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Weird History

High school is tough, and the classes are often the least of a student&#39;s worries. Between social navigation, hormones, and parental pressure, it&#39;s a miracle any of us make it out of that jungle alive. Still, it&#39;s only high school, and surely history&#39;s greatest geniuses would skate through.

Or would they? High school as we know it is a relatively recent invention, and many of history&#39;s greatest geniuses would be ill-equipped to learn in such a regimented environment. Even those who might flourish academically may find themselves challenged in other departments, or <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historical-geniuses-who-were-jerks/rebecca-shortall" target="_blank">face social challenges.</a>&nbsp;But who would make it through and who would flunk out?

To answer this burning question, we&#39;re assuming the geniuses are dropped into a contemporary high school with nothing but what they already knew in their era. They don&#39;t get to spend a lifetime soaking up the knowledge of this new century -&nbsp;they must simply&nbsp;sink or swim. Obviously, this puts the more ancient geniuses at a disadvantage. However, even more contemporary examples will face considerable challenges, as teenagers today are expected to have a very different knowledge base than they did in the past. Still, perhaps some of history&#39;s greatest intellects would make it out intact.&nbsp;Some might even thrive.

How Would Notable Historical Geniuses Do In A Modern High School?

Person

Quinn Armstrong

Exploring plagues and pandemics throughout history.

It's an Epidemic

1920s

Medical science has come a long way in the last hundred years, but that doesn&#39;t mean every medical mystery has been solved. The cause of&nbsp;the mysterious sleeping sickness that struck New York in the 1920s,&nbsp;Encephalitis lethargica, remains unsolved to this day.

Originally called &quot;the sleeping sickness&quot; because the first few cases involved active people spontaneously falling asleep, it had a wide variety of symptoms and presentations. Some neurologists and pathologists believed it was an unusual manifestation of a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/grim-spanish-influenza-facts/christopher-myers" target="_blank">concurrent flu epidemic</a>, while others believed it was <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2778472/" target="_blank">completely unrelated</a>. It was also theorized&nbsp;that the mysterious illness was related to the <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/100-years-later-the-lessons-of-encephalitis-lethargica" target="_blank">polio virus</a>, but nothing conclusive has been proven. This is&nbsp;despite the fact that the disease still pops up in isolated cases around the world.

From its first reported cases in 1915 to its abatement in the 1930s,&nbsp;Encephalitis lethargica is estimated to have infected half a million people&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neurologytimes.com/blogs/encephalitis-lethargica-still-unexplained-sleeping-sickness" target="_blank">in Europe alone</a>. Those who survived often had crippling side effects, with some remaining borderline catatonic for the rest of their lives.

The sleeping sickness of the 1920s was never solved, but it has drawn the attention of scientists for years, including Oliver Sacks, whose work on the disease was adapted into the film Awakenings&nbsp;starring Robert De Niro and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/robin-williams-movies-and-films-and-filmography/reference" target="_blank">Robin Williams</a>.&nbsp;

The Mysterious 'Sleeping Sickness' That Plagued New York In The 1920s

General

The Mysterious "Sleeping Sickness" That Plagued New York In The 1920s

Mental Health & Illness

Some professions get all the glory:&nbsp;actors, athletes, politicians, doctors. However, some of the most important and most difficult professions in modern life get little in the way of reward or recognition: teachers, firefighters, and, of course, nurses.

There is no easy nursing assignment, but one of the hardest has to be psychiatric nursing. Psychiatric nurses have a wide variety of duties, and have to perform them while dealing with patients who may be confused, difficult, and occasionally&nbsp;threatening. Some of them even pursue master&#39;s and doctorate degrees and become&nbsp;Psychiatric Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, who develop plans of care, prescribe and manage medication, and administer psychotherapy.

Psychiatric nurses work in hospitals, community centers, and&nbsp;clinics. They are an invaluable part of the mental health community, and they can truly&nbsp;be life savers. However, that doesn&#39;t mean that the job is easy. Psychiatric nurses face a wide array of situations that challenge their communication skills, their medical knowledge, and their patience.

Psychiatric Nurses Reveal What It's Like To Work In A Psychiatric Hospital

Lists about the true stories that inspired books, films, TV, and other stories you think you know. 

What Really Happened

Debunking

When the credits roll on your average Hollywood blockbuster, the audience is left to speculate about what will happen after the hero rides off into the sunset. In the case of a historical movie, however, there may be a little less to wonder about.

Some of the best-loved historical movies end without giving the audience critical pieces of context. What happened after the von Trapps escaped? Did William Wallace&#39;s sacrifice mean freedom for the Scots? Unlike many other movies, there are answers out there for the patient viewer or history buff. For many, this kind of research enriches and enlivens a movie, providing context and a larger view of the period. It also means the true history movie buff can watch several movies about the same period and allow them all to inform each other. For example, Netflix&#39;s&nbsp;Outlaw King&nbsp;takes place more or less exactly where&nbsp;Braveheart&nbsp;finishes. In this way, historical movies are actually the largest and most interconnected cinematic universe there is.

