Matthew Lavelle lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for lists and rankings in all categories

Matthew Lavelle - Lists at Ranker

Messed-up moments and thought-provoking revelations about nostalgic movies we watched a little too young.

Dark Movies We Watched as Kids

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Most children - and some adults - remain&nbsp;in ignorance of many dark <a href="http://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?TSID=5036&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%2Fref%3Dnb_sb_noss%3Furl%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps%26field-keywords%3DThomas%2Bthe%2BTank%2BEngine&amp;amazon-ids-by-cc=US%3Drankercom2624378-20" target="_blank">Thomas the Tank Engine</a> moments. Despite the evolution of Thomas the Tank Engine to Thomas and&nbsp;Friends, the strange but revealing description of these animated steam engines is&nbsp;in the intro lyrics:&nbsp;&quot;They&#39;re the really useful crew, all with different roles to play.&quot;

In the 1940s,&nbsp;Anglican clergyman&nbsp;Wilbert Awdry&nbsp;created&nbsp;Thomas the Tank Engine, which takes place in a fictional world full of sentient steam engines, trains, and cars that seek to please their&nbsp;leader and contribute to their island of Sodor. It&#39;s charming on the surface, but a closer inspection of the story reveals&nbsp;nonconformist train engines that suffer&nbsp;from <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends" target="_blank">punishment</a> and public shaming.

You might think this is simply a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/toddler-shows-fan-theories/brian-gilmore" target="_blank">fan theory&nbsp;about a&nbsp;children&#39;s show</a>, but the true story behind&nbsp;Thomas the Tank Engine is unquestionably rooted in darkness.

The History Behind 'Thomas The Tank Engine' Is Actually Really Dark

General

Thomas The Tank Engine Is Actually A Dark Authoritarian Dystopia And Its Dark-Minded Creator Made It That Way

Matthew Lavelle

Lists about every type of relationship, from those who just met to those who have been side by side for years.

Coupled Up

Entertainment

It&#39;s hard to imagine, but horror movies might just be the perfect date night staple. These terrifying films&nbsp;aren&#39;t merely <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/why-horror-movies-are-good-for-you/lyra-radford" target="_blank">good for you</a> -&nbsp;they&#39;re great for getting your&nbsp;partner in the mood for some romance. Cuddling up with your significant other to watch a movie is an all-but-proven&nbsp;way to get closer. However, all too often, couples choose sentimental dramas or romantic comedies because those&nbsp;genres seem more date-worthy.&nbsp;

Romantic films&nbsp;may seem like a perfect - albeit&nbsp;safe - choice, but&nbsp;couples need to rethink their traditional&nbsp;date night selections&nbsp;and choose a horror flick instead.&nbsp;From the collective catharsis they elicit to the physical closeness they necessitate, scary movies just may be the best option. In fact, they might even inspire a new saying: &quot;The couple who gets scared together, stays together.&quot;

Horror films are perfect for any time of year, so there&#39;s no need to wait for Halloween to test out this date night idea.&nbsp;

Why Watching Horror Movies Together Makes Couples Happier

Here's Why Watching Horror Movies As A Couple Will Make You Happier

Home Improvement

Home Improvement was a beloved &#39;90s sitcom and one of <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/flashback/home-improvement-star-richard-karn-spills-show-secrets/news-story/aa7b6dfbcb03b2baf740dcbdcf612467" target="_blank">the&nbsp;most-watched programs</a>&nbsp;on ABC before becoming a syndication darling. The show first aired in 1991, and managed to survive (and thrive) on network television for eight seasons. Tim Allen&#39;s sitcom presented familial life in an uncomplicated way, and fans lapped it up. In fact, the light-hearted humor was so well executed that the show even won a Golden Globe and multiple Emmy awards.&nbsp;

Many&nbsp;of the actors from Home Improvement continue to enjoy on-screen success today, while others abandoned the limelight to focus on new ventures. One&nbsp;cast member&nbsp;experienced&nbsp;trouble with the law. Despite <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/home-improvement-fan-theories/brandon-michaels" target="_blank">the wild&nbsp;fan theories</a>, including&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/horrifying-things-about-home-improvement/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">rather&nbsp;disturbing&nbsp;speculation</a>&nbsp;surrounding the narrative of&nbsp;Home Improvement, many&nbsp;television&nbsp;fans still&nbsp;love the Taylor family. Seeing how the&nbsp;family (especially the children) has grown and changed over the years is sure to deliver a healthy dose of nostalgia.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Here's What The Cast Of 'Home Improvement' Looks Like Now

Person

Here's What The Cast Of Home Improvement Looks Like Now

Family Guy

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, doesn't shy away from controversial or offensive humor. And while many&nbsp;Family Guy jokes are laced with political or social commentary, likely intended to provoke some thought on a particular topic, MacFarlane also apparently wants to see how far he can push the envelope and annoy the FCC. Some of the dirtiest jokes on Family Guy seem to exist simply to inspire gasps.Family Guy has had its moments of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/dark-jokes-on-family-guy/taeyura" target="_blank">dark humor</a>, and like fellow Fox hit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/adult-jokes-in-the-simpsons/coy-jandreau" target="_blank">The Simpsons</a>, it's even <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/times-family-guy-predicted-the-future/anncasano" target="_blank">predicted the future</a>. However, it's the raunchy willingness to make light of inappropriate relationships,&nbsp;bury viewers in Quagmire's innuendos, and point out that Stewie&nbsp;is more sexually sophisticated than his father that lead&nbsp;to some of the show's most quotable moments.

