Comment on 10 Insane Rides From The World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park by 10 Insane Rides From The World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park | Kronosim/must visit

History March 29, 2014

Creepy Kier Harris April 1, 2014

Action Park in New Jersey was one of the first water parks, back in the lawless era that was the 1980s. As a result, a lot of the rides were experimental at best. At the time, there was little to no regulation on water attractions—they were just too new. Because of this, Action Park got away with pretty much whatever they wanted to do, even with their non-water attractions. Most of these rides were little more than death traps that laughed in the face of safety. Add to that drunken guests (and some workers), apathetic (and sometimes stoned) teenage ride operators, and a general sense of recklessness, and you have a recipe for injuries. Lots of injuries.

Some things just don’t go together, and while loops and roller coasters are the best of friends, we’re pretty sure that waterslides and loops have restraining orders against each other. Apparently, the engineers of Action Park never got this message (or their engineering degrees, for that matter) and built the flagship of stupidity called “The Cannonball Loop.”

It was exactly what it looks like: a waterslide with a loop at the end of it. While it doesn’t seem physically possible to make it through, the slide was an operating attraction at Action Park—for about a month. After that, the state mandated that it be closed down, probably for being the most hilariously unsafe ride ever created.

Everything about the Cannonball Loop was a safety hazard. There was a legitimate chance of not clearing the loop. In fact, that happened so many times that the park had to install a hatch at the bottom of the loop so people could actually get out if they didn’t make it. Not that those who made it fared much better—bruises, bloody noses, and cracked craniums weren’t uncommon. Some patrons didn’t gather enough speed to “stick” to the loop the whole way around and fell 3 meters (10 ft) on the downward half. Guests were actually hosed down with water in the hopes it would help them build up enough speed.

Another issue was the sand and dirt that would build up at the bottom of the loop and horribly scratch people’s backs as they zoomed onward toward loopification. There wasn’t even a pool waiting at the end of this unholy terror—the slide unceremoniously dumped those who conquered the loop onto a wet rubber mat. It’s rumored that they first tested the slide with crash test dummies—and that they came out the other end dismembered. However, we know that park employees were offered $100 to test it out. After the ride was closed, it wasn’t dismantled until the park changed hands in 1996. Until then, it stood in its place at the front of the park, warning all guests of the horrors that lurked within Action Park.

In a contest of “things we probably shouldn’t make a slide out of,” Aqua Scoot is the clear winner. This “slide” was made entirely of metal rollers, like the ones that they use to slide luggage on in airports. Riders hopped on a plastic sled, and rode down the rollers into a shallow pool below. The water in the pool was only about 30 centimeters (12 in) deep, and the idea was that the sled would hit the pool and skim across the water’s surface.

There were a couple of problems, though. First of all, you had to be sitting in the correct position for the sled to go skimming across the water. If you weren’t and happened to be lucky, the sled just sank when you hit the water. If you were unlucky, the sled took a nosedive and flung you face-first into the incredibly shallow water, which resulted in a bunch of lacerations. There were also reports of people pinching themselves on the rollers, because they’re rollers and not a material you’re supposed to use to make slides, as well as people getting smacked with other revelers coming out of the slide after them.

The “Grave Pool” is the local nickname that was attributed to Action Park’s wave pool. It was one of the first of it’s kind, and because state regulations defined it as a pool, the only thing Action Park was required to do was keep the water clean and have lifeguards on duty. There was always a minimum of 12 guards, and sometimes, there were as many as 20. On a busy weekend, the guards would make as many as 30 saves in the pool, as opposed to the average one or two per season that a guard anywhere else can expect to make.

Most of the park’s deaths (there were three in total) were a result of people drowning in the wave pool. A lot of accidents and near-drownings were attributed to a combination of the pool’s design, which had waves higher than they should have been that lasted much longer than they should have, and the fact that most of the park-goers were from the city, where they didn’t get much swimming experience. It was also easy for people to forget that the freshwater waves weren’t nearly as buoyant as real ocean waves.

