Senior Arcades Come Back To South Florida After Internet ...

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[Retro/Challenge Gaming] The King of Kong is actually the King of... Con?!

ok please don't shoot me for that title I didn't even come up with it I stole it from Youtube
Billy Mitchell) is an arcade game player, known mostly for his high score records in various games. He started playing games as a kid, and set several records in Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede, BurgerTime, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. For this story, we're going to mostly focus on Donkey Kong.
Walter Day was the owner of an arcade called Twin Galaxies. Back in the early 80s, he started recording video game high scores from around the country, sometimes by visiting the arcades themselves and checking the high score tables. Twin Galaxies eventually became the de facto record of high scores in arcade games.
Day and Mitchell actually knew each other around this time - Mitchell joined Day's "video game circus", which traveled around the country playing video games for an audience (sort of the 1982 version of Twitch). But by the late 80's, arcades were waning in prominence as home consoles began to take over the market, and Day and Mitchell went their separate ways, but reunited in 1997 to revive Twin Galaxies. This is where our story begins.

How high can you get?

In 1999, Billy played the world's first perfect game of Pac-Man, achieving the highest possible score before the game ends at level 256 due to a programming bug trashing the maze and making completing the level impossible. For this, Billy was flown out to the Tokyo Toy Show and presented with the "Video Game Player of the Century" award by none other than Namco founder Masaya Nakamura himself.
In 2004, Billy posted a new world record Donkey Kong score of 933,900 at the Midwest Gaming Classic. The next year a man named Steve Wiebe started attempts to beat Mitchell's score. This is the race documented in the documentary The King of Kong, and the race ended with Billy submitting a record-setting 1,047,200 point game recorded on VHS (which was the style at the time). The funny thing is, Steve keeps getting his scores disqualified for weird reasons and Billy refused to play head to head with him. I wonder if that will be relevant later.
Day left Twin Galaxies in 2010 and in 2014, Twin Galaxies was bought by game produceesports patron Jace Hall. In 2017, Twin Galaxies implemented a system for disputing high scores, and almost immediately, Billy was put on blast.

The Girder Finger

In 2010, a man named Hank Chen beat Billy's record with an impressive 1,127,700 points. Only a few months later, Billy claimed to have set a new record in both Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. at a place called (I'm not making this up) Boomer's Arcade in Florida. The video he provided was supposedly a straight feed from the board, which meant it only showed the playfield and not Billy himself standing at an arcade cabinet. The only live video footage was a strange, grainy video clip of one of his friends swapping out the Donkey Kong arcade board in the back of the cabinet with a Donkey Kong Jr. board. There were two problems with this:
-The boards were actually both Donkey Kong Jr. boards
-There was no sign of a video capture device
But most alarmingly, close analysis revealed he had most likely been playing on an emulator in these attempts.
The Donkey Kong arcade hardware draws the screen in a very specific way, doing several sweeps from left to right and drawing different elements on each sweep. The arcade emulator MAME would render an entire frame at a time to the screen, making the load look like different elements were appearing at different times than in the arcade screens. One of the most obvious side effects of this is the "girder finger," a tiny spit of girder that appears on one frame of the loading screen when the game is running in MAME, and on all of Billy's recorded records, but not on original arcade hardware. There's tons more evidence, but the screen rendering and "girder finger" are usually considered the most obvious. If you have any interest in retrogaming I recommend you take a look at the rest; there's a lot of interesting technical detail.
It turned out that most of Billy's runs had these issues - few or no witnesses, sometimes no proof Billy was even at an arcade, and very obvious artifacts in the video that showed the game was clearly running on an emulator.
Billy has always maintained that none of this is true - he has never used or even installed MAME, all his runs have been on genuine arcade hardware, the tape may show MAME gameplay but it isn't his gameplay (despite the fact it matches up with one shown in a video of Billy announcing his new world records). Nevertheless, in 2018, after eight months of investigation, Twin Galaxies determined Billy's high scores had not been achieved on original Donkey Kong arcade hardware, and his high scores were disqualified for cheating. Not just for Donkey Kong, but also for DK Jr., Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede - ALL of them.
Now some of these had been performed in public on verified hardware, and there was no evidence that he'd cheated. Others were more like his Donkey Kong record - only available on VHS tapes taken while he was alone or only with his friends. But the Donkey Kong issues made the credibility of all his claims suspect. He had lost his crown, and now he was being mocked and harassed by the community of the games he loved so much. So he did what any butthurt American narcissist angry at the Internet would do: Filed a bunch of lawsuits.

I'll see you in court!

He filed suit against Twin Galaxies for calling him a cheater - which they hadn't; they'd merely reported that his runs could not have been done on original hardware. But Billy claimed that disqualifying all of his records and banning him from submitting any further claims meant that they were implying he was a cheater, which was just as bad. Twin Galaxies tried to get the case thrown out under California's anti-SLAPP statute, which is designed for cases where litigants try to use lawsuits (or the threat thereof) to prevent other people from speaking. The judge rejected the SLAPP motion and the case is currently pending.
He also sued the owner and two moderators of the Donkey Kong Forums, which is one of the main places where the evidence was dug up and catalogued. I can't find any update on this one.
He also sued Youtuber Apollo Legend, who ended up not only settling but giving ownership of the videos he'd made about Billy to Billy. From what I understand Apollo Legend is pretty controversial himself, so I won't really get into this one.
He also threatened to sue Guinness for removing his records from the Book of World Records because they relied on Twin Galaxies to verify their video game high score records. They later reinstated them, although it was totally their decision guys and had nothing to do with Billy. For real.
He ALSO is threatening to sue Youtuber Karl Jobst for saying mean things about him. Jobst made a video about it here; if you were curious, Billy is demanding:
The deletion of the Youtube publication which was published on or about 25 July 2020.
Your written undertaking never to repeat any of the allegations contained in the video about our client or anything similar.
A written apology to our client in terms which are satisfactory both to ourselves and to our client.
Payment of our client's costs which we estimate to be in the order of $1,500.
Payment of compensatory damages in the sum of $150,000.
And just as a bonus, Billy sued Cartoon Network in 2015 for having a character in Regular Show that parodied him. (The judge tossed it out.)
Most of these legal threats and lawsuits are still playing out and it will be a long time before we know the outcome of -
WAIT, WHAT'S THIS?

IT'S TWIN GALAXIES WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!

It turns out you probably shouldn't open the closet door until you've made sure to clean out the skeletons.
Twin Galaxies filed a countersuit, which is full of exciting new allegations based on discovery and analyzing their own archives. For example:
-Remember when I said Namco flew Billy out to Japan to give him the "Video Game Player of the Century" award? According to the lawsuit, that's bullshit. Walter Day gave Billy that award on behalf of Twin Galaxies; then at the Tokyo Toy Show, they arranged a photo op with Masaya Nakamura by telling Namco that Billy had just won a prestigious award for his Pac-Man game.
-One of Billy's friends, former Twin Galaxies referee Todd Rogers, has claimed for years that he held a high score in the Atari 2600 game Dragster that is mathematically impossible to achieve. It turns out he had been lying about dozens of high scores, some of which were so outrageous it's hard to tell how they got added in the first place *cough*. He now stands accused of editing the Twin Galaxies database to manipulate his scores.
-Billy and Walter were also accused of altering scores to keep Billy on top.
-There are audio recordings between (purportedly) Billy and one of his defenders, David Race, where Billy reveals a plot to trick the entire community by releasing a doctored tape, waiting until people claimed it was fake, then releasing the "real" tape, revealing it was a ruse all along and everyone really is out to get him!
All of these are allegations of course - as we've seen countless times, you can say whatever you want in a court filing, but that doesn't make it true. It will be very interesting to see what comes out in court.

Where we stand

As of now, we have several lawsuits flying and threats of more on the way. Twin Galaxies seems to be digging up more dirt every day. Youtube is reacting to the lawsuits by making even more videos, blatantly calling Billy a cheater and liar. Billy is still proclaiming innocence and vowing to clear his name.
Billy's Wikipedia page cheerfully reports all his many claimed gaming accomplishments, with only a tiny paragraph at the bottom regarding the disputes. It is currently locked from editing. The Twin Galaxies page seems to stop at the end of the 80s, with only a brief mention of either Jace Hall or the cheating controversies.
In the meantime, Billy's record has been broken several times over, and several more people have played perfect games of Pac-Man.
submitted by ExcellentTone to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]

My GTA 6 fan idea/hopes for gameplay. VERY LONG POST

Ever since me first playing GTA 4 in 2009, I've fallen in love with Rockstars worlds, their maps, their characters and lore of their games. So after months of planning, I came up with a simple story for GTA 6, that does follow RDR2's chapter system. Below, will be an outline of the map, the characters and basic premise of my GTA 6.
The map: The map is around twice the size of RDR2, with it including not only the entire state of Flores (florida) The Flores Keys, and Cuba. Flores contained the city of Vice (Miami), as well as a scaled down version of Cottonmouth (Tampa), and multiple small towns scattered between them. Cuba includes the city of Cohiba, a parody of Havana, and small towns scattered through it.
Characters;
Ricardo Diaz, who you play as from chapters 1 and 2. A lieutenant of the famous Valientes Cartel, who after escaping from Cuba because of a botched drug deal, is on the run in Flores from not only the cartel which he abandoned, but also D.I.A (drug intervention agency)
Santiago Diaz, who you play as for Chapters 3, 4 and 5. The son of Ricardo Diaz, Santiago hopes to one day gain back the money his father had, as well as hunt down members of the Valientes Cartel who testified against him in court.
Luis 'The Smuggler' Perez. The main villain of GTA 6, the leader of the Valientes Cartel, and the main villain for most of the story. He's a ruthless, mild mannered businessman with a lot of pride and ego, akin to Pablo Escobar. To get out of extradition, at the end of chapter two, he sells out his lieutenant, Ricardo to get a lesser sentence.
Jorje Rivero, otherwise known as 'cocodrilo' is a well known hitman and the secondary antagonist of the game. In chapters 1 and 2, he actively hunts down Ricardo, and in 3, 4 and 5 he is hunted down by Santiago for attempting to kill his father.
Returning Characters: Martin Madrazo is mentioned multiple times in the story by Cartel members, often being in connection to 'Baja Andreas' a parody of Baja California, and the Madrazo gang, instead of cartel. You see Juan Strickler in 2005 as Santiago during a drug deal mission. He's just as energetic as he is in GTA Online.
Story: After a botched drug deal in a hotel in Cohiba, Ricardo diaz goes on the run after learning that he has a son, and that his boss was planning on killing him. After taking a plane to The state of flores, Ricardo begins making moves to establish his own cocaine Empire.
I'll go into more detail in the next post if this gets enough attention, but next is gameplay mechanics
GAMEPLAY
Gameplay in GTA 6 is a mix of realism and arcadeness. The damage is much more similar to GTA 4, where depending on where you shoot someone, that is how they react. If you shoot someone in the leg once they'll try to crawl away, in the back then they'll usually fall dead, etc. This also works for you too. If a cop shoots you in the head, its an automatic wasted. If you're shot in the arm you can only use one handed weapons, in the leg then you'll be significantly slower, etc. The driving is like GTA 5's, with less realism in favor of more control.
Interiors: Interiors in GTA 6 make up a lot of the map, around 40% of all buildings being accessible. These range from houses for Robbery/Hitman activities, to Banks, Gas stations, Car dealerships, restaurants and Police Stations. If you're wanted then people will often leave the interior you are in, or call the police, or even try and stop you from leaving for a citizens arrest.
Wanted level: Wanted level works more realistically, as if you have one star they will not use lethal force. 1 star. Small crimes, as in car accidents, speeding, shoplifting and mutual fighting will give you a ticket. No lethal force besides batons and tasers will be used unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary in this situation (If you pull a gun, or attack them with a deadly weapon.)
2 stars. This is what a one star would be in other games. If a police officer sees you committing a crime that involves someone else (assault, robbery at gunpoint,gun discharge in public areas) they will approach you weapons drawn, willing to stop you with lethal force, but will try to arrest you first. This also applies with murder with a melee weapon, or shooting with small arms.
3 stars.
This is when cops are ready and are recommended to use lethal force. This means if there is a call about a murder with a gun, or gunshots are heard from an automatic gun, or murder in general is heard, you will get three stars. Instead of if you aim at the police they will shoot, if you have any weapon in your hand they will shoot. Very rarely on this star will you get busted, and not wasted.
4 stars.
Three stars but now noose agents are called in, and airports are blocked from you entering them. They will take you down any means necessary to protect the public. Highways will be blockaded before you’re even on them. Helicopters deployed.
5 stars. Cop cars will ram into you even if you’re on foot, NOOSE will rappel from helicopters everywhere you go, and the FIB is called in, and they will kill you no matter what, even if you completely surrender. At this point you’re considered too dangerous to be left alive.
6 stars. Six stars is when you loose five stars and escape. You will have six stars for three in game months unless you die. During this time you are considered on the INTERPOL’s most wanted. Every time an npc sees you, they will call the police. Helicopters circle the last three miles you were seen in. The stars will go away if you change your appearance, whether that be dyeing your hair or shaving your facial hair. If found while on six stars, you will automatically go back to five stars and now the military will be called in.
Weapons: Weapons are changed a lot in GTA 6, with you only being able to buy small arms and legal weapons at ammunation, while you can find less legal guns in underground gun shops, like in GTA 4. You can conceal small weapons like pistols, knives and small submachine guns on you, but if you have a large weapon on you, you will get the police called on you. There are two ways of storing these large weapons.
  1. The trunk of your car. You can have up to twelve weapons in here, and its easily portable
  2. duffel bag. A duffel bag can carry two large weapons, and is best used for missions. Speaking of:
MISSIONS
Missions are different than other rockstar games, as it allows much more freedom with how you complete missions. Instead of saying, kill this guy with a sniper on that roof across from the restaurant, it allows you to take him out however you want, as long as there are minimal casualties. This means whether you call up a bomb guy to rig his car up with an explosive, or simply walk into the store to kill him with an Uzi, its much more free. Some missions are very linear.
Thats all I have for now, if this gets enough attention, i'll make a second post for the storyline if this gets enough upvotes, or if someone wants me to do that.
submitted by Gore_Bitz to GTA6 [link] [comments]

