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If you were to look over the early history of medical treatments, you can safely state that people back then were engaging in some inhumane and downright cruel practices. However, given the numerous medical advancements of today, who is to say that our successors won’t think the same about us?

1. Conversion therapy

Also known as “the gay cure”, conversion therapy refers to a set of methods to treat homosexuality, which is perceived as a disability or acquired personality trait. Even though some people state this is nothing more than conspiracy theory, the truth is that they only need to check the news to convince themselves these practices are real.

Just this year, the inhumane methods of conversion therapy resulted in 3 adolescent boys dying in a “treatment camp” in South Africa. Without denying that homosexuality is a controversial topic in psychology, this treatment is nothing more than another form of xenophobia manifesting.

2. Insulin shock therapy

As the name suggests, the shock therapy refers to administering a high dose of a certain substance to a patient’s system in order to determine the person to make a desirable change. The practice is especially common within schizophrenics or severe mental illness patients who receive gradually increased doses of insulin until their organism seize to function and they fall into coma. The idea behind the procedure is that rational thinking is somewhere “on the other side of the coma” and that the mentally ill patient will be cured this way. However, in the age of neuroscience, it is clear that insulin shock therapy has nothing to do with medical science.

3. Barber surgeons

The Medieval Ages were undeniably strange times, particularly if you think that while physicians used to come up with a diagnosis by analyzing urine or studding the stars, barbers were the only “professionals” who were doing the “field work” and experimented on their customers up and personal. Perhaps the most widespread task performed by the barber surgeons was bloodletting, the action of releasing the bad, morbid blood from the body to make way for fresh, healthy blood. And, because this was their main responsibility, the barbers advertised their services by placing a red and white stripped pole or a small basin filled with blood in their window shops.

4. Bloodletting

Even though bloodletting is permanently linked to the barber surgeons of the medieval ages, the origins of this old practice can be traced back to ancient Greece. The technique became very popular during the lifetime of Hippocrates who promoted the “humorism” or the theory of the four humors and their direct influence of a person’s health. To summarize, whenever a person experienced an excess or deficit of either blood, phlegm, yellow bile or black bile, his personality and overall health was severely affected. Obviously, the only treatment that could bring back the body’s balance was to drain the blood out of the patient.

5. Radiated water

Humankind’s constant search for the legendary fountain of youth reached a peak with the discovery of radium and other radioactive substances. While we all aware of the dangerous effects of radioactivity on the body nowadays, back then radiated water was perceived as a real miracle that could cure anything, including cancer. In fact, due to its numerous advantages it was even used in toothpaste and other common household goods.

Although the learning process has been a hot topic of various sciences, including neuroscience, psychology, pedagogy and the learning theory, the truth is that humankind has yet to discover the full array of factors involved. For the time being, learning is defined as a process that implies constantly altering the existing skills, behaviors and information by synthesizing and acquiring new types of information.

Simple as it may sound, it is necessary to mention that people know only a low percentage of the info and about the facts present in the world and most of the knowledge is attained via the subjects we study. And, as you probably know or remember from school, some subjects are more difficult to comprehend than others. Following is a list of the hardest subjects to understand.

1. Quantum physics

The first attempts to understand physical phenomenon at a microscopic scale can be traced back to the 17th century to Christian Huygens and his inquiry on the wave nature of light. However, it wasn’t until the 20th century that quantum physics was defined by Albert Einstein. An advanced branch of physics, the quantum theory tries to understand reality at a microscopic scale, making it confusing and puzzling overall. In fact, the high level of mathematics and physics involved in comprehending this science can even confuse modern scientists who employ it in the finest real time applications.

2. Thermodynamics

If you are curious about the motion of substances on our planet, then you should look no further than thermodynamics, the subjects that explains the rules and implications of heat transfer. Even though thermodynamics is based on three basic rules and their applications, which on a side note most students understand relatively quickly, the other topics such as the elemental properties of materials, cycles and particularly the entropy related topics are not very simple.

