10 Weirdly Specific Gods Your Mythology Class Left Out

The old religions had a lot of gods. We made gods for every single thing we thought might be powerful or important. We saw thunder rolling over the clouds, and we made gods of thunder. We saw the waves of the sea crash into the coastline, and we made gods of water. But we didn’t stop there. There are other gods that never became quite as popular as Zeus and Poseidon. We’ve made gods for almost everything you can imagine—including some gods you’d never have guessed we needed.

10 Cardea The Roman Goddess Of Door Hinges

“Goddess of the hinge!” wrote the Roman writer Ovid, praising the great deity Cardea. “She opens the closed, by her power, closes the open.” The goddess Cardea, ruler over all things hinged and upon doors, isn’t particularly popular today, but she was a big part of the Roman religion. She wasn’t just a minor deity or luck charm; she was part of the Roman pantheon of gods, complete with her own mythological backstory. Like most Roman stories, her story begins with the god Janus trying to have sex with somebody. He targeted Cardea, who wasn’t into it, so she told him that she would meet him in a cave. Then she used magical vanishing powers and tried to run away. It didn’t work. Janus found her, and then—well, you don’t really want to know what happened next. Let’s just say that Roman myths have a tendency not to turn out well for women. When he was done with her, Janus declared, “In return for our dalliance, be thine the control of hinges.” Then he gave her a magical hawthorn branch that repelled evil and declared that people must eat beans and pork in her honor every June 1—which, apparently, the Romans believed was the best way to make a woman feel special.

9 Saehrimnir The Norse Pig Of Eternal Bacon

As it is written in the old Norse Poetic Edda: “Saehrimnir, the boar, is boiled! The best of bacons!”

The Norse knew that no religion was complete without divine bacon. After all, they couldn’t worship gods who settled for the garbage we mortals eat. The gods needed divine food—and that’s where Saehrimnir comes in. Saehrimnir is the best-tasting pig in the universe—and the one that happens to have the worst life. Every night, the Norse gods boil Saehrimnir’s flesh and eat him. The poor pig is awoken every night by the return of a group of drunken Vikings, who dump him into a vat of boiling water and hold a big feast. He has to put up with the entire pantheon of Norse gods ripping off his body parts until they’re full. Then, in the morning, he comes back to life and gets killed again. It’s a horrible life. But in the world of the Vikings, that’s the price you pay for being delicious.

8 Matshishkapeu The Innu Spirit Of Farts

According to the traditional beliefs of the Native American Innu people, spirits speak to the living. Some talk through drums. Others come to us in dreams. And one of them, Matshishkapeu, speaks to us through farts. Matshishkapeu, the Innu said, spoke to them “with great frequency”—especially when men were alone without women. Every fart, they believed, was Matshishkapeu giving them a message. A sudden fart required immediate translation. If someone let one slip, an elder would have to rush over to let everyone know what the fart sounded like. Sometimes, though, that was easier said than done. “Matshishkapeu’s utterances are usually cryptic,” one Innu hunter said. “You have to concentrate hard in order to understand what is being said.” 7 Xochipilli The Aztec God Of Gay Prostitutes

A lot of religions have gods of homosexuality, but the Aztecs got a bit more specific. It wasn’t enough for them to have a god of gay men; they needed a god for the gay men who have sex for money. And so Xochipilli came to be. Xochipilli was more than just the god of gigolos—he was actually multipurpose. He was also called The Prince of Flowers. “Flowers,” though, doesn’t seem to have meant roses or daisies. Instead, it meant flowers that could get you high. His statues were covered with psychoactive flowers and mushrooms. The statues also showed him with a facial expression that made it clear that he was absolutely blasted out of his mind. This means that he wasn’t just the god of gay prostitutes—he was the god of hallucinogens, too.

6 The Global Pantheon Of Poop Gods

There were gods of poop, too. But there were so many that it’s hard to narrow it down to a single religion. Japan probably went the furthest with it—they made a whole pantheon of poop gods and spirits. But they weren’t the only ones. The Chinese had Zigu, the goddess of poop. Women could leave an image of Zigu by the toilet, and in return for their devotion, she would answer their questions. The Babylonians had Shed Bet ha-Kise, a vengeful toilet god who cursed anyone who had sex near a toilet by giving them epilepsy. And the Romans actually had two such gods. They had Sterquilinus, an ordinary god of manure, and Cloacina, the goddess of the sewer system.

5 Sapona The Yoruban God Of Smallpox

The Yoruba people of West Africa believed in Sapona, the god of smallpox. Toward the end of the 19th century, Sapona had a whole cult worshiping him. But they were much happier about what he did than they should have been. Sapona’s cult extorted money from people by threatening to curse them. If someone didn’t pay up, cult members went over to that person’s house and scraped smallpox scabs on the person. Alternatively, the cult powdered the scabs and rubbed them all over the person’s windows. When doctors began to vaccinate people against the disease, the cult of Sapona saw it as their divine duty to stop the vaccinations. They threatened people and ran active campaigns to keep smallpox alive. Until the cult was taken down, they started a lot of major epidemics.

4 Terminus The Roman God Of Mileposts

Terminus was one of the very first gods created by the Romans. He was the god of landmarks and of the stones placed by Romans on boundary lines—and he was not to be crossed. His stones were called termini, and if you moved one, you were in trouble. The moment you pushed a terminus out of place, every person in Rome had the legal right to hunt you down and murder you. Simply dying, though, was a lucky fate for someone who angered Terminus. The inscriptions on his stones promised something even worse: “Whosoever shall take away this, or shall order it to be taken away, may he die the last of his family.” 3 Tlazolteotl The Aztec Goddess Of Eating Dirt

In artwork, Tlazolteotl is usually depicted with brown around her mouth. She is, after all, the divine dirt eater of the Aztec gods. That “dirt,” though, wasn’t stuff that you found on the ground; it was a euphemism. Tlazolteotl was the eater of divine excrement. There’s an explanation for this one that actually makes a lot more sense than you’d expect. Tlazolteotl, the Aztecs believed, was the divine being who ate all waste. That included the decaying bodies of the dead, fruit, vegetables, and yes, excrement. She was the goddess of decomposition. Still, it’s a little weird that the Aztecs worshiped a goddess who spent her time eating feces. She had a second job that makes things a bit better. In what might have been a rare stroke of Aztec generosity, they also made her the goddess of steam baths—which she probably could have used after all that.

2 Kalfu The Haitian God Of Intersections

“God of Intersections” sounds kind of cheesy, but Kalfu is actually a terrifying god. He is the Haitian Vodou (aka Voodoo) equivalent of Satan. Although he technically rules over intersections, it’s in more of a “devil at the crossroads” kind of way than a “wait for the green light to go” kind of way. Kalfu is a red, demonic beast who drinks rum infused with gunpowder to pass the time. He controls the evil forces of the spirit world and the malevolent spirits of the night. He’s a demonic creature who possesses people and controls the passage of spirits into the real world. All that responsibility for an intersections god makes Vodou unique. When the Haitians were looking for their most powerful gods, they didn’t look to the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, or the sea. They looked at the intersections.

1 The Unknown God The Greek God Of Miscellany

To make sure that they didn’t leave anything out, the Greeks came up with one extra god: The Unknown God, or the god of everything they forgot to mention. This was a sort of placeholder god who was used for everything they hadn’t thought up yet. They started worshiping the unknown god after Athens was hit by a plague. No matter how many animals they ritually slaughtered, the plague didn’t go away—and ritually slaughtering animals was all they knew how to do.

So the Greeks tried something a bit different. They sent a flock of sheep into a field, made an altar to all the miscellaneous, unspecific gods, and slaughtered the sheep, hoping that this act would appease whichever god they’d never heard of.

Signs That Other Intelligent Life May Have Already Visited Earth

Alien evidence doesn't just come from crackpot conspiracy theorists or re-runs of the X-Files. There are quite a few mysteries in our world that are so beyond explanation, the only reasonable conclusion is "alien visitation."

1.Felix Moncla and Robert Wilson's disappearance

At the height of Cold War tensions, a large radar contact mysteriously appeared over the Canadian/American border, and slowly made its way North. Fearing this to be a Soviet airplane attack (and probably the slowest airplane attack ever), Kinross AFB in Michigan dispatched a F-89 Scorpion interceptor to investigate. The airplane was crewed by Felix Moncla and Robert Wilson, which would prove the last time anybody would ever see them.

Eager radar operators watched the small dot of the F-89 close on the mysterious contact. When the crew was over Lake Superior, the two dots merged and suddenly vanished. Search parties launched immediately and combed the Lake to try to find the airplane, with no luck. The F-89 was gone, taking its two pilots with it.

Immediately, the US Air Force issued statements. At first, they said that the fighter had been chasing a misidentified Canadian airplane and crashed for unknown reasons during the intercept. But that seems odd to UFO investigators, since the Canadian airplane would've filed a report of their flight plan, and the Air Force would've known the plane was in the air. The USAF later retracted their statement, now claiming that Moncla had experienced vertigo and crashed into Lake Superior. That still didn't explain why the SAR teams couldn't find the airplane, especially since Lake Superior was covered in ice. An airplane-shaped hole in the ice should have been easy to spot. None of the official explanations stuck — to this day, nobody knows exactly what happened that night. All we know is that the F-89 disappeared into thin air while chasing a mysterious radar contact. What happened after that is anybody's guess. The hapless F-89 could be anywhere in the universe.

2.Val Johnson's cop car In the 1970s

"> Minnesota was a hotbed of UFO activity, but none of the incidents were as strange and compelling as what happened to Sheriff Val Johnson. On August 26, 1979, Johnson was travelling the dark country roads on patrol, when he saw a light in the distance. Johnson describes the light as being a few inches in diameter and hovering above the ground. As Johnson was staring at the light, it suddenly came at him and engulfed the car. Johnson described it as being hit by a 200-pound pillow (whatever that means). The cop car skidded off the road, and the sheriff lost consciousness. Minutes later, Johnson woke up, finding himself in a ditch by the side of the road. When he called for backup, Johnson realized that his watch had stopped for fourteen minutes. Backup arrived, but were unable to find the mysterious light.

What makes this case so shocking is that it left physical evidence. Doctors examining Johnson treated him for burns around his eyes, much like welders get from being exposed to intense UV light. The car itself was wrecked, and a cracked windshield shows exactly where the thing hit the car, and the radio antennas are bent back at angles. Whatever hit Johnson certainly left its mark. The story's so bizarre, it makes it hard to accept any other explanation besides aliens. Johnson's story is so interesting, it even inspired elements of Fargo's second season. The best part of it all? You can actually see Johnson's car for yourself, in a small museum in Warren, Minnesota. With a population of 1,500, the residents of Warren probably wouldn't mind the tourist money.

3.The Valentich disappearance

Ready for a creepy story? Once, an experienced pilot named Fred Valentich was flying over Australia's Bass Strait, when he saw something. We, in fact, have his last words on record, as he called the Melbourne Air Flight Service after seeing something odd above him. The pilot calls in and asks if there's any other "traffic" in the area. After being told there is none, he reports seeing a large aircraft passing over him. He says it's going incredibly fast, "playing some sort of game." He says he can't confirm what exactly it is and, shortly before he disappeared, said, "It's not an aircraft. It is –" before cutting off abruptly. He then said it's a flying ship that eventually began orbiting above him. His last words were, "It is hovering, and it's not an aircraft." After that, he was never heard from again. Now, of course, there are some out there eager to debunk it, claiming that what the pilot saw was merely the bright light of Venus. Their idea goes that he saw a bunch of stars and then hallucinated a space ship between them, because apparently that's what happens when you look at Venus. You know, we've heard of Venus being used as the explanation for aliens before. The documentary Men In Black described the phenomenon best of all. So, yes, there's a chance that this was actually an experienced pilot seeing some stars, and then literally imagining a spacecraft in between them, before somehow mysteriously disappearing without a trace and … okay, you know what? In this case, "aliens" is the less ridiculous explanation.

4.Beltz Mystery Sphere

Now, let's talk about some actual alien technology (probably). It's called the Beltz Mystery Sphere and, well, that's a great name for it, actually. It was found by Terry Beltz and his family — they were looking through an area of woodlands that had just been ravaged by a fire, when they found a small smooth sphere, with an elongated V on it. After examining it, the Beltz family thought it might have been part of a fallen satellite, because — c'mon — it's obviously from out of this world.

It wasn't until later, when Terry was playing a guitar, that it started "vibrat[ing] like a tuning fork." After that, Terry decided to do some experiments with it. The sphere made his dog whimper, vibrated differently due to weather, had a magnetic spot on it, and when you rolled it away, it would stop, turn, and come back to you. Just to be clear, this isn't some little thing that the family told a few people about. The New York Times covered it, and the Marines and NASA both contacted the family. It was even taken to a convention, where scientists could get a closer look at it. Here's the weirdest part of the story: it doesn't have a good conclusion. No one knows where the sphere is now, or what it was. Although one of the scientists who examined it did warn against attempting to open it. He said he inspected it and said that it had elements inside it that, if the case were broken would, explode like an atomic bomb. And we don't know where this thing is? Well, that's just ducky. Aliens drop a nuclear bomb on us and we straight-up lose it. That's so us.

5.Alien pipes of China

In China, there are caves filled with pipes that run under lake beds. Some are huge, some are small, all are old, and none of them were made by humans. Or, at least, none that we know. See, they were made around 150,000 years ago, which is slightly longer than we can actually think about. Humans weren't supposed to be smelting metal into other things back then. Humans were barely supposed to be doing anything back then. If they could smlet pipes, that would contradict every single thing we know about humans. It'd be like finding out Jesus had an iPod, except no, because this is still about 148,000 years before Jesus. One of the weirder things about the pipes is that the area where they were found isn't a place that humans have traditionally lived, like, ever. These pipes, which seemed to have been used to transport water, are in a remote region that no one historically lived in, except for apparently aliens at some point.

6.Ancient airplane models

"> Imagine living back in the ancient world and aliens landed in your city. It would completely shake the world view of the civilization. For years, depictions of the event would appear in art, literature and myths. If aliens have already landed, we would certainly find evidence of them in artifacts. Well, some alien conspirators believe we already have. In pre-Columbian America, there was a complex civilization known as the Quimbaya. While digging for nearby artifacts, archeologists began discovering weird golden figurines that appeared to depict non-existent animals. Actually, they looked more like modern fighter planes, complete with wings, tail surfaces, and fuselages. Amazingly, these models are aerodynamically sound. A German research group built a scale model of one of the figurines, and discovered that it flew. Somehow, this super-ancient civilization seemed to have known the principles of flight. That's pretty strange, but it's not the only example of ancient airplanes. A figure discovered in Egypt follows similar elements to the Quimbaya figurines. It seems to depict a bird, but the wings seem more like a glider, and the tail isn't a normal bird tail, but rather looks like a vertical stabilizer. Like the Quimbaya figures, this one also showed aerodynamic stability when a scale model was built. Shockingly, it was dated to about the same time as the Quimbaya figures, roughly 2000 years ago. What's going on here? Two different civilizations a world apart depicted airplanes thousands of years before they were invented. Clearly, they're basing their models off of something they saw. Since the idea of an ancient, worldwide air force is fairly absurd, they figurines remain unexplainable. Alien believers have an explanation, though: these are what ancient alien ships looked like.

