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Taxes are part of the current socio-economic system and constitute the primary means of income for the state, plain and simple. By taxing the income of the citizens, the authorities are able to sustain the economy of the country and reinvest this cash in funding the education, infrastructure, military and government. Irrespective of the form of ruling, be it a democracy, monarchy or even dictatorship, the state will always garnish the wages of its citizens.

In fact, taxes have been around since the dawn of time, although in the early stages of history they mainly took the form of a percentage of harvested grains or livestock. Nevertheless, in addition to the standard versions of these “fees”, certain rulers decided that they want a slightly bigger cut. Let’s find out about the more creative taxes that have been imposed.

1. The facial hair tax of Peter The Great

The debate on whether Peter the Great was a forward thinking, radical monarch or simply a lunatic who thought that the crown eliminates the need to apply reason in his decisions can go on and on. Now, without denying that he definitely is a colorful character, the infamous “beard tax” definitely tips the scale towards the latter category. In essence, his notorious detestation of facial hair determined him to apply a substantial tax on any citizen that has the audacity to grow such a vial “ornament” on his face. Not only that, but his bearded loyal subjects were also required to wear pendants that admitted to the ridiculousness of their facial hair.

2. The tax on money earned from dealing illegal substances

The IRS apparently can’t get enough out of the taxes on the legal income of the U.S. residents and consequentially, they came up with the idea of taxing the less law-abiding activities in the country, namely dealing illegal substances. At first glance, this seems pretty stupid, but when you examine the idea behind this tax up close your suspicions are confirmed. To put it simply, paying the tax would automatically imply incriminating yourself by admitting that you have engaged in illegal activities, thus risking jail time. That’s certainly an incentive!

3. The tax paid by the freed slaves

The manumission – which is what this tax was called in Ancient Rome – was originally applied to the owners who were required by the state to pay a certain fixed amount for every emancipated slave. So far so good, as the wealth of a person who could afford to own slaves was much greater compared to the tax! However, at some point, Rome decided that the slave who is set free should also be asked to pay up to 10% of his price before the emancipation was pronounced official. As you may have guessed, a lot fewer slaves could actually afford the freedom.

4. Oliver Cromwell’s tax on the royalists

Oliver Cromwell’s tax on the remnants of the royalist circles following his ascension to power and the use of the money obtained in this manner – funding a military force to fight against the very people he taxed – was definitely a stroke of genius. What could be better than having your mortal enemies pay for the war you wage against them? And to be frank, Cromwell also instituted a number of other creative taxes during his rule.

5. The tax for the sheer existence

Poll taxes – taxes that are imposed to a person regardless of his income – were rather common in 14th century England. The bubble eventually burst after several increases of the existence tax, when the famous Peasant’s Revolt erupted, engulfing the country in anarchy and violence. In all fairness though, poll taxes were the preferred source of income for monarchs and rulers of those days, because up to the revolt of 1381 they never considered that the ordinary citizens might feel so strongly against it.

All nations that partook in the First and Second World War had the difficult task of finding the best strategies to defeat their enemies. Yet that was not all they had to do, as one of the major concerns of the governments and army generals at the time consisted of justifying their involvement to the population. Since providing a logical explanation to why they want to drag the country into all-out war was mostly inefficient, they had to figure out a way to make the population WANT to get involved.

And, what better way to determine common people to want to fight, work for free and offer money to sustain military campaigns than propaganda? Following, we will analyze some of the most ludicrous propagandistic posters – all unintentionally so, in their defense – that were all over the place during the world war period.

1. The British on the not-so-dumb women

The legend of the alleged WW1 spy Mata Hari remained vivid in the British culture and has continued to fascinate the officials throughout the Second World War as well. Otherwise, how else could you explain the “Keep Mum, She’s Not So Dumb” poster in an era when gender inequality did not constitute a critical problem for the society? The message is quite simple really: unless you’re nice to her, she will become a spy and show you who’s who.

