by Marieta Bariami, Maria Politi & Chrisa Tagari

Conspiracy theory (noun): A belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for an unexplained event

The earth is flat

Have you ever wondered why, when you fly a kite, it doesn’t get ‘pulled’ sideways by the Earth’s atmosphere as the earth rotates? What this theory suggests is that the Earth is flat rather than an oblate spheroid. Flat earthers rely on our perception of the horizon. The horizon always rises to meet your eye level no matter how high in altitude you go. Even at 20 miles up, for example, the horizon rises to meet the observer/camera, which would only be feasible if the Earth was a huge endless flat plane. However, if the Earth really were a globe, no matter how large, as you ascended the horizon would stay fixed and the observer/camera would have to tilt downward, looking down further and further to see it. Other evidence is that if the earth was a ball, it would be far, far harder to fly to the East – because the atmosphere is moving in the other direction at hundreds of miles per hour. Specifically, according to science, the Earth (along with its atmosphere) is spinning Eastwards with speed higher that 1,000mph. However, if a commercial airliner is travelling at 500mph, there’s no way it could reach its Eastern destination on time – it would take two times more.

The Titanic ship tragedy 

Is it possible that the titanic ship was never sank, but it was swapped with its sister ship, the Olympic as part of an insurance scam? The theory goes that, the Olympic would be swapped with the Titanic and sunk in a staged accident. As the two ships were essentially identical save for minor differences, the swap would entail nothing more elaborate than swapping a few nameplates and plaques. The Titanic, now disguised as the Olympic, would then carry on in service. This theory is based on the fact that on the side of the wreck can be seen what appears to be the letters M and P which  could be the remains of the ship’s original nameplate-‘OLYMPIC’ covered over with the Titanic’s as part of the scam. Another argument relies on the commonly, at the time, practiced insurance scams and maritime frauds. Whilst it seems unlikely such scam could be pulled off today, the lack of media coverage in 1912 makes it more credible. If we take a closer look at the only film of the Titanic that has survived, which is quite scant, only the most eagle-eyed would ever have spotted the swap.

Black holes are portals to other universes    

It is believed that black holes are wormholes that connect our universe to other universes. Wormholes, which are hypothetical warps in the fabric of space-time that form a sort of tunnel, are still firmly in the theoretical realm. Thus it’s quite difficult to say either way at the moment if the theory is true. However, the mathematics behind it does solve the problem of losing information that falls into a black hole, as a wormhole would ensure it’s never really lost.

Our universe is a hologram

Some argue that the universe is a giant hologram, or, in more scientific language, «a projection of a two-dimensional shell».

If this theory is right, the universe should be «grainy» once we get down to a certain level, like pixels on a computer screen. Yet what looked like evidence for those pixels has now been superseded, and it seems that, if they do exist, they are too small for us  to examine. So we might never know if we’re living in a hologram or not.

Avril Lavigne actually died in 2003

Well, that is… complicated.Thanks to some intense investigation from a Brazilian fan site, some Avril fans believe that the real Avril died shortly after the release of her Let Go album and was replaced by a lookalike so as not to lose any earnings from her popularity. Apparently the fact that she looks slightly different over a period of years and the way she has changed her sound to a more poppy vibe these days is all the proof we need. SCIENCE

Keanu Reeves is immortal

Maybe he has just got one of those faces that look like everyone. But there is a lot of people throughout the years who all look exactly like the actor. The theory reckons that he has actually been an immortal person since around the year 748 and has popped up in time as a doctor, a painter and even a French king. In addition, he has donated a ton of money, saying: “Money is the last thing I think about. I could live on what I have already made for the next few centuries.”

Taylor Swift is secretly a satanic cult leader

Some people claim that she looks very alike to Zeena LaVey, the daughter of Anton LaVey, who founded the Church of Satan in 1966. The theory claims that the famous singer is the Illuminati clone of Zeena. This whole theory is based on the fact that Zeena left her father’s church in 1990, a year after the musician was born.

