What are some of the most horrifying pictures in history?

 Here's my list

The Burning Monk, 1963
A Vietnamese Buddhist monk allowed himself to be set on fire and burnt to death on the streets of Saigon to protest the South Vietnamese governments treatment of the Buddhist population of South Vietnam.

The falling man, 2001
One of the worst terror attacks in history that left nearly 3000 people dead and 6000 more injured. During the attacks of September 11, people trapped in the WTC towers had the horrific choice of burn to death, or jump…

Into the jaws of death, 1944
US Army 1ID in their beach assault of Omaha sector of the Normandy landings, not a horrific photo for its content, but a horrific photo because we know what followed, an emotional and awe inspiring photograph. Truly, the greatest generation.

Execution of Kiev Jews, 1942
The SS Einsatzgruppen, murdering Jews outside the city of Kiev during the second world war. The holocaust took the lives of some six million Jewish people and is still regarded as one of the worst genocides in the history of man

The beheading of an Australian soldier, 1943
Leonard Siffleet was an Australian Special Forces radio operator sent to Papua New Guinea on a mission, but was captured by locals and turned over to the Japanese, after weeks of torture, he and his fellow servicemen (3 in total) were bonded, blindfolded and beheaded.

The Burnt Baby, Date unknown.
In what is relatively unknown to the western world, Japan committed thousands of attrocities and war crimes in China throughout WWII, below a young child, severely burnt, sits in a train station in Shanghai after it has been bombed out in what was known as “Bloody Saturday”

The effect of Mustard Gas, 1918
What would appear to be a Commonwealth soldier, most likely British, the after effects of the deadly chemical agent, Mustard Gas, which was used by both sides in WWI, it would seep into the lungs and tear apart the inside tissue, it would burn skin like acid and leave horrible scars such as below… The war to end all wars they said.

Napalm Girl, 1972
When an ARVN pilot mistook the fleeing civilians for NVA and dropped cannisters of Napalm, they didn't realise that they would create arguably one the most iconic war photos ever. The girl suffered 3rd degree burns over some 30% of her body, this photo greatly contributed to the US abandoning the war in Vietnam.

The lynching of two African Americans, 1930
Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, charged with the murder and alleged rape of two separate persons, whilst it was proven that the two murdered Claude Deeter, the rape allegations (which sparked the mob lynching the two) was withdrawn when Mary Ball (the accuser) later testified she had lied about it. Some may call it justice, but they were killed because the crowd believed they raped someone, they were murdered on falls grounds.

King Leopold II, 1885?
In what is a lesser know atrocity similar to that of the Holocaust of WWII, the enslavement of the ironically named “Congo Free State” saw an estimated 8–10 Million people killed, and hundreds and thousands of people tortured, mutilated and disfigured.

I would go on, but for the sake of not making this post too long ill leave it at here.

“There is no justice among men” ~ Nicholas II, The last Tsar of Russia.

What are top most brutal acts of revenge in history?

 The man who had his cheating wife sentenced to death.

Meet Robert Devereux, the 3rd Earl of Essex.

When he was 13, Robert was married to the 14 year old Frances Howard in a political union. The marriage was not consummated, and Robert immediately left for a two year tour of Europe, leaving his wife in England.

Frances promptly began a very public affair with the Earl of Somerset.

On Robert’s return, Frances reportedly barricaded herself in her room away from him, and eventually filed for an annulment of the marriage on the grounds of impotence, claiming that she had made every effort but Robert couldn’t perform in the bedroom. Robert claimed that everything was working fine down there, but he just couldn’t perform with her, claiming that she “reviled him, and miscalled him, terming him a cow and coward, and beast.“

In order to prove the impotence, Frances had to be examined by 12 women, who reported that she was in fact a virgin, however it was widely suspected that Frances had been switched with another girl for the examination, especially when it transpired that ‘Frances’ had insisted on wearing a veil through the whole thing. A popular song at the time made mockery of this event:

“This Dame was inspected but Fraud interjected
A maid of more perfection
Whom the midwives did handle whilest the knight held the candle
O there was a clear inspection!”

The rumours about Frances and Somerset were all but confirmed when following the annulment, they married 4 months later.

The whole escapade was the 17th century equivalent of a paparazzi feeding frenzy which made Robert a laughing stock in court and across the country. A situation only made worse when he remarried only for that marriage to also fall apart amongst rumours of infidelity. Even on the battlefield he was not safe from jibes, this was the banner one of his rivals flew against him during the Civil War:

Though clearly seething with rage, Robert could not touch Frances because she was now the wife of another powerful man, however that was about to change.