7.Ancient aluminum

Besides being one of the funniest words to get a British person to say, aluminum is one of our most important materials. It's used in all manner of transportation — from cars to boats to planes. It's the primary ingredient in our soda cans, windows, and street lights. It's our baseball bats and forks, it's our CPUs and rocket fuel. It's one of our most used elements. One thing you might've noticed about that list is that it's comprised almost entirely of objects from rather modern times. That's because aluminum is a pretty modern thing. Oh, except for this ancient aluminum we found in Romania. It's about 250,000 years old and is a form of metallic aluminum that's been quite obviously shaped, and — perhaps even more astonishingly — is made out of many different elements. That last factoid is messing with researchers hardcore. If it was just one hundred percent something, the argument could be made it was naturally formed, but no — down to the design of it, which experts say suggests it was made as part of a complex machine — this item seems to be from … somewhere else.

8.Statues depicting ancient astronauts

"> Like the ancient airplane models from earlier, mysterious statues from world civilizations have provided evidence that aliens might have visit Earth in ancient times. The two most important examples are the dogu figurines in Japan, and the Ubaid Lizardmen. The dogu figurines come from ancient Jomon culture, which thrived on Japan as far back as 14,000 BC. They developed some of the earliest forms of pottery and made tons of clay projects, including some baffling dogu figurines. The dogu usually depicted animals and people, but many had huge exaggerated eyes, which made them look like spacemen wearing goggles. Nobody can explain why the Jomon made these figures. They were clearly depicting something, but archeologists can not explain what they were trying to depict. In the Middle East, other mysterious figures have showed up, created by the Ubaid people in Iraq. The Jomon figures may look relatively human, but the Ubiad figures do not. Instead, they look like people with lizard heads. Many of these lizardmen statues exist, each one showing a similar creature: body of a man, head of a lizard. Creepily, some figures depict a lizard woman breastfeeding her lizard offspring. What are these figures supposed to represent? Are they some sort of religious image, or something else? Archeologists are as stumped as we are. None of them want to come out and say "aliens," but the fact that ancient cultures are depicting goggled humanoids and lizardmen does make it seem like something spacey has visited us in the past.

9.Ancient UFOs in paintings

UFOs have appeared in dozens of shows, movies, and cartoons over the years, ranging all the way back to the incident at Roswell. Except, they actually go back even further than that. See, UFOs have been showing up in our art for a long, long time. There are even Native American cave paintings depicting spaceship and what appear to be spacesuit-wearing creatures coming from them. Oh, and African cave paintings. And Australian cave paintings. And Tanzian. Cultures all around the globe, from the beginning of art on, have been depicting UFOs in their paintings. Even a good portion of Christian art has UFOs in it. Don't believe us? Check out Bonaventura Salimbeni's The Glorification of the Eucharist. Yep, that's right — some of our best depictions of UFOs are in paintings hung in galleries that'd put many of us to sleep. The real X-Files stuff isn't in Area 51, it's in The Louvre.

The untold truth of Bill Gates

1.You'd think that we'd know every detail of the life of the richest man in the world

You'd think that we'd know every detail of the life of the richest man in the world, especially since he's been number one on the Forbes list 17 out of the last 22 years. But Bill Gates doesn't get a ton of attention. There've been two movies about Steve Jobs and a dissection of everything Apple, but the founder of Microsoft tends to keep a fairly low profile. So, get to know a little bit about the world's most famous college dropout billionaire.

2.Harvard was a lot harder than he thought it would be

It clearly takes brains to become a billionaire, unless your name rhymes with Fronald Frump. Bill Gates always knew he was much smarter than average Seattle youngster. So, in high school, he'd show off his smarts, undoubtedly to impress the ladies. Classes were a breeze, and when he got into Harvard, he figured he'd waltz right through the Ivy League school like a badass nerd genius. Unbeknownst to him, Harvard was hard. It's practically in the name. He got a B in his first theoretical math class, a completely new experience. So Gates changed his major from theoretical math to applied math after his horrible defeat. But a one-time B was far from his last failure.

3.Before Microsoft, he had a company called Traf-O-Data that was a complete failure

Eventual co-owner of Microsoft Paul Allen met Gates in high school. One summer, when Allen was back in Seattle from college and Gates was a high school senior, they started a business. You know, just normal teenage boy shenanigans. They created a minicomputer to track the flow of traffic. Though that sounds incredibly boring, it could be very useful to cities wanting to know where to place new traffic signals or stop signs or make road alterations or repairs. Gates came up with the name "Traf-O-Data," like it was some kind of horrible date-based candy. Gates and Allen had a working prototype two years and $1,500 later.

Unfortunately for the Data duo, nobody cared. They did no market research, so they didn't realize that getting the local government to invest money in anything is a real pain. In Newsweek, Paul Allen said, "We had virtually no customers." After six years of trying, Traf-O-Data lost $3,494 and put away their traffic files forever. Obviously, that didn't stop the pair, and they went on to create Microsoft, probably to get revenge on those who didn't appreciate their traffic ideas.

4.He was arrested in New Mexico

Generally, Gates doesn't seem like a guy with a long rap sheet. But looks can be deceiving. In 1977, Gates was arrested in New Mexico, though his exact crime wasn't recorded. Could it be some kind of computer/drug smuggling scheme? No: it was a traffic violation, and they just didn't record what specific error led to his arrest. Though the details are sketchy, it definitely happened, and Albuquerque has the smiling mug shot to prove it. It's doubtful that DUI was to blame, since few drunks can look so clean cut and wholesome while the cops are documenting their crimes.

5.Said "no one is getting rich" making software in 1980

In 1976, Gates wrote an "Open Letter to Hobbyists," to discourage computer hobbyists from using his software without paying. The technology was so new it wasn't clearly covered under copyright law. Gates was adamant that the "share and share alike" culture of early computer fiends would discourage programmers from bothering to make new software if they knew it would only be stolen. Gates thought the letter would be the end of it, since open letters asking people to start paying for stuff they can get for free are usually very effective. But copyright law remained cloudy. In 1979, a federal court ruled that one company selling an exact copy of another company's computer chess game was not a violation of the law. By 1980, Gates had to speak out again about unlicensed software usage. In an interview with 80 Microcomputing Magazine, the hottest of all microcomputing magazines of 1980, Gates detailed the importance of software copyright and made this incredibly unprecient statement: "There's nobody getting rich writing software that I know of." This was true at the time, and with the licensing issues and completely uncharted territory of the software world, Gates had no reason to think he'd wind up the richest man in the world. Still, that's a quote that probably won't end up on a lot of inspirational Facebook memes.

6.Gates was critical of Paul Allen's efforts when Allen was sick with cancer

Gates and Allen had a long relationship of working together. After the Traf-O-Data failure, the two pressed on, working feverishly to create software needed for the upcoming computer world. Since Gates named Traf-O-Data, Allen thought it best to take over the naming of any future endeavors, and he came up with the now legendary name "Microsoft." Gates had a lot of respect for Allen. In fact, he dropped out of Harvard his sophomore year to join Allen in New Mexico to grow their business. But he didn't always treat him as an equal. When they debuted their first major project, the programming language BASIC, Gates spent hours double-checking all of Allen's work. Turns out, it was error-free. Despite Allen's major contributions to Microsoft, in 1982, he overheard Gates and Steve Ballmer (who ran the business side of the company) talking about Allen's diminishing contributions, conspiring about how they could dilute his equity. But Allen wasn't just slacking off. He had cancer. Allen called them out on their little "try to weasel money from the guy with cancer" plan and quit the company a while later. Luckily, Gates's cheapness worked to Allen's advantage. Gates wanted to buy Allen out of his stock holdings at $5 a share. Allen wanted $10, Gates said "no thank you," so Allen kept his stock. Now, he has almost $20 billion, all because of Bill Gates's cheap-o ways.

7.Gates dealt with many monopoly problems

As Microsoft became huge, they faced a lot of monopoly problems. Not that Gates kept putting up hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place, but the United States was investigating hi, for violating antitrust laws. The government had an eye on Microsoft since 1990 and in 1994 made Microsoft sign an agreement to not use their preeminence over the software world to keep out competition. In 1997, the US struck again, filing a suit that Microsoft violated the agreement, by forcing PC makers to ship Internet Explorer with Windows 95. The courts felt they were purposely keeping out competitors. For years, the suit waged on, with Microsoft claiming it was easy to remove Internet Explorer and opposing witnesses saying it was impossible to remove. A lot of thrilling "can I delete this icon" trial footage is floating around somewhere.