Dirtiest Jokes On 'Family Guy' You Won't Believe They Actually Got Away With

The 12 Dirtiest Family Guy Jokes They Somehow Got Away With

Mindhunter

Netflix&#39;s show Mindhunter captures viewers&#39; attention by providing a less-dramatized observation of&nbsp;serial killers. Fans <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-mindhunter-episodes/ranker-tv" target="_blank">of the show</a> might be surprised to learn not only are the criminals interviewed on&nbsp;Mindhunter based on <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/mindhunter-cast-vs-real-life/samantha-dillinger" target="_blank">real-life serial killers</a>, but the fictional FBI agents were real people as well. Netflix realistically depicts the work of now-retired FBI profiler John E. Douglas, the inspiration behind the character agent&nbsp;Holden Ford.

Mindhunter challenges&nbsp;serial killer stereotypes. Whereas other films and shows often portray serial killers as highly intelligent and&nbsp;methodical, the work of FBI agents Douglas and Robert Ressler proved otherwise. While most serial killers may have a pattern and victim profile, many also had below-average intelligence and felt&nbsp;motivated by personal issues, such as&nbsp;insecurity and the need for power.

The work of Douglas and Ressler provides the framework for modern profilers&nbsp;and continues to help&nbsp;law enforcement. Consequently, when investigators approach a crime scene containing&nbsp;minimal evidence, they can still walk away with a list of suspects.

'Mindhunter' Doesn't Just Portray Real Serial Killers In The Show - The Agents Are Real, Too

How Mindhunter Portrays Real Agents And Serial Killers

Strange True Stories

Most people liked exploring their surroundings as a kid. For some, this meant heading into abandoned buildings.&nbsp;But even as adults, people still brave urban environments -&nbsp;and share stories of the creepy&nbsp;things they encounter.One thing remains constant for those exploring&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/photos-of-abandoned-buildings/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">abandoned buildings</a>: they never know what they'll find. Though you might stumble across&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/valuable-things-in-abandoned-places/jordan-love" target="_blank">valuable items</a>&nbsp;during urban exportation -&nbsp;these Redditors&nbsp;discovered everything from creeper observers&nbsp;to eerie remnants of previous tenants. So remember, what begins as a simple feat of teenage fun may soon become a bone-chilling adventure.

Urban Explorers Describe The Creepiest Things They Ever Found Inside Abandoned Buildings

The Brave Little Toaster

While the premise seems solid at face value&nbsp;(a group of living but outdated appliances venture into the world to find their old&nbsp;master, a redheaded child), The Brave Little Toaster was secretly disturbing, and it undoubtedly made countless children terrified of their bedroom humidifiers. &nbsp;The movie starts like any <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-old-horror-movies" target="_blank">classic horror film</a>, with a dark and gloomy night bolstered by haunting music, bare tree limbs, and a ramshackle cabin alone and atop a hill. However,&nbsp;the dark parts of The Brave Little Toaster are not limited to the fear-inducing opening scene. Instead, many of the most frightening moments in The Brave Little Toaster arrive unexpectedly, like an acid flashback, and during the movie when young viewers are most vulnerable.This classic children's film follows a toaster, a gooseneck lamp, a chronically depressed electric blanket, an old radio, and a vacuum, who lived in a run-down vacation cabin. After years of abandonment and desperate for their master's affection, the appliances break out of the cabin and embark on a horrifying adventure to reunite with their neglectful owner.

Why 'The Brave Little Toaster' Was The Scariest Horror Movie You Never Realized Was A Horror Movie

Why The Brave Little Toaster Was The Scariest Horror Movie You Never Realized Was A Horror Movie

Horrifying facts and disturbing details about real cases that shocked.

