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Money, the thing that makes the world go 'round. It's something that will always be in demand and fought over.

 Most of us get our money by working hard and being determined, but some get their money in other ways, one of those ways being none other than bank heists. 

 Here are The Top 5 Craziest Bank Heists in history.

1. The Catt Family
Source: katu.com

Scott Catt (A father of two) had been a drug addict for years, to support his drug addiction. This addiction started after his wife sadly passed away from breast cancer. His two children Hayden and Abby were students in McMinnville. 

 Image result for The Catt Family
To make ends meet with Scott's addiction, he wanted to rob a bank, yet he had no one to turn to. 

 So, he turned to non-other than his children! His son automatically took the offer to pay off college debt, while his sister took some time to think about her decision. Eventually, she said, "yes" and the heist was on. 

 They were successful in robbing a bank in Texas but were soon caught and charged with consequences for there sneaky actions.

2. Pacific National Bank
Source: washingtonpost.com

In 1978, Mark Rifkin stole $10.2 million dollars through a wire transfer via telephone. According to Paul L. Smith, executive vice president of the bank, Rifkin had become familiar to bank employees when he had worked there for a computer firm. On October 25th, Rifkin learned the secret code used to transfer funds from Security Pacific National Bank in Los Angeles.

 He simply wandered into a room where the transfers were being handled, and from there, funds were transferred by wire to other institutions around the globe. 

 Rifkin used these $10.2 million dollars to buy diamonds from a Russian agency. After being on the run for a while, finally, on November 6th, 1978, Rifkin was caught in his apartment in Carlsbad, California. 

3. Robert Vernon Toye
Source: en.wikipedia.org

Robert Toye was born in 1948 and was legally blind. After being released from prison in 1974 for mail fraud, Toye decided to continue his life of crime with a bank heist. 

 Toye was armed with his white cane and a note that claimed he had a gun. 

 Using his right eye, he concentrated to see shadow impressions of other peoples feet and followed them to the bank tellers window. 

 When he went up to the bank teller he showed the note which read, "Be quick, be quiet, or you're dead. Put all the cash in the bag. I have a gun.

 " Scared for their lives, they gave Toye the money and he was off. 

 retreating from the back door. In 1977 however, Troye was caught when he collided with armed guards that were delivering money to the bank. 
He was then sentenced to six years in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. 

4. Hibernia Bank Robbery 
Source: sfgate.com

After being kidnapped Patty Hearst turned to a life of crime. Hearst was caught on bank surveillance cameras with an M-1 Carbine, holding up the Sunset Branch along with several of her captors. 

 Her team got away with $10,000 dollars, but not in the prettiest way. On that two of people were shot at 1450 Noriega St, luckily with no fatalities. In '76 she stood trial for her robbery.

5. Rip Torn 
Source: registercitizen.comImage result for Rip Torn
Who knew actor Rip Torn would turn to a life of crime. Torn, who had a loaded revolver and was very drunk, entered the bank through the back window of the bank. 

 The bank was untouched in the front, left, and right sides. 

 Without incident, the actor was taken into custody and transported back to the Troop B barracks where he was processed. 

 Torn would soon appear in court on Monday, February 1st, and would be charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespass, and third-degree criminal mischief.
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The ancient civilization as we know today were not that backward in terms of technology as the modern scholars or history book tells us,in fact, history has been filled with riddles and mysteries that remain unexplainable to this very date.

The timeline extends of an ancient civilization are quite enormous starting from stone age to directly the age of colonial empires era. As time passed by various great and small civilization flourished across the various area of the globe with its own very culture and customs.

 Each other civilization differs from each other on the basis of architecture, religion, culture, and custom.the ancient civilization possessed its very own secretive knowledge in either in the field of science, medicine, astronomy etc.

 The knowledge of silk was known to China whereas it was kept secret from the rest of the world until people started trading its secret along the silk route till today many ancient marvels and knowledge amaze the scholars and scientist across the globe of how this such feat of achievement was done.

 The big block stone used for Stonehenge,Puma Punku,Easter Island Moai statue etc.the stones in individual weights tonnes and it seems almost impossible to move such a heavyweight until some simple machinery methods were in use like Archimedes principle which was not known to rest of the world until the era of Roman empire dominion when Greeks archived knowledge were shared through the library of Alexandria.

 Which met its tragic share of fate too by being burned down due to riot. The Greeks invented Antikythera mechanism, which seems like a device and to this day its actual purpose remains unknown.while scholars and experts claim it was used by Greeks for star gazing and prediction of heavenly bodies.

