10. David Blaine

Nowadays, David Blaine seems to be more interested in suicide missions than in performing the kind of street magic that made his name. He’s lived in a water tank for a week, hung upside down over Wollman Rink in Central Park and electrocuted himself for 72 hours. The very fact that he lives on despite these stunts is a kind of magic in itself, but it was the simple tricks he performed on the street that really gave him the edge over other magicians. Forget attention-seeking razzle-dazzle and millionaire sponsored stunts, the act of flipping a card through a shop window left passers-by speechless. Get back to what you’re good at, David!

9. Harry Blackstone, Sr

If you were wondering where the cliches of magic came from, you need to look to the pioneering magicians of the 1920s and 30s, who first performed tricks like sawing a woman in half. One of these early magicians was Harry Blackstone, Sr, who performed mainly silently, to the accompaniment of an orchestra. His signature tricks included the “Dancing Handkerchief”, the “Floating Lightbulb” and the “Vanishing Birdcage”. The latter involved disappearing a canary and is said to have delighted the children in the audience, although if 2006 film “The Prestige” is to be believed, it mainly resulted in a lot of dead canaries. Birdicide aside, Harry Blackstone Sr was a highly influential and revered magician, whose legacy was passed on to his son Harry Blackstone Jr.

8. Siegfried and Roy

Magic acts occupy a long spectrum, from the overblown theatrical illusions to pared-down street magic. Siegfried and Roy sit firmly on one end of that spectrum. Their act included glittery costumes, dramatic music and famously, live white tigers. Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn met in 1959 while working on a cruise ship, and the fortuitous presence of a cheetah on board (smuggled on by Roy) inspired them to combine wild animals and Siegfried’s magic in an unprecedented display of zoological razzle-dazzle. Eventually, the act was given a residency at The Mirage Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and they were the most popular show in Vegas for the 13 years they performed there.

Sadly, in 2003 Roy was bitten by one of their tigers  – Montecore – which effectively ended their careers. Although the act was not aggressive, it was a huge risk for the hotel and they closed the show. Siegfried and Roy – and Montecore – reunited for a farewell show in 2009 but are unlikely to perform again.

 7. Derren Brown

A world away from the glitz of Siegfried & Roy, Derren Brown is a softly-spoken, intense illusionist from the UK who has a series of macabre and impressive feats to his name. He has predicted the results of the lottery, conducted a nationwide seance and convinced someone into assassinating comedian Stephen Fry. His brand of magic is certainly dark and he describes himself as a “mentalist” i.e someone who is more concerned with influencing others’ thoughts than doing visual tricks. The results are equally astonishing, but give you the uneasy impression that someone is trying to get into the edge of your mind…

6. David Devant

The first President of the Magic Circle was both modest and self-assured – when young magicians boasted about how many tricks they knew, he replied that he knew only a few dozen, but he was able to perform them very well. His magic was, at the time, criticized for being too showy and lacking mystique, but his witty stage act paved the way for magician-entertainers for years to come. His repertoire included “Magic Kettle” where he produced, on demand, any type of alcohol the audience asked for. He was also influential in early cinema, being one of the first to purchase a theatrograph, showing it first in London in 1896. His legacy is clear in the world of magic, but also in the world of music where the indie band David Devant and his Spirit Wife bear his name.

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10. Substance Abuse

Referring to an exposure to elicit substances whilst in their mother’s womb as well as later in life, it is widely believed that children who grow up in an environment which advocates such abuse are not only more likely to suffer from the onset of particular mental conditions, but from substance dependence themselves later in life. Whether sustained alcohol intake acts to affect the growth and natural development of an unborn child, or the heroin addiction of an infant’s parents ensures that they are emotionally destabilised for good, FBI statistics suggest that around 70% of serial killers experience problems linked with substance abuse early on in life.

9. Sexual Abuse

Not many people would argue with the perspective that the people we become in adulthood largely, though perhaps not wholly, depends on the nature of our upbringing. Whilst substance abuse can act to hinder the psyche of a child through isolation, negligence and physical abuse, the matter of sexual abuse is very different. Whilst the term may suggest it, sexual abuse in this setting does not solely refer to direct physical abuse. Though such abuse is unfortunately common, it is not the only sexually themed form of childhood torment likely to influence a future killer. Acts of humiliation in relation to the likes of masturbation, the witnessing of the abuse of parents or close relatives, or just about anything else that prohibits healthy growth in relation to this most sensitive and natural of human functions can all have adverse effects.

