelties - the likes of Captain America throwing a haymaker&nbsp;at Hitler, or Spider-Man simply webbing up his foes. But that&#39;s not the case with the entries below. No, we&#39;re talking about characters getting eaten. Ripped in half. Berserker rampages that end with entire teams of people left in bloody heaps. Indeed,&nbsp;Marvel has shown it&#39;s not afraid to get its hands - and other body parts - bloody in the process of storytelling. These are some of the goriest moments in Marvel comics.

Graphic Moments In Marvel Comic History You Can't Unsee

Graphic Moments in Marvel Comic History You Can't Unsee

Lists about ways people around the world and throughout history have altered their own appearances in the quest for physical beauty.

Hey, Good Lookin'

Asia

Most of us have our morning ritual down pretty well. It's usually a variation of shower, dress,&nbsp;coffee, breakfast, scream&nbsp;at traffic, more coffee, arrive at work, and subsequently ponder our place in the universe until it's time to go home.But rewind to a bit earlier: in those few precious moments before it's time to get out the door and race to punch in the clock, we probably don't think about the shoes we're slipping on. Okay, maybe some of us give it a little more thought than others, but they're typically the last items we put on, and the first ones we take off.&nbsp;They're fairly easy to operate, with the only real struggle coming from maybe a stubborn heel or a frayed lace every now and then.&nbsp;The point is, we should all be thankful the process of foot&nbsp;binding is finally over.But what is foot&nbsp;binding,&nbsp;exactly? Well, imagine bending (and occasionally, breaking) your feet&nbsp;to grotesque angles from the age of five -&nbsp;and that's just scratching the surface.&nbsp;So why would anyone want to&nbsp;mangle their own toes to look like a vacuum-sealed pack of cocktail sausage smokies? Click through to find out some insane facts about this primitive practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Facts About The History Of Chinese Foot Binding

Crazy Things You Didn't Know about Ancient Chinese Foot Binding

Did you read that article that linked so-and-so to that guy from the thing? Or see the video about how this is the same as that? Come on, let's weave some tangled webs!

It's a Conspiracy

Interesting

When you think about a time when the answer to the question &quot;Is the Earth really round?&quot; could possibly be in dispute, you probably think back to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages">Middle Ages</a>. If you were to tell someone back then that the Earth is shaped less like a plank of wood and more like an orange, they'd probably say something like, &quot;Get to Church you blathering, godless heathen!&quot; or&nbsp;&quot;The Earth has been, and always will be,&nbsp;flat!&quot;That seems like the last time it would be acceptable to think the Earth is flat, right? But somehow,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-are-flat-earthers/celebrity-lists">people still believe the Earth is flat</a>.Roughly 600 years later.&nbsp;The same year that one can get on a magic screen, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/">visit a store</a> that doesn't even physically exist,&nbsp;click the image of a telescope, have said telescope delivered within an hour, and use that telescope to look at more spherical&nbsp;planets in the sky, just like ours. &nbsp;But, alas, there are some - like those folks in the Middle Ages - that just aren't buying it.So, why do people believe in a flat Earth? Click through to find out how shallow the&nbsp;rabbit hole is, and why &quot;flat-Earthers&quot; don't believe you'll end up on the other side.&nbsp;

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