Katy Perry is a murdered beauty pageant queen

Some people believe that the death of famous murdered child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was actually a scum. The believers of this theory go on to claim that Katy Perry, is the grown-up JonBenét in disguise. The popular theory uses everything from eyebrows to singing voice, to claim the possibility and even argues that mother Patsy Pamsey who died in 2006, simply lost weight to become Katy’s mother, while father John shaved his head to become KP’s dad. Right.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_flat_Earth_societies
• https://flatearthscienceandbible.com/2016/02/08/top-ten-undeniable-flat-earth-proofs/
• https://theunredacted.com/titanic-conspiracy-the-ship-that-never-sank/
• https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/11-mind-bending-theories-about-our-universe?utm_term=.dd6v1bBNz#.am5WEYk2L
• https://www.google.gr/amp/metro.co.uk/2017/05/08/here-are-five-reasons-flat-earthers-believe-that-the-earth-is-flat-not-round-6623333/amp/
• http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/flat-earth-theory
• https://www.romper.com/p/5-katy-perry-jonbenet-ramsey-conspiracy-theories-that-will-have-you-questioning-everything-6271
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TAMvShUl3U
• https://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/taylor-swift-zeena-lavey?utm_term=.ulq6zB25GK#.mlgz5D0j26
• https://www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/celeb-conspiracies?utm_term=.ykv2j9QNer#.etqk8VzAm2
• Snapchat app

By George Sotiropoulos, Dionysis Sotiropoulos & Andreas Remboutsikas (A Class)

• Compulsory Swimming

Sharks don’t have swim bladders, a fact that forces them to swim all the time so that they can float and not get drowned.

• Pizza Lovers

Americans consume EVERY DAY 72.000 sq.m. of pizza.

• Did you know…

Lighter was invented before matches!

• What was going on in his head?

The electric chair was created by a dentist.

•  Spartan Rules

Turkeys bite to death any member of their pack which has some differences from the others or has some genetical disorder.

•  Huge Strength

A beatle is considered the strongest being, having the ability to lift its weight 850 times! (64 tons for an average human)

MOVING ON…………………

• National Anthem

The National Anthem of Spain has no lyrics

•  Rapunzel, Rapunzel can you lift a truck?

A human’s hair is so strong that it can lift 12 tones.

But DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

•  Interesting Hippo…thesis

Hippo’s milk is actually pink.

•   Cat-talk

Cats communicate with at least 16 ‘’cat-words’’.

•  Watchers everywhere

   A person’s eye moves 80 times per second.

• That was easy…

Some fishes can change their sex and become males from females.

AND ON…

• Food is money

Peanut butter can turn into a diamond.

SEEMS WE’RE OUT OF IDEAS… THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!!

By Dimosthenis Bakogiannis (A Class)

Extreme Ironing, UK

 David Fitzgerald, aka “Safety Setting’, 26, an Environmental Health Officer from Chichester, irons a shirt during the water section of the Extreme Ironing World Championships being held near Munich in Germany.

First beginning in Leicester in 1997, extreme ironing is a craze that has seen the chore taken to mountains, helicopters, and even mid-air during a skydive.

Mooing, USA

Who knew that resembling this could net you some cash?

In Wisconsin, USA, a competition takes place in which competitors must do their best impression of a cow. The latest winner was a ten-year-old boy named Austin, who received $1,000, a cow print jacket, and a golden cow bell among other prizes.

Train Surfing, Germany

Presenter Andrew Marr train surfing in Dhaka

This began in Germany in the 80s, and it’s as dangerous as it sounds. Train surfing involves jumping on the outside of a passenger train and hitching a ride. Over 40 people in Germany died in 2008 alone from attempting to train surf.

Tattooing Vehicles, Taiwan

Palestinian artist Belal Khaled intricately paints graffiti on the car. 

This comes from a Taiwanese pensioner, who enjoys tattooing words from Buddhist texts onto automobiles. His grandson has promised that when he is older and has the money, he will buy his grandfather a bus so that he can make the most of his hobby.

News-Bombing, UK

Paul Yarrow takes part in news-bombing. He has been seen on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky News at random locations and at random times.