8. Loneliness

Whilst loneliness and isolation may be considered natural amongst grown-ups, they are states which can be extremely detrimental to the rounded development of a child. The ability, or lack thereof, to forge meaningful relationships with other people is often what sets serial killers apart from their societal neighbours. It is widely believed that most serial killers grow up in environments that are unstable as a result of warring family members. This home life then transfers to other areas of their life, such as school, and soon they find themselves friendless and at the mercy of playground bully’s. Resentment and disregard for others and their feelings comes next, followed by the fulfilment of hateful urge and fantasy.

7. Animal Abuse

It is believed that a great deal of serial killers, in fact 99% of them, complete childhood apprenticeships in their trade upon animals. As violent fantasies and tendencies develop within the increasingly warped mind of a troubled child, they are likely to seek appropriate animals as necessary targets upon which to vent their torturous desires. What’s more, due to the typically dysfunctional settings in which children performing such acts grow up in, their behaviour is likely to go largely un-noticed.

6. Trouble With Employment

Opinions tend to vary more-so with regards to this characteristic than with any others on the list. Whilst FBI research maintains that serial killers need not be considered to have any specific troubles when it comes to the world of work and holding down a job, there is countless research which suggests they do. Presumably, this characteristic stems from the fact that social and academic exclusion during education leads to a disregard for the institutions importance rather early on in life. Under qualified for more professionally orientated roles, serial killers are then left with more menial unskilled societal roles.

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10. “The Walrus was Paul”

Here’s a bit of a disappointing one to start with – the clue comes from “Glass Onion” on the White Album, when John sings – “well here’s another clue for you all/The walrus was Paul”. Theorists got excited over the mention of Paul in the lyrics and rumors started flying that walrus was a Scandanavian word, meaning death. Unfortunately, a little digging reveals that the word is derived from the Old Norse “rosmhvalr”, which means…walrus. Sorry folks!

9. Billy Shears

This clue all ties in with the man that was said to have replaced Paul – William Shears Campbell, winner of the 1965 Paul lookalike competition. When the band are announcing the arrival of Billy Shears at the start of Sgt Pepper, they are actually introducing the new version of Paul. It’s also a bit of wordplay, as “Billy Shears” can be willfully misheard as “Billy’s here.”

Apparently, a picture of the real Billy (above) appears on the poster that was given away with the White Album, and he had plastic surgery to look more like the real Paul. Still, die-hard fans claim to notice differences between Paul and William, whom they christened “Faul”. Some even say that there is a 2-inch height difference and the color of his eyes has changed. As recently as 2010, things “Faul” said in interviews were still being picked apart for discrepancies.

8. Magical Mystery Tour Cover Art

An obscure one next, from the fittingly obscure Magical Mystery Tour EP. On the cover, the word “Beatles” is spelled out in stars, but if you put a mirror up to it, it comes up with a number – 2317438. What’s the significance of the number? It’s meant to be the telephone number of a London mortuary, but there’s no evidence that anyone ever called this number to find out.

The clues don’t end there though – there’s a cartoon of Paul, with a cracked head, labelled “The Fool on the Hill”. There’s a picture of all 4 Beatles where Paul is wearing a black carnation, and the others are wearing red. And then there’s a picture of Paul, sitting in front of a poster that says “I was”. Enough for you yet? Don’t worry, there’s more to come….

7. Revolution 9

This track from the White Album is largely inexplicable, with its strings of gibberish, strange noises and Yoko Ono droning “number 9″ over and over again. But again it contains clues that point to Paul’s demise. Lyrics like “his voice was low and his eye was high and his eyes were closed” and “intended to die” are meant to refer to Paul, but the real giveaway is when you play it backwards. There’s the noise of a car crash, a scream and then the repeated phrase “turn me on dead man”. It seems there is some point to that track after all…