In Cold Blood

Unspeakable Times

On August 21, 2013, in the Killakee Mountains outside of Dublin, Ireland, a dog started bringing back bones to her trainer. When the dog continued to retrieve them, the trainer went to investigate. The cartilage and scraps her pup was bringing her were actually the remains of Elaine O'Hara, a 36-year-old who had been missing for over a year since her disappearance on August 22, 2012.&nbsp;O'Hara is not the only <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/online-flirting-that-ended-in-murder/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">victim of online flirting resulting in murder</a>, but&nbsp;the backstory that led to her death is&nbsp;unique.&nbsp;O'Hara, a woman who had mental illnesses, sought out a &quot;master&quot; on a BDSM website. What she found instead&nbsp;was an&nbsp;architect with a stabbing fetish, Graham Dwyer. Dwyer&nbsp;was leading a double-life as a career man, father, and husband in the suburbs of Dublin, Ireland.The relationship between Dwyer and his &quot;sex-slave,&quot;&nbsp;O'Hara, started&nbsp;in 2007. Text messages from Dwyer's homicide trial revealed an ongoing master and slave relationship between Dwyer and O'Hara.&nbsp;On August 20, 2012,&nbsp;Dwyer&nbsp;outlined his murder plot of O'Hara and gave her directions to a cemetery; she followed his lead, but the prosecution stands by the notion O'Hara did not want to actually die during this encounter.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Fascinating And Disturbing Facts About The Murder Of &quot;Sex Slave&quot; Elaine O'Hara

10 Disturbing Facts About The Murder Of "Sex Slave" Elaine O'Hara

Graveyard Shift

Edward Howard Bell was convicted of murdering United States Marine&nbsp;Larry Dickens&nbsp;after Dickens confronted Bell for exposing himself to a group of children. When Bell posted bail, he evaded <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/tags/law-enforcement?ref=internalCrossLinking_tag">law enforcement</a> for nearly 20 years. However, when he was caught, Bell reportedly&nbsp;told police he murdered multiple&nbsp;people, not&nbsp;just Dickens, in&nbsp;the '70s. He claims that he sent 11 young girls to &quot;heaven.&quot;The <a href="http://www.chron.com/entertainment/tv/article/Edward-Harold-Bell-confessed-to-murdering-11-12281492.php" target="_blank">mystery</a> that surrounds the disappearance of 11 young girls around Galveston, TX, continues to haunt families in&nbsp;the surrounding communities. What's unclear&nbsp;is whether Bell is being truthful in his confession, or taunting police and victims. A&amp;E&nbsp;has&nbsp;a six-part documentary, which examines Bell's claims. Bell identified nine&nbsp;of the 11 alleged victims by name. A&amp;E fills in the blanks by suggesting the names of the other two victims that were never named by Bell.&nbsp;The documentary&nbsp;re-examines evidence and&nbsp;profiles the&nbsp;murderer, gathering information from police, and the reporter who broke the story.

This Texas Serial Killer Was Never Caught, And Now His Gruesome Crimes Are Being Revealed

The Confessions of Texas Serial Killer Edward Howard Bell

Louis C.K.

Louis C.K. has been a big name in comedy since the &#39;90s. His show&nbsp;Louie&nbsp;on FX garnered him critical acclaim, and his outward vulnerability endeared him to critics and fans alike. This all came crashing down, however, in November 2017 when&nbsp;the New York Times broke a story exposing Louis C.K.&#39;s perverse habit of forcing women - namely&nbsp;female writers, comedians, and industry assistants - to watch him masturbate. The Louis C.K. sexual assault scandal caused an eruption in the comedy world.&nbsp;Netflix, TBS, HBO, and the FX Network all cut ties with C.K. due to the reports of predatory and abusive behavior.

The <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/comedian-responses-to-louis-ck/donn-saylor" target="_blank">response of his comedian contemporaries</a> varied, but most fellow shamed C.K. for his actions. Unfortunately, these criminal allegations against Louis C.K. were not news to everyone;&nbsp;rumors of C.K&#39;s sick obsession have circled since <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/young-louis-ck-pictures/cari-fortier" target="_blank">his younger days</a> as a comedian.

In November 2017, C.K. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/television/louis-ck-statement.html" target="_blank">responded to the allegations</a>, saying &quot;these stories are true,&quot; and that he was going to &quot;step back and take a long time to listen.&quot; When he returned to the public eye in August 2018 for&nbsp;a surprise set at New York City&#39;s Comedy Cellar, fellow comedians and critics alike had very different stances on his come back &ndash; he was met with a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/arts/television/louis-ck-performs-comedy.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes" target="_blank">standing ovation</a>, but others <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/louis-ck-comeback-female-comedians-respond_us_5b85892be4b0cf7b002f9391" target="_blank">slammed him for returning so quickly</a>.&nbsp;

It&#39;s important, then, to take a step back and observe the omnishambles from an objective vantage point.&nbsp;

What Exactly Did Louis C.K. Do?