Here in the UK, one man enjoys finding the locations of live news-reports, and ensuring that he appears in the background behind the journalist being filmed. He claims that his aim is to make a serious point about broadcasters only allowing attractive people on-screen.

Ecstasy Collection, Netherlands

Ecstasy-pills

In 2009, a man phoned the Dutch authorities to report the theft of his ecstasy collection. This included over 2,400 tablets, which he kept in coin folders. Though he knew that this was illegal, he reported them missing as he was concerned that the collection could be very dangerous.

Collecting In-Flight Sick Bags, Singapore

Some people collect in-flight sick bags (like this one) as a hobby. 

Believe it or not, websites are available for “Baggists” to buy and trade any sick bags they may or may not have found on aeroplanes. One of the original “Baggists” is from Singapore, and has now got an impressive collection of 388 bags from 186 airlines.

Bug Fighting, Japan

Real-life Pokémon. 

Originating in Japan, bug fighting is, as expected, where various insects are put into a small plastic arena to battle it out. These fights are recorded, and the videos placed online.

 Fork Bending, Japan

Fork bending in shape of peace sign, close-up 

Another bizarre Japanese hobby here, fork-bending is the theory that by concentrating your mind, one will be able to complete the action with minimal physical effort. Think Uri Geller.

 Painting the Largest Ball of Paint, USA

Michael Carmichael applies the 22539th coat of paint to a giant baseball at his home in Alexandria, Indiana 

This began in 1977, when Mike Carmichael decided to paint a baseball, leading to the creation of a 3500 pound paint-covered ball, with over 22, 894 paint coats upon it. This has become a local tourist attraction, his only rule being that each coat must be a different colour from the previous one.

Hikaru Dorodango, Japan

For some, rolling mud into a ball is a beloved pastime. 

Imagine rolling mud into a ball, before then methodically dusting it with soil, and repeating the process again and again. This hobby was originally a traditional hobby among Japanese children.

Soap Carving, Thailand

Who wouldn’t want to carve pictures into something that smells lovely? 

In Thailand, it’s common to see hand-carved soap flowers sold at night markets.

As a hobby, soap-carving is viewed very highly and people often sell their creations as souvenirs.

By Melpomeni Paraskevopoulou & Helen Skouta (A Class)

For 749th consecutive year in the  small town  of Egremont,the locals celebrated the Crab Fair. This celebration is the home of the World  grimaces Championship and this year was the same as all the others: a bunch of people trying to  make their faces look as odd as possible.

For this ensemble of wacky individuals, ugly is beautiful.

They have been taking part in the World grimaces  Championships, where the winner is whoever can pull the ugliest face for ages.

Men and women wear around their neck a horse collar and try to make the most bizarre grimace. The competition has rules, including a ban on make-up, though manipulation of false-teeth is allowed for those who have them.

Contestants have to put their head through a horse collar and “snarl like a dog, look savage, distort the countenance’.

The grimace contest is only one part of a series of traditional sports held as part of the Crab Fair, including horse and pony leaping and pipe smoking competitions.

The reasons why contestants participate are various. A man decided to take part in the championship to  break the world record of participation in most world championships. Another woman had come from the distant Stroud, after realizing how frightening she seemed to be without her front teeth.

 Here are some photos:

Sources:

• http://www.sport24.gr/viral/gelia-mexri-dakruwn-sto-pagkosmio-prwtathlhma-gkrimatsas.4277617.html

• http://www.sportit.gr/pagkosmio-protathlima-gkrimatsas-pics/?doing_wp_cron=1482165411.4619050025939941406250

• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242371/Hope-wind-doesn-t-change-Competitors-battle-pull-horrendous-face-World-Gurning-Championships.html

By Evaggelia Goulimi (A class)

1. Believe it or not, outer space is only an hour if you could drive a car straight into the sky at 60 miles an hour.  

2.Monowi, Nebraska is the smallest incorporated municipality in the United States with a population of just one. Its sole resident, Elsie Eiler, is both the town mayor and librarian.

3.When the Domestic Parcel Service was first introduced by the United States Postal Service in 1913, it was legal to ship children as long as they weighed less than 50 pounds!