6. Lyrical Prophecy

A bit of a red herring next. Many conspiracy-theory sites list the lyric “I was alone I took a ride I didn’t know what I would find there” as another pointer, but the theory collapses under scrutiny. That line was taken from “Got to Get You Into My Life”, a track from Revolver (above). Revolver was released on 5 August 1966, a full 3 months and 4 days before Paul’s supposed accident. I think we can safely rule this one out, unless it was Paul singing about his own death. Now, that really would be spooky…

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You have to wonder though – if superstitions work, then why isn’t John McCain sitting in the White House right now? Possibly the most superstitious man to ever hit the campaign trail, he carried in his pockets a lucky feather, a lucky compass, a lucky penny, a lucky nickel, a lucky quarter, and a laminated 4-leaf clover. But he won’t pick up any coin that is tails-up, so I’m not sure what happens if any of his lucky coins fall out. Clearly, none of his lucky charms worked, but there are a few superstitious men that did make it all the way to the top – our Top 10 Most Superstitious Presidents.

10. George W.Bush

This former President has a surprising sensitive side and has admitted to crying on the job, but it seems that he is also sensitive to the paranormal. While his father was still President, the young George wandered towards the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House and saw ghosts coming out of the wall. His daughter Jenna backed him up in an interview, where she described hearing ghostly music coming out of a White House fireplace. Winston Churchill also reportedly saw a ghost in the White House, so Dubya is in good company.

9. William Henry Harrison

Not so much a superstitious president as one that left a curse in his wake. Harrison’s harshness as Governor of Indiana angered the Native Americans there and they are said to have put a curse on him and his successors. Every president who is elected in a year divisible by 20 would die while in office. It certainly worked for Harrison, who took office in 1840 and died the following year. Abraham Lincoln was next, being elected in 1860 and assassinated 5 years later. The curse held for every president up to Reagan, who was elected in 1980 and survived an assassination attempt. George W. Bush, elected in 2000 also survived an attempt on his life.

The curse is known as the “Tippecanoe” after one of Harrison’s vicious battles against the Native Americans.

8. Gerald Ford

There are different degrees of presidential superstition and Gerald Ford instigated the homeliest of them all – the tradition that the election would be won by whichever candidate’s wife won the Family Circle baking contest. Betty Ford was the first to win with her double chocolate cookie recipe, thereby also winning her husband the top job. The tradition carried on with Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hilary Clinton, and Laura Bush all winning, but Michelle Obama lost to Cindy McCain yet didn’t lose the election. There was some suggestion that Cindy’s recipe was not her own, but I think the most likely explanation is that the multitude of lucky charms her husband carried around did have the power to win a contest….but not the one that really mattered.

7. Barack Obama

Meanwhile, John McCain’s rival Obama has a little superstition of his own – playing basketball on polling day. Apparently, there were two occasions during the primaries with Hillary Clinton in 2008 where he didn’t play, and he lost both. It may just be an excuse to get away from the craziness of the campaign trail, but it seems like even this most level-headed of presidents has his superstitious side.

6. William McKinley

William McKinley may now mostly be associated with the high school in “Glee“, but he was another famously superstitious man, with one very specific superstition. His particular quirk was that he always had to have a red carnation in his lapel, for luck. He would sometimes give them away, especially to children, but would always quickly replace it with another one. The carnation obsession originated with his political rival and eventual friend, Levi Lamborn. Lamborn’s great-great-great-great-grandson tells the full story but essentially, Lamborn would bring McKinley a red carnation every time they met and McKinley kept winning. So it became his talisman against the dangers of the world.

Shame then, that on Sept 6 1901 he took off his carnation and gave it to a little girl just as a shooter was preparing to assassinate him. He was shot and died 8 days later. Who knows whether the carnation would have saved him – having been re-elected in 1900, he was subject to the curse of Tippecanoe and maybe the pull was too strong. That’s what happens when one presidential superstition clashes with another.

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10. Vietnamese Police Chief

The Vietnam conflict of the 1960’s and 70’s was in many ways the first ever war to be covered by the popular media. Beneficial in the sense that it allowed for the first time, public insight into the nature of modern warfare, this aspect cemented the conflicts undying place within contemporary history. Alongside the revolutionary air which was slowly reaching apex in the US during the war, there are a whole range of astonishing photographs that help bring this prominent era to life half a century later. This powerful image depicts a Saigon Police Chief about to kill a Vietcong prisoner at point blank range in the streets of the Vietnamese Capital. The prisoner is captain of a ‘revenge squad’, who earlier on this day in 1968 led a mission to execute a number of innocent citizens, whilst the executor is the, now notorious, General Nguyen Ngoc Loan. Photographer Eddie Adams won a 1969 Pulitzer Prize as a result of his capturing of this symbolic image.

