5 Most Disturbing Facts About the World.

There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and much of it is undeniably disturbing. But we’re steering clear of headlines today, and instead focusing on a handful of lesser-known facts that are still more than enough to cost you a bit of sleep. From the alarming number of overlooked Broken Arrow accidents, otherwise known as lost nuclear weapons, to an incoming population crisis that may be one of the biggest problems facing humanity, there’s plenty to talk about. We may even force you to seriously reconsider if we’re really the dominant lifeform on this planet.

For the time being, you may want to consider the likelihood of running into a real-world Michael Meyers. The probability may be more or less than you think, depending on your preconceived notions, but the reality is that, no matter where you live, the chances of meeting a serial killer aren’t zero. More to the point:

There Are Anywhere Between 25–50 Active Serial Killers In The United States Alone

The exact number of active serial killers globally is unknown, and the average varies drastically depending on the region we’re talking about. According to the FBI, the average is between 25–50 in the United States, with the region being recognised as a serial killer hotspot. Taking the entire world into account, the total is at least 10 times more, with the other factor to consider that most active serial killers haven’t officially been identified.

The problem is that for a series of murders to be attributed to a single person, investigators must find definitive proof, and despite what movies tell you, most serial killers don’t purposefully leave their signature at the scene of the crime. It is instead far more likely that a serial killer goes to great lengths to remain anonymous, or at least will purposefully obscure evidence enough to avoid detection. So, estimates are vague at best, though most serial killers don’t remain undetected for too long.

The definition of what makes a serial killer is also important, with the term not applying to a criminal that has simply committed more than a single murder. If these individuals were included the total number would be through the roof, with mass murderers, spree killers, and contract killers dramatically outweighing serial killers. By definition, a serial killer is someone that murders more than three victims, but specifically does so without any apparent motive, other than gratification for the act of murder itself. Again according to the FBI, the motives of a serial killer are specified as thrill seeking or attention seeking, as is related to various personality disorders.

Sticking to that definition, of those that have been definitively identified, some of the most notable are the Long Island Serial Killer in New York, The Belize Ripper in Belize, Central America, The Rainbow Maniac in Brazil, the West Mesa Bone Collector in New Mexico, and the Chicago Strangler in Chicago, Illinois.

In more detail, going by region and keeping in mind that exact numbers vary depending on where you get your information, the United States has the highest number of serial killers by far, with it estimated around 3,615 in total, dating back to the late 1800s. The US is followed at a distant second by Russia with around 200, then the United Kingdom with also around 200, and Japan with around 150.

These numbers are indeed enough to keep you up at night, but despite what we’ve just said, a little context does help ease anxiety. Serial killing is very much sensationalised by the media, and in reality the number of active serial killers has dramatically decreased. Based on information from the Radford University/Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database, active serial killer numbers peaked heavily in the 70s, 80s and 90s, before plummeting in the years that followed.

As of right now, it’s reported that serial killer activity is at an all-time low, with the reduction most prominent around the 2010s. The reasons for the decline, you’ve probably already guessed, is a surge in forensic technology, which has made it increasingly difficult for individuals to repeatedly evade detection. You could also argue that serial killers have become more sophisticated at evading detection, but that is almost certainly not the case, again flying in the face of sensationalised fiction.

James Alan Fox is a criminology professor at Northeastern University, and he explained that the clear decline in serial killer activity started right around the 80s, which coincides with the introduction of new forensic science techniques. He points to DNA evidence above all else as the major turning point, with the groundbreaking science having completely revolutionised how modern policing works on a fundamental level. Fox said, very simply:

“The first case I was involved with in 1990, I was on a task force investigating the murders of five college students. We had DNA, but it was pretty crude. We couldn’t get DNA from hair—now you can. You needed a lot of genetic material to be able to identify the DNA pattern—now you don’t.”