Microsoft agreed that computer makers could have the choice whether or not to include Internet Explorer with Windows. But that wasn't the end. After many years, a court found that Microsoft was acting as a monopoly and ordered the company to break up to loosen its hold on the industry. But after many appeals, that judgment was overruled, and by 2002, Microsoft agreed to a settlement. That meant Microsoft could stay one company, but they had to make their software compatible with non-Windows works and couldn't enter into any new agreement that would keep competitors out of new computer technology till 2011. By 2011, Microsoft was finally completely out of the woods with all this monopoly business. And it only took 21 years.

8.He owns an insane house called Xanadu 2.0

"> Though Gates had his share of difficulties, he's been rewarded for his software genius with a net worth of $75 billion. He's not known for splashing out on crazy, expensive purchases. Unlike Paul Allen—who owns the Seattle Seahawks, has a collection of vintage war planes, and made a Rock 'n' Roll museum in Seattle that contains lots from his personal collection—Gates doesn't have any such hobbies. But, he did go all out on an insane house. Sitting on Lake Washington, the 66,000-square-foot property is called "Xanadu 2.0." Sadly, it's not because Gates is a big Olivia Newton-John/ELO fan but is named after the fictional mansion of Charles Foster Kane. Though he doesn't seem like a gym rat, Gates built in a 2,500-foot fitness center, complete with trampoline room. The coolest part is that Xanadu 2.0 has crazy smart home technology that none of us will have for another 40 years. Every guest who enters is given a pin. That pin interacts with sensors around the house that will adjust your surroundings based on your taste of music and lighting. Gates was already ahead of the curve with touchpad technology, since he's had a pad in every room to control the temperature since 1995. And within the walls of the mansion is the Codex Leicester, Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, which Gates bought for $30.8 million. If only we could all grow up to live out every child's dream of owning a 16th-century genius's scribbles.

9.The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tops the Forbes most charitable list

Despite his lavish home, Bill Gates really does give a lot of his money away. Bill and Melinda Gates are number one of the Forbes list of most philanthropic people, and they have no intention of slowing down their generosity. In just one typical year, the husband-and-wife foundation gave away $2.65 billion toward fighting malaria, polio, and other diseases while donating tons to the World Health Organization. They decided to give a little $50 million bonus to the International AIDS vaccine initiative, just for fun, and also to help the world.

The Gates foundation also gives away millions in college scholarships and other educational causes. He's given nearly a billion dollars out in scholarships to minority students and recently set up a Cambridge scholarship program with a trust of $210 million. All in all, Bill and Melinda Gates have donated $30.2 billion, a third of their net worth. It's nice to see all those billions aren't just going to trampoline maintenance. 10.He did an AMA full of fun facts and made a "David Pumpkins" sequel to promote it

Now that he's stepped down from running Microsoft, Gates has time for the little things in life, like Reddit AMAs. His Ask Me Anything was full of absolutely crucial facts, like that Gates's favorite sandwich is a cheeseburger, he loves going to Australia for vacation, and he doesn't have a lot of parenting advice. When a father-to-be asked him for dad tips, Gates replied, "Melinda is very creative about helping me find chances to spend time with the kids. Even just driving them to school is a great time to talk to them." Cool. So, talk to your kids. And drive cars. Thanks. Gates seemed to take the Q&A seriously and even filmed a sketch to promote it. Clearly a viewer of Saturday Night Live, Gates did a David Pumpkins sequel, as "Christmas Pumpkins." Though his dancing leaves something to be desired, it's good that Gates chose to keep the Tom Hanks voice and do some fine lip syncing work.

11.When he dies, he'll leave most of his money to charity

When they aren't busy talking to their dad in cars, the Gates kids must getting ready for their sick billion-dollar inheritance, right? Well, Gates doesn't think his kids should get the majority of his wealth after he's gone. His three children won't have to work at McDonald's necessarily, but they aren't going to waste away in their own Xanadu-style mansions. "They are never going to be poorly off," Gates explained. "Our kids will receive a great education and some money … but they'll go out and have their own career. It's not a favor to kids to have them have huge sums of wealth. It distorts anything they might do, creating their own path." Gates has it that each child will get $10 million. Luckily, his kids agree with his thrifty inheritance plan and are happy that the money will go to help those in much greater need. Though his children may not be able to have a house with 24 bathrooms, somehow, they'll get by.

12.Also, Bill Gates can jump over chairs

"> Bill Gates doesn't seem to be the sportiest chap around, but that doesn't mean he completely lacks physical ability. In an interview with Connie Chung in 1994, she pulled out the hard questions: "Is it true you can leap over a chair from a standing position?" Whoa, that's some real gotcha journalism. But Gates happily admitted that he can jump over chairs, though "it depends on the size of the chair." Good move, Gates. Chung could have pulled out some Iron Throne-type stuff and really made him look like an idiot. But Gates was happy to jump over a regular office chair, and the world now knows of his prowess in vertical leaps.

Trump Fuzzy on Andrew Jackson, Civil War History

President Donald Trump delivered pronouncements yesterday (May 1) about President Andrew Jackson and the Civil War that left many people scratching their heads over the current president's interpretation of American history. In an audio interview clip shared on Twitter by the political news radio channel SiriusXM Politics, Trump told Washington Examiner reporter Salena Zito that Jackson was "really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War," adding that Jackson said, "There's no reason for this."

Trump did not mention a time frame or context for the former president's supposed displeasure concerning what he "saw." However, Jackson died on June 8, 1845, and the American Civil War began in 1861. [6 Civil War Myths, Busted] Later that day, Trump reiterated his claims about Jackson in a tweet, insisting that even though Jackson died 16 years before the Civil War began, the former president nonetheless "saw it coming and was angry." Trump added that if Jackson had been leading the country at the time, he "would never have let it happen!" ackson, like Trump, was considered a Washington outsider. The 19th-century president favored a "plain and simple" approach to politics that resonated with voters and won him two terms in the White House. As President, "he sought to act as the direct representative of the common man," according to a biography published online by the White House website. A portrait of the late Jackson is prominently displayed in Trump's Oval Office. And Trump has previously acknowledged that he greatly admires Jackson, calling him "an amazing figure in American history." Meanwhile, Trump's supporters have enthusiastically compared the current president to the populist Jackson, The New York Times reported in January. But even a president's admiration must be tempered with reality, and there is little evidence to suggest that Jackson anticipated the Civil War, let alone that he would have been able to stop it, American historian Eric Foner, a professor of history at Columbia University in New York City, told Live Science in an email.