9. Skyscraper Lunch

The origins of many of the world’s most impressive skylines and others urban environments are all too commonly overlooked. Whilst construction of skyscraper buildings may have slowed down somewhat in the past 50 years, or at least slowed to the point of becoming less notable thanks to their sheer popularity in the 20th century, much evidence of our towns and cities earlier days remains intact. This photograph is arguably one of the more notable amongst a whole host of collections documenting the extraordinary work that has gone into constructing the world around us. Taken on September 29th, 1932- it shows 11 workmen taking their lunch hour atop a constructional girder as their feet dangle above the streets below.

8. Afghan Girl

Afghanistan is a nation which has been ravaged with warfare for a large proportion of its very existence. Though the host of many an ancient battle, the Asian country has been famous amongst recent generations as the located of two large scale international invasions, not to mention two lengthy and untidy occupations. Namely the Soviet invasion of the 1980’s, and the US led UN invasion of the early 2000’s, it is hardly surprising that a fair few journalists have managed to become acquainted with the nations during this time. This iconic photograph was taken by Steve McCurry at a camp full of Afghan refugees just across the Pakistani border. Seizing the rare opportunity to fully photograph an Afghan female, the vivid image was featured on the cover of National Geographic in 1985, a year after it was taken.

7. The Burning Monk

An image which became known to me through its appropriation as the cover artwork for Rage Against the Machines self-titled debut album, this photograph is famous amongst so many more people than fans of political rap metal bands, I’m sure. Taken on June 11th, 1963- the image depicts a Vietnamese Buddhist monk by the name of Thich Quang Duc self-immolating at a ‘busy intersection’ in downtown Saigon. His reason for carrying out such an act was in protest to Catholic repression upon Buddhist ideals amongst citizens of the troubled nation.

6. Water Fountain Segregation

Previous to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and 1950’s the United States of America, along with much of the rest of the western world, was built upon a series of fundamentally and inherently racist and unequal societies. Whilst nowadays things are a lot more balanced, we can all too often forget the degree of prejudice fully active just 40 or 50 years ago. This photograph was taken in North Carolina in 1950, and shows a ‘coloured’ gentleman taking a drink from a segregated public water fountain. It was captured by photographer Elliot Erwitt and remains amongst some of the most famous images from this era, simple yet tastefully shot, and of course- completely effective in outlining the barbarity and backwardness of racial segregation.

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In monarchies, things aren’t that simple. Succession is governed by an archaic and complex set of rules  – in Britain, for example, Roman Catholics are excluded from the succession for reasons dating back to Henry’s VIII’s wandering eye. There hasn’t been a change of monarch since 1952, but the modern system seems to be that the crown passes along the family line, without any need for battles or anyone cutting anyone else’s head off. By which I mean, things haven’t always been this civil. So, I present the Top 10 Most Dramatic Battles for the English Throne.

10. Mary I vs Lady Jane Grey

Let’s start with a battle between two ladies, and you have to feel slightly sorry for both of them. As Henry VIII’s eldest child, and his daughter by Katherine of Aragon, Mary (pictured) fell in and out of favor depending on her father’s whims. At one point, she was made to wait on her half-sister Elizabeth, daughter of the King’s second wife Anne Boleyn. So, she had a difficult upbringing and Henry’s constant angst about having a male heir can’t have helped her self-confidence. By the time Henry died, he thought his line was secure with the crown passing to his son, Edward VI, but he didn’t know that the young king would die in his teens, leaving the crown to pass to his sister in an unprecedented move.

The problem with this was that the country was Protestant at the time, thanks to Henry’s Reformation, and Mary was very staunchly Catholic. Protestant factions opposed her becoming Queen and instead set their own candidate – Lady Jane Grey – up on the throne. The young girl reigned for just 9 days before being overthrown by Mary’s forces and sent to die in the Tower of London. Really, you feel a bit sorry for both women. Mary had an unhappy life, reigning for just 5 years before dying childless. The throne passed to yet another one of Henry’s children, Elizabeth, the half-sister with whom Mary had always had a rivalry, and her reign was considered one of the greatest in history.