Sir Thomas Overbury, a friend of Somerset, had been strongly advising Somerset not to marry Frances. Frances’ family had carried out a plot which had led to Overbury inadvertently insulting the King and getting locked up in the Tower of London, where he died a mere 12 days after Frances and Somerset’s wedding.

The next year, an apothecary assistant confessed on his deathbed that he had been paid £20 by Frances to provide poisons for the purpose of murdering Overbury, and the prison guard confessed to smuggling poisoned sweets and tarts (provided by Frances) into his cell.

The Somerset’s were arrested and a trial was called, and who did they call to be one of the impartial jury members?:

Why, one Robert Devereux of course.

Robert pressed the King hard to impose the death penalty on his ex-wife, and he duly did so.

Regardless of whether Frances was guilty or not, being judged in a Murder trial by your cuckolded ex-husband is not anyone’s idea of a good time.

Note - it’s always worth remembering with things like this that we don’t, and can’t, know the full story. It was relatively common for women back then to be made out to be witches or adulterous if it suited the needs of the powerful.

What is the history of Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan?

 Kartik Tiwari A.K.A Kartik Aaryan born in a Hindu Bhramin Family, both the mother and father are doctors.

• At the age of four, he was lost in Karol Bagh market in Delhi. His parents found him after four hours with the help of the police.
• He had started dreaming of becoming an actor when he was in his 10th standard. After completing his 11th standard, on the pretext of studying, he came to Delhi in search of work.
• He was in a serious relationship when he shifted to Mumbai, however his girlfriend dumped him because he chose acting as a career.

• He was first noticed by the director Luv Ranjan on Facebook, after which he cast him in the film “Pyaar Ka Punchnama.”
• On the day he signed the contract for Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011), while returning home he met with a terrible accident. His auto flipped and he injured his leg very badly due to which the film got delayed for a few months.
• He left out his engineering degree in the 3rd year after he was selected for his debut film, ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’ (2011), but later gave the final year exams.
• During the shooting of his debut film ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’, he lived in a rented 2BHK flat with 12 roommates in Lokhandwala, Mumbai.
• Though he is a vegetarian, he ate 25 eggs every day to gain weight for his film ‘Akaash Vani’ (2013).
• Before the release of his film ‘Kaanchi: The Unbreakable’ (2014), he had changed his on-screen name to Kartik Aaryan.
• He is a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan and considers him his acting inspiration.
• His film “Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety” was one of the highest grossing films of 2018.
• In 2019, He made his debut in Dabboo Ratnani’s calendar photo shoot.

What are the top 10 popular sixes in history of Cricket?

 

• Sachin sending one into space against caddick in 2003 world cup

• Sourav using his feet against spinners and sending the ball into orbit

• Gibbs 6 sixes in an ODI

• Sachin hitting that famous 6 to shoaib

• Yuvi’s fireshow against broad

• Sachin becoming warne’s nightmare. Stepping out and off it goes.

• Miyandad sealing the match against india with a last ball 6

• A flying six which left everybody dumstruck!

• When virat kohli hit something never seen before

• Rohit sharma showing what a class batsman can do when he is batting on 200+

• And finally, the 6 which made every indian proud!

Photos source : google

What is the most controversial moment in cricket history, and why?

 I remember two incidents straightaway, both equally controversial and would've been very significant in big results of two different world cups.

22(13) becomes 22(1) !!!

South Africa took on England in the semifinals match of 1992 world cup in Sydney. It was a rain affected game. As a result, both the sides could bat for only 45 overs. Opting to bat first, England had scored 252/6 in their 45 overs. South Africa were going pretty good in the run chase despite the hiccups.

South Africa needed just 22 runs in 13 balls with 4 wickets in hand and two batters with good nick [Brian McMillan 21(21) and David Richardson 13(10)] in the middle. But suddenly, the rain gods appeared. The brainfade rule of the organisers (That no play could continue after 9:30pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time) meant that no play could continue.

Add to that, lowest-scoring-over rules (Not today's Duckworth lewis rule) meant that the equation came down ridiculously from 22 off 13 to 22 off 1. That's gotta be Cricket’s most controversial match of All-time (Both technologically and regulationally).

6 runs, instead of 5 runs !!!

It was the 2019 world cup finals between England and New Zealand. Opting to bat first on a big day, New Zealand could post only 241/8 in their 50 overs. In reply, England were in a tough situation, having to score 15 runs in the last over with just 2 wickets in hand.