So whether you&#39;re a history buff,&nbsp;a completionist film nerd, or just a curious casual viewer, check out this list that explains what happened&nbsp;after historical movies ended.

What Happened After These 13 Historical Movies Ended?

Film

Historical Figures

We do not live in a time of clashing armies and grand military strategies. These days, generals use sophisticated technology, devastating armaments, and remotely piloted&nbsp;drones to wage complicated guerilla warfare, and any commander who lined up his troops to meet the enemy on the battlefield would quickly find himself on the receiving end of a tactical missile.

While even the soldiers among us may not be planning troop formations, we can all see ourselves reflected in the great military minds of the past. Their virtues and their vices ought to be instantly recognizable to us. We all know someone as&nbsp;brave as Alexander the Great when they stand up for what they believe in, or&nbsp;someone&nbsp;as cunning as Julius Caesar when they navigate their office politics, and&nbsp;we&nbsp;probably have an in-law or two with the savagery of Attila the Hun.

What Historic Military Leader Would You Be Based On Your Zodiac?

History

Like any great conflict, the Crusades have been the subject of myths and misinformation for years. While few still believe the propaganda that justified the fighting, various false facts have proliferated over the years, concerning everything from the motivations of the Crusaders to their reception in Arab lands.&nbsp;

It&#39;s easy to understand how both storytellers and audiences get swept up in the romance of the Crusades. The&nbsp;epic sweep, the clash of cultures, and the stunning aggression still thrill us today. But what was life actually&nbsp;like for a medieval crusader? Of course, the answer varies. The wars were radically different experiences for a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/life-of-a-medieval-knight/jordan-breeding" target="_blank">noble knight</a> than they would be for a common farmer.&nbsp;

A day in the life of a Crusader, like soldiers throughout history, alternated between boring and terrifying, exhilarating and tragic. But in the midst of the conflicts, the Crusaders also met a new culture, forged new trade routes, and shifted the social and political landscape.

What Was Life Like For A Medieval Crusader?

It&#39;s no secret that HBO&#39;s&nbsp;Game of Thrones&nbsp;draws heavily from historical sources, just like the books on which the show is based. George R.R. Martin has been vocal about acknowledging his influences, from the Wars of the Roses to Hadrian&#39;s Wall in Scotland. These historical sources lend the show and books authority and authenticity.

But historical sources do more than just provide period detail. The broad canvas of European history provides more shocking clashes, more twists and turns, and more thrilling moments than Martin could hope to fit in a hundred books. For example, the infamous Red Wedding is based on two historical incidents: the Massacre at Glencoe and <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-the-black-dinner/daveesons?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the Black Dinner</a>. While Martin did an admirable job of situating these moments within his overall narrative and applying them to characters we care about, the dark fascination of the real events is hard to top.

With HBO&#39;s show finished, and Martin&#39;s next novel coming... sometime, many Thrones fans are looking for something to fill the dragon-shaped hole in their lives. Rather than diving into one of the hundreds of fantasy-literature&nbsp;knock-offs, why not go straight to the source with the real history behind Game of Thrones?

What History Books To Read To Scratch That 'Game of Thrones' Itch

Book

History Books Like 'Game Of Thrones'

Even for those who live in a big city, the local online dating pool can often be&nbsp;disappointing, but what would happen if one could open up that dating pool and include options from throughout human history?

Well, probably a lot of chaos and&nbsp;confusion, and a larger pool of bad choices. After all, there&#39;s no reason to believe that people are fundamentally worse now than they have ever been. Among all those bad choices, however,&nbsp;there might be a few gems.&nbsp;Of course, it&#39;s not all about including the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/most-beautiful-women?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">most beautiful women</a> and most <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/hot-people-from-history/mike-rothschild?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">handsome men in history</a>. As anyone who&#39;s been on a disappointing date with a model knows, it takes more than <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/supposedly-hot-historical-figures-who-are-not/michelle-nati" target="_blank">good looks</a> to have a good evening.

Also, tastes vary. If you&#39;re looking for a dangerous bad boy, you could do worse than Shaka Zulu. Abraham Lincoln may have been the president, but he&#39;s also the perfect date for someone seeking a sensitive, agonized soul. Want to have a guaranteed blast on your date and don&#39;t mind getting your hands dirty? Swipe right on Annie Oakley.

Historical Figures You Would Swipe Right On

Irish

Nobody can accuse Irish history of being simple. While it&#39;s&nbsp;full of dramatic rebellions, bitter oppression, artistic triumphs, and stunning endurance, one could be forgiven for getting hopelessly lost among the ancient grudges and internecine conflicts.&nbsp;

In cases like these, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-about-ireland/ranker-film" target="_blank">Irish history&nbsp;movies</a> can be invaluable resources. Want a deeper understanding of the 1981 hunger strike? Check out the award-winning&nbsp;Hunger, directed by Steve McQueen.&nbsp;Curious&nbsp;about how Ireland&#39;s military conflicts affected the average citizen? Ken Loach&#39;s Palme d&#39;Or-winning&nbsp;The Wind That Shakes the Barley&nbsp;may be useful. In the mood for a touching story about Irish immigrants coming to New York?&nbsp;Brooklyn&nbsp;is the Oscar-nominated story of a young Irish immigrant.

