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5 Most Memorable Call of Duty Maps

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The “Call of Duty” video game series got its start back in 2003 and has been a staple of the gaming industry ever since. With a new game coming out just about every year, “Call of Duty” is in the same realm as sports games like “Madden” or “FIFA” in terms of release schedule. “Call of Duty” is known for its multiplayer, and through the years, there have been some very memorable maps. Here are our picks for the five that fans always come back to.

Terminal

One of the most memorable missions throughout the entire “Call of Duty” series is “No Russian.” The mission was part of the original “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” and the single-player map was repurposed for multiplayer use, appearing in several games throughout the series overall. The airplanes sitting at the gate become a huge part of the strategy and sort of the middle ground between the two starting points.

Terminal is a good blend of wide open combat in the middle of the map and closed quarters sections which include the airplane interiors and the escalators in the plaza. One part of the map that gets extremely chaotic is the Hallway of Death, which is the walkway that connects the main terminal to the outer part of the map. In here, windows are used for sniping, but you can easily get stabbed from behind.

Highrise

Sometimes you just want to get a quick game of “Call of Duty” multiplayer in before you go off to do something else and need some chaos. Very few maps get the kind of fast intensity that Highrise does, with players often meeting in the middle of this tiny map to spray bullets from both sides. There are a few sneaky tunnels, but most of the action is dead center.

First introduced in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” alongside Terminal, it hasn’t been repurposed as many times. The only other appearances for Highrise have been in “Call of Duty Online” and “Call of Duty: Mobile”. If you really want to crank up the intensity, try playing a game of Domination on Highrise and watch all of the people using tactical insertion.

Rust

When you think about 1v1 battles in “Call of Duty”, the first map that comes to mind is Rust. Many an argument have been settled on Rust, and like the previous two maps, this one made its first appearance in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”. Since then, it has appeared in four other games, most recently in 2020’s “Call of Duty Mobile”.

The map has a large oil rig in the middle and the bullets don’t stop flying from all angles. There’s nowhere to run or hide on Rust, and even making it to the center section is an accomplishment in itself. Outside of the bullets, you might even see a lot of throwing knives that go airborne and take out unexpected players. In the campaign, Rust is part of the “Endgame” mission, which is fitting since it’s such an endgame map for multiplayer, too.

Firing Range

There are so many memorable parts of the Firing Range map that it’s hard to list all of them. At the very end of one map, you have the pistol firing range where you’re likely to spot at least one camper, there’s the tower that’s nearby, and next to that is the unfinished house. Then, of course, you have the trailer and long-arm firing range with a shed in the back to tie everything together.

No matter where you go on Firing Range, there’s going to be action. This map was first released as part of “Call of Duty: Black Ops” and instantly became a fan favorite which has made appearances in four more games since then, including “Black Ops III” and “Black Ops 4”. Unlike the other maps, though, this one isn’t part of the campaign.

Nuketown

Nothing goes hand-in-hand with “Call of Duty” quite like the Nuketown map. Nuketown is a small neighborhood that was designed to see what would happen if a nuclear bomb were dropped on a residential area. In this instance, though, it’s a lot like Firing Range for the fact that there’s no area on the map where you can catch your breath.

If you’re brave enough to go in the middle where there’s an open garage and a handful of empty vehicles, you’ll be met with fire from second-story windows on both ends. Add in the endless grenades that are lobbed into the middle of the map and crossing from one side to the other is one of the hardest things to do in a “Call of Duty” game.

5 Ancient Technologies That Show The Ingenuity Of Humans

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When we think of cutting-edge technology, our brains tend to gravitate toward some of the newest innovations that we’ve seen in the past few years. However, some of the amazing technology that we know about today has been around for much longer than you think. We’re not talking about just a couple of decades, or even centuries, we’re talking about an entire millennium or even longer.

Though the average person might think that ancient civilizations didn’t have much knowledge or formal education, there were still some brilliant scientists that created technology that changed the world. Let’s take a look at five of those ancient technologies that show the ingenuity of humans and how we use that technology today.

Pyramids of Giza

There are some people who are so enthralled by the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt that they believe that the pyramids were built by aliens. It’s truly a marvel that dates back thousands of years, and the pyramids were believed to have been built as tombs for Pharaohs of the time. Scientists have tried to figure out the specifics and think that it took 20 years to finish the pyramids and around 20,000 workers.