The Crew 3: Gameplay Suggestions

I’ve been playing this game since it came out, and I still like it. I think most people would agree that it’s a tradeoff: less realism and detail than Forza Horizon, but a much bigger map and more variety.
Thinking about the Crew 3 (whenever it comes out), here are my recommendations for gameplay. I will publish a second post in the future, with more thoughts on the map (here).
GAMEPLAY
VEHICLES/DISCIPLINES
Edit: added link to my post on the map.
submitted by invisible_archon to thecrew2 [link] [comments]

1993 - 1/2

Our town wasn’t always like this, deserted and barren. At one point it was actually considered to be flourishing, with a steady stream of income for people of all ages and multiple venues of entertainment which seemed to have a little bit of something for everyone. The heart of our town however, was the theme park that had been erected since the town's birth in 1969, Sparky’s Adventure Land. On the surface it presented itself much like any other theme park across the country. But underneath its safe facade lay a rotting, mutating darkness that we as a collective were blind to.
The real start of the decay of our town was the summer of 1993, during one of the most intense heat waves our small town had ever seen. The days were long and miserable, with most of us relying on small bottles of water we carried almost everywhere we went. These bottles were especially present inside of Sparky’s, with them being sold at every vendor within the park, which provided a large increase in the park’s income.
That’s where I come in. I was 16 and desperately in need of a job. My mother had practically shoved me out of the door at the first mention of a job opportunity. Our family for a while had been struggling to make ends meet, so I knew that most of my income would go towards helping with the family’s expenses. I didn’t mind. After all, I didn’t really have much that I needed to or even wanted to buy. Plus, after what happened to Sam only a few months ago, I needed a distraction. So that weekend I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and drove myself across town to the park.
The interview itself took place inside of the main office at the front of the park. Inside the atmosphere was musty. The carpet was torn and stained in various different places. The walls themselves were even in disrepair, with some corners of the office having sustained water damages. That’s not even to mention the discolored ceiling which had seen years of neglect. I sat down in a chair opposite from the little old lady who was giving me my interview.
She was a small woman. Her short gray hair curled in various different directions. Her eyes were like two small, gray stones, staring into mine. After a lengthy and tedious interview, I was hired on the spot. I had aced the interview, just like had known I would. If I had known right then and there just where this job would have taken me, I never would have signed those damn papers.
The next day I arrived at 8:30 sharp. My tiny Volkswagen was parked at the front of the employees only lot, surrounded by the other staff members' cars. The collar of my shirt felt as if it was choking me, and even though the day was still young I was already sweating profusely. I couldn’t tell if it was the nerves of the sheer blazing heat, but I knew that I had to find a way to cool myself down.
I walked through the side entrance into the break room where immediately I was greeted by an overly ecstatic woman. She appeared to be around my age and judging by her red collared shirt, I could tell she also was a ride attendant.
“Hello!” she said “You must be Justin!”. She was short, her deep hazel eyes kept perfect contact with mine as she offered her hand. I grabbed her hand and shook it as I introduced myself.
“Guilty.” I replied “And you are?”.
“Lilith, Most of my friends just call me Lily though.” She responded happily.
“Well it's nice to meet you Lily.” I said as I eyed the room. “Where is everyone else?”
“Oh they’re already at their rides. I was asked to stay back and help you find where you're supposed to go.” She informed me. I was fixated on her. Her brunette hair sat just on her shoulders, which perfectly complimented her dark complexion.
“Well then” I sighed, after a long pause “Where am I supposed to go?”. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along to the other side of the claustrophobic room. I hadn’t noticed it at first but this room just like the office was in a bad state of disrepair. For a company with seemingly a lot of money, the place was sure falling apart. Lily picked up a piece of paper, right beside a lone coffee maker and pointed to a list. I stood behind her, peering over her shoulder at the list. On the list was my name, and beside it were the words ‘Funhouse’.
“You're starting today at the funhouse.” Lily said as she turned back to me. “That ones a doozy, but you’ll manage. Every half hour another ride attendant will come to rotate you and they will inform you where to go next. Lunch breaks start at 12 but it just depends on where you're stationed at the time.” It was a lot to take in but I tried to make mental notes as I made my way to the funhouse.
Once there I had about an hour to do the mandatory inspection for the day. It wasn’t much, I just had to walk through the house and make sure that everything was nice and neat and that everything was working fine. I didn’t mind, after all I had once run down these very halls with my friends when I was a kid. I felt a huge rush of nostalgia that I could hardly contain. It was as if the magic of this place had come back and fully enveloped me in its clutches. My favorite part had always been the actor inside who would be wearing a full Sparky the Clown costume. Sparky would wave to the kids, and show them amazing spectacles as they traveled through the attraction.
The first time I had ever been through the funhouse, I had seen Sparky standing in his usual spot. I couldn’t have been older than eight, and just the sight of the clown had horrified me. Something about his painted smile and glossy black eyes had terrified me. Unlike most clowns that usually involved a lot of makeup, the park had instead made an entire mask for the character. It was the same as you might find in a place like Chuck E’ Cheese or Disney World with their various character costumes. Over time however I had grown accustomed to that expressionless face and even purchased a small plushie of Sparky which at one point had sat on my bed, now discarded somewhere in the depths of my closet.
Finally I managed to contain my giddy excitement to be back in the core of my childhood, and I managed to complete the inspection. I never saw Sparky, I just assumed that he would show up at some point during the day, whenever the mascot arrived.
The day was long and boring. The hours seemed to crawl by as I perished in the blazing heat of the Florida sun. Children of all ages screamed as they went on the various rides I had been stationed at. Each rotation seemed to get slower and slower and by the time twelve o’clock came around I was more than ready to get away from the hordes of customers that paraded every pathway.
During my lunch break I had spied a staircase out of the corner of my eye. I asked Lily what it was and she responded that it was one of many entrances to an elaborate and expansive underground tunnel system which linked every ride and attraction together so that character actors and maintenance workers could quickly and easily navigate the park without having to disrupt the large crowds above ground.
“Unless you're one of those two.” She said “The tunnels are off limits, even I’ve never been in them.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” I replied.
“Yeah, it's not like the tunnels are anything special, they’re just tan bricked walls and damp floors.” Lily relied and with that our lunch break ended. I headed back to the Twincoaster, and as I left I could hear the doors to the tunnels open from the echo that carried itself through the now empty room. I didn’t have time to turn around and look, but looking back now I wish that I had.
It didn’t take long for the abnormalities of the park to start to reveal themselves. The first thing was that no matter where I was stationed, or how many staff parties I attended I never met any of the costume actors. The presence of the management, or rather lack thereof, was miniscule. In fact, I think the only management I saw had been the little old lady that had conducted my interview. Other than that there was no trace of management to be found.
Then finally it happened, the moment that looking back on it now was the very moment that the lingering darkness finally took hold of the park. I was once again stationed at the fun house. It was around 1:30 or so as I had just come off my lunch break and was covering for Lily while she took her break.
“Hello! Excuse me sir! Hello!” A small voice cried out. I turned around to see a small boy, no older than 10 rushing towards me flailing his arms in the blazing heat. His eyes were frantic, and his red curly hair was a mess, with multiple long strands of hair curling like snakes around his eyes.
“Yes, what is it?” I asked him. I could tell he was panicking. His entire body seemed to be shaking as if he had just witnessed a horrific tragedy. A long silence hung in the air as the boy desperately regained his breath.
“My brother” He finally said out of breath. “It's my brother, I can’t find him.”
“Okay, slow down.” I tried calming him down. “Where did you last see your brother?”.
“Inside the funhouse, we went in together but we took different paths in the hall of mirrors. Some kids at school said that both directions led to the exit so we wanted to test it and see if it was true. On the other side though I kept waiting and waiting but he never came out. I figured he must’ve just came out before me so I ran through the ball pit to the exit, but when I got out I didn’t see him.”
“Is it possible that he might’ve already gone back to your parents?” I said, trying to reason with him and keep him calm.”
“No, Lucas would never leave me alone in the funhouse, he knows how much I hate it there.” The boy was on the verge of tears now.
“Okay, go back to your parents and tell them to go to the ticket booth and report your brother as missing. After that I’ll shut the attraction down and go in and look for your brother. He probably just got lost inside of the hall of mirrors. We’ll find your brother for you, I promise you.” even as I said those words they didn’t feel right. The hall of mirrors wasn’t designed to be tricky. It had a total of one dead end, all the other paths led right into the central tunnel that led directly to the exit. I must’ve memorized that hall a dozen times over as a kid.
The boy took off in the direction of what I could only hope to be his parents. His faded gray sweatshirt tied to his waist flapped carelessly in the wind. I looked back at the shrinking line of patrons, eager to get inside, and waited for management to call over the walkie talkie and tell me to shut the attraction down. That announcement to my surprise, never came.
At the end of the day I decided to go in myself and have a quick look around to see if I could find the missing boy. I started at the entrance and made my way down a twisting hall of red and white that was there only to disorient the victim. I nearly stumbled over a dozen times, only catching myself luckily each time by quickly grabbing onto the small child sized hand holds on the sides of the walls. Next was a dark room, filled with large bean bags of different colors and sizes that hung from the ceiling like rainbow colored cocoons of caterpillars, waiting to be reborn into beautiful monarchs.
“Lucas!” I called the boy’s name, remembering it from when the boy had told me earlier. My voice bounced off the empty walls and yielded no response. I kept calling his name as I made my way from room to room, turning over every prop and set piece I could find. I made my way into Sparky’s room and scanned it closely. I hadn’t ever seen it so deserted. It was like the joy that normally filled this room had been vanquished and sputtered out. It was dead now, an eerie silence poisoned the air as every footstep echoed a thousand times off of the painted walls.
I climbed onto the stage on the far wall of the room and looked around, saying the child’s name loudly enough so that if Lucas was hiding somewhere behind the curtains he would hear me. I drew back the large navy curtain. The stage was clear of all props, the only attribute that caught my eye was the large metal door located just off to the side. Curious I tried it. The door didn’t budge, even as I pushed with all my weight the door remained resilient. I pounded it and yelled Lucas’ name, not knowing if somehow he had gotten trapped behind it. Silence was the only response I got. Defeated, I made my way into the hall of mirrors in a last attempt to find the missing boy.
The hall was just as I had remembered it as a boy. I could almost picture myself running around through these very halls, laughing and screaming with my best friends. That was a long time ago now. I was older, and perhaps I had grown up too fast. I once again pushed my childhood nostalgia to the side and focused on the mission at hand. My reflection mirrored my every move, sometimes distorted and sometimes a clear copy of myself. I shouted the boy's name more and more as I raced through the paths that were stained in my memory. I checked every passage way twice, but to no avail. Each time I was met at a dead end, with the same distorted face staring back at me. I felt crushed, and held onto hope that they had already found the kid, and I was just being paranoid. I made my way through the ball pit, kicking aside multi colored balls until finally I reached the exit. Lily was waiting for me outside.
“Where the hell have you been, we closed an hour ago?”
“I was looking for a boy.” I responded vacantly.
“What boy were you looking for?” She questioned me. Her eyes never left mine, I could tell by her expression that there had been no widespread mention of the missing boy.
“Two brothers went into the funhouse and only one came out.” I told her. “No one ever came by to check for him so I figured I’d do a sweep of the place before we closed down for the night.”
“Any sign of him?” Lily asked
“No, I didn’t see him anywhere, no lost shoe, no broken glasses. It’s like the boy simply disappeared. What if he got lost in those damn tunnels that were not allowed in? Or what if someone took him there.” I was throwing out every theory I could think of, and at the time most of them I will admit, sounded completely ridiculous.
“Justin,” Lily said slowly. “Calm down, I'm sure he just slipped past your radar and the parents found him. Besides, who would’ve taken him there anyways? Sparky? What reason would an actor have to do that.”
“That’s fair enough.” I sighed and I walked back with Lily to the break room and gathered my belongings to head out. Lily waved goodbye as I went out the same pale painted door that I entered and left every day. The door closed behind me and I started my car and headed home. Something about all of it didn't feel right to me. I’m a curious person, once I latch myself onto a mystery or question I rarely am able to let it go unsolved and this time was no different.
A week passed and there was still no mention of Lucas, found or missing. So, on my lunch break I decided to call management about it, using one of the dial phones inside of the break room. They gave me the same static reply that I had assumed they would. That they had no information about any child going missing on the premises. And that if they ever found anything out that I would be the first to know.
“How the hell do they not hear about a missing kid?” I yelled, slamming the phone down and turning to meet Lily's eyes.
“Justin, like I said last week, the parents probably found the kid before even making it up to the ticket booth so they didn’t bother to report it, it's a cold case, just let it go.” Lily said, with that same logical tone that made me realize just how ridiculous of a notion I was truly pressing.
“Your right.” I conceded “I should probably just stick to running roller coasters for the time being huh?”
“As brilliant of a mind as you have, I think it's for the best.” Lily said as she stood up from the table she had been eating at and placed a warm hand on my shoulder. “That kid is okay, everything is okay.” and with that the conversation was over. I pushed aside my conspiracies and tried to stay focused on the job at hand.
Another week passed and nothing really happened. It was another hot day, and I stood in line waiting to go on the Tidal Mountain ride. I was in line with Lily, as we were both looking for a way to cool off during our break. The line winded up the large mountain that started the ride, and just as we managed to make our way to the front of the line, everything turned into a panic.
A mother came barreling through the customers, screaming. I moved closer, to see what exactly was going on.
“My baby girl!” She wailed. “I can't find my baby girl!. The woman’s frizzy blonde hair was a complete mess and her eyes were red with tears. Her voice cracked with each word as she tried to grab onto the ride attendant, Mark, with shaking hands.
“Calm down ma’am.” Mark started “Its going to be alright, we’ll find your daughter. Where did you last see her?”
“By that damn funhouse, Sparky said he wanted to show her a magic trick inside but they never came back!” The woman was in tears. In that instant my mind began racing. The funhouse had to be connected in some way, it was the only thing that linked both disappearances. Mark’s eyes met mine as he asked his next question.
“Did they ever go into the funhouse?” He asked.
“No, he was outside, wandering around and offered to show her a magic trick. I tried to go with him, but he insisted it was for children only and that adults would ruin the magic. He said it wouldn’t take long. His voice… it was low and deep, it was trustworthy yet mysterious. I shouldn’t have let Gracie go off on her own, but I thought the park was better than that! Who the hell is running around in those suits taking away little kids! They went behind a couple of buildings. There was a graffitied crown I believe on the wall of the building. I checked around back but there was no trace of her anywhere. “ The woman completely lost it and broke down, holding onto the thin fabric of Mark’s shirt. Mark redirected her to the ticket booth and had me cover while he took her. I was already moving pieces around in my mind, and I could tell by Lily’s expression on her shock ridden face, that she was too.
The next day I was at home in my bedroom, trying desperately to figure the few strands that I had, and tie them together to figure it out. It had to be the costume actors, but where were they taking the children, and why. It was a question that was damned from the start. Over the course of the next two weeks two more kids would disappear. Gregory Hawkins, and Alice Jensen. That made four missing children, two girls and two boys. All four family’s told very similar stories. That's when we started getting complaints.
The families of the missing children decided that they would not go quietly into the night, and each filed a lawsuit against the park. The park was facing extreme legal trouble, and I was stuck in the abysmal storm that had been created by the piling rumors.
As the summer reached its peak, patrons began to complain of foul smells coming from around the park. The pungent aroma was so bad that multiple guests had thrown up after just inhaling the toxic fumes once. The park smelled of death. We all chalked it up to dead animals most likely having found themselves victim to the various machines located in the engine rooms underneath the attractions.
Over the course of just a few days, the complaints went from bad to worse, and the majority of the complaints were coming from the funhouse. The Sparky suit apparently reeked of a putrid smell that caused the park to quarantine the attraction until we could figure out what exactly was wrong with it. The attraction however, never got the chance to re-open.
