Cinematic trends may come and go, but horror is the genre that just keeps on giving. Even when Hollywood is in a slump, a low or mid-budget horror movie comes out of nowhere to make an unexpected killing at the box office. The 21st century offers no shortage of examples, including everything from “A Quiet Place” to “The Purge” to “The Invisible Man” and more. Then we have the 21st-century horror classics that don’t necessarily rake in huge box office numbers but go on to become the stuff of legend. Even the genre’s most casual fans are surely acquainted with titles such as “It Follows” or “The VVItch,” to name just two examples. Along similar lines are micro-budget thrillers like 2013’s “Coherence” or 2009… [Read More...]

Although cancer deaths continue to drop, the disease remains the second most common cause of sickness-related fatalities in the U.S. after heart disease, the American Cancer Society reports. Between 1991 and 2019, the cancer mortality rate declined 32%, amounting to 3.5 million fewer cancer deaths than expected. The decrease is believed to be mostly due to a decline in sm?king. While cigarettes are to blame for lung, mouth, larynx, and throat cancers, however, alcohol is a leading cause of several deadly cancers, too. The National Cancer Institute points to alcohol as the chief cause of head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colorectal malignancies. Based on statistics from 2009, the Institute estimates 3.5%, or about 19,500, of cancer deaths in America were due to alcohol consumption. The high percentage of … [Read More...]

The 95th Academy Awards nominations have just been released; and as with every round of nominations, some critically acclaimed films were shut out completely. One particularly surprising omission this Oscars season is the historical action film “The Woman King,” starring Viola Davis as a general in the West African kingdom of Dahomey. (Here are 25 of the Oscars’ most egregious snubs.) Throughout the history of the Academy Awards, many remarkable films have been overlooked. To determine the greatest movies that should have won an Oscar, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on Academy Award wins, audience reviews, and critical reception. Films that have never received an Academy Award were ranked based on an index composed of average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a … [Read More...]

Mankind has been fighting each other as long as there has been civilization, and even longer. But by conventional definition, modern warfare began only about 5,000 years ago, during the age of chariots – antiquity’s version of the modern tank.  Chariots could only have been invented in ancient societies with governments and bureaucracies capable of developing and building them by the hundreds, as well as recruiting and training the soldiers that rode them into battle. The chariot is the earliest example of how new military technology can upend previous methods of warfare. History is filled with such inventions or developments – innovations that changed the way wars are fought. To identify 30 inventions that revolutionized combat, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed independent research from a variety of sources. These inventions were … [Read More...]

Back in the old days, band names were simple. Some were christened for their leaders, like Stan Kenton and His Orchestra or Bill Haley and the Comets, while others meant to be stylish or at least memorable, like The Harmonicats or The Fleetwoods. While both naming conventions have persisted to this day, the 1960s saw the beginnings of more imaginative names, too. The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and slightly later the Flying Burrito Brothers were all musical staples of the era. (That’s hardly the only band with a culinary moniker, by the way. Here are 25 bands with food names.) The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, named themselves after a classic Muddy Waters blues song, “Rollin’ Stone” — which, incidentally, also inspired … [Read More...]

An earthquake in China’s west-central Sichuan province struck this Sept. 5, killing more than two dozen people, injuring hundreds more, and damaging thousands of homes. The moderately strong earthquake was the second to strike the province since 2017, when a quake centered around the town of Zhangzha induced similar damages. Neither of these quakes compare to one that struck beneath Sichuan’s provincial capital of Chengdu on May 12, 2008. That much larger quake delivered a direct strike under a more densely populated area, and sent waves that were felt by residents of Shanghai, more than 1,000 miles away. About 88,000 people in and near the epicenter were killed in one of the most destructive earthquakes ever recorded. (These are the countries in which the most people have died in natural disasters.) … [Read More...]

Well, “comrade,” I bet you always thought that word comes from Russian. Not so. Although the term was often associated with communism in Western culture during the last century, Communists of the Soviet Revolution used the Russian translation of “comrade” – “tovarisch.” The word “comrade” actually comes from Latin “camara,” in its earliest iteration meaning “vaulted room,” which evolved in European languages over time to mean someone who shares that room, hence a close companion. Of course, it is not surprising that many English words have their origin in Latin or Greek or other European languages. Even then, however, given that language is constantly evolving, the original meaning of some words is often far different from their current meaning (“surprise” itself has … [Read More...]

