There are other places in this world, though, that are far stranger. Places that seem almost alien, as if they could only exist on a planet that evolved separately from our own. These are places that scientists have had to struggle just to understand how they ever could have been formed. Places that will truly make you wonder—not just because they’re beautiful, but because they seem to follow scientific laws that don’t exist anywhere else on earth....

10 Japan Tried To Set The US Ablaze Using Intercontinental Fire Balloons Just before World War II, Japanese scientists launched balloons to measure wind currents over the Pacific Ocean. That’s when they discovered the jet stream, a current of air crossing the Pacific at 9,000 meters (30,000 ft) up. Since Japan was soon fighting for its life against the US, the Japanese tried to weaponize this discovery. Launching balloons filled with incendiary devices, the Japanese hoped that the “Fu Go” balloons would start huge forest fires in the western US and hinder the American war effort....

10 Cigarette Cake The war on tobacco, or rather cigarettes, is certainly no deterrent to conjuring up cool by using the image of the cigarette. But it really only works when a good-looking celebrity is the one smoking—and when you don’t see any of the carnage associated with it. Truly, one of the nastiest things out there is an ashtray with smushed-up butts, left out for days, wafting its stale smoke-laden scent into the room....

That doesn’t mean that gray aliens with large heads and big eyes are out there abducting people, but it is almost a statistical certainty that some kind of cosmic microbe or “space insect” is going about its business somewhere in the universe. With that in mind, here are 10 reasons why alien life probably does exist. 10 Simple Law Of Averages Although actual numbers change all the time due to new discoveries or even the downgrading of a planet to a dwarf planet or moon, it is largely agreed that there are billions of planets, solar systems, and galaxies in the vast reaches of the cosmos....

One problem: None of that’s exactly true. Geisha weren’t prostitutes, and they didn’t always cover their faces in white paint. And—for a while—they weren’t even women. 10 The First Geisha Were Men The first female geisha didn’t come around until 1751, and when she started working, the idea that a woman could be a geisha was treated like a weird, novel thought. She was advertised as the “female geisha” because, up until then, every single geisha had been a man....

But what if you’re gazing out at the water, feeling all kinds of peace, just to see a shadowy figure staring back at you? Or you hear someone humming a long-forgotten tune while you’re strolling along the shore, and you find yourself face to face with a red-eyed mermaid ready to stick sharp claws into your flesh. Water mythology has been around for a very long time and centers around a slew of scary characters and fabled objects....

10The Arctic Fox’s Possible Tibetan Ancestor Some of the most interesting (or headache-causing) scientific findings are those that challenge an established paradigm, such as the description of a new, extinct species that casts doubt on established evolutionary models. Such is the case for Vulpes qiuzhudingi, an extinct species of fox, which was first described in 2014. A very dedicated team of paleontologists found the fossils in the Zanda and Kunlun Pass Basins in southern Tibet at roughly 4,700 meters (15,000 ft) above sea level....

10Arthur Shawcross In 1972, Arthur Shawcross killed a young boy and girl in Watertown, New York. He went to prison for the crimes, but he was released after serving just under 15 years. His record was sealed when he moved to Rochester, New York, in 1988, where he soon started killing prostitutes, claiming 11 lives before he was caught. Once he was back in prison, Shawcross started bragging about some of the disgusting things he did to his victims, including several cases of cannibalism....

10America Manufactured Ebola Delaware State University professor Cyril Broderick published a letter in Liberia’s Daily Observer in September accusing the US government of manufacturing the Ebola virus. Broderick alleges that Ebola is a genetically modified organism that America weaponized and tested in Africa under the guise of distributing vaccines. He further names Canada, the UK, and France as being in cahoots with America, with the WHO and the UN somehow involved as well....

The rules were quite detailed and included advice on where a duel should be fought, when, what clothes the combatants should wear (ruffles, for example, being deemed unfair as they may prove a distraction), and so on. Surgical assistance should be on hand wherever possible, and seconds should ensure that no injured gentleman is left on the field. Most importantly of all, combatants should salute each other before commencing try to kill each other....

