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World's Most Dangerous Animals

Deadliest animals in the world ranked by estimated number of human fatalities per year

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Top selling musicians of all time ranked by estimated number of albums sold

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Best selling novels worldwide ranked by estimated number of copies sold

Fastest Manned Aircraft in the World

Fastest manned aircraft (excluding spacecraft) ranked by top speed

World's Most Practiced Religions

Major religions of the world ranked by estimated number of followers

Worst Genocides of the Twentieth Century

The ten worst genocides of the 20th century listed by dictators responsible; ranked by number of deaths

World's Fastest Land Animals

The fastest land animals in the world ranked by maximum speed

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Today in History

Monday, 05 January 2026

2005

Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.

2003

Police arrest seven suspects in connection with Wood Green ricin plot.

1996

Hamas bombmaker Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.

1993

Washington state executes Westley Allan Dodd by hanging (the last legal hanging in America).

The oil tanker ''MV Braer'' runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.

1976

Cambodia is renamed the Democratic Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge.

1975

The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier ''Lake Illawarra'', killing twelve people.

1974

An earthquake in Lima, Peru, kills six people, and damages hundreds of houses.

1972

U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.

1969

Members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary damage property and assault occupants in the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland. In response, residents erect barricades and establish Free Derry.

FACTOIDS