Dnepropetrovsk maniacs

The phrase banana republic was coined in 1904 by American writer O. Henry .

Plot of Weierstrass function over the interval [ − 2, 2]. Like some other fractals , the function exhibits self-similarity : every zoom (red circle) is similar to the global plot.

A Jake and Dinos Chapman fused mannequin piece from the exhibition Come and See at the Serpentine Gallery

Dnepropetrovsk maniacs

In 2007, two teenagers in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine filmed themselves beating a homeless man to death with hammers and a pipe over several minutes. The video, called '3 Guys 1 Hammer,' leaked online and became one of the most viewed snuff films in history.

Banana republic

United Fruit Company owned 42% of Guatemala's land by 1950, paid zero taxes, and orchestrated a CIA-backed coup when a president dared to tax unused fields. The term was coined in 1901.

Carthage

Carthage's triple walls sheltered stables for 300 war elephants and 4,000 horses within their mass; Rome's demolition in 146 BCE was so absolute that archaeologists still argue over where the walls stood.

John Paul Getty III

J. Paul Getty — then the world's richest man — refused his grandson's ransom until a severed ear arrived by post. He negotiated the $17 million demand down to $2.2 million, the maximum he could deduct on taxes.

Jón Gnarr

Jón Gnarr promised Reykjavík voters a polar bear, free bus rides for respectful teenagers, and a 'vegan option on Thursdays' — then served a full mayoral term, governing a city of 120,000 with genuine competence.

Weierstrass function

Weierstrass wrote down a function in 1872 that draws a continuous curve — no gaps, no jumps — yet has no defined slope at any single point. Every zoom reveals more jaggedness. It shouldn't exist; it does.

Jake and Dinos Chapman

The Chapmans bought a complete set of Goya's 'Disasters of War' etchings — 80 prints of dismembered soldiers — and painted Ronald McDonald and clown faces over the victims' heads. They called it 'rectification.'

Howard Hughes

Hughes ran TWA, RKO, and the Nevada casino strip while injecting codeine every four hours — needles administered by aides under standing orders. By 1966 he had not left a hotel room in years. The empire ran anyway.

Trajan's Dacian Wars

Trajan's two Dacian campaigns dragged 165 tonnes of gold and 330 tonnes of silver back to Rome — enough to fund gladiatorial games lasting 123 days straight. The kingdom of Dacia ceased to exist.