Tag: Worst of History
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The Worst of History: The Spanish Flu (La Enfermedad de 1918)
The First World War stands as one of the deadliest anthropogenic events (events originating from humans) of all time, with as many as 22 million people dying globally—an average of over 10,000 deaths per day. What may have been even deadlier, however, was the 1918 influenza pandemic. With the highest estimate at 100 million deaths,…
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The Worst Of History: Dick Turpin
“I spend my cash on looking flash and grabbing your attention” is the opening line of ‘Stand And Deliver’ by Adam & The Ants. In the modern era, the highwayman has been romanticised beyond reality, with these street thugs seen as suave and classy individuals despite their status as criminals. Of these, one of the…
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The Worst Of History: The 1994 Rwandan Genocide
The UK Conservative government courted controversy (let’s be honest, when haven’t they?) in April 2022 when a deal was revealed for the deportation of asylum-seeking refugees to Rwanda. Rwanda is probably a name that strikes fear into the hearts of readers although many people know little about the nation beyond one horrific association. If there…
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The Worst Of History: “The Great Dying” Extinction Event
When the topic of extinction events is raised, a few immediate examples come to mind: the Chicxulub meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, the Dutch-driven extinction of the dodo, or the demise of mammoths due to climate change. Yet none compare to the Permian-Triassic extinction — better known as “The Great Dying” — the single…
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The Worst Of History: The Aberfan Disaster
As much as it pains me to say it as an Englishman, Wales truly is one of the great countries of the world. A quaint nation built on working-class roots, its mining communities produced some of the greatest actors, musicians, and comedians of the last century. But Wales has also endured unimaginable tragedy. Chief among…
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The Worst of History: The Lobotomy
It is with welcome relief that science has advanced in leaps and bounds since “the good old days.” No longer do people smear mercury on their skin, eat ground-up mummy parts to cure epilepsy, or rely on leeches to stop infections. Yet, even well into the 20th century, horrific medical procedures persisted — one of…
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The Worst of History: Genghis Khan
The statistics alone express the horrors of the Mongol leader’s brutality: 40 million killed. This may be hard to fathom — the elimination of an estimated 11% of the human population at the time. The Mongol Empire’s destruction was greater than the wipeout of the entire population of Canada, for comparison. One of the most…
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The Worst of History: Advertising Smoking to Children
Whenever the claim of a “golden age” in the mid-20th century is presented, there are many easy counterexamples: civil rights conflicts, the threat of nuclear warfare, and the treatment of women as inferiors. But another, more unorthodox example is the sheer positivity surrounding cigarettes at the time. Tobacco was first brought to Europe by Christopher…
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The Worst of History: Animal Cruelty in Blood Sports
Throughout history, humans have found ways to turn animals into unwilling participants in cruel spectacles. From cockfighting in royal palaces to fox-tossing on aristocratic estates, the past is littered with disturbing examples of Animal Cruelty disguised as entertainment. In an era before modern ethics, animal welfare laws, or even widespread compassion for other species, blood…
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The Worst Of History: Rat Torture
Over the many myriads of humankind, our species has devised countless treacherous and barbaric forms of punishment. Across civilisations, we seem to have conceived every possible way to brutalise a person in the most savage manner. Personally, I would wager there are few more horrific ways to die than having a desperate and panicking rodent…