Author: Jake Brannon

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12+ Things You Definitely Should NOT Do If You Win the Lottery

There is plenty of advice online about what you should do if you win a big jackpot, but equally important, if not more so, is what you shouldn’t do. Well, have no fear, because the internet has some ideas.

Listen up!

#15. Go to a casino.

“Go to a casino and blow all the money away.”

#14. Out of the woodwork.

“Do not go public with it and have an attorney set up something for your winnings where people won’t know about it.

You’ll have people coming out of the woodwork for a handout otherwise.”

#13. Try to win more.

“Spend it all on lottery tickets to try and win more.”

#12. A lawyer and a CPA.

“Do not tell anyone, except a lawyer and a CPA. Hell, I wouldn’t even tell the lawyer and the CPA that you won the lotto at first. Just tell them that you’re coming into a lot of money and need some help getting it situated properly.

Do not tell your friends, don’t tell your parents, don’t tell your kids… hell don’t even tell your spouse unless they’re watching the draw with you and find out that you won at the same time.

DO get your lawyer and your accountant to setup a trust and all the necessary accounts so that you can claim the money anonymously, and live comfortably off the interest for the rest of your life.

DO take up a hobby. You never have to work another day in your life, so pick something that sounds fun. Maybe whittling, or pie making. Whatever makes you happy.”

#11. The upkeep cost.

“Thought I’d add a different answer here to the usual ones. Do NOT forget the upkeep cost. The biggest reason why lottery winners end up broke again is they forget about the running cost of their purchases.

Two great examples are cars and houses:

The larger the house, at least in the UK, the bigger the council tax you have to pay which can get quite large for large houses. People just think that “ooo buy a big house and rent is free forever” forgetting that yearly charge of thousands for that very large house which adds up to maybe 20-40k alone in a decade or two.

Cars are more obvious, you get an expensive and fancy car. For starters you’ve just lost thousands as you’ve added a new owner. Then you have to tax it and that’s more than normal now. Then you have to insure it and oooo guess what that fancy sports car you just got, that’s a lot of insurance. Then spare parts are far more expensive as it’s a rarer model than a regular car. It gets no miles to the gallon so you’re always filling it up. Once again yes you brought it but you’re now paying probably thousands per year in upkeep.

So congrats, you spent all the money and thought you set yourself up for life right? Apart from the fact that those two things alone may well end up costing you maybe 30-60k over the next 10-20 years and you already spent everything so you sell the house and car (at considerable loss) and buy a smaller house and car….

BUT they need upkeep as well.

So you sell them and downsize again…

and again…and yo’re working 9-5 to keep your 1 bedroom flat just about ticking over well past retirement because you didn’t work for 10-20 years so you have almost zero retirement funds earn’t so you have to work until death.”

#10. Don’t do any of that.

“My uncle won $9m from the lottery. He bought a large piece of land in Ahmish country, built a mansion on it, bought a bunch of toys (boats, atv’s, etc.), and adopted a kid. A bunch of my shitbag extended family moved to where he lived in Maine and began asking him for money.

2 years later he ran out of money, divorced his spouse, and pawned the kid off to my mother who, out of love and pity, raised him.

So don’t do any of that i guess!

Edit: No I’m not the kid!”

#9. Best case/Worst case.

“Do not fill a swimming pool with gold coins and gems and try to swim around in it Scrooge McDuck style. Best case, you’re just going to roll around on a big pile of coins. Worst case involves a diving board and broken skeleton.”

#8. Don’t trust it.

“Let people guilt trip you into giving them money. Everyone has a sad story that’ll break your heart and make you feel bad. As sad as it is, don’t trust it…ever. Money makes people greedy. Greedy people do whatever they want to get what they think they need.”

#7. Start your life over.

