According to the late Johnny Carson, the world we live in is full of strange, wild things. Amidst our busy schedules and daily routines, it is easy to forget that very strange things are happening in our Universe. This list is a description of only a tiny fraction of the interesting secrets that we have become aware of through studying our planet.

Below are ten strange scientific facts that will change your view of the world.

10. We eat insects every day

While in some cultures people eat insects regularly, as a delicacy or as a important source dietary protein, eating bugs is not the norm in North America...or is it? The Food and Drug Administration allows certain proportions of insect parts common to nearly every food group. For example, about 60 parts of insects per 100 grams of chocolate or up to 30 fly eggs per 100 grams of pizza sauce. Basically, you eat insects every day. In fact, the average person eats up to 430 bugs a year without even realizing it, so that's about 1.2 bugs a day! Many of these insects can end up in food products because they were originally found in raw materials, such as vegetable products. If you've ever caught a grasshopper on the street, think about how many grasshoppers there can be in a huge field of wheat! Now think of all the other insects you missed! Doesn't exist effective way remove all insect parts from food, but if you didn't read this, you wouldn't even notice them.

9. Our skin cells are everywhere


The human body is incredibly fascinating. You create, regenerate, age and die all day, every day. Even your skin is constantly performing its own function while you go about your business. The skin is completely regenerated within a month, which means that the inner layer of skin moves to replace the outer layer and then falls off like leaves from an autumn tree. So what happens to all the flakes of old skin cells? Just run your finger over any surface in your home that you haven't dusted off in a while and you'll find out. Skin cells make up about half of the dust in your home. Approximately a billion tons of dust, made up of human skin flakes, floats around the Earth's atmosphere. Literally speaking, old you are a dusty film on your shelves, refrigerator and under your bed. This in turn attracts tiny dust mites that live in the crevices of your home and eat every flake of your old skin! Like pets that you just haven't given a name yet! And they've got plenty of flakes of your skin to chew on, since the average person sheds about 680 grams of old skin per year.

8. Most life on Earth has not yet been discovered


The ocean is a source of endless mysteries and people have spent countless hours and dollars trying to discover and understand all of the ocean's mysteries. Considering we've explored 99 percent of this planet's habitable space but haven't yet explored a full 90 percent of the ocean, is it any wonder why we find it so fascinating? At Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the ocean about halfway between Japan and Papua New Guinea, more than 23 Empire State Buildings can be stacked vertically on top of each other. Imagine a similar ride in an elevator! The most interesting thing is that scientists have discovered that life thrives even at such incredible depths! The ocean currently covers 71 percent of the globe's surface, but this percentage is growing steadily. It is believed that more than 50 percent, perhaps even as much as 80 percent, of Earth's life lives in the salty depths and we only know about a fraction of this life. There are still many new species to discover and strange facts that will amaze everyone!

7. The largest penis on Earth belongs to...

One of the most incredible life forms in the ocean is the blue whale, the great Leviathan of the abyss! Not only is it the largest animal currently in existence, the blue whale is also the largest animal to ever exist, including dinosaurs. Blue whales carry their young for 10-12 months before giving birth, similar to mammals. This means that newborn blue whales drink 400 liters of milk per day for almost seven months. Adults can eat approximately four tons of krill per day. The blue whale's heart is comparable in size to a Mini-Cooper, and its penis is larger than that of any other creature on the planet and averages 2.7 meters in length. When copulating, a male blue whale ejects almost 20 liters of sperm at a time. If you want to see this huge organ with your own eyes, then know that there is a penis museum in Iceland, which has 280 exhibits. This collection contains only the dried end of a giant blue whale phallus, 170 centimeters long.

6. This Living Fossil Saves Lives


Another of the most fascinating creatures in the ocean is the humble horseshoe crab. It is considered a "living fossil" because it has undergone virtually no genetic change compared to horseshoe crabs present in the fossil record going back to 450 million years ago (which was approximately 200 million years before the dinosaurs).

They are not actually crabs, but are more closely related to spiders and scorpions. People have discovered that horseshoe crabs are very beneficial as an organism. Their nitrogen-rich bodies make excellent fertilizers, and harvesting horseshoe crabs for this purpose was once a thriving industry on the East Coast. Their shells are made of a substance known as chitin, which when applied to wounds allows for better healing of skin wounds and improves healing. Many medical instruments such as needles and sewing threads, are coated with chitin for this purpose. Their blood is blue in color due to the use of copper to carry oxygen, as opposed to iron, which causes the red color of blood in humans.