Egyptians too had its own share of wisdom and secrecy which of them still remained a mystery till date.The most common of them being the pyramid with so many theories of why it was being built and who build it.

 The theories arose due to the fact that it had no query in the site,the pyramid aligned with the three kings of Orion belt and the underground tunnel which connect pyramid to the Nile river.

The Sumerians civilization which is modern-day southern Iraq had its own shares of amazing artifact and records. The Baghdad batteries, the cuneiform tablet, the Sumerians tablets consist of extreme knowledge which is hard to decipher and the tales which tells a different form of human creation.

 Some still believe that Sumerians had a knowledge of our solar system much before the industrial era when science was bringing the enlightenment.

Indian civilization is one of the oldest civilization till date.It started with the establishment of Harappa civilization, then came Mauryan empire, the Mughal empire.the coming of different empire brought many wisdom and knowledge across the subcontinent of India.

 One of the main contributing factor of India is the discovery of pi which was given by Aryabhatta along with the exact radius and diameter of the earth.Palk Strait which connects India with Sri Lanka across the canals are believed to be made during Ramayana period and yes it standstills but the link was destroyed and misplaced due to international trade route obstructions.the main fascinating about this bridge is the stone which defies the law of buoyancy. 

 No stone can stay afloat the water layer regardless of their density comparison, whereas these seem to defies the law of physics.prior to the bridge Indians too were known for having a knowledge of flight which is still hard to understand till this date.the scholars wrote many books on this knowledge called Vimanas which seems to exist during the era of Mahajanapadas.

The painting of a detailed map of Antarctica before the start of an era of exploration by Piri Reis an ottoman admiral raised various theories and claims on the genuine of the map.

 The map shows the detailed information on Antarctica continent and it claims that once antarctic was not so ice filled continent.according to the map it had its own ecosystem and habitat.

 It is often said that Columbus used this map to discover America continent, which wasn't actually discovery for Vikings and Chinese were already aware of the American continent and seems the two very different civilization were once in contact with each other but for a short period of time.
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Like millions of others this weekend I went and saw Avengers: Infinity War and it was an ordeal. Ten years after Iron Man first came out I watched all of the characters I’d seen struggle with their own inner demons now struggle for survival.



This movie was also the first time we as an audience got a really good look at what makes Thanos tick. 

 By the end of the movie, I was convinced this wasn’t about Iron Man or Cap or any of the other Avengers. 

 This was Thanos’s story. Before I get into it, though, a quick warning: mild spoilers ahead.

In a movie with something like 30 superheroes, you’d think any number of them would be a contender as the main protagonist. 

 Even if one of them couldn’t hold the title a collective of them would fit the bill. How could they not? It’s an Avengers movie after all. The protagonist ought to be a hero.

Why not Iron Man? He’s been the face of Marvel since, well, the Iron Man movie that got this whole thing started. 

 After ten years of playing the character, it would be fitting for Robert Downey, Jr. to close off this phase of the MCU and the story of the Avengers. 

 He’s there early on in the movie, has had a bone to pick with Thanos since 2012, and is the only one of the Avengers to draw blood from Thanos (even if it is just one drop). 

 To be perfectly honest, he has a great case to be the central protagonist.

Before I prematurely seal the deal here, though, his story is only tied to one minor portion of this movie. This is the war over the infinity stones, not the war against Thanos. 

 Tony is only actively defending one of those stones alongside Dr. Strange and Spiderman.

 It’d be a stretch to call him the protagonist of the entire movie when he’s trying to stop Thanos from getting one of six stones.

Maybe it’s Thor. He’s present in the first scene of the movie when Thanos kills Loki. Maybe this is a revenge story, then. Thor is ultimately the one who finds a way to kill Thanos, even though he’s unsuccessful. He even has a great character arc blooming from his rage and hate.

Let’s take a step back and look at that, though. He’s also only present for one infinity stone (maybe two if you count the Mind Stone at the very end). 

 His side of the plot is about him, his rabbit friend, a tree, and Mega Peter Dinklage helping him to become the literal deus ex machina of Wakanda.

 Nobody would call the Eagles of The Lord of the Rings or the bacteria that kills the aliens in War of the Worlds the protagonists. Thor, likewise, doesn’t stand the test.Image result for avengers infinity war
Who do we have left? Cap? Star-Lord? Vision? Gamora? Although the entire roster of the MCU is present, not one of them fits the bill for the main protagonist. Not even sharing the load between a collection of characters would meet the criteria. None of them are present to defend all six of the infinity stones, none of them gets the gauntlet, and none of them defeats Thanos. 