That might sound like a lot of people, but over the course of 20 years, it really isn’t that much. The rope and pulley system helped to get the pieces in place, or at least that’s our best guess. After all, the pyramids are almost perfectly facing in all four cardinal directions, and that would have been hard to pull off with the technology at the time. The shafts and heat spots have left people wondering for millennia how the Egyptians pulled off such an impressive feat.

Archimedes Steam Cannon

Archimedes of Syracuse was one of the best scientists in the world during his time in the 3rd century BC. Archimedes helped to form modern mathematics and science, and that even spilled over into the world of weaponry. During the Siege of Syracuse, Archimedes created the steam cannon, a weapon that only needed heat and water to operate.

A copper tube was put into a furnace, and when it became hot enough, only a small amount of water was needed to launch a projectile. This proved to be a very effective weapon and would continue to be in use for the centuries that followed. Even during World War II, a newer version of Archimedes’ cannon was used by the United States.

Roman Concrete

Anyone who lives in an area where there’s both hot and cold weather knows just how annoying it can be to deal with potholes. It seems that throughout the summer, potholes are patched up, but plenty more pop up throughout the winter and the spring to make it an endless battle. Many of us that deal with this wonder why modern concrete doesn’t seem to be as effective as the concrete in ancient Rome.

The concrete that was used at the time was found to actually become stronger as time goes on. That’s because Roman concrete was made with a mixture of lime, seawater, and volcanic ash. This combination reacts to the environment that surrounds it, and even something like seawater helps to fortify the concrete rather than cause it to erode.

Batteries Over Baghdad

It probably wouldn’t be too surprising to hear that the first known batteries came from Baghdad, Iraq, but you probably wouldn’t guess how old they are. In the 1930s, scientists discovered a ceramic pot that also contained a copper tub and iron rod. This turned out to be the first battery known to man and stood at an impressive height of six feet.

There have been several theories as to how the battery worked, with some claiming that there’s no way that it could’ve worked without electricity. Some have said that it could electroplate gold and silver, while others have said that it was used for electrotherapy. Either way, it appears to be a one-of-a-kind technology for its time.

Flexible Glass

One of those things that still boggles the average mind to this day is flexible glass, especially when you see it on modern smartphones. It’s not clear exactly who it was that invented flexible glass, but records show that it dates back to the 1st century AD and was during the time of Tiberius Caesar.

The story of the flexible glass would become a thing of legend but wasn’t widely used for many years. These days, flexible glass is just about everywhere from our fiber optics to the previously mentioned smartphone screens. This is not to be confused with the less flexible plexiglass, which was created in the mid-19th century.

5 States With the Lowest-Paid Governor

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The governor of a state is essentially that state’s president, making some of the toughest decisions that pertain to the laws and day-to-day workings. It can also be a thankless job as you come into it with almost half of the people in that state not wanting you there in the first place, but in most states, the pay is at least pretty good.

Then, there are a handful of states in which the governor is barely making above the national average. These elected officials aren’t held to the same standards as federal politicians in terms of pay, and it’s up to the people leading these states to increase their salaries. Here are the five states who pay their governors the least amount of money for one reason or another.

Wyoming/Nebraska

It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Wyoming has one of the lowest salaries for a governor as it has the lowest population for any state despite its massive land area. There are fewer than 600,000 people living in Wyoming, which makes it smaller (by population) than even Vermont and Washington, D.C.

Nebraska is a more interesting case as the state doesn’t have a large population, but it’s still the 38th largest state in the country. The short answer is that the state has never given a large salary to any government employees, as even state senators were only given $12,000 per year for decades. The governors from both states just barely make six figures at $105,000 each, making them unattractive jobs compared to that of a U.S. Senator or Representative.

Oregon

While Wyoming and Nebraska probably aren’t the biggest shockers on the list, we now start getting to a few which are downright stunning. The first of these is Oregon, which ranks right in the middle of the pack in terms of population. With more than 4.2 million residents, Oregon may be the least-populated west coast state, but that’s still a lot of people for the governor to represent for such a low salary.

Oregon has done well with boosting employee salaries overall, but the topic of the governor’s salary really hasn’t been a hot-button topic. Perhaps the state has been more concerned about the common citizen’s wage that it hasn’t seemed important, which would be a better reason than many of the other states.

Arizona

The most-populated state that appears on this list (and it’s not very close) is Arizona, which is close to the top 10 in terms of the total population at over 7.3 million people. That’s more than states which include Tennessee and Massachusetts, while on par with Washington. However, those three states have governors who are making much more money.

