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For some, their life of solitude was born out of tragedy. For others, it seems to have been simply a lifestyle choice. Here, we examine ten nonreligious hermits and their extraordinary lives. 10 The Leopard Man Of Skye Tom Leppard was certainly an extraordinary-looking man. His entire body was covered in tattooed leopard spots. At one time, he held the world record for tattoos. Leppard had spent 30 years in military service, and on his discharge, he found it difficult to mix with other people....

The craze produced a countless number of frauds and hoaxes. But in spite of its dubious scientific credentials, Spiritualism lasted well into the 1920s. Contained here are just 10 of the weirder stories that swept the United States during the fad’s heyday. 10 The Farmer And The Spirit-Machine Jonathan Koons, a farmer who lived in rural Ohio, was originally skeptical of Spiritualism. By 1852, Koons had changed his mind and began to declare that he and his nine children—including a baby not even a year old—were all mediums....

10 Leaders Were Chosen At Random The government of Athens was run by a council of 500 men called the Boule. While every citizen played a role in turning the great wheel of democracy, the Boule were especially important. They ran the day-to-day affairs of the government, decided what decrees would be voted on, and played a very major role in leading the country. The Greeks didn’t get to vote for their council, though....

10Anger Helps In Negotiations (If It’s Real) Negotiating is all about being levelheaded and outsmarting your opponent, right? Not entirely. All of our interpersonal interactions function on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one. Research shows that sometimes getting mad can help your case. People are programmed to be cautious around someone who is angry. Therefore, it can make the person whom you’re haggling with more cooperative if you get upset—they’ll try to give you stuff to appease you....

10 His Unfortunate Experience With President Roosevelt Dr. Seuss was a very shy person. He was afraid of crowds and would do anything to avoid them. He developed this phobia during his days as a member of the Boy Scouts in Springfield thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt and the Boy Scouts of America. A descendant of a German immigrant living in the United States during World War I, Dr. Seuss was given war bonds to sell....

10 Nautical Lingo Pirates really did have their own nautical lingo, and we still use many of these rebellious seafarers’ phrases today. “Learn the ropes” is a phrase that today means “become familiar with the way something should be done.” This comes directly from needing to literally know the complex network of pulleys and ropes that controlled a ship’s sails. Being able to tie the proper knot and pull the correct rope to open or close a sail was important know-how for any sailor....

10Why It Was Built The origins of Machu Picchu remain rooted only in theories. Its hidden beginnings endow the city with an awe-inspiring presence that can only be described as magnetic, and no real answer seems to be forthcoming any time soon. There are several popular theories. Perhaps the city was a sacred convent or a royal retreat. Some said it was the last Inca city to resist the Spanish, that it was constructed to represent a specific landscape from Inca myths, or that it was meant to honor the sacred river and mountains which surround it....

Well, Neil, that “informed democracy” you speak of is well and truly over. Politicians are so ill-informed these days that they come out with some pretty ridiculous and unscientific nonsense. 10 Ted Stevens vs. The Internet Net neutrality (also known as open Internet) has returned to the news, with communications companies fighting the FCC to give some sites priority use of their bandwidth. Under the current legislation, all Internet is created equal, with no traffic getting precedence....

10Film Making Without the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in the 1980s, the field of nanotechnology might have remained science fiction. With its atomic precision the STM has enabled physicists to study the structure of matter in a way that was impossible with conventional microscopes. The astonishing potential of STM was demonstrated by researchers at IBM when they created A Boy and His Atom, which was the world’s smallest animated film....

In French, the term “puce”—literally meaning “flea”—is a term of endearment akin to “darling.” Fleas are famous for being the performers of “flea circuses,” in which they appear to perform such acts as kicking balls, pulling carts, rotating Ferris wheels, and playing instruments. In the 1920s, several insect-related phrases existed to describe excellence. Of these, only “the bee’s knees” survives today. For a time, however, “the flea’s eyebrows” was also used to express admiration....

SEE ALSO: 10 Entrances To Hell That You Can Visit But it turns out that the “standard” version is exactly that: a wishy-washy average that contains only a fraction of the possibilities. Glimpse inside the visions of some of history’s wildest mystics and you’ll find versions of Hell that could give your nightmares nightmares. 10 The Apocalypse Of Peter Around the late second century, a whole swathe of imitation holy books started appearing across the ancient world....

The Civil War brought the Confederate States back into the Union, but the people who lived in the South weren’t through fighting. They were determined to keep things exactly as they were during the heyday of slavery. They made state laws that let them keep black people in essential servitude. As a result, slavery in America lived on for a lot longer than most people realize. 10 Slavery Was Used As A Legal Punishment The 13th Amendment didn’t make all forms of slavery illegal....

Trigger warning: This article contains a discussion of restrictive eating without the consent and supervision of a medical professional. Always speak with your doctor before starting a weight loss program. 10 The Juice Cleanse – Salma Hayek The juice cleanse is an ever-popular fad diet that celebrities constantly reference as their go-to diet before big events or when they need to drop weight quickly. While it’s true that some individuals might lose weight while doing a multiple-day juice cleanse (only drinking juice is essentially just starving yourself, duh), some outlandish medical claims have been made about juice cleanses....

The first mass shooting during the aforementioned 35-year period took place in a welding shop in 1982. Eight were killed, and three were wounded. The shooter was a high school teacher carrying one shotgun. Fast-forward to the 2017 Las Vegas concert shooting, in which 59 people were killed and over 500 wounded by a man with an arsenal of at least 23 guns (many of them fully automatic). Essentially, these figures speak for themselves....

Es Lebe Die Freiheit! (Long live freedom!) Said by: Hans Scholl – German resistance leader, spoken from the guillotine, before his execution in 1943. Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough! Said by: Karl Marx, asked by his housekeeper if he had any last words. I have not told half of what I saw. Said by: Marco Polo – Venetian traveller and writer....

In 1752, there were only 354 days in Great Britain and its colonies. This was because Britain adopted the Gregorian Calendar in place of the Julian calendar. The lost days were September 3 – September 13 inclusive. The Hundred Years’ War (a war to determine who the rightful King of France would be) was actually 116 years long. It was during this war that Saint Joan rose up in France to lead her army to victory....

Erinaceous Like a hedgehog Lamprophony Loudness and clarity of voice Depone To testify under oath Finnimbrun A trinket or knick-knack floccinaucinihilipilification Estimation that something is valueless. Proper pronunciation based on Latin roots: flock?-nows?-n?k?l?-p?l?-f?k-ation. Inaniloquent Pertaining to idle talk Limerance An attempt at a scientific study into the nature of romantic love. Mesonoxian Pertaining to midnight Mungo A dumpster diver – one who extracts valuable things from trash Nihilarian A person who deals with things lacking importance (pronounce the ‘h’ like a ‘k’)....

What happens, however, when a suicide is actually a murder most foul? Murders that were—for reasons from laziness to bribery to full on political conspiracy—ruled suicides when they weren’t? In many cases, suicides they legally remain, despite every shred of evidence pointing to an outside hand, a dirty deed carried out by a monster in human skin. Let’s take a look at 5 cases of suicide that were almost certainly murders....

See Also: 10 Signs You May Be A Psychopath 8 The Charming Psychopath Most women love a charming, intelligent man—the kind of guy who gives compliments without leering and can work out a difficult math problem without struggling. The problem? You won’t immediately know if he’s hiding violent psychopathic tendencies. The first killer who comes to mind when thinking about charm, intelligence, and the pretense of caring about others is Ted Bundy....

(Courtesy of ThoseLilRabbits) For those who don’t know this is a parody of the “Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 6 years.” Contributor: JimmySchaps