The world is a strange place. More often than not, what one finds acceptable is offensive to the others. But, there are also things that almost everyone would find objectionable because they are too inhuman, unimaginable or just plain unfair. Whatever is the case, we are all curious and sometimes we even want to know things about the world that aren’t entirely pleasant. And thanks to reddit and other sources, we were able to pick up some offensive facts for your consideration.

1. During the early 20th century, Ota Benga, a Congolese man, was exhibited in Bronx Zoo’s Monkey House as an example of early stages of human evolution. He later committed suicide due to the inhuman treatment he received and subsequent depression.

Ota Benga was sold into slavery in 1904 to an American explorer and businessman, Samuel Phillips Verner, when he was looking for Africans to exhibit. It was a time when the theories of human evolution were frequently linked with racial theories and non-white humans were displayed as examples of evolution.

Ota Benga was especially popular because of his teeth which were filed to sharp points when he was young as part of a ritual. He was later taken under the wing of a Reverend who ensured he received better care and paid for his dressing and teeth cap. However, several years later the outbreak of WWI which stopped passenger ships preventing his return to Africa along with the bad treatment he received caused him to commit suicide.(source)



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2. John Lennon, who made songs about love and peace, was physically and emotionally abusive to the women he was with. He even openly admitted to hitting them.

John Lennon had been very open about his attitude towards hitting women and admitted to it in an interview with Playboy. He said that he was a hitter because he “couldn’t express himself”, and that he “fought men and hit women”. He was also abusive towards his son, and even said that he was an unplanned child “born out of a bottle of whiskey on a Saturday night”.(source)

3. Adoption in Korea is considered taboo, because of which the Korean orphans were almost always adopted by foreigners rather than locals. But recent changes in laws have introduced restrictions to encourage local adoptions only to end up crowding the orphanages.

Around ten years ago 1,200 Korean orphans were adopted by foreigners but it has now decreased to only one tenth of it. The Koreans rarely adopt children from orphanages and if they do they tend to keep it a secret. This is owing to the fact that Korean Confucianism places great importance in ancestry and family is considered very important. While hiring for jobs, they also tend to ask about family and background, which is also a serious impediment for orphans who seek employment.(source)

4. Anthony Johnson, one of the first African Americans to have completed his indentured service in 17th century, was a landowner and a slaveholder.

Anthony Johnson got his freedom after finishing his years in indentured service and was legally recognized as a “free man”. In 1651, he acquired large area of land and became a successful tobacco farmer. He also owned five indentured servants, four of them were white and one black. He was famous for being the “most prominent black indentured servant to have acquired freedom, wealth and slaves”.(1, 2)



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5. On December 6, 1989, an anti-feminist shot and killed 14 people at École Polytechnique because they were women studying engineering. He then shot himself blaming feminists for ruining his life in the suicide note.

The 25-year-old shooter, Marc Lépine, entered the university with a Mini-14 rifle and a knife. He proceeded into a classroom where he separated the male and female students and began shooting claiming that he was “fighting feminism” and shot 9 of the students killing six. He then went into the corridors shooting specifically women. Within 20 minutes he managed to shoot 28 people, including four men, killing 14 women and injuring the rest. In his suicide note he also mentioned 19 other women from Quebec whom he wanted to kill.(source)

6. Dolphins form gangs and rape female dolphins by isolating them. They are also known to target humans swimmers for sex.

Contrary to how most people view them as peaceful and jovial creatures, dolphins tend to be violent when it comes to sex. Groups of two or three male bottlenose dolphins isolate a single female from the school and forcefully have sex with her. Sometimes, they even go on for weeks ensuring she wouldn’t leave by making threatening noises and movements, and even smacking her with their tails. Sometimes, they even go after humans, and the actress Demi Moore once had to experience such encounter with a dolphin that reportedly “went after her in a big way”.(source)