Arizona is another one of those cases where the governor’s salary has been talked about but simply hasn’t changed with the rest of the country’s state leaders. Former governor Richard Lamm said that “Colorado should be embarrassed…this is going to become a rich person’s sport,” when discussing the governor’s salary.

Colorado

Yet another surprise on the list, Colorado is near the top 20 in terms of the total population with more than 5.8 million people, and it’s a number that continues to rise as it becomes a haven for younger Americans. Colorado is about the same size as Wisconsin and Minnesota in terms of population, while also being much larger than states like Delaware and Nevada which have much higher-paid governors.

Colorado has the highest-paid governor…for states that pay their governors just five figures. While the overall salary for employees within the state has been ahead of the curve compared to the national average, the governor’s salary has remained stagnant for a very long time. The increases in salary have all been slight thus far.

Maine

After all of the unexpected states on the list, it probably doesn’t come as much of a curveball to see that Maine is at the top (or in this case, bottom) of the list. Maine is one of the least-populated states in the country, and actually has fewer people than New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Idaho. Maine ranks 43rd, while their governor ranks dead last in terms of salary.

There have been several bills introduced that would try to raise the Maine governor’s salary, but it has never come to fruition. Instead, the governor has only been getting $70,000 for years, which is more than $20,000 less than any other state in the country. So what’s the holdup? Well, the governor’s salary can’t increase while in office, and it seems that stubbornness has prevented governor’s from increasing the salary for the next person.

5 Most Viral Twitter Posts Ever

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It can be hard to have one of the most viral posts in Twitter history as you have to already have a large following while also saying something that catches the attention of even the most casual of Twitter users. There have been a handful of tweets that have garnered millions of likes, with some standing out well above the rest. In fact, the most liked tweet has more than 2 million likes above any other. Here are the five that went viral and got the most attention.

Joe Biden Becomes President

The 2020 Presidential election was one of the most contentious ones that the United States has ever seen. Donald Trump had been running for re-election, but ultimately lost out to former US Vice President Joe Biden. That didn’t stop Trump and his supporters from claiming that the election results weren’t valid, which led to both sides becoming even more heated toward one another.

Despite all of the lawsuits and court hearings, Biden’s win was declared legitimate and he was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021. Biden had his first tweet as President that day, simply tweeting “It’s a new day in America.” Millions of people liked the tweet over the course of the day, and despite being in the first three weeks of 2021, became the most viral tweet of the year.

Greta Thunberg Claps Back

Nobody has been a bigger lightning rod on social media than Andrew Tate. Tate has had a lot of controversial opinions, especially when it comes to relationships with women. Tate has even tweeted out at other notable people on social media, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Tate posted a photograph of himself fueling up his car, saying that he has 33 of them.

Tate then said in the tweet “Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions.” Thunberg’s viral tweet responded to Tate by saying “yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld***energy@getalife.com.” Tate attempted to create another response of his own but received less than 10 percent of the number of likes and gave away his location via a pizza box, leading to his arrest.

Barack Obama’s Response to Charlottesville

In August 2017, James Alex Fields Jr. caused havoc in Charlottesville, Virginia when he ran his car through a crowd of protesters. The protestors were standing against the Unite the Right rally, and it was found that Fields had neo-Nazi beliefs. There were dozens of people injured as he drove his Dodge Challenger through the crowd, ultimately taking the life of Heather Danielle Heyer.

Fields pleaded guilty to a hate crime act resulting in death and 28 counts of hate crime acts that carried an attempted murder charge. Barack Obama, who had left the White House as President just a few months prior, quotes Nelson Mandela on Twitter in a post that went viral. He started out by saying “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion,” garnering over 4 million likes on the social media platform.

Elon Musk Buys Twitter

2022 was perhaps the most interesting year for Twitter as there was a change at the top for the first time in the site’s history. Billionaire and oft-richest man in the world Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in one of the most talked-about acquisitions ever. Musk had been a regular on the platform and he only became more involved after he took over.

On April 27, 2022, shortly after the acquisition was announced, Musk said that he had another purchase in mind. “Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in,” Musk tweeted. Originally, the drug was part of the Coca-Cola formula, and Musk was clearly joking, but it did draw a lot of attention. Unfortunately for Musk, Coca-Cola would be nearly a $200 billion investment if he wanted it.