Top 10 Performances In Rock Music History 10 “Helter Skelter” – The Beatles “Helter Skelter” is regarded as a key influence in the development of heavy metal music. Paul McCartney found the inspiration for the song in a published interview with Pete Townshend from the Who and wanted “Helter Skelter” to be the loudest, most raucous song The Beatles had ever released. The song was released in November 1968 and quickly became very popular....

10Bringing An Animal Back From Extinction The Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo, was a wild goat that lived high in the Pyrenees—the mountain range that divides France and Spain. For thousands of years, these animals thrived in the region, but due to excessive hunting, they were driven to extinction. However, before the last bucardo (a female named Celia) died, scientists were able to preserve her intact cells. Several years after the animal was officially declared extinct, a team of French and Spanish scientists embarked on a controversial scientific project reminiscent of the classic sci-fi novel Jurassic Park—they brought a bucardo (Celia’s clone) back from extinction....

Ghost prisoners are subject to what the CIA calls “enhanced interrogation tactics”; most others call it torture. The CIA and their operatives’ methods allegedly include waterboarding, sleep deprivation, humiliation, physical beatings, electric shocks, and worse. These secret prisons, dotted all over the world, might just be the most terrifying places on Earth. 10 Diego GarciaIndian Ocean Diego Garcia is an atoll in the Indian Ocean located around 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi) south of India and 3,200 kilometers (2,000 mi) east of Tanzania....

However, while many sexually transmitted illnesses are commonly known to affect humans, we aren’t the only species on the planet that can contract them. From HIV to herpes to brucellosis, the animal kingdom has its own fair share of problems when it comes to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 10 Papillomavirus Some mammals of the sea are known for their vast intelligence and for saving humans from sharks. But they also have the ability to contract genital warts through papillomavirus....

10 Impatient Driver Treats ZombieWalkers Like Real Zombies Although never officially part of Comic-Con, the ZombieWalk, in which hundreds of people in zombie costumes parade down the convention center street, had been held side by side with the comic book event for eight years without incident or complaint. In 2014, however, the ZombieWalk was canceled after Matthew Pocci plowed his car through a group of people, injuring one woman so severely that her arm was nearly detached....

Along the way, many faiths may involve unorthodox practices. For some, that includes the use of various animals in religious ceremonies. And for many churches across America, there is one specific animal in use: snakes. The practice of handling snakes as a form of faith is not a new thing. In fact, it dates back more than a century. Even today, it is mainly associated with rural churches in the Appalachian region of the U....

But there is a definite chill in the air whenever any of the below spooky stories are told… 10 Quinta da Pauliceia, Águeda, Portugal Águeda is home to the Umbrella Sky Project, a project that forms part of the annual AgitÁgueda Art Festival. A kaleidoscope of around 3,000 colorful umbrellas is suspended over the streets in the center of the town, adding to the festive atmosphere. In contrast, Águeda is also where you’ll find one of the most haunted houses in Portugal....

10 Russia Had An Untraceable Drug For The Sochi Winter Olympics Before the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency received word that there was a human growth hormone (HGH) available in Russia that was completely untraceable by any standard Olympics drug test. If true, that would have given the Russians a huge advantage in virtually every sport in the Winter Olympics that year. So the question on everyone’s mind was: How true was this claim?...

But robots are perfectly harmless in real life. With numerous advances in technology, intelligent robots will soon make our lives more comfortable, our jobs easier, and our world a better place in which to live. 10 Tru-D If a fluorescent light and a Star Wars droid ever got married and had a baby, it would look like Tru-D. A robot that kills viruses and bacteria, Tru-D is used in more than 300 hospitals around the world....

More times than you might think, casual trips to the beach have quickly gone wrong—sometimes in shocking or tragic ways. For all you know, your favorite sandy hangout spot could have a dark secret history too. Here are ten stories about beaches where horrifying things have gone down. 10 Wanda Beach Like a good sister, 15-year-old Marianne Schmidt took her younger siblings to the beach one January day in 1965....