3. Rocket science

Even though it is generically dubbed rocket science, the subject integrates a plethora of concepts from other fields of study. In fact, it is impossible to study or understand the basic notions in this field without a solid knowledge of mathematics and physics. In addition, let’s not forget that you need to fully comprehend aerospace, travelling in outer space, fuel chemistry and many other without being able to put your knowledge into practice. This is perhaps why you should expect a considerably higher rate of failure than success if you want to study and understand this subject.

4. Electromagnetic field theory

Granted, you won’t come across or have to be tested on your knowledge in electromagnetic field theory unless you decide to take electronics 101 in college. Even in the situation where the subject is taught to knowledgeable students, true comprehension still requires the ability to imagine things in 3D, not to mention the plethora of proof that validates Maxwell’s equations.

5. Anatomy

Anatomy or studying the parts of the human body in detail can be classified as one of the most interesting subjects you can actually learn, unless of course you are a medicine student. While for the vast majority of people anatomy implies simply knowing some general aspects regarding the human body, for future physicians and medical specialists the subject is all about memorizing a lot of data regarding every single bone, muscle and nerve as well as their branches and divisions.

Interestingly enough, even though our society has considerably evolved over the past few millennia, slightly over 60% of the world’s population currently lives in areas where the capital punishment is legal. In spite of the numerous efforts of international organizations (Amnesty International, for instance) to abolish the death sentence worldwide, the supporters of the practice claim that this is an effective tool for keeping crime under control and that it prevents convicts from engaging in illicit behaviors once they are out of jail.

While it is indubitably a severe violation of the human rights, plenty of modern countries view the capital punishment as the best way to prevent similar atrocities from being reoccurring. Let’s review the top 10 crimes for which you can be sentenced to death nowadays.

1. Terrorism

In spite of the fact that criminal law has yet to find the optimal definition of terrorism, it is safe to assume that any act involving the use of terror as a mean of coercion could be punishable by death. For the time being, the term has a certain emotional charge and is associated with the tragic event of 9/11 – or, more recently the Boston bombing – as well as several other shocking events in Europe.

2. Child pornography

Sadly enough, child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry and the fastest growing black market segment worldwide. Even though not until long ago, possessors of media files depicting children in sexually explicit content could avoid prosecution by distributing the movies and pictures across the border, numerous countries have worked together and managed to arrest several suspects from a number of countries in the past several years. Most of the individuals found guilty of pedophilia and child pornography have received the maximum penalty, including chemical castration and the death sentence.

3. Child trafficking

The recruitment of children for the purpose of exploitation is considered a severe felony irrespective of whether the trafficker used force, abducted, deceived, abused power or benefited from the vulnerability of the child. More often than not, these kids are taken away from their families in order to force them into prostitution and child pornography. However, recent statistics show that children are also abducted to be brainwashed and trained as soldiers, child camel jockeys (in certain Arabic countries), begging and organ removal. This is essentially why anyone committing this crime should receive the capital punishment.

4. Drug trafficking

It is important to note that currently there are two types of drug trafficking; the legal version implies distribution and sale of substances subjected under prohibition laws, whereas the illegal drug trade is accounted as one of the factors that can be directly linked to other crimes, such as murder and robbery. Even though you might think that drug-related crimes are specific to third world countries, the truth is that they are just as extensive in the Western civilization. This is why the felony is taken very serious by the authorities and is punishable by death in some countries.

5. Dowry murders

Murdering the new bride in order to force her family’s hand to pay additional dowry is a very common crime in the Arabic world as well as India and – in extremely rare cases – in the Western civilizations. As you probably guessed, due to the culture and traditions of these nations setting the bride ablaze is a relatively delicate topic that some view as murder, while others perceive it as their birth right over the bride. Nonetheless, even though in traditional countries the act is punishable by imprisonment, the efforts of various organizations might finally make this crime a felony punishable by death.

