Spy novels, conspiracy magazines, and science fiction movies have exposed us to the power of truth serums. These elixirs allow everything from state secrets to the location of valued assets to pour out of their subjects. The real power of these truth drugs varies greatly, and their purported uses are numbered. What truth is really behind this class of drugs?

A fishing trawler sailing on the South coast of Iceland noticed a menacing plume of black smoke on the morning of November 14, 1963. Thinking it was a boat on fire the crew of the trawler moved closer to help. On closer inspection the crew realized this wasn’t a ship on fire, but rather something very few have ever witnessed: a volcanic island being born. Over the next few months the island would fend off the eroding forces of the Atlantic to grow to over 2.5 square kilometers in size.

Often associated with the Devil himself, most people would struggle to think of something positive Hitler contributed to society. Nevertheless, Nazi Germany did have its slight upsides even if for maligned reasons; particularly when it came to its anti-smoking campaign, which was the world's first. The reasoning behind it however fell to a combination of Hitler's personal distaste for tobacco and his concern for its negative impact on reproduction when consumed by "Aryan" women.

Many underhanded people try their hand at fraud, but to be so well known for it that a form of it is named after you takes a special person: meet Charles Ponzi, of the original Ponzi scheme. The roots of his scheme started off honest enough. Ponzi discovered an arbitrage opportunity with international postal reply coupons. The idea was completely legal, but things took a turn for the worst after investors were suckered into investing with a promised 50% return.

For thousands of years countries in South and Southeast Asian employed elephants to crush and dismember prisoners and traitors. Owned by royal families and carefully trained, the elephants could make the process quick and easy, or long and painful. The sight of such occurrences were often written about by early European travelers much to the disbelief of others. Execution by elephant was a symbolic occurrence within many cultures.