He adds that serial killers can now also be detected by their digital fingerprint, which is often more useful than even DNA evidence itself. Between GPS tracking and the digital history inherent in virtually all modern devices, specialist police units sometimes no longer even need to leave an office to obtain critical, case breaking evidence. On the other end of the equation, avoiding new policing techniques requires a deep understanding in multiple specialised fields, and even if serial killers think they can outwit the law, they normally can’t, at least not for an extended period.

So taking all of this into account, as alarming as it is that such a high number of serial killers remain active, we’re actually living in one of the safest times, at least as far as murder of this nature is concerned. Or to put it another way: if you’re paranoid about serial killers, you’re probably worrying about the wrong things entirely. You might instead consider that:

There Are An Estimated Six Nuclear Weapons That Are Currently Unaccounted For

If you watched the 1996 film of the same name, you’ll already know that the term Broken Arrow refers to an emergency involving a lost nuclear weapon. Response teams are, of course, dispatched to locate and retrieve the misplaced nuke immediately, but they don’t always succeed, and there are several lost nukes out there, even as you read this. As it was so eloquently put in the film:

“I don’t know what’s scarier, losing nuclear weapons, or that it happens so often there’s actually a term for it.”

The film was dealing with just a pair of misplaced nuclear weapons, but in the real world Broken Arrows have occurred repeatedly since the 50s, 32 times in total. Or to be more precise: it’s happened at least 32 times, taking into account only what the United States has officially made public. The number comes from a US Department Of Defence summary declassified in the 80s, so the real number is probably significantly higher, both in the US and in the world at large.

In the case of the US, most Broken Arrows occurred in the 50s and 60s at the height of the Cold War, and most such emergencies are linked to an operation referred to as Chrome Dome. Simply put, the idea was to keep a fleet of B-52 bombers armed with nuclear weapons in the sky at all times, ensuring that should the Soviet Union manage to destroy ground based nuclear weapon facilities, retaliation would still be swift from the airborne bombers.

Overflights of the nuclear deterrent fleets occurred most commonly in Greenland, Canada and over the Mediterranean, with Chrome Dome officially running 24 hours a day between 1960 and 1968. The operation was eventually called off, but only after the accident now referred to as the Thule Affair, 21st January, 1968. The accident involved a B-52 carrying four B28FI thermonuclear bombs going down on sea ice in North Star Bay.

The conventional explosives detonated, a nuclear payload ruptured, and the area was radioactively contaminated. More alarming is that the secondary stage of one of the four bombs could not be accounted for, and is still there, somewhere, to this day. Chrome Dome was called off immediately following this accident, and more stable explosives were quickly put into development for use in thermonuclear weapons.

This is just one such occurrence, and the good news is that in most cases the nukes were recovered. On the other hand, there are 6 nuclear weapons speculated to have been lost and never recovered, though the number varies depending on who you ask, and depending on who you choose to believe.

The first event occurred on February 13th, 1950, when a B-36 en route to Alaska from Texas experienced engine failure. The crew was forced to jettison their Mark 4 nuclear bomb over the Pacific, but in this case the military claims that the bomb was a mock-up, containing only uranium and TNT, but no plutonium core. Whatever the case, the bomb was never recovered.

On March 10th, 1956, a Boeing B-47 Stratojet set off from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, for a non-stop flight to Morocco. Two “nuclear capsules” were onboard, the details of which are unknown, and the jet never made its scheduled second mid-flight refuelling over the Mediterranean Sea. The jet failed to make contact, and no sign of it or its ambiguous “nuclear capsules” has ever been found.

On February 5th, 1958, a B-47 armed with a 3,400-kilogram Mark 15 nuclear bomb collided with an F-86 aircraft during a simulated combat mission. The crew made the decision to jettison the bomb into the mouth of the Savannah River, Georgia, and all onboard managed to survive. The bomb was deemed irretrievable and is somewhere in the Savannah River, or the surrounding area, to this day.