Many wine drinkers have a handful of favorite go-to bottles that they keep in stock – big-name labels that are easy to find at most retailers or that can be ordered by the case online.  But even the most pleasing vintage can grow boring with repetition. This is when a trip to the local wine shop is in order. Rather than big-box chain retailers that carry a predictable stock, the best wine shops typically carry a unique selection of exciting or unknown labels. They are the perfect places to explore new wines and get recommendations from the experts. (Just for starters, here are 20 black-owned wineries you should know.) To determine the best wine shop in every state, 24/7 Tempo exercised editorial discretion after … [Read More...]

U.S. consumers added $87.3 billion onto their credit card debt last year, more than wiping out the gains made in the previous year, according to the online personal finance information provider WalletHub. Americans owed $1.02 trillion to their credit card issuers by the end of the fourth quarter 2021, with an average debt of $8,590 per household. (With gas prices on the rise, consumers might increasingly rely on debt. These are the states with the highest gas prices.) To identify the cities with the most credit card debt last year, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed WalletHub’s ranking of the average household credit card debt for 182 U.S. cities. All data is from the report except median household income figures, which are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019 … [Read More...]

As weapons have evolved over time, they have becoming increasingly more destructive and deadly. From bows and arrows in the 14th century, to the introduction of guns shortly after, to ships, planes, and the atomic bomb. To identify history’s deadliest weapon, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the “Quantification Related to Weapon Lethality” section from the report “HIstorical Trends Related to Weapon Lethality,” issued in 1964 by the Historical Evaluation and Research Organization for the U.S. Army Combat Developments Command. The report rates the lethal potential of various weapons by quantifiable measures such as the number of potential targets per strike, relative effect, effective range, accuracy, reliability, and mobility. The evolution in the lethality of weapons point to the rapid advancements in technology since the Industrial Revolution. The sword, … [Read More...]

Also known as His Royal Badness, the Purple One, and the High Priest of Pop, Prince was an icon of culture who shattered records in the music world. His vast body of work earned him 38 Grammy nominations and seven wins as well as an Oscar and a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Born Prince Rogers Nelson, the son of a social worker and a musician, he Prince released his first album, “For You,” at the age of 19 – playing every instrument himself. In addition to his chart-topping albums, Prince directed and appeared in several films, opened a nightclub, and started the creative studio complex “Paisley Park” in his home state of Minnesota. (These are the most famous musicians or bands from … [Read More...]

China has risen to a global military and economic power in recent decades, and nowhere is that more evident than in its Navy. The World Directory of Modern Military Warships’ directory reports the People’s Liberation Army Navy totals 417 active warships featuring attack, defense, and support vessels.  To identify the 34 classes of vessels that make up the ships and submarines of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, 24/7 Wall St. referenced military data site WDMMW’s directory of all active ships in the Chinese navy. The ship and submarine classes are ranked in order of the number of vessels currently in active use by the navy. Any ships on order were excluded, as were smaller patrol vessels, auxiliary/survey ships, replenishment, and historical ceremonial types.   Submarines and corvettes, a smaller version … [Read More...]

A critical failure but a popular success, the movie “Top Gun” illustrates what seems to be an undeniable truth, fighter pilots are a separate breed. They are exceedingly driven risk-takers, with athletic prowess and quick intelligence. Often, they are Tom Cruise cocky. (If you’re a fan, these are Tom Cruise’s biggest and best movies.)  And they win wars. 24/7 Tempo reviewed various historical sources to determine who were the greatest fighter pilots of all, considering only the top ace for each country in each war. Our ranking is based on the number of “kills” or “victories” – the recorded number of aircraft shot down, and an ace is a pilot who achieves at least five kills in one day.  Because these numbers were sometimes exaggerated … [Read More...]

If you’re a beer lover, beer isn’t just a beverage; it’s a way of life. And whereas names like Heady Topper, Pliny the Younger, Dinner, and CBS might be meaningless if you’re not initiated, for those… [Read More...]

Teeth are the hardest things in the body, and some of the most practical. Without them, we couldn’t chew our food into easier digestibility; we’d have a hard time making ourselves… [Read More...]

We all remember the movies that made our childhoods – “Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Toy Story” and its sequels – or maybe non-Disney classics like “Iron Giant,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” or… [Read More...]

Musicals are strange creations in the world of cinema. Their plots are often told with as much dialogue as music and an extra layer of suspension of disbelief is needed when intense scenes break down… [Read More...]

Salaries differ massively across the globe and highlight how much or little people live on to get by. Several different factors affect salaries including work opportunities available in a country, a… [Read More...]

Every year, cities around the world are devastated by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Although modern technology has given us earthquake-proof buildings, urban flood… [Read More...]

The pandemic sounded the death knell for many of America’s most famous restaurants. Among the casualties in 2020 were such iconic institutions as K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New… [Read More...]