Chadwick Boseman’s Death

Chadwick Boseman had starred in many films throughout his career, but most know him for playing T’Challa (a.k.a The Black Panther) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Black Panther” was a monumental film and one of the highest-grossing movies in cinema history. For the final years of his life, Boseman was battling colon cancer, and only those who were closest to him knew.

That’s why so many people were blindsided on August 28, 2020, when his Twitter account announced his death, with his family making the post. “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman,” the tweet read. “Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV.”

Can You Improve Your Quality Of Life By Moving Overseas? 5 Top Destinations To Consider

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Many people are in jobs that they feel don’t pay enough to keep up with their surroundings and are looking for opportunities outside of their city or even country. If you’re ready to pack up and move to another country and leave behind the negative parts of your current country, there are certain places around the world that can almost certainly offer a better life.

Let’s take a look at five of the countries that have a much higher quality of life than others, making them popular overseas destinations for people who want out of their current situation.

Portugal

Portugal is one of those rare countries that doesn’t have any enemies while maintaining a seemingly endless list of allies. Because of this, Portugal has been one of the most popular countries to move to. No matter what country you’re from, you can pretty much be guaranteed safety, as Portugal is typically ranked near the top five in the world’s safest countries.

Even if the weather was your main concern, Portugal has a fantastic climate year-round, so anyone that wants to get away from the snow will find plenty of places in Portugal where you don’t have to shovel your driveway. There is a lot to do in Portugal, and unlike some of the other popular countries on the list, the cost of living isn’t all that high. The only drawback is that English speakers may have a tough time adapting.

Sweden

Whenever you hear someone talk about how they want to move to a different country, Sweden is usually the one that gets mentioned first, and there are plenty of reasons for that. Sweden has a large enough landscape to offer plenty to do while also having a population low enough so that you don’t feel too crowded. The quality of life in Sweden is second to none, offering great education and high-paying jobs.

Sweden is a bit on the cold side compared to most countries, but it’s worth it to deal with the snow when you consider the amazing work-life balance that you get while living there. From outstanding healthcare to a beautiful landscape, there really isn’t anything that Sweden lacks in. Also, English speakers will feel incredibly comfortable in Sweden.

Canada

Just like how you’ll hear many Europeans talk about how they want to get out of their current situation and move to Sweden, Canada is North America’s version of that. Canada has many of the same great features that Sweden has, including the massive land area compared to a lower population that allows for a lot of free-roaming.

Canada and the northern part of the United States are nearly identical in terms of climate and landscape, but there are some key differences. Canada, on average, is much safer and offers a much better healthcare system for new residents. Canada consistently ranks in the top 10 for quality of life and has amazing educational and work opportunities even if the cost of living is on the high side.

Germany

Germany has turned into one of the most popular options for those leaving their native countries due to the work and education opportunities that are available. Germany is an absolutely beautiful country with a lot of great cultures to experience and many even prefer the German workstyle to the American or British ones. Things are very straight to the point in Germany and there’s a proper work-life balance.

English speakers will be able to adapt to living in Germany quickly, and you’ll get much of the same that you do in the United States while finding that the minor tweaks here and there add up to a much better quality of life. In fact, Germany has been a massive pipeline for former Americans looking for a new opportunity.

Switzerland

Germany has an easier path to becoming a citizen, but Switzerland is often ranked as the number one country in the world for quality of life. We’ve discussed work-life balance repeatedly today, and Switzerland does it better than anybody. The environment is gorgeous in Switzerland, and the jobs pay tremendously if you land one.

Working more than 40 hours per week is almost unheard of in Switzerland and even those that work in retail are off on Sundays. If the company you’re currently working for has a branch in Switzerland, see if you can be transferred there as those who have moved have not regretted heading to Switzerland.

5 Well-Known Fictional Languages

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A language that has been around for hundreds or thousands of years can already be difficult to master, but what about those that have only been around for a handful of decades (if not less)? Thanks to pop culture, there have been a lot of new languages that have been created from scratch, ranging from the world of literature to video games, and from movies to television.

 If you’re looking to pick up a language that can help you communicate with some of the most hardcore fans in existence, try picking up one of these five well-known fictional languages.

Klingon

The first fictional language is one of the most expansive and oldest in popular culture, pulling from the “Star Trek” franchise. The Klingon species was introduced in the original television series which aired in 1967 and instantly became a staple of the franchise. Author and “Star Trek” fan Marc Okrand took it upon himself to create an entire Klingon language, publishing “The Klingon Dictionary” in 1985.