January 24, 1961, a B-52 suffered damage while on an alert mission over North Carolina. Of the two nuclear bombs on board, one successfully deployed its parachute, but the other fell to the ground over farmland, and remains unlocated. A sign was erected in the area in 2012 to commemorate the accident.

One of the more infamous incidents: December 5th, 1965, an A-4E Skyhawk armed with a nuclear weapon fell off the back of the USS Ticonderoga aircraft carrier, stationed in the Philippine Sea near Japan. This incident was not officially confirmed until 1989, at which point it was finally admitted that the bomb had been lost, and never recovered.

Last is a vague incident that may or may not have occurred at some point in 1968. Speculation points to a nuclear-powered Scorpion submarine which allegedly went missing somewhere in the Atlantic. The submarine has never been recovered, and if there were nukes on board, they remain in the ocean to this day.

Looking abroad, the Soviet Union’s track record isn’t much better. The country reportedly stockpiled an absolutely absurd 45,000 nuclear weapons as of 1986, and it’s known that at least some went missing. Good luck finding official numbers from the Soviet era, but what is known is that Broken Arrow incidents primarily involved submarines, some of which were lost for one reason or another. Verified cases include the K-8 submarine that sank in the Bay Of Biscay off the coasts of Spain and France, taking 4 nuclear weapons with it.

Another was Soviet submarine K-129, which sank in the ocean Northwest of Hawaii. On this occasion the US infamously attempted to retrieve the payload with the incredibly elaborate and absurdly expensive operation referred to as Astorian. Only part of the submarine was recovered, but the nukes remained on the seabed despite best efforts.

The bottom line is that there are probably way more than 6 lost nukes, but perhaps more important is how dangerous lost nuclear bombs actually are. The reality is that it depends on a variety of factors, with a key detail being as to whether the bombs had their cores at the time of going missing. Those purposefully jettisoned did not have their cores, and so are technically inert and pose much less of a risk.

There are those that did have their cores, such as the one that fell off the back of the aircraft carrier, but it’s very unlikely that a nuke will accidentally detonate. The biggest concern is contamination of the surrounding environment, and in that regard the radiation is what search teams are hoping to detect.

The US is still actively looking for lost nukes, according to official reports, but what the official numbers are on how many remain lost is confidential. It’s a good thing then that the lost nukes are in remote locations; the same which can’t be said for bacteria. Did you know that:

All The World’s Bacteria Stacked On Top Of Each Other Would Stretch For 10 Billion Light-Years

Now, this fact is a little click-baity, and we’ll get to the questionable maths in a bit. Either way, it’s safe to say that stacking all the bacteria in the world would produce an absurdly long strand, making it very evident that if you thought humans were the dominant lifeform on Earth, you may want to reconsider.

The average bacteria is 0.001 millimetres long, and their total number is beyond anything that anyone can possibly imagine. Inhabiting not just virtually every surface on Earth, but every living organism, humans are entirely reliant on, and completely dominated by, nonillions of microscopic organisms.

But first let’s clarify what exactly bacteria are. The single celled microorganisms come in a variety of shapes and sizes and were amongst the first inhabitants of the planet. They’re mostly harmless to humans, and in many cases are even beneficial, living in harmony with your body’s natural functions. In fact, your health and wellbeing largely rely on the colonies of bacteria living on and in your body, and if the relationship falls out of harmony, you’ll know about it sooner rather than later.

In regards to numbers, estimates are that there are around 38 to 39 trillion individual bacteria in your body at any given time, which is around 9 trillion more than the estimated number of cells making up your body. The maths here already gets a little vague, with it once having been cited that there are around 10 times more bacteria than human cells. That’s a pretty significant shift in numbers already, so keep that in mind relating to the 10 billion lightyear claim.

Of the beneficial bacteria that inhabit our body, the most commonly referred to are those that live in the digestive system. L. acidophilus and L. plantarum live in the gut and help digest food, playing the double role of inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria via the production of lactic acid. If Streptococcus thermophilus sounds unfamiliar, it