9. Henry IV vs Richard II

To continue the theme of family rivalries, here are a pair of cousins who had what you might call a difficult relationship. Richard II ascended to the throne at the age of 10 after the death of his grandfather, Edward III (Richard’s father had died already, causing the succession to pass to the next generation). He had a difficult reign, including an uprising of noblemen called the Lords Appellant. One of the lords involved was Henry of Bolingbroke, later to become Henry IV (above). While other nobles were executed for their part in the rebellion, Richard seemed to forgive Henry and even promoted him. But in 1398, 11 years after the uprising, a chance remark that Henry made against Richard was interpreted as treason and Henry was exiled.

The following year, Henry’s father and Richard’s uncle (John of Gaunt) died, and Richard passed laws that stopped Henry from inheriting his father’s lands. While Richard was off on a campaign in Ireland, Henry returned to England and seized the throne. Richard was put into prison, where he eventually starved to death. Whether he was deliberately starved at Henry’s command or whether he starved himself as an act of defiance is unknown. But Henry IV definitively won the prize of the throne.

8. Edward the Martyr vs Ethelred the Unready

Another pair of boys with an uneasy relationship, Edward and Ethelred (sometimes written Æthelred) were half-brothers and sons of Edgar the Peaceful. Edward (pictured) was the older, and possibly illegitimate, and he took the throne after his father’s death in 975, at around the age of 13. Ethelred was even younger but his claim was considered by some to be the more valid, as he was legitimate. When Edward was murdered at Corfe Castle 3 years later, Ethelred became king, with his age estimated at between 10 and 13.

It was a tempestuous reign – being a young boy, he was not directly suspected of Edward’s murder but his attendants certainly were, and his nickname “Unready” is a corruption of an Anglo-Saxon term that is closer to “ill-advised”. He certainly was. As the legend of Edward the Martyr grew, he was portrayed as a saint, and Ethelred’s faction were deeply unpopular. His rule lasted 38 years, littered with conflict with the Danes and his death led to yet another succession mess involving his son Edmund.

7. Edmund Ironside vs Cnut the Great

The turmoil of Ethelred’s reign spilled over into the period after his death. In his later years, Ethelred had been overthrown and exiled by Sweyn of the Danes, but had later regained his crown when Sweyn died. The fight then passed to Sweyn’s son, Cnut (above) who then fought Ethelred’s son Edmund Ironside when Ethelred also died. Edmund had ascended to the throne, but had to fight to keep it and eventually lost the Battle of Assandun to Cnut in October 1016, just a few months after Ethelred’s death. In recognition of Edmund’s skills as a warrior, Cnut agreed to divide the kingdom between them, with Edmund taking Wessex (the most southerly part of the country). However, Edmund died the month after Assandun, and Cnut was able to seize control of the whole country, establishing a short-lived new dynasty of Danish Kings of England.

6. William III vs James II

William III (above) was many things – Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland and eventually King of England. James II was the last of the ill-fated Stuart Kings. Upon Charles II’s death in 1685, they were both candidates for the throne. James, as Charles’ brother, succeeded to the throne, despite his Roman Catholicism technically excluding him from the line of succession. Protestant factions opposed this and devised a plan to replace him with his son-in-law and nephew (the royalty of the time were keen on inbreeding), William of Orange.

3 years after James’ ascension, William invaded England and took the throne jointly with his wife Mary, James’ daughter. Keen to avoid the deposed King becoming a Roman Catholic martyr, William chose to banish him rather than execute him and James died 13 years later in France.

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10. Stephen Fry

British comedian Stephen Fry made his name in the 1980s, with his comedy partner Hugh Laurie and is now regarded as a national treasure. He is highly intelligent, presents a quiz show that debunks popular beliefs and he suffers from bipolar disorder. He describes it as a “disease that will never go away” and said that he filmed whole episodes of his quiz show while being so depressed he wanted to die. In 1995, he had a nervous breakdown and walked out on a play he was in in the West End. Following that, he went missing for a few days before resurfacing in Belgium. He is now the President of mental health charity Mind.

