History is full of cruel and—more importantly in this case—often extremely strange punishments and legal proceedings, ten of which we’ll be examining right now. 10 Drunkard’s Cloak The strange “drunkard’s cloak,”‘ also known as the Newcastle cloak in the north of England, was a method of punishment given to repeat-offender alcoholics who apparently could not behave after drinking. The strange idea was pretty simple. Take a massive, heavy wooden barrel typically designed to store alcoholic beverages, cut necessary holes for the head and limbs to fit through it, and force the offender to wear it for an extended period while marching through the local streets, presumably resulting in public humiliation....

10Oldest Pre-Alphabet Writing During 2016, the archaeological site of Ad Putea delivered a historical surprise. Located in Northern Bulgaria, the fort used to be a Roman road station. The idea was to learn more about Ad Putea, but diggers unexpectedly came across an unknown settlement from the Copper Age underneath it. A few spadefuls into this era uncovered a ceramic fragment with markings. The 7,000-year-old shard appears to hold the world’s oldest pictographic writing, a picturesque way people recorded things important to them before the advent of the alphabet....

10The Star Of David The Star of David is the most identifiable symbol of Judaism. However, unlike items such as the menorah or the shofar, the star is not uniquely Jewish. Before it was a Jewish symbol, it also appeared in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. It appears that Hinduism has used the star the longest; for Hindus, it represents the Anahata, the fourth primary chakra, an energy point of the body....

The problem is that justice without due process can easily turn into plain violence, aimed at the nearest suspicious-looking person. And that’s when innocent people meet horrible fates. The victims in the following ten cases weren’t guilty of anything yet still paid for the misdeeds of others. 10 A Passing Electrician Is Lynched As A Thief Muhammad al-Zahra was a 30-year-old Indonesian electric repair man from the suburbs of Jakarta....

10Our Memories Make Up Who We Are Many people are under the impression that memories are static or at least fairly stable. This is an understandable misconception because for the longest time many researchers in the field of learning and memory were under the same impression. Research in the last decade, especially research by a neuroscientist named Karim Nader, has proved that our memory is not nearly as stable as we once believed....

These feathered creatures stun onlookers with daring survival situations. Meanwhile, scientists have fiery disagreements about trees stuck in nets and the killing of a bird sought for decades. 10 Super Colliders Decades of research showed that city lights cause more birds to hit windows. The worst affected are migratory species. Several thrush, warbler, and sparrow species now smash so often into buildings that scientists call them “super colliders.” In 2019, a new study examined 70,000 “crash” specimens from Cleveland and Chicago (both located in a migratory bird lane)....

10 The World Food Supply It goes without saying that bees are an important part of pollination and agriculture, but most people don’t know exactly how important they really are. Across the world today, there are 100 main varieties of crops that make up 90 percent of the human food supply. Think apples, bananas, avocados, and corn. Bees are the primary agents of pollination for 70 percent of these crops. That means about 63 percent of our food supply is directly dependent on bees....

Thanks to an episode of South Park, the saying about gingers having no soul has become popularized, but there are many advantages to being a redhead. Being born a ginger is no curse; if anything, it’s more of a superpower. Here are ten fascinating facts about gingers that you should know. 10 More Likely To Be Left-Handed? It has been said that redheads are more likely to be left-handed than those of other hair colors, but there is only limited scientific study to prove this....

SEE ALSO: 10 Decisions With Bizarrely Unexpected Consequences Virtue signalling is a term that has evolved to describe empty gestures with no real commitment—think throwaway comments designed to generate “likes” and to appear virtuous. Celebrities have been called out for hypocrisy when their moral posturing has turned out to be of little substance. Members of the public have also tripped up when trying to change the world. Perhaps the point to remember is – it’s OK to care, just do your research....

Nina Simone has dabbled in all the jazz genres, and this a little taste of her acid jazz stylings. It’s not lyrically or instrumentally challenging but it’s fun to listen to her sing “My boobies!” I recommend not singing that aloud randomly in public places unless you’re used to receiving odd looks from strangers… ‘Round Midnight is a staple for the late night jazz radio stations. This was originally composed by Thelonious Monk but has had such an influence on the jazz world that nearly every jazz musician has performed his or her own interpretation of the piece....

