A well-crafted insult is a beautiful thing. Putting together just the right words to cut your opponent to the core is an art form. Masters of insults have been found in all times and all cultures.

If you read history, you’ll discover that personal abuse has changed how events play out at times. So be careful before you let fly with an offensive remark. Thanks to a range of rude gestures, you don’t even have to open your mouth to insult others.

Here are 10 ways that people have been offended in the past and some that might not win you many friends in the present.

Demosthenes is often considered to be the finest public speaker who ever lived. In the ancient world, he was held up as a model for all orators to follow. He did not just deliver his own speeches, however. For the right fee, he would write a speech for someone else to give.

In ancient Athens, both the accuser and the defendant had to act as their own lawyers. Thanks to Demosthenes’s fame, one of these speeches was preserved and we know how Athenians insulted each other.

The rivalry between Ariston and Ctesias went back to their military service together. Ctesias would get drunk, cause a ruckus, and urinate on Ariston’s slaves. Ariston decided to act when Ctesias started mocking him. He told the general in charge. Ctesias did not take this well and beat up Ariston. Matters were left there . . . until they returned to Athens.

One night in the marketplace, a drunken Ctesias passed Ariston. Ctesias went off and gathered his friends and family, who came and thrashed Ariston. What really seems to have riled Ariston is how Ctesias acted once Ariston was on the ground. According to Demosthenes: “He began to crow, mimicking fighting cocks that have won a battle, and his fellows bade him flap his elbows against his sides like wings.”[1]

A child lost in the woods is the subject of fairy tales, horror movies, and parents’ worst nightmares. Some children who get lost in the wild manage to survive, while others are not so lucky. Here is a collection of both miraculous survival stories and mysterious disappearances that remain unsolved.

Hermoine Granger. Sheldon Cooper. Lisa Simpson. The smartest characters in pop culture are similar to real life nerds: They are a bit odd. They may have quirky mannerisms, peculiar habits, or strange social skills. They may even speak differently. We excuse the eccentricities of the highly intelligent among us because we revere genius, but can we explain why they’re different?

There are many reasons why geniuses are unique, from nature to nurture. Some say it’s linked to genetics and brain size. Others insist that genius can be developed throughout childhood with deliberate practice and programming.[1] Either way, here are ten explanations for why the smartest humans are also sometimes the strangest.

Many of us might like to live as our parents lived, but would we want to die the same way they did? Whether it is genetics or fate, history is peppered with examples of people who have suffered a similar fate to their parents. And conversely, people succumbing to the same fate as their children.

Here is a list of ten examples of such people. In some cases, the manner of death has been the same—suicide, drugs, or a medical condition. In other cases, though the manner of death differs, eerie parallels can be seen in the circumstances surrounding the demise of parent and child.

Every year, thousands of people go hiking in the woods. Unfortunately, a number of these people become lost and are never seen or heard from again. Sometimes, missing people have no idea how they got in the woods in the first place.

When someone disappears into the wilderness, rescuers and volunteers will mobilize in an attempt to locate them. Such efforts have saved many lives over the years. Other times, through skill or luck, lost hikers make it back to civilization on their own. These are ten stories of people who got lost but were eventually found.

Since the dawn of mankind, we have always had a healthy respect for the dead. We worshiped them and buried them with jewels and gold. We built mausoleums and designed headstones so that our memories of the deceased would never fade. We memorialized them in paintings and statues—anything to keep our loved ones with us a bit longer. At one time, it was even legal to keep a preserved body in the home.

But what if someone leaves this world alone? No family, no friends, no one to mourn his passing. He may be gone but possibly not forgotten. Here are 10 ways that the dead can leave their mark on the world after death.

Dreaming, much like binge-watching Netflix, is one of those things we all do, but no one seems to understand why. We don’t dream every time we sleep, and when we do, it’s usually of some random scenario that makes no sense. We sometimes wake up with a vague recollection of a dream, but we typically can’t piece together anything concrete. This tends to be why it’s hard to study dreams, since they’re inconsistent, random, and easily forgotten (except for those pesky nightmares you’ve been getting since you were eight). Psychologists tend to agree that dreaming serves no direct physical function. However, some researchers believe that we dream for a reason and that it serves some sort of emotional, or primary, function.