“I would have no problem not telling anyone, I’m a private person as is and I’m not someone who likes to have attention. Keeping my spouse reigned in is a whole other story, she would have an incredibly difficult time keeping quiet. I would go out of my way to not tell anyone for a long time, possibly even years if I was able to pull it off, but realistically I don’t think that’s possible with a large jackpot. You’re going to make major life changes, even if you are someone who isn’t flashy, it’s going to be hard to not raise suspicion.

With a jackpot as large as the current one is, it will not be possible to keep your life as it is, that is a level of money that will require you to relocate in a major way, likely multiple times over the next few years. I actually feel like that type of money could possibly require you to change personal details about yourself, I just don’t think you could escape the constant outside pressure otherwise. You would also have to be prepared to permanently destroy multiple relationships in your life, money brings out the worst in people, family you were close with, friends, and former co-workers are going to look at you differently. There’s going to be jealousy, resentment and anger directed towards you. I almost feel like you would have to essentially start your life over.”

#6. New cars.

“Buy new cars all the time.

I live in a rural city in Canada.

Maybe 6-8 years ago a local woman won $12 million in the Lotto 649. She went from your regular car to $80,000 Mercedes- Benz’s and Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit’s every year for her, her husband and her son.

Fast forward to last year. I’m the GM of a Car Rental agency. Her kid is 19 and thus unable to rent or even drive a rental car. They keep demanding I allow him to drive, I keep telling them no he can’t going so far as to show them how the computer system with automatically blank out his license.

They flip their shit all entitled and what not. Typical ‘Can I speak to your manager?!” haircut and all.

I find out later than the $12 million is gone. All of it. Disappeared. I found out through contacts at several dealers that they had purchased almost 20 vehicles in 6-8 years, getting hosed on the trade in value almost every time. The vehicles didn’t account for all $12 million, but it certainly accounted of a large portion of it.”

#5. Protect your identity.

“Sign your name. If you want to open a trust you need to make the trust and then have the trust sign it, this can then protect your identity because most states require you to publish your name.”

#4. Never really the “work hard” kind of guy.

“Have a pretty horrifying family story that exemplifies exactly why you should NOT do this.

Edit : Didn’t mean to be a cryptic jerk. And the story isn’t great of course – just pretty awful for us. It just struck a nerve seeing this thread and remembering all the crap.

My father was never really the “work hard” kind of guy. If someone could give it to him or make it easier, he was all for it. Growing up, I remember mom fighting for us to get something new occasionally, but he’d almost always yell and complain about the cost while also not willing to work much. I now know there were some complicating and difficult things he experienced when he was younger that likely partly contributed to this, but hindsight and all that.

He also was abusive to me, my siblings and our mom. After a rough divorce and all us kids left the house, he became more and more of a hermit. He started playing the lottery, and whenever we’d see him he’d talk about it all the time. He also became a hoarder at home and nothing anyone could do or say would convince him to let us help, even a little. Two of my siblings showed up at his place unannounced and he came out of the house with a shotgun. So, we ended up not visiting him at our old house – we’d meet at a gas station where we learned he’d been at all night, buying lottery tickets by the handful.

He won – big several times, at least big to him – not millions I don’t think but a lot. H€ll we don’t even know how much he won. He’d tell us he won “something” every once in a while, had to talk to the lottery commission or whomever they were. But he became obsessed with winning more…and more and more. Bought thousands of tickets, literally. For years. He asked all of us siblings for money for this towards the end, and by now we realized at least a part of his addiction. But he refused help and got incredibly mean and agitated whenever we’d bring it up. We felt guilty and knew he needed help but didn’t know what to do honestly.

So, when we hadn’t heard from him for a while after trying to check in, we called the authorities and asked them to do a wellness check. He’d been dead a while, and they had to have a team of people try to remove him, with a few saying it was the worst situation of that kind they’d seen. When we all met up to try and deal with things, we cleaned out the car he was leasing and filled 4 hefty yard waste garbage bags full of tickets out of his car alone. The house and barn were worse. We don’t know final tallies, but we know he lost way more than he ever won.