The best <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-about-ireland/ranker-film?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">movies about Irish history</a> are not simply educational aids, however. The movies on this list are also world-recognized works of art that use historical circumstances to craft intimate portraits of characters struggling within their historical circumstances. While it&#39;s not difficult to mine drama from&nbsp;events like the Troubles or <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/irish-potato-famine-timeline/quinn-armstrong?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the Irish Potato Famine</a>, these movies balance high-stakes drama with deep attention to historical accuracy.

The Most Accurate Movies About Irish History

The Most Accurate Irish History Movies

Lists to think about while you're sitting in (or missing) traffic.

Here in My Car

Standing before any truly great feat of human engineering like&nbsp;the Great Wall of China or the Egyptian pyramids&nbsp;is awe-inspiring. If we based our sense of awe on pure physical scale, however, we would all be blown away every time we drove on a United States highway. The US highway system is the single largest engineering and construction project ever created by human beings. It consists of <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZW6DAAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PT126&amp;lpg=PT126&amp;dq=47,856+miles+of+road+us+highways&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=q7dSg_WlfG&amp;sig=ACfU3U3NPVg6_nBuYDtOkAd7feFtVvj3Jw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjV__H37ojmAhVPs54KHdt1AXIQ6AEwD3oECA0QAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=47%2C856%20miles%20of%20road%20us%20highways&amp;f=false" target="_blank">47,856 miles of road</a>, which is roughly double the circumference of Earth.

For many US citizens, the highway system is simply a given, an almost invisible piece of infrastructure that seems as though it must have always been there. The history of our highways isn&#39;t a triumphant one&nbsp;like the moon landings. It just happened.

Or so many Americans think. Construction of the highway system was anything but a smooth process, fraught with misconduct, controversy, delays, and even riots. The problems the project faced were all uniquely American, touching on issues of race, faith, and inequality.

The Controversial Story Of The US Highway System, The Largest Construction Project In Human History

The History Of The US Highway System, The Largest Construction Project Ever

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

Japan

At the height of the Cold War, children all over the world&nbsp;lived under the constant threat of atomic conflict. Videos were shown in schools on what to do in the event of an atomic&nbsp;attack, and those of a nervous disposition&nbsp;likely found it difficult to avoid imagining what experiencing an atomic blast would really be like.

Fortunately, those billions of children never had to experience an atomic event. Unfortunately, some children did. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This event was the result&nbsp;of months of planning and debate behind closed doors, but it caught Japan off guard and stunned the world. Here at last was the military science&nbsp;that would define the 20th century.

On the ground, however, there were no politics, no socioeconomic discussion, and no military justifications. Those present, the citizens of Hiroshima and the crew of the Enola Gay, were faced with a stark physical reality from which they could not escape. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/japan-atomic-survivor-accounts/philgibbons" target="_blank">Japanese survivors of the blast</a> tend to talk about the atomic device and its aftermath in physical terms: light, heat, chaos, and destruction.

What did August 6&nbsp;look like? What did it feel like? How did those 24 hours play out in real time? Naturally, events happened differently for different citizens, and some moments are impossible to time precisely. However, by relying&nbsp;on the words of the survivors and the reconstructions of scientists, we can assemble a timeline of that terrible, world-changing day.

A Beat-By-Beat Breakdown Of The Atomic Explosion At Hiroshima

Cassius Marcellus Clay

For most people, the name Cassius Clay is associated with one man and one man only: Muhammad Ali. Perhaps the most famous athlete of the 20th century, Ali famously rejected the name Cassius Clay when he joined the Nation of Islam and refused to answer to what he had dubbed &quot;my slave name.&quot;

This bold move had the intended effect and cemented Ali as a crusader for equality and African American rights, but ironically, the name Cassius Clay was taken from a man who had fought for abolition his entire life. So who was the original Cassius Clay? The simple answer is that he was a prominent abolitionist politician in the mid-1800s. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and was&nbsp;appointed ambassador to Russia by Abraham Lincoln.

But that&#39;s not the whole story. Known as the Lion of White Hall - named after the estate and plantation he owned and grew up on - he was also one of the toughest politicians ever to walk the halls of Congress. He won duel after duel, and his physical exploits are legendary. Not only that, he was an open and vocal advocate for the abolition of slavery in the 1840s, in Kentucky of all places.

He was bombastic and charismatic, but could also be vicious and cruel. His boundless energy brought him close to&nbsp;Lincoln, even as his ambition alienated the president. He embodied the volatile, contradictory spirit of his age, and in the end Cassius Marcellus Clay went down as perhaps the most larger-than-life figure of the day.

