Top 10 Famous People Who Never Existed 10 Mavis Beacon Plenty of people reading this will be thinking “Of course, she’s a mascot, who thought she was real? I mean everyone knows Betty Crocker isn’t real, right?” Well, that would be the people who are reading and thinking “Whaaaaat?! Noooooo!” Mavis Beacon, the lady who adorns the packaging for popular typing software, is another fabrication from the corporate world with a racially-charged past (Like ‘Uncle Ben’ and ‘Aunt Jemima’)....

Sung first in the movie “The Singing Hill” (1941), the song was covered numerous times by popular artists before Fats Domino recorded the version we are all familiar with. Perhaps the surprising thing is that none of those covers were remembered. A Motown-style B-side on a record that flopped, it barely survived in Britain’s Northern soul clubs during the ’70s. Jones tried to revive it in 1976 by re-releasing it with a mediocre funk guitar line and a little harsher singing style but that effort failed too, probably because it was worst than the first version....

10 The Child Eater of Bern Switzerland is a popular holiday destination. And it’s not surprising since it boasts stunning weather, dream-like castles, delicious chocolate, and of course, the Matterhorn. But the country also has its share of mysteries, some more creepy than others. In the city of Bern, for instance, is a huge fountain sculpture built in 1546 which depicts a giant stuffing a baby into his mouth while carrying a sack filled with three terrified infants over his shoulder....

When it comes to the war and military genre, the field is ripe for the picking. Oversaturation in various media forms provides a litany of portrayals—some accurate and some a complete departure from the realities and horror that is combat. The following is a compilation of video games, movies, and TV shows that provide an accurate (okay, let’s go for mostly accurate) depiction of the realities of war. No documentaries were included on this list—for obvious reasons....

That is not to say that everyone who uses them becomes violent, though. Obviously, bodybuilding isn’t the only sport that has participants who use steroids or exhibit issues with violence. We can only hope that as more brains are studied and more is learned about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), we can one day understand more fully why people do the things that they do. 10 John Riccardi Connie Navarro and her friend Sue Jory were gunned down in Navarro’s West Los Angeles condo in 1983....

10Tanbur The tanbur is a category of stringed, wooden instruments with long necks and resonating bodies, known by several names, including the tambur, tanboor, tar, and lyre. The forefather to modern guitars, it originated in Mesopotamia and southern and central Asia several thousand years ago. While many cultures adopted similar styles of this instrument for various purposes, one of the earliest recorded uses of the tanbur was one of healing, calming, and creation of inner equilibrium....

This 9 episode epic chronicles the U.S. Civil War which took place from 1861-1865. Extremely well crafted, it includes an original theme ‘Ashokan Farewell’ that will haunt you long after the final chapter. It includes narration by some of the finest actors and academics of the last half century including Sam Waterston, Arthur Miller, and Shelby Foote. This documentary also featured on our previous list: Top 10 Greatest TV Documentary Series....

10Mount Baldy Sinkholes At 37 meters (123 ft), Mount Baldy is the tallest sand dune on the southern edge of Lake Michigan. Indiana advertises the tourist attraction as “living” because it moves a meter or two every year. The dune began to move when visitors wore away the grass holding it together. That’s no mystery; it’s caused by the wind. It’s the dune’s ability to swallow children that puzzles scientists. In July 2013, six-year-old Nathan Woessner was buried when a 3-meter (11 ft) hole suddenly formed beneath him....

10 Robert Ambridge An English Twitterer who used the handle “Old Holborn” quickly became known for his offensive “jokes.” For example, he tweeted a picture of two obese women wearing Liverpool soccer jerseys with a message that said: “this is what crushed the 96,” a reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at a match. He also targeted the murder of two-year-old James Bulger with his inappropriate remarks....

10Carthage Jail The jail in Carthage, Illinois, is really only famous for one event: the murder of Joseph Smith. His crime: the destruction of the facilities of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper that had been criticizing the newly formed Mormon faith. In addition, they were guarded by an anti-Mormon local militia known as the “Carthage Greys,” so, when the mob came to kill Smith, the guards did nothing. Smith’s brother died first, shot several times, and Smith tried to escape out the window, after returning fire with a pistol in vain....