In theory, the Tarzan Swing wasn’t a bad idea. It was a 6-meter (20 ft) cable hanging from a steel arch that straddled a deep pool. Guests would stand on a platform, swing on the cable out over the pool, and then drop into the water. There were some design flaws, though. For one, the water was spring-fed, and because of that, it was freezing—significantly colder than the water in the rest of the park. The Tarzan Swing claims one of Action Park’s few non-wave pool deaths: A man died of a heart attack after entering the pool, presumably from shock because of the cold water.

The far side of the pool was bordered by the natural embankment, which was certainly within swinging range. Not to worry, though—the park decided to put a thin foam mat over the lower portion of it, making it virtually impossible for anyone to injure themselves by colliding with the bank, we promise.

Another big flaw in the design was that the zip line doubled back in the direction the line came from in such a way that the zip line was in full view of the entire line. A lot of riders would suddenly realize that they had an audience and perform reckless stunts like backflips, shout obscenities, or even display “body parts” to the onlookers. Remarkably, the Tarzan Swing is still in operation today.

The Kayak Experience was one of the more tame rides in Action Park. Riders got their own kayak and navigated it down a roughly straight slope with underwater fans that simulated real rapids. The worst thing you had to worry about was your kayak tipping over and having to get out and flip it back over. Oh, and of course, death by electrocution.

Toward the end of the Kayak Experience’s operation, a young man’s kayak flipped. When he got out to fix it, he stepped on some exposed wiring for one of the fans, which shocked him to death. Two of his nearby family members were also electrocuted, but they survived. The official coroner’s report said that the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to electrocution, but Action Park officials denied any responsibility. An investigation determined that the park hadn’t violated any regulations, but remember, there were few of those to begin with at the time.

Action Park drained the Kayak Experience and never reopened it after the incident, saying that guests would “always be intimidated by it.” A bit of a strange move, considering the park claimed the ride wasn’t responsible for killing him.

For a couple of years, Action Park had an obstacle course and jousting competitions inspired by the show American Gladiator. For the jousting portion, guests would compete against a “gladiator” (read: musclebound Action Park employee) and attempt to knock them off a 1-meter (3 ft) pedestal into the pool below. A metal pedestal. A wet, slippery metal pedestal. If they succeeded in not being bludgeoned to death by the gladiator, they were rewarded with the chance to be bludgeoned by the biggest gladiator, called “the Titan,” on a 2-meter (6 ft) pedestal. All of this was done in front of crowds of guests, of course, to sate their bloodlust.

And the park didn’t survey current employees to select its gladiators. No one said “Hey, Johnny, you look strong. Take this oversize cotton swab and go knock some guests off some poles.” No, instead, they surveyed a bunch of local gyms to find the biggest, strongest guys they could and told them not to hold back. On top of that, the events had an announcer who would perform commentary and make fun of guests who were outclassed by the gladiators.

You’ve probably seen an attraction similar to Surf Hill at almost every water park you’ve ever been to. It was a large waterslide that was split into a bunch of side-by-side lanes, and riders would race each other on mats to the bottom. Because it was one of the first slides of its kind, though, they still hadn’t ironed all of the kinks out. The dividers between lanes weren’t high enough, and it was very easy to jump lanes. The seventh lane also had one section that dropped off a bit faster than the others, making it easy to get air. On breaks, park employees would make a habit of sitting at the cafe at the base of the slide because it was almost guaranteed they’d see a wipeout or lost bikini top.

Once riders reached the bottom, they found themselves choosing the worst of two evils. You see, there wasn’t room at the bottom for the typical long, straight stretch that modern versions of these slides use to slow down. Instead, there was a water-filled basin that curved up to form a padded wall opposite the slide. If you went too slowly, you dropped into the basin, and your mat slapped you in the face. But if you went too fast, you slid up the curved wall and fell backward into the basin.