4.In 2013, Scottish scientists created a pizza that has 30% of your daily recommended nutrients. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thank you, Scottish scientists!

5. The current American flag was designed by a 17-year-old boy named Robert Heft as a high school project for which he received a B MINUS!

6. On Good Friday in 1930, the BBC announced there is no news followed by piano music.

7. Gambling generates more money than music, movies and sports combined. Know your limit, play within it!

8. There is a movie from 2010 called “Rubber” about a murderous car tyre named Robert that rolls around killing people and blowing things up… Yeah, weird.

9. There are more than 150 people cryofrozen right now in hope that one day the technology will be invented to revive them with over 1000 registered to do the same upon their death.

10. There is an alarm clock called Clocky that has wheels and runs away and HIDES if you don’t get out of bed on time. You all sleepy guys need that!

11. The word bae which is popular in North America society is actually the Danish word of poop… Think about that next time you call you girlfriend bae.

12. A can of Diet Coke will float in water, while a can of regular Coke sinks. Try it!

13. Until 1974, it was actually illegal to appear in public in Chicago if you were ugly.

14. You can be criminally prosecuted for making death threats written entirely in emoji . I’ll go in jail, I’m sure.

15. Research shows that others see you as 20% more attractive than you think you are. This is because when you look in a mirror all that’s reflected are your looks, not you personality.

Source:

By  Giannakopoulou Joanna and Denazi Irene

    The only place more dangerous to live than prison is the world outside of it. A quick look at the evening news will convince any viewer that the world is a dangerous place to live. One violent crime is followed by another, and it becomes apparent that human nature has some serious flaws in it.

Of course, not everybody feels the need to physically harm another person, but there are too many people who not only feel the compulsion, but embrace it willingly. Because the outside world is dangerous, criminal justice becomes vitally important to a healthy society. Prisons are designed to house criminals, and some prisons are designed specifically for the world’s most dangerous criminals. These are the criminals who pose the greatest threat to society.

While the hope of any criminal justice system is the reformation of a criminal’s character, housing the world’s most dangerous criminals together in a prison seems to make a prison’s violent atmosphere an inevitability. Added to that are the cruel conditions often created by some of the prisons’ staffs. The world’s most violent prisons are places where criminals fight daily either for their sanity or for their very survival.

Following is a list of the top 10 most violent prisons in the world.

10. San Quentin Prison (California)

San Quentin Prison was established in 1852 and is the oldest prison in the state of California. Although the prison has a gas chamber, the only executions performed there are by lethal injection. Violence is a continual issue at San Quentin even with a large staff of guards. A particular incident occurred in February 2006 when some racially motivated attacks resulted in the injuries of 100 inmates. Additionally, two inmates were killed. The prison is known for its poor conditions, and a 2005 report stated that “it is our opinion that it is dangerous to house people there.”

9. Bang Kwang Prison (Thailand)

Located a few miles from Bangkok is one of the toughest prisons in Thailand with me nickname “Bangkok Hilton”  The Bang Kwang Maximum-Security Prison holds a large population of foreign prisoners. Inmates are crammed into small cells, and death row inmates are often given as little as two hours notice before they are dragged off to their execution.

For the first three months of an inmate’s sentence, they wear shackles. About 10 percent of the inmates are awaiting execution; those on death row wear iron shackles welded to their legs. All prisoners are serving a minimum of 25 years. Nutrition comes in the form of one bowl of rice with vegetables to eat once a day. A canteen is available for prisoners to purchase additional food or items needed. Many suffer from malnutrition and preventable diseases. The prison has no running water, a barely functioning sewer system, and is severely overcrowded.

8. Rikers Island Prison (NY)

Rikers Island Prison in New York has a legacy of prisoner violence. A man named John Reyes, who was a guard at the prison in 1991, mentioned being daily afraid because of the beatings and murders he witnessed there. Because of the prison’s history of violence, it is now one of the strictest prisons in the world. Several reform actions at the prison have helped reduce the number of stabbings a year down from 1,000 to 70.