This movie isn’t about defeating Thanos, though. This story is about getting the infinity stones. This is the infinity war! The protagonist would have to face serious trials at the hands of enemies and at great cost to their friends. 

 The protagonist would need to sacrifice everything, even who they are, in pursuit of the infinity stones. The protagonist would need to change and be sympathetic to the audience. The protagonist would need to assemble every infinity stone and use it for their purposes.

That’s right. Thanos is the protagonist of Infinity War. This is the story of one being trying to accomplish his life’s work. Thanos is present in the first scene of the movie and sets the stage for what his goal is: get the infinity stones and end half of all life. Does he do this? Yes. At great cost? We get to see that in the final scene where he gets to speak with young Gamora.

Infinity War marketed itself as the most ambitious crossover in cinematic history. It might have also become the most ambitious adaptation of a classic novel. 

 If you were to ask someone what Paradise Lost by John Milton was about they might say the fall of Adam and Eve. They’d be partially right. However, Paradise Lost is about Satan’s journey from Hell to Paradise to tempt the first man and woman so that he can take over their world. He opposes God, is cast to Hell, travels through Chaos, and ultimately succeeds in tempting the first man and woman of the Bible.

I’m not saying Thanos is the hero of this movie. Thanos is literally Satan. All I’m saying is he’s the protagonist. He’s the first actor, if we want to get etymological here. 

 Although his goal is sinister, his journey is that of a protagonist, traveling the universe, sacrificing the only thing he ever loved, and ultimately succeeding in wiping out half life in the universe. 

 His is the story of seeking paradise even when the price is everything he has.
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With Dark Souls Remastered coming out next month on May 25th, I/we wanted to make fun of the popular myth that Dark Souls is unfairly difficult (since it dissuades so many potential victim- uh, I mean players), as well as make fun of unfair/mundane mechanics that people hypocritically praise in other games while bashing Dark Souls for.

1. It's not unfair, you just need to know what you're doing
While the game has the weakness of not telling you much within it, all you really need to do is grow a pair of eyeballs and use them to check the wiki every now and then. It's enjoyable too since the community is full of helpful people and an ironic amount of positive-thinking.
Other games that do this: Minecraft; most open-world games really; Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

2. Finish it once, and you're hooked
Everyone remembers their first playthrough, everyone remembers their first encounter of each boss, and we especially remember when they finally beat it. But after that, we don't put the game down, we keep playing and finish over and over and over...
Other games that do this: Skyrim

3. It is sometimes slow but never boring
Are you really going to complain about crafting in a world where Minecraft and Fortnite exist? At least in this, every search for resources will lead you to somewhere new with something dangerous and exciting to encounter.
Other games that do this: Too many games to be reasonable

4. The multiplayer is addicting, and the duels are epic
You haven't lived until you've experienced a good duel.
Other games that do this: Chivalry: Medieval Warfare; For Honor

5. The Real Reason: We need more fodder
Just for a moment, I won't lie to you. This game has a learning curve, and us at the top want more of you at the bottom so that we can invade you and slaughter you with loadouts dominated by unfair items. This game is a numbers game, so we have played it to the max, taking low-level characters and making them capable of bitch-slapping gods. We're bored with single-player, so we want you in this game so we can play with you like toys. 
But anyway, praise the sun.
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During the early middle ages, when Western society went through a period of intellectual darkness (hence the term the “Dark Ages”), the Muslim intellectual world flourished. 

 When the Abbasids took control over the Islamic empire, they transformed the caliphate into a place that took the world’s leading role in terms of knowledge.Image result for Muslim house
As the Abbasids moved the Muslim capital from Damascus to a new city called Baghdad, the new capital grew out to be the largest city in the world at the time with some estimates putting its population at more than 1 million inhabitants. 

 European cities such as Constantinople, London or Paris couldn’t match up to this number.

 The Roman empire had been split up into the Kingdom of the Franks in the west and Byzantium which ruled over the eastern half of the old Roman empire. But it was the Islamic empire that would turn out to be the most influential during this period.

“One of the earliest, and most important, changes the Abbasids made was to
move the capital of the Islamic empire from the old Umayyad power base of Damascus
to a new city—Baghdad.”



1. Caliph Al-Rashid

Abbasid caliph Harun Al-Rashid was one of the leaders who made this Islamic golden age possible. During his reign he made sure that a library was installed to be the center of knowledge in his empire.

 The Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad grew out to be an influential library, probably located inside the palace of Al-Rashid himself, that served as the heart of philosophy and science in the Islamic world. 