Geronimo Falls was Action Park’s take on speed slides. But there was a catch: The incline was far more steep than most speed slides today. It was so steep that the first portion of the slide was enclosed because riders would frequently come off of the slide at the top, and the enclosure forced them back down onto the slide instead of plummeting to the ground below. There was a metal bar that guests would hang from with their feet out over the edge of the slide and let themselves drop out onto it. Were they supposed to do this? Probably not, but it was a frequent occurrence. Riders could reach speeds of nearly 100 kilometers per hour (60 mph) on the way down.

When the park changed ownership, the slides that made up Geronimo Falls were dismantled, and a new green speed slide (called H2 Oh No!) with a lesser incline was installed in their place.

Another worthy contender in our “please don’t make slides out of this, what are you even thinking?” contest is the Alpine Slide, which was a luge-like ride with a track made from fiberglass and concrete. Riders sat in tiny plastic carts and zipped down the hill at breakneck speed. The carts had brakes that allowed riders to control their speed, but they were notorious for not working. Without brakes, it was a challenge to keep the cart from sailing off the tracks—and many people failed that challenge.

This ride lead to so many cuts, scrapes, bumps, bruises, lacerations, and crying children that it’s impossible to keep count of how many poor souls wiped out on this monstrosity. There are more personal accounts of people losing skin on this attraction than any amusement park ride should boast, and this problem was made even worse by the fact that Action Park is a water park. People had a habit of going down in their bathing suits.

It also became the site of the park’s first death when an employee’s cart flew off the tracks and ricocheted off a hay bale (which was put there for safety, ironically), which parted him from his cart. He tumbled down an embankment and fatally slammed his head against a rock.

The tracks took up so much of the hill that riders took a ski lift to go down the slide, and the ski lift went right over the tracks. This led to guests on the lift spitting and hurling insults down at the riders below on a regular basis. Despite all of this, it was the park’s most popular ride, and a park official went so far as to claim it was “the safest ride there is.” The Alpine Slide was torn down when the park changed hands, but you can still see the path it used to take on the ground below the lift.

At its core, Tank Tag seems like some good, clean fun, and for the guests of Action Park, it probably was. But for the workers, it was literally the worst station in the park to be posted.

Think of the ride like most bumper cars, with riders in a relatively small fenced in area, but the bumper cars are tanks, and the tanks are armed with tennis ball cannons. The perimeter of the enclosure was lined with mounted tennis ball cannons that other park visitors could pay money to fire at the tanks.

Every now and then, one of the tanks would stall out, requiring one of the workers to run out and start it back up. Despite countless signs posted to dissuade this very thing, the park employees (who were totally unarmed and unprotected) would suddenly become everyone’s target and get pelted with tennis balls. Talk about a stressful work environment.

Kier is a writer at Listverse and Cracked.com, and when he isn’t doing that stuff, he’s tobogganing down a cement ditch and ramping through a ring of fire. It was awesome. You should’ve been there.

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Comment on 10 Ancient Civilizations That History Forgot by 10 Ancient Civilizations That History Forgot | Kronosim/must visit

History March 29, 2014

Crime March 29, 2014

Creepy March 29, 2014

Mysteries March 28, 2014

Music March 28, 2014

The Arts March 28, 2014

Politics March 27, 2014

Politics March 27, 2014

History March 27, 2014

Technology March 26, 2014

History March 29, 2014

Crime March 29, 2014

Creepy March 29, 2014

Mysteries March 28, 2014

Music March 28, 2014

The Arts March 28, 2014

Politics March 27, 2014

Politics March 27, 2014

History March 27, 2014

Technology March 26, 2014

History Michael Van Duisen March 29, 2014

Much like Isaac Newton imagined when he gave his famous “shoulders of giants” quote, our modern civilizations owe a great deal to those which came before us. While examples like the Sumerians or Egyptians are deeply ingrained in nearly everyone’s minds, there are a number of other civilizations which have been largely forgotten. Here are 10 of them.