There Bros the Neighborhood

Button Mash

All the chillest bros out there know that certain video games typify what it means to be a bro. Haters might know these swole titles as the video games everyone loves to hate, but that's likely because they suck too hard to smash on that PlayerUnkown's Battlegrounds Chicken Dinner. If these haters (read: losers) could just learn to&nbsp;get good, maybe they'd stop getting no-scoped and start dominating the&nbsp;CoD&nbsp;leaderboards.&nbsp;While anyone can enjoy any game, it often seems as though bros can only respect a select few titles (usually ones that involve sports, guns, and dominating other players&nbsp;online). Some of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-games-of-all-time" target="_blank">best-selling video games of all time</a> appeal to the most discriminating of bros, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/stale-gaming-franchises/robert-carnevale" target="_blank">franchises</a>&nbsp;like Madden&nbsp;and Mortal Kombat&nbsp;dating back to the days of the Dreamcast&nbsp;and the SNES. <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/video-games-that-couldnt-live-up-to-their-hype/coy-jandreau" target="_blank">Despite what anyone says</a>, many of these basic bro video games live up to their&nbsp;hype, and are the perfect endcap&nbsp;for a night of binge-drinking and&nbsp;bro debauchery.&nbsp;

Video Games All Basic Bros Love

Computer Game

17 Basic Bro Video Games That Are Popular In Frat Houses

Lists of confessions from real people who should probably find a good therapist and talk this out.

That's Messed Up

Real stories from real people who were once kids, then teens, then young adults, and are now just regular adults looking back and saying, "Wow, what was that?"

I Guess This Is Growing Up

Childhood memories typically contain images of bike riding, candy stores, videos games, and sleepovers. But some people&nbsp;have a slightly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-messed-up-things-you-did-as-a-kid/elise" target="_blank">darker set of recollections</a>. While many&nbsp;block out the terrible things they did as children, a few Redditors&nbsp;remember vividly, and they took to the Internet to share.

From grandfathers with mistresses to mothers who were&nbsp;in cults, the world of internet forums is brimming with&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/freaky-family-secrets/christopher-shultz" target="_blank">freaky family secrets</a>, but rarely do you hear tales of evil children straight from those who committed the deed. Some <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/things-you-regret-doing-as-a-child/damon-davis" target="_blank">children</a> can be total sadists, and from playing with guns to poisoning their parents, these former monsters have done it all.

People Reveal The Most Sadistic Things They Did As Children

Cults

In the 1940s, Theodore Rinaldo&nbsp;could've been considered your average Catholic kid living in New York. But his life took a dark turn in 1969, when he moved to Seattle to start &quot;The Group,&quot; <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/scary-stories-about-drug-cults/j-david-osborne" target="_blank">a drug cult</a> who believed Rinaldo&nbsp;was God. Soon after he started Eden&nbsp;Farms, a compound where he abused his followers in vile ways. From threats to sexual assault of minors, the abusive cult leaders of The Group violated several people.&nbsp;What happened to the cult called The Group? After an intrepid journalist uncovered what was really happening at the compound, he revealed Theodore Rinaldo's&nbsp;cult crime. Facts about the Group shook the surrounding community. The truth of what really happened at Eden Farms put a sick man behind bars. Thankfully it is not a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/active-cults/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">cult still active today</a>, as Rinaldo was put behind bars in 1979.

He Told His Followers He Was God All So He Could Rape Teen Girls

Theodore Rinaldo Lied About Being God In Order To Rape Teen Girls

Lists and lists of the things that make each US State unique, from the weirdest laws to the most popular drinks and dog breeds to the shows residents are streaming most on Netflix.

This Is America

Total Nerd

Some of our favorite fictional characters are so wonderful and relatable because they represent a very specific part of the US. The best fictional characters from every state speak to American&nbsp;truths at large while simultaneously embodying the quirks, mannerisms, and twangs of certain regions. Whether the most famous fictional character in every state is from a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-famous-book-from-each-state/anna-lindwasser" target="_blank">book</a>, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-famous-movie-from-each-state/mason-weigel" target="_blank">movie</a>, or <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-famous-tv-show-from-each-state/zack-howe" target="_blank">TV show</a>, they entertain us and make us proud (or sometimes embarrassed) to call our state of residence &quot;home.&quot;From characters like Dwight Schrute of Pennsylvania serving up a twisted take on farm life&nbsp;to Ace Ventura acting crazy like Floridians are wont to do, these famous fictional characters from every state do a fantastic job of reppin' their state while contributing significantly to the melting pot that is American fiction.&nbsp;

Who Is The Most Famous Fictional Character From Your State?

Fictional Character

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens became famous in the mid-1980s&nbsp;for playing a scrawny,&nbsp;nasally-voiced children&#39;s entertainer named Pee-wee Herman&nbsp;who wore a skinny&nbsp;suit and a red tie and was always up to something ridiculously goofy. His celebrity turned to infamy, though, when in 1991, Reubens&nbsp;was arrested by police&nbsp;for&nbsp;public masturbation in an adult theater.

Reubens always maintained his innocence, despite entering a guilty plea and receiving community service and a monetary fine. He also later suggested he had called a masturbation&nbsp;expert to be&nbsp;ready to testify at his&nbsp;trial. But while Reubens&#39;s career never seemed to really bounce back, he still carries a cult following.&nbsp;

The Scandal That Ruined Paul Reubens's Career

Pee Wee Herman Ruined His Career By Masturbating In A Porno Theater -- But Some People Don't See The Issue

Ranking the best romantic comedies, the perfect movies for all girls nights, date nights, bad nights, and great nights.