These types of psychologists tend to study not only the causes of dreams but also their meanings. They delve into what dreaming can do for our bodies and our brains, such as if they can indicate how we view the world or process information. Others research the history of dreaming and whether only some of our evolutionary ancestors could dream, giving them some sort of selective advantage from those who couldn’t.

Let’s explore the top ten reasons that could explain why we dream.

The Third Reich left a lasting imprint on the world. The legacy of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party is almost impossibly vile and vast. Starting the biggest war this planet has ever seen while committing multiple genocides on an unprecedented scale is a surefire way to stick in the minds of people forever. But Nazi Germany’s influence exists in all sorts of other peculiar ways as well.

Here is a list of 10 ways the Fuhrer and his collaborators influenced the world of fashion.

The seemingly simple sense of taste is anything but clear-cut. Science cannot explain all its complexities, and the underlying biology is so powerful that marketers successfully manipulate customers with suggestion.

There are taste buds in strange places and people who taste the unbelievable. The tongue is also amazingly uncharted—sensing the tasteless, switching sensations, and even producing virtual flavors.

Marriage is a sacred vow of commitment. The union is intended to be permanent, an everlasting devotion to one another. It can be a daunting promise to make, unless you know you’ve found your soul mate. For many, the perfect spouse appears in the form of a fellow human being. But for some, their dream spouse is an object.

A few people who married non-human entities have already been covered on Listverse. Two women who became known for marrying famous monuments are Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer, who wed the Berlin Wall in 1979, and Erika Eiffel, who married the Eiffel tower in 2007. These women were well-known for their choices, but they weren’t the only people to wed lifeless spouses.

Below are ten people who married inanimate objects. None of the unions are officially recognized, of course, but many of the people on this list swear that their marriages are just as real as any union between two humans.

Amazing acts of kindness and charity can completely transform lives and bring light to what can often seem to be a dark world. While World Kindness Day may be a long way off (November 13), it is always worth celebrating society’s unsung heroes.

Time and time again, ordinary people come through for one another. The Good Samaritans on this list have made incredible sacrifices to help others—whether it was time, money, food, clothing, or shelter. These people are not rich or famous. But they still went above and beyond to help those in need.

In unfortunate instances, people have found themselves drifting helplesslyon the ocean, sometimes on rafts that aren’t more than a few feet long. With limited supplies, they soon run out of food and are left with no other option than feeding on raw birds and fish. Drinking the salty seawater is never an option, so the blood of these animals becomes water. Sometimes, marooned seafarers get lucky, and rain falls, providing them with fresh water.

Having rain falling on you while you’re in a rubber raft in the middle of a stormy sea is counteractive, since the same rain that’s aiding your survival might flood and sink your raft, hastening your demise. Then there’s the unforgiving Sun, the sharks congregating around the raft, and the harsh, salty ocean air that causes painful sores. Tales of surviving several months at sea are rare.

One of the most revered prizes a person can receive in their lifetime is the Nobel Prize. When talking about Nobel laureates, we often think of the most esteemed people in their respective fields. That usually translates into individuals who have had the most extensive education. However, some of these laureates actually dropped out of high school! Here is a list of 10 Nobel Prize winners who are, in fact, dropouts.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, but the thought of stumbling upon buried treasure is seductive to everyone. There are far more people attempting to find treasure than there are success stories. That fact doesn’t stop thousands of people from trying to beat the odds.

Many return home empty-handed. Unfortunately, some people never come back. The causes of these deaths and disappearances range from disease and starvation to mysteries that have yet to be solved. Could these mysterious deaths have been murder, or as some believe, could something supernatural have been afoot?

Swords are commonplace decorations. However, when these ornamentations get into the wrong hands, they reveal their true nature. A sword is far from the most efficient method of dispatching someone. This is close-quarter killing. Frequently, this intimate slaughtering involves family members.

However, occasional random acts of mayhem are committed by sword-wielding maniacs. In almost every case, there is a bizarre narrative leading to the ultimate heinous act. When used for murder, swords send a message.