Lily and I were waiting out the remainder of our lunch break, speculating on what would happen to the park, and if some of us would be let go as the park slowly was drained of its assets. Our answer came when the same short, gray curly haired woman that had hired me came into the break room.
“The park is temporarily closing.” The woman stated. Her face was solemn, but her eyes showed brief flickers of fear. “You are all on unpaid leave until we are able to fight these cases and reopen. As of now the park doesn’t have the financial resources available to continue operation. At the end of the day you will all need to gather your personal effects and clean out your lockers. The park will contact you when we are ready to reopen. We know you understand. And with that the small old lady turned and left just as quick as she came.
“Well that answers our questions I guess.” Lily laughed as she proposed a toast with her water cup. The rest of our fellow co workers all gathered around and toasted to the idea the unforeseen closing. Sure we would be out of a job, but most of us hated it there anyways and had been looking at other job offers for a while now.
The day seemed to speed by, and at the end Lily and I were alone in the break room. She gave me her home phone number, and promised to keep in touch. We said our goodbyes, and promised to hang out for the rest of the summer. One final hug was all that was shared before we both headed to our cars and left the premises. That should’ve been the last time we ever went there, but it wasn’t.
Two more weeks passed and there were still no updates on the park. It was during the late hours of the night that I sealed my own fate. My mind raced and I was determined to figure out just what had happened to the missing kids. I awoke in the middle of the night, sweating with a clear thought in my head. I had to go back.
I got up and dressed myself. The black denim of my pants slipped easily over my body as I grabbed a plain t-shirt off of my dresser. A black hoodie lay on my doorknob and I grabbed it as well, pulling it quickly over my shirt. The cold steel of the rings on my fingers woke me up as I opened my bedroom door and crept quietly down the hall and grabbed my car keys off of the kitchen table. I slipped outside into the cool midnight air and unlocked my car. I was determined to bring this case to a head, to bring closure for myself and for the families, who hadn’t seen their kids in weeks and were locked in a legal battle with a multi million dollar company that only seeked to profit off their tragedies.
I drove across town to a small house not far from the park itself. It was a happy little home, its vibrant exterior created a sense of familiarity as I found my way up onto the first roof of the building. It was Lily’s house. I peeked in through her window, she was fast asleep. I gently tapped on the thick glass three times until Lily finally awoke. In her groggy daze, she must’ve thought I was an intruder. Immediately she reached for a small knife on the edge of her dark oak dresser and brandished it in fear. After her eyes adjusted, she realized it was me.
“Justin?” Lily said “What the hell are you doing at my house in the middle of the night.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” I said as she opened the window and let me in. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that I had given her when she had accidentally spilled wine on hers during a party at one of our co workers’ houses. “Lily, we have to go back. No one is there so we aren't going to get caught, but I need to figure out what happened to those kids.”
“Justin, those kids are long gone, that happened weeks ago. Besides what the hell do you care about a bunch of random kids.” Lily responded as she fell over on her bed. I walked closer to her.
“I don’t know, but if I was missing, I’d want to be found too.” I said and the room went quiet.
“Fine,” She said, “But you're driving.” She laughed as she punched me playful on the arm. And with that I stepped outside of the window so that she could change and then we both climbed down off her roof and got into my car and we started our final drive, on the highway that literally would lead to hell.
The car ride there was eerily silent. We parked a few blocks down from the park, so that way if anyone was watching we wouldn’t be caught as easily. We walked the remaining few blocks and finally were face to face with the park. It’s facade was falling apart, the metal of the tall gates were weathered and rusted. Even the large statue of Sparky’s head that loomed over the entrance way that was now striped with neon yellow caution tape was in a state of disrepair. Rust formed around the eyes and the teeth. It seemed as though the park had aged one hundred years since we had been there. It felt like a lifetime ago.
We quickly scaled the fence under the cover of the glowing moonlight. It was a full moon that night, fitting for what was to come. The ticket booth looked long abandoned and grossly decayed. The once barely sturdy walls now were collapsing underneath their own weight. Nature had already begun to take back what was once theirs. Something wasn’t right, the decay had begun way too fast.
We didn’t let the aberrations of the place slow us down however. We walked slowly on the cracked pavement. Flowers and other forms of vegetations sprouted at our feet. The air was full of uncertainty as we made our way deeper into the park.
We must’ve passed a dozen attractions in complete silence, both of us ever observant of the warped atmosphere around us. Then Lily spotted something.
“There’s the manager's office.” She said, pointing to a rusted door that sat just behind a few knocked over pinball machines. “Maybe there’s an entrance to the tunnels in there.” I stepped closer to the door and noticed that it was chained shut. A large metal chain wrapped itself around the ancient door and kept it locked in place with a large padlock keeping the chain from separating. I gave it a sturdy kick, but to no avail. Instead the chains rattled aggressively and then fell silent once again.
“Well shit.” I said dumbfounded. “There’s no way in hell that we're gonna get that chain off without some sort of cutters.”
“Or.” Lily said as she bent down to grab an object near a toppled arcade game. “We could use this.” In her hand was a baseball sized rock with a sharp edge that jutted out. I let out a laugh and took the rock from her hand. It took only a few strikes with the rock before the chain gave away and fell to the ground leaving the door exposed. I pressed it opened, and the hinges screeched as if the door hadn’t been moved in decades.
The office inside was the same one that I had been interviewed in what seemed like forever ago. The water damage on the walls and the roof were now almost twice as bad. The room was dank and the air was musty. I nearly choked as I looked around. Overturned desks, chairs and strewn out files polluted the already filthy room. In the corner was an overturned filing cabinet, most of its contents had already ravaged. Most likely they had been taken by the executives, but why I wondered.
“Well.” Lily said “what exactly are we looking for? Because I highly doubt that if your crazy ideas about this place are true that they would leave the evidence behind.”
“We’re looking for anything to give us a clue as to what happened. We’re close to something I can feel it.” I replied, scanning the room as I approached the fallen file cabinet.
“I hope so, you better not have wasted my night by dragging me out to the abandoned hell hole Justin.” Lily teased as she began to search on the opposite side of the room from me.
I opened each of the filing cabinet’s drawers and began to leaf through the papers inside. Nothing at first really caught my eye. Most of the papers were just boring paperwork that had been filed for employees or for renovations. That's when one paper caught my eye. Hidden at the back of the off the seemingly innocuous stack of papers was one part of the answer to a mystery larger than we could even imagine.
“Lily.” I said shocked as I read the words on the paper. She immediately stopped leafing through another set of papers at the other end of the room. She sat them down carefully and came over to me.
“What did you find?” She asked.
“It’s a letter from the town hall approving the creation of multiple tunnels under the park.” I said as I looked up to meet her eyes.
“Okay, it’s probably the mascot tunnels.” She said, confused.
“That’s where it gets interesting.” I said as I reached for a map of the park’s tunnels that was lying on the floor. “These blueprints from the letter and the official map of the tunnels don’t match up. Sure they have the same base, but these blueprints show that there are more tunnels than what is on the official map. Secret tunnels deep within the already existing tunnels. All the hidden tunnels seem to link up here.” I pointed to the map. There was a small room on the new blueprints, one in which every new tunnel led to.
“This is so much bigger than we thought Lily.” I said as I stood up. My hands were shaking as the rings on my middle and ring finger clinked together. “They knew about the kids, they had to. That’s why they left so damn fast after the shutdown. Because they didn’t want their operation to be exposed. If we want our answers then we’re going to have to go to the heart of it.”
“We should enter the tunnels from the funhouse, it's the closest. I don’t want to be down there any longer than we have to.” Lily said as she read the map carefully “Justin are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes, I need answers.” I said as I tried my best to mentally prepare myself for what I may find in the deep underbelly of the park.
“But why do you need answers? You have no relationship to any of the victims hell you didn’t even know these kids. So why do you care so much about figuring out what happened to them?” Lily questioned me as she crossed her arms and waited for me to respond.
I stared vacantly at her, lost in my thoughts for just a moment before my brain finally brought itself back to reality.
“You didn’t see the look on that kid’s face whenever he told me he lost his brother. He was scared, Lily. Like the internally freaking out kind of scared, and I guess I feel responsible for it. The kid went into the attraction I was operating. The one that I was supposed to keep safe. I mean I practically ushered that kid to his death, or worse.” I croaked as I fought to keep my tear ducts closed. “It’s the same thing that happened with my little brother, Sam. I was supposed to be watching him but I went to a stupid party. I brought Sam with me and let him go off on his own while I went to drink with my friends. I don’t remember much of that night, but I remember having a deep gut-wrenching feeling that something horrible had happened. It’s the same feeling I felt when that kid told me his brother was missing. The next morning mom came to pick me up because she had heard from the neighbors where I had been spotted getting picked up along with my little brother. She asked me where he was and screamed at me when I told her I didn’t know. The next week they found Sam in a ditch on the far side of town, mutilated. I mean they tore his fucking throat out and left a broken beer bottle in its place. He was only 10 years old, it would’ve been his birthday next weekend.” Surprisingly I found myself unable to cry.
Lily stepped forward and hugged me as she whispered into my ear.
“I’m so sorry.” She kept saying. “Oh my God I’m so sorry.” She let go of me and for a brief moment in the glowing moonlight it seemed that everything was going to be okay.
The park was eerily quiet as we made our way closer and closer to the funhouse. Looking at the decayed attractions I could see my childhood memories now distorted in front of me. I could see the first ride I ever took Sam on. Deep down I finally realized just why I had even taken this job in the first place. It was because of Sam. The Ferris wheel tilted slightly off of its axis, seeming close to collapse at any second. The pavement at our feet was cracked and slowly being reclaimed by nature. The path forked and we made our way down Clown’s Alley.
The fake city set pieces looked surprisingly convincing in the moonlight. Rows of open shops and carnival games set up along the false street. The street lamps flickered ominously while we shined our flashlights’ beams into the growing darkness. I don’t know what I was looking for, but whatever it was, I didn’t find it. Finally we stopped in front of the same damn red and white entrance tunnel where it had all begun. The clown face of Sparky painted above seemed to smile with a devilish intent as I stepped inside. Lily was close behind me.
The spinning of the tunnel had stopped what seemed to be a lifetime ago now. The colors had faded out, and cobwebs now were hung in almost every crevasse. Insects crawled in the debris at our feet as we stomped our way onward.
Inside the bean bag room immediately I noticed something. All of the hanging bags had been torn open.
“What the hell were they hiding in those.” I wondered aloud as I pushed the once brightly colored bag aside as its rope finally gave way to its own weight and fell at my feet. The bags hadn’t just been torn open, I realized, they had been bitten open. Some creature with sharp and ravenous teeth had come in and ripped through each of the bags in a crude manner.
“Something tells me that it wasn’t the racoons that came digging around in here.” Lily said, her expression and demeanor seemed to change. She was afraid.
Finally we found ourselves in the main stage room. It seemed to be frozen in time. Not a single prop was out of place. The navy curtain hung elegantly over a now empty stage. Balloons were tied to each of the chairs, all still neatly lined in rows facing the stage. Off to the side of the stage was that same, solid metal door that I had seen during my first time in here.
“Alright.” I said as I turned to face Lily. “Are you ready for this?” “I’m as ready as I’m ever gonna be.” She replied and with that she stepped forward and twisted the handle. The handle creaked as it turned, and the heavy metal door finally swung open, and revealed the awaiting darkness. There was a silence for a brief moment, until something stepped forward from the darkness. It was a shadowy figure, tall and lanky. Then in an instant the figure was on top of Lily, shrieking as it dragged her away into the darkness of the tunnels. I was paralyzed from fear as I watched motionless, while my friend was dragged away from me. I didn’t even get a good look at it. I should have turned back right then and ran away back to the safety of my home, but I didn’t. Instead I pushed it all aside. My adrenaline got the best of me as I picked up my fallen flashlight and darted into the tunnels after them.
After a while of running I ran out of breath, so I slowed to a walk. The tunnel’s around me were damp and oxygen was scarce. The flashlight’s timid beam provided my only vision. There wasn’t much to look at however. Large metal pipes lined the top of the tunnel, still gushing with fluids. The map in my hand was my only way of navigating. I kept my breaths quiet, desperate not to attract whatever thing had just taken Lily. I had to think logically if I wanted to keep myself from ending up dead.
My best guess was that the figure had taken Lily to the hidden room, in fact that was where all of the pipes in the tunnels seemed to be leading. If I wanted any chance of finding her alive, that would be where I needed to go. That also meant I would most likely have to come face to face with whatever the hell that figure was again. I didn’t have a plan for that quite yet, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would. Finally after walking for what seemed like hours in foot deep water, I had made it.
A large door stood before me, chained shut. The sign to the side of the door said “Character Costume Room - Employee’s Only.” I shined the flashlight’s beam around in the dark tunnel, desperately looking for anything to use to break the chains. There was nothing, not a single piece of debris or lonesome stone to be found. I sighed and realized what I had to do. I raised the flashlight overhead and smashed it down into the chains. Three strikes was all it took until the chains finally gave away and fell before my feet. The light in the flashlight flickered one last time then went out, leaving me alone in the darkness.
I felt around until I found the cold steel of the door handle and pushed it open. The door groaned as it opened. I stepped forward into the pitch black, expecting to quickly be pounced on just as Lily had been, but to my surprise, nothing came. I ran my hand along the wall, tracing each crack as I tried to find a light switch. My heart pounded inside my chest as my fingers finally found the switch. I flipped it on and immediately a flickering row of lights came alive.
The room illuminated as I looked around. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light. “Maybe I was wrong” I thought to myself as I stared in disbelief. Inside the room was nothing out of the ordinary. Shelves lined the walls with various character heads and costumes stockpiled on them. Each character from the park was there. Sparky, Pandemonium, hell even the unnamed jester costume was down here. I walked over to one of the Sparky masks on the shelf. Its eye’s were still covered with a thin layer of black cloth to cover the wearer’s eyes. The same demonic painted smile was duplicated along the dozens of masks. This one however was the only one that was tilted. I picked up the head to examine it, flipping it over as I grabbed it.
I took a look inside, and what I saw made my blood run cold. Ginger strands of curly hair were poking out of the mask. I immediately dropped the mask. It hit the ground with a hard thud, and as it did the head of a small boy with curly red hair rolled out onto the floor in front of me. I stared in disbelief.
“Lucas” my voice broke as I backed up away from the fallen mask. The boy's eyes were vacant, with nothing but the white of them still showing. His face was turning a sick pale green. I could tell that rigor mortis had already begun to set in. I wanted to scream but my mouth couldn’t make noise. I wanted to throw up but instead I just gagged. Then I saw one of the suits in the corner move. It was only a twitch, and instinctively I ran towards it, hoping that my suspicion of who was under the suit wasn’t right.
The suit was a jester’s costume, the vibrant colors of the soft material seemed to dull in the flickering light. The mask was white, other than it’s hat which had long tendrils sprouting from it with bells tied securely on the end of each one. I removed the mask only to once again be frozen in horror. It was Lily, barely alive, blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes met mine and she coughed, sending blood onto my jacket.
“I’m going to get you out of here, just hold on Lily.” I said as I desperately tried to find the zipper of the suit. My mind was frantic as I searched.
“No…. point.” She groaned as she extended her arm towards me. I grabbed the soft material and looked at her.
“No, no, no don’t say that Lily. I got you into this mess. I'm not going to let you die in here.” I said
“Justin…behind you.” She muttered as she stared into my eyes, and suddenly I could tell her eyes were no longer seeing. They were blank, and her head slumped over to the side.
“No, dammit!” I yelled as I slammed my fist into a shelf. Mascot heads rolled off onto the already cluttered floor. “Wait, behind me?” I realized and I turned around. There in front of me stood a hollow suit, towering over me. It was a Sparky costume. It’s same painted smile I had become so accustomed to over the summer was now staring blankly into my eyes. The multicolored suit it wore was faded and torn. Then the suit began to talk.
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Billy Mitchell is now issuing legal threats against Karl Jobst