We do have some good memories – we know he tried at times, and we know we weren’t the easiest kids to deal with. But once the lottery addiction took hold…I don’t know, he just changed even more for the worse.

Please, please, if you know of anyone close to you who develops a gambling addiction or hoarding, PLEASE do all you can to help. At times I wonder if we really did all we could, and I don’t wish that on anyone.”

#3. Because that’s my idea.

“Do NOT buy a M1A2 Abrams tank and use it as your daily commuter vehicle with the thought that it would prevent tailgating and/or people cutting you off on the highway….because that’s My idea.”

#2. Happened where I live.

“Blow the whole 6 million on drugs and then burn your house down to claim the insurance so you can buy more drugs.

Happened where I live about ten years ago. Highly recommend not following that course of action.”

#1. People get killed.

“Don’t tell anybody. People get killed over that stuff. Get an attorney get a new phone number and don’t give it to anybody. Also stay off Facebook”

And you know, call me if you win big are feeling generous.

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Kids Are Less Violent in Countries Where Spanking Is Outlawed, Studies Show

When it comes to raising children, the use of corporal punishment is a hot topic of debate. People on the “pro” side often argue that the way they were raised didn’t harm them, so why change? While those on the other worry about the psychological impact childhood violence could have on the next generation…even if it takes years to manifest.

Even though this isn’t the first time science is weighing in on the topic, a new study shows a clear correlation between the use of corporal punishment and incidences of violence in youth and beyond.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In fact, youth living in countries with bans on corporal punishment were found to be 31% less violent than those living in countries that let parents make discipline decisions for themselves.

The study’s data came from 88 countries and covered over 400,000 adolescents, and the results of the “largest cross-national analysis of youth violence” were published in the journal BMJ. The results were clear, if a bit unsurprising for those against the practice of spanking.

“Societies that have these bans in place appear to be safer places for kids to grow up in,” reported lead study author Frank Elgar.

30 of the 88 covered countries had bans on spanking and other forms of corporal punishment, while 38 featured partial bans, and 20 had no bans in place whatsoever. For the purposes of the study, corporal punishment was defined as an adult’s use of physical force to “correct or control” a child’s behavior.

Globally, close to 300 million children between the ages of 2 and 4 receive some type of physical discipline from their caregivers on a regular basis, but researchers hope studies like this one can help educate parents about the future impacts of their discipline choices.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

At the end of this extensive and groundbreaking study, Elgar and his team found the following statistics to be true:

“Boys in countries with a full ban showed 69% the rate of fighting found in countries with no ban. In girls, the gap was even larger, with 42% the rate of fighting found in countries with no ban.”

The lowest rates of violence, if you’re curious, were found in Costa Rica, Portugal, Finland, Honduras, Spain, New Zealand, and Sweden, in that order.

Also of note: the wealth of a country didn’t end up factoring into the study’s results, even though researchers initially expected that it might.

“Bans and levels of youth violence had no relationship to the wealth of a country,” said Elgar. “Some very low-income countries happen to be quite peaceful, while some richer nations, such as the US, UK, and Canada, didn’t fare as well.”

There has been at least one other study to link spanking to future violence; that one looked at over 160,000 kids and published its results in the Journal of Family Psychology. It found that the more children are physically disciplined, the more likely it is they will defy their parents, experience increased anti-social behavior, aggression, and deal with mental health problems as adults.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

It’s important to remember this, if nothing else: children look to their parents for cues on what behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable. If we show them that hitting is a way to handle anger, disappointment, or a loss of control, then that’s exactly how they will behave toward others.

As anyone with kids knows, they’re always watching, and kids will mimic us at the least opportune moment imaginable. Every. Single. Time.

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10+ Pixar Movies That Were Way Smarter Than We First Realized

Ever since Pixar stepped on the scene, kids movies have really stepped up their game. Not only are they putting in jokes and references to keep the parents entertained, they’re going above and beyond – even if you’re expecting the cleverness.