Rom-Coms: The Cure for Reality

Fictional Relationships

Everyone likes to watch the occasional&nbsp;feel-good <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/romantic-comedy-movies-and-films/reference" target="_blank">romantic comedy</a>. The genre offers the best of both worlds to couples who can't decide if they're feeling&nbsp;passionate, goofy, or a little of&nbsp;both. While everyone can think of a few duos who frequently share the rom-com screen,&nbsp; it can be easy to forget that some&nbsp;of these&nbsp;romantic co-stars have acted together in other films, too.&nbsp;Some rom-com&nbsp;actors who were in multiple movies together&nbsp;actually make <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-duos-of-all-time/ariel-kana" target="_blank">better duos</a> in their non-romantic films. Familiarity breeds naturality, and more than a few performances have been bolstered by the inclusion of an actor's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrity-bffs/celeb-stalker" target="_blank">bff</a>.While it can be&nbsp;a little jarring to see rom-com&nbsp;stars in other movies, once you get past the initial shock, you might just find that seeing your favorite on-screen couple acting platonically doesn't diminish the feelings inspired by their more passionate performances.&nbsp;

Rom-Com Co-Stars You Totally Forgot Were In Other Movies Together

Film

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

Culture

We&#39;ve all heard urban legends about the waste tapeworms can lay on a person&#39;s body,&nbsp;but did you ever wonder what happens if you eat a tapeworm and how people actually get infected with a tapeworm in the first place? And what are the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/horrifying-tapeworm-stories/eric-vega" target="_blank">symptoms of a tapeworm</a> to look out for?

Most children remember finding earthworms in the dirt as they played outside. Worms are typically fairly harmless - even defenseless - creatures,&nbsp;and most children would never consider eating an earthworm. However, earthworms belong to a different phylum than tapeworms. The tapeworm is a parasitic bowel dweller that,&nbsp;unlike its benign cousin, seeks to <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/eating-yourself-death/laura-allan" target="_blank">feed on</a> the inside of a living host.

A tapeworm begins its journey as an egg&nbsp;existing within the intestinal tract of a living host.&nbsp;It then&nbsp;finds a new host when ingested by an animal through tainted vegetation. Ultimately, it finds a human host when a person eats undercooked and tapeworm-infected meat. While the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-facts-about-inside-your-body/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">inside of the human body</a> has many organisms and bacteria living in it, a tapeworm might be one of the most ruthless invading parasites. As&nbsp;for people strange enough to try the tapeworm diet, they could find themselves in a disastrous position.

Here Are All The Terrible Things That Happen To Your Body When You Eat A Tapeworm

Here's What Happens To Your Body When You Eat A Tapeworm

Lists about the infinite expanses of space and time. Read up to open your mind so wide, it explodes.

Theories of the Universe

Space

Physicists, mathematicians, and scientists can't seem to agree on how the&nbsp;universe will end. In some ways, they can barely agree on <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-universe-theories/aaron-edwards" target="_blank">how the universe came to be</a>. Nonetheless, most leading thinkers in the scientific field agree that the universe is not an infinite place&nbsp;and someday, it will cease to exist.The theories run the gamut from a deathly freeze to getting ripped apart, to the universe crunching into itself.&nbsp;As a barely understood aspect of the universe, many leaders in the scientific community view <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/dark-matter-explained/jessika-gilbert" target="_blank">dark energy</a> as a key player in the universe's ultimate demise. Luckily for us, most predictions are in the unfathomable future, billions or even trillions of years from now.And while it causes us very little real concern today, overall, it's disconcerting to consider that someday, even if it's billions or trillions of years from today, all that is the universe, all that is being, will one day, not be. And there will be no one left to study what once was, nor will there be anyone to remember us or the universe fondly. Someday, there will be no evidence that our universe ever existed.Unless that is, before the universe expires, human beings figure out how to move to a new universe. And then, billions or trillions of years from today, if humanity manages to survive, our universe as we know it, and everything that ever existed within it, will seem more distant and more foreign than our current understanding of what kicked it all off...the &quot;Big Bang.&quot;

Mind Bending Theories About The Ultimate Fate Of The Universe

12 Mind Bending Theories About The Ultimate Fate Of The Universe

Inspecting mysterious and heinous crimes that stumped detectives.

Mysterious Crimes

True Crime

We have all heard the stories of people with <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/stolen-identity-crimes-horror-stories/lyra-radford" target="_blank">stolen identities</a>. Typically, identity thieves have predictable motives, such as abusive spouses they flee from,&nbsp;fugitive status, or they are government witnesses. However, Lori Ruff AKA, Becky Sue Turner, AKA Kimberly McLean, had none of these issues. The crazy story of Lori Ruff left Internet sleuths, the Social Security Administration, and her families asking, who was Lori Ruff?Born in Pennsylvania as Kimberly McLean, this mysterious woman left home at the age of 18 and never contacted her family once she was gone. She assumed the identity of a deceased child for a time before assuming her final identity as Lori Ruff. Amid a painful divorce, Lori Ruff committed suicide on December 24, 2010, leaving behind an ex-husband, a daughter, and another family that she never told her ex or child about. When her ex-husband discovered documents showing that Lori Ruff wasn't who she claimed to be, her suicide set off a combined investigation between the interested Internet and a Social Security Administration agent. The combined truth about her life is crazier than any of her lies and the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/unsolved-mysteries-of-stolen-identity/harrison-tenpas" target="_blank">mystery</a> of her life.