Not only did Okrand create words for the language, but also made sure tha the grammar had a set of rules. The book received an expansion in 1992, with Okrand adding more words from the “Star Trek” films that were released throughout the 1980s and in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. With nearly 200 pages in total, there are thousands of people who are able to communicate exclusively in Klingon.

Dothraki

The popular television series “Game of Thrones” is based on the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” and aired on HBO from 2011 until 2019. “Game of Thrones” contained several fictional languages, with the most popular of them being Dothraki. While Martin had started the language in his book series, conlanger David J. Peterson developed the entire language for television use with nearly 3,200 words.

Dothraki could be learned by anyone that wanted to, and Peterson says that it’s structured much like Elvish (which we’ll get to in a minute). Peterson had also created languages for “The 100”, “Dune”, and “Thor: The Dark World”, showing off his versatility. Still, it’s the Nomadic Dothraki language that people have come to know and love from him the most.

Elvish

Not to be confused with Elvis, the Elvish language isn’t quite as old as you might think. Elves have been part of stories for ages, but it wasn’t until J.R.R. Tolkien wrote “The Lord of the Rings” series that it really started to take off. Tolkien began creating the language for his characters to use throughout the book series, including several offsets of the base language known as Primitive Quendian.

The final languages include Quendya, Exilic Quenya, Telerin, Sindarin, Nandorin, and Avarin. Over the years, several other Elvish languages have been introduced into pop culture (many of which are by David J. Peterson), but it’s the Tolkien version that people remember the most. In one part of Sweden, there are thousands of people who can speak Elvish.

Minionese

Believe it or not, there’s an entire language devoted to the Minions characters from the “Despicable Me” series of films. Also known as Banana language, Minionese takes words from most of the major languages around the world and gives them their own meaning, with many of them pertaining to food. Originally, Minionese didn’t mean anything, according to director Pierre Coffin.

“It’s gibberish,” he said. “It’s a mixture of all the languages of the world and it’s about finding a particular magical rhythm and melody that makes the nonsense make sense.” As the films continued, though, Minionese started to make more sense and has become a full-fledged language of its own that somehow we all understand. “They emote with so much emotion that the language barrier doesn’t exist,” said star Sandra Bullock.

Huttese

It should come as no surprise that there are languages that exist in the “Star Wars” universe, especially after we discussed the Klingon language from “Star Trek”. There are a ton of “Star Wars” languages, with the most in-depth being that of Huttese. Spoken by characters including Jabba the Hutt, many of the “Star Wars” characters are able to speak, read, or at least understand the language.

There have been many people translating English into Huttese over the years, with the language continuing to expand. While there isn’t a dictionary that’s as structured as Klingon, the Huttese language does make sense to people who learn it. Since characters that range from Din Djarin (“The Mandalorian”) to Anakin Skywalker can speak Huttese, it makes sense that they put so much care into the language.

5 Worst Kits in English Premier League History

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Designing a kit for the biggest football teams in the world can be a challenge for athletic apparel companies, and you have to make sure that you get it just right since the kit is going to be worn for an entire season. Unfortunately, there are times when companies like Nike, Adidas, and more, simply miss the mark. There are five instances in English Premier League history in which these teams really missed, creating the worst kits the EPL has seen.

One thing that you’ll notice about the list right away is that every single one of these uniforms is from the 1990s. Needless to say, those who were around during the decade had an interesting taste in fashion. We’ll also be the first to admit that it hasn’t aged well, which is why so many of the “fashion fails” that you see these days came from the 1990s.

Middlesbrough 1996-97

The background on the home kits for Middlesbrough was already kind of weird with the strange background that clashed with the Cellnet advertisement on the front. Things got even harder to look at for the road kits as they were white with one of the strangest mismatched patterns we’ve ever seen. The blue pattern made us all squint, it was off-centered, and for some reason extended onto the sleeve.

Middlesbrough had a rough go at it in the 1996-97 season, finishing with just 39 points on 10 wins and 16 draws. The club was relegated from the English Premier League as only Nottingham Forest (more on them later) had fewer points.

Manchester United 1995-96

The road and home kits were just fine for Man U in the 1995-96 season, and the home kits were even considered some of the best in English Premier League history. As for their alternate kit, though, people were not fans. The tops were a faded-out grey with a stripe across the middle that had an advertisement for Sharp Viewcam. It was too busy, and the large numbers and names on the back with thick borders just made things worse.