2. From the wisdom of Private Caution

The Private Caution Says series of posters really made a difference in WW2 and possibly turned the odds in the advantage of the United States and the Allies. If it weren’t for this hygiene obsessed character, the US soldiers would all engage in unprotected sexual activities and would require hospitalization due to contracting gonorrhea and/or syphilis. Yet, the unsettling thing about these posters is that the private appears to be scared when seeing an officer passing by. Perhaps there’s more “wisdom” in this than you thought.

3. Boy, the Soviets really had a problem with work related injuries

If there was a time and a place where you wouldn’t want to have a job, then that would have be Soviet Russia during WW2. Well, at least this is what you can deduce from the amount of disturbing, yet silly posters proprietary to that period like the “Look Out For Buffers” or “Don’t Clutter Your Workplace”. Thank goodness for those warning posters or else the Russians would have surely lost the war because of too many men dying due to work related accidents.

4. Don’t worry, the lonely Canadian soldier will save us all

Men, and particularly brave men who are willing to fight for their countries are the most valuable resource during war. While the Canadian government understood this perfectly, they conveyed it into a completely laughable propaganda image. The most preposterous poster of the time was the “Why Don’t They Come?” picture that depicts a brave soldier watching hockey and asking himself why his fellow Canadians don’t want to participate in the great “hockey” game that is the war overseas.

5. If you continue to hurt yourself at work, the Nazis win the war

What was initially intended to be a blood donation campaign created by the US government in WW2 turned out terribly mostly because of the obscure language used and the fact that all posters presented people driving screwdrivers through their hands. Not only did few people actually hear of the 7th column, but implying that work accidents can be prevented or else the Nazi’s win the war is a bit farfetched. Later on, the creepy “Don’t Give Your Blood To The 7th Column” posters were modified and became clearer for everyone.

The primary role of the justice system is to protect the citizens’ rights and determine which party is responsible for the crime brought to court. However, as you are about to find out, some people abuse the privilege of having an arbiter settle their disputes. And, at the same time, it’s not only citizens who decide to sue corporations for millions of dollars based on a ridiculous guilt premise. Far from it, as major companies, stars and even police authorities have attempted to turn their obvious mistakes into profits in court. Let’s examine the top ten lawsuits that fringe on absurdity.

1. The Nebraska senator who took God to court

In all fairness, Ernie Chambers’ lawsuit against the almighty was designed as an awareness raising campaign against the local legislation that does not allow people to file “frivolous” lawsuits. The elected state senator considered God directly responsible for acts like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and other cataclysms. That is why the lawsuit was filed in a “cease and desist” manner and the stake was a restriction order against God. However, the judge dismissed the case because the defendant had no recorded address at that time. In all fairness, the reason to terminate the legal proceedings fits the lawsuit perfectly.

2. The California police department versus the Taser manufacturer

How should a police officer react when the arrested suspect in the back seat of the vehicle attempts to free himself from the handcuffs and kick down the car window? A Taser of course, this gadget is the easiest solution. But what if the Taser presents uncanny similarities to the handgun? Can one really call shooting the suspect rather than tasing him an honest mistake? Apparently you can and that was the court’s decision when police officer Marcie Noriega shot and killed suspect Evadero Torres point blank with what she believed to be the Taser gun. Not only that, but the Taser manufacturer was sued by the police and held responsible for the accidental death of the suspect.

3. The failed suicide victim who sued the subway train authorities

Back in 1977, Milo Stephens Jr. attempted to take his own life by throwing himself in front of a subway train. Fortunately (or not), the suicide failed, but Stephens was severely injured in the process. With the aid of an enterprising lawyer, he sued the NYC Transit Authority, claiming that the cause of his injuries was the negligence of the conductor who did not decelerate the train accordingly before pulling into the station. And now the funny part: Milo Stephens Jr. actually managed to win the lawsuit and was awarded $650,000, but he attempted the same stunt five years later, with no “personal damage” that time.

