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This top 10  list highlights the most memorable moments of 2012. As 2013 unfolds, we’ll be bring you the most up-to-date information regarding events, tragedies, milestones and celebrations.

1. The world ended (not!)

This was quite possibly the biggest let down that ever happened, not saying that I would have like it to happen, but there was so much controversy and speculation around this that millions of people believed that something bad was going to happen on the 21st December, there were theories of meteors, super volcanos, earthquakes and even a mysterious planet Nibiru that would collide with earth. I feel sorry mostly for the “preppers” for 2012 that spent thousands on shelters and survival food, only for it to be just another day.

2. The Olympics

This was the biggest event of 2012 with over 90% of the entire U.K population watching at least 15 minutes, therefore making it the most watched television show since the pre digital age. Even 219 million Americans watched it! There was so much patriotism it was crazy, just walking through the streets you could see hundreds of flags of Great Britain flying in the air. There were some crazy things that happened in the events, such as Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian ever, Bradley Wiggins winning in style on his throne, Gemma gibbons touching win in the judo, and thousands more.

3. Costa Concordia disaster

This was extremely tragic, on January 13th the cruise ship Costa Concordia grounded unintentionally and partially capsized injuring many and costing the lives of 34 people. The captain, Captain Schettinno, tried to make his landing look really good and get as close to the shore as possible. He didn’t listen and turned off his depth radar and caused the crash. The cruise liner was heading on a med cruise when the accident occurred. This was all over the news and the wreckage is still there today.

4. The diamond jubilee

Our good old queen celebrated her 75th anniversary of her reign. It was only the second to ever happen in this country following Queen Victoria and it was a wonderful day. Like the Olympics everyone turned into crazy patriotic machines decorating everything they can with Great Britain flags and union jacks. This kind of thing only happens once in a blue moon and could possibly never happen again.

5. Mars curiosity rover lands

One of the biggest scientific feats to happen in the whole of the 21st century. People don’t realise how big this machine is, it’s the size of a family car! But in pictures it looks so tiny. It took a year to get to mars and is now on a mission to find any signs of life and just basically wonder around the planet to just have a look what’s there. The rover has travelled 350,000,000 miles through space and it’s always giving information back to earth. In my opinion this is one of the most amazing and exciting things to happen in my lifetime. If it was me on the controls though, I’d be drifting the car in all the dunes and showing those Martians how badass we humans are!

Being a man with a love for weird and wacky things I have come across some things which completely cross the line for being weird and wacky. The worst part is, some of these aren’t even trying to be weird and wacky!

Here are my top 10 places and events that are just a bit weird for me:

1. Bon Bon land

This place is just bizarre, I don’t think there is any other word, apart from disgusting, that you can use to describe it. It is a whole theme part based on excrement. Yep, you read right, all the rides, prizes and everything are based on anything that leaves the human body, poo, wee and even vomit. If you were just strolling through then you would probably think nothing of it, but if you look closely at some of the ride names like, dog fart coaster and see some of the gestures the characters are making, it is really quite disturbing.

2. Can sleep, Lake Skanderborg, Denmark

This is my kind of hotel! Actual little hut things that look like a can of beer. If they were full of beer, I’d be straight on a plane to get some. Basically it is a 121 room hotel made up of gigantic beer cans. If I could imagine heaven, this is what it would look like. Its only open in august for a local music festival, but they stock up a minibar full of royal unibrew beer for you. And the lid even opens!

3. Cannibalistic sushi

This is possibly the weirdest restaurant in the world. They offer a dish that is served on a whole table. It’s in the form of a full scale, human body. So basically you are eating something that resembles a human, you cannibals! Apparently the food is extremely high quality and really tasty, but I don’t think I could stomach it, eating a human. The worst part is the resembling man or woman is naked that they serve you!

4. Midget throwing contest

I still can’t get my head around that this is an actual sport and hasn’t yet been banned. People queue up for miles in a little bar in Windsor Ontario to have a go at throwing a midget as far as they can, it’s kind of crazy. Imagine being that midget!

5. Ice hotel, Copenhagen

This place is just awesome, it’s one of the places that I really want to go to, but then I think what it must feel like. Imagine getting up in the morning being basically stuck to an ice block which is your bed, having to wear 403494 layers just to survive the night and everything just being cold! You would be bursting for a cup of tea. It does look awesome though, all the blue lights they put inside the ice, giving it an aurora as you walk down, too cold for me though.

August is an eventful month of the year. There are specific events which occurred which deserve mention. Here they are, raise your hand if you recognize 1 or 2.

1. August 1, 1800:

The final act of Acts of Union of 1800 was adopted. The Kingdom of Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland. As of this date, it was known as the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. A new flag was created, which is still used by Great Britain.

2. August 1, 1914:

World War I begins. Germany declares war on Russia, who supports Serbia in its fight against Austria who is siding with Germany. The Alliance system crumbles.