However, the most interesting thing about horseshoe crabs is the presence of amoebocytes in their blood. Amebocytes function a little like our own white blood cells. Amebocytes react in the presence of gram-negative bacteria and create a viscous gel that surrounds and inactivates the bacteria. Scientists are collecting the blood of horseshoe crabs to isolate this useful element. In addition, all intravenous or injectable medications and prosthetic devices are tested with amoebocytes contained in horseshoe crab blood as required by the Food and Drug Administration. The need for amoebocytes has led to the overharvesting of horseshoe crabs on the East Coast of the United States.

5. Alcohol has many health benefits.


People like to have a drink or two. There is not a single place in the world where people have not invented some form of alcohol. In the US alone, alcohol sales are estimated to bring in around $200 billion in revenue each year. Compare that figure to the roughly $14 billion the porn industry generates annually, or the $28 billion a year that McDonald's makes annually. People love their frothy drinks.

Consider the fuss regarding alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. Moonshiners and bandits made insane amounts of money producing and distributing alcoholic beverages, even if it was illegal. Alcohol production simply cannot be stopped and, as it turns out, there is no point in even trying. Researchers have found that one 350-milliliter bottle of beer contains amounts of antioxidants that promote heart health (through blood thinning). However, if you drink three or more 350ml bottles of beer a day, the exact opposite happens. High blood alcohol levels cause the formation of free radicals, which oxidize cells and contribute to premature aging.

Vodka is useful for preventing Alzheimer's disease. It is an effective home remedy for fevers and cold sores. Plus, it's actually an amazing antiseptic. Mixtures of rum and wine, flavored with lime juice, were given to British soldiers to prevent scurvy while they were at sea. A primitive brew similar to beer was given to the slaves who built the Great Pyramids. It functioned as a mild sedative, was a good source of carbohydrates for energy, and was purer than Nile water. Did you know that hops are a member of the hemp family and are closely related to marijuana? Do you think it's a coincidence?

4. Marijuana is healthier than we think


Speaking of marijuana...let's talk about one of the world's favorite herbs! Whether you use it or not, it's hard to deny the benefits of this plant. First, the part that people smoke is the bud, which is the flowering part of the female plant. The leaves can also be smoked, but they are less potent as they contain only a small fraction of the volume of THC compared to the bud. Tetrahydrocannabinol is a chemical that has mind-altering effects when smoked.

In terms of global consumption, marijuana is second only to alcohol. Scientific research have shown time and time again that marijuana use is far less harmful to the body than alcohol or tobacco. In fact, there is a compound derived from marijuana that freezes the growth and stops the spread of cancer cells. Additionally, marijuana helps cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy by stimulating their appetite (for snacks). Hemp, which is derived from a species of marijuana plant with a lower concentration of THC, has an incredibly diverse range of industrial uses, including textiles, paper, biodegradable plastics, biofuels, and construction uses. However, hemp production is strictly regulated. Besides, if the apocalypse happens, the best thing you can have with you is a pocket of marijuana seeds: they contain all the essential amino acids and are one of the only things that can help a person survive for a long period of time without other supplemental nutrition .

3. Being in love is akin to obsessive-compulsive disorder.


Another of the favorite things in the world is love. Anything that makes us feel “good”, such as alcohol, marijuana and love, has become one of humanity’s obsessions. So what else don't you know about love? Did you know that, neurologically, the feeling of falling in love is very similar to the sensations experienced when using cocaine? Did you know that people who are in love experience prolonged periods of low serotonin levels, which are similar to the levels found in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which could explain why people behave so erratically when they get into relationships. Did you know that people looking for long-term relationships are most likely looking for someone with... attractive face, and not with an attractive body? People who are looking for an attractive body are more looking for a sexual date rather than something long lasting. Did you know that people who are on roughly the same “level” of attractiveness are more likely to have a long-term relationship than a couple in which one partner is either extremely attractive or extremely unattractive? Therefore, if you want a serious relationship, then you should look for a person who matches your attractiveness.

Did you know that falling in love gives you the same experience as if you were walking into oncoming traffic? This is not true, but sometimes this is how love feels.

2. Breakups can be dangerous.


In fact, a breakup is one of the most painful things a person can experience psychosomatically. Research has shown that emotional experience Breakups can cause physical symptoms, including heart pain, known as “broken heart syndrome.” Research has also shown that the physical and emotional pain of a breakup can be alleviated somewhat by looking at a photo of the person you broke up with. On the other hand, magnetic resonance imaging scans of people whose partners broke up show activity in the part of the brain that experiences and manages anger rather than sadness. In fact, according to one study, 40-70 percent of murdered women were killed by their spouses or partners because losing love makes you crazier than finding it.

1. The Earth Could Be Repopulated With Half a Cup of Sperm


Below are a few interesting things you might not know about your "other" favorite activity... intercourse. Even though it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, men produce about 300 million sperm per teaspoon of semen, so in theory, it would be possible to repopulate the Earth to its current level with half a cup (24 teaspoons) of sperm. Depending on which source of information you trust, semen has 5 to 20 calories per teaspoon and about the same protein content as egg white (in case you were ever wondering). Sperm can travel at a speed of approximately 18 centimeters per hour and can remain alive in the female reproductive system for up to 9 days. Most women only lay one egg per month and, by the way, the egg is actually the only individual human cell that is visible to the naked eye. At one time, British spies used semen as an almost undetectable invisible ink, but abandoned the practice due to the smell that came from old documents... and now you know it, even if you didn't want it...

Ecology

Space is full of bizarre and even scary phenomena, from stars that suck the life out of their own kind to giant black holes that are billions of times larger and more massive than our Sun. Below are the scariest things in outer space.

The planet is a ghost

Many astronomers said that the huge planet Fomalhaut B had sunk into oblivion, but apparently it is alive again.

Back in 2008, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope announced the discovery of a huge planet orbiting the very bright star Fomalhaut, located just 25 light-years from Earth. Other researchers later questioned this discovery, saying that the scientists had actually discovered the giant dust cloud being imaged.

However, according to the latest data obtained from Hubble, the planet is being discovered again and again. Other experts are carefully studying the system surrounding the star, so the zombie planet may be buried more than once before a final verdict is made on this issue.

Zombie stars

Some stars literally come back to life in brutal and dramatic ways. Astronomers classify these zombie stars as Type Ia supernovae, which produce huge and powerful explosions that send the stars' "innards" out into the universe.

Type Ia supernovae explode from binary systems that consist of at least one white dwarf—a tiny, superdense star that has stopped undergoing nuclear fusion. White dwarfs are "dead", but in this form they cannot remain in the binary system.

They can return to life, albeit briefly, in a giant supernova explosion, sucking the life out of their companion star or by merging with it.

Stars are vampires

Just like the vampires from fiction, some stars manage to stay young by sucking the life force out of hapless victims. These vampire stars are known as "blue stragglers," and they "look" much younger than the neighbors with whom they were formed.

When they explode, the temperature is much higher and the color is “much bluer.” Scientists believe this is the case because they are sucking huge amounts of hydrogen from nearby stars.

Giant black holes

Black holes may seem like the stuff of science fiction - they are extremely dense, and their gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape if it gets close enough to them.

But these are very real objects that are quite common throughout the Universe. In fact, astronomers believe that supermassive black holes are at the center of most, if not all galaxies, including our own. Milky Way. Supermassive black holes are mind-boggling in size. Scientists recently discovered two black holes, each with the mass of 10 billion of our Suns.

Incomprehensible cosmic blackness

If you are afraid of the dark, then being in deep space is definitely not for you. It is a place of “utter blackness,” far removed from the comforting lights of home. Outer space is black, according to scientists, because it is empty.

Despite trillions of stars scattered throughout space, many molecules are at great distances from each other to interact and scatter.

Spiders and witch's brooms

The skies are populated with witches, glowing skulls and with all-seeing eyes, in fact, you can imagine any object. We see all of these forms in a diffuse collection of glowing gas and dust called nebulae that are scattered throughout the Universe.

The visual images that appear before us are examples of a special phenomenon in which the human brain recognizes the shapes of random images.

Killer asteroids

The phenomena listed in the previous paragraph may be creepy or take an abstract form, but they do not pose a threat to humanity. The same cannot be said about large asteroids that fly close to Earth.

Experts say that an asteroid 1 kilometer wide has the power to destroy our planet upon impact. And even an asteroid as small as 40 meters in size can cause serious harm if it hits a populated area.

The influence of an asteroid is one of the factors that affects life on Earth. It is likely that 65 million years ago it was an asteroid 10 kilometers in size that destroyed the dinosaurs. Fortunately for us, scientists are scanning celestial rocks, and there are ways to redirect dangerous space rocks away from Earth, if, of course, the danger is detected in time.