These 12 examples will have you re-analyzing every scene you ever watched while trying to make sure your kid didn’t dump the popcorn all over the floor.

#12. Toy Story 2 

Image Credit: Pixar

In the opening credits, one of the constellations is the Pixar lamp logo.

#11. Monsters, Inc.

Image Credit: Pixar

There are different sized cups in the break room to accommodate different sized monster hands.

#10. Toy Story

Image Credit: Pixar

One of the toys is a tool box emblazoned with the word “Binford.” Binford Tools is a fictional company from Home Improvement, the sitcom that launched the career of Buzz Lightyear (or, Tim Allen).

#9. Coco

Image Credit: Pixar

There’s a picture of the twins from The Shining on the wall – someone is a King fan!

#8. Finding Dory

Image Credit: Pixar

Did you notice the receding hairline given to the dad angelfish? That’s some imagination.

#7. Toy Story

Image Credit: Pixar

Another fan reference – there’s a nod to the original Alien in the arcade scene.

#6. Toy Story Franchise

Image Credit: Pixar

The writing on the bottom of Andy’s toys shows how his handwriting has improved over the years.

#5. Toy Story 2

Image Credit: Pixar

When Rex appears in the rearview mirror of a car, it brings to mind another famous T-rex giving chase – Jurassic Park, anyone?

#4. Up

Image Credit: Pixar

All of the possessions on Ellie’s side of the bed are round, whereas everything on Carl’s side is square, matching their character design.

#3. Monsters, Inc.

Image Credit: Pixar

Sully’s chair has a hole in it so there’s a spot for his tail to go comfortably.

#2. Wall-E

Image Credit: Pixar

WALL-E’s battery light recharges after he’s hit by lightning.

#1. The Incredibles

Image Credit: Pixar

The phone number on Mirage’s business cards spells out “SPRHRO” if you use the keypad.

Crazy, right? I can’t wait to re-watch!

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Gamers Reveal The 12+ Games They Want Remastered

Gaming has finally reached a point where there are older games completely deserving of a remaster. Perhaps the technology wasn’t quite there at the time it was released, or maybe the only console you can play it on has been out of production for years. No matter the reason, gamers are looking for any excuse to visit the best games from their youth. Below are 15 that these serious gamers wish would come back after a revamp.

#15. Just a graphic update.

“Battle for Middle Earth games. Both. Don’t change everything just a Graphic update. Sad thing this will never happen, those games are no longer supported and you can only play a pirate version of them. I would love to see them suported in a gaming platform like Steam, Origin or whatever…”

#14. All it really needs.

“The original Star Wars Battlefront 2. All it REALLY needs is better ai behavior and scripting.”

#13. The franchise roots.

“I’d love to play the original Deus Ex in the engine of Mankind Divided.

Human Revolution is such an excellent game and it’s always made me want to experience the franchise’ roots.”

#12. Two picks.

“1st pick: Legends of Dragoon

2nd pick: Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits.”

#11. A bit clunky.

“MediEvil

This hack n’ slash epic had an anarchic sense of humor and was billed as the spiritual sequel to Ghosts n’ Goblins with a Tim Burton-esque aesthetic to it. You play the skeletal Dan Fortesque, a failed hero of an ancient kingdom, who is brought back to life by powerful sorcery and is now out to rightfully become a hero. It was beautiful and fun but the camera angles were a mess and controls were sometimes a bit clunky.”

#10. Please. 

“Burnout 3 takedown.

Ffs gimme, and on pc too this time please.”

#9. Imagine those sprites.

“Super Mario RPG

Imagine those sprites at high resolution.”

#8. A whole other level of experience.

“Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Seriously, it’s a whole other level of experience. I know nostalgia plays a huge part and all that, but I think a remaster with just a few quality of life adjustments would give this game the chance to shine. I wish a remake would be announced someday, but I really don’t know what’s up with the rights and all that.”

