We’ve done it again. The writer the big boss likes the least has gone down the
rabbit hole on Wikipedia so we could bring you another video of disturbing Wikipedia pages.
Don’t worry, they’ll be able to sleep again without a nightlight...someday.
Number 8 on our list is a town that you probably wouldn’t want to vacation at,
that is even if you were allowed to. 8. The Real Silent Hill
In north central Pennsylvania, the town of Centralia has been on fire
for the last 59 years. Yes, you heard us correctly, the town has been burning since 1962.
From the mid 1800’s through the Great Depression, the majority of the residents living in and around
tiny, rural Centralia made their living by mining rich deposits of anthracite coal.
As the coal industry dwindled, the area was left with several abandoned underground coal mines.
While there are competing theories as to how the fire started, the generally accepted version
is that on May 27, 1962, some firefighters were cleaning up the local landfill by burning trash.
Unfortunately the fire at the dump sparked a larger fire in a coal seam beneath the town.
Since then, the fire has spread, causing the ground under Centralia to become extremely hot,
reaching over 900 degrees F (482 C) in some spots. At times noxious fumes leaking from sinkholes has
sickened residents. Several attempts were made to excavate and put out the fire, but to no avail.
Some of the abandoned coal mines stoke the fire and at this point,
it would be incredibly expensive and also extremely dangerous to
figure out which mine tunnels are fueling the fire and close them off.
Over the years, authorities have relocated--sometimes forcibly, the majority of
residents. Today Centralia is a ghost town. It’s become a popular destination for urban explorers
and also served as the creepy inspiration for horror movie franchise Silent Hill.
If you think that’s bad, our next topic involves something fundamental that all
creatures must do to survive and how amazingly horrible life becomes when you can’t do it.
7. Fatal Insomnia What if every night you have
trouble falling asleep? You’re exhausted, but everything you try such as warm milk,
calming music, meditation and sleeping pills doesn’t really help. You move through your days
in a daze; confused, disoriented, fatigued. In the middle of ordinary tasks, you suddenly nod off for
seconds at a time and then you jerk back awake. Your insomnia grows worse night by night. You
begin to slur your words, you see hallucinations. You have sudden episodes of sweating profusely.
Your whole existence longs for the sweet embrace of restful slumber, but you cannot find relief.
Such are the symptoms for sufferers of an extremely rare disorder,
fatal insomnia. As time goes on the insomnia increasingly grows worse. Suffers may develop
dementia, coordination and speech problems. Other symptoms include constipation,
an elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, as well as menopause for women and impotence for men.
There is no cure for this disease, although at least one patient was able to slow symptoms with
a variety of strategies, including vitamin therapy, meditation and a sensory deprived,
controlled sleep process. Fatal insomnia results in death within a few months to
a few years after the onset of symptoms, the average length to demise being about 18 months.
While the average age of the sufferer is 50, the disorder has been diagnosed in patients 18-60.
Diagnosis of fatal insomnia is suspected based on symptoms. Patients undergo sleep studies,
PET scans and genetic testing to receive a more complete view of symptoms. However,
a suspected case of fatal insomnia can only be confirmed by a brain autopsy after death.
A disease where your body slowly shuts down because although you long to,
you’re simply unable to do a natural bodily function is incredibly disturbing in our book.
Our next disturbing topic involves one of the most beautiful and remote places on earth. Sadly,
it’s becoming polluted in a crazy, macabre way due to humans trying to achieve a goal.
6. Green Boots Many climbers set out with dreams of conquering
Mount Everest; however sometimes the mountain conquers them. Number 6 on our list of Even More
disturbing Wikipedia Pages is Green Boots. Nicknamed for the bright green Koflach
mountaineering boots on his feet, Green Boots is the body of an unidentified climber who perished
in a limestone alcove cave at 27,900 ft (8,500 m) on Mount Everest. He’s become a landmark on
the main Northeast ridge route of Mount Everest and expeditions climbing from the north side
pass by him. Green boots is believed to be Tsewang Paljor, one of 8 climbers who died in
a blizzard during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Green boot isn’t the only corpse on the mountain.
Over 300 people have died climbing Mount Everest and some 200 remain on its slopes. In fact, an
area just below the summit is nicknamed ‘Rainbow Valley’ because of the many corpses laying there
wearing brightly colored mountaineering apparel. It is incredibly expensive,
labor intensive and dangerous to the rescuers to retrieve a corpse. Some climbers think that the
dead should be left where they lie out of respect for the dead climbers’ love for the mountain
while others see the corpses as a macabre warning to know one’s limits with nature.
Number 5 on our list of disturbing Wikipedia pages is one of the most shocking events to
take place at the end of the 20th century. Curiously the catalyst for this event was a
natural wonder that the earth probably won’t experience again for close to 2,533 years.
5. Heaven’s Gate Cult In the late 1990’s the Comet
Hale–Bopp passed close to earth and was visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months. Professional
and amatuer astronomers worldwide tracked the comet’s path across the heavens. Also tracking
the comet was Heaven’s Gate, a cult waiting for the right moment to put their plan into action.
