Table of Contents
1 Mysteries 9
1 Top 10 Mysterious Artifacts That Are Allegedly Alien 10
2 Top 10 Real-Life Hidden Treasures You Could Still Find 15
3 Top 10 People Who Vanished into Thin Air 19
4 Top 10 Creepy Mysteries Involving Unidentified People 24
5 Top 10 Mysterious Urban Legends Based on Video Footage 30
6 Top 10 Places as Mysterious as the Bermuda Triangle 36
7 Top 10 Mysteries That Hint at Forgotten Advanced Civilizations 42
8 Top 10 Mysterious Letters 46
9 Top 10 Strange Unsolved Mysteries 51
10 Top 10 Mysterious Mass Animal Deaths 56
11 Top 10 Mysterious Prehistoric Sites from Around the World 59
12 Top 10 Entertainment Careers Cut Short by Unsolved Mysteries 62
13 Top 10 Secretly Connected Topics 68
2 Conspiracy Theories 77
1 Top 10 Creepy Pop Culture Conspiracy Theories 78
2 Top 10 Nefarious Conspiracies Proven True 84
3 Top 10 More Mysterious Conspiracy Theories 92
4 Top 10 Zombie Apocalypse Conspiracy Theories 99
5 Top 10 Plausible Conspiracy Theories 1 105
6 Top 10 Crazy Cinematic Conspiracy Theories 110
7 Top 10 Crazy Catholic Conspiracy Theories 115
8 Top 10 Laughable Conspiracy Theories 123
9 Top 10 Reasons the Moon Landings Could Be a Hoax 128
3 Creepy 132
1 Top 10 Most Morbidly Fascinating Places in the World 133
2 Top 10 Creepy Cave-Dwelling Cryptids 137
3 Top 10 Creepy Urban Legends from around the World 141
4 Top 10 Incredibly Spooky Things 145
5 Top 10 Lesser-Known Haunted Places 151
6 Top 10 Creepy Stories of Alleged Alien Encounters 155
7 Top 10 Terrifying Historic Medical Instruments 158
8 Top 10 Creepy Historical Vampires You've Never Heard Of 161
9 Top 10 Creepy Tales about Clowns 165
10 Top 10 Creepiest True Stories behind Movie Scenes 169
4 Weird World 173
1 Top 10 Weird Things That Have Happened at Walmart 174
2 Top 10 Bizarre Medieval Medical Practices 177
3 Top 10 Ways Our Ancestors Made Murder Fun 181
4 Top 10 Bizarre Uses for Human Skin 184
5 Top 10 Bizarre Murder Weapons 187
6 Top 10 Bizarre Aspects of Japanese Culture 192
7 Top 10 Bizarre Theories about the Earth That People Believe 195
8 Top 10 Bizarre Toilet Tales from around the World 199
9 Top 10 Insane Beauty Treatments 202
10 Top 10 Silliest Lawsuits Ever Heard in Court 206
5 Facts and Misconceptions 211
1 Top 10 Weird Facts about Cereal 212
2 Top 10 Common Misconceptions about the Ancient Greeks 216
3 Top 10 Common Myths about Famous Landmarks 219
4 Top 10 Myths Involving the Nazis 223
5 Top 10 Fantastic Facts about Beer 226
6 Top 10 Weird Facts about Cats 230
7 Top 10 Weird Facts about Dogs 234
8 Top 10 Lesser-Known Facts about the Titanic 238
6 Pop Culture 243
1 Top 10 Creepy Video Game Urban Legends 244
2 Top 10 Internet Hoaxes and Pranks 248
3 Top 10 Logos That Mean Way More Than You Think 252
4 Top 10 Insane Facts about Marvel Comics 255
5 Top 10 Ways Magic Tricks Your Brain 259
6 Top 10 Real-World Technologies Inspired by Video Games 263
7 Top 10 Amazing but Overlooked Innovations by Walt Disney 267
8 Top 10 Classic Toys and Games That Are Older Than You Think 271
9 Top 10 Interesting Histories of Iconic Products 275
10 Top 10 Totally Ridiculous PR Disasters 281
7 Movies and TV 285
1 Top 10 Weird Facts about Game Shows 286
2 Top 10 Odd and Fascinating Facts about The Wizard of Oz 290
3 Top 10 Hollywood Myths People Still Believe 292
4 Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Sesame Street 296
5 Top 10 Weird Ways Iconic Movie Costumes Were Created 300
6 Top 10 Movie In-Jokes and Traditions 304
7 Top 10 Crazy Movie Plots That Happened in Real Life 307
8 Top 10 Bizarre TV Incidents 311
9 Top 10 Behind-the-Scenes Stories of Simpsons Guest Stars 317
10 Top 10 Shocking Documentaries 320
8 Music 325
1 Top 10 Wild Rock and Roll Urban Legends People Believe 326
2 Top 10 Fascinating and Unusual Music Techniques 330
3 Top 10 Music Recordings for the Insanely Determined 335
4 Top 10 Beatles Innovations That Changed Music 338
5 Top 10 True Rock Music Stories 341
6 Top 10 Famous Songs with Unknown Originals 350
7 Top 10 Major Stars Who Sang Backup on Hits by Not-So-Major Artists 353
8 Top 10 Rock Concerts That Were Just Messed Up 356
9 Top 10 Unpleasant Facts about John Lennon 360
9 Culture 364
1 Top 10 Books That Prove the Victorians Were Kinky 365