Duel-Happy Abolitionist Cassius Clay Was The Most Metal Politician In American History

Who Was Cassius Clay? Duel-Happy Abolitionist Was The Most Metal Politician

Graveyard Shift

The &quot;former priest with a dark secret&quot; is a staple of Hollywood and novelistic storytelling, but priests in&nbsp;real life&nbsp;might choose to leave the Roman Catholic Church for less dramatic reasons. Yes, in recent years, many Catholic priests have been disgraced by&nbsp;scandals and inappropriate behavior with children - almost 1,700 <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/religion/nearly-1-700-priests-clergy-accused-sex-abuse-are-unsupervised-n1062396" target="_blank">credibly accused priests</a> are currently free and unsupervised. But&nbsp;others simply lost their faith, or found love and left the church to marry.

Catholic priests who leave to marry often suffer profound culture shock, as they must acclimate not only to a new relationship, but also to a new way of living&nbsp;in the world. Other priests might leave due to a personal crisis, or a change in heart that leads them to become a&nbsp;clergy member&nbsp;of a different denomination.

Whatever the reason, ex-priests often face both newfound joy and profound difficulties in acclimating to life outside the priesthood. Stories from former priests illuminate what happens when they leave&nbsp;the church.

What's Life Like For Catholic Priests Who Choose To Leave The Church?

What Happens When A Catholic Priest Leaves The Church? What Life Is Like

Great Famine

For the most part, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/irish-potato-famine-timeline/quinn-armstrong" target="_blank">Irish Potato Famine</a> has been relegated to the dustbin of history, mentioned either as a casual example of British cruelty or, more often, as a joke. While some think the famine is best forgotten as an unfortunate combination of genetic accident and policy error, others see the famine as one of the earliest intentional genocides in modern history.&nbsp;

The story of the famine, like many historical tragedies, is too often told through a combination of statistics and dates, rendering it dry and abstract. To truly understand the desperation, the tragedy, and the human drama of the famine, it is necessary to examine what the Irish experienced on a personal level. The best way to do that is to look at their own writings&nbsp;and the accounts of those who witnessed their suffering.

These stories&nbsp;illustrate the range of perilous&nbsp;situations that the average Irish person could find themselves&nbsp;in. Starvation was common, but there were many additional dangers.&nbsp;Evictions contributed to the demise of many, as did illness and even highway slayings. The famine also resulted in one of the largest diasporas of the 19th century, in which up to a million Irish men and women migrated, many of them to America.

Firsthand Accounts From Survivors Of The Irish Potato Famine

Irish Potato Famine Survivors' Personal Stories

Lists about life for soldiers and civilians alike during the Second Great War, which raged around the world from 1939-1945.

WWII

Medicine

Soldiers go through&nbsp;hell, and nobody knows that better than field medics, who brave hellish combat scenarios to bring urgently needed medical care to their fellow military comrades. There is no conflict in which combat medics have had it easy, but the fierce ground operations of WW2, combined with shockingly destructive new technologies, made that worldwide event&nbsp;especially harsh.

Field medicine has been a part of combat since the <a href="https://www.ausa.org/articles/history—and-future—-combat-care" target="_blank">ancient world</a>. Indeed, soldiers in the army of Alexander the Great were given field tourniquets for severed appendages. Later, around the 14th century, wicker stretchers were used to remove hurt soldiers from the field. While combat care was instrumental during many later conflicts, field medicine became a major part of combat operations in the early 20th century. The two world conflicts, with their unprecedented casualty tolls, taught generals the importance of removal and treatment of wounded soldiers not just for medical reasons, but also for the purposes of morale, optics, and sanitation.

As medical science has advanced by leaps and bounds, so has military technology.&nbsp;Today, combat medics must be ready to treat bullet effects, explosion burns, chemical strikes, and anything else an unpredictable enemy might throw at them. Essentially, they perform the jobs of many different medical professionals, and have to do so in the most stressful environment imaginable.

Much has been written about field medicine and its many challenges. However, the best way to understand the true experience of a WW2 field medic is to listen to their own voices in these WW2 combat medic stories.

Firsthand Accounts From WW2 Field Medics

WW2 Field Medics' Firsthand Stories

The history of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/members-of-the-british-royal-family/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">British royal family</a> has been fertile ground for storytelling since long before Hollywood existed. As far back as Shakespeare, storytellers have been turning the high drama of the British court into thrilling entertainment, and while Hollywood may not be as high-minded as the Bard of Avon, it has never shied away from stories about the monarchy. But which actors should play royals?&nbsp;

From prestige drama like The King&#39;s Speech to comedies like The Favourite&nbsp;to acclaimed series like The Crown, there have been dozens of portrayals of the monarchy on screen. In fact, over a dozen <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/queen-elizabeth-actors/ranker-film" target="_blank">actors have played Queen Elizabeth II</a> alone, never mind the many other royals.&nbsp;When casting these famous figures, however, filmmakers have to take many factors into account: skill, star power, box office, and a variety of other traits. It would, for example, be tough to get Tom Cruise to play a British Royal because he&#39;s far too associated with Americans in audience&#39;s minds.&nbsp;

What if filmmakers didn&#39;t have to consider these factors? What if they could cast purely on resemblance? If that were the case, a whole new cast of actors could be considered for the royal family. Vote up the actors who most resemble their royal counterparts.