4. “Regular guy” versus Anheuser Bush

Don’t believe everything you see in commercials. This is the rule that “regular guy” Richard Overton should have heeded before suing Anheuser Bush for false advertisement and the promotion of false social concepts. There is no denying the fact that some of the cheesy Bud Light commercials depict beer as a mandatory social catalyst or the magical liquor that transforms regular guys into hot chick magnets, but Overton took things a bit too far. When he stated that the company’s promotional campaigns caused him high levels of physical/emotional distress as well as financial problems because he was not able to emulate the scenarios in real life. On a side note, to this day it is not known exactly which Bud Light ad Overton attempted to recreate.

5. The woman who sued a horror themed attraction park

Being attacked by a maniac with a chainsaw on the property of an attraction park is, of course, grounds for a lawsuit. However, what the woman who took Universal Studios to court on this premise failed to mention is that “Leatherface” – a character from the Saw movie franchise – was an employee of the park and the “assault” happened as a part of the Haunted House ride. While no blood was shed in the attack, it suffices to say that her undergarments were rendered unusable.

There are some ridiculous patents awarded to some of the inventions that were absolutely ridiculous. In fact, some of the patents were withdrawn after some period of time due to certain reasons. Here we will try to include about ten ridiculous patents that were offered by the USPTO. For USPTO, the patent seeking inventions have to be something new and never before. Also, they should be useful to the community. They don’t consider how crazy it is going to be when patented, but still proceed with the patent offering just like that. Here are some funny patents that will be rib-tickling for you to read.
Some of the top listed crazy patents are as below:

1. Dad Saddle:

This particular crazy invention is devoted to dads to carry their grown up children around. The description of this invention has it that while there are bags to carry your newborns and infants, there is nothing that can facilitate you in carrying your grown up children. Hence, this invention concentrates on how a dad can carry his grown up child who can actually walk!

2. Gerbil Shirt:

This invention allows you to carry your pets “in” your shirt. Instead, it could be better if you took your tiny rodent pet on a walk so that he could get some fresh air and also face some direct sunlight, which would do him, good.

3. Flatulence Deodorizer:

This is nothing but a pad that you need to place between your buttocks. It helps in absorbing the bad odor that arises when you fart. This crazy invention promises to save you from a humiliating situation when in public. Hope they had realized that the slightest revealing of the pad can cause much more humiliation to the one who is wearing it.

4. Device to Sense if a Pedestrian Was Hit:

This craziest patent can be installed in your car’s bumper. It is nothing but a sensor that senses if the thing you hit was a pedestrian or not. Why is it even needed when the person is already hurt? This is supposed to be the silliest inventions that ever got patented.

5. Animal Ear Protector:

If your dog has long ears and it always falls into the dog food when he or she is eating, then you might probably consider these animal ear protectors, which are nothing but tubes that hold their ears in place. Plain funny!

Let us have a look at the top 10 most ridiculous science myths and try to delve on these common misconceptions which can definitely make it to our top 10 list.

1. Outer space has no gravity

On the contrary, there is gravity in space. In fact, there is a lot of it. The main reason why astronauts seem to be floating in space is that they are actually falling towards the earth but are moving sideways in order to avoid it. In effect, astronauts are actually orbiting the earth.

2. Lightning will never strike the same spot twice

When you are considering running away from a lightning bolt, forget about the popular adage as you might be jolted to the stark reality that indeed lightning strike in the same place more frequently.

3. Meteors are heated up by friction upon entry to the earth’s atmosphere

Once the meteor enters the earth’s atmosphere, the compressed air in front of the meteor heats it up. It hurtles down towards the earth at enormous speed causing the creation of friction between the compressed air and the surface of the meteor.

4. A person may die when hit by a penny drop from a high building

This is an oft repeated clichés so commonly seen in movies. There is no basis for such assumption in truth and in fact. The worst that can happen is that the person getting hit by a penny dropped from a high building will feel the sting and nothing more.

5. Dead brain cells can not regenerate

This was the previous principle taught to us in our science classes. However, scientist in Sweden debunked this principle by successfully demonstrating the capability of the brain cells to regenerate.