True evil enjoys showing off its cleverness and ability to outwit authorities, and the following serial killers are no exception. Two of them have even managed to evade capture to this day. 10 Dennis ‘BTK’ Rader Serial killer Dennis Rader murdered ten people between 1974 and 1991 in Wichita, Kansas. His moniker “BTK” stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill,” based on his modus operandi. He terrified neighborhoods, which saw a huge surge in the use of home security systems....

Lee himself has gained a large, new following thanks to the cameos he made in every Marvel movie based on one of his characters. He lived a long and interesting life, and it was bound to be full of fantastic tidbits that the general public didn’t know. Here is a look at 10 of them. ‘Nuff said. 10 Stan Lee Tackled Drug Abuse There was a time when almost all comics published in the United States needed to obtain the seal of approval from the Comics Code Authority (CCA)....

Sometimes, our imaginations concoct more than venomous snakes and spiders when we see the Australian mountains, deserts, and blood-colored plains. And that’s during the day. When the night becomes pitch-black, even more legendary creatures may spring to life, ready to strike their unsuspecting human prey. Although the existence of these Australian animals is unconfirmed, here are 10 mysterious critters that could be out there—waiting for you—just beyond the circle of firelight....

This week, we explore a few inspiring tales of a daredevil on a hoverboard, a prodigious young hiker, a cyclist breaking down barriers, and an actor ready to help those in need. There are also a few heartwarming relationships, such as the friendship between a boy and a garbage man and the love between a baby stork and its adopted family. 10 Made For Each Other For a while, it looked like Scooter the dog would never find a happy home because he only had three legs....

As more researchers have observed and interacted with animals, humans have definitely been humbled. Despite all the millennia that we have shared the planet with other creatures, we seem to be constantly discovering that they can do many things we thought only humans could do—or that they can do things humans only wish they could imitate. Here are some fascinating accomplishments from our non-human neighbors. 10Dolphins Can Make Their Own Toys Young bottlenose dolphins love to play, and they can even make their own toys for that purpose....

But in spite of these great accomplishments, the British Empire sowed the seeds for some of the worst disasters that have afflicted humanity. Although the British were not responsible for all of the events directly, their interference in others’ problems was often just as destructive. Here are ten ways the British Empire ruined the world: Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation by the National Party governments, the ruling party in South Africa from 1948 to 1994....

10It Shaped Our Evolution Numerous findings indicate that great leaps and bounds in human evolution coincided with radical changes in the climate. For instance, three million years ago, the first modern Homo species emerged around the time that Africa began to dry out, changing from a wooded landscape to the grasslands we know today. As the flora of Africa changed, we had to adjust ourselves from primarily climbing trees to walking across vast areas....

Overnight, or even sooner, one statement, video, audio clip, picture or document can dramatically shift the national dialogue. In the past, main stream media led the way. A picture of Dukakis looking puny in a tank marked his campaign’s derailment in 1988. One mistaken pool report of George H.W. Bush at the supermarket reportedly looking surprised while viewing a scanner swiping groceries spelled doom for his second term, falsely becoming fodder for those calling him ‘out of touch’....

In order to break into a city or castle, or to stop besiegers from getting in, humans have poured all their ingenuity into creating a wide variety of weapons. And what’s a deadly siege weapon without an equally diabolical strategy for its use? Here are ten inventive, and frankly bizarre, siege weapons and tactics from history. 10 Pigs King John is commonly regarded as the worst king in English history....

10Tipping Around The World There are few issues more galvanizing than the decision of whether to tip your waiter. The debate is perhaps best crystallized in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, when the character Mr. Pink goes on a rant about how tipping is out of control. In many parts of the world, including most of Asia, Australia, and several nations in Europe, tipping is not customary. In Japan, it is even seen as insulting....