Mars is one of the planets in our proximity that has continued to fascinate humankind from the early days. Bearing the name of various gods of war – from Har Decker and Nergal to Ares and Mars – the Red Planet is the host of the most violent dust storms, the tallest volcano and the largest canyon in the solar system. Still, these are not the only mysteries this huge cold desert holds as you are about to find out.

1. There is water on Mars!

The main reason why space exploration is such an exciting topic resides in the fact that humankind actually hopes to find proof of extraterrestrial life. In order to validate this theory, missions on Mars have struggled to find one of the basic elements that are responsible for life as we know it: water. So far, only Martian mission Phoenix has confirmed that the existence of water in the North Pole of Mars, although it is not in the liquid form we’re accustomed to.

On a side note, Curiosity also brought solid evidence that rivers and oceans once existed on Mars. NASA had a press release in January this year where they announced the rover found several traces in the minerals that, according to our current knowledge, could not have developed without the presence of water.

2. The planet’s atmospheric pressure will make your blood bubble

The atmospheric pressure on Mars is 100 times less than the one on Earth and one of the main consequences of this fact is that all liquid substances will start to bubble almost instantly. Therefore, considering that the adult human body is on average 57% – 60% water, stepping on Mars without wearing appropriate protection equipment means your blood will start bubbling and you will die instantly.

3. The Red Planet “hosts” the largest dust storms in the entire solar system

In all fairness, even the deadliest storms in history like the Bhola Cyclone (1970), Typhoon Nina (1975) or Hurricane Kenna (2002) are no match for the Martian dust storms. As a matter of fact, a single dust storm on Mars has the tremendous power to cover the entire planet for months!

4. Valles Marineris is the largest canyon in the solar system

If you think that the Grand Canyon is an impressive sight, just wait until you hear about the largest canyon in the solar system. Valles Marineris measures over 4,000 kilometers long, meaning that it is practically ten times longer than the Grand Canyon. In addition, the Martian canyon is approximately 7.2 kilometers deep, four times deeper than our own.

5. Mount Olympus is the biggest volcano of the solar system

Majestically standing 25 kilometers high above the plains of Mars, Mount Olympus is known as the tallest volcano in the entire solar system. In addition to its impressive height, the volcano also has a fairly large base, enough to cover the entire state of Arizona. While you could say this is ironic given the fact that Mars is actually half the size of Earth, there is an explanation to the phenomenon. To put it simply, unlike Earth the hot spots on Martian soil are stationary, whereas the tectonic plates tend to move above the crust.

Because of some similarities with the Christian religion, many people are often confused about what the Jehovah’s Witnesses stand for. Even though they share the same passionate criticism when it comes to the theory of evolution and common concerns about religious apostasy with Christians, it is necessary to mention that these two doctrines differ significantly on the important doctrines. Let’s explore some of the most shocking beliefs associated with what some might dub a very dangerous cult.

1. The “disfellowship”

In the eventuality that a member commits a sin that the Watch Tower society perceives as serious or if a person stops believing in the authority and teachings of JW blindly, the punishment is excommunication. The disfellowshipping of a member usually has severe emotional impact on the individual, especially since members are required not to associate with such a person. In fact, according to the society’s teaching even a simple “Hi’ is forbidden because it can lead to a conversation and even – god forbid – a friendship.

2. Jehovah’s Witnesses hold the most accurate translation of the Bible

Unlike the Catholic Church that pretends it is infallible, Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders are renowned for constantly changing their beliefs and policies. The explanation for this rather strange behavior is that it is perfectly normal for their knowledge to be imperfect and that the Governing Body is allowed to make mistakes. However, as Armageddon draws near they will be able to presents more accurate information.

3. Jesus has returned since 1914

The JW’s publications teach the heavenly kingdom has been literarily formed in 1914 and since that date Jesus has been ruling along with the anointed ones. In addition, the main role of the kingdom is to make sure that God’s original purposes can be accomplished here on Earth. In short, God’s Messianic Kingdom is a new paradise where sin, crime, sickness and poverty have no place.