Yes, I'm afraid this story continues. Billy Mitchell, proven cheater that he is, has absolutely no shame. He's already filed lawsuits against Twin Galaxies (one suit in California and another in Florida), against Donkey Kong Forum and their moderators, and against Apollo Legend, all in an attempt to cover the fact that he knowingly and deliberately cheated multiple times. He also threatened a lawsuit against Guinness World Records if they didn't reinstate his fraudulent historical score claims, although they caved in to him before it got to actual court.
Now Billy is actually issuing legal threats against speedrunner and YouTuber Karl Jobst, over statements made in his latest video titled "Guinness World Records Should Stay Out of Gaming". The two threats, sent to Karl on July 30, 2020 (that's Australia time), were issued from Australian law firm Miller Bou-Samra.
You can read the two documents Jobst received here. They're short, and mostly consist of reiterating Billy's claimed achievements, citing Guinness' decision to overturn the score removals (Thanks again for nothing, Guinness), as well as phony indignation that someone could possibly refer to Billy Mitchell as a "cheater" (which he, in fact, is). The threat also makes specific mention of Jobst having teased a future video featuring Mr. Mitchell, which suggests this maneuver was as preventive as anything:
It is also highly concerning that you intend to further defame our client in a future video performance.
Notably, here is Billy's list of demands:
The terms of any settlement with you are:
The deletion of the Youtube publication which was published on or about 25 July 2020.
Your written undertaking never to repeat any of the allegations contained in the video about our client or anything similar.
A written apology to our client in terms which are satisfactory both to ourselves and to our client.
Payment of our client's costs which we estimate to be in the order of $1,500.
Payment of compensatory damages in the sum of $150,000.
This offer will remain open for seven days and will then lapse and be incapable of acceptance.
Unsurprisingly, Billy went on Twitter lockdown as soon as this happened.
For now this is just a threat, but such threats are a prerequisite for legal action, and we all know how far he's been willing to take these actions so far (including committing straight up perjury in the TG case). There seems to be no limit in Billy Mitchell's quest to sue the Internet for saying mean things about him.
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Update: Apollo Legend is now officially being sued by Billy Mitchell

I know many people here are still rightly upset with Apollo Legend over this incident from late 2018, but I felt this deserved an update.
Video Game Cheater of the Century, Billy Mitchell, has officially filed three lawsuits, against Twin Galaxies LLC, Donkey Kong Forum and two of its moderators, and against the speedrunner and YouTuber Apollo Legend individually.
I would link to them, or be more specific about where to find them, but they contain personal information which I don't want to be responsible for amplifying.
These three lawsuits were filed earlier this year, and were filed pro se (meaning, by Billy himself, without the representation of a lawyer). These are defamation suits, focusing on statements made in adjudicating and/or covering Billy's MAME cheating scandal, which became news in early 2018. This defamation suit is not directly related to the February 2018 incident when Apollo traveled to Florida to film at a "Retro Arcade Night" where Billy was in attendance. That event did result in rumors that Apollo faced legal action over the nature of his recording, but that lawsuit never materialized. The new filing does make mention of that incident, but the focus is on statements made by Apollo in various videos.
It should be noted that you can sue anyone for anything, provided that you don't run afoul of anti-SLAPP laws (which may very well happen here, as the contested statements were completely justified). Billy similarly filed a pro se lawsuit against Cartoon Network over a 2011 episode of Regular Show, which parodied Billy with a giant floating head named Garrett Bobby Ferguson. That suit got hilariously tossed out of court. Of course, this is not all fun and games. Billy's lawsuit against Apollo Legend requests damages of $1,000,000 - Yes, one million dollars. (The suit against DKF specifies $2mil, and the one against TG specifies $10mil, for a total of $13mil between the three filings.)
Apollo has been staying out of the public eye for several months. For my part, I recently spoke to a mutual friend, who after some effort was able to get in touch with Apollo. He's alive, and doing fine. Todd Rogers' tarantulas haven't found him yet.
If you'd like to read up on the Billy Mitchell cheating story, I recently posted an updated compilation of the evidence against him, including material from his September 2019 legal threat against Twin Galaxies and Guinness World Records (who seem to have been spared this recent round of lawsuits).
EDIT - It has been pointed out that Billy has actually filed a fourth lawsuit: A second defamation lawsuit against Twin Galaxies, filed by actual lawyers, in Twin Galaxies' home jurisdiction in California (which is where such a defamation case should be filed). TG has filed responses related to this California suit. The other three pro se efforts are in a different jurisdiction.
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THE STORY OF SILVER SOUL THUS FAR