#7. In VR.

“Black & white. In VR. Let me use my actual hand to pick up people (and throw them around) and cast spells by tracing shapes.

The dream.”

#6. Perfect the way it is.

“Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Hand-drawn HD sprites and backgrounds. 4k/widescreen support. Weapon/equipment/enemy collection and gallery. Restored content from Sega Saturn version.

Soundtrack to remain untouched, though. It is perfect the way it is.”

#5. I was so sad.

“Kotor 1&2

https://kotaku.com/star-wars-kotor-fan-remake-shutting-down-after-cease-a-1829720602

I was so sad.”

#4. Best Star Wars game ever made.

“Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

Best Star Wars game ever made.”

#3. A proper Thief game.

“Thief 1 & 2. I’d play the hell out of those, and no one seems to be able to do a proper Thief game now.”

#2. Compared to today.

“Timesplitters: Futures perfect. The controls are just bad compared to today. Like that is all they need to fix.”

#1. Overhauled completely.

“I’d like a Goldeneye remake, not remaster as the controls and mechanics need overhauled completely.”

Which would you add to the list?

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Henry VIII Owned These 5+ Bizarre Objects

It doesn’t take a history degree to know that King Henry VIII of England was a few apples short of a full cart. In addition to imprisoning and sentencing to death several of his wives, his brain was literally being eaten away by syphilis, so perhaps it’s not all that surprising that he had a collection of peculiar things.

The 6 objects below are only some of the most bizarre pieces, so buckle up.

#6. An extra large codpiece

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Henry VIII popularized the Tudor fashion of wearing exaggerated codpieces, which were supposed to be symbols of a man’s virility and masculinity. Of course, the king had the biggest one of all — one roomy enough to be used as a pocket or to conceal a weapon, jewels, or other valuables (besides the obvious).

#5. A horned helmet

Photo Credit: Flickr.

The bespectacled, demon-faced Horned Helmet was a gift to Henry VIII from the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1514. Court jester Will Somers took possession of it after Henry’s death in 1547 and likely earned some pretty awesome laughs because of it.

#4. A pair of football boots

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

In 1526, Henry VII commissioned a pair of leather football boots that would cost around $130 today. 14 years later, he banned football on the grounds that it incited riots. It didn’t stick, obviously, though that thing about the riots remains true.

#3. A “scavenger’s daughter”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

This brutal instrument of torture was invented during Henry VIII’s reign and crushed its victims until they bled from the face. It’s basically the opposite idea of the more popular rack.

#2. A set of purple velvet bagpipes

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Henry VIII was actually a very talented musician — he played the organ, lute, flute and the virginal — an early form of harpsichord. A 1547 inventory lists among his instruments 20 recorders, 19 viols, 2 clavichords and 4 sets of bagpipes, which included the purple velvet set with ivory pipework.

#1. A marmoset

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Though not particularly concerned with the happiness of his many animals, Henry VIII nevertheless had a fondness for collecting them. He owned ferrets, hawks, falcons, canaries, nightingales and numerous dogs, along with more exotic pets like the marmoset he received as a gift in the 1530s.

 

Just a few tidbits to pull out at your next dinner party!

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These 12+ Facts About the Halloween Movie Franchise are Terrifyingly Informative

The new Halloween movie is getting rave reviews, which is impressive considering the franchise’s long history of corny sequels diminishing box office returns.

But there’s one thing you can’t deny: Michael Myers is one of the scariest, most infamous movie villains of all time. In honor of 40 years of terror, here are 15 frightful facts about one of the most iconic movie franchises out there haunting your dreams.

1. Success!

The original Halloween film, released in 1978, is one of the most successful independent films of all time. The budget was a mere $300,000, and it raked in $47 million at the box office.

2. The famous mask

Horror buffs know this, but non-weirdos might not. Michael Myers’ mask is actually a William Shatner/Captain Kirk mask. The props department bought the cheapest mask they could find, spray painted it white, stretched out the eyes, and messed up the hair. The result? A terrifying, iconic image.