4. Jesus was in fact Michael the Archangel

Michael the Archangel is the only real creation of God – “the Word” – while the rest of the universe represents an indirect creation built under Jehovah’s guidelines. In addition, because their scriptures say that Jesus came to Earth with a seraph voice and Michael was the only archangel mentioned in the Bible (except Gabriel), witnesses believe that Jesus was in fact Michael prior to his first coming.

5. Only the anointed will go to Heaven

Because the Governing Body tends to interpret the Holy Scriptures word for word, a further shocking JW belief is that only a bundle of faithful and true believers will end up in heaven and rule alongside with Christ. To be more precise, the witnesses talk about 144,000 true Christians, the number indicated by God in the Book of Revelations. Even though the anointed or the “born again” are part of a very exclusive group, it is necessary to mention that they do not benefit from any preferential treatment in the society. However, they are the only ones allowed to partake in a yearly ceremony where they feast on unleavened bread and wine.

Every parent eventually finds himself confounded by the never-ending series of questions posed by children who find it impossible to take an answer on faith. Curiosity is a natural human trait that seems to emphasize during childhood, when the world’s mysterious modus operandi has yet to be discovered.

However, the inexhaustible sequence of “why” follow-up questions can – and most of the times will – become infuriating. Don’t worry though, where there’s a problem, there’s also a solution. Let’s find out the best 10 ways to end the inquiry.

1. Appealing to parental authority

The simplest and quickest way to wrap up a tiring debate with an extremely stubborn child is the all time favorite “Simply because I said so”. You might not want to abuse this answer because you don’t want to transform yourself in the complete antithesis of the child’s will, but it is a rather useful retort when you run out of rational arguments or when the interlocutor does not appear to listen to reason. In addition to these situations, the appeal to parental authority can be utilized when the child is simply too young to comprehend the full implications of your statements. Needless to say, in order for it to work you actually need to have a certain degree of authority over the person in question. In other words, you probably should avoid it when dealing with equals or people over whom you have no influence.

2. Superimposing the divine will

A variant of the parental authority appeal, the divine being proprietary to your religion – providing of course you are a religious person – can also be used as final retort. Simply put, you need to overlay the will of the god(s) over your own. This argument constitutes a particularly effective means to put an end to the recurring “why” when the subject concerns vices, unethical actions, etc. However, it works best if you can provide the actual quote from your religion’s holy book to support your claims. It should generally be avoided if either you, the interlocutor of both have no strong religious beliefs.

3. Blaming it on the slip-up of the first humans

This one is a more subtle variation of the divine will contention, because it suggests the negative consequences of the original sin. In other words, you are still appealing to the god, but at a significantly deeper level. While you superimposing the will of God over your own, you also hint the potential outcome of disobedience. The proficiency of this technique has been time tested, as the story was used by religious figures throughout history to advocate deity-submissive behaviors.

4. Utilizing reversed psychology

OK, so you might not be a religious person and the secular environment of your home renders the first three arguments obsolete. Then how about some good old fashion mind tricks? Reverse psychology in the case of the endless “why?” implies shifting the topic by 180 degree. In other words, make the asker wonder “why not?” and throw him completely off balance. Reverse psychology performs best when you’re trying to make the interlocutor understand that your opinion or attitude is not as unfathomable as it seems.

5. Good old Douglas Adams to the rescue

In the event that you haven’t seen the movie or read the book “A Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy”, then here’s a brief synopsis that contains a powerful query breaker. An extremely advanced alien race aims to determine the ultimate question of life and in order to do so, they build a large computer. The process however, takes so long that everyone forgets what the original question was, therefore making the answer – 42 – unusable. However, the number applies to numerous aspects of the universe, from the position of galaxies to the atomic number of molybdenum, from the angle inclination of rainbows to religious precepts. Since 42 is a universally valid answer, it can also answer the “why”.

People known little or nothing about auto insurance and if they did they would be able to manage the costs. Majority of young drivers are blinded by high costs and other myths their friends tell them. Here are 10 things everyone needs to know about car insurances. Read this list twice before making any unwise choices.

