2020 is finally coming to an end, and thanks to a plethora of horrible events, the conclusion of this year is something to look forward to. Everything from COVID-19 and contested presidential elections to massive wildfires and the breakout of wars across the globe has made 2020 a year most would like to forget. That
Month: December 2020
Oh history, you do keep showing us you’re full of weirdness. Is it any wonder that today’s landscape of people who get famous for simply existing online, Japanese ‘girlfriend pillows’ and bacon-flavoured soda came into existence when our past was even more wacky? Here are 10 more odd tales from history to add to Estelle’s
Note from Jamie Frater [Instagram | Facebook] Listverse Chief-Editor: As a hobbyist perfumer, I am naturally drawn to lists such as these. For your pleasure, here are a few others we have published on the subject before. Top 10 Incredible Smells, by Jamie FraterTop 10 Bizarre Ingredients In Perfume, by Jamie Frater10 Fragrant Facts About
Apple goes to extreme lengths to prevent information about its upcoming products from leaking before their official release. Many companies do this too but Apple has greater incentives to. It is one of the most copied companies in the world and consistent leaks could hurt its finances and give its rivals and copycats an edge.
When thinking of retirement, or of where you would want to live for the rest of your life, some sort of tropical island most likely comes across your mind. But it’s most likely nothing specific, something that you can only dream of. Instead of leaving it up to your imagination, why don’t you take a
No one wants to be the last person killed in a war. Being that close to the end is no time to meet one’s end. That’s where many find themselves right now, in the waning months of the war against COVID-19. With vaccines coming but a long, dark winter ahead, no one wants their names
While a lot of bad movies somehow make a lot of money at the box office, Hollywood has often proven the opposite to be perfectly true as well. There is a number of movies out there that are far less appreciated than others, despite being superior in every way. No matter the genre, we all
Hollywood has no shortage of talented and successful actors. But, sometimes, talent and quality do not exactly go together, and, as a result, Hollywood also has a number of popular stars who (more often than not) consistently end up delivering bad projects. However, despite their subpar filmography, most people still agree that the talent of
Love them or hate them, this festive season, like every other, you will be hearing those tinny Christmas tunes just about everywhere you go when you’re not staying safely at home, that is. Shopping centres love playing them over a horde of speakers placed strategically wherever you walk. Radio stations will get in on the
Churches and Cathedrals are much more than just a holy place. While millions of people go to these places in order to find some sort of peace/worship, there is also quite a percentage of people who go there for the immaculate architecture. Similar to other places of interest, there is a significant reason as to
As the Misfit Toys of the TV Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sing, Christmas is often considered “The Most Wonderful Day of the Year.” For millions or men, women, and children the world over, Christmas is marked by good cheer, fellowship, generosity, wonder, love, faith, hope, and joy. Unfortunately, as this list demonstrates, not
We are living in the age of robotics. The world today is dominated by machinery and technology. There are many who say we should fear the rise of the robots, that they are destined to steal our jobs or even use their weapons against us. But not all robots are threatening and evil. Some of
While the wide universe of Synthwave has given birth to a number of beloved sub-genres since its inception, few have become more popular than the ethereal and dreamy sound of Chillwave. An atypical and incredibly unique incarnation of Retro culture, Chillwave is an elegant mix of 80’s vibes and modern electronics, all wrapped up in
For centuries, extremes of human terror have had two broad effects on human bodies. At one level fear has caused people to go temporarily blind, mute or deaf, or to suffer paralysis: a reaction known as Conversion Disorder, in the sense that mental terror is converted into physical effects on the body. At another, it
Christmas is a time for families to get together. And where there are families there are fights. And where there are fights there is bloodshed. Perhaps that is why Christmas and Horror are natural partners in some films. There have been some great, and not so great, movies that find ways to shoehorn the festive
Some say that there is no such thing as a free meal – but those people just haven’t tried hard enough. The ancient Romans said that the public could be entertained with bread and circuses and giving away free food has always been a good way to ensure popularity. Over the centuries the UK has
When it comes to movies, nothing hurts more than watching a great idea being terribly executed. Wasted potential is bound to happen in a creative field like moviemaking, but the curse of wondering what could have been is something that makes a bad movie even worse. From bad direction and a failure to understand an
YouTube is no stranger to controversy. In the last few years, some of the craziest things have happened on the platform that have sparked outrage in the entire world. With Logan Paul’s shenanigans in Japan, or Pewdiepie’s all out war with the Wall Street Journal, YouTube stars have definitely given their fair share of scandals
If you’ve ever been denied the use of a gift voucher or a coupon because it is a day out of date or received a parking fine for the front edge of your tyre is touching the forbidden zone (a double yellow line where I’m from), you may have thought to yourself – ‘How cruel’.
Unbeknownst to most people the Board Game industry has been thriving and booming for the past twenty plus years. Thousands of new games are released every year from hundreds of companies. Many people only know the mass market staples found at big box stores, and while these still have their place there are countless new
Most sudden calamities – murders, car crashes, natural disasters – don’t offer a chance to say goodbye. But in a terrifying twist of fate, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 offered exactly that for thousands trapped in towers and stranded on hijacked airliners. As the situation deteriorated, many victims realized that their chance of
As we all know, gold is a precious metal that society has cherished since the beginning. Initially, it was used only as a currency, a stable way to exchange goods and services. As time went on, things changed. Although money to an extent is backed by gold, it is more prominently known as a status
Cyberpunk dystopias have been written about in sci-fi books since the ‘70s. The genre often paints a sort of futuristic take on a “Tale of Two Cities,” where society is divided between mega-rich conglomerates and tech-savvy slum dwellers. Citizens routinely augment their own bodies with cybernetic enhancements. The cream of high society uses its technological
Sometimes it is difficult to explain why freedom of speech is so important. Why should someone say something that might cause offense or upset? Surely it is better to restrict dangerous words in the same way you would restrict dangerous behavior? The problem with this stance is severalfold. Once you start proscribing objectionable words or
Many of us have heard of cryptids; seen the internet posts and forums proclaiming their existence or simply joking about them, there have been highly produced television series and even a few scientific projects to explain the countless, ever-growing amount of sightings of these unproven and often strange myths of creatures, searching for an answer
When you picture an occultist, the typical image that comes to mind is a wizened sixteenth-century figure pouring over mysterious runes and ancient scrolls. But the dark magicians of today are more likely to found hunched over a MacBook, tweeting their favorite herbal recipes and live streaming to their online coven. In this technological age,
With Hollywood being in the age of long-running blockbusters, we have spent the better part of the last two decades witnessing studios doing everything in their power to secure themselves lucrative franchises and series to make money on for an endless amount of time. That said, cash-grabbing projects orchestrated by studio executives almost never end
Television has reached a level of quality that often exceeds major Hollywood films. And with so many shows reaching a level of recognition and acclaim that transcends pop culture itself, it is easy to stop paying attention to the underdog. Some of the best TV series out there are hidden gems that mainstream audiences probably
Conspiracy theories are fun, aren’t they? It always gets a good giggle to set up a conspiracy board and try and convince your friends that the royal family of england are werewolves, or lizards, or vampires, etc. It’s a great way to pass the time, and with the rare exception, most of us know that
It was billed as the trial of the century, and “The People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson” certainly lived up to the hype. From the slow-speed, suicide note-prompted car chase down a Los Angeles highway to the highest-rated verdict in courtroom history, the trial of OJ Simpson for the murders of