3. A different title

Halloween was originally called The Babysitter Murders, but the small budget made Carpenter and his team decide to set the film in one day rather than over the course of several days.

4. Cameras

Director John Carpenter spent nearly half of his $300,000 budget on Panavision cameras so the original Halloween could be shot in widescreen. Carpenter and his crew had to get extremely creative to complete the rest of the film.

5. Fear meter

1978’s Halloween was shot out of order, so the actors often weren’t sure how scared they were supposed to be in a given scene. John Carpenter created a “fear meter” that showed Jamie Lee Curtis how frightened she was supposed to be during specific scenes.

6. Don’t bother with the sequels

The newest Halloween was written by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley as a direct sequel to the original film, not taking into account any of the films that followed the original 1978 classic.

7. Scream queens

All the girls in 1978 film were supposed to be teenagers, but only Jamie Lee Curtis was under 20 years old at the time. Curtis was 19, and her role as Laurie Strode cemented her role as a scream queen.

8. The mask: Take Two

The mask in Halloween II, released in 1981, is the same one from the original film. It looks different in the sequel for several reasons. The first is that the paint was peeling off because actor Nick Castle always put the mask in his pocket between takes during the original film. It looked yellow in Part II because producer Debra Hill kept the mask in her house between films and she was a smoker. Also,  a different actor played Michael Myers in Part II – Dick Warlock (what a name) took over the role from Nick Castle, and the two men had different shaped faces.

9. The morning after

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Halloween II (1981) is the only film in the series not set on the actual day of Halloween. In that film, the chaos takes place the day after, on November 1.

10. Still creeped out

When Jamie Lee Curtis appeared in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later in 1998, she admitted that seeing Michael Myers on set still scared her.

11. Not a moneymaker

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) is the lowest-grossing movie of the series.

12. Future star

Photo Credit: Dimension Films

Paul Rudd’s first film role was in 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. It wasn’t too much later that he became a star after appearing in Clueless.

13. Bangin’ it out

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) was written in only 11 hours. Writer Alan B. McElroy knew a writer’s strike was looming and he was determined to get the film written before the strike started.

14. That fall look

Surprisingly, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was the only film in the series filmed entirely in the fall. Movie magic!

15. No more John

John Carpenter wrote a treatment for Halloween 4, but the producers were looking for a standard, by-the-book slasher film, and they weren’t interested in Carpenter’s take on the story. Because his script was thrown out, Carpenter decided he didn’t want anything to do with Part 4, which made it the first Halloween movie he wasn’t involved with.

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The “Half-House of Toronto” Still Stands Strong After All These Years

A string of Victorian row houses went up on St. Patrick Street in the center of Toronto between the years 1890 and 1893. Each one was an identical, connected home and they were numbered 52 1/2, 54, 54 1/2, 56, 58, and 60.

Today, just 1 remains – 54 1/2 St. Patrick Street – and it turns out it was aptly numbered, since it’s standing as “half” a house.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

In the 5 decades between when the houses were built and the 1930s, developers were keen on obtaining the buildings, and used aggressive tactics – one resident told the local newspaper he had received upward of 300 requests in a year.

One by one people gave in and the houses were demolished to make room for “progress,” until only the Valkos family at 54 1/2 remained. And they weren’t going anywhere.

That fact didn’t stop the developers who had bought the rest of the row – they tore down all of the surrounding (and connected) properties until only 54 1/2 remained standing, looking as if a whole house had been cut in two.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

The actual process of disconnecting the homes from 54 1/2 was a dangerous undertaking – load-bearing walls connected bedrooms, and a single miscalculation could have caused the Half House to tumble along with the rest. Though it remained standing, the owner at the time of the demolition (Emily Brown, the Valkoses daughter and her husband) complained to city officials about seeping rain water, insulation, and the unfinished appearance of the outside of their home.