Ben Stokes was the batter and Trent Boult was the bowler. The equation came down to 9 from 3. That's when Stokes hit a low full toss of Boult towards deep midwicket region. Guptill collected the ball and threw towards the keeper's end, where the ball collided with Stokes' bat and raced towards the boundary ropes for the four.

Here's the rule of ICC for deflection off the bat -

Law 19.8 of the ICC rules, pertaining to 'Overthrow or wilful act of fielder' - "If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side, and the allowance for the boundary, and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act."

But it was very evident even for the viewers that the second run was incomplete. But the collective brainfade decision from the main umpire and the leg side umpire meant that England were awarded an extra run. At that moment, nobody would've thought how costly would that decision turn out to be.

In the end, the match not just ended in a tie after the first 50 overs, but also got tied in the super over !! For such an incredible cricket match, the winner was decided based on the boundary count ! Imagine what would've been the result if that extra run wasn't awarded for England !

These two incidents are unarguably the most controversial ones in Cricket till date.

Image - Google.

What are your top 10 turning points in the history of cricket?

 

• 1975: First Cricket World cup being played.

• 1983: The then underdogs India winning the World cup for the first time.

• 1987: First Cricket World cup being played in the subcontinent where cricket was the most popular sport. All earlier editions were played in England.

• 1991: South Africa return to the international fold after a 21 year old apartheid.

• 1992: First World cup being played in coloured clothing and white coloured ball with Pakistan emerging as champions.

• 2001: The whole cricketing world got stunned when India beat Australia after India was enforced a follow on, thus India ending Australia’s 16 test match winning streak. Thereafter, India was always considered a potential threat by all non asian teams wherever it played them.

• 2007: First T20 world cup being played in South Africa with India becoming the first T20 cricket champions.

• 2010: Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first batsman to score a double hundred in One Day International match. He did it against South Africa. As of now, four other batsmen scored double hundreds in One Day Internationals.

• 2011: India becomes the first team to win a 50 over world cup on home soil. This trend was further followed by hosts Australia in 2015 and England in 2019.

• 2019: The test championship started in which top 9 teams play test matches in the form of bilateral series. The final will be played between the top two teams of the points table in July 2021 at Lord's, London.

These are the top 10 turning points to have happened in the history of cricket.

What are the biggest mistakes in IPL cricket history?

 Financial and franchise mistakes:

• Releasing Chris Gayle - I don’t need to explain this. Why KKR released Gayle is still beyond me. A lot of reports said it was because he left halfway through season 1. Whatever bro! RCB got their penny’s worth and then some.

• Buying an out-of-form Yuvi - Yuvi is no doubt a legend of the game, but IPL is a place where all that doesn’t really count. Loads of superstars have been humbled by the format. RCB and DD both bought Yuvi for super-high prices and he did not do much to justify the buys.

• Buying and Releasing Shane Watson - Weird, I know. It is true that Shane Watson was in the twilight of his career and that he had a lacklustre season with RCB, but he was still a catch. But even then , 9 crores rupees was still high. CSK lapped him up the moment they saw him on sale and he had a pretty good season with CSK under Dhoni’s razor-sharp leadership.

• Benching Glenn Maxwell - MI bought him for $1 M and benched him. Enough said.

• Releasing Gautam Gambhir - Arguably the second best captain in the 2011 and 2012 IPL seasons, releasing Gambhir was one of DD’s worst decisions and that is saying a lot. KKR lapped him up and he single-handedly made them a group of world-beaters. The worst part is, he did not even under perform with DD. Edit - Comments have pointed out that it was Gambhir’s decision. I stand corrected.

• Buying Kevin Pietersen in 2009 - Despite the big bucks and a decent form, KP was the biggest disaster in 2009 season. He had a forgettable outing with just 93 runs. His price tag was $1.55M. Damn!

• Buying Ben Stokes for 12.5 Cr -A rare mistake from RR, who are usually quite shrewd in bids. But understandable. Ben was highest paid even previous season with Pune and sure enogh, he was also the MVP. But he failed in 2018. Expensive mistake.

• Jaydev Undakat for RR - In a season where all teams scrambled for local boys, Unadkat hit the jackpot with the highest bid of the year. A shame he couldn’t justify it. Another huge mis-step by RR.

• Releasing AB Devilliers - Another Jaffa by Delhi. ABD was the swashbuckling South African who was making news for his unique batting style. He was an ace fielder and a superb team man. God knows why DD chose to release him. RCB were like ‘Shut up and take my money’ buying him with $1.5 M.

What is an interesting fact of history that most people don't know?