9. Robin Williams

A comic whose quickfire wit hid a barrage of personal problems. His first marriage lasted just ten years, and his affair during it saw him being sued by a cocktail waitress for infecting her with herpes. He had a cocaine addiction throughout the 1970s and 80s, until the death of his friend John Belushi gave him what he describes as a “wake-up call” and he went into rehab. He later returned to rehab when he started drinking again in 2006. He later admitted on TV that he was lucky to be alive still and it would have been a tragic waste of talent if he had died because of his excesses. Fortunately, even when he started drinking again, he resisted the lure of cocaine because he said “I knew that would kill me”. He continues to get help for his addictions.

8. John Belushi

John Belushi, however, was not so lucky. After partying with Robin Williams for years, he died on March 5 1982 at Chateau Marmont, on the Sunset Strip. He had been out drinking and retired back to the hotel for more drinking and drugs. Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro came by at 3am and then left Belushi for the rest of the night. He finally went to sleep at 9:30am, after injecting himself with a heroin and cocaine speedball, but was found dead at lunchtime. Prior to his death, he was a hugely successful comedian, co-creating cult film “The Blues Brothers”, but his addictions overwhelmed him and the comedy world lost a rising star. It did, however, serve as stark warning to his celebrity friends that it could happen to them too.

7. Charlie Sheen

This was one star who failed to keep his private and professional lives separate. While other comedians sustained their careers while battling addictions, Charlie Sheen’s very public meltdown caused him to be fired from his hit show “Two and a Half Men“. His character was killed off in a very undignified way, and the producers humiliated him further by shooting a funeral scene where his character’s reputation (also called Charlie) was ripped to shreds by various ex-girlfriends. If you annoy producers, they will exact their revenge.

The warning signs had all been there for a while – in 1990, he accidentally shot his fiancee in the arm and his 2005 divorce from Denise Richards cited drug and alcohol abuse and threats of violence. In 2008, his sons were taken away from him following the break up of his third marriage. Then in 2011, it all peaked with the public argument between Sheen and his producers after which he posted an hour-long rant on the internet, flanked by his “goddesses” and babbling about “tiger blood”. He may have made his name in comedy, but he destroyed it in a painful and very public way.

6. Whoopi Goldberg

Another much-loved comedian and actress who has struggled with addiction and depression. She has been married three times, although she claims not to have loved any of her husbands. She describes her former self as a “fully functioning addict” and worked throughout her addiction, knowing that she needed to keep making films in order to raise her profile. However, she was suffering from paranoia and eventually got help. She has now been clean for several years and has used her story to encourage other young actors to seek help.

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10. Salvatore Riina

How can a man go from “The Accountant” to “The Beast”? It was quite a transition for this Sicilian mafioso, who managed to evade the law from 1969 to 1993. After a career of increasing savagery – hence the “Beast” nickname – he was cornered by a 35-strong police team and protested that they had “the wrong guy” before meekly surrendering. He was wanted for more than 50 murders. The LA Times reported that the anti-Mafia judges saw it as “a great day for all of us and a stunning blow for the Mafia”. Riina remains in jail, on a number of life sentences and his mansion turned into a school. The Beast has been tamed.

9. Charles “Lucky” Luciano

“Lucky” was one Mafia boss that wasn’t so lucky. True, he turned the New York Mafia from a bunch of petty criminals to a smooth-running organization with a Board of Directors. True, he was friends with Frank Sinatra and was photographed with his arms around him during a trip to Havana. But he didn’t have the “teflon” qualities of some of the other bosses, and crimes tended to stick to him. His first charge was for shoplifting at the tender age of 10, and he was arrested again 29 years later. This time the charge was prostitution and the sentence was 30 to 50 years. He was deported to Italy in 1946 and continued to control operations, but never regained the power and status he had before his jail term. He died of a heart attack at Naples airport, aged just 64.

8. Tony “Big Tuna” Accardo

So named because he once caught a really big tuna, Tony was born in Chicago to Italian parents. After dropping out of school early (because his parents faked his birth records to make him look older), his violent antic caught the attention of Al Capone. Soon, he became Capone’s bodyguard and was implicated in the Valentines’ Day Massacre of 1929. He rose again through the ranks after Capone was jailed and eventually took over as Boss in 1968, after the retirement of Paul Ricca, although in reality he had been running “The Outfit” for decades as underboss.