Active sun

The sun gives us life, but our star is not always so good. It experiences serious storms from time to time, which can have a potentially destructive effect on radio communications, satellite navigation and power grids.

IN lately Such solar flares are observed especially often because the sun has entered its particularly active phase of the 11-year cycle. Researchers expect solar activity to peak in 2013.

Everyone will probably agree that over the years our way of life has changed dramatically. Technological breakthroughs and our knowledge about human mind and body have led to the fact that we have stepped far forward in our development.

Our ancient ancestors could hardly have imagined that humanity would be able to reach such unprecedented heights. We have traveled to the Moon, launched satellites into space, sent rovers to distant planets and created the International Space Station. The medical community has achieved what was previously considered impossible (eg, successful treatment of many diseases, complex organ transplants that save lives, development of drugs that treat diseases), resulting in significant improvements in quality of life.

However, the truth is that today we also find it difficult to believe in the reality of things that our ancestors once considered normal. In this article we will look at something that was common in the past, but today seems unimaginable.

1. Legal drug use

It was claimed that during the American Civil War, 400 thousand soldiers were addicted to opiates. As strange as it may seem today, it was previously believed that addiction would not occur if you injected drugs directly into a vein, since this would prevent them from reaching your stomach. Since early times, most "mood-altering" drugs have been available without a doctor's prescription. Back then, women were considered the “weaker sex,” so they were prescribed these drugs in huge quantities to treat a wide variety of “illnesses.” Is it any wonder that there were three times more women addicted to these drugs than men?

Narcotics were prescribed to women to treat bodily “disorders” such as sexual exhaustion, ticklish anxiety, cracked nipples, boredom, melancholy, hysteria and toxicosis during pregnancy. Moreover, women were injected with cocaine through a vein to make them more “alive and sociable.” They also took part in “oxygen parties,” during which they inhaled nitrous oxide.

2. Barber-surgeon


Need a shave or haircut? This refers to the amputation of that pesky toe that is interfering with your life. No problem, the local barber-surgeon will take care of him. You can be sure that you are in the right place if you see a bowl of fresh blood on the windowsill and a white cape stained with red stains on the floor.

Yes, the first medical procedures were terrible. Bloodletting was the most popular service offered by barber-surgeons. They opened veins to drain the “bad” blood, or used leeches for this purpose. Unfortunately, the "surgeons" didn't always know when to stop, so patients sometimes lost too much blood. Trepanation was also particularly popular. This procedure involved making a hole in the head in order to get rid of ailments such as headaches, boils, dementia, mental illness and so on. Trepanation was also intended to rid the body of evil spirits. The worst thing is that during these procedures the patients were conscious, since at that time anesthetics had not yet been invented.

Last but not least, amputations performed in barber shops. Need I say anything more? At an early stage, the causes of the occurrence and spread of diseases were unknown, so demons, stars, witches and even bad odors were often blamed.

3. The death penalty as entertainment


Public executions in the Middle Ages were carried out in front of a large number of people in order to demonstrate the severity of punishment for those who dared to break the law. It was rumored that execution days were often declared official holidays to attract more spectators, and the atmosphere was generally charged with excitement.

Hanging was the most popular method of execution; In the center of most cities and villages there were always gallows ready. After the criminal was executed, the body was usually immediately carried away, but in some cases it was left hanging in a noose until it turned to dust.

Beheading was another popular form of capital punishment, especially for members of the aristocracy. If everything was fine, then the executioner would decapitate the victim on the first try. If his ax or sword was dull, and he acted carelessly, then he needed several blows to achieve the desired goal. If you believe the rumors, the executioner once had to deal ten blows before he could send the countess to the next world. As is known, severed heads were sometimes impaled on stakes and put on public display so that other people would remember that law and order were paramount.

4. Grave robbing in the name of science


Organizing a lavish funeral ceremony to honor the lives of deceased loved ones is a long-standing tradition. We mourn, share memories, and then let their souls rest in peace. Unfortunately, during the Renaissance, many of the dead did not find peace after death.

As science and medicine have advanced, it has been found that knowledge of human anatomy can be very useful. Because of the thirst to understand how it works and functions human body, there soon began to be a shortage of corpses for dissection. Initially, the main source of dead bodies were executed criminals. When demand outstripped supply, body snatchers began to appear.

Under the cover of darkness, they dug up large numbers of recently buried bodies. These bodies were subsequently sold to anatomists, who performed autopsies on them while they were relatively fresh. When body snatchers could no longer keep up with demand, medical students sometimes retrieved dead bodies themselves. Some were even caught and convicted for it. In the most desperate times, corpses were stolen during funeral processions. By the way, Leonardo da Vinci once performed an autopsy huge amount cadavers, thanks to which he made a number of important discoveries and was able to create quite detailed drawings that significantly contributed to the education of medical students.

5. Challenge to a duel


If the person at whom the glove was thrown with the words “I challenge you to a duel” picked it up, it means he accepted the challenge. After that, all that was left was to set a time/place and choose a weapon. Initially, preference was given to swords, and then to swords and revolvers.

For several centuries, the duel remained a popular way for sophisticated gentlemen to defend their honor and reputation. The insults that led to duels were often trivial and bizarre (for example, a person might be challenged to a duel simply because he didn't like someone's clothing). Acted strict rules, designed to prevent the death of participants, but they did not always work.

6. Slow and dangerous travel


In the Middle Ages, getting from point A to point B was an incredibly difficult task. It is difficult to imagine what our ancestors encountered during their journey. Modern society There are many options available, but in those days the choice was extremely limited. One of the ways to get anywhere was to travel on foot. In a day, a person could cover a distance of 24-40 kilometers on his feet. Another option was to travel on horseback. In this case, it was possible to travel a distance of 32-48 kilometers in a day. If a person sailed on a boat or ship, he could cover a distance of 120-200 kilometers in a day.

The length of the route was not the only problem. If there was no hotel or safe place nearby to shelter for the night, then travelers had to sleep under open air. Among other problems that those who went long haul, there were accidents or illnesses, depletion or spoilage of food and drinks, robberies, etc. Sailing on a ship was also no less dangerous. Many of the wooden ships could not withstand strong storms.

7. Cruel punishment for adultery


The Scarlet Letter, a novel by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the story of a Puritan woman whose husband goes missing. She eventually became pregnant and was thrown into prison, where she soon gave birth to a child. After her release, she was forced to wear the scarlet letter “A” (adulteress) on her clothes for the rest of her life. She also had to avoid people.

I would like to think that in reality this did not happen. However, unfortunately, there is no escape from the truth. One Puritan woman who cheated on her husband was sentenced to public beating. After prolonged bullying and ridicule, she was taken to the city where the adultery occurred. There she was beaten again by an angry crowd. Moreover, she was forced to wear the letters “AD” (adulteress) on her clothes so that everyone would know that she had cheated on her husband. Just like in The Scarlet Letter. It is also known that unfaithful women were carried around the city in a cart and were whipped at the same time. There have been cases where adulteresses were executed for their “crime.” Note that only women were subjected to all these punishments. When a man committed adultery, he was charged with the lesser crime of fornication. And all because women were considered seductresses.

8. In the name of beauty


What is considered beautiful and fashionable is constantly changing. In the mid-1400s, ladies of high society were considered beautiful if they had a high forehead and pale skin. To keep up with fashion, they plucked their hair along the growth line to make their foreheads appear larger. If plucking did not give the desired results, they resorted to using a rough stone or treating the hair with chemicals. There was also a tendency to completely pull out eyelashes and pluck eyebrows.

Tanned skin was considered a sign of the poor, so the rich did everything they could to achieve a pale complexion. One such product was cosmetics made from mercury, pearls, silver or eggshells. Some people used white flour, chalk, or powdered lead mixed with olive oil. To make such cosmetics last longer on the face, apply a thin layer on top of it. egg white.

9. To swim or not – that is the question


During the Middle Ages, for some strange reason, doctors began to believe that bathing in water would make you more susceptible to disease. Some also thought that opening the pores while bathing would allow for "vital important forces» leave the human body. Of course, people still wanted to be clean and presentable. Especially in high society. Some used basins to wash their hands and faces throughout the day. Others generously doused themselves with perfume, while others wiped their faces and bodies with scented towels and changed their underwear frequently.

10. Deadly birth


The most important responsibility married woman in the Renaissance it was to give birth and raise a child. Even though many mothers died during childbirth and infant mortality rates were also high, women continued to become pregnant again and again throughout their lives. They gave birth to 8-12 children, and some even gave birth to 20 or more.

