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With over 53,000 world record categories, there’s no shortage of people wanting to be a title holder. Whether it’s stuffing hundreds of drinking straws in your mouth or free falling to earth from the stratosphere, there’s something for anyone looking to get their name in the record books. And these are just the tip of the iceberg for some of the coolest, most bizarre and incredibly ridiculous world records out there.

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Throughout history, there are reported cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion, but are these stories real? Can people simply burst into flames with no apparent source of ignition? In 1951, Mary Reeser’s body was found completely incinerated, with only a pile of ash, her skull, and her left foot still in her slipper remaining. Curiously, her apartment was untouched by the fire. Was she a victim of this bizarre phenomenon or is the truth too hot to handle?  

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In 2010, when eccentric art collector Forrest Fenn announced that he had buried a chest filled with precious gems and rare jewelry estimated to be worth millions, a modern-day treasure hunt began. The chest was located somewhere in the vast Rocky Mountains and with only 9 mysterious clues hidden within the lines of a poem, finding it wouldn't be easy. In fact, for some intrepid explorers, it would be their final earthly adventure.

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Sometimes there are clear reasons why a town is deserted. Perhaps it was a natural disaster like a drought or a flood. There may have been a man-made event, like a chemical spill. Maybe a once thriving economy dried up. However, sometimes it’s not always obvious why a place is deserted. Take Centralia, Pennsylvania, for example. You would never know from driving through this mostly deserted small town that a Hell-like inferno is roaring beneath the streets. The fire was started in 1962 and is expected to continue for centuries.

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Fifteen years ago, there were only a handful of priests approved to perform exorcisms in the US. Today, there are almost 10 times that. One of the most famous possession stories is that of Anneliese Michel who, in the early 1970s, underwent almost 70 exorcisms. Despite doctors insisting she had medical issues, the priests performing the rites believed otherwise. In the end, casting out the demons would cost her life.

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Who came up with the crazy idea of traversing a rope hundreds of feet above the ground? It’s all about balance, not only on the wire, but also between risk and reward, adventure and insanity, life and death. If you're going to try walking the tightrope, remember not to look down.

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It’s hard to imagine anyone regretting winning the lottery. For an unlucky few though, hitting the jackpot was a curse, a disaster, and a horrible twist of fate that resulted in bankruptcy, injury, and even death. As the saying goes, sometimes a lot of money can be very expensive.

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Carlos Rafael, the largest commercial fisherman in the US Northeast, found himself at the center of an investigation involving Russian mobsters, duffel bags full of cash, and fish. Millions of pounds of fish. The media nicknamed this charismatic seafood kingpin “The Codfather”. 

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Animals have been unwillingly dragged into human combat for millennia. Sure, you’ve heard of horses, dogs, and even dolphins fighting beside soldiers, but over the years there's been some curious out of the box thinking when it comes to animal warfare. Armored elephants, flaming pigs, bat bombs, and more. When we start involving animals in battle, things can get a little wild.

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It’s scary to hear the question “is there a doctor on board?” when you’re thousands of feet in the air. But it’s terrifying to hear someone ask “is there a pilot on board?”. It doesn't happen often, but when passengers with little to no piloting experience are forced to take the controls, they better stay calm, have a pretty good sense of humor, and, most importantly, figure out where the button for the radio is located. In April 2009, a passenger flying home with his family found out why.

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