Even on the rare occasions in which they were wearing the grey kits, it didn’t negatively affect Manchester United’s performance throughout the season. They would win up winning the English Premier League with ease, finishing with 84 total points. That was 10 more than any other team, qualifying Man U for the Champions League.

Coventry City 1992-93

Some kits are bad because they’re boring and don’t have much going on, and then there are those that are bad because there’s simply too much happening. The 1992-93 kits worn by Coventry City fall in the latter category for both the blue and red versions. The patterns didn’t really have any history behind their use and were an eyesore for anyone watching, especially on early 1990s televisions.

The kits were almost as ugly as Coventry City’s performance in the 1992-93 season. Only two teams scored fewer points than Coventry City that season as they put up just 38 points. Luckily for them, two other teams finished with 38 while Coventry had the best goal differential out of the three clubs, keeping them from relegation.

Norwich City 1993-94

In another case of kits that were way too busy and drew attention in a bad way, the Norwich City kits from the 1993-94 season were green and yellow, but not in a good way. The pattern looked like it was a botched attempt at tye-dye, and it clashed with the solid-colored collar. The advertising patch that was dead-center was also an eyesore, with the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society logo not fitting in at all.

There was some good news for Norwich City, though. They were one of the highest-scoring teams in the EPL during the 1993-94 season and easily avoided relegation. The finished with 53 points, which was good enough for 12th overall in the standings.

Nottingham Forest 1996-97

Nottingham Forest had some solid kits when they wore red during the 1996-97 season, but it was a much different case when they wore yellow. With lettering that started at the shoulders and literally dripped down unevenly, it looked like someone made a printing mistake when making these uniforms. Without those, the yellow kits with the red lettering would’ve actually been great.

It was bad enough that Nottingham Forest had to wear the uniforms, and it was made worse by the fact that they finished dead last in the English Premier League. Nottingham Forest finished with just 34 points (five behind 19th-place Middlesbrough) and were relegated to the Football League First Division. They would end up winning the division the following year but then again finished last in the EPL in 1998-99.

5 Biggest Longshots to Win the NBA Title

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Each season in the NBA, there are only a handful of teams that end up having a realistic shot at winning the NBA Finals and oddsmakers know that. For this reason, there are typically two or three teams that are close to even odds while the rest end up being longshots. After all, the way that the NBA Playoffs are set up, being an underdog gives you almost no chance as you have to beat the better team in a best-of-seven series.

Still, there have been a few long shots to overcome the odds and not just make it deep into the tournament, but win the entire thing. Here are the five biggest longshots in NBA history to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy as league champions.

Houston Rockets (1993-94)

After the Chicago Bulls won three straight NBA titles, Michael Jordan unexpectedly retired. Oddsmakers weren’t quite sure what to do, and they ended up making many of the NBA teams into longshots since there was no clear-cut team expected to win. The Houston Rockets received +1200 odds to win the title as they were considered the third-best team in the Western Conference.

Equipped with the likes of Sam Cassell, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Otis Thorpe, the Rockets had a lot of potential. Houston secured the two-seed in the Western Conference and got by Golden States, Phoenix, and Utah on their way to the FInals. In seven games, the Rockets finished their underdog story by defeating the New York Knicks and winning the first of their back-to-back titles.

Detroit Pistons (2003-04)

There was one thing for sure about the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons, and it was that they played a tough defensive game. Still, they weren’t considered the top team in the Eastern Conference and oddsmakers felt that the “dream team” built by the Los Angeles Lakers would easily defeat any team that came from the East. As a result, the Pistons were given +1500 odds to win the 2004 NBA Finals.

Detroit was the clear-cut second seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs as they finished seven games behind Indiana and seven games ahead of New Jersey. The Pistons dispatched the Milwaukee Bucks, won in seven games against New Jersey, and took care of Indiana in six games. Still a big underdog in the Finals, the Pistons only needed five games to take down Shaq, Kobe, and the L.A. Lakers.

Toronto Raptors (2018-19)

Heading into the 2018-19 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors were expected to repeat as champions while some other surprise teams in the Western Conference popped up. As for the East, Toronto wasn’t given much of a chance to even make the NBA Finals as oddsmakers made them a +1850 longshot to win the NBA title.