 The library had a hall for reading, classrooms and rooms dedicated to a specific science collection like translating, map making, etc.

“Abbasids build a big premise with many rooms and halls that contained all the assembled literature that was divided into sections and groups in which every section or group was dedicated to a specific science collection.”


Al-Rashid had big ideas for his empire, but also big ideas for his medieval diplomacy. 

 In a gesture to the Europeans, Al-Rashid decided to send a very special gift to Charlemagne (Charles the Great), ruler of the Franks. The gift was a giant elephant which was sent to Aachen, the town in western Germany that served as Charlemagne’s residence. 

 The arrival of the elephant must have been incredibly exciting for the Europeans at the time, but it was not the only gift Europe received from the Islamic empire. For a period of hundreds of years, the international language of science was Arabic.

“And so it was that Harun al-Rashid, who was also interested in negotiation, decided to send Charlemagne a very special gift—a gift, he said in his note to the Imperial Council, that few in Europe had seen since Hannibal and his Carthaginians marched across the Alps. The gift, said the Caliph, would be an elephant.”


2. Caliph Al-Ma’mun

After Al-Rashid’s death, his son Al-Ma’mun who was half Arab and half Persian continued his father’s passion for scholarship and science. Al-Ma’mun grew up in the city of Baghdad when it as at the height of its glory. 

 Al-Ma’mun sent out missions to get hold of any influential scientific text his men could find. Persian, Greek and Indian texts were gathered from far away and translated into Arabic at the House of Wisdom.

 Even defeated foreign rulers had to surrender by giving their books from their libraries instead of their gold.

“He would send emissaries great distances to get hold of ancient scientific texts: one, Salman, visited Constantinople to obtain Greek texts from the Emperor Leo V (Leo the Armenian). Often, defeated foreign rulers would be required to settle the terms of surrender to him with books from their libraries rather than in gold.”

3. Hunayn ibn Ishaq

Maybe the most famous translator living in Baghdad was Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Being a Christian and fluent in Greek, he was sent on an expedition by caliph Al-Ma’mun to the Christian Byzantine empire.

 He succeeded in finding manuscripts from Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato. By translating their influential work into Arabic he made sure the knowledge spread throughout Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt. 

 Because of Hunayn’s efforts Greek knowledge would spread through the entire Islamic empire and beyond.

“Hunayn is important for the many excellent translations of Greek texts which he made into Arabic. In particular he translated Plato and Aristotle. These translations were spread widely through Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.”


4. Al-Khwarizmi

In the House of Wisdom, the Christian Hunayn started working with Al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim mathematician and astronomer. 

 It was Al-Khwarizmi who introduced the Hindu-Arabic numerals to the Arab world. By passing on the knowledge from Indian and Greek texts, Al-Khwarizmi revealed the numbers 0 to 9 to the world. 

 His work reached a North African city in current day Algeria where the Italian scholar Fibonacci picked them up and made them known to Europe where at the time Europeans were still using the old Roman numerals to count. 

 It is because of Al-Khwarizmi that you picture the year seventeen thousand seventy-six as 1776 and not MDCCLXXVI.

“a second work by al-Khwārizmī introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals (see numerals and numeral systems) and their arithmetic to the West.”


5. Banu Musa brothers

With talented translators like Hunayn ibn Ishaq and talented mathematicians like Al-Khwarizmi it was only obvious that more scientific masterminds in the House of Wisdom would work together and create even more knowledge. Working together with Hunayn and Al-Khwarizmi were the Banu Musa brothers. 

 The three brothers were especially interested in geometry and their interest was soon to be discovered by the caliph Al-Ma’mun. Their father had served as an important astrologer for the caliph and even became his close friend. When he died, Al-Ma’mun took care of the boys and with his help they became the most active members of the House of Wisdom. 

The Banu Musa made observations in astronomy and were responsible for the construction of canals around the area. Their achievements in mechanics however, made them famous throughout the Muslim world. In one book they describe 100 different devices and how to use them. 

 From valves, self-trimming lamps and automatic fountains to automatic flute players. The book contains the first examples of various automatically controlled systems and although most of the machines were built for amusement, their inventions laid the basis for modern control engineering.

“Their father, Musa ibn Shakir, was a close friend of al-Ma'mun, the son of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. When Musa ibn Shakir died, al-Ma'mun became the guardian of the three brothers. They were given a good education in Baghdad, studying geometry, mechanics, music, mathematics and astronomy. During the al-Ma'mun caliphate between 813 and 833, they carried on a successful career in science, engineering and patronage.”


