1. Unit 731
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
Lurker8.
Unit 731 was a unit of the Japanese Imperial Army that carried out brutal (and, in many cases, lethal) experimentation on human beings during World War II under the guise of chemical and biological research. For the majority of the time it was active, the unit acted under the command of General Shiro Ishii, and was responsible for the deaths of up to 250,000 people. The worst part? Instead of being put on trial for human experimentation, the people involved with the unit were granted immunity by the US government in exchange for the data they had gathered.
2. The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
onemellocello.
In 2005 Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old from Mountain Brook, Alabama, disappeared during her high school graduation trip to Aruba. She was last seen in a car with three men – Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe, and Satish Kalpoe. While each of the men has been arrested several times in connection with Natalee's disappearance, they were always released due to lack of evidence. Exactly five years to the day after Natalee's disappearance, 21-year-old Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez went missing in Peru. Her dead body was discovered three days later in a hotel room registered to Joran van der Sloot. While Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to Ramírez's murder, Natalee Holloway's disappearance remains unsolved.
3. Timeline of the Far Future
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
ledfordzach and
lizb51.
You may be wondering how Wikipedia has managed to compile, among its thousands of other lists, a list of stuff that is going to happen in the future. How can they
possibly know that? The short answer: science.
This list is long and puts our tiny little lives into perspective. For example, did you know that in around 50 million years, human beings could feasibly have colonised the entire galaxy? But also there's apparently a 95% chance that humans will be extinct in 10,000 years. Mind = blown.
4. Last Meal
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
MaxineBlythe.
A list of all the last meals requested by famous criminals before their executions probably shouldn't be interesting, but it seriously is. The guy in the photo, Peter Kürten – otherwise known as
the Vampire of Düsseldorf – requested weiner schnitzel, fried potatoes, and a bottle of white wine. He also requested, and received, seconds. Infamous serial killer
John Wayne Gacy requested a dozen deep-fried shrimp, a bucket of KFC original recipe chicken, french fries, and a pound of strawberries. (Just make sure you have food around while you're reading this, because you'll end up starving.)
While this article itself is super interesting, the best part is you can click through and read more about the criminals themselves. If you're into that.
5. List of Common Misconceptions
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
maggiep and
nevar23.
This list is basically what it says on the tin: a bunch of facts that you think you know but aren't really facts at all. For example, I was upset to learn that Thomas Crapper (the guy in the above photo) didn't actually invent the flushing toilet. He just made them more popular. Also, less surprisingly, Einstein didn't really fail maths, and when he heard this claim he said "before I was 15 I had mastered differential and integral calculus." No need to brag, Albert.
This article is really long, can keep you occupied for hours, and is a great resource for when you want to get all "well, actually..." at parties.
6. Jonestown
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
smithal1 and
zaelysapellicierp.
On 18 November 1978, almost a thousand people – most of them American – in a remote commune in Jonestown, Guyana, died of apparent cyanide poisoning. They were all members of the
Peoples Temple, a religious organisation led by
Jim Jones that has since been referred to as a cult. The deaths at the commune were viewed as a mass suicide, though survivors consider it to be mass murder. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, there's a whole Wikipedia article on the
conspiracy theories surrounding the incidents.
7. Genealogy of the British Royal Family
AFP / Getty Images
Suggested by
kodiet and
oliviah10.
This specific article is basically just a list of all the monarchs Britain has ever had (spoiler alert: it's a lot) and their families. It's all organised by the different family trees, and it's honestly really detailed and confusing – but there are so many links there that you can fall into a days-long Wiki hole. You won't even recognise yourself in the mirror when you come out the other side.
(Psst... If you want something a bit easier to get into, there's always the
List of English Monarchs.)
8. Feral Children
en.wikipedia.org)
en.wikipedia.org)
Suggested by
catherinelawrenceb and
marianoa3.
A feral child is basically a person who has lived in isolation from human contact from a young age, and therefore has no experience of human behaviour. Again, this article itself is more of a wormhole into an infinity of ridiculously interesting articles you won't be able to stop reading. I once spent an entire night reading about
Genie (the girl in the photos), who until the age of 13 was kept locked alone in a room by her father. Upon being rescued from her abusive family home, Genie was taken into government care and became the subject of examinations and research into human behaviour. Her article alone (and the documentary you can find
on YouTube) are enough to keep you occupied for hours.
9. The Dancing Plague of 1518
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
kellies481eed797.
This is a short one, but if you don't know about it already, you absolutely
have to read it. In July 1518, in Strasbourg, France, a woman began to randomly and enthusiastically dance in the middle of the street. Within a month, 400 people were dancing. There are theories, but nobody can be certain why it happened. You just need to know about it.
10. Passengers of the RMS Titanic
en.wikipedia.org
Suggested by
oliviaf49ce43f10.
We all know the story of the
Titanic's first and last voyage, but if you've ever found yourself wondering about the lives of the people on board, this article is the one for you. While many of them don't have their own Wikipedia pages (there are hundreds of them, after all), the most interesting ones do, and there are enough to keep you entertained for days. There's no Jack or Rose though. Sorry.
Thats like "Mine as well"
its a set up isn't it?