3. August 1, 1944:

Warsaw Uprising occurs in the Nazi occupied territory. It was operated by the Polish resistance army which sought to get rid of the Nazis. This was happening at the same time as the Red Army was approaching the eastern suburbs of the city of Warsaw.

4. August 5, 1962:

Nelson Mandela is jailed for 28 years. He would not be released until 1990. His imprisonment was in response to his activism against the apartheid in South Africa. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC) which challenged the government’s apartheid policies. He was arrested in 1955 for treason but was released after trial had ended in 1961. After forming the military wing of ANC, he was rearrested and imprisoned.

5. August 6, 1945:

Hiroshima is devastated by the dropping of the nuclear bomb by the United States. 90,000 people had died as a result.

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July 1st was a momentous day in history. Major battles were fought, decisions were made and independent countries were formed. Here are just 10 events that were major and noteworthy.

1. Battle of Boyne, 1690:

This was a battle fought during the Glorious Revolution. It was fought between two rivals of the English, Irish and Scottish thrones.

2. Battle of Gettysburg, 1863:

The Battle of Gettysburg was a battle fought during the American Civil War. The battle had the most casualties and was a turning point in the war. Robert Lee’s army was defeated at the end and the defeat caused him to end his invasion into the north.

3. Canadian Confederation (1867) & Prince Edward Island Entrance (1873):

6 years after Confederation, PEI joins Canada. It was the 6th province to enter the federal union.

4. Battle of Albert, 1916:

This WWI Battle begins on Canada Day in 1916 with the First Day of Somme. 19,000 British soldiers get slaughtered just on the first day. It later became known as the Battle of Somme.

5. Halt Chinese Immigration, 1923:

Chinese Immigration is halted in 1923. In the late 1800s, Chinese labour was used to build the Canadian Pacific Railway and to mine the new found gold. The Canadian government put a head tax on all Chinese individuals who came to Canada: $50 after the railways was finished.

March is a glorious and painstaking month. It is a month many women celebrate internationally (March 8).  It is also a month that comes in like a tiger and leaves like a lamb.

So without further ado, let’s celebrate the month of March with 10 of these most popular events in history.

1. March 2, 1978:

Vladimir Remek, a Czech, is the first non-American and non-Soviet to go into space.

With the entry of Czech Republic into European Union, he is now known as first astronaut of the EU.

2. March 3, 1861:

Alexander II signs the Emancipation Manifesto. The manifesto outlawed serfdom.

3. March 3, 2005:

Steve Fossett is the first to fly alone around the world without stops and without refueling. He flew in an air balloon for 13 days, 8 hours and 33 minutes.

4. March 4, 1519:

Herman Cortes comes to Mexico to find the Aztecs and their wealth. Killing the emperor, he besieged the capital and denied the populace food and water. With an outbreak of smallpox, the Aztec’s doom was written in stone.

5. March 15, 1917:

Nicholas II abdicates his throne in favour of his brother, who declined. The event was the end of the February Revolution.

February is famous mostly for being the shortest month of the year. Of the 28/29 days of the month, most people remember February 14, Valentine’s Day. There are other events that are as significant. Here are the top 10 events that occurred during the month of February. After reading this article, you will understand how February is a historical month; full of eventful occurrences throughout history.

1. February 1, 1793:

French Revolution was rapidly getting out of control. Revolutionaries declared war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The wars were waged soon after Louis XVI’s execution. With major European powers against them, the French were defeated in battle after battle. This was despite the successes France achieved in the war against Belgium and Austria/Prussia.

2. February 1, 1979:

Ayatollah Khomeini comes back to Iran after being exiled for 15 years. He leads a radical revolution in Iran which cut ties to Western nations. He disposed the Shah and appointed himself as the supreme leader, a position he held until his death in 1989.

3. February 2, 1946:

The Hungarian Republic is declared on February 2, 1946. The republic was part of the Soviet Bloc after World War II. It was led by communist/socialist leaders up until 1956, when a series of uprisings occurred to protest Soviet control. The uprisings, however, were squashed and led to a deeper occupation by the Soviets.

4. February 13, 1542:

Catherine Howard, the mistress and wife of Henry VIII is executed on grounds of treason.

5. February 13, 1633:

Galileo Galilei’s trial begins. Galilei is tried as a heretic for his belief that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around. It took 400 years for the Vatican to admit they were wrong about Gaileli’s discoveries.

Historically, December has not been a celebratory month, as we all think. Multiple events occurred in this month, marking significant changes. Here are the 10 December Events which are of great historical significance.

1. Pearl Harbour Attacks-December 7:

On the morning of December 7, 1941, America’s naval base in Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. Approximately 2,400 Americans were killed and more than 1,000 were wounded. This attack marked United States’ entrance into World War II.

2. Adolph Eichman-December 15:

Adolph Eichman was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for his crimes against humanity during World War II. As an SS officer, he was directly responsible for the death of 430,000 Hungarian Jews, amongst others. He was executed on May 31, 1962 in Israel.