English Royals And The Actors Who Should Play Them In A Movie

Actors Who Should Play English Royals, Ranked By Fans

Most people are familiar with the disaster of the RMS Titanic through James Cameron&#39;s&nbsp;Titanic, a monstrously successful 1997&nbsp;film that&nbsp;grossed billions and launched the careers of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet,&nbsp;but the tragedy&nbsp;does not begin and end with James Cameron. Due to the natural high drama of the subject, there were many Titanic&nbsp;films&nbsp;before 1997, and&nbsp;many movies made after that&nbsp;feature similar&nbsp;tropes, including&nbsp;a romance between the upper and lower classes, a dour and&nbsp;dutiful captain, and the band playing a final song on the deck of the sinking ship.&nbsp;

However, there are other movies about the Titanic&nbsp;that made some very strange choices, including a film starring an actual Titanic survivor,&nbsp;and some outrageously bizarre animated Italian fairy tales set in and around the disaster.

What is it that makes the story of the Titanic so enduring? Perhaps it&#39;s the drama that Cameron saw in it. Perhaps it&#39;s the spectacle and action of some of the recent adaptations. Or perhaps it&#39;s a combination of these and dozens of other elements that have fixed the Titanic in our collective consciousness. Whatever makes it so appealing, the story&nbsp;of the Titanic has lost none of its allure for&nbsp;the film industry.

From Rapping Dogs To Evil Sharks: The Most Interesting Films About The Titanic That Aren't 'Titanic'

The Best Movies About The Titanic That Aren't 'Titanic'

Civil War

For those not interested in the Civil War, it can be difficult to understand why groups of people would get together, put on uniforms, and reenact battles&nbsp;just for fun. After all, the conflict was a bloody affair whose impact is still felt to this day.

The truth is, the reenactment subculture is complicated and steeped in a particular tradition. Those who participate often have ambiguous and complex views on the conflict itself, but still enjoy the camaraderie and festive atmosphere of the staged facsimile. Reenactments are often followed by barbecues and parties, and some are even covered by local papers.

It&#39;s hard to narrow the appeal of the reenactments down to one factor: the atmosphere, the camaraderie, or maybe just the free barbecue. However, many reenactors enjoy getting to feel, even if just for an afternoon, like they&#39;re a part of one of the most consequential conflicts in our nation&#39;s history. Office workers and school teachers can experience the thrill and the danger of the battlefield (even if that danger comes in the form of a rubber bayonet).

However, as any reenactor will tell you, even a fake fight can get surprisingly real. People get hurt&nbsp;both in &quot;combat&quot; and through sheer mishap. Tensions can rise and things can get out of control. The world of reenactment may not be one-tenth as dangerous as the Civil War itself, but it&#39;s not necessarily a walk in the park.

Civil War Reenactors Describe What The Fake Combat Life Is Really Like

Civil War Reenactors' Stories: What The Fake Combat Life Is Really Like

Lists about the period of political upheaval between 1765 and 1783, when the Thirteen Colonies finally said 'cheerio' to King George III and founded these independent United States of America. 

You Say You Want a Revolution

American Revolutionary War

Everybody knows that battling is hell. However, just like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-dante-alighieri/cheryl-adams-richkoff" target="_blank">Dante&#39;s hell</a>, there are many different circles, and some are worse than others. During&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-happened-right-after-revolutionary-war-ended/aaron-edwards" target="_blank">American Revolution</a>, for instance, one could fight a few lackluster campaigns and then retire from the conflict long before any real fighting begins, or one could become trapped in the starving winter of Valley Forge. Or, even worse, one could find oneself on the HMS Jersey.

The Jersey was a British prison ship, and during the Revolution, it held thousands of prisoners. This by itself is unremarkable, but the Jersey often held thousands of prisoners at one time, crammed in hellish conditions under the decks, like sardines in a tin. There was no light, barely any oxygen, no medical care, and little in the way of food and clean water.

To put the depredations of the Jersey in perspective, it is currently believed the Americans suffered around 4,500 field casualties. Compare this to the 11,000 believed to have perished aboard the Jersey and other prison ships. These places were totally unconcerned with keeping their<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scariest-prisons-in-history/danielle-ownbey" target="_blank"> prisoners</a> alive, and the Jersey was the worst of them all.

All Aboard The HMS Jersey, The Hellish Floating Revolutionary War Prison

What Was The HMS Jersey? About The Hellish Floating Revolutionary War Prison

After the world didn't end with the conflict between the Allied and Central Powers, the decade that followed saw a surge of prosperity marked by jazz, flappers, bootlegging, household technology, and the Charleston.

The Roaring (19)Twenties

German

Few nations throughout history have gone&nbsp;through as many extreme and rapid changes as Germany in the early 20th century. From the powerful monarchy that reigned from Germany&#39;s inception to the end of WWI, to the brutal revolution that overthrew it, to the runaway inflation and food shortages that&nbsp;prompted the rise of the Third Reich, Germany manifested several distinct cultures in a shockingly short period.

Of these, perhaps the most interesting was the Weimar Republic. This period, which ran from 1918 to Hitler&#39;s rise in 1933, has become known as one of the most culturally permissive periods in history. As memorialized in the Broadway musical and Oscar-winning film&nbsp;Cabaret, it was a time of copious substance use, BDSM fashion and practices, and a libertine attitude that would make the final days of the Roman Empire look prudish. But is this picture of the Weimar Republic accurate?

As with most historical questions, the answer is complicated. While it does seem that wild indulgence and substance use became more commonplace, there are several mitigating factors.&nbsp;New social attitudes meant that citizens were talking and writing more openly about things that may have been going on beforehand. In addition, the Weimar Republic was far more than a shallow, wasteful, nonstop party. It was also a flowering of culture that brought us such artists as Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht.

A persistent myth of this era is that the rise of authoritarianism in Germany was a response to the debaucheries of the Weimar Republic. This is largely groundless, as food shortages and inflation played a much larger role. The truth of the Weimar Republic is stranger, subtler, and much more interesting.

Where Did The Weimar Republic's Wild Reputation Come From?

Just because someone is fictional, deceased, or an entire universe doesn't stop Ranker from tossing them into Battle Royale-type tournaments against their worthiest foes.

Choose Your Fighter

Military

It&#39;s no easy task to accurately weigh the pure effectiveness of a military force. How much of its&nbsp;skill derives from its&nbsp;leader? How much of the society&#39;s&nbsp;technology benefited it? How much is just historical luck? These things are, of course, inseparable, but this&nbsp;is all about the military forces that would win in an all-out brawl, not about generals, technology, or circumstance.

In considering this, there a few unfortunate but necessary exclusions. Any modern army would completely devastate ancient forces. Not just because high-yield explosives and rapid-fire guns would easily overpower sword and shield, but because modern tactical planning, surveillance, and reconnaissance are so advanced that comparison becomes nonsensical. For this reason, the list will be limited to pre-rapid fire armed forces. Some early gunpowder troops will be included because the long reload time&nbsp;would allow hand-to-hand troops the opportunity to close the distance and engage.

Then there is the matter of terrain. The fierce desert forces&nbsp;of Shaka Zulu may have had a little trouble adjusting to the densely wooded combat of Northern Europe, and the fiercely mobile Mongol cavalry would have found combat in the rainforests of Central America challenging. It&#39;s&nbsp;a mark of skill for troops&nbsp;to be able to fight well in any terrain, from open plains to urban environments, but in this case, terrain&nbsp;should not be&nbsp;considered much.

These are some of the fiercest, most disciplined, and most effective fighting forces in human history. If they were to fight, however, there can only be one true victor.

Which Historical Armed Forces Would Win In A Battle?

Snakes

The snake, or serpent, is an important symbol&nbsp;within Christianity. The creature most often represents Lucifer&nbsp;but can also be associated with fertility and the healing power of Jesus. Certain churches go one step further, transforming Jesus&#39;s words&nbsp;- &quot;they shall take up serpents&quot; - into literal practice. In Pentecostal snake handling, members will hold venomous snakes, and&nbsp;if the snake does not bite them, it is evidence of God&#39;s favor and protection.

Some have credited&nbsp;preacher George Went Hensley with starting the dangerous and controversial practice in Southern Tennessee, although some claim&nbsp;it dates back to the era of the New Testament. For a variety of cultural and economic reasons, it has remained in the Appalachian region.

Generally, snake handling&nbsp;is one part of a larger service,&nbsp;which can also include speaking in tongues and laying hands on the congregation. While many different versions of snake handling exist, a common practice entails a preacher taking&nbsp;a few snakes from a box and passing them from one person to the next.

Why Do People Handle Snakes? The History of Snake Handling In The US

The History Of Pentecostal Snake Handling In The US: Why Do They Do It?

Lists about real things in the actual Bible—and what some people just *think* is in there.

Just Bible Stuff

Lists about Jesus of Nazareth, the first-century Jewish carpenter, preacher, and religious leader who Christians believe is the incarnation of God and the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.

The Lamb of God

The Bible

Is there a more central moment in Christian theology than the death and resurrection of Jesus? Some scholars make a case for the virgin birth, and others for moments in the ministry of Jesus, like the casting out of the moneylenders. But the crucifixion and resurrection are practically inseparable from the very notion of Christianity.

In the centuries since the gospels were written, and the centuries since those writings were codified into what we know as the New Testament, the crucifixion story has taken on a life of its own. In art, literature, film, and television, this pivotal moment has been reconsidered and reinterpreted over the years. The core story has remained intact, but&nbsp;key details we associate with the event aren&#39;t actually in the&nbsp;Bible itself.