7. Alcatraz Island Prison (San Francisco)

Although Alcatraz Island Prison, located on Alctraz Island off the coast of San Francisco, California, has been shut down for many years, it housed some of the most dangerous criminals in history. One of its most famous prisoners was Al “Scarface” Capone. The prison was known for its violent escape attempts, the most notorious being the escape attempt known as the “Battle of Alcatraz” in May 1946. Alcatraz was forced to close its doors on March 21, 1963 because of its poor reputation and the high cost of maintaining the prison.

6. ADX-Florence Supermax Facility(Colorado)

ADX-Florence in Colorado is designed to hold the worst prisoners, many in near round-the-clock solitary confinement. A lawsuit was filed in June 2012 by several inmates. The lawsuit charges that the conditions of the prison create an environment for inmate abuse and torture.

5. La Sante Prison (Paris,France)

Paris, France is the home of La Sante Prison. The prison is known as such a brutal place that many prisoners have taken their own lives over serving their sentence there. 1999 saw the suicides of 124 prisoners. The violence in the prison is so pervasive that the prisoners are only out of their cells four hours out of the day. The prison’s system also creates a hierarchical structure that makes some prisoners more powerful than others and the conditions worse for the weaker prisoners. During World War II, it held prisoners of war and regular criminals. An impenetrable fortress still today, only three escapes have been recorded in the prisons history.

4. Diyarbakir Prison (Turkey)

The conditions at Diyarbakir Prison in Diyarbakir, Turkey have been notoriously inhumane. One of the dark spots of the prison’s past for which it has been known is incarcerating children for lifelong sentences. The violent nature of the prison seems to be more from the side of the prison guards than the prisoners themselves. In 1996, an incident occurred where guards and police beat prisoners severely. This incident resulted the death of 10 prisoners and the injuries of 23.

3. La Sabaneta Prison (Venezuela)
La Sabaneta Prison is located in Venezuela, South America. The facilities of the prison are designed to house 15,000 prisoners, but actually houses 25,000. The prison is greatly understaffed, with approximately 1 guard for every 150 inmates. The prison is known for its violent incidents. A violent gun battle in 1994 resulted in the death of 108 prisoners. Additionally, 196 prisoners were killed and 624 wounded because of jail violence in 1995. Described by the late President Hugo Chavez as “The gateway to the fifth circle of hell,” it’s overcrowded, underfunded, and understaffed. Gangs run the prison, rape is a part of the culture of fear, where those who aren’t in control, know that death is always near. Riots are regular. Murder is common. In 2012, 591 prisoners were killed. A raid at the prison in September of 2013 following the deaths of 16, inmates yielded a huge cache of weapons. Guards confiscated 22,000 rounds of ammo, pistols, rifles, and an underground tunnel for storing marijuana and cocaine.

2. Tadmor Prison (Syria)

Tadmor Military Prison in Palmyra, Syria is known as one of the most oppressive prisons for a prisoner to serve time in the world. Amnesty International has stated that “every aspect of it was designed to dehumanize its inhabitants.” The most notorious event in the prison’s history was in June 1980.

President Hafez al-Assad survived an attack on his life by the Muslim Brotherhood. It was reported that he orders soldiers to execute every prisoner in sight in retaliation for the attack. So much blood has spilled at the Syrian prison that nothing short of burning it to the ground will clean the soulless desert lockup. Incarcerating both political prisoners and criminals, all have been tortured equally. Tadmor was closed down in 2001, but reopened in 2011. It is no less brutal today.

1.Carandiru Penitentiary (Brazil)

Carandiru Penitentiary in Brazil, South America is arguably the most violent and deadly prison in the world. In 1992, a violent prison massacre occurred when 102 inmates were shot dead. The prison is also known for terrible health problems. In the prison’s health wing, nearly one in five inmates has been diagnosed with HIV.

Drauzio Varella, a voluntary physician, in his book “Carandiru Station” mentioned his own experience and the dreadful condition over there. It has recorded 1300 deaths in its 46 years of history. It was closed down in 2002. Surely it must have been the “worst” prison of the world due to which Amnesty International came forward and asked about the human rights violations act done in the prison, which the Brazilian government failed to answer. Though this prison is termed as the top most among the worst prison of the world, the words are less to express the brutality experienced by the prisoners over here. Its history is well enough to tell the cruelty done by this prison.