Midwives who assisted during childbirth were trained only by women of previous generations. They could handle anything from normal births to umbilical cord cases. They could also perform an emergency baptism if there was a possibility that the child would not survive. In addition, midwives removed the dead fetus and performed a caesarean section to save the baby if its mother died during childbirth.

Frozen reflection in the mirror

There is a belief that mirrors can be used as a portal for otherworldly forces wishing to enter our world. This is why it is believed that broken mirror leads to bad luck because evil spirits pass into our world. In addition, people often tell stories about seeing someone else’s reflection or a double in the mirror. So, an unusual event occurred in one Japanese family. In the video, a little girl is playing by the chest of drawers. The video was filmed by one of the family members. For a moment, the girl turns to face her relative, but the reflection in the mirror does not turn with the girl and continues to look at her.

Ghost girl

In this video, a man with a camera walks around his house looking for strange crying. He opens the door to the room, but finds nothing. Then he hears a sound from behind another door. The shot captured a girl standing in the dark and looking straight into the lens. The operator gets scared and abruptly closes the door, at which point the video is interrupted.

Strange sounds across the Earth in 2012

In 2012, there were cases all over the planet where people reported strange noises. Around the same time, videos began to appear on the Internet in which these phenomena were recorded. The first of them was filmed in Canada. A terrible sound, similar to a roar or scream, was recorded on video. The same videos were later posted by users from Finland, Ukraine, Russia and Central America. It is still unclear what it was.

Fallen Angel

In the video, a group of tourists wanders through the forest at night. Suddenly they hear strange sounds. On the way they come across a large number of feathers, and then a person. The cameras focus on the unknown person's face. He turns around and looks straight into the frame. Because of his appearance and the feathers found, the unknown person was nicknamed Fallen Angel. But more pragmatic users believe that it was an ordinary tramp.

Demon hands

The video begins with an audio recording in which the voice of a terrified man can be heard. He tries to turn on the flashlight. A few minutes later, when he succeeds, green hands appear in the frame - they crawl out of the walls and ceiling. They appear all over the room. At one moment the flashlight goes out, and when it lights up again, the man sees in front of him a strange figure consisting of hundreds of arms. The figure rushes towards the camera and lets out a terrifying roar. The man backs away and the video cuts out. It later turned out that the video was created using a computer program. However, before the video was declared fake, it managed to scare millions of users.

Great white shark

Not far from Sydney there is a suburb called Manly - a popular diving spot. On June 11, 2014, a group of friends took turns jumping from a cliff into the water. Terry Tufferson filmed everything. At one point, his friend shouted that there was a shark near him. Terry swam underwater and saw the predator. The footage shows how the shark swam very close to Terry. After the video was released, many doubted the authenticity of the recording. The young man himself did not give any comments.

Meeting on the road

This story took place in Australia. The car's dash cam captured a confrontation with a man who likely intended to steal the car. The man was driving home with his wife around 1 am when at one point a hooded man stood in the road. He stood motionless. After some time, the driver decided to go around the man, but he began to move in the direction of the car and let out a heart-rending scream. The driver and his wife got scared and stepped on the gas. After returning home, the couple contacted the police. The search returned no results.

Scary creature on the way

In this video, the driver is driving along a dirt road. He points the camera at a strange white figure, approaches and sees something terrible. This creature is dressed all in white, with black long hair on the head. Limping, it begins to approach the frightened driver. He began to drive back and scream in horror. Towards the end of the video, the creature turns away from the headlights. But the driver turns the light on him again, and the creature emits strange screams. The man was forced to back out. At this point the video ends.

If you think that there is nothing worse in the world than Dracula’s castle, then you read a lot and travel a little. Island of Dolls, Cemetery of Hanging Coffins, Forest of Suicides - ELLE has selected the TOP 10 most terrible places in the world, a visit to which can not only broaden your horizons, but also deprive you of sleep.

Nazca is the name of a city and desert plateau in southern Peru. The tiny city with a population of 27 thousand people is constantly teeming with tourists. Some want to look at the mysterious drawings left on the dry desert soil, others want to visit the Chowchilla cemetery. Located in the suburbs of Nazca, this necropolis is literally open to visitors. Imagine large pits lined with sticks in which the dead sit. Amazing embalming technology preserved the bodies - at least the bones - in perfect order. Among the inhabitants of Chowchilla there are many who can boast of voluminous hairstyles - despite the fact that the last dead person was buried here 11 centuries ago.