A lot of the ancient scientific and philosophical Greek and Persian texts we in the West know have been only been made available to us through the work of the Abbasid Islamic scholars and leaders. The House of Wisdom truly served as a bridge between worlds.
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The Black Panther film has been called revolutionary for its primarily black cast and taking place almost entirely in Africa. However, beneath the Afro-futurism Wakanda also acts as a subtle allegory to the United States both in terms of our history our place in international politics. 


x.Both Were Extremely Isolationist Before the War

It may be difficult to remember now that America is involved in just about everything but before WW2 the U.S. was primarily an isolationist nation and although like Wakanda there was a trade with other nations (That’s how Cap got the Vibranium for his shield) when it came to military policy, we mostly kept to ourselves. 

 This was until WW2.

x.Captain America: Civil War is WW2 for Wakanda
The MCU’s “Civil War” is the equivalent of Wakanda’s WW2. Much like the United States at the time Wakanda did not want to get involved in the war, they just wanted to help arbitrate from outside. 

 This was until they were forced to become involved after a surprise attack. For the United States it was Pearl Harbor, for Wakanda it was the attack on the UN which killed King T’Chaka. The parallels run even deeper, because in the Civil War the biggest battle of the movie is the airport fight which takes place in Germany, and while they changed Baron Zemo’s character for the film his comic book counterpart is, in fact, a card-carrying Nazi. 

 Black Panther puts an end to his plot when he catches Zemo and prevents him from shooting himself in the head (just like Hitler did)

x.M’Baku and Civil Unrest

After the war Black Panther returns from Germany to his homeland, much like American soldiers did, to find civil unrest waiting for him at home.

 As he ascends to the throne he is challenged by M’Baku of the Jabari tribe for the right to rule. M’Baku is not a power hungry villain like his comic book counterpart. Instead, he makes it clear that he is challenging the leadership in the name of helping his people. 

 The Wakandans are all African but they consist of several different tribes and M’Baku is challenging T’challa because he feels that the Jabari are underrepresented and disenfranchised. 

 The separation between the Jabari and the rest of the Wakandan tribes is intentional and made even more pronounced by the fact that they speak Igbo rather then Xhosa which is spoken by the rest of the Wakandans. Later in the movie, M’Baku even states that he is the first king in centuries that has bothered to come to the Jabari’s home village.

 Although certainly not a severe as in the United States it is made clear that Wakanda also has a long history of racial/tribal tensions. 

x.Vibranium is Wakanda Version of Atomic Power

WW2 marked the U.S. as a major fighting and economic force but what really cemented our standing as a superpower was the arrival of atomic power. 

 The U.S. was the first to have it just like Wakanda was the first to have vibranium which seems to have just as many offensive and technological applications. Not to mention once it was found that these nations had these shiny, amazing new toys everyone else wanted them. 

 Intelligence agencies all around the world are just as enticed at getting vibranium as they are nuclear secrets. This leads us to South Korea where T'Challa goes undercover in a casino with two femme falls on his arm and a suit full of gadgets to intercept some vibranium undercover CIA agent Ross is attempting to buy Vibranium from Klaue in South Korea. 

 This premise has all the aspects of a 60's cold war spy movie.


x. KillMonger Represents America’s Violent Foreign Policy
KillMonger mentions that while in the military he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This is no accident. Kilmongers goal is to use the super technology of Wakanda to invade the outside world free the oppressed people from their oppressors. Sound familiar?

 Liberating the oppressed people was the excuse the Bush administration used when they couldn't find WMD's. Kilmonger’s goals are reflective of the bloody American interventionist policy that has refused to learn the lesson of Vietnam. He wants to force revolution and liberation but that’s where his plans end. 

 He never mentions anything of governing after this supposed revolution is supposed to take place. In short, much like in the Iraq war, he has no exit strategy. 

 Kilmonger's military background draws a parallel between the modern American intervention in the world and centuries of European colonialism. The Afghanistan war has been going on for almost two decades, US troops finally left Iraq after a decade in 2011 but returned to intervene again after the countries destabilization from the war allowed ISIS to gain a foothold and is currently intervening in the Syrian civil war with no end in sight. 

x.The UN Speech and Donald Trump
By the end of the movie, T’Challa refuses the isolationism of the past, and the military takeover of foreign nations that Kilmonger wanted and decides on a something in between. 

 He will no longer have Wakanda withhold itself from the world and has begun foreign aid programs but he will not engage in unprovoked military interventionism. At his UN announcement, he has this to say.
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