"Jackson would certainly have opposed secession. He was a very strong nationalist," Foner explained. Jackson adamantly favored a powerful federal government. In 1833, when South Carolina sought to reject a tariff already passed by Congress, Jackson sent armed forces into Charleston; privately, he threatened to hang the opposition leader, according to the White House website's biography of Jackson. So, it seems unlikely that Jackson would have accepted the secession of slave states from the United States. And as far as the Civil War is concerned, it appears equally unlikely that Jackson, as Trump claimed, would "never have let it happen," Foner added. "There is no reason to think that were he alive or president in 1860 to 1861 he would have been any more successful than others in preventing [the] Civil War,"

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

Oopart (out of place artifact) is a term applied to dozens of prehistoric objects found in various places around the world that seem to show a level of technological advancement incongruous with the times in which they were made. Ooparts often frustrate conventional scientists, delight adventurous investigators open to alternative theories, and spark debate. In a mysterious pyramid in China’s Qinghai Province near Mount Baigong are three caves filled with pipes leading to a nearby salt-water lake. There are also pipes under the lake bed and on the shore. The iron pipes range in size, with some smaller than a toothpick. The strangest part is that they may be about 150,000 years old. Dating done by the Beijing Institute of Geology determined these iron pipes were smelted about 150,000 years ago, if they were indeed made by humans, according to Brian Dunning of Skeptoid.com. And if they were made by humans, history as it is commonly viewed would have to be re-evaluated. The dating was done using thermoluminescence, a technique that determines how long ago crystalline mineral was exposed to sunlight or heated. Humans are only thought to have inhabited the region for the past 30,000 years. Even within the known history of the area, the only humans to inhabit the region were nomads whose lifestyle would not leave any such structures behind. The state-run news agency Xinhua in China reported on the pyramid, the pipes, and the research began by a team scientists sent to investigate in 2002. Though some have since tried to explain the pipes as a natural phenomenon, Yang Ji, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua the pyramid may have been built by intelligent beings. He did not dismiss the theory that ancient extraterrestrials may be responsible, saying this theory is “understandable and worth looking into … but scientific means must be employed to prove whether or not it is true.” Another theory is that it was built by prehistoric humans with techniques lost to humans of a later period. The pipes lead into a salty lake, though a twin lake nearby contains freshwater. The surrounding landscape is strewn with what Xinhua described as “strangely shaped stones.” Rocks protrude from the ground like broken pillars. The head of the publicity department at the local Delingha government told Xinhua the pipes were analyzed at a local smeltery and 8 percent of the material could not be identified. The rest was made up of ferric oxide, silicon dioxide, and calcium oxide. The silicon dioxide and calcium oxide are products of long interaction between the iron and surrounding sandstone, showing the ancient age of the pipes. Liu Shaolin, the engineer who did the analysis, told Xinhua: “This result has made the site even more mysterious.” “Nature is harsh here,” he said. “There are no residents let alone modern industry in the area, only a few migrant herdsmen to the north of the mountain.” To further add to the mystery, Zheng Jiandong, a geology research fellow from the China Earthquake Administration told state-run newspaper People’s Daily in 2007 that some of the pipes were found to be highly radioactive. Other Theories Jiandong said iron-rich magma may have risen from deep in the Earth, bringing the iron into fissures where it would solidify into tubes. Though he admitted, “There is indeed something mysterious about these pipes.” He cited the radioactivity as an example of the strange qualities of the pipes. Others have said iron sediments may have washed into the fissures, carried with water during floods. Though Xinhua and other publications in China have referred to a pyramid or even a mysterious pyramid in which the pipes were found, some have said it was a pyramid-shaped natural formation.

Another theory is that the pipes are fossilized tree roots. Xinmin Weekly reported in 2003 that scientists found plant matter in an analysis of the pipes, and they also found what looked like tree rings. The article related the finding to a geological theory that in certain temperatures and under certain chemical conditions, tree roots can undergo diagenesis (transformation of soil into rock) and other processes that can produce iron formations.

Reports on the tree-root explanation for the so-called Baigong pipes often lead back to this Xinmin Weekly article or lack citation. It’s unclear exactly how well-supported this theory is in relation to the Baigong pipes. An article published in the Journal of Sedimentary Research in 1993 describes fossilized tree roots in South Louisiana in the United States.

A History of Hamilcar: The Legend of Cardosa and a Lost Carthaginian City – Part I

Deep in the heart of the Portuguese arid interior lies a city. It is the regional capital of the lands known as Beira Baixa and is strategically well-placed near the grand Tejo river, the superhighway of ancient times. The city has a name but with an unknown origin: Castelo Branco. Although attempts have been made to explain the name, none have ever really proved satisfactory. The city’s origins have been lost to time, just like the two character-defining hallmarks for which Castelo Branco is known: the famous ‘bordado’ (embroidery) of Castelo Branco and the beautiful and unique gardens called ‘Jardim do Paco’.

There is no hiding this lack of identity. The city council admits to it in their official website; “Little is known about the origins of Castelo Branco” are the official words. Yet there is a general awareness that Castelo Branco had a distant past, even if unknown. It is an ancient city, the mishmash of stones and the successive rebuilding attests to that and, more importantly, everyone here believes it is so. Then there is the legendary nickname about which there is no denying, the name which according to legend identifies the ancient roots from which Castelo Branco came: Castraleuca . Nobody knows exactly how to pronounce it, nor spell it. Ask any senior citizen about the origin of their city, however, and they will probably reply using this word, even though they have no idea what it means or from where it came. The word Castraleuca, just like the bordado and the gardens, belongs to this city.

Searching for a City’s Origins Nineteenth century historian Porfirio de Silva in 1853 quoted a contemporary document which was very specific about the origins of the city: “Seven hundred years before the time of Christ, time of the Carthaginians, Goths, Saracens, there existed on Cardoso hill the ancient Castraleuca, and from its ruins of Castelo Branco was built.” The name Cardoso, according to Portuguese historian Augusto Leal, was said to have come from the thorns and thistles (cardos) which grew amongst the ruins of Castraleuca.

A little-known historian who worked in the famous Torre de Tombo and directly for the King confirmed this. His name was Gaspar Alvares de Lousada. He was highly respected in his time both here and abroad, and was known to have been well acquainted with the ‘antiquities of Portugal’. He said Castelo Branco had been rebuilt by the Knights Templars from the ruins of Castraleuca. He evidently had seen ‘cippos’ (marker stones) which identified Castelo Branco as being the ancient Castraleuca. Knights Templar This is confirmed by the city foral (a royal document) written by Knights Templar Pedro Alviti in 1213. The wording is important:

Volumus restaurare atque populare castelbranco . Translated this gives “we wish to restore and populate Castelo Branco”. So, Castelo Branco already existed, including its name, otherwise they could not restore these things— the city and its name. It seems that the name Castello Branco had already become the commonly used name at the time of the Templar’s rebuilding of Castraleuca. Nineteenth century historian Herculano rejected both the idea of Castelo Branco as being Castraleuca and Lousada (whom he discredited), calling Herculano and others ‘impostors’. His arguments were based upon the work of Ptolemy the Greek Geographer, who in the first centuries AD placed Castraleuca south of the Tejo. However, Ptolemy’s work was and is known to be flawed. He also significantly did place Castraleuca on Lusitanian soil and near the Tejo river. Ptolemy wrote from Alexandria in Egypt and had never placed foot on Lusitanian soil, and even today it is advised when reading his work not to rely on his coordinates. Lousada, a man highly respected by other contemporary historians throughout Europe, was soon forgotten. This was a great error. Instead of checking out the foral and comparing the city to see if it really was a rebuilt ancient city, the Castraleuca version was relegated to a fairy tale. In actual fact, what happened was that opinion became divided. On one hand, there were the academics who, having rejected outright the story of Lousada and his Castraleuca, and being ignorant of the significance of the word, were left chasing their tails as to a new plausible explanation of the city’s ancient history. On the other hand, there were the ordinary Albicastrenses, who simply continued believing what they had always believed. Castelo Branco is known for its ‘subterranean city’ as it is sometimes referred to by the locals. There are tunnels and, legend says, underground vaults. These have been closed-off by the local town council because they have become dangerous.

Top 10 Most Beautiful Places To Visit Before You Die!

10.Whitehaven Beach – Australia

Whitehaven Beach is known for its white sands. The Beach is a 7 km stretch along Whitsunday Island. The island is accessible by boat from the mainland tourist ports of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour, as well as Hamilton Island. The Beach was named the top Eco Friendly Beach in the world by CNN.com. Dogs are not permitted on the beach and cigarette smoking is prohibited.

9.Westin Maui Resort & Spa Hawaii

A fantastic lobby with waterfalls and pools greets visitors to this lush Kaanapali resort where the impressive scenery, friendly service, fabulous spa and awesome swimming pools are the highlights. The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali is located along a breathtaking stretch of the gorgeous, white-sand Ka’anapali Beach.