 

1. The Titanic‘s Owners Never Said the Ship Was “Unsinkable”

Despite what James Cameron’s iconic 1997 film may have you believe, the owners never said that it could never sink. Historian Richard Howells said that “the population as a whole were unlikely to have thought of the Titanic as a unique, unsinkable ship before its maiden voyage.”

2. There Were More Than 600 Plots to Kill Fidel Castro

Yes, 600. The Cuban dictator was targeted to be killed by a large range of foes, including political opponents, criminals, and even the United States, among many others. Tactics included everything from an exploding cigar to a poisoned diving suit.

3. Cleopatra Was Not Egyptian

Despite what you may believe, the last queen of Egypt wasn’t born in Egypt. As best as Historians can tell, Cleopatra VII (that’s her formal name) was Greek. She was a descendant of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian general Ptolemy.

4. Pope Gregory IV Declared a War On Cats

Pope Gregory IV declared war on cats in the 13th Century. He said that black cats were instruments of Satan. Because of this belief, he ordered the extermination of these felines throughout Europe. However, this plan backfired, as it resulted in an increase in the population of plague-carrying rats.

5. Mary Actually Had a Little Lamb

Everyone knows the nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” but you probably didn’t know this was based on true story. Her name was Mary Sawyer. She was an 11-year-old girl and lived in Boston and one day was followed to school by her pet lamb. In the late 1860s, she helped raise money for an old church by selling wool from the lamb.

6. It has been calculated that in the last 3,000 years there have only been 240 years of peace in the world

7. The Government Literally Poisoned Alcohol During Prohibition

During Prohibition in the United States, the U.S. government literally poisoned alcohol. When people continued to consume alcohol despite its banning, law officials got frustrated and decided to try a different kind of deterrent—death. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the U.S., which were products regularly stolen bootleggers. By the end of Prohibition in 1933, the federal poisoning program is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people.

8. Captain Morgan Actually Existed

Yes, face of the well-loved rum brand was a totally real guy. He was a welsh privateer who fought alongside the English against the Spanish in the Caribbean in the 1660s and 1670s. His first name was Henry and was knighted by King Charles II of England. His exact birth date is unknown, but it was sometime around 1635. He died in Jamaica in 1688, apparently very rich.

9. Ketchup Was Sold in the 1830s as Medicine

In the 1830s, when it came to popular medicine, ketchup was all the rage. In 1834, it was sold as a cure for indigestion by an Ohio physician named John Cook. It wasn’t popularized as a condiment until the late 19th century. The more you know.

10. President Abraham Lincoln is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame

Before the 16th president took office, Abraham Lincoln was declared a wrestling champion. The 6’4″ president had only one loss among his around 300 contests. He earned a reputation for this in New Salem, Illinois, as an elite fighter. Eventually, he earned his county’s wrestling championship.

11. July 4th Isn’t the Real Independence Day

July 4th is not the real american independence day. It is actually July 2nd because this is when the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia actually voted to approve a resolution of independence. July 4th, though, is when the Congress adopted the official Declaration of Independence, and most didn’t even sign that until August.

12. Abraham Lincoln Was Also a Licensed Bartender

Besides being a wrestling champ, Lincoln was also a licensed bartender. In 1833, the 16th president opened up a bar called Berry and Lincoln with his friend William F. Berry in New Salem, Illinois. The shop was eventually closed when Berry, an alcoholic, consumed most of the shop’s supply.

13. The First Face on the $1 Bill Was Not George Washington

The first president was not the first face of the $1 bill! The first face to appear on this currency was Salmon P. Chase. The first $1 bill was issued during the Civil War in 1862. Chase was the Secretary of Treasury at that time and was also the designer of the country’s first bank notes.

14. Thomas Edison Didn’t Invent the Light Bulb

While Edison did have an astonishing 1093 patents, the majority of these were not of his own invention. He stole most of them. While he did land the patent for the light bulb in 1880, the real inventor was actually Warren de la Rue, a British astronomer and chemist, who actually created the very first light bulb forty years before Edison.

15. And Betsy Ross Didn’t Design and Sew the First American Flag

At least the only proof we have of this is from Ross’s grandson, william camby, who claimed in 1870 that his “gam-gam” had the idea. The real creator was more likely to be Francis Hopkinson from New Jersey, who signed the Declaration of Independence and also designed many seals for the U.S. government.

16. Cars Weren’t Invented in the United States

No, it wasn’t Henry Ford’s Model T in 1908. The first car actually was created in the 19th Century when European engineers Karl Benz and Emile Levassor were working on automobile inventions. Benz patented the first automobile in 1886.