Lori Ruff’s True Identity Was A Secret From Her Family, Until They Found A Lock Box In Her Closet

Lori Ruff’s True Identity Remained A Secret From Her Family, Until They Found A Lock Box In Her Closet

Jeffrey Jones

One of the most memorable movies of &#39;80s is Ferris Bueller&#39;s Day Off, in which&nbsp;protagonist Ferris squares off with uptight Principal Rooney, played by Jeffrey Jones, a character actor&nbsp;who played&nbsp;no shortage of cinematic villains and supporting characters throughout the 1980s and 1990s. While so many of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-film-actors-and-actresses-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">actors and actresses</a> from the&nbsp;film continued on to have great&nbsp;careers, Jones&#39;s life and career have taken a different direction.

Unfortunately, the movie industry has no lack of <a href="/list/famous-registered-sex-offenders/celebrity-lists" target="_blank">celebrity sex offenders</a>, and Jeffrey Jones has earned his place&nbsp;for taking nude photos of a 14-year-old boy and for possessing child pornography. He also then violated the terms of his probation by failing&nbsp;to update his information on the offender registry. Like other <a href="/list/celebrities-who-got-off-easy-for-crimes/vicky-choy" target="_blank">celebrities&nbsp;who evaded jail&nbsp;time</a>, Jones received what some have criticized as a&nbsp;light punishment for his crimes, but his career&nbsp;hasn&#39;t recovered since&nbsp;allegations of abuse came to light, following his arrest.

The Villain Of A Beloved ‘80s Romp Has A Real-Life Criminal History

The Villain Of Your Fave ‘80s Romp Was A Pederast Scumbag All Along

Lists of very bad things in the Good Book.

Organized Evil

The Bible

John was an apostle of Jesus Christ who wrote many of the texts that inspired the Book of Revelation after he received a preview of the end of days. It&#39;s from John&#39;s writings in Revelation that we learn the angel of death is not the devil, but Abaddon, the leader of fallen angels tasked by God to torture Earth and humanity as punishment for the sins of humankind.

Abaddon&#39;s role in the Old and New Testaments provide&nbsp;a horrifying look at the part&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scary-stories-about-archangels/lyra-radford" target="_blank">archangels</a> are said to play during judgment day, and the function of such angels and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/all-the-demons-in-hell/hugh-landman" target="_blank">demons</a> doesn&#39;t sit well with the Christian view of an all-loving and merciful God.

Even more disturbing, in the Gnostic texts, Abaddon is pivotal in the creation of humankind, gathering the dirt from which God created Adam. So it&#39;s perhaps fitting that Abaddon will also gather souls and carry them to the place of God&#39;s final judgment. While the concept of Satan is frightening, it&#39;s nothing compared to an angel of death commissioned by God to torture sinners.

The Biblical "Destroyer" Isn't Satan, It's Abaddon, God's Right-Hand Man

The Most Terrifying Figure In The Bible Isn't Satan, It's God's Right-Hand Man

All about the films you've gotta know if you're gonna take on the persona of ~cinephile~.

Must-Watch Movies

A movie's main plot is what drives the story and keeps audiences engaged.&nbsp;However, the best movie subplots are frequently the parts of many films that keep audiences talking, as opposed to the main story arc. Subplots provide depth to a primary plot, and sometimes, even steal the show.Sure, sometimes a subplot with a bunch of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/action-movie-plot-holes/renee-engelberth" target="_blank">holes</a> can distract from the primary purpose of a film. But the best writers and movie-makers know that <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/side-characters-that-stole-the-show/loganrapp" target="_blank">dynamic characters</a> can have their own stories, which drive the plot into more exciting directions. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-with-unexplained-moments/anncasano" target="_blank">Unexplained moments</a> in a movie could leave an audience unsatisfied, but when a film creator knows how to weave a subplot into a film's first story effectively, it creates a more human and engaging movie, whether it's animated or &quot;real life.&quot;Frequently, a subplot could be the aspect of a film that keeps a fan engaged. While the original story usually has the elements of a traditional plot, a great subplot inspires cult followings and analysis years after the release of a successful film.

12 Movie Subplots That Are WAY More Interesting Than The Actual Movie

Movie Subplots That Are WAY More Interesting Than The Actual Movie 

Remember that guy? Wondering what he's up to? 

Where Are They Now?

Remember these child stars? How did they turn out?