1. Speeding tickets do affect insurance rates.

If you are found guilty, you are a flagged driver. Think twice before accepting a guilty plea. You are always innocent until proven guilty. Most insurance companies will give you one grace ticket before your insurance rates go up. It will take 3-5 years to take it off the record.

2. Parking tickets and red light camera tickets do not affect insurances.

You probably will be forced to pay the tickets off when doing yearly inspections and car license plate renewals. Remember that red light camera tickets identify the car but not the driver.

3. Auto Car Insurances cannot cancel insurances after 2 months, depending on your policy.

They, however, can decide to not renew you because of at fault accidents and at-risk driving. One should note that providing false information is grounds for cancellation.

4. Insurance prices are not just determined by accidents.

They are based on how much money they will have to pay out for you. That means that the higher the deductible is, the less your rates will be. If you’re willing to pay more for your misdemeanors, the insurance will feel less threatened.

5. If you buy a sports car, you will probably pay big bucks for it.

If you are buying a brand new car,which is a sports edition, with nice additions, you probably will pay big bucks. You will pay even more if you are under 25 years of age.

Lindsay Lohan is a troubled star with a colourful past. One thing that has brought her success is her acting career. Here is a list of top 10 Lindsay Lohan movies. Feel free to comment if you agree or disagree.

1. Mean Girls (2004):

This was Lohan’s first movie independent from Disney. The film was successful and grossed at $129 million worldwide. It was seen by many critics, such as Roger Ebert, as the film which brought out Lohan’s breakout role.

2. The Parent Trap (1998):

Lindsay Lohan plays a dual role in this movie. At a summer camp in Maine, 11-year-old Hallie Parker (Lindsay Lohan) meets Annie James (also Lindsay Lohan). The two sisters discover that they are twins, who were separated after they were born. After their parents’ divorce, the father brought up Hallie, while the mother raised Annie. The twins set out to reunite heir family and their parents in this fun filled comedy. The only thing standing in their way is the father’s fiancé, Meredith.

3. Georgia Rule (2007):

This film really defines Lohan in real life. The character she plays is a troublemaker who is sent to live with her grandmother when the mother has had enough. Lohan does everything one can imagine in this film. She cheats lies and flirts to get through life. What merrily stops her is the advice her grandmother gives. The meaningful ending is meant to shock you. It was one of those cheesy movies you really wanted to watch without having to put much thought into it.

4. Freaky Friday (2003):

This film is based on a book of the same name written by Mary Rodgers. It stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis as a mother/daughter duo. In the film the characters’ bodies are switched due to a magical Chinese fortune cookie. One can only imagine what happens when each characters walks in the other’s shoes.

5. Get a Clue (2002):

Here, Lohan plays a high school student investigating the disappearance of one of her teachers. The movie was shown on the Disney Channel. It is comedic and fun for the whole family. What can go right with a pampered girl who likes gossip?

1. Ashbourne’s Gatepost Skulls

Ashbourne is already a pretty mad place for other reasons (see below) but if you needed another reason to unnerve you and even send an ice-cold shiver down your spine, then the human skulls propping up the tops of the posts at Ashbourne church should do the trick. The hollow sockets stare out at you menacingly on your approach, boring you down and challenging you to enter the sacred grounds like a memento mori straight out of a Jacobean tragedy. They were apparently crafted by one Robert Bakewell in around 1700. Bakewell, you may recognise, is a bit of a name in these parts, more famously associated with the almond tarts, not skulls.

2. Chelmorton Stone Phone Box 

One of the symbols of Great Britain which are recognisable all around the world along with the teapot, James Bond, Beef Eaters from the Tower of London and the Queen, is the bright red phone box. There used to be a law that every population area needed to have at least one public phone box for emergency reasons. Being red, that obviously made it stand out a mile away, again because of emergencies. In Chelmorton they thought ‘to hell with that’ and built a stone one instead so that it would blend in with the architecture of the area.