Our Conclusion…..

Though the world outside is itself a dangerous place, prisons are undoubtedly some of the most violent places in the world. Prisons take the most dangerous elements in the world and isolate them in small places. Though there are many violent prisons in the world, these ten serve as some of the most notorious.

Bibliography

1.http://www.criminaljusticedegreehub.com/top-10-most-violent-prisons-in-the-world/

2.http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/10-of-the-worlds-most-dangerous-prisons/

3.http://listovative.com/top-10-dangerous-worst-prisons-world/

(by Marinos Gizas, A class)

The existence of the giant squid is well accepted by science, though few have ever been seen, and little is known about their habits.
Giant squids are carnivorous mollusks that have a long, torpedo-shaped body. At one end, surrounding a beak-like mouth strong enough to cut through steel cable, are five pairs of arms. One pair, thinner and longer than the rest, is used to catch food and bring it to the mouth. Just past the mouth are the eyes – eyes that are the largest in the animal kingdom, sometimes as big as eighteen inches across.
All squid move through the ocean using a jet of water forced out of the body by a siphon. They eat fish, other squid and, in the case of the largest species, whales. They are thought to be open-water, deep, cold-sea creatures, and research indicates the blood of squids does not carry oxygen very well at higher temperatures. A squid will actually suffocate in warm water.
Temperature also seems to affect the squid’s buoyancy mechanism. Warm water will cause a squid to rise to the surface and not be able to get back down. With water temperature ever higher at the surface, the squid may be doomed. Most squid groundings occur near where two ocean streams-one cold, one warm- meet.
The largest squid ever measured was discovered by three fishermen who found a giant squid that had run aground. Using their anchor as a grappling hook, they snagged the still living body and made it fast to a tree. When the tide went out the creature was left high and dry. When the creature died, the fishermen measured it. The body of the squid was twenty feet from tail to beak. The longer tentacles were thirty-five feet and were tipped with four-inch suckers.

By Nikaella Botsari, B΄ class

Some provide inmates with luxury 5-star accommodation, others are lawless ghettos, but all 10 of these prisons are rather unusual.

The opposite countdown is starting….

In number ten we have a prison from San Pedro in Bolivia. Once you pass the thick walls and the security gates, any resemblance to a normal jail disappears: there are children playing, market stalls, restaurants, hairdressers and even a hotel. It looks more like the streets of El Alto, Bolivia’s poorest neighborhood that sprawls on the outskirts of La Paz, than a prison.

  In number nine we have the Sark prison –Guernsey  , which is apparently the smallest as well as the tiniest habitable jail in the world. It was built in 1856. It can house 2 inmates at a push and is still used for overnight stays.

    In number eight we have the Halden Prison -Norway. This jail is worth twenty million dollars. It has got private cells with mini fridges, plasma TV and suit bathrooms. The windows don’t even have bars.

  In number seven is the La Planta in Venezuela. La Planta prisoners are openly armed, bribing guards for weapons and striking with violent riots.

In the sixth place we have Cereso Chetumal in Mexico. The prison has not seen violence for a decade. Feuds are settled in the prison boxing ring and there’s even a post-fight spa.

In the fifth place we have Maricopa county jail in Arizona. Inmates pay for their meals. They sleep in tents in 145 F weather and they have to wear pink underwear.

  In number four is the Aranjuez prison in Spain. Children can live with their convicted parents in Disney-themed cells. It is designed to teach parenting skills.

In the third place we have Blastoy prison in Norway. It’s a self-reliant island prison with no guards or fences. Escaping prisoners are told to phone in so the warden knows they’re safe.

  In number two we have the Fortezza Medigea in Italy. A team of inmate chefs cook food. The restaurant is booked up for weeks and you eat while serenaded by a pianist who is in for murder.

  Finally in the first place is the Cebu prison in the Philippines. A prison where mass dancing is rehabilitation. One thousand and fifty hundred inmates dance to the rhythm of Michael Jackson and Gangnam style.

These are all the weirdest prisons all around the world.