History does tell us that astronomers have been seeing anomalous things on the Moon ever since the invention of the telescope. Eerie-looking clouds, glowing craters, strange flashes, and weird lights all have been reported throughout history. Also, remember that except with spaceborne cameras, we never see 41 percent of the lunar surface—ever. 10 Weird Lights And UFOs Seen On The Moon In December 1835, famous astronomer Francis Bailey reported seeing a star-like light in a lunar crater called Aristarchus—the same type of thing still reported today....

Well, that describes even some of the famous and mainstream operas. But another set exists that takes things a bit farther than you might expect. From the classics to the obscure, these are 10 of the most bizarre operas. 10 Turandot Set in Peking, Turandot—from composer Giacomo Puccini and librettists Giuseppi Adami and Renato Simoni—is something like a twisted horror story that turns into a sweet fairytale. If there is a message, it seems to be that love conquers all—even sociopathic narcissism....

SEE ALSO: 10 Weird And Unsettling Discoveries About Dead Artists 10 Dado We’ll start this list with Yugoslavian-born Dado (1933-2010), to ease you into things. At first glance, his work can often look banal or pleasant, because of his color choices. They are often pastels instead of the deep reds and blacks most “creepy” artists favor. It’s when you look closer at images like The Large Farm (1963; pictured) or The Footballer (1964) that you see how sickly and grotesque the creatures in them are....

Then there are the less serious cases. We’ve all heard about the ridiculous incident where a man tried to sue Red Bull for false marketing after he discovered that the energy drink did not give him wings. Not surprisingly, he claimed that the drink had not enhanced his physical or intellectual prowess, either, even after a decade of gulping it down. Here are 10 more ridiculous cases that have clogged the justice system over the years....

However, like any other beautiful place, there lies a dark past behind the stunning landscape that Colorado has to offer. Over the years, many crimes have taken place in the state. Gruesome crimes have been committed in “Colorful Colorado,” including serial killings, murders, and even cannibalism. Here are 10 gruesome crimes that have been committed across Colorado. 10 Watts Family Murder On August 13, 2018, Christopher Watts committed the most heinous crime that the small town of Frederick, Colorado, had ever experienced....

Whether or not you believe in reincarnation depends on your religious, cultural, or personal beliefs. Nevertheless, here are ten interesting reincarnation stories that might be worth a read. Judge for yourself whether or not there’s anything to them. 10 Ryan Ryan (born in 2005) was just a boy when he claimed to be the reincarnation of Marty Martyn, who had died about 50 years earlier. Ryan recognized Martyn in a photograph....

Many tragedies have led to stories of great self-sacrifice as people have shown immense bravery to save the lives of others. To ensure that their heroism is never forgotten, here are the stories of 10 people who sacrificed their own lives to save others. 10 Frank Foley Frank Foley wouldn’t be most people’s idea of a typical British spy or hero. After all, he was reportedly small and a little potbellied....

This is why several mathematicians, statisticians, and economists have closely studied the lottery to determine their best chances of winning. Other times, criminal gangs have bribed lottery employees to help them cheat—even on live television. In few instances, lottery employees themselves have inserted codes into lottery computers or found other creative ways to cheat. 10 Stefan Mandel In the 1960s, Romanian economist Stefan Mandel developed an algorithm that allowed him correctly predict five of the six numbers of the winning lottery ticket in the Romanian lottery....

The doodles and scribbles of famous authors can be even more fascinating—and more revealing—than the finished works for which we all know them. Many famous authors were avid doodlers or even artists in their own right and left plenty of weird artifacts in their notebooks for us to puzzle over. 10 Kurt Vonnegut’s Anus In his novel Breakfast of Champions, influential satirist and science fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut included a series of deliberately crude illustrations to accompany the story, the most famous of which is a drawing of an anus....

10 Operation Downfall Code-named Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Japan is a popular source of inspiration for alternate history books, comics, and even board games. Operation Downfall has also served an important political function, justifying the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by contrasting the real-life casualties with the projected loss of life in an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. However, nuclear policy analyst Ward Wilson disagrees. The timing of Japan’s surrender doesn’t seem to match up entirely with the bombings....