Emily moved into a nursing home in 2012, selling the property to Albert Zikovitz, who worked in an adjacent office building, before leaving her childhood home.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

Today, the building is privately owned and vacant, a remnant from a different time. Valued at over $650,000, the Half House of Toronto has been standing next to a housing project since 1975, and it doesn’t seem as if that will be changing anytime soon – if ever.

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These 7 Facts About a Variety of Topics are Absolutely Fascinating

Bob Ross, a house modeled after a famous TV show, and the origin of the word “dude.” These are just a few things you’ll learn in this wonderful fact set.

Read on and fill up that brain of yours with some sweet facts!

1. Duuuuuude…

Photo Credit: did you know?

2. I’d live here

Photo Credit: did you know?

3. Age gaps

Photo Credit: did you know?

4. Sacrifice

Photo Credit: did you know?

5. Bob was the best

Photo Credit: did you know?

6. Spy cats

Photo Credit: did you know?

7. Brilliant

Photo Credit: did you know?

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6+ Frightening Urban Legends That Ended Up Being True

Urban legends are the spooky stories we pass down from generation to generation. You may not know where they started, but you’ve probably known at least one for as long as you can remember They’re a fun way to terrify your younger siblings at just the right moment…especially since we know they’re not true.

It turns out, though, that most stories come from something, not nothing – and these 7 urban legends have roots in reality.

#7. The Body Under The Bed

Image Credit: Pixabay

If you’ve gone on vacation (or talked about going on vacation as a child) someone has surely told you to make sure to check under the bed – because if there’s a nasty smell in your room, it’s probably the dead person stashed there. Most of us have stayed in many hotel rooms and never encountered any such thing, so it must be made up, right?

Well…at least a dozen newspaper stories over the years have detailed incidences of this happening to unsuspecting guests, and at least one couple spent the night sleeping over a dead person. In 2010, a Memphis man named Sony Millbrook was discovered dead under a hotel room bed after not one, but four occupants had rented and slept in the room.

So…you know. Maybe check.

#6. Candyman

The 1992 film Candyman was based on a short story by Clive Barker and details the horrific tale of revenge exacted by a black artist who was murdered in the late 19th century for having an affair with a white woman.

You might not really be able to summon him by saying his name into a mirror, but the story is rooted-ish in fact. The Chicago Reader published an account in 1987 of a woman named Ruth McCoy, who made a 911 call to report that she was being attacked in her apartment. She was found dead from gunshot wounds and it was found that the intruders had accessed her unit by breaking through the connecting wall and climbing through her medicine cabinet.

It was a frequent mode of entry for ne’r do wells at the time, so keep that in mind the next time you think you’re brave enough to stare your mirror down in the night.

#5. Bunny Man

Image Credit: Pixabay

This story found its footing in 1970s Virginia, and told the tale of an escaped mental patient who enjoyed hanging bunnies from under a bridge until one day, he graduated to hanging teens in the same manner and never looked back. Local kids wouldn’t dare be caught anywhere near “Bunny Man Bridge” on Halloween night.

The legend, it turns out, probably comes from a real madman who roamed the area around the same time. In late 1970, a couple reported seeing a man in a white suit and bunny ears who yelled at them incoherently before chucking a hatchet at their windshield.

There’s no proof he ever dismembered anything, bunny or teen, but there’s no proof that he didn’t, either…

#4. Polybius

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If you’re into vintage video games (or have been alive long enough to have played “vintage” games during their first run), then you’ve probably heard of Polybius – an arcade game that was supposed to have had caused strange effects in its players: disorientation, amnesia, addiction, and even suicide. The cabinet was painted entirely black, and it was also rumored that men in suits would come and collect information from the machine before disappearing.