SPOILERS WARNING:
Not sure if anyone cares, but if you wanna wait until JJBA: Silver Soul is completed with the potential of companion illustrations (we already have companion illustrations for several character reveals), please do not read this. We may have a full-length prologue available for reading in the near future. If you are just interested in taking in the story and reading it in order, I'd recommend not proceeding. If you want to help with the writing/creation, go on ahead.
​
Please don't comment; "YOU FORGOT MY ARC WRYYYYYY" because I didn't forget it, it just isn't a major plot point or the details haven't been 100% confirmed. That doesn't mean it'll never be canon, just be patient.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure:

~Silver Soul~
​
Silver Soul takes place after Jojolion. Assume everything in Jojolion after the chapter released around May 30th, 2020 is retconned. Josuke and the Higashikata family survive to the end, as does Yashuo. Josuke and Yashuo get married. Josuke becomes the CEO, and the company sees a massive rise in success under his leadership, becoming one of the most valuable companies in Japan. The pressures of being the patriarch of the Higashikata family weigh down on Josuke. He and Yashuo divorce. The Higashikata family pressure Josuke into expanding the HFC.
2022:
Jolene Joestar is a young, Floridan woman with no present family. When she was a younger, she was very close to her second cousin, Jibby Joestar, who is five years her senior. Jibby and Jolene grew up practicing martial arts and working on computers together, and these two things grew to be Jolene's passions. Jolene went on to get good marks in school and was accepted into college for computer engineering. She still practices martial arts every day as a hobby. At the beginning of the story, Jolene is framed for theft, with the police insisting she stole an old woman's car.
Josuke bails her out of prison. Jolene is confused, as she's never met this man. Josuke explains that he's a distant relative, and that she's being targeted as part of a plot by the HFC's biggest international rival, The Big Orca Vegetable Corporation. The CEO, Big Orca, seeks to own a global monopoly on necessities such as food, water and shelter. This is his perception of "true control".
Josuke and Jolene hide out at Jolene's friend's place, Thoko. Thoko is obsessed with video games. He is a stand user but not an aggressive or combative type. While planning their next move, they are attacked by one of Big Orca's agents: Whole Equestrian.
The battle is eventually won, with Jolene using her new fruit-awoken stand to retire Whole Equestrian. Thoko and Jolene suffer minor wounds however, so Josuke requests the strongest stand user employed by the Higashikata Fruit Company, Fidelia Costello, to come to Florida to help protect Jolene and Thoko. Fidelia is Mexican, we're going more into her backstory atm.
Jibby finally returns, suddenly and mysteriously, now with a stand. Jolene is delighted.
Big Orca sends Doppio Kujo to kill the crew. Doppio choses to abandon Big Orca when he sees Jibby as the two were best friends at one point.
Jibby explains to the crew that in the past certain people were bestowed with a special power. They used these powers to establish themselves and change history permanently, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Jibby says he believes that William Shakespeare was one of these people, and suggests Doppio use his stand, Highwayman, to test this theory. The resurrection works, and Will confirms this, providing a small amount of information about the Historical Figures before leaving, refusing to join their team.
Later on it is revealed that Jibby is a double-agent. Jibby is ordered to murder Doppio for betraying the plan. The two battle alone, with Jibby winning and killing Doppio. Jibby gains a new stand here; Rasputin, which is far more powerful than his previous stand, Starships.
At some point, Thoko unlocks a second act for his stand, which is tremendously powerful, although he can only access it if he is doing well and having fun at the video game he is playing at that point. Thoko must have some form of console to use this Act. Game Over Act 2 will not work if Thoko is in a state of mental defeat.
While tracking down the CTO for BOVC, Big Band, the gang's car suddenly stops, then explodes after the gang gets out, injuring Jolene, Fidelia, and Josuke, though Thoko is unharmed as he was sitting by a tree gaming. The stand user B-G Odessa reveals himself, and uses his stand to destroy Thoko's DS during their fight. The fight ends with Thoko stabbing Odessa to death with a shard of his DS, which he made way stronger and lighter using Game Over.
Later on in the story, it becomes clear that only Game Over Act 2 will be strong enough to fight Big John, the Chief Legal Counsel for BOVC, but Thoko has been unable to summon him as he hasn't really enjoyed gaming since his DS was destroyed. They cannot buy a new one, as Nintendo was purchased by Big Orca to prevent the awesome power of GO Act 2, so they are unable to acquire a new one for him. Thoko had a DS when he was a kid, but he lost it in a bet to a local gaming celebrity and arcade owner, Funkytown. Josuke's intel indicates than not only is Funkytown's arcade owned by Big Orca, but FT is a stand user who's stand, Uptown Funk, can make it so that only one person/stand can damage him at a time. It's pointless to send more than one, so Fidelia goes alone. Fidelia makes a rare miscalculation in her finishing blow against FT. Her arms are suddenly cut off, which means her stand, Everyday Superhero, also loses it's arms. FT taunts Fidelia as she bleeds to death. Fidelia gets ES to kick a hole in a furnace and cauterizes her wounds. FT calls this pointless, as she couldn't even beat him with arms. FT comes in for the finishing blow, but does not realize that ES does not need arms to use it's power. ES is sent forward in a flash, deploying a belt on the ground that catapults FT straight towards Fidelia. Fidelia admits her first attack was a miscalculation, but she was reading FT the whole time, pretending to be weak, hoping he would get within range of her belts. Fidelia finishes him off with an extremely lengthy series of kicks, then leaves with the DS.
The crew must build Fidelia cyborg arms, and Jibby leads the engineering team that does this, with Jolene and ally Jefferson Airplane assisting. The arms work very well, but ES still has no arms.
Shakespeare is revealed to be working with 3 other historical figures, Cleopatra, Abraham Lincoln, and Alexander Graham Bell, who were revived through unknown means. They're all stand users, but they also have superhuman strength, speed, and endurance.
That's pretty much all we have so far.
submitted by CLO_MODE to Part9lore [link] [comments]

The story of my estranged narcissist mother

I’m thankful for finding this sub and am about to unload a lot about my Nmother. This is going to be a long rant but I need to tell my story because few people have heard it before.
When I was 7 years old, my mother cheated on my father pretty much in front of me. She met some local theater guy while doing a play. She would bring me to dinner with him and his daughter to normalize their dating. My parents weren’t separated or anything. She was doing this all behind my dads back. One day she didn’t come home from rehearsal so my dad drove around and saw her car at the local hotel. He confronted her the next day and that was pretty much that. They got divorced, she won custody of me and so began her descent into full on abuse.
She moved us into a tiny apartment and my father moved in with his parents. I wanted to live with them, more than anything in the world. My father was always great to me and even as a child I resented my mother for breaking the family up but still had to love her because she was my mom. I would act up a little so she stopped feeding me. She would award me poker chips for behavior she deemed “good” which was arbitrary at best. I could exchange these chips for either meals or TV time. What 7 year old wouldn’t choose TV? She told me that since I was a kid, I could see ghosts and that our apartment was haunted. Every little noise in the night was a ghost and she made that very clear. She told me my grandparents house was even worse, that there were demons there that would kill me. I was terrified of the dark because of her ghost stories. She worked as a hostess at a restaurant and would hang out at the bar getting wasted. One day she forgot to pick me up from the after school program. Nobody stayed with me, it was dark and they left me outside in the cold waiting for her. She finally showed up and drunk drove me home. She repeated this action at school one day and they called my dad. My dad picked me up and brought me to my grandparents. It felt like heaven. My Italian grandma prepared a feast for me! Mother called my dad and they fought on the phone, my dad refused to give me back to her. She got her lawyer to legally return me to her a few days later. It was really tough going back to the hell she had made. My grandpa helped me into my dads car. This stoic WW2 vet who saw the worst of humanity. It was the only time that I ever seen him cry.
She would bring home different strange men nearly every week that she had met at the restaurant. When I acted out, she would clutch my little arm and dig her nails in and then yank me. I had wounds from this both inside and out.
I was emaciated and exhausted, not being able to sleep because I was traumatized by the ghost stories. One day I just stopped talking and would stare blankly in a deliberate catatonic gaze. My dad was fighting hard for custody and hired a law guardian to evaluate my situation. On the night she was set to interview us, my mother gave me all these bullshit lines to say. She wanted me to act like everything was great and that she was doing a great job. She baked a pie to offer the guardian a slice. She NEVER baked.
I spilled my little guts to the law guardian. I knew it was my only chance to go back to my grandparents and my dad. The guardian was appalled by my living conditions. Mother was listening closely on the other side of the door. As soon as the guardian left, my mother threw the pie out in front of me and made me go to bed. She said that I would get visited by an angry ghost for saying what I said about her.
Fast forward a couple years later. She had lost custody of me soon after the guardians visit and I was living with my grandparents and dad. Grandma had spoiled me nicely and I got a little chubby. She still had custody on weekends because the system is fucked. She took me to the mall one day and bought me McDonalds. She then announced she was moving to Florida (from Connecticut). It shocked me and I began to cry. She laughed.
From then on I would only see her for a couple weeks each summer. She would take me on vacation to fulfill her motherly obligations. I would see her brother, my uncle, more often because he lived pretty close. He was awesome and would take me to arcades and go karting. He was attentive and fun. His girlfriend was goth and she introduced me to all the bands that became my favorite music as a teen. Nine Inch Nails is still my all time favorite band. Whenever my mother would take me anywhere, it was always where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do and if I protested she would viciously fight with me till no end. Any interest I had, whether it was a band or television show or whatever, she would shit on it and devalue it. All she wanted to listen to was garbage Coldplay. One time she met this older guy and his grandson on the beach. The grandson was in his teens and I was ten. She left me in the hotel room with the teen so her and his grandfather could get wasted at a bar. I was raped that day. I fought back and even called 911 but hung up. When I told her what happened she said “thats how boys play” and not to tell my father. I didn’t tell him until years later.
All through my teens it was more of the same. I literally have a million stories of her narcissistic abuse. At 18, my band was getting mildly noticed and she was entirely unsupportive. She would tell me how awful of a singer I was and how I had no future. I stopped talking to her entirely. The straw that broke it all eas when she started seeing this new guy and I googled him. He was a registered sex offender who served time for having sex with a child. This brought back my horrible memories. I told her about it and she denied everything and even tried to blame my grandparents and father! Once she realized that she was dead to me, she began calling my house phone at all hours of the night. She even left fucked up messages screaming a few times. I blocked every number she called on.
I haven’t spoken with her in ten years. She’ll die before I speak to her again. My grandparents are now in their 90’s and I am their full time caregiver. In a small way, I give back to them what they gave to me. I still make music too in my spare time, having some albums released on an indie label. I still talk to my mothers brother, my uncle, from time to time but he doesn’t understand. He thinks I should leave home, abandon my grandparents and dad and get a “real” job. He has the same narcissistic blood as my mother. I think she plays the victim with him so I’m the bad guy for estranging myself from her. Anyway, if you read all of this, thank you. I needed someplace to dump that and this seems like a sub with people who have similar problems.
submitted by The_Mad_Sprayer to raisedbynarcissists [link] [comments]