8.The Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye – Scotland

If you are backpacking in Scotland generally or are planning a trip to the Isle of Skye then I heartily recommend that you visit the so-called Fairy Pools.The Fairy Pools is located in Cuillins Hills, Isle of Skye, Scotland. The Fairy Pools are a series of clear, cold pools and waterfalls formed as Allt Coir’ a’ Mhadaidh tumbles down from the foothills of the Black Cuillins into Glen Brittle.

7.Marble Caverns of Carrera Lake – Chile

Azure temple, Lake General Carrera in Patagonia, Chile, A natural wonder that could be the world’s most beautiful cave network. An Azure Temple created by nature, the walls of this network of water-filled marble caverns show just how magnificent the precious geography of our planet can be.

6.The Shahara Bridge – Yemen

This bridge was constructed in 17th century to connect towns at the tops of mountains in the state of Yemen. Shahara Bridge built to fight against Turkish invaders. It’s a scary bridge and a popular tourist attraction.

5.Havasu Falls – Grand Canyon National Park

Havasu Falls is paradise on Earth. This is an absolutely amazingly beautiful waterfall located in a remote canyon of Arizona. The spectacular waterfalls and isolated community within the Havasupai Indian Reservation attract thousands of visitors each year. The Havasupai are intimately connected to the water and the land. This blue- green water is sacred to the Havasupai.

4.Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon – Iceland

Fjaðrárgljúfur is a canyon in south east Iceland which is up to 100 m deep and about 2 kilometres long, with the Fjaðrá river flowing through it. It is located near the Ring Road, not far from the village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur.The canyon was created by progressive erosion by flowing water from glaciers through the rocks and palagonite over millennia.

3.Arang Kel, Neelum Valley – Kashmir, Pakistan

A Breathtaking, Lush Green Village In Neelum Valley, Kashmir. Situated at the hill top near Kel, about 1500 feet ascend from River Neelam. It is also a village full of beautiful sceneries. It is a piece of utmost beauty, one can find in Kashmir. Visit Neelum Valley for Arang Kel, a worth visiting place.

2.The Dark Hedges – Northern Ireland This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. The Dark Hedges is one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland and a popular attraction for tourists from across the world. It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors.

1.Coast near Marsa Matruh – Egypt

Mersa Matruh is a major Egyptian tourist resort and serves as a getaway resort for Europeans as well as Cairenes eager to flee the capital in the sweltering summer months. It is served by Mersa Matruh Airport. The city is known for its white soft sands and calm transparent waters.

10 Female Cult Leaders You’ve Never Heard Of

Cult leaders are fascinating with their charming personalities and strange beliefs. But the ones who tend to come to mind first are usually men. That might lead you to wonder: Are there even female cult leaders? Yes, there are . . . and they are gruesome.

10 Anne Hamilton-Byrne

What do you do when you’re convinced that you’re the reincarnation of Jesus Christ? You gather a small following on a remote estate and start a sadistic cult. That’s what Anne Hamilton-Byrne did in Australia in the 1970s and ’80s.

There, she projected herself as a motherly Christlike figure, but looks can be deceiving. In actuality, Hamilton-Byrne was beating children for not showing devotion to her. She was also preparing them for the coming apocalypse by bleaching their hair and giving them identical, creepy haircuts. She adopted many of these children—often illegally and likely through some kidnappings. In total, she kept 28 children on her property as she prepared them for the apocalypse. In reality, she was on LSD most of the time and forcefully injected the children with LSD, too. As punishment, she would starve and beat the children viciously, scaring them into submission. She was caught after some children escaped and alerted the authorities, who then rescued the other children.

9 Clementine Barnabet

In the early 1900s, life could not have been easy for a black woman in Lafayette, Louisiana, which is why Clementine Barnabet sought solace in voodoo. As a teenager, she became the leader of a voodoo cult named the Church of the Sacrifice, which quickly gained a following. Her preaching became deadly when her followers began murdering people with axes as they slept—40 in total. Her followers did this to show their devotion to her as high priestess of the Church of the Sacrifice. Apparently, they believed that immortality could be gained through human sacrifice. None of them committed these crimes mercifully, either. The victims were all brutally slaughtered and dismembered. Barnabet herself is responsible for 17 axe murders and is considered to be the first black female serial killer.

8 Aimee Semple McPherson

Aimee Semple McPherson was one of the first celebrity preachers. She rose to popularity in the 1920s because she was a beautiful preacher who looked as glamorous as a movie star. She also made her church services seem theatrical, much like some “megachurches” today. McPherson promoted herself at Foursquare Church as a healer who spoke in tongues and could allegedly cure the blind. She was groundbreaking in her efforts to evangelize as many people as possible by having a popular radio broadcast and doing several on-camera sermons (which you can find online). Her personality was charming, but she is often criticized for loving her celebrity status a little too much. All of that came to an end when she took a swim in 1926 and did not return. She was found a month later in Mexico claiming to have been kidnapped.

It was a hoax, of course, and McPherson was brought back to the US on criminal charges. She continued preaching in Echo Park until her death in 1944.

7 Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi is a spiritual leader who is the face of a growing modern meditation cult that is structured a bit like Scientology. The smiling guru seems harmless, but the sari-clad founder of the Sahaja Yoga Movement has been criticized for brainwashing followers and disrupting families. Her empire is growing, however, with an estimated 30,000–100,000 followers worldwide. Her followers meditate to a picture of her. Although the movement claims that followers are only meditating and are free to go about their daily lives however they want, most followers devote their free time to evangelizing and promoting their great guru. Former followers claim that they were encouraged to break off ties with family members who disagreed with their newfound enlightenment. Furthermore, children born into the religion are considered “soldiers of Sahaja Yoga.” Parents are asked to send their kids to a Sahaja school in Rome at the tender age of four and then to a school in India. These practices are currently going on and continue to grow daily as Shri Mataji opens Sahaja centers around the world.

6 Bonnie Nettles

Bonnie Nettles cofounded Heaven’s Gate with Marshall Applewhite, whom she met at a theater school. But she died two years before the cult’s mass suicide. The cult believed in Christianity with a curious mix of alien paranoia. They believed in UFOs and killed themselves to reach a spaceship that was supposedly following the Hale-Bopp comet. Sadly, Nettles developed cancer. But she believed that it was impossible for her to die because she and Applewhite would ascend to space together. Nettles died from cancer, but Applewhite told his followers that she simply left her Earthly form.

5 Ching Hai

Ching Hai is a spiritual leader who is often depicted in portraits of glowing light. Her estimated 500,000 followers worldwide adore her for starting the Quan Yin Method, which is a meditation cult that promotes inner lightness and peace. The Quan Yin Method is often praised for its promotion of the self, advocating for women to be independent and seek light from within rather than guidance from a man. Women are also encouraged to seek guidance from Ching Hai herself. As with most meditation cults, it sounds perfectly harmless from the outside. But Ching Hai has also found a way to monetize the Quan Yin Method’s peaceful practices: by creating a chain of vegan restaurants called the Loving Hut. You can find a Loving Hut location in several places around the globe, giving vegan goodness to anyone who wants to pay for it. But that’s not all. Ching Hai is also cashing in on her spiritual lifestyle through a clothing line, a jewelry line, and countless books and CDs.

4 Hak Ja Han

Remember the Moonies? Well, they didn’t go anywhere. Reverend Moon may be dead, but the Unification Church (aka the Moonies) was handed down to his wife, Hak Ja Han, and she is making sure things run smoothly. She changed the name of God from Heavenly Father to Heavenly Parents and revised her own narrative to seem as important as her husband’s. She claims that Satan tried to kill her when she was born and that God chose her specific lineage, the “Han” family, as the chosen people to fight against Satan.

3 Brigitte Boisselier

Brigitte Boisselier may be an unusual choice for this list as her leadership role in Raelianism is more cooperative than others. But she still holds the unusual distinction of being a director of the cloning division of Raelianism, the belief that humans were descended from aliens.