Responding to a tip, on March 26, 1997, deputies of the San Diego County Sheriff's
Department discovered a scene of mass suicide. 39 members of Heaven’s Gate, including the leader,
Marshall Applewhite, committed a coordinated series of ritual suicides in order to join what
they believed was an extraterrestrial spacecraft following Comet Hale–Bopp. Marshall believed the
UFO would take their souls to another "level of existence above human", which he described
as being both physical and spiritual. All 39 were found wearing identical
black shirts and sweatpants, brand new black-and-white Nike Decades athletic shoes,
and armband patches reading "Heaven's Gate Away Team". The identical clothing represented unity,
while the Nike Decades were chosen simply because the group “got a good deal”.
News of the deaths motivated at least one copycat suicide by a member of the public not affliated
with the group. In the months after the mass suicide event, at least three more members
of Heaven's Gate cult commited suicide. Currently, former members of Heaven Gate’s
continue to maintain the group's website and media presence. The website explains the
group’s rationale for committing suicide, saying "Hale–Bopp brings closure to Heaven's Gate ... Our
22 years of classroom here on planet Earth is finally coming to conclusion—'graduation' from the
Human Evolutionary Level. We are happily prepared to leave 'this world' and go with Ti's crew.”
The culmination of the Heaven’s Gate Cult was wild, but the next topic is insane. The appalling
politically driven actions of a leader had an unexpected twist and ultimately the end result
was very different than originally intended. 4. Cadaver Synod
In January of 897, Pope Formosus was made to appear at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in
Rome and stand trial. He was accused of perjury, violating canon law, and several other crimes.
It was a politically motivated event, orchestrated by rulers asserting their power. However,
this trial was unusual--Pope Formosus was dead; in fact he had died some seven months earlier.
However, by order of the current pope Stephen VI, the corpse of Formosus was exhumed from his tomb
and brought to the papal court for a trial. He was propped up on a throne and a deacon
was appointed to answer on Formosus’ behalf, since he clearly couldn’t answer himself.
Once the trial had concluded, Formosus was judged to be guilty and his papacy was retroactively
nullified. Stephen had the corpse stripped of its papal vestments and then cut off the three
fingers of Formosus’ right hand that in life he had used for blessings. Also, Stephen formally
invalidated all of Formosus' acts and ordinations. Formosus’ corpse was then buried in a graveyard
for foreigners. But that wasn’t insulting enough. They dug him up once again, tied weights to his
body and threw him into the Tiber River. But that wasn’t the end of Formosus;
his corpse washed up on the banks of the river. A rumor began to circulate throughout Rome that the
corpse was performing miracles. Public opinion turned against Pope Stephen. A mob rose up,
removed him from power and imprisoned him. In the summer of 897, Stephen VI was murdered in jail.
In December 897, Pope Theodore II convened another synod which undid the Cadaver Synod
and restored Formosus’ ordinations. He ordered that Formosus’ corpse be dressed in Papal regalia
and be reburied in Saint Peter's Basilica. So eventually Formosus received restorative
justice. Unfortunately, in our next story there was little justice for the victim
and what happened to the murderer after the crime is pretty unbelievable.
3. The Kobe Cannibal Sadly there are many killers
who have committed a host of horrific crimes that we could have included in this video.
However we decided to include only Issei Sagawa, nicknamed the Kobe Cannibal. Not
only was his crime incredibly disturbing, but the public’s reaction was disturbing also.
In 1981, in Paris, Japanese exchange PHD student Issei Sagawa murdered his Sorbonne
classmate Renée Hartevelt. He then spent the next several days mutilating, violating
and cannibalizing her corpse. He was caught by French police soon after dumping two suitcases
containing some of Renée’s remains near a lake. Issei’s wealthy father hired a lawyer for
his defense. After two years of pre-trial detention, Issei was found legally insane.
Declared unfit to stand trial, he was ordered to be held indefinitely in a mental institution.
Interested in Issei’s case, popular author Inuhiko Yomota visited him. Issei shared his written
account of committing murder with Inuhiko, who got the recollection published in Japan
under the title In the Fog. The public had avidly followed the case and Issei’s book sparked a
macabre media frenzy. The French authorities, tired of the publicity, deported Issei to Japan.
Upon arrival, Issei was immediately committed to Matsuzawa Hospital in Tokyo.
Psychologists examined him and declared him sane, finding that sexual perversion
was his only reason for murder--in other words they thought Issei was just evil.
The charges against Issei in France had been dropped, the court documents sealed and
unavailable to Japanese authorities. Thereful Issei could not be legally detained in Japan.
On August 12, 1986 he simply checked himself out of the hospital; having been imprisoned
for just about 5 years for his crime. Despite criticism, Issei has remained free since then.
For several years Issei was quite the cause celebre. Everyone wanted to interview this
sophisticated, erudite monster. He was frequently invited to be a guest speaker and commentator.
Photographers took publicity photographs of him eating meat and painting nude models.