3. Russia leaves World War I:

Russia gave in on December 2, 1917 to the Central Powers. On the home and military fronts, Russia was exhausted. They were economically in debt, leading to mass grievances. A communist revolution was ensuing, which led to the downfall of the Czar. Peace talks on this began in preparation for the Brest-Litovsk Treaty.

4. Soviet Union Falls-1991:

The Soviet Union finally falls with the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev. Perestroika and Glasnost policies paved way for change in a totalitarian state.

5. Canada’s capital is named-1857:

On December 31, 1857, Ottawa was named the capital of Canada by Queen Victoria. This logging town was booming, and was more defensible. The smallness of the town also made it an unlikely target of destruction.

November 9th is a significant date in world history. Major historical developments and events occurred repeatedly on this date. For example in 1918, November 9 marked the end of the First World. In 1989, the same day coincided with the fall of Berlin Wall. Almost 200 years before that, Napoleon annexed France and became an emperor on November 9, 1799. As such, many historians believe that Modern History began and ended on the same date.

This article provides a detailed look at the top 10 significant events and historical developments that occurred on this monumental date. Raise your hand if you knew them already.

1. 1729:

Treaty of Seville is signed between France, Great Britain and Spain, signalling the end of the Anglo-Spanish War. The treaty assigned the territories of Fort McMahon and Gibraltar to Great Britain and the Duchy of Parma to Spain. A future alliance with Austria came as a direct result of the terms of the Treaty of Seville.

2. 1799:

18 Brumaire: Napoleon staged a coup d’état in France. He overthrew the French Directory and replaced it with the French consulate. The date signified the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of an empire which lasted until 1871.

3. 1867:

Meiji Restoration signified great changes for Japan as it restored Imperial powers in Japan. The Japanese Shogunate resigned on this date and transferred its power to the emperor. The major reason for the Meiji Restoration was the Industrial Revolution in Europe. In isolation for centuries, Japan was behind other countries. Japanese thus tried to combine Western forces and traditions with its own to advance itself.

4. 1872:

Great Boston Fire of 1872 was the biggest and the most costly in an urban region. It consumed 65 acres of land, 776 buildings and much of Boston’s financial sector. Although only 20 individuals fell victim to the fire, the cost totaled $73.5 million.

5. 1906:

Theodore Roosevelt was the first sitting President to travel outside of the United States. He traveled to Panama to check on the construction of the Canal. As a fundamental believer in safety and rights for workers, he demanded better working and health conditions. This role earned him the Noble Peace Prize the same year.

1. Living Space-1937:

Hitler announces his imperial motives and to acquire living space for Germans. At this point, the quest to unite Germans had already begun. Hitler acquired Saarland through a plebiscite in 1934. In 1938, he incorporated Austria into the German empire, renewing grossdeutsch and kleindeutsch debate and invaded Sudetenland. At the Munich Conference, France and Britain felt that he had every right to do this.

2. Trial of Saddam Hussein-2006:

Saddam Hussein and 2 others were tried, convicted and sentenced to death on November 5, 2006 for their involvement in massacre on 14 Shi’as in 1982. Saddam Hussein’s following execution was a turning point in Iraqi grim history.

3. Woman Suffrage in United States-1872:

Susan B. Anthony voted for the first time while representing women suffrage rights. As she went against the United States laws, she was fined $100. Officially women could not vote until 1920 when the 19th Amendment was introduced.

4. Glorious Revolution-1688:

The Glorious Revolution began on November 5, 1688 by William III. This signaled great change as Catholicism was no longer practiced by the state, absolute monarchy was abolished and the Bill of Rights was passed. Monarchs were also now constrained by the parliament and the constitution.

5. Jean Chrétien Assassination Attempt-1995:

André Dallaire attempted to assassinate the Prime Minister of Canada on November 5, 1995. He committed a break and entry in the home of the Prime Minister at 24 Sussex Drive. He was stopped by the Prime Minister’s wife who locked the door and called the RCMP. No harm was done to the Prime Minister or the wife.

1948 was a momentous year in the 20th century. Globalization was booming, with the arrival of universal doctrines and international organizations. Countries that were part of the imperialist empire became independent. A non-violence resistance leader was assassinated. What a year, what can I say.

1. January 30:

Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in India. Gandhi was a pacifist leader during the India Independence Movement. He resisted tyranny and disobedience in his teachings.

2. March 8:

McCollum v. Board of Education: United States Supreme Court decision. Religious education is deemed unconstitutional in the United States. Tax based money could no longer be used to fund religious instruction. The case was brought to the attention of Supreme Court by Vashti McCollum, an atheist against the religious education. She felt her son was ostracized for not attending.

3. April 3:

Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan which allows 16 countries to receive aid for reconstruction. $5 billion was given to European countries so that they can rebuild their economies after devastating loses in World War II.

4. April 7:

The World Health Organization (WHO) is founded. Their objective is for all people to attain the highest possible level of health.

5. May 14:

Israel is declared independent. The Jewish people finally have a national home. Outrage from Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Transjordan, caused tensions and sadly more war following British withdrawal.