The city on the banks of the river of the same name is located two kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Until April 27, 1986, it was a rapidly developing nuclear city, all of whose residents were somehow related to the nuclear power plant. Immediately after the terrible accident at the station, almost fifty thousand of its population was evacuated and the city turned into a monument. Or rather, to a memorial. It has stood empty for more than thirty years, becoming an eerie open-air museum. Residential buildings, a hospital, kindergartens and schools, playgrounds, a Ferris wheel - everything remains. And not a single soul.

Echo Valley in the Philippines is full of rocks. Coffins hang on them close to each other. Locals are convinced that the higher the body of the deceased is located, the faster he will be in heaven. Forcing them to bury bodies is useless. The tradition of burying the dead in the air has existed for more than two thousand years, but local residents do not tell how and what the coffins are attached to - it is a secret.

There are many islands in the suburbs of Mexico City, the most famous of course being La Isla de las Muñecas, the Island of the Dolls. In the fifties of the last century, a young man named Julian Barrera witnessed the death of a child, a girl, who drowned off this island. Barrera kept her doll for himself, and from that moment on, the spirit of the deceased began to appear to him. To appease the spirit, Julian began hanging old dolls found in trash heaps on the island. And in the end he settled on this island. In 2001, after his death (Barrera, like the same girl, drowned near the island), the business was continued by enthusiasts, his relatives. There are a lot of dolls here and together they look very creepy.

The real name of the mansion located in Transylvania is Bran, but it is known, of course, as the castle of Dracula, Count Vlad the Fourth, who received the nickname Impaler because of his love for impaling his subjects. The castle, built on the edge of an abyss, is a 100% embodiment of the Gothic style: gloomy decoration, howling sounds (the cause of which is the chimney, which begins to hum when strong wind). The main attraction of the castle is Dracula's bedroom with a huge bed; it was here, according to legend, that the owner preferred to drink the blood of his victims. The “house” looks very well maintained, for which thanks to Francis Ford Coppola, who invested in the reconstruction of the castle when he filmed his film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel there.

In the Czech village of Lukova, the Church of St. George (St. George) has stood since the 14th century. It was abandoned in 1968 after a fire started during a funeral service and the roof collapsed. Several years ago, sculptor Yakov Khadrava, preparing to submit his thesis, decided to turn the church into a site for his experiments. And he populated the empty building with human statues, whose heads were covered with veils. The spectacle is fascinating and scary. The teachers, by the way, were also impressed and accepted Yakov’s diploma - in such an original form.

The famous Mount Fuji is not only famous for itself: at its foot lies Aokigahara, a dense forest full of rocky caves. Aokigahara is incredibly quiet and very, very gloomy. Already in ancient times, the forest was considered the “residence” of monsters and ghosts. And it was here that residents brought and left their loved ones whom they could not feed - frail old people and children. Aokigahara's dark reputation attracts people who are inclined to take their own lives there. Over the past 60 years, the bodies of more than five hundred suicides have been found in the forest - in this sense, Aokigahara is second only to the famous Golden Gate Bridge.

It is not surprising that the “Suicide Forest” is filled to capacity with signs urging potential suicides to come to their senses. The Japanese believe that once you enter Aokigahara, you will never be able to leave it. Therefore, only rescuers looking for those who want to commit suicide and brave tourists visit it.

People were buried here for four centuries in a row, until the end of the 18th century. There was little space, a lot of bodies. As a result, more than 100,000 dead people found refuge in a small area. To ensure there was enough space for everyone, the old tombstones were covered with earth and new ones were placed immediately. Thus, 12 layers of graves were accumulated. Over time, some layers, due to the subsidence of the earth, came out into the light of day, running over later ones, and the cemetery began to look like a rush hour crowd on public transport.

Here it is, Southern American Gothic at its finest. The Manchac Swamp is located near New Orleans and is called nothing less than the swamp of ghosts. Slaves fled here from their masters, but none of them got out of here - they were all eaten by giant crocodiles. The spirits of the dead and those same crocodiles are the main ingredients in the eerie menu of Manchac, a place that attracts tourists so much. There are active excursions around the swamp, both during the day and at night.

Built in Portugal in the 16th century, the chapel is filled with the remains of monks: in total, more than five thousand people are buried there. Bones and skulls are everywhere, wherever you look. And the inscription on the roof of the building - “Better a death day than a birthday” - puts you in an optimistic mood.