He was remarkable for two reasons – firstly because he never spent any time in jail, even though he’d been arrested multiple times. He was investigated for fraud by the IRS but it never came to anything. A conviction for tax evasion in 1960 was overturned before he got to jail. Even after the murder of 3 men who had burgled his house a month earlier, nothing ever stuck to him. The other remarkable thing about Accardo was that he died of natural causes at the age of 86 – an unusually long life for a mobster.

7. Paul Ricca

The man who ruled Chicago in the 1940s, together with Accardo as underboss, Paul Ricca began his life of crime at 18 by killing someone he claimed had stood up his sister. In reality, he’d been ordered to by the Mafia. He was jailed for that crime, and on emerging from jail killed the man who’d testified against him.

With such a blood-splattered start, he was clearly destined for Mafia greatness after his move to America in 1920. He was befriended by Capone, and was the Best Man at his wedding, but after Capone was jailed the leadership moved briefly to Frank Nitti. A severe claustrophobic who feared going back to jail, Nitti was driven to suicide by the idea of pleading guilty and Ricca took over as mob chief. As a chief he was soft-spoken but ruthless, ordering a murder with the words “Make-a him go away.” He was jailed in 1943, but released four years later and jailed again in 1959 for a mere 27 months. He later retired and died of a heart attack in 1972.

6. John “No Nose” DiFronzo

Following Capone, Ricca and Accardo, the alleged current leader of The Chicago Outfit is John “No Nose” DiFronzo. He got the name during a 1949 burglary, when he jumped through a store window and lost part of his nose. He was around 20 at the time, and he continued a life of crime although, amazingly, he has never been imprisoned. He somehow avoided being involved in the FBI’s “Operation Family Secrets“, a trial that saw his fellow Chicago mobsters sent down for 18 unsolved murders and he is still allegedly running The Outfit.

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10. Burke and Wills

Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills are to Australians what Lewis and Clark are to Americans. They were explorers of the frontier, people who traveled beyond the limits of colonization in search of faster ways to get around. Like Lewis and Clark, they also failed at what they sought to do (Lewis and Clark were looking for a Northwest Passage that didn’t exist—what they found was a huge ocean). Well, the word fail is a little harsh for these guys. They did succeed at being the first Europeans to travel from the South of Australia all the way to the Northern shores. However, they failed to return alive. During the return trip, they found a base camp that was supposed to be manned, well, deserted. Burke and Wills traveled with John King who bore witness to both of their deaths and became the only man to successfully complete the journey there and back again. Overall, eight of the nineteen men enlisted on this expedition fell victim to the Australian bush.

9. Christopher Columbus and His Quest for India.

Has there ever been a more over-rated chump than the “discoverer” of the Americas? Granted, he did figure out (or at least accepted) the whole “world wasn’t flat” thing. Good for him. However, “Indians” aside, there were other humans that had supposedly set foot upon the continent’s soil long before Columbus did, such as the Viking Leif Erikson (these guys just loved to sail west, have you seen the new show on the History channel?). He might have sported giant meatballs to sail out into the big blue in search of an alternate route to India, but this Italian explorer was just one of many brave souls. He never quite figured out that the natives, the indios, were not really from India. Regardless, he endeavored to bathe the natives with the righteous light of Christianity through slavery and oppression. Perhaps he was a trendsetter in a way, but probably not for the best.

8. Chris McCandless Goes Into the Wild

Many people disagree on whether Chris McCandless was a transcendental guru or a rich, spoiled, selfish brat who hurt his family beyond measure. Whatever he was, he wasn’t a practical person. After his college graduation, Chris shed his privileged shackles and became Alexander Supertramp—an unkempt, hitchhiking adventure seeker. For a while, he lived an interesting life traveling between transient camps and working odd jobs. He embarked on a series of mini adventures, the largest being a row down the Colorado River all the way into Mexico. He soon fashioned himself as an expert survivalist who needed minimal equipment in order to endure harsh conditions. Alaska had something to say about this. One hundred and twelve days after McCandless entered the Alaskan wilderness under-geared with a lack of proper clothes, a .22 caliber rifle and a paperback guide to berries (among other things), he succumbed to starvation at the age of 24.