He wrote more books about his own crime and other murders. Also, he dined at restaurants
and wrote food reviews for a magazine. However there were those who criticized the
media frenzy surrounding Issei. During the early 2000’s it became harder for Issei to find work,
although he continued to be interviewed and generate public interest. More recently,
health problems have kept the aging Issei out of the public eye.
He lives alone and receives daily care from his younger brother or caregivers.
If you’ve been eating while watching this video, you may want to put down your food
for this next disturbing Wikipedia page. Don’t say that we didn’t try to warn you.
2. Casu Marzu - Rotten Cheese There are a lot of let’s say...unique
dishes out there such as Hákarl or fermented shark and Rocky Mountain Oyster or bull testicles.
But in our minds a traditional Sardinian cheese called Casu Marzu is at the top
of the list of disturbing things you can eat. Casu Martzu literally means ‘rotten’ or ‘putrid’
cheese. It starts out as a regular wheel of pecorino. Part of the rind is removed
to allow cheese flies to lay eggs in the cheese. Once the eggs hatch, the
translucent white larvae eat through the cheese and expel an acid from their digestive system.
The acid breaks down the cheese's fats and makes it soft and runny. A wheel of Casu Martzu is ready
to eat when it’s completely colonized by maggots and has reached a late stage of decomposition.
It generally takes the tiny worms 1-2 months to produce the desired effect in the cheese.
Traditionally Casu Martzu is served with flatbread and a glass of robust red wine.
The strong smelling soft cheese is infested with hundreds of maggots which jump and writhe in your
mouth as you eat it. That is if you can get it to your mouth. When the cheese is sliced or scooped
out of the rind, the maggots react. They protect themselves by coiling up and springing up to half
a foot (15 cm) away from danger. So while lifting some Casu Martzu towards your mouth, maggots could
leap on your face. Some aficionados chill their cheese to slow or kill the larvae. Others place
the cheese in an airtight container to suffocate them to death just before eating so they don’t
have to deal with the leaping larvae problem. Even worse than maggots jumping on you the
cheese may be contaminated with nasty bacteria such as salmonella. It can trigger allergic
reactions in some eaters. There’s also the possibility that the maggots will survive
your stomach acid and colonize your intestines, causing intestinal myiasis. The symptoms can be
horrible-abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, gastric lesions, anal itch, and bloody or
maggoty stool. This is why some have called Casu Martzu the most dangerous cheese in the world.
The EU has actually banned Casu Martzu due to food hygiene-health regulations. Offenders caught with
the cheese face heavy fines. This has not prevented a black market for Casu Martzu.
Our final choice for a disturbing Wikipedia page is the shocking tale of a man who
earned himself a place in infamy because he believed death was not a hindrance to love.
1. Carl Tanzler Carl Tanzler, a radiology
technologist, was living an ordinary life in Key West, Florida when a life changing event happened.
On April 22, 1930, Karl met local beauty Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos
when she came to the Marine hospital for an examination. He fell head over heels.
Elena was eventually diagnosed with tuberculosis, an infectious disease which generally impares
lung function. While treatment options have since improved, in the 1930’s TB was frequently fatal.
Karl treated Elena with his self-professed medical knowledge, trying a variety of
medicines. He also showered her with gifts and allegedly confessed his love to her. It’s not
known whether Elena returned his affections. Despite Karl’s best efforts, Elena passed
away on October 25, 1931. A heartbroken Karl paid for her funeral, and with the permission
of her family had an above ground mausoleum built. Karl visited Elena almost every night.
One night in April 1933, Karl broke into Elena’s mausoleum and stole her body.
Allegedly Karl claimed that when he sat by her grave and serenaded her with a favorite
Spanish song, Elena’s spirit would visit him and tell him to remove her from her grave.
Karl fitted the bones of Elena’s corpse together with piano wire and stuffed her body cavity with
rags so that she maintained her original form. As her skin decomposed, Karl replaced
it with silk cloth soaked in wax and plaster of paris. He also gave her corpse glass eyes.
Karl dressed the corpse in stockings, jewelry, and gloves,
and kept it in his bed. He used large amounts of various perfumes, disinfectants, and preserving
agents to mask the odor and slow decomposition. Elena's sister Florinda heard rumors of Karl
sleeping with the disinterred body of her sister. In October 1940, she confronted him at his home.
Elena's body was eventually discovered. Florinda alerted the authorities, and Karl was arrested.
Karl was examined and found mentally competent to stand trial on the charge of "wantonly and
maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorization”. However,
eventually the charge was dropped as the statute of limitations for the crime had run out.
The case drew a media frenzy. Perhaps surprisingly, Karl was sympathetically
viewed as an eccentric romantic by the public. Elena's body was examined by doctors and then
was temporarily put on public display at a funeral home. Eventually she was returned to the cemetery
where she was reburied in an unmarked grave, in a secret location, to prevent further tampering.
Karl used a death mask to create a life-sized effigy of Elena, and lived with it until his death
at age 75 on July 3, 1952. Some claim that Karl managed to switch bodies and that he lived with
the real body of Elena until he passed away. Check out the original Disturbing
Wikipedia Pages video here: Have you heard about the
worst internet attack the world has ever seen? View this video to learn about it: