It’s Halloween time where we decorate the house in horrors, the kids get dressed up in spooky costumes and hit the streets door knocking and shouting trick-or-treat at strangers with dreams of boundless candy. It’s one of the Western world’s strangest customs, with North America taking the lead, so where does it all come from
Month: October 2020
Scientists can be an eccentric bunch of people, especially when it comes to animals. Throughout history scientists have performed all manner of weird and wonderful experiments on animals, some of which have produced surprisingly useful results. For example, giving a robotic arm to a monkey could revolutionize the prosthetic limb. Vibrating earthworms on a loudspeaker
Written by Lewis Carroll (a pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) in 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is without a doubt one of the most enduring childhood tales of all time. Endlessly adapted for film, the famous Victorian-era children’s novel contains some of literature’s most entertaining and memorable characters, from the dotty Mad Hatter to a
Frightful stories of cryptids, aliens, and urban legends get retold every Halloween. Campfire versions embellish the truth for cheap scares. The following origins of 10 popular tropes prove that sometimes real life is even more bizarre. 10 Unsettling Premonitions That Came True 10 Neighbors Poison Halloween Candy Ronald O’Bryan ruined everyone’s fun. Cautious parents inspect
Want to experience a psychedelic without actually having to consume a substance? Watch one of these movies. The films on this list are visually mesmerizing, have hypnotizing soundtracks, and feature some of the most unconventional story structures and plotlines in cinematic history. 10 Well Known Movies With Bizarre Backstories 10 2001: A Space Odyssey [embedded
Moviemaking is a serious business, and it’s not uncommon for a studio to gamble a ton of cash on a project. Most movies don’t make as much money as people think, and they often result in significant financial losses for a studio. For example, 2017’s Justice League raked in $657.9 million at the global box
A black hole is a mysterious and hungry creature. But they do more than just consume anything that comes too close. Black holes are behind the biggest explosion in space, shoot boomerangs, and create their own planets. They also harbor strange mysteries. When black holes die, what happens to everything they ate? Why did a
Horror films should be, well, horrific right? I mean it is right there in the name. But sometimes the division between what is frightening and what is funny is not always obvious. Movie makers go out of their way to make their audiences take notice so they strive to make the deaths in their horror
31 October might seem like the perfect time to watch Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Perhaps a slasher film like Haunt or Prom Night will suffice to make the evening a little spookier, especially if it happens to be dark and stormy outside. However, if you want a Halloween night with
Let’s face it: 2020 has been to years what “Cats” was to cinema: a costly, painful, interminably long disaster. And at least Cats featured the reassuring presence of Dame Judy Dench, albeit as a ridiculous, disturbing half-feline version of herself. But before burying 2020 alongside Cats in history’s letterbox, there are some bright spots to
The massive, but slow movement of the earth’s crust is what formed mountains and resulted in majestic spires across the globe. Many of the biggest mountain ranges in the world have been formed after gigantic collisions between continents. Mountains have long fascinated humanity, with thousands trying to conquer the highest peaks every year. They are
As far as fiction goes, books have always been a great way for people to experience a solid mystery plot. In fact, most of the best mystery movies and series were either adapted from a book or inspired by one. With the genre making a vivid comeback in the last few years, a good number
The thrill of searching through thrift shops and flea markets is that you never know what you will find. Chances are that you will find something that catches your eye for a couple of bucks and go home happy. Of course part of the allure is that you might grab a bargain. One person’s trash
The horror genre has been thriving in the past few years, and there seems to be no shortage of creativity when it comes to figuring out new and inventive ways to spook audiences. That said, one of the most efficient ways to experience horror is in its shorter formats. Horror short films have grown increasingly
Dogs have definitely won the propaganda war when it comes to pet popularity. Dogs are man’s best friend while cats are those aloof animals who will only occasionally allow a human to touch them. For all their stand-offish behaviour humans still tolerate cats enough to let them poop in a tray in their homes. Yet
There’s some place in every neighbourhood that holds a creepy sway over the people there—a park, an abandoned house, a railway bridge that comes with a dark legend. It has always been a fascinating, if difficult to explain, phenomenon; many writers and filmmakers have used this phenomenon to great effect—from Stephen King’s towns of “Derry”
Boy bands pretty much ruled the 1990s and early 2000s. On stages everywhere, groups of young men crooned while doing synchronized dance steps, dressed in all-white suits or long, dramatic trench coats. There were some successful boy bands before the 90s explosion and after the 2010s with the massive popularity of One Direction and lately
If someone mentions the period 1492-1800 in Europe, you might think: Columbus’ discovery of the Americas; Protestant Reformation; Shakespeare; Charles II; Scientific Revolution via Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle and co; Dr Johnson and Mad King George III. What you probably don’t know is that, at just the time when European Christians were denouncing supposed cannibals
Dwayne Johnson) this list takes a look at 10 popular disaster movies and delves into what experts have to say: Dr Victoria Petryshen, environmental scientist and Assistant Professor (Teaching) of Environmental Studies at USC.Morgan Page, Earthquake expert and Research Geophysicist at the Earthquake Science Center.Michael Angove, tsunami expert and meteorologist and Tsunami Program Manager at
Human history has often not been kind to women. Even when they escaped the strict boundaries society placed on them they were often scorned. Cleopatra was a mighty queen but to her Roman opponents she was an Eastern witch who beguiled unwary Roman men to their doom, a reputation she has struggled to shake. Yet
Human eyes are limited. But thanks to simulations and real photographs, people can now see the invisible world like never before. We can gaze at mysterious sparkles around flowers, an atom (not magnified), and even the speed of light. But not everything is happily agreed upon. A new kind of UFO has taken to the
Earth is more than just a fuzzy blue and green ball floating in space. Our planet houses more than 7,5 billion people, spinning all of us through four seasons each year while providing us with magical views of oceans, mountains, valleys and more. There are a host of mysterious locations around the world, some extensively
Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo is widely considered to be literature’s greatest contribution to the revenge tale and was even inspired by one of the entries on this list. Because we all seek justice when faced with wrongdoing, history is littered with tales of revenge. Here are ten examples of the greatest stories
Watching a scary movie on Halloween has become as much of a tradition as anything else associated with the day, so let’s all stay in this Halloween, shall we? Not that there is much of a choice, given that a rampant plague will prevent us from going to a costume party or knock on stranger’s
A rose by any other name would still be a rose. But were it called something silly, like Pukebud or Stenchflower, would it be the most overpriced florist flora come Valentine’s Day? Names aren’t everything, but they’re certainly not nothing – unless, of course, you’re item #8 on this list. They can attract or repel,
The Hot 100 is not a meritocracy. If it was, then “The Monster Mash” would have just spent its 58th year at the top. Many of the most iconic songs ever recorded were denied the #1 position for comparably worse records. Immortal classics stalled at #2 behind forgettable one hit wonders, frivolous novelties, or just
Hitler was a bad guy. That is an example of a well known fact about the second world war. There aren’t many periods in world history that have been more scrutinized, had more written about them or inspired more creative works than WWII (the tiny mustache boogaloo). Given just how complex and all-consuming the war
Dogs are humanity’s best friends. From the first moment humans tempted wolves into being friendly with some scraps of food human and dog evolution has gone hand in hand. Today we have bred our best friends into an amazing range of breeds to suit any jobs that we want done for us. From sheepdogs to
When you stop to think about it for a moment, there are actually a lot of animals that don’t have eyes. Jellyfish, Hydras, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, worms, and many more critters never evolved a means of looking around, and instead, use other means to make their way in the world. Other than those animals,
Although it is just over 20 years old, the Stanley Kubrick film, Eyes Wide Shut remains one of the most controversial movies ever made. And not so much for any particular scene, but rather due to the overriding plot which, at least to some, makes some rather heavy hints of the reality of The Illuminati