Sixteen92 Summer Collection Review

So I haven't ordered any new products from Sixteen92 since the Resurrection event because I decided it would do me good to be on a low-buy. But when Sixteen92 released the announcement for the summer collection, I knew I was going to have to make a purchase. I purchased a sample set of the summer scents, hand and body lotion in Vanilla Egg Cream, and hair oil in Blood Orange & Vanilla. I also scooped up a sample of Nereids because it's been calling my name for a very long time. This purchase felt like a bit of a splurge because I haven't been wearing perfume at my new job--I housekeep and serve at a dude ranch. Nevertheless, this collection felt like a had-to-have, and overall I'm not disappointed.
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Bad Reputation - (notes: rolling paper, cannabis, cherry cola, worn leather jacket, torn magazine pages) - smells like: skipping school at the mall: Well, hello, cherry cola and leather. Wet, these are the two most prominent notes. The dry-down is heavy leather and something akin to glossy paper, which is pretty spot-on a torn magazine pages note. The cherry cola takes a backseat. I'm not getting much of a cannabis note, and as someone who moved to a legalized state two months ago, I've become very well acquainted with the scent of bud. I really like this one, even though I wish the cherry cola note was stronger when dry. It's a mix of clean leather and sticky soda, and overall a unique scent. Does it smell like skipping school at the mall? I wouldn't know, I never did that. I skipped first period to go to Denny's one time, and if I was more of a delinquent it might have smelled like this, but we'll never know for sure. Low throw and a few hours of longevity . 9/10
Cruel Summer - (notes: beach rock, hot sand, palm fronds, sunblock, salt, rum) - smells like: lazy afternoons at the beach: This is a beach scent without any quintessential ~tropical~ notes such as pineapple or coconut. There's nothing sweet about this scent; it's blazing hot white sand and dried, salty sweat. It's so well blended I'm not sure my nose is good enough to pick up any of the individual notes. It's better on the skin than in the vial, and I want to say the sunblock is the standout note, although there's something that reads green to me that's likely the palm fronds. Does it smell like a lazy afternoon at the beach? Yes, I would say that it does. I like this scent way more than I expected to. Medium throw and a few hours of longevity. 9/10
Pour Some Sugar on Me - (notes: white peach, raspberry syrup, citrus flower, sweet mango, cotton candy, pink lipstick) - smells like: raiding your big sister's makeup stash: Fruity and sweet. The peach is definitely strong, along with the citrus flower. Maybe the mango in there too? I can't say this one is particularly thrilling to me. I think I was hoping the cotton candy would be stronger, maybe, or something, but this is just kind of average. Dry, it's still strong peach with citrus-y mango in the background. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just not one I see myself reaching for very often. Does it smell like raiding your big sister's makeup stash? I don't have a big sister, and this smells nothing like makeup, so I would say no, it does not. Low throw and a few hours of longevity. 6/10
Time After Time - (notes: watermelon lipgloss, peony blossom, new roller skates, vanilla malt, sugar musk) - smells like: late-night phone calls from your crush: Watermelon hard candy! I love watermelon candy and this smells so similarly to a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Fruity, sweet, and slightly floral. It's quite the well-rounded scent. Not for the faint of heart when it comes to the sugary-ness of it. It smells like a watermelon hard candy melting in the heat of hot summer day. On the skin, the peony is much stronger. I don't get anything that suggests new roller skates to me, but this is a super lovely scent and I'm enjoying it a lot. Does it smell like late-night phone calls from your crush? Wouldn't know, never done that, but I suppose it is a very sweet, young love, honeymoon phase type of scent. My boyfriend likes it, if that helps to validate the "smells like" claim for anyone. Low throw and a few hours of longevity. 9/10
Shout at the Devil - (notes: smeared makeup, c0c@!ne, hairspray, fog machine, nag champa) - smells like: backstage at the Roxy: I honestly have no idea what I was expecting from this scent, but I don't think I was expecting to like it. But I do, strangely enough. It smells heavily of incense, which would be the nag champa, and I feel like I can be really honest here and say I have no idea what coke smells like, considering I've never even seen the drug, let alone been anywhere near enough to smell it. It's less powdery than I was expecting, with makeup, hairspray, and a fog machine all listed as notes, which is okay to me but might disappoint others who like that Sixteen92 powder note. A little sweeter and headier on the skin after the dry-down, but a total unexpected love for me, although not as atmospheric as I was anticipating. Does it smell like backstage at the Roxy? Probably not, I think the Roxy on a rock and roll concert night would smell a lot worse than this. Low throw and a few hours of longevity. 9/10
Youth Gone Wild - (notes: new vinyl records, warm night air, polished arcade wood, hot asphalt, burned rubber) - smells like: a night ride in an IROC z28: Wet, this is definitely more atmospheric than wearable, in my opinion. The burned rubber note is strong, and all of the other notes are there, too. There's not really one I don't get in concept. If you combined Solstice Scents's Midnight Marquee and It's History. It's Poetry., you might get a scent similar to this one. On the skin, however, I was surprised to find that it is very wearable. One of the notes goes on a little sweeter, maybe it's just my skin chemistry, but it really makes it more accessible to me in everyday wear. I was pleasantly surprised by it, as I hadn't expected to find it appealing on my skin, but I of course had to try it anyway because just writing it off would have been lame of me. Does it smell like a night ride in an IROC z28? Don't know, never been in that type of car. Low throw and a few hours of longevity. 8/10
​
Bath & Body reviews:
Hand & Body Lotion in Vanilla Egg Cream - (notes: cold milk, sweet vanilla cream, seltzer): This is so sweet and so good. Simple but really nice. The scent doesn't have a lot of longevity on the skin, but since I usually apply lotion before I go to bed, it's not too important to me. I rubbed some on my knuckles, which are extremely dry and cracked due to living in a dry climate and now constantly scraping them on stuff at work, when it arrived to test it out, and they looked a little better afterwards. I think I'd like this one in a hair product as well, for sure. I think it will also layer nicely with other scents. 10/10
Supernatural Hair Serum in Blood Orange & Vanilla - (notes: creamy vanilla swirled with tart blood orange): Simple, and so good. I fucking love blood orange anything, and blood orange and vanilla is such a good combination. I moved to a drier climate and realized that I desperately needed hair oil--something I never needed in Florida. But my skin is dry and my hair is dry and now I'm stocking up on products I didn't necessarily need in the humid southeast. The scent is perfect, I love it like I knew I would. Also, my boyfriend loved the smell of this. He said it reminded him of the circus, but I just think that's because I've been on a circus kick (re-reading The Night Circus for the billionth time, watched The Greatest Showman over the weekend, etc.) and he's subliminally picking up on it. But it does smell akin to cotton candy, so he may not be entirely wrong. 10/10
​
Bonus G.C. review:
Nereids - (notes: surf & shoreline, driftwood, dried coconut shell, pistachio, sweet sea grasses, salt): Sweet and salty, like standing on a shop-lined boardwalk on a strip of beach in one of the mid-Atlantic states. Not tropical like Florida or the Caribbean, not icy and fierce like New England, but a nice low-country beach scent. The notes are combined neatly and beautifully; I'm so glad I finally went for this scent. Wet in the bottle the pistachio and coconut are so strong that I was a little hesitant to put it on my skin, because it wasn't an immediate love. On my skin, those notes are grounded by the others and it's a really lovely kind of sweet, kind of salty, a little earthy scent. 10/10
submitted by NatalieRobinn to Indiemakeupandmore [link] [comments]

My Mini Reviews On Each Major Entry Into the Need For Speed Series.

I've been feeling the need... the need to make a brief-but-detailed review and personal score out of 10 on each game in the series for a little while now. I am heavily invested into the series as it is the only long-running game series I've been this invested in. It all started thanks to my dad because he is as well, he started me on NFS III when I was around 4 or 5 years old. My dad and I have every platinum trophy for each game starting with the first to introduce trophy support on the PS3 with Undercover, and have 100% on most of the games at some point in my life. If I had the skills and desire to I would make a YouTube video but this will do, it's just cathartic to get it out of my system!
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Well I think that's about all I have to say without making this any longer than it already is. If anyone reads even a little of this then thank you! I mostly did this for myself so if anyone else gets anything out of this then that's great. If you're interested in exploring more of the series and wonder how some of the games hold up I hope I could provide some insight. Even though I'm a little harsh on UG2 I don't dislike it by any means, the only two I don't recommend are Payback and Undercover. The ones I recommend most for anyone unfamiliar with the series are Most Wanted (2005), Carbon, Hot Pursuit 2, Heat, and Hot Pursuit (2011). That's all I have for now!
Edit: changed my score of UG2 to a 7, I was a bit harsh with an average rating, and emphasize I DO LIKE THE GAME, do not misquote me saying I dislike it just because I don't enjoy it as much as everyone else
submitted by aladclemregor to needforspeed [link] [comments]

In which I examine the claim "Black people have invented nothing outside of peanut butter in the history of their race" and why that's wrong

