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Millions of people were arrested and terrorized by the Red Guards, the Cultural Revolution’s paramilitary youth organization. Those arrested were forced to endure brutal “struggle sessions,” where they were tortured and humiliated in public. By the time the revolution ended in 1976, possibly as many as three million people had been killed. The violence and persecution during the revolution was catastrophic, and the decade arguably ranks as one of China’s darkest periods....

Some have even gone extinct in the wild and are only around because we had them in captivity. Nevertheless, every animal on this list will be extinct in a few years unless breeding programs become successful or some miracle happens. 10 Vaquita The vaquita is one animal you have probably never heard of. It is a small porpoise that only lives in the Gulf of California. It presently holds the title of the “rarest marine mammal in the world....

10The Trireme Olympias Ancient Greek triremes were the ultimate sea weapon of the Mediterranean. Fast and agile, they could travel long distances under sail or deploy oars and fight at close quarters. Images of the ships abound in carved reliefs and descriptions of naval battles. But there was long debate over exactly how the triremes’ most distinctive features, the three banks of oars for which it is named, were deployed. The conditions were definitely cramped for the rowers (Aristophanes the comic poet describes the scene of the rowers packed in—“Fart(ing) in the face of their rowing mate“), so just how did they work the oars together?...

10English Is A Lingua Franca English is considered the lingua franca of the world. That means it’s the language used as a form of communication between people who speak different languages. For example, a German and Swede might not know each other’s languages, but there’s a good chance they will know English. Both of them can use English in order to communicate to one another. This is exactly how a lingua franca works....

However, there are several criminally underrated songs in animated films that are just as good as the prize winners (sometimes even better). 10 “Great Spirits” – Brother Bear Brother Bear was released in 2003 and tells the story of a Native American boy, Kenai, who can’t wait to become a man. However, when one of his brothers is killed by a bear, he immediately seeks revenge and is turned into a bear himself when he angers the spirits of his people....

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were charged with conspiracy for passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union during a time of war. The Rosenbergs were convicted on March 29, 1951, and on April 5 were sentenced to death. The Rosenbergs remained on death row for twenty-six months. They were eventually executed by electric chair on June 19th, 1953. The following letter to their two sons was written on the day of their execution....

Pictures showing freshly solved mysteries and violent things in space are fascinating, but they pale next to unusual world firsts. In recent years, photographers have captured extinct animals, shock waves, and the most powerful light in the universe flashing right here on Earth. 10 The Dutch Shipwreck In 2019, metal salvagers searched for shipping containers that had been recently lost in the North Sea. They snapped a sonar image of something near the Dutch island of Terschelling....

The frontier days of the Great White North have never held the mythic status of the American frontier. They were emptier lands, filled, for the most part, with fur traders and First Nations tribes, kept on a tighter leash than the wild settlers across the border. But as the Americans to the south started to expand further west, and as they began to be lured up north in pursuit of gold rushes, the Canadian West started to become every bit as wild as its neighbor....

I stumbled across a video of this song on the internet and have been unable to track down when it was recorded or what album it is on (if any). What I can tell you is that it is a wonderful song and exactly what you would expect from Ben Folds Five. A delightful yet chaotic pop tune filled with frivolity. The song tells the story of an unfortunate and lesser known incident in Christmas history when Santa got his “fat arse stuck” down the chimney....

On this list are just some examples of excellent details hidden in popular movies. 10 Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs is one of the creepiest movies ever made, thanks to an insane performance from Anthony Hopkins. The movie also has one of the most recognizable posters ever made, which features Clarice’s face with her mouth covered by a death’s head hawkmoth. However, you have to look really closely at this moth to see what exactly is on its back: a tiny reproduction of the Voluptas Mors photograph created by Salvador Dali and Philippe Halsman....

There were many ways for bodies to end up in wells, from a quick disposal to madness. Sometimes it was simply an accident, but many times, the reports from the past make it easy to believe that murder was involved. After all, dumping a person into a well often led the police to mark the death as self-inflicted instead of something far more sinister. 10 The Water Tasted Peculiar In 1915, group of men were busy working in Bearbong, New South Wales, but when they noticed that the well water had a rather peculiar flavor, all work stopped....

While some of these cases might have faded from news reports, they still haunt the families and the communities where they happened. If you have information about any of the following cases, contact Canadian Crime Stoppers. 10Barbara Jean Maclean And Melissa Rehorek Calgary, Alberta On February 25, 1977, Barbara Jean Maclean was at Highlander bar for a night out with her friends and boyfriend. As the evening progressed, she and her boyfriend got into an argument, and the bar kicked him out....

At least, that’s the case most of the time. Occasionally, the actions taken are less grave and more hilariously petty. 10 Nixon Launched The War On Drugs To Undermine Blacks And Hippies For many people living today, Nixon is thought of as the worst president of all time. He extended the Vietnam War, costing hundreds of thousands of lives. He once threatened to have a journalist murdered. And then there’s the whole Watergate thing....

10 The Birth Of Gerrymandering Gerrymandering is a shady political practice used to establish voting districts that give an advantage to a certain party. Basically, district lines are drawn up in such a way that one party becomes dominant in more districts, even though it has fewer voters overall. The practice was first used by Patrick Henry, leader of the Anti-Federalist Party, Founding Father, and the man remembered for allegedly saying, “Give me liberty or give me death!...

10Henry Kissinger Best known as Richard Nixon’s Secretary of State and the man responsible for countless foreign negotiations with Vietnam and China through the 1970s, Henry Kissinger played an integral role in American foreign policy as early as the 1950s, when he acted as a special consultant to the Department of State and the National Security Council’s Operations Coordinating Board. Even though his name is synonymous with American foreign policy, he didn’t become a United States citizen until the age of 20....

10 The Eruption Of Mount Vesuvius The eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, AD 79, killed a number of people and totally destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. All of the victims of the eruption were caught unaware, though that shouldn’t have been the case, as the mountain had given several warnings, all of which went completely ignored. Pompeii was not the first town to be destroyed by the eruption of mountain Vesuvius....

Going solely by media reaction, it can seem like this current refugee crisis is unprecedented. In reality, it’s simply one in a long number of waves that have come to shape the modern United States. While some writers claim that reactions to the Syrian influx show that Americans have always been hostile to refugees, the truth is far more nuanced. The US has plenty of moments in its past to be ashamed of when it comes to treatment of displaced persons....

So everyone had to learn to recognize all the different accompaniments to the usual dinner service, such as asparagus servers, marrow scoops, and grape scissors. Oh, and you had to know how to use them as well. How do you think you would manage if you sat down to a lovely meal and saw any of the items below? Would you be the toast of the town or commit a gastronomic faux pas?...

Chinese battle tactics were inventive, bizarre, and often downright brilliant. Their military history is full of some of the strangest ideas you’ll ever hear—and ideas you won’t believe really worked. 10 The Dancing Girls In 623, when he saw the Tuyuhun hordes storming down the hills to raid the Tang Empire, General Chai Shao knew he was in trouble. He was outnumbered, overpowered, and had the weaker ground. In a fair fight, he knew, he wouldn’t have much of a chance—and so he didn’t fight fair....