As of last year the word “meme” has been added to the Merriam Webster dictionary alongside “emoji” and other, so called, tech words. Surprisingly enough, the word made its first appearance way back in 1976, in Richard Dawkins’ book, The Selfish Gene. He used it to explain the spread of ideas and all sorts of cultural phenomena, like melodies, catchphrases, fashion, and even the technology of building arches. The word itself is in fact the shortened form of mimeme, which itself stems from the Ancient Greek word for imitating / miming.

Let’s start this off with a confession: the author of this piece is actually part of that benighted 90% portion of the population that is right-handed. But when I saw one of my fellow righties utterly bashing the left-handed world, right after National Left-Hander’s day no less, I knew I had to take action. There are actually tons of advantages enjoyed by the 10% that don’t get talked about nearly as often as they should, advantages that could be quite surprising to anyone who just thinks of it as an inconvenience for those sitting at small desks. So this article is written more out of envy than anything else.

As we’ve discussed previously (like, a lot), dedication is a thing that should be admired. Yes, even if that dedication is to something that seems totally ridiculous, like owning every copy of Speed ever released on VHS, or photoshopping Michael Cera’s face onto a random image every day. With that in mind, here are 10 more people who’ve shown what can only be described as a superhuman level of dedication to seemingly mundane or pointless endeavors.

When many people think of dangerous places, they often just think of nothing more than violent crime, and the cities where it occurs frequently. While some of these cities are quite dangerous, and will appear below, there are many other dangers one can live with. Extreme weather conditions, hostile wildlife, potentially fatal daily commutes, and other dangerous conditions are just some of the worst ways your day, or your life, can be ruined.

Despite their original benevolent intent, mental asylums have become synonymous with abuse and malpractice. For one, the practice of lobotomy originates in the world of psychotherapy and institutionalization. Egas Moniz performed the first lobotomy in Portugal in 1935 and it was soon after adapted by American physicians Walter Freeman and James W. Watts, who popularized the operation. From 1949 to 1951, the amount of lobotomies grew from 5,074 to 18,608 people. John F. Kennedy’s sister is one of the many who were victims of the controversial procedure.

For nearly one thousand years, the world quaked at their footsteps, and the very sound of their name: The Legions. The elite troops of Rome’s formidable army, which would carve up an empire that stretched from the Highlands of Scotland to the scorching deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. They would kill and enslave millions, pillage and raze cities to the ground, and transform the mighty Mediterranean Sea into the Empire’s own private lake. The only time in human history when the whole of the Mediterranean would be under one single government was under Roman rule. The Roman Legions were such a mighty force in the world, even their own Emperors were afraid of them.

Piracy is as old as the sea itself … or at least since there’s been some loot to be plundered. But the pirate legacy has since been high-jacked by Hollywood and romantic fiction. And pirates have been told as being faintly noble, selfless, independent, and with a great degree of charm. But the real pirate story is much darker. Pirate life was nasty, brutal, and – especially – short. And for a brief moment in time, each of these lives terrorized the oceans and demanded the attention of the navy. Mercy and honesty were rarely in any pirate’s vocabulary. Today we’ll be taking a look at what made the real pirates the most feared “predators” on the high seas.

Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! The X marks the spot, so get your shovel ready and start digging. Money, gold and jewelry stashed away on some mysterious island usually means trouble. From the mists of time, when mythical gods and legendary heroes roamed the Earth, though the Middle Ages and even the last couple of centuries, we have records of great treasures that seem to have vanished, leaving behind only pies in the sky. Fascinating examples of opulence and decadence, the world knelt to their power and wept at their disappearance. They witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations, and now they are gone. Or are they?

Abortion is one of the trickiest ethical issues out there. On the one hand, you have to ensure you respect the rights of the mother. On the other, you also have to respect the rights of her unborn child. Each country strives to strike a fair balance, with some leaning more towards the mother’s rights, and some leaning more toward the child’s. While nowhere likely gets it exactly right, most countries at least strive to create a situation everyone can live with.

When you’ve been doing this job as long as we have, you get used to the idea that truth is stranger than fiction. History, science, art… they’re all full of factoids that seem implausible on the surface, but turn out to be true underneath. Still, there is a limit to this implausibility. It’s not like we’re going around claiming lightning magically gives you tattoos, or that you can survive jumping off the top of the Empire State Building, or that the Muppets were inspired by a porno, right?