The Hattians were a civilization which inhabited the area of present-day Anatolia, Turkey from the 26th century to around the 18th century B.C. Believed to be the earliest urban settlers of the area, their existence can be traced to 24th-century Akkadian cuneiform tablets. Most archaeologists believe that they were indigenous to the area preceding the more famous Hittite civilization, which arrived in the 23rd century B.C. The two cultures slowly merged together, with the Hittites adopting a variety of Hatti religious beliefs and practices. Many of the largest Hittite settlements, such as Alaca Hoyuk and Hattusa, are believed to have originally been Hattian.

While they had their own spoken language, no evidence of a written form of the Hatti language has ever been found. It’s likely that they were multilingual, perhaps to facilitate trade with their Assyrian partners. In fact, most of what we know about the Hattians comes from the widespread adoption of their culture by the Hittites. Their population probably existed as a majority for decades—if not centuries—while they were under the aristocratic rule of the Hittites, before they eventually faded away into obscurity.

While most people are familiar with the Aztecs and the Maya of Mesoamerica, the people known as the Zapotec remain relatively obscure. Among the first people in the area to use agricultural and writing systems, they also built one of the earliest recognized cities in North America—Monte Alban. Founded in the fifth century B.C., the city was home to a maximum of 25,000 citizens and lasted for over 1,200 years. In Monte Alban, a privileged class made up of priests, warriors, and artists ruled over the lower classes.

Like many of the civilizations of Mesoamerica, the Zapotecs subjugated the surrounding areas through a mix of warfare, diplomacy, and tribute. The sudden downfall of their culture seemed to have no reason, and their largest city was mostly left intact, though it was eventually ruined by years of abandonment. Some scholars believe that a failure of their economic system may have pushed the Zapotecs to find work elsewhere. The rest of the population grouped together into various city-states, which proceeded to fight each other (as well as outside forces) until they were no more.

Europe’s biggest prehistoric civilization, the Vinca, existed for nearly 1,500 years. Beginning in the 55th century B.C., they occupied land throughout Serbia and Romania. Named after a present-day village near the Danube River, where the first discoveries were made in the 20th century, the Vinca were a metal-working people, perhaps even the world’s first civilization to use copper (they also excavated the first mine in Europe).

Though the Vinca people had no officially recognized form of writing, examples of proto-writing, symbols which don’t actually express language, have been found on various stone tablets which date as far back as 4000 B.C. In addition, they were artistic and fond of children; archaeologists have found various toys, such as animals and rattles, buried among the other artifacts. They were also extremely organized—the houses of the Vinca civilization had specific locations for trash, and the dead were all buried in a central location.

Another civilization which influenced the Hittites was the Hurrian people, who lived throughout the Middle East during the second millennium B.C. It’s probable that they were around even earlier than that: Personal and place names written in the Hurrian language were found in Mesopotamian records dating back to the third millennium B.C. Unfortunately, very few artifacts of their civilization exist; most of what we know about them comes from the writings of other cultures, including the Hittites, Sumerians, and Egyptians.

One of their largest cities is known as Urkesh and is located in northeastern Syria. Urkesh is also where the earliest known text in Hurrian, a stone tablet and statue known as the Louvre lion, was found. Long believed to be mainly nomadic, scholars now believe that the Hurrians may have had a much bigger impact than previously thought, mostly due to the way their language differed from other Semitic and Indo-European tongues. However, by the end of the second millennium B.C., nearly all ethnic traces of the Hurrians had disappeared, with only their influence on the Hittites left behind.

Named after the area in Nigeria in which artifacts of their culture were first discovered, the Nok civilization flourished during the first millennium B.C. before fading into obscurity in the second century A.D. Some theories posit that the overexploitation of natural resources played a large role in the population’s decline. Whatever the case, scholars believe that they played an important role in the development of other cultures in the area, such as the Yoruba and Benin peoples.

Perhaps the best-known examples of their artistic nature are the terra-cotta figures which have been found throughout the area. They were also the earliest known Africans to have smelted iron, though it’s believed that it was introduced to them through another culture, perhaps the Carthaginians. The reason for this assumption is that no evidence for copper smelting has ever been found, which was a precursor to an iron age in nearly every other civilization. Although they’re believed to be one of the earliest African civilizations, evidence of their existence has been slow to come to light because modern-day Nigeria is a notoriously difficult place to study.