2 Top 10 Fascinating Typographical Origins 368
3 Top 10 Everyday Words with Unexpected Origins 372
4 Top 10 Mind-Blowing Stage and Circus Acts 377
5 Top 10 Sinister Origins of Nursery Rhymes 380
6 Top 10 Unusual Little-Known Fairy Tales 386
7 Top 10 Curious Facts about Your Favorite Childhood Authors 394
8 Top 10 Deleted Chapters That Transformed Famous Books 398
9 Top 10 Stupidly Banned Children's Books 402
10 Top 10 Horribly Disturbing Fairy Tales 406
10 History 413
1 Top 10 Strange Fates of People Connected to Abraham Lincoln's Assassination 414
2 Top 10 Notorious Witches and Warlocks 418
3 Top 10 Terrifying Historic Villains 423
4 Top 10 Weird Historical Coincidences 428
5 Top 10 Brutal Atrocities People Continue to Defend 434
6 Top 10 Badass Gangs from History 438
7 Top 10 Horrible Historic Homicides 442
8 Top 10 Mad and Murderous Victorians 448
9 Top 10 Weird Stories about Famous People 452
10 Top 10 Historically Significant Sites Destroyed for Awful Reasons 455
11 Top 10 Dirty, Secret CIA Operations 460
12 Top 10 Greatest Impostors of the 20th Century 465
11 Crime 473
1 Top 10 Evil Corporations You Buy from Every Day 474
2 Top 10 Instances of Violence Committed by Peace Movements 479
3 Top 10 Prison Break-Ins 485
4 Top 10 Gruesome Acts of Justice 488
5 Top 10 Monstrous Killer Babysitters 491
6 Top 10 Grotesque Examples of Male Genital Mutilation 495
7 Top 10 Female Serial Killers from around the World 498
8 Top 10 Serious Crimes Committed for Bizarre Reasons 502
9 Top 10 Criminals Caught Thanks to Their Own Stupidity 507
10 Top 10 Phantom Law Breakers 511
11 Top 10 Innocent People Sentenced to Death 515
12 Top 10 Terrorist Organizations Operating in the U.S. 519
13 Top 10 Terrifying Unsolved Serial Murders 523
12 Religion 529
1 Top 10 Insane Facts about the Westboro Baptist Church 530
2 Top 10 Popes Who Resigned 533
3 Top 10 Things You Probably Don't Know about the Amish 536
4 Top 10 Biblical Figures Who Teach Outrageous Morals 539
5 Top 10 Truly Bizarre or Unsettling Biblical Accounts 543
6 Top 10 Amazing Feats Performed by Saints 546
7 Top 10 Alternative Religions Based on Popular Culture 549
13 Food 554
1 Top 10 Ways You Could Eat Feces Today 555
2 Top 10 Strange Facts about Hamburgers 558
3 Top 10 Truly Weird Food Tales 563
4 Top 10 Strange and Creepy Reasons Not to Eat Fast Food 567
5 Top 10 Food Facts and Fallacies 571
6 Top 10 Weird Foods Sold by Victorian Street Vendors 578
7 Top 10 Animals That People Eat Alive 580
8 Top 10 Strange Tales about Pizza 583
9 Top 10 Strange and Fascinating Fast Food Tales 588
10 Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Soda 592
11 Top 10 Disturbing Foods That Might Harm You 595
12 Top 10 Terrifying Things That Can Hide in Your Food 598
14 Animals 603
1 Top 10 Strange Animal Freaks of Nature 604
2 Top 10 Surreal and Twisted Fish 607
3 Top 10 Genetically Modified Animals You Can Buy 610
4 Top 10 Truly Terrible Species Invasions 614
5 Top 10 Sadistic Killers of the Natural World 618
6 Top 10 Bizarre Animal Facts 620
7 Top 10 Amazing and Creepy Corpse Fauna 624
8 Top 10 Strangest Defense Mechanisms in Nature 627
9 Top 10 Extreme Insect Species 630
10 Top 10 Aberrant Avian Hunting and Feeding Methods 633
11 Top 10 Unusual Animal Senses 636
15 Technology and Space 640
12 Top 10 Bizarre Scientific Stories 641
13 Top 10 Orwellian Technologies That Exist Today 648
14 Top 10 Unexplained Mysteries of the Stars 653
15 Top 10 Crazy Things You Should Know about Our Solar System 658
16 Top 10 Strangest Things in Space 662
17 Top 10 Mind-Blowing Sci-Fi Technologies That Really Exist 666
18 Top 10 Mind-Bending Discoveries in Physics 670
19 Top 10 Weird and Fascinating Facts about Space Travel 675
16 Grab Bag 679
1 Top 10 Ridiculous Cold War Government Projects 680
2 Top 10 People Who Exposed U.S. Government Secrets and Lies 686
3 Top 10 Lesser Known Amazing Facts about the Human Body 693
4 Top 10 Fascinating Scientific and Psychological Effects 696
5 Top 10 Astonishing Near-Death Experiences 701
6 Top 10 Ridiculously Cool Natural Phenomena 706
7 Top 10 People Who Survived Your Worst Nightmares 709
8 Top 10 Strangest Places People Actually Lived 715
Photo Credits 719
Acknowledgments 720
About the Author 720