3. The Quiet Woman Pub

A 400-year-old pub in Earl Sterndale (already a pretty interesting name) is called the Quiet Woman. Why is she quiet you ask? Is it because she is a timid sort, given only to shuffling around in the background and in libraries. No it’s because she has been decapitated. She is nothing more than a headless corpse wandering round serving the guests. Not really of course. The story goes that the unfortunate lady in question was a little loose with her tongue and, as a punishment, had her head lopped off. Seems a little extreme to me.

4. Crinkle Crankle Wall

Or as you may know it better – the ‘Crinkum Crankum’? Or maybe not. Though that is its alternative title. Apparently this term means ‘zig-zag’ in Ye Olde English but it’s really a wavy-shaped wall to be found at Hopton Hall. The wall is apparently less likely to suffer the wear and tear of age in this format. Fortunately, Noel Edmonds and his crinkley bottom are nowhere to be seen either. So a double win there, then.

5. Hugball

I mentioned Ashbourne was a bit curious in Strangest Thing Number 1. Well, here’s another fact about that place which stands it out from the normal; Hugball is a traditional game played in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday when the menfolk of town all get involved in one big rolling grapple. The ‘game’ kicks off after a few traditional speeches and the blokes from one part of the town get stuck into the blokes from a different part. The shops have to board up their windows and chaos ensues. The aim is to get the ‘ball’ from one side to t’other but really it’s a good excuse for big old homoerotic free-for-all.

If you are trying to maintain or to lose weight, but still enjoy going out with friends at the weekend, then you could be undoing all of your hard work in shedding those pounds just by having a few drinks to help you relax. The reason for this is that alcohol does tend to have quite a lot of calories and what follows are the top 10 fattening alcoholic drinks that you really should look at avoiding if you don’t want to gain weight.

1. Margarita

2.  Long Island Ice Tea 

This is my favorite cocktail. Why? It has 5 different types of booze in it. How many calories? An ass-jiggling 780. How many carbs? 44. Yipes. I was very saddened to find that one out. That’s pretty much a cheeseburger.

Now, I will defend the Long Island and also point out why it isn’t the best if you are dieting. You never really have more than one unless you are already a big person or drunk or both. The bartenders put this crap called “sour mix” or “limeade” in the Long Island which I hate. This is also found in other drinks, like the grape crush and usually house drinks. I tend to stay away from the “sour mix” which as far as I know is sugar with lemonade mix added to it. Try if you can to get the bartender to sub the sour mix for more coke, or real ice tea. You can also sub lemon juice if you know what you are doing. But if you are going to be a picky person about a 5 booze drink on a Friday night the bartender might not want to serve you another. It’s hard to sub a drink like this.

The Long Island is a lot like a cheeseburger. Completely awesome, but you can’t indulge or you won’t be able to fit into your skinny pants. There is also that limeade shit in Margaritas which means they are also high in calories.

3. Pina Colada

The Pina Colada which contains less than the Margarita with 644 calories. The mere fact that it has coconut milk probably has the alarm bells ringing. It is fattening as well because of the sweeteners added to make it taste good.

4. Beer

When looking at fattening alcoholic drinks, no list is complete without mentioning normal beer as you will tend to find that it is going to have anywhere between 150 to 250 calories per beer and around 7g of carbohydrates. It will instantly become clear how drinking several of them will lead to you consuming a lot of calories in just a couple of hours and do not be fooled into thinking that light beer is going to be completely different because this tends to still have around 100 calories so the name “light” is perhaps a bit misleading at certain times.

5. Wine 

It is quite common for people to have a glass of wine with their meal and think that this will be absolutely fine, but what people do not know is that wine will generally have around 80 calories per glass and if you go for the sparkling variety, then this increases to 90 calories per glass. Obviously just one single glass will not do you much harm, but if you do this on a regular basis, then it does become clear how it can quickly add up over the course of a week and will certainly have an impact on your ability to lose that weight.