7. Amelia Earheart and Her Trans-World Journey

So apparently the search for this chick may have come to an end. For decades scholars have debated the fate of this beloved American idol. Amelia soared into record books as a premiere female pilot, including setting transcontinental speed marks. In 1937, she set out in a highly broadcast attempt to circumnavigate the globe via the Equatorial line. She failed by way of a disappearing act. Her plane went down somewhere over the Pacific and she was never heard from again. It is recently believed that her crash landing took place near an uninhabited island in the region of Kiribati. It seems that she lived out her days as a castaway long before Gilligan, Tom Hanks or the cast from LOST made it a popular thing to do.

6. Donner Party

There was a lot of meat but this ain’t no barbeque. Instead, these westward American pioneers ended up snacking on each other’s flesh, or so the story goes. Eighty-seven adventure seekers formed a wagon train heading from Missouri to California. They took an ill-advised route and ended up snowed in with nowhere to go. By the time help reached them, only 48 of the party members remained. They had long ago run out of food rations and had resorted to munching on their fallen comrades, families and friends. Recent speculation amid an excavation of the area sheds doubt on the extent of the reported cannibalism. It has always been apparent that the people didn’t simply chow down on each other—they took every angle they could to avoid this action (including chewing on their pet dogs). It does remain likely, however (and makes a much better story) that cannibalism had taken place here at a reasonable scale.

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10. H. Beam Piper

H. Beam Piper

At the time of his suicide at age 60, H. Beam Piper (born Henry Beam Piper) was not nearly as unsuccessful a writer as he believed. In a tragic coincidence, his agent had died before being able to notify him about multiple sales. While Piper was published in several magazines during his lifetime, it was not until his entire oeuvre was posthumously reprinted by publisher Ace Science Fiction that his work won over legions of new science fiction fans.

9. Nathaniel West

Nathaniel West

A screenwriter and novelist, Nathaniel West (born Nathan von Wallenstein Weinstein) attracted little attention for his work before his death at age 37 in a car accident. Only after his collected novels were published 17 years later by New Directions did his work begin to receive critical acclaim. His novel “Miss Lonelyhearts” is considered his masterpiece, while his “The Day of the Locust” remains an insightful novel about the early days of Hollywood, based on his experiences as a screenwriter. His novels today are regarded as an important look at the issues of his day, including the Great Depression, and his work had been compared to John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

8. James Agee

James Agee

Like Nathaniel West, James Agee was both a writer and screenwriter, achieving only modest recognition in life. Also a poet, he was primarily known for his film criticism in his lifetime. He was 45 when he died of a heart attack, and his posthumously-published novel, “A Death in the Family,” won a Pulitzer Prize three years later. Thanks to that recognition, interest in his other works grew, eventually earning him a place amongst the most respected 20th Century American writers.

7. John Kennedy Toole

John Kennedy Toole

Pulitzer-Prize-winning author John Kennedy Toole was only aspiring author John Kennedy Toole in his short lifetime. In fact, the novel that won that honor, “A Confederacy of Dunces,” was rejected for publication by Simon & Schuster while he was alive. Despite some revisions, Toole could not convince editor Robert Gottlieb to change his mind. At the time that he committed suicide, at only 31, Toole could never have predicted his novel would go on to achieve such accolades. But his grieving mother showed the manuscript to novelist Walker Percy, who made sure the book got published. Twelve years after his death, Toole was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Featuring an antihero who is both physically and personally distasteful, “A Confederacy of Dunces” is now required reading in many literary courses. If only Toole himself would have known his work would be so acclaimed, he might have lived long enough to write more.

6. Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

Although she had been published and attracted some followers before her suicide at age 30, Sylvia Plath’s work gained far more recognition after her death. Her semi-autographical novel, “The Bell Jar,” was published only a month before her death and, therefore, she could have had no inkling it would one day form the foundation to so many high school and college English papers. Her “Collected Poems” was honored posthumously in 1981 with a Pulitzer Prize. Her brief life has continued to both inspire poets and to draw attention to the serious condition of depression.

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