All Grown Up

The Mighty Ducks Franchise

The Mighty Ducks was&nbsp;a staple of &#39;90s adolescence and a&nbsp;VHS rite of passage. Many who watched the movie as children drew inspiration from its lighthearted story. But now you might be wondering: What happened to the kids from The Mighty Ducks?

This Disney film was so popular, Disney founded a real hockey team named for it, the Anaheim Ducks. The film has <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-mighty-ducks-franchise-weird-problems-you-never-noticed/erin-wisti" target="_blank">a few plot holes</a>, for sure, but the kid actors from The Mighty Ducks carried the movie past its weaknesses and into children&#39;s hearts everywhere.&nbsp;It&#39;s only natural to want to know where the actors from The Mighty Ducks are now. Plenty of child actors from &#39;90s movies barely made it past that decade <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/90s-stars-who-quit-acting/loganrapp" target="_blank">with their careers intact</a> - and a few of the cast members from this film fared similarly - but overall, they have had positive experiences.

The&nbsp;Mighty Ducks are all grown up now. Some you&#39;ll barely recognize, and others you&#39;ll easily identify from their current careers on screen. Take a walk down memory lane and catch up with everyone&#39;s favorite hockey-playing misfits.

Elden Henson Landed A Sweet Role On A Marvel TV Show

Here's What Happened To All Of The Child Actors From 'The Mighty Ducks'

The Child Actors Of The Mighty Ducks: Where Are They Now?

Lists about some kooky places to check out right here in the US of A.

Where Ya Headed?

Whoa Facts

<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/slab-city-california-inside-the-last-free-place-in-america" target="_blank">Slab City</a> is unlike any other city in the United States. Its residents - a term used loosely to describe a group of people with not much in common beyond their physical location in Slab City - call it &quot;the last free place in America.&quot; However, outsiders might wonder, &quot;What is Slab City?&quot;

To the uninitiated, it looks like a <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/weird-american-small-towns/noah-henry" target="_blank">weird, rundown, tiny town</a>. But for the people who call Slab City home, it&#39;s a refuge. The people who inhabit Slab City range from families who ran out of luck&nbsp;to couples who volunteered to move off the grid. They are anyone from&nbsp;fugitives to former lawyers and construction workers.

The people of Slab City live on the former military site in their tents, cars, buses, and RVs. And now, the freedoms of Slab City are threatened not only by the criminals who take advantage of the city&#39;s lawlessness&nbsp;but also the fact that California wants to sell Slab City, threatening the nomadic and houseless people who found a home in the often hot and beautiful sunburned garbage infested city without rules.

Slab City Is An Off-Grid Desert City, And Its Residents Claim It's The Last Free Place In America

Slab City Is An Uncontrolled Off-Grid Desert City And Its Resident Claim It's The Last Free Place In America

Lists for people who grumble, "I hate the holidays."

Bah, Humbug

Holidays

Christmas can be absolutely terrifying for children.On Christmas Eve, parents often blame their child's inability to fall asleep&nbsp;on the anticipatory&nbsp;excitement they experience while waiting to begin a fun-filled Christmas morning. However, the truth is that there is a dark side of Christmas, and it's worse than anything you'll encounter on Halloween.&nbsp;Despite what Hallmark has led you to believe, the history of Christmas is filled with <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-10-most-terrifying-christmas-figures/molly-mahan" target="_blank">terrifying figures</a>. Even modern Christmas traditions, such as&nbsp;watching <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scary-christmas-movies/anncasano" target="_blank">holiday-themed movies</a>, can prove unnerving to a child. Consider the&nbsp;time-tested film&nbsp;Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which features&nbsp;a terrifying&nbsp;carnivorous snow monster as the primary antagonist.The horrifying truth about Christmas is that the holiday does more than just remind children to be grateful and kind; it teaches them that tiny recon elves are real, other dimensions exist, and the whole holiday is basically a massive re-working of the Pagan Yuletide festival.&nbsp;Here's a list of all the horrendous things you didn't know about popular Christmas traditions.&nbsp;

All The Reasons Christmas Is Actually A Far More Horrifying Holiday Than Halloween

12 Ways Christmas Is a Way Darker Holiday Than You Realize

Undeniable photographic and video proof that ghosts really do float among us.

Ghostly Apparitions

Ghosts

Did you ever wake up startled&nbsp;after hearing the sounds in your house or apartment, like those of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-ghost-recordings/melissa-brinks" target="_blank">creepy ghost recordings</a>?&nbsp;Well, on October 1, 2017, CCTV security footage at Deerpark Christian Brothers School (CBS) in Cork City, Ireland, revealed that a ghost was tearing up the hallway of the school building. With no person or entity in sight, school administrators were left stunned and without an explanation for what was seen on the footage. Could it be paranormal activity?&nbsp;While many skeptics demand that a reasonable explanation exists, the principal and deputy principal of the school have <a href="http://fox13now.com/2017/10/11/prank-or-a-poltergeist-school-with-haunted-history-captures-ghosts-on-surveillance-camera/" target="_blank">denied any participation</a>&nbsp;in trying to create a ghost hoax of any kind. Furthermore, the footage caught the invisible paranormal being on the weekend at 3:00 AM, when no students were present at the premises.&nbsp;With Halloween near, and no one claiming responsibility, students at the school are naturally uneasy. No longer do the students of Deerpark CBS fear pop quizzes - they have more significant conerns that transcend our world.&nbsp;

Everyone's Freaking Out Over This Creepy Footage Of A Ghost Caught On A School Security Camera

No One Can Debunk This Creepy Footage Of A Ghost Caught On A School Security Camera

First comes death, then comes the autopsy, embalming, a funeral, burial, decomposition, and who knows what else? Join us on the whirlwind journey of the next chapter!

After Life

Recent scientific studies reveal that we might know we&#39;re dead after we die. Our consciousness and awareness linger on after our heart stops pumping blood to our brains.&nbsp;The implications of such a finding are not only shocking but re-define consciousness in a philosophical way - and death in a medical and scientific sense.&nbsp;The findings come on the heels of scientific studies that followed patients who were resuscitated after their hearts stopped pumping and were considered clinically deceased. The patients were able to recall the specific actions of doctors and nurses bringing them back to life.

The idea that we are aware of our own passing after it happens&nbsp;can be unsettling for many. It&#39;s like being trapped in a coffin while you&#39;re still alive. Our other functions stop, and our brains can no longer voluntarily control our actions. Nonetheless, perhaps one of the most defining characteristics of being alive still lingers - and that&#39;s our ability to perceive our being. Only, we actually perceive the onset of our non-being because the brain still works after our<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/things-that-happen-when-you-die/danielletarasiuk" target="_blank"> bodies have gone</a>. It&#39;s a lot to think about, isn&#39;t it?

Study Reveals That After You Die, You're Conscious Long Enough To Actually Know You're Dead

Study Reveals That After You Die You're Conscious Long Enough To Actually Know You're Dead

I Want My MTV

Jackass

Any person&nbsp;pushing&nbsp;the outer edges of being a millennial remembers growing up with MTV&#39;s Jackass. The <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-actually-watchable-reality-tv-shows" target="_blank">highly entertaining reality television show</a> featured a group of guys in their twenties who represented a&nbsp;mesh of grunge, skater, hipster, and punk. The cast filmed themselves performing a variety of different&nbsp;pranks and dares&nbsp;that would make any&nbsp;ordinary person look like, well, a jackass. In one segment, they&#39;d subject&nbsp;themselves to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/craziest-jackass-stunts/brandon-michaels" target="_blank">brainless but hilarious&nbsp;stunts</a>; in the&nbsp;next, they&#39;d be&nbsp;dressed up in costumes and&nbsp;positioned&nbsp;in various&nbsp;communities to confuse any bystander who happened to cross them. For more of this kind of hidden camera hilarity, make sure to also check out our list of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-to-watch-if-you-love-jackass/watchworthy" target="_blank">shows like Jackass.</a>

For better or for worse, Jackass encouraged innumerable bored&nbsp;teens growing up in the suburbs of the United States to take control of their boredom and speed down a bike trail in a shopping cart. It&nbsp;became a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-mtv-original-shows/tvs-frank" target="_blank">hit show for MTV</a>,&nbsp;and made household names of a few guys, whom everyone suddenly wanted to hang out with. But where is the cast of&nbsp;Jackass&nbsp;now? Though some of the more famous members like Johnny Knoxville&nbsp;still remain in the public eye, many also decided to grow out of their stuntman days to settle down as family men, start restaurants, or even stage protests against Seaworld.&nbsp;

All The Members Of Jackass: Where Are They Now?

Lists for fans of comic strips & webcomics, people who love the Sunday funnies, and anyone who has ever laughed at a meme.

See You in the Funny Papers

Planet Prudence comics explore the alter ego of the titular character's&nbsp;creator, Prudence. The artist of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetprudence/" target="_blank">Planet Prudence</a> is among a group of female web illustrators who seek to empower women to accept and love themselves.Planet Prudence has everything from accepting your <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/nerdy-but-true-comics-art-by-moga/zack-howe" target="_blank">nerdy</a> side by reading books and watching Netflix all weekend, to seeing yourself as you actually are, and embracing that instead of fixating on the fact that you don't look like a cover model.Planet Prudence empowers not only women, but&nbsp;all readers about the importance of having self-confidence while remaining honest with yourself. Planet Prudence is like other <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-george-drawz-comics/mick-jacobs" target="_blank">webcomics</a> of late, in the sense that the illustrator explores everyday life. Niche webcomics are popping up online to help people humorously understand themselves and life. For instance, comics exploring the daily life as a gay couple also exist, and it seems like with a little searching, there is a webcomic&nbsp;to which everyone can personally relate.So, check out the girl power (and person power) webcomics below, vote up the best, and remember:&nbsp;Planet Prudence is about seeing yourself as you are, and loving yourself for it.

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