This is not unusual&nbsp;for a document as old and&nbsp;influential as the Bible. These stories have been translated and retold in dozens of forms, and it&#39;s natural that certain details would be altered or added during that time. It&#39;s fascinating to look at what is and isn&#39;t in the Bible - and what that can tell us about this story that has so dramatically impacted the lives of billions.

Popular Beliefs About Jesus’s Death That Aren’t Actually In The Bible

Things About Jesus' Crucifixion That Aren't In The Bible

Some festivals exist in almost every culture. Most cultures have a winter festival, for example, and most have a spring fertility festival. Another common celebration is the annual summer solstice festival. This festival comes at the height of summer and is often an expression of joy and love.

For those whose only exposure to the festival is the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/midsommar-twitter-reviews/klindell" target="_blank">hit horror film Midsommar</a>, it may come as a surprise that the real summer solstice is actually one of the most upbeat and joyous celebrations in the world. A story more in keeping with the spirit of the festival might be Shakespeare&#39;s A Midsummer Night&#39;s Dream&nbsp;or Ingmar Bergman&#39;s Smiles Of A Summer Night. These narratives of love, magic, and mistaken identities truly reflect the values of Midsommar.

What is the&nbsp;Midsommar festival? While there are dozens of summer solstice festivals around the world, Midsommar itself is specific to Sweden, with a rich and particular history. There are many strange superstitions surrounding it, many of which involve&nbsp;finding the love of your life. There is also the tradition of the Maypole, the bonfires, and the fascinating history of the Green Men.

Midsommar is not just an ancient pagan ritual. The Midsommar festival continued through the coming of Christianity and has survived to this day. Each year, tens of thousands flock to Sweden to participate in some of the biggest&nbsp;Midsommar festivals, proving that the event has lost none of its appeal over the centuries.

What Is Midsommar?

What Is Midsommar Festival?

Lists about armed forces and military tactics around the world.

Military Men

The great military theorist von Clausewitz once wrote&nbsp;&quot;<a href="https://www.clausewitz.com/readings/Cquotations.htm" target="_blank">war is the realm of chance</a>.&quot; So many unpredictable factors affect success in battles. How can we discuss skill or generalship when a chance of rain the night before a battle might completely change its outcome? And yet, as the greatest generals know, there are no excuses in combat. If it rains, the rain must be accounted for and turned to an advantage. Adaptability, courage, charisma, and intelligence all play a part in&nbsp;a successful military campaign.

The generals in this imaginative exercise are the best of the best. These are the generals <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-have-egots/celebrity-lists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">who have won</a> the most battles against the greatest odds, who have forged empires, and who have left indelible marks on world history.

So how to decide between them? It&#39;s important that only the general&#39;s individual skill be considered. Naturally, Erwin Rommel&#39;s tanks would demolish the armies of Hannibal Barca, but if the technological gap were ignored, would Hannibal&#39;s encirclement technique defeat the Desert Fox? Would Takeda Shingen&#39;s lightning cavalry shatter the brilliant defensive tactics of Georgy Zhukov if they had similar numbers and equipment? Vote up the general you think would dominate in an all-out brawl between the most brilliant military minds history has to offer.

Which General Would Win In An All-Out War Between History’s Greatest Military Leaders?

The Toughest War Generals In History, According To Fans

From the intricate paintings of Hieronymous Bosch&nbsp;to the excessive pulp of movies like Constantine, hell has been depicted&nbsp;in dozens of different ways. However, its&nbsp;most common elements - hellfire, souls screaming in torment, and gruesome demons - cannot be found in the Bible.

Similar to how our <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/beliefs-about-angels-not-in-bible/jessica-bedewi" target="_blank">beliefs about angels</a> formed, today, the imagery of &quot;hell&quot; is the result of hundreds of years of art, theology, and imagination. The Greeks believed in a punishing afterworld called Tartarus, and Christian artists and writers borrowed heavily from its&nbsp;complex mythological structure. Other influences include the Sumerian afterlife called Kur, an enormous and bleak cave, as well as the Jewish concept of sheol, a hell-like darkness. In more recent centuries,&nbsp;few Christians have had more lasting impact on the perceived landscape of hell than&nbsp;Dante Alighieri (Inferno) and John Milton (Paradise Lost), though dozens of visual artists,&nbsp;Bosch chief among them, have also made the attempt.

And yet, as Western artists and churchgoers have developed a cultural vision of hell, that fiery afterlife moves further from the actual hell of the Bible. Here&#39;s&nbsp;a list of&nbsp;common misconceptions about perdition.

Popular Beliefs About Hell That Aren't Actually In The Bible

Things About Hell Not In The Bible

Exploring the folklore, stories, and teachings in different cultures around the globe and throughout history.

Mythology Around the World

Mythology

Thanks in part to Marvel&#39;s Thor movies, we all think we have a bit of a grasp on Norse mythology. The truth is <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/weirdest-norse-myths/laura-allan" target="_blank">Norse mythology</a> is stranger and more violent than any movie could dream of portraying. Vikings had a reputation for inhumanity, and their gods led the way with fury. Loki, the trickster god, has the worst reputation, but all of the gods get in on the action, whether they&#39;re fighting neverending clashes with giants or feuding among&nbsp;themselves.