It might sound like the plot of the next season of Stranger Things, but some of it is rooted in fact. Brian Dunning, who hosts the Skeptoid podcast, found that a 12-year-old boy named Brian Mauro  became sick during a 28-hour marathon contest in 1981 (I mean…28 hours of any game would do that to me, but okay), and, a few days later, Portland-area arcades were raided by federal agents who seized cabinets that were allegedly being used for gambling. Those stories, along with perhaps a few others, come together to create the legend.

#3. Charlie No Face (The Green Man)

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In Pennsylvania, stories spread of a man with no face roaming the streets. In reality, Ray Robinson, born in 1910, had a disfigured face due to an electrical accident at the age of 8. Because people didn’t know how to handle his appearance, he often strolled alone after dark – and often along Route 351 in Beaver County, PA, where the tales originated.

#2. Cropsey

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Staten Island is home to a  child-dismembering boogeyman in its woods – but Cropsey never really existed, right?

Wrong. In 1987, a man named Andre Rand was convicted of child abduction and may have been connected with a whole rash of disappearances in the 70s.

#1. The Leaping Lawyer

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If you live in Toronto, at some point you’ve heard the tale of a lawyer who enjoyed running into his office windows to demonstrate their strength, a practice that one day ended in his death when the window didn’t bear up.

It’s actually totally true – his name was Garry Hoy, and he was a senior partner in a Toronto law firm. In 1993, he crashed through the window of his 24th floor office and fell to his death.

 

Sleep with the light on tonight if you want – I won’t judge you!

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Does Microwaving Food Really Cause It to Lose Nutrients?

Praise be the microwave. When things are busy (or if you’re just lazy like me) the microwave is a gift from God. I mean, there are days when the couple of minutes it takes to heat something in the microwave seems like too long to wait – and forget about preheating the oven!

That said, if we’re taking the time to try to eat something healthy, like a vegetable, it would be a shame to find out that popping it in the microwave (in those handy little steamer bags!) would mean we’re missing out on the nutrients we’re trying to get int0 our bodies.

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So what’s the truth? Does microwaving our broccoli make it worthless?

Not necessarily, according to Professor Scott A. Rankin, chair of the Department of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He tells CNN that while any kind of cooking results in some nutrient loss, “typical microwave heating results in very minimal loss of valuable nutrients in food.”

There are a few factors to consider when trying to measure nutrient loss during cooking, like how long the food is being cooked, the temperature you’re using, and the amount of liquid used during the process. In general, longer cooking times, higher temperatures, and higher volumes of water result in more nutrient loss during cooking.

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Since microwave cooking generally requires no or little liquid compared to, say, boiling vegetables in water, that works in the technology’s favor. Microwaves also cook with more uniform temperatures, which means all of your food has a better chance of being cooked through without some of the pieces getting to a temperature high enough to leech nutrients. Add that to the relatively short cook times microwaves can achieve, and they actually might do a better job than most other methods in retaining the good stuff.

“The advantage of microwaving is that the come-up time is quick, and so it takes less time to reach a target temperature of food,” Rankin explains.

That said, microwaving is not the absolute best way to cook vegetables if your goal is to retain every last good-for-you nutrient packed inside – for that, you’ll want to steam them.

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Of course, you can use your microwave to steam your veggies, if you’ve got the right equipment.

“You can use a microwave steaming tray with water in the bottom, or simply add your vegetables and a small amount of water to a microwave-safe bowl (not plastic!) and cover with a microwave-safe lid or plastic wrap, leaving one corner open to allow air to escape,” registered dietician Whitney Linsenmeyer tells CNN.

Basically, even if microwaves aren’t the best at helping foods retain moisture, they are decent at helping them retain nutrients while cooking. Just remember to keep your cook times short, and only use as much water as you need.

The bottom line, as Linsenmeyer reiterates, is that you make an effort to get nutritious food into your body however you can.

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“We’re talking about fruits and vegetables – eat them any way you like them! Whether it’s microwaved, steamed, roasted, or raw … more is better.”

I’ll try to remember that the next time I’m staring down a bowl of peas.

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