A popular trading partner with ancient Egypt, the land of Punt (pronounced “poont”) was famous for producing incense, ebony, and gold. Scholars differ on where they believe the civilization was, with a range from South Africa all the way up the coast to the Middle East. Even though the Egyptians wrote extensively on the land and its people, they never bothered to actually say where it was.

A lot of our knowledge of Punt comes from the reign of Hatshepsut, the famed female pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the 15th century B.C. Reliefs in her mortuary temple contain information on a rather large trade expedition to Punt, as well as more specific details, like pictures of beehive-shaped houses on stilts. A scene showing Hatshepsut receiving wondrous gifts from the exotic land is also carved into the temple walls. Unfortunately, no actual archaeological evidence showing the location of Punt has ever been found, although there have been numerous Egyptian artifacts inscribed with the civilization’s name, giving scholars hope that Punt might one day be unearthed.

Beginning with its arrival during the third millennium B.C. and lasting for over 1,200 years, the Norte Chico civilization dominated South America as the oldest sophisticated culture on the continent. Named for the region of present-day Peru which they occupied, they had 20 major cities, with advanced architecture and agriculture making up a large portion of their settlements. They also developed intricate irrigation systems, sophistication which was unheard of in the Americas at that time.

Artifacts recognizable as religious symbols have been found throughout the area, especially near the stone pyramids for which the Norte Chico civilization is famous. There is some debate over whether or not they qualify as a civilization, as well as what that term even means. Usually, indicators like a form of art and a sense of urbanization are key, but the Norte Chico civilization possessed neither of these. Whatever the case, there is no denying that they were an influence on later South American cultures, such as the Chavin civilization, which began a few hundred years after the fall of the Norte Chicos.

Although their name for themselves was Haltam, the name “Elam” comes from the Hebraic transcription of the word. The Elamite civilization consisted mostly of land inside present-day Iran, along with a small portion of Iraq. One of the earliest civilizations, it was founded sometime in the third millennium B.C. and is by far the oldest in all of Iran. Situated along the borders of Sumer and Akkad, the land of Elam was similar to its neighbors, although its language was altogether unique.

Although they lasted as an independent kingdom for at least a millennium, if not longer, very little is known about them because Elamite scribes were not concerned with documenting their mythology, literature, or any scientific advancements. Writing was mostly seen as a way to honor the king or perform administrative duties. Due to this fact, they made a rather small impact on the development of future civilizations, especially when compared to the Egyptians and Sumerians.

An important trading civilization in its heyday, Dilmun encompassed an area consisting of present-day Bahrain, Kuwait, and parts of Saudi Arabia. Although very little concrete evidence has been found as of yet, scholars believe that a few sites, namely Saar and Qal’at al-Bahrain, are ancient settlements of the Dilmun people. Saar is still being investigated, but a large number of the artifacts that have already been found there date to the third millennium B.C., lending credence to the theory that it was built by the Dilmun civilization.

Dilmun was a major commercial player in its day, with control over the Persian Gulf trading lanes and a communication network that reached as far away as Turkey. Numerous water springs flow all across the area, which researchers believe may have led to the legend of Bahrain being the Biblical Garden of Eden. In addition, Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom, was said to have lived in the underground springs. Described as “the place where the sun rises,” Dilmun played a large role in Sumerian mythology; according to legend, Dilmun was the place where Utnapishtim was taken to live for eternity.

Also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, the Harappans were a group of people who lived in parts of present-day Pakistan and India. Gifted with the idea that planning cities in advance would be a good idea, their urban areas were second to none; unfortunately, due to what scientists believe to have been a massive, centuries-long drought, their culture slowly declined, never to rise again. This is currently nothing more than a theory, but it helps explain other cultural declines in the area as well.

Beginning sometime in the 25th century B.C., the Harappans also developed their own language, a script with nearly 500 different characters which has not been completely deciphered even today. Their most noteworthy artifacts are seals, usually made of soapstone, which depict various animals and mythical creatures. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the two largest Harappan sites, with the former labeled as a UNESCO Heritage Site. When it collapsed, the ruins of the Harappan civilization provided a template for the various other cultures which sprang up after it.

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Comment on 10 Crazy Urban Legends About Creepy-Crawlies by 10 Crazy Urban Legends About Creepy-Crawlies | Kronosim/must visit

Most people find insects, spiders, snakes, rodents, and other creeping, crawling creatures to be disturbing and often frightening. Whatever the reason, we have long been fascinated by the slimy, horrid tales of these creatures (whether they’re true stories or not). Warning: You might not want to eat during this one.

This legend has many different variations, likely due to the incredible amount of people who have actually tried to sue soft drink companies over allegedly finding all or most of a mouse or rat in their soda. The most recent one was a man who bought a can of Mountain Dew from a vending machine at work. After taking a hearty swig, he realized there something was horribly, horribly wrong about the taste. He spit it out and found a dead mouse curled up inside his previously sealed can of soda.

He sued PepsiCo after the alleged incident, citing trauma and stress caused by getting a mouthful of dead mouse. However, PepsiCo’s defense is possibly the most disturbing part of this tale. The company supplied an expert witness who explained that the man’s claims were quite literally impossible. According to this expert, the mouse’s body would have been completely dissolved and impossible to distinguish as anything but jelly after spending so long in an acidic soda like Mountain Dew.

This legend very likely predates the Internet, as the beehive hairstyle hasn’t been popular since the 1960s. The story goes that a teenager was preparing for an upcoming dance and really wanted to make her hair stand out, so she used sugar water in her hair in an effort to keep it really stiff. She then wrapped it up tightly overnight in a coiling beehive shape. The next day, her hair looked just as good as she had hoped, and she continued with life as usual.

As the weeks went on, she started to become a little obsessed with her ‘do. She did whatever it took to keep it looking nice, including not shampooing the sugar water out of her hair. She started to get headaches and just feel physically terrible in general. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she failed to see a doctor. Eventually, she collapsed as rivers of blood ran from under her hair. Upon examination, it turned out that she had a colony of bugs living under her hair and literally eating her alive.

Our story goes that a woman had licked an envelope and received a painful paper cut. For a while, she didn’t think anything of it because it was just a small cut, but it continued to be painful for a long time. It even started to swell. It eventually got so bad that she knew she needed to go to the hospital. The doctor who examined her saw the swelling on her tongue and decided to operate right then and there, either to remove the lump or drain pus. (It varies depending on the version of the tale.) As the woman sat wide awake and the doctor prepared to make an incision, a live cockroach crawled its monstrous way out of her mouth in one of the most horrifying birth cycles imaginable.

This story involves a couple who had a very large pet python but didn’t bother keeping it locked up. They kept the snake properly fed, they reasoned, so there wasn’t much to worry about. Eventually, the snake stopped eating for a while, and they wondered if he was sick. Even stranger, they started finding their pet lying out lengthwise next to them. They decided to take the snake to the vet to find out the cause of this disturbing behavior. Alarmingly, the vet told them that they needed to get rid of the snake right away. When they asked why, he explained that the snake had been measuring them and starving himself in preparation to gorge himself on some fresh, delicious human owner.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, an urban legend was going around that had a lot of homeowners running scared. According to an email forward, many of the trees that had fallen in the hurricane were being turned into cheap mulch that was coming soon to a store near you. Unfortunately, this mulch likely contained large numbers of Formosan termites.

This legend has a grain of truth to it, as termites could potentially spread through mulch. However, the particular story is unlikely. New Orleans has carefully quarantined any wood that might be infested with termites.

Our tale begins with a small boy who was tired from playing and decided to lie down for a nap. He fell asleep with some candy scattered around near him, and this attracted some ants that were nearby. The little boy woke up unaware that anything was amiss until he started to feel itchy. As time went on, the itchiness got worse, and he started to get headaches. When the headaches got worse and nothing would make the itchiness go away, the little guy’s mother took him to the hospital.

At first, the doctor was utterly baffled by the problem. After taking an X-ray of the child’s head, he discovered that ants had crawled into the child’s brain and formed an entire colony. Because the insects were crawling all around his brain, the colony was inoperable, and the little fella did not survive. Of course, leaving candy lying around actually results in little more than some inconvenience and a can of Raid, so this tall tale was no doubt invented by some very cruel and lazy mothers.

The story goes that an older woman, the type who’s not likely to be very computer-savvy, called tech support with a serious problem. The night before, she had started hearing rather strange hissing sounds coming from her computer. She explained that when the noises began, she decided to shut down the machine for the night and see if it just needed a rest. When she tried to restart the computer the next morning, it emitted more of the same strange hissing sounds and began to smoke. The support tech quickly realized they were out of their depth over the phone and sent someone to the old woman’s house to deal with the problem. When the technician opened the case, they found a snake curled up inside: It had been attracted to the power source.

Pictures of the so-called snake in the computer have been going around for a while and are actually apparently legit. However, the details of the true story are quite different from the legend. It actually took place in an office in Australia, not an elderly woman’s home. While the snake was a venomous red-bellied black snake, it didn’t prove to be very dangerous, because it turns out that snakes can’t survive large amounts of electricity coursing through their slithery, slimy bodies.

The story starts in Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounds a small chain of Chinese restaurants. Imagine you’ve just eaten at your local Asian-American food joint. After you go home, you check the news and see them mentioned. Your stomach starts to turn as you learn that one franchise of the chain restaurant you just visited was shut down for having some very strange secret ingredients in their food.

The police had received a tip about some suspicious imports the restaurant had been receiving and decided to investigate. Upon searching the restaurant, the police found evidence that the owners of the establishment had secretly been serving mice and rats to their customers. They also found puppies and kittens ready to be cooked and served as food. The legends often include pictures of some of the packaged, frozen rodents, but there is no evidence of such a closure occurring.

According to legend, a woman visited a local discount clothing outlet to try on new winter coats. While wearing one of them, she felt a strange prick on her skin. Instead of inspecting the coat further, she simply put it back and went about her day. Before long, she fell ill and eventually ended up in a coma. Though the coma lasts several weeks in the tale, she is somehow able to ascertain what happened. The winter coat she had been trying on was imported from another country and had a deadly viper sewn into the lining.

The story is a bit over-the-top, as it seems impossible for a snake to survive a trip overseas alive while trapped inside a coat. Strangely, though, this tale is widely believed, with outlets like Burlington Coat Factory receiving calls on a regular basis to ask questions about the story.

A woman in Texas was supposedly out walking her dog when it started sniffing around a twig near their garage. The dog recoiled in pain, and the woman realized the “twig” was actually an insect known as a walking stick. At first, she didn’t think much of it, but then her dog’s eye started swelling up badly. When she took him to the vet, she found out that the poor dog had a chemical burn on his eye that was caused by the poison that the insect had secreted. The woman sent pictures of the insect to entomologists, who identified the specimen as a foreign walking stick that had made its way to our shores and was much more poisonous than the ones we are used to.

While no evidence exists of any such foreign species, the story is plausible. There is a species of walking stick insect native to the United States that is capable of excreting a toxin that could be very painful and cause burns on sensitive areas like the eyes. Perhaps next time you are near a twig, you should keep your retinas shielded. Don’t take any walks in the woods.

One legend that’s been passed around the Internet for a long time occurs in an unspecified foreign country, where a young woman purchased a package of Oreo cookies with chocolate cream. Excited to eat the delicious cookies, she opened the package and saw something very strange. Where she would normally expect pure chocolate goodness, there were small white spots all over and inside the cream. She examined the packaging but found nothing to suggest that the white dots should be there. To her horror, she realized that the entire cookie was full of maggot eggs. She returned the cookies, although some of the eggs had horrifyingly dissolved into the cream. She got her money back, but presumably her taste for Oreos was never to return.

You can follow Gregory Myers on Twitter.

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