Sigh. I can already predict some of the heated replies to this post.
In fact, any post that tries to list historical achievements of a particular ethnic group, culture, nationality or religion will find the exact same "critiques", so I'll just address some of them right off the bat.
You said X-invention was invented by Y group of people. Wikipedia says it was invented by Z groups of people centuries before, Y just specialized it and made it more popular! FAKE NEWS!!
Inventions, contrary to popular belief, are not so cut and dry as:
"Hey, look. I'm the person that invented this neat thing. Me, my country, everyone who keeps the same traditions as me, everyone that has the same religion, and everyone who shares the same skin tone as mine are to credit."
Honestly, 90% of the time the "inventor" themselves aren't even the ones to completely credit, as all they did was "up" a pre-existing creation. Many don’t even do that; history just tends to happen to favor them. Textbooks round the world credit Thomas Edison for the creation of lightbulbs and telephones, but all he was a PR man who had a habit of pocketing the patents of others for his own gain. Thomas wasn't even the first in line to start working with electricity, there were dozens of men who spent their entire lives perfecting commercial lighting and communication before and after Edison, yet if you ask millions of people globally who invented lightbulbs/telephones, the answer will overwhelmingly be:
"Like... that Thomas dude. Thomas something... Thomas Eddie??
Hell as I type this, there's a teacher somewhere telling her students to remember that Thomas Edison was the guy who invented the lightbulb for the test next Friday.
Or what about inventions that were improved later in time? Who gets the credit for creating telescopes? Galileo does, but all he did was improve an original design by Hans Lippershey.
What about inventions that were "invented" time and time again by separate peoples throughout history? The concept of the "Pythagoras theorem" is credited to, well, Pythagoras. Historians disagree, considering as there's textual evidence of the theorem millennia before Pythagoras was even born, from various different cultures from around the world.
There are hundreds, if not, thousands of examples of this all throughout history.
It's as Isaac Newton said:
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
Or as Mark Twain more aptly put it:
"It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone or any other important thing—and the last man gets the credit and we forget the others. He added his little mite — that is all he did. These object lessons should teach us that ninety-nine parts of all things that proceed from the intellect are plagiarisms, pure and simple; and the lesson ought to make us modest. But nothing can do that"
So when a list-maker comes along every now and then makes a list about what accomplishments a certain group of people have made, it's not always as inaccurate or far from the truth as a few hecklers would have you think.
You know what is inaccurate AND far from the truth?
To claim that black people have invented absolutely nothing in the entire history of their race outside of peanut butter.
Which is exactly what The_Donald does here and here and here and here
Image in question
A bit of background.
The webcomic series, or RedPanels, describes itself as "Red Pill in Webcomic Form" and "the alternative webcomic". It was created way back in 2015 to provide "counter points" to the "liberal media narrative agenda". The webcomic touches upon a multitude of popular subjects, ranging from immigration to nationalism, usually through a right-wing lens. Despite it mostly covering the seemingly mainstream pro-Trump sentiments, there are more obscure ones that display the author's more very... * ahem *, interesting... beliefs..
Despite the fact that the dude's plainly an anti-Semitic pile of doo doo, having his swan song drawing end off with a literal Nazi salute, It's a relatively popular web comic among social conservatives and neo-reactionaries, who don't know anything about his more... eccentric beliefs. (I hope).
Anyways, there's not really too much to debunk in either graphics. They imply one of two things
1) Black People haven’t invented anything (outside peanut butter and mud huts of course)
2) White people/culture have invented everything outside of the two above mentioned items
All one has to do to prove it wrong is simply list anything invented by a b l a c c person or literally anything NOT invented by a white guy outside of peanut butter. That's too easy, so I’ll do both and I'll analyze some comments at the end to top it off. since every low-effort post mentioning T_D gets upvoted hard on this sub and therefore receives a volley of hate for being “low-effort”
Now, here's some inventions that could accompany the lonely missus in the final panel of the comic with that jar of peanut butter
  1. Anything George Washington Carver made
It's a tad ironic that of the hundreds of inventions George Washington Carver made during his lifetime, he is most famous for one he had nothing to do with. Yes, I’m talking about Peanut Butter.
The consumption of things that can be described as peanut butter actually dates back to Incas and Aztecs, while the the first example of peanut better being patented goes to Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Canada (funnily enough, if you google his name, the first image that comes up is of GWC).
However, if RedPanels/The_Donald is willing to credit peanut butter to George Washington Carver (aka something he didn’t actually make), they should at least give him the credit for hundreds of items he invented throughout his lifetime out of peanuts. The list includes: soap, face creams, axle grease, insecticides, glue, medicines. I mean just look at the dude’s sweet mustache, it counts as its own major contribution.
The man also helped popularize crop rotation and enhancing the market value of countless plants which he used for his inventions. Those plants would later become their own major crops, such as sweet potatoes, soybeans and peanuts (duh). When he died in 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated funds to erect a monument at Diamond, Missouri, in his honor.
Not bad for a man who was born and kidnapped as a slave, not bad at all.
The Answering Machine
Before 1935, life was a bit difficult for telephone users, to say the least.
You had to hope that the person you wished to call was near an answering machine in order to get your call across. If not, then your missed called was permanently lost. This all changed when Benjamin F. Thornton meshed a phonograph, some record discs, an electric motor, and few electric switches to create the world’s first answering machine.
Not only would the phonograph record the calls people had made, Thornton attached a clock to the machine that would switch the discs so it would also stamp the time the call had taken place.
Torpedoes
In the 1864 the Paraguayan War (between Paraguay and a Triple Alliance of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay) started and would last until 1870.
Naval battles were significant, and weapon that could damage enemy vessels over a distance were sought after. André Rebouças, designed an immersible device which could be projected underwater, causing an explosion with any ship it hit. The device became known as the torpedo.
While it was revolutionary, it wasn’t very effective and was overshadowed by Robert Whitehead’s version a handful of years later.
The Predecessor to Dry Cleaning
Thomas L. Jennings (1791-1859) was the first African American person to receive a patent in the U.S., paving the way for future inventors of color to gain exclusive rights to their inventions. Born in 1791, Jennings lived and worked in New York City as a tailor and dry cleaner. He invented an early method of dry cleaning called "dry scouring" and patented it in 1821
Jennings became active in working for his race and civil rights for the black community. In 1831, he was selected as assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which met in June 1831.
He helped arrange legal defense for his daughter, Elizabeth Jennings, in 1854 when she challenged a private streetcar company's segregation of seating and was arrested. She was defended by the young Chester Arthur, and won her case the next year.
With two other prominent black leaders, Jennings organized the Legal Rights Association in 1855 in New York, which raised challenges to discrimination and organized legal defense for court cases.
Modern Home Heating
In 1919 a patent was filled for a “new and improved home heating furnace”. It was the first time someone had thought of using natural gas to heat homes, replacing the previously used fireplaces and stoves. It was filled out by a woman - an African-American one (gasp) – named Alice H. Parker.
Unfortunately, other than that, there’s not much else know about her, as she essentially disappeared from the pages of history after filling out her patent.
Carbon Filaments, Improved Railroad Designs, and an early version of the Air Conditioner
Since the previous example has to do with home heating, it’d be just perfect for this example to include home cooling. And that’s exactly what Lewis Latimer invented, among others. Born from runaway slave parents, he grew up to collaborate with the greatest minds of his time, including Hiram Maxim, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison.
He worked with Bell to develop his telephone, created the carbon filament (a vital component of the lightbulb), He obtained a patent for the safety elevator and Locking Racks. He was later hired by Thomas Edison to review and test out patents, he also authored the one of the most most comprehensive books on electric lighting, “Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System.”
Latimer next developed a method of making rooms more hygienic and climate controlled. He named his system an “Apparatus for Cooling and Disinfecting,” The device did wonders in hospitals, preventing airborne dirt and dust particles from circulating inside of patient rooms and public areas.
Lewis also had a taste for the arts as he: painting portraits, wrote poetry with friends, and composed music.
Touch-tone Phones, Portable fax machines, and the Fiber optic cable
While she didn’t single-handedly create these, Dr. Shirley Jackson helped provided immeasurable strides in telecommunication technology. Jackson conducted successful experiments in theoretical physics and used her knowledge of physics to foster advances in telecommunications research while working at Bell Laboratories. Dr. Jackson conducted breakthrough basic scientific research that enabled others to invent the portable fax, touch tone telephone, solar cells, and fiber optic cables, among others.
Mrs. Jackson was also the first black woman to earn a doctorate from MIT, the first black female president of a major technological institute, and became the first black woman appointed chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Oh, and “The Father of the Fiber Optic Cable” is considered to be Narinder Singh Kapany, a Sikh from Punjab.
The Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer
George Alcorn was given the 1984 “NASA Inventor of the Year Award” for creation of the of the X-Ray Spectrometer, a device which analyses the X-ray emission spectrum a material produces results about the elemental composition of the specimen.
Now, I have no idea what that actually is, it sure does sound impressive, and if it’s good enough for NASA, it’s more than good enough for me.
America’s First Clock
Apparently, being credited with creating America’s first sticking clock apparently wasn’t enough for young Benjamin Banneker. He had to do it with a pocket watch he:
borrowed, took apart, carved each miniscule piece into a larger scale, and rebuilt it.
This arguably isn’t even what Mr. Banneker is most remembered for. He also was one of the first African-Americans to publish an almanac -one he created through his self-taught knowledge of astronomy - not to mention he was part of the party which surveyed the original borders of what is now the District of Colombia.
Oh, and he was a prominent abolitionist too.
The Laserphaco Probe
Patricia Batch is a person I can only describe as “a woman of many “firsts””.
In 1973, Patricia Bath became the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology (specialist in medical and surgical eye disease).
In 1975, Patricia Bath became the first female faculty member in the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute's Department of Ophthalmology.
In 1983, Patricia Bath became the first U.S. woman to serve as chair of an ophthalmology residency training program.
And finally in 1988, Patricia Bath became the first African-American female doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.
The patent she received was for a new cataract treatment, one which harnessed laser technology and far more accurate than what used to be used to remove cataracts – manual grinding.
This (for obvious reasons) was incredibly difficult and excruciatingly pain.
Patricia dubbed her invention the “Laserphaco Probe”. She received patients for it in Canada, Europe, Japan, and, the US. With her device, she managed to remove cataracts from patients that had grown massive and had caused their blindness for over three decades.
Railroad Coupler and Rotary Engines
Like many others on this list, there’s not much information one can say on Andrew Jackson Beard. We know he was born as a slave in Alabama in 1849, and worked as a slave for the first 15 years of his life before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At 16, roughly a single year after he was freed, Andrew married and started a farm with his wife just near the small county he was born. While on the farm, he was able to develop and champion his first invention (a plow). Three years later, he patented a second plow. These two inventions earned him almost $10,000 (worth nearly 200,000 USD in 2017), with which he began to invest in real estate.
Following his stint in the real-estate market, Andrew Beard began to work with and study train engines. In 1890 and 1892, while living in Woodlawn, Beard patented two improvements to the knuckle coupler. Beard's patents were U.S. Patent 594,059, granted on 23 November 1897 and U.S. Patent 624,901 granted 16 May 1899. The former was sold for the equivalent of almost $1.5 million (adjusted for inflation).
After this, we don’t know much else about him. Little is known about the period of from Beard's last patent application in 1897 up to his death.
He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.
Self-Propelled Street Sweepers
If you’ve ever had to sweep your home for chores, you’d know how difficult it can be. Now imagine instead of you booming your house, it was every street in your country, armed with nothing except a long horizontal head broom, shovel and dustpan. This is what street sweepers did for centuries till Charles Brooks came along.
Historically, prior to Brooks' truck, streets were commonly cleaned by walking workers, picking up by hand or broom, or by horse-drawn machines. Brooks' truck had brushes attached to the front fender that pushed trash to the curb.
As far as Brooks was concerned, the regular way of cleaning the streets was too daunting and not very cost-effective. So, he decided to create a sort of broom – or sweeper – and attach this device to a truck. Hence the concept was born of the 'street sweeper truck.'
Brooks patent was approved on March 17th, 1896; his application for the patent was filed on April 20, 1895. The street sweeper could best be described as a truck frame mounted on the axles which are supported by front and rear wheels. There are drive-wheels for the sweeping, elevator mechanisms, and an endless chain that travels around a sprocket-wheel and travels up to an additional sprocket-wheel. There is a squared shaft, which is mounted at opposite ends in bearings in the upper parts of a pair of vertical standards consisting of the back or rear parts of the truck-frame and then sustained by braces, which extend from the standards to the truck-frame.
The patent drawings go on to explain the complete composition of the invention. For those who are lost on the technical terms, above, here it is in layman terms: The truck had brushes attached to the front fender which would revolve. These revolving brushes could interchange to a flat scraper that could be used in the winter months for snow and ice.
Improved Air-Purification Filters
Rufus Stokes was born and grew up in southern Alabama. On November 5, 1940, just before receiving his high school diploma, Rufus Stokes enlisted in the US Army at Fort Benning, Georgia in the Quartermaster Corps to fight in World War 2. (This would make him the second child solider on this list. To be honest, I was expecting this list to have a couple former slave, but not former child soldiers).
In the Army, he attended a technical school where he received auto mechanic training. He was deployed in western Europe and served predominantly in the Rhineland campaign. Upon his discharge, he was decorated with an American Defense Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and Good Conduct Medal.
Soon after, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Stokes was employed as a part-time auto mechanic. In 1947, they moved once again, to Waukegan, Illinois where he found temporary employment as a pipe and sheet metal worker
Between late 1947 and 1949, Stokes was employed as an orderly at the Chicago Veterans Administration Hospital, specifically in the Tuberculosis Sanitarium. It was during this time that he first saw the negative health effects of the city's pollution. In 1949, he left the hospital and found work at Brule Inc., an incinerator manufacturing company in Chicago. He quickly learned the process of combustion and was thought to have contributed heavily in the designs of new incinerators, but was never credited for his work. For that reason, he left to pursue his own interests.
He later created a smaller domestic version and a larger mobile version of the air purification device to show its versatility. This device further reduced the ash emissions of the furnace and power plant smokestack emissions. Moreover, it was not limited by design and configuration, meaning that its efficiency remained excellent regardless of industrial or residential applications. This was not true of typical air pollution control technologies, such as electrostatic precipitators, bag houses, and wet scrubbers. The larger the device that utilized these approaches, the more cumbersome and inefficient it became. The core of Stokes' technology was a unique utilization of what he described as "the three Ts": Temperature, Time and Turbulence. In his patent applications (U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan), he provided only data sufficient to obtain patent approval. Other critical processes involving variations of physics were not revealed, but nevertheless manifest in demonstrations to municipal, state and federal officials and engineering firms such as A.T. Kearney. The ability of the APC-100 to convert particulate matter and toxic gases resulting from the burning of rubber tires and other combustibles to steam was a constant source of intrigue to those who witnessed its operation.