Boisselier is a chemist who claims to have overseen the first project to clone a human with the Raelian project called Clonaid. The current leader of Raelianism was so impressed by Boisselier that he declared her to be next in line to lead the entire cult after he passes. As the group’s spokesperson, she travels to do speaking engagements about the group’s progressive Raelian beliefs . . . as well as the coming doom of humanity and the salvation that only the aliens will bring.

2 Valentina De Andrade

Brazilian cult leader Valentina de Andrade founded the Superior Universal Alignment cult, which believed she was receiving messages from aliens in space. One message she claimed to receive was that anyone born after 1981 was evil and had to be killed. That’s when Valentina and her followers began their horrific practice of killing children. They ultimately tortured, raped, and mutilated 13 children. She escaped authorities and managed to find freedom in Argentina, where she continued to preach her beliefs.

1 Silvia Meraz Moreno

Silvia Meraz Moreno is perhaps the most notorious woman on this list because her crimes were so heinous. She was the coleader of the very violent cult of La Santa Muerte (“Saint Death”) in Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, which made human sacrifices to appease the gods. But these were not willing sacrifices. Their first victim was Cleotilde Romero Pacheco, Moreno’s 55-year-old friend. Soon, the cult killed two children. Silvia even killed her own grandson by beheading him. The cult buried the bodies outside the city. But the police discovered the bodies while investigating an unrelated crime in 2012.

Top 10 American Festivals You Need to Attend Once in Your Life

The typical holiday season in America comes during the Summers although people chasing the American dream try to find some time off the daily grind during other months. You can sample some jazz, don up a cowboy hat or enjoy the extreme weather changes as you travel from Florida to Massachusetts. American festivals will present the frenzy, excitement and energy that you need. Ranging from exhibits to food festivals. America is the land which has everything for everyone; a sandwich at 4 a.m OR a horse ride along a ranch in the evening. There is a variety of fun across the land.

Americans can be fat, they appear to eat a lot probably because they have upsize food and free coke refills, but the fact is that their food is much more and beyond hamburgers and fries. They invented salads, and as you enjoy Amish pie as you drive through Virginia and get your lunch special at Pierce’s BBQ. You will see that beyond the urban cities the country is quite different than it is perceived to be. The following festivals show that America is more than a nation of super sized meals! Top 10 American Festivals

10. Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans

Although bands play in New Orleans’ clubs all year round, what you witness during this festival is hard to beat. The easy going rhythm and the colourful culture of the South are more explicit during this time of the year. The festival is held in April/May every year so if you are looking for some time away from the disco pop and heat of the city clubs, you could head to New Orleans now.

9. Burning Man, Nevada

Burning Man is an annual festival that was first held in 1986. It is a festival that encourages self expression and attracts thousands of participants every year. You can enjoy a week of sojourn and leave the area without a trace. Black Rock City- a temporary city in the Black Rock Desert is erected every year for the event that is described as something that experiments with art and community. Based on ten principles that include civic responsibility, community cooperation, self-reliance and self-expression. The event is held between the last week of August and the first week of September every year.

8. Groundhog Day, Pennsylvania

The Groundhog Day is the nation’s one of the most family-friendly and quirky celebration. The festival is all about weather lore and in the former coal mining town, families find the perfect setting for watching weather predictions that are covered live by many channels and are attended by over 20,000 people every year. The event takes place in February every year. The GHC Headquarters, The gobbler’s Knob Tail and the Phil’s Burrow are exciting attractions while you are in the area.

7. The marriage marathon, New York

Every year on 14th February, wedding couples tie the knot at 1377 feet above the ground in a specially constructed wedding chapel that lies on the 110th story of the Empire State building. It is not a drive thru like Vegas although something like this could only happen in America. Why they chose the Valentine’s Day for this occasion speaks for itself. Only those who are willing to make their wedding extra memorable for even the rest of the world choose the venue and place for the purpose.

6. Happy Harry’s Ribfest

Talk about food festivals in America and you don’t mention Happy Harry’s Ribfest- that is not possible! The food festival takes place in the second week of June every year. And if you find yourself in North Dakota- make sure you treat yourself with the extravaganza of All-American food including slow-cooked chicken (a break from the fast food) and beef on the bone. It is held in the state’s biggest city, Fargo and has been feeding visitors since 1996. They say that it is a great place to be for foodies and should you find yourself up to it. In addition don a bib!

5. Boston Seafood Festival

Every year in August, the capital of the state of Massachusetts sets itself up for the seafood festival where you can enjoy a carnival of crustaceans, chowder and fish. There are cooking demonstrations, contests for cooking oyster and various food stalls that offer everything from lobster delicacy to sushi. The Boston Fish Pier is literally taken over by fish for one whole day. Seafood is healthy and light and despite eating to your fill, you can keep the calorie count very low.

4. Film festival, Utah

Utah presents the largest independent film festival in the US every year in January. New work by independent filmmakers from all over the world is presented at this premier showcase. Independent film has high potential as per the belief of this event’s organizers and that is what they mean to prove every year in the festival that is chaired by Robert Redford. Officially called the Sundance Film Festival. It is held by the Sundance Institute and was attended by little less than half a million people in 2016.

3. Eat Drink SF

Besides the San Francisco bridge, there is another SF attraction that deems nationwide popularity- the Eat Drink SF Festival. There are August moments of foodie fascination in the festival that shines because of the participation of around 120 restaurants from the city. It is largely concentrated at the Fort Mason Center (keeping Alcatraz in view) and pitched on the waterfront. The restaurants lay out their most exquisite dishes and 70 wineries from California. They also play their due part in this food festival that has been specially designed in SF. So that it does not lose to its east-coast cousin! It is held during the last week of August each year.

2. Great American Foodie fest

It was the Americans who introduced the whole world to fast food. It was the Americans who introduced the whole world to the concept of dieting. Now it is the Americans that host big food festivals that appear to be so yummilicious. Travelers and tourists from all over the world visit the country to enjoy its festivities. Las Vegas is a city that hosts the country’s largest casinos and clubs. It is a place that is popular for clubbing and playing. They say that you could get married in Vegas at 12 p.m in the night and go separate ways the next morning. The chic restaurants in the city present haute cuisine all through the year. But, from October 6 to October 9 each year – A four day bonanza offers “food truck” food and is primarily stationed around the Sunset Station. Even then, you may expect delicacies and imaginative food to come your way. There are long hot dogs, slivers of meat prepared in delicacy as well as humongous burgers. Because, there is no lack of imagination in the Vegas food festival.

1. New Orleans October’s music and black magic fest

The Voodoo Music and Art Experience at New Orleans ranks top on our list of festivals in America this year. The city flaunts its ranking as no. 1 in people-watching anyway, so you could head over to the place in order to enjoy a festival on every other weekend. That is the plus point of being there. With over 65 bands performing in the festival, Voodoo is not just a festivity- it is an experience. It stirs together music, art and community and presents to you exotic nights with happenings that you would remember for long. Cuisine, mystery and adventure all conjure up in the city as the Halloween weekend approaches. Everything is fresh and made by the best chefs in town. If you own a pack of Nyx matte lipsticks that have blue, black and silver colors- it is time to get those out! America is great for tourism for all the right reasons. Although most people have seriously misguided notions about Americans as people and the country as a nation-state, there is kindness and beauty in the place that needs to be explored. Instead of believing in stereotypes, it would be best if we learnt about the place ourselves.

10 Mysterious Hidden Texts

The archaeological record is filled with hidden messages from the past. Often, these secret texts hide in plain sight. They are buried under monuments and secreted away in machinery. Many times, they exist concealed in later works, remaining only as traces invisible to the naked eye. Modern technology like X-rays, CT scans, multispectral imaging, and robots are bringing these long-lost works to light.