That didn’t stop Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors from making waves, and they only needed one game seven to win the title. They defeated Orlando in the first round, Philadelphia in the second (in seven games), then Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals. In six games against the Warriors, the Raptors clinched their first-ever championship with Leonard winning the Finals MVP award.

Dallas Mavericks (2010-11)

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers were the runaway favorites to meet up in the NBA Finals during the 2010-11 season, especially with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade joining forces in Miami and Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers. Dallas was seventh overall, carrying +2000 odds into the season. They played slightly above expectations in the regular season, finishing 57-25.

As the three-seed in the West, the Mavs needed only 21 games to win the championship. They defeated Portland in six games, unexpectedly swept the Lakers, then knocked out Oklahoma City in five games. Facing the Miami Heat, the Mavericks were able to win in six games to give Dirk Nowitzki the MVP award during his only championship win.

Golden State Warriors (2014-15)

It’s hard to think of the Golden State Warriors with Steph Curry ever being an underdog, but that was the case before their dynasty got started. The Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs were expected to meet in the 2015 NBA Finals, with Golden State being a massive +2800 longshot to win it all.

The Warriors quickly showed that they were legitimate, however, finishing with a 67-15 record, 11 games ahead of the second-place Houston Rockets. The Warriors swept New Orleans in the first round, then defeated Memphis (six games) and Houston (five games) to make the NBA Finals. In six games, they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers to claim their first title since 2015 thanks to the unlikely MVP-winner Andre Iguodala.

5 Celebrities Who Are True Doppelgangers

Posted on by scatty

Everyone in the world has someone that looks almost exactly like them. Very rarely does someone and their exact doppelganger both end up becoming famous, though. In Hollywood, there have been many instances where someone has said that one celebrity looks like another. In a lot of cases, however, we just don’t see it. Then there are those that seem like they could be identical twins, with these five pairs of celebrities being true doppelgangers for one another.

Will Ferrell and Chad Smith

One is an actor known for his roles in “Anchorman”, “Talladega Nights” and “Step Brothers” while the other is the drummer for the famous rock group, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. As a group, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold tens of millions of albums and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

The two look so similar that there are still people who believe that they are actually brothers. They are six years apart in age, so it really isn’t that outlandish to think that they could be. When the internet took notice of their nearly-matching identities, the two had a drum-off on “The Tonight Show” wearing the same outfit, and it was hard to tell the two apart.

Chelsea Handler and Elizabeth Banks

Chelsea Handler got her start in television while part of the Oxygen hidden-camera show “Girls Behaving Badly”. She was able to parlay this into an acting career and landed a long-running talk show on E! Meanwhile, Elizabeth Banks got her start as an actress in the soap opera circuit and went on to become a movie star with roles in “Role Models”, “Power Rangers”, and “The Lego Movie”.

The two actresses are friends and are mistaken for one another constantly while out in public. Banks said in an interview (with Handler, of course) that she was in Toronto and was asked for an autograph by a fan thinking she was Handler. “I was just hanging out, being Chelsea, drinking my vodka, and having a good time,” Banks said.

Zoe Saldana and Thandie Newton

Zoe Saldana was originally a dancer, but she started landing more acting roles after she made her debut in the 2000 film “Center Stage”. Since then, Saldana has been part of some significant movie franchises including both “Star Trek” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thandie Newton has been in a wide range of films over the years such as “The Pursuit of Happyness”, “2012”, and “RockNRolla” just to name a few.

The two are mistaken for each other so frequently that even members of Saldana’s family have gotten confused…and that includes her mother. “My mom still thinks that I’m in Westworld,” Saldana said. “I’m like, ‘Years ago, you thought that I was in Traffic.’ I’m like, ‘Mom, you did not give birth to Thandie Newton.” The two have met and have become friends over the years.

Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard

During the late 1990s, Jessica Chastain was a stage actress who made her way to the screen in the late 2000s in her early 30s. Since her debut in “Jolene”, Chastain has starred in films that include “The Tree of Life”, “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Martian”, while also winning an Oscar for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”. Bryce Dallas Howard, the daughter of actor and director Ron Howard, has starred in “The Lady in the Water”, “Spider-Man 3”, and the new “Jurassic Park” trilogy.

Not only do they have the same hair color, but they’re only a couple of years apart from each other in age and share similar facial features. Chastain posted a video about how she’s not Bryce Dallas Howard with the caption “When you spend 20 years building a career and they still think you work at Jurassic Park.” It’s all in good fun, though, as the two have acknowledged to each other in person that they look alike.