In 1982, Rufus Stokes was granted a doctor of science degree from Heed University in Hollywood, Florida on account of his scientific achievements.
The Wire/Electrical Resistor, IBM computers, and the pacemaker
Otis Boykin was born on August 29, 1920, in Dallas, Texas.
His mother died while was just a year old and his father worked as a carpenter. He wasn’t able to complete his university degree because he couldn’t afford to pay the tuition. Most people (namely me) would decide to give up entirely after all these setbacks, but this didn’t prevent Otis.
After dropping out of university, Boykin became a lab assistant, gaining just enough money to create his own company, Boykin-Fruth Inc. Using his own corporation as a starting point, Boykin patented a number of his own creations, including some that he had been working on before but hadn’t found the time to fully perfect. After that, Otis found immense success with his inventions.
In total, Otis Boykin would eventually come to hold 28 patents. Some of those include: The electrical wire resistor, IBM computers, chemical air filters, a burglar-proof cash register, and improvements on the pacemaker. Ironically, while he greatly improved on the device which would extend the lives of millions around the world suffering from heart disease, Otis himself died of heart failure at the age of 62, his inventions saving and continuing to save the lives of countless individuals.
Home Security
Most people would consider slow police action a bad thing, but for Marie Van Brittan Brown, it was a source of inspiration (and a really bad thing too, but I digress).
Although she was a full-time nurse, she recognised the security threats to her home and devised a system that would alert her of strangers at her door and contact relevant authorities as quickly as possible.
Her original invention consisted of peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a two-way microphone. Anything the camera picked up would appear on a monitor. An additional feature of Brown's invention was that a person also could unlock a door with a remote control. The finishing touch was an alarm button that, when pressed, would immediately contact the police.
Her patent laid the groundwork for the modern closed-circuit television system that is widely used for surveillance, home security systems, push-button alarm triggers, crime prevention, and traffic monitoring.
The Disposable Syringe
Phil Brooks (also known as CM Punk) is an American comic book writer and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is best known for his time in WWE, where he was a two-time WWE Champion, including a 434-day reign from November 20, 2011, to January 27, 2013, that is recognized by WWE as one the longest wrestling reigns in its history.
Oops, not that Phil Brooks. The Phil Brooks I’m talking about is the African-American inventor, and receiver of US patent #3,802,434 for a “Disposable Syringe” on April 9, 1974. It consisted of:
"A single unit douching device includes a flexible bag having an opening therein. A rigid nozzle is affixed to the bag at a location remote from the opening. A sealing means is also affixed to the bag adjacent the opening to seal the opening after douching materials are inserted through the opening into the bag."
The 1-GigaHertz Microchip, IBM’s color PC monitor, and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
Ever heard of Mark Dean? Well you should have, He’s one of the most prominent black inventors in the field of computers. He was one of the original inventors of the IBM personal computer and the color PC monitor.
He is also responsible for creating the technology that allows devices, such as keyboards, mice, and printers, to be plugged into a computer and communicate with each other, as such he holds 3 of IBM’s original 9 patents and to date holds 20 others.
One of his most recent computer inventions occurred while leading the team that produced the 1-Gigahertz chip, a CPU with 109 hertz (or 1000000000 Hz) of processing power. It contains over one million transistors and has nearly limitless potential.
CM-2: One of the World’s Fastest Supercomputers
An Igbo immigrant from Nigeria, Dr. Philip Emeagwali was born on 23 August 1954. At the age of 13, he served in the Biafran army in the Nigerian Civil War. (You read that right, he was a literal child solider)
After the war, he left for America after the war in 1977, getting a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Oregon State University. He later moved to Washington DC, receiving in 1986 a master's degree from George Washington University in ocean and marine engineering, and a second master's in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland
In 1989 he won the Gordon Bell Prize with a performance figure of about 400 Mflops/$1M, faster than any computer before.
For this (and other achievements) Philip Emeagwali has been celebrated as “The Bill Gates of Africa”
Modern Game Consoles/Videogame Cartridges
Ever played video games? Of course you have! If you haven’t, well, err… you really should. And when you do, you’ve got Jerry Lawson to thank for making major contributions to the art. A completely self-taught engineer, as a teenager he made money by repairing his neighbors' television and radio sets.
In 1970, he joined Fairchild Semiconductor in San Francisco as an applications engineering consultant within their sales division. While there, he created the early arcade game Demolition Derby out of his garage.
In the mid-1970s, Lawson was made Chief Hardware Engineer and director of engineering and marketing for Fairchild's video game division. There, he led the development of the Fairchild Channel F console, released in 1976 and specifically designed to use swappable game cartridges. At the time, most game systems had the game programming stored on ROM storage soldered onto the game hardware, which could not be removed. Lawson and his team figured out how to move the ROM to a cartridge that could be inserted and removed from a console unit repeatedly, and without electrically shocking the user. This would allow users to buy into a library of games, and provided a new revenue stream for the console manufacturers through sales of these games. Lawson's invention of the interchangeable cartridge was so novel and influential that every cartridge he produced had to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission.
In late March 2011, Lawson was honored as an industry pioneer by the International Game Developers Association. His accomplishments as an engineer and inventor were appreciated by the IGDA. One month later he passed away from complications of diabetes. R. I. P.
The SuperSoaker
A NASA scientist (who worked on the Galileo Jupiter probe and Mars Observer project) and retired US Air Force Commander and Chief, Lonnie G. Johnson holds almost 100 patents to his name Including various lithium fuel cells, rechargeable batteries, and reversible engines. But today we’ll be looking at his most important contribution to humankind – the SuperSoaker
Johnson conceived of a novelty water gun powered by air pressure in 1982 when he conducted an experiment at home on a heat pump that used water instead of Freon. This experimentation, which resulted in Johnson shooting a stream of water across his bathroom into the tub, led directly to the development of the Power Drencher, the precursor to the SuperSoaker.
Lonnie G. Johnson now has his own company, Johnson Research and Development, and continues to do work for NASA.
The Gamma-Electric cell
Henry Sampson, (along with his partner George H. Miley), invented the gamma-electric cell (a device with the main goal of generating auxiliary power from the shielding of a nuclear reactor).
I have no idea what that it or what it does, but it sounds useful and science-y, so I’m putting it here.
Oh, and he was a member of the United States Navy between the years 1962 and 1964
The Illusion Transmitter
Valerie Thomas was interested in science as a child, after observing her father tinkering with the television and seeing the mechanical parts inside the TV. At the age of eight, she read The Boys First Book on Electronics, which sparked her interest in a career in science. At the all-girls school she attended, she was not encouraged to pursue science and math courses, though she did manage to take a physics course. Thomas would go on to attend Morgan State University, where she was one of two women majoring in physics. Thomas excelled in her math and science courses at Morgan State University and went on to eventually become a NASA scientist after graduation.
In 1980 she received a patent for her invention of Illusion Transmitter, a device which NASA continues to use today, decades after her retiring from the organization.
Electret transducer technology/The foil electret microphone
Have you ever listened to music online? Recorded yourself with a microphone or used earbuds for privacy? Well, there’s a 90% chance you’ve utilized one of James West’s numerous inventions.
Born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, on February 10, 1931, James was pressured by his family and peers not to continue his passion for science academically ( were concerned about future job prospects for an African-American scientist. Afraid of the racism and Jim Crow laws of the South. They preferred for him to become a doctor
Here’s a quote of his that essentially summarizes his situation:
“In those days in the South, the only professional jobs that seemed to be open to a black man were a teacher, a preacher, a doctor or a lawyer. My father introduced me to three black men who had earned doctorates in chemistry and physics. The best jobs they could find were at the post office.” —James West.
Undeterred, West headed to Temple University in 1953 to study physics and worked during the summers as an intern for the Acoustics Research Department at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. He received a bachelor's degree in physics in 1957, and was hired for a full-time position as an acoustical scientist by Bell.
In 1960 (while at Bell) West developed an inexpensive, highly sensitive, compact microphone. In 1962, they finished development on the product, which relied on their invention of electret transducers. By 1968, the electret microphone was in mass production. West's invention became the industry standard, and today, 90 percent of all contemporary microphones—including the ones found in telephones, tape recorders, camcorders, baby monitors and hearing aids—use his technology.
As of 2017, James West is still kickin’ and holds over 250 patents.
The Fire-Escape Ladder
Joseph Richard Winters was an African-American abolitionist and poet. His father was a bricklayer and his mother was a Shawnee Indian. On May 7, 1878, he received U.S. Patent number 203,517 for a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder. During April 8, 1879, he received U.S. Patent number 214,224 for an "improvement" on the ladder. In May 16, 1882, he received U.S. Patent number 258,186 for a fire escape ladder that could be affixed to buildings.
Winters had noticed that firemen had to carry inconvenient ladders to burning buildings, mount those on wagons, then climb to windows, rescue people, and spray water on fires. All simultaneously, or lose precious time that allowed the fires to spread. Not to mention that the ladders themselves couldn't be too long or the engine wouldn't be able to turn corners into narrow streets or alleys.
Winters thought it would be smarter to have the ladder mounted on the fire engine and be articulated so it could be raised up from the wagon itself. He made this folding design for the city of Chambersburg and received a patent for it. His second patent was given to him for improvements on his original design. His third and final patent was received in 1882 for a fire escape that could be attached to buildings. He reportedly received much praise but little money for his innovations.
Winters’ invention was almost immediately utilized by the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania fire department who mounted the ladder on a horse-drawn wagon, and modern firetrucks still use a variation of Joseph Winters design.
Telegraphs, Telephones, Electric Railways, and Incubators
Nicknamed “the Black Edison”, Granville T. Woods was quite the ingenious fellow. All in all, he patented around 60 inventions throughout his life, including a telephone transmitter, the trolley wheel and the multiplex telegraph.
Granville was born to poor but free parents. Consequently, he received very little schooling that likely ended at the Elementary level.
In his early teens Woods took up a variety of jobs, including work in a railroad machine shop, as an engineer on a British ship in a steel mill, and as a railroad worker. From 1876 to 1878, Woods lived in New York City, taking courses in engineering and electricity—a subject that he would come to realize, early on, held the key to both his and the world’s future. Woods's most important invention is arguably the multiplex telegraph, also known as the "induction telegraph," or block system, in 1887. The device allowed men to communicate by voice over telegraph wires, ultimately helping to speed up important communications and therefore preventing crucial errors such as train accidents. Granville also created the telegraphony, a combination of the telegraph and telephone
Granville’s successes however caught the eye of a more… malevolent inventor. The inventor in question filed lawsuit to Granville’s devices, claiming they were stolen from him. The inventors name? Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison stating that he had first created a similar telegraph and that he was entitled to the patent for the device. Woods was twice successful in defending himself, proving that there were no other devices upon which he could have depended or relied upon to make his device. After Thomas Edison's second defeat, he decided to offer Granville Woods a position with the Edison Company, Granville declined. (Gee I wonder why?) Subsequently, Woods was formerly known known as "Black Edison."
The Blood Bank
It’s quite literally impossible to calculate how many people would have lost their lives without the contributions of African-American Inventor Dr. Charles Drew. No I mean literally, impossible. One person in America needs blood every two seconds. Imagine how many people need blood worldwide every two – no, every one second. You’d need one of the CM-2 computers mentioned above to be able to calculate that. All of those lives are indebted to Dr. Drew’s innovation and struggles as the researcher and surgeon who revolutionized the understanding of blood plasma – leading to the invention of blood banks.
Born in 1904 in Washington, D.C., Charles Drew excelled from early on in both intellectual and athletic pursuits. And I mean excellent. He was offered both athletic and medical scholarships from multiple colleges and universities. He decided to study at two of them, Amherst collage for his athletics, and McGill University to pursue his doctorate. Drew graduated second out of a class of over a hundred. After becoming a doctor, Dr. Drew went to Columbia University to do his Ph.D. on blood storage. He completed a thesis titled “Banked Blood” that invented a method of separating and storing plasma, allowing it to be dehydrated for later use.
It was the first time Columbia awarded a doctorate to an African-American. He also became the first African-American surgeon selected to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery, where he would later become the chief surgeon.
Just before the U.S. entered World War II and just after earning his doctorate, Drew was recruited by John Scudder (a British Physician) to help set up and administer an early prototype program for blood storage and preservation. He was to collect, test, and transport large quantities of blood plasma for distribution in the United Kingdom. Drew went to New York City as the medical director of the United States' Blood for Britain project. The Blood for Britain project was a project to aid British soldiers and civilians by giving U.S. blood to the United Kingdom.
Drew created a central location for the blood collection process where donors could go to give blood. He made sure all blood plasma was tested before it was shipped out. He ensured that only skilled personnel handled blood plasma to avoid the possibility of contamination. The Blood for Britain program operated successfully for five months, with total collections of almost 15,000 people donating blood, and with over 5,500 vials of blood plasma. As a result, the Blood Transfusion Betterment Association applauded Drew for his work.
Drew’s work would eventually culminate into the American Red Cross Blood Bank. Ironically, while Charles was responsible for the creation of the organization, he would eventually resign as the ARCBB practiced racial segregation of blood. They refused to accept African-American blood and would only transfer plasma to white soldiers and citizens. Outraged at both the practices racism and lack of scientific foundation Charles left the position.
When Dr. Charles Drew died from a car crash in 1950, the ARCBB ended its discriminatory policy. According to legend, Drew was actually brought to the hospital he had helped found but was refused service on account of his race. He died April 1st, perhaps the saddest April Fool’s joke played to one of the most monumental figure here.
Now obviously this is a very short list and I can’t possibly hope to list the achievements and innovations of every African person on the planet, both the one we know and the countless more we’ve lost to the pages of time… but the point still clearly stands and if RedPanels or T_D actually gave a shit about history they wouldn’t have made/posted the image.
For further reading:
1)https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/african-american-inventors-18th-century/ 2)https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/african-american-inventors-19th-century/ 3)https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/african-american-inventors-20th-and-21st-century/ 4)https://thinkgrowth.org/14-black-inventors-you-probably-didnt-know-about-3c0702cc63d2
Note: This is an updated version of earlier one that got removed. I will cover the comments in the future and will link it here after since this is too long
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are arcades legal in florida video

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