10 Codex Selden

For decades, researchers were convinced that the Codex Selden contained hidden messages beneath its surface. Lost for nearly 500 years under a layer of gypsum and chalk, this precolonial Mexican manuscript is made of leather strips covered with a gesso, a plaster-like material. In 2016, hyperspectral imaging finally allowed researchers to peer within the Mixtec manuscript’s surface, revealing hidden text and images beneath. The technique works by taking high-resolution images across an entire spectrum of wavelengths. The process of scanning the whole manuscript is ongoing. Until it is completed, researchers are reluctant to comment on the hidden content. What little they have revealed is tantalizing. New characters and text have recently emerged. The hidden text reads sideways across the page, rather than the bottom-to-top orientation of the manuscript’s surface. Researchers report that there are many more discoveries to be made within the pages of the Codex Selden.

9 Secret Message In Lincoln’s Watch

On April 13, 1861, Jonathan Dillon, an Irish immigrant and watchmaker, carved a hidden message in Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. Employed by M.W. Galt and Co. jewelers in Washington, DC, Dillon was repairing the president’s watch the day Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, which led to the US Civil War. The message would remain hidden until the Smithsonian opened the timepiece in 2009.

Dillon’s inscription read: “The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a president who at least will try.” Dillon and the president never met, and Lincoln never saw the message hidden within his timepiece. In the 1850s, Lincoln purchased the gold pocket watch from George Chatterton, a jeweler in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln tended away from the ostentatious, but the gold watch was a sign of his prominent law career. In 1958, the 16th president’s great-grandson, Lincoln Isham, donated the watch to the Smithsonian.

8 Magic Language Of The Silver Scroll

In 2014, archaeologists uncovered a small amulet during an excavation of Jerash in Jordan. The site had been home to Greeks, Romans, and then Arabs. However, a devastating earthquake in AD 749 annihilated the settlement. The amulet was a silver scroll measuring 5 centimeters (2 in) long. Corrosion on the exterior belied a delicately coiled silver plate beaten to just .01 centimeters thick. After polishing, the researchers realized there was text. As desperate as they were to determine the message, the plate was too fragile to unroll. In 2015, researchers used CT scanning technology to virtually unroll the scroll. They found 17 lines of text, each containing five letters. The first line contains spells written in Greek. The subsequent lines are completely undecipherable. Linguists believe they are composed in “pseudo-Arabic.” Writing in “secret, magical languages” was common at the time. Given the low literacy rate, even nonsense words could be seen as magic.

7 Novgorod Codex

In 2000, archaeologists excavating Novgorod in Russia discovered the earliest known book made by the Rus’ people. Made of three waxed wooden tablets, the Novgorod Codex contains so much hidden text that is has been labeled a “hyper-palimpsest.” (A palimpsest is a manuscript that has been scraped clean for reuse.) Dated to the 11th century, the Cyrillic text preserved two Psalms. When the wax was removed for conservation, the restorers realized that the wood had retained traces of earlier text, including a number of previously unknown Slavonic compositions of native origin. Recreating these hidden texts is remarkably difficult. Often, the text’s faint traces are indistinguishable from cracks and other irregularities in the wood. The Codex was also reused multiple times, creating layer upon layer of hidden text. The identical handwriting between layers compounds the difficulty. This is the first hyper-palimpsest, and there are no standard techniques for deciphering one . . . yet. The Novgorod Codex may contain dozens—or even hundreds—of hidden text layers.

6 Mussolini’s Message To The Future

In 2016, historians reconstructed a hidden message under the base of Rome’s Mussolini Obelisk. The parchment text, which chronicles fascism’s rise to power and Mussolini’s feats, was buried when the obelisk was erected in 1932. It was largely forgotten over the following decades. Despite still being buried under a 300-ton monument, the Codex Fori Mussolini has been reconstructed from three obscure sources from libraries around Rome. According to researchers, the text was intended for people in the remote future. Classic scholar Aurelio Giuseppe is credited with composing the three-part, 1,200-word eulogy. The text presents Mussolini as a new Roman emperor. The parchment is accompanied by a medal depicting Mussolini wearing a lion skin. Latin was chosen to draw a link between the rise of fascism and the Roman Empire. Ironically, the text can only be unearthed by toppling the obelisk, which would be a symbolic fall of fascism.

5 Codex Zacynthius

In 1861, researchers first detected hidden text in the Codex Zacynthius. The Codex is a palimpsest; the cost of writing materials made recycling manuscripts commonplace. The Codex Zacynthius originally contained a seventh-century account of the Gospel of Luke. In the 13th century, the early text was removed to make way for an Evangeliarium, a collection of Gospel passages. The Codex Zachynthius predates the development of the New Testament, which was crystallized in the 16th-century Textus Receptus. The work’s name derives from the Greek island of Zakynthos, where it was discovered. Since 1984, Cambridge University has housed the mysterious work. In 2014, they raised £1.1 million to purchase it outright. Their goal is to use multispectral analysis to analyze the hidden text. Experts believe there are many more secrets to be discovered in the Codex’s 176 vellum leaves.

4 Robot Researcher

In 2011, archaeologists used the “Djedi” robot to unveil hidden messages in the Great Pyramid of Giza that hadn’t been seen in 4,500 years. The robot returned with images of previously unknown red hieroglyphics. Researchers believe these hidden messages may shed light on the Great Pyramid’s mysterious narrow shafts. First discovered in 1872, two of the shafts link the King’s Chamber to the open air. However, the others lead out of the Queen’s Chamber and disappear into the pyramid’s depths. Rudolf Gantenbrink was the first to explore the shafts with robots in 1993. Nine years later, a second team returned with robots to explore the southern shafts. Both expeditions ended when the robot reached mysterious slabs secured with copper pins. The most recent expedition allowed the robot to use a “micro snake” camera, which penetrated a small hole in the slab, providing a glimpse of the hidden chamber beyond.

3 Hidden Euripides A team of researchers from the Universities of Bologna and Gottingen discovered the hidden text of a fifth-century-BC Greek drama beneath a 13th-century-AD prophetic book of the Old Testament. The early work is attributed to Euripides. One of Athens’s foremost dramatists, Euripides completed over 92 plays in his life, but only 19 have survived. His work became a cornerstone of education during the Hellenistic age, and his influence on modern drama is immense. The hidden text was uncovered via multispectral imaging in 2013. The ancient text had been washed off and rewritten over, making it a palimpsest. The manuscript contains not only Euripides’s work, but it is also full of ancient annotations. The text is now housed at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s library in Jerusalem. The Palamedes Project is currently working to create a critical edition of the hidden ancient manuscript, which contains unknown Greek texts.

2 2,000-Year-Old Jewish Graffiti

In 2015, construction workers revealed ancient hidden graffiti from the Second Temple era in Jerusalem. The writing was discovered in a ritual bath (or mikvah) in a cave located under a school. The hidden inscriptions were written in Aramaic. Despite this being the period’s lingua franca, Aramaic inscriptions from the Second Temple era are rare. The graffiti message is written in mud and ash. The inscriptions are very hard to read. Some suspect they are names. Experts have pointed out what appears to be the name “Cohen” and the word avad, meaning “served.” In addition to the writing, there are also dozens of depictions of trees, a boat, and what may be a menorah. Mikvahs were crucial to Jewish culture. According to tradition, the waters couldn’t touch human hands prior to use and needed to be derived from a natural source, like a spring or rainwater.

1 Hidden Medieval Library

With the emergence of the printing press in the 15th century, handwritten manuscripts became passe. Bookbinders cut up or recycled these earlier tomes. They often used the ancient paper to reinforce the spines and covers of the more stylish printed books. Macro X-ray fluorescent spectrometry has allowed researchers glimpses of these medieval text fragments without having to destroy the bookbinding. It not only makes the hidden messages visible; it makes them legible.

Many of the hidden fragments discovered so far date to the 14th and 15th centuries. However, researchers hold out hope for a medieval Bible or perhaps Carolingian material from the ninth century or earlier. So far, the oldest text discovered dates to the 12th century. It contains an excerpt from an even earlier work of Bede, an eighth-century scholar and monk. In one case, they have found enough contiguous material to create three full manuscript pages.