Margot Robbie and Jaime Pressly

Australian actress Margot Robbie has been one of the top actresses of her generation thanks to her roles in films including “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, and “I, Tonya”. Jaime Pressly has been around for a bit longer, getting her start in the early 2000s and starring in the films “Joe Dirt” and “Not Another Teen Movie”, as well as the TV shows “Mom” and “My Name Is Earl”.

While they’re more than a decade apart in age, the two look like they could certainly be related. Some have even called Robbie “the Pressly of her generation.” Pressly has said that she gets mistaken for Robbie “all the time.” Neither one is complaining that they get mistaken for one another as that’s not exactly an insult.

5 Huge Security Bugs In Major Protocols

Posted on by scatty

Even if we don’t know the first thing about computers, we all want to know that we’re safe when we’re using them in our homes or at work. Computers end up containing a lot of personal and financial information, and it can be devastating when that information falls into the wrong hands.

Hackers have been able to exploit a lot of vulnerabilities in hardware and software over the years, causing some of the biggest data breaches ever seen. When discovered, these bugs are typically patched instantly, but a lot of damage can be done in that time. Here are five instances of huge security bugs in major protocols causing international problems.

EternalBlue

A vast majority of people around the world rely on Microsoft Windows to keep them safe when using their personal computers. Because of this, there is a lot of testing done to make sure that Windows is secure, and one of the biggest exploits that have ever been found came in 2016, which was able to attack Windows computers. Chinese hackers were found using the EternalBlue exploit to remotely hack PCs thanks to a Server Message Block vulnerability.

It was learned that 2016 wasn’t when EternalBlue was developed, but rather when it was first used maliciously. The exploit was designed by the US National Security Agency, with Microsoft knowing nothing about it until the hacks were underway. Microsoft quickly developed a patch to combat the exploit that had affected pretty much every Windows operating system.

HP Printers

When we think about internet security, our brains immediately turn to our personal computers, laptops, and cell phones. Very rarely do we think about printers as being able to be exploited because of a bug, but it turned out that we should’ve been worried all along. In 2011, an RCE vulnerability was found in Hewlett-Packard printers that allowed hackers to access the printer’s information remotely.

Not only did this bug let the hackers obtain the private information of the users, but it also allowed them to turn these printers into a weapon of sorts. The bug caused many of the HP printers to catch fire, even though HP refuted these claims. A company spokesman said that the reports of the bug causing fires was “false” and that the printers “have a hardware element called a ‘thermal breaker’ that is designed to prevent the fuser from overheating or causing a fire.”

Adobe

North Korea and South Korea have been at odds for many years, and due to the lack of physical fighting between the two, both sides have launched a lot of cyber attacks. One of the biggest exploits came via the Adobe Flash player when North Korean hackers exploited a vulnerability and collect a lot of personal information from South Korean targets.

The bug was known as CVE-2018-4878, and seemed like a harmless file when it was sent via email. As long as the person that was using their computer opened Adobe Flash through any source (i.e. webpage, Microsoft Office, etc.), then the targeting was successful. Thankfully, Adobe was able to catch wind of this bug and patched it within a day, allowing South Koreans to browse safely once again.

Heartbleed

Back in February 2012, Heartbleed became a security bug that would end up being talked about for more than two years before it was finally discovered and patched within a week during early April 2014. The bug affected millions of websites that were using Transport Layer Security and caused an overload in allowed data. Even after the patch was released, there were still hundreds of thousands of websites affected for months.

Thankfully, the number has dropped to almost nothing ever since then, but a lot of damage was caused along the way. Private keys were revealed on some pretty popular websites including Reddit, Pinterest, SoundCloud, Tumblr, and many more. Social security numbers and many other pieces of information were leaked before Heartbleed was shut down.

Shellshock/Bashdoor

Have you ever been in a situation where you seemingly lost control of your computer and it felt like a ghost was in charge of it? You may have been one of the many people affected by the Shellshock security bug that was discovered in 2014 after affecting many people. Interestingly enough, the bug was introduced in the late 1980s but took a while to shut down.

Those that were using Unix systems were the ones exploited by this bug, with macOS and Linux users being the biggest targets. The patches were implemented shortly after the bug was discovered, leaving many to wonder why it was able to go untouched for so long.