It&#39;s not surprising such violent stories would come from the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/weird-viking-rituals/lyra-radford" target="_blank">Vikings</a>. A fierce group of warriors, they raided the seas from the 8th to 11th centuries and became the terror of northern Europe. Their culture was fierce, warlike, and deeply strange to modern eyes (though it was also surprisingly orderly and democratic), and this aggressive&nbsp;nature extended to their myths.

The Most Violent Sagas From Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology's Most Violent Stories

The Medieval Period, AKA the Middle Ages, stretched from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century into the 15th Century, when the Renaissance brought the Age of Discovery.

Welcome to Medieval Times

From the&nbsp;late 5th century to the 15th century, Europe was in the grip of the Middle Ages. Technological progress was stagnant, the Church dominated day-to-day life, and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/life-of-a-medieval-soldier/melissa-sartore" target="_blank">brutal conflicts</a>&nbsp;were&nbsp;rampant. These conflicts were&nbsp;not, however, the boring, unchanging slog that is sometimes portrayed in history books. In fact, there may be no period in European history&nbsp;so poorly understood as the Middle Ages. Myths abound, from the notion that people never bathed to the idea that everyone thought the world was flat -&nbsp; neither of which is&nbsp;true.

This is especially true in discussions of warfare in the&nbsp;Middle Ages. The hundreds of brutal conflicts fought during this period have often been&nbsp;twisted by Hollywood&nbsp;to create spectacular events that never would have occurred in real life. From fanciful stories of courtly knights&nbsp;to dramatic scenes of troops&nbsp;charging at one other after a passionate speech, dozens of medieval warfare myths and clich&eacute;s simply do not hold up under historical research.

So, what was warfare in the Middle Ages actually like? It was brutal, chaotic, and often disgusting. Warriors struck opportunistically and used <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/new-evidence-brutal-medieval-battle-axes/melissa-sartore" target="_blank">whatever tools they could find</a>. Some of the most remarkable stories about medieval combat are true -&nbsp;like troops <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/disgusting-medieval-projectiles/jordan-breeding" target="_blank">flinging the remains</a> of their enemies into besieged cities with catapults -&nbsp;but others are simply long-held misconceptions.

Myths About Medieval Warfare, Debunked

Medieval Warfare Myths Debunked

Because of the Bible&#39;s overwhelming dominance in Western culture, and the ubiquity of the story of Jesus, it can be difficult to separate&nbsp;the actual text from its many interpretations. Even for those who read the Bible regularly, it&#39;s likely they&#39;re even more familiar with the retold and passed-along versions than the words themselves.

There&#39;s no problem with this, per se, but it does mean certain misinterpretations, interpolations, and outright falsehoods tend to circulate unchallenged and become a part of the story of Jesus, despite their absence from <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/common-beliefs-that-arent-actually-in-the-bible/ashley-reign" target="_blank">the Bible</a> itself. These additions can be valuable&nbsp;because they teach us about how our perceptions have changed over time. For example, the fact that Jesus is often believed to have white skin is an artifact from the art of the Italian Renaissance.

While many of these additions seem to be benign historical accidents, none of them happened without a reason. The idea that Jesus was born on December 25&nbsp;is nowhere in the Bible. Christmas was placed on the 25th to coincide with various pagan winter festivals, absorbing them and aiding in the spread of Christianity across Europe. It&#39;s important to understand these things in order to get a full picture of how Christianity took over vast portions of the globe and came to influence the world we live in today.

Things People Believe About Jesus That Are Not Actually In The Bible

Things People Believe About Jesus That Aren't In The Bible

1815 eruption of Mount Tambora

The early 1800s proved to be an interesting time. This period experienced one of the earliest recorded instances of global climate change. In addition, the War of 1812 ended; Napoleon Bonaparte lost at Waterloo; and <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-famous-otto-von-bismarck-quotes/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Otto von Bismarck</a> was born. The year 1816,&nbsp;in particular, stands out as being almost as tragic as <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/why-536-was-the-worst-year-ever/melissa-sartore" target="_blank">536 CE</a>.

Known as the &quot;Year Without a Summer,&quot; 1816 negatively impacted the entire world, from the most poverty-stricken farmer in China to Thomas Jefferson. In 1815, Mount Tambora erupted, and its aftermath spurred&nbsp;droughts, crop failure, and endless winter.

The volcanic activity altered weather systems, triggered disease, and destabilized regimes. Historians struggle to cite&nbsp;a specific number of lives that were lost during&nbsp;the period, but at least 10 million people passed - many experienced a weather-induced cholera epidemic. The Year Without a&nbsp;Summer also profoundly impacted culture and art in the 19th century, inspiring Gothic and Romantic masterpieces.

The Mount Tambora <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-worst-volcanic-eruptions-in-history/drake-bird" target="_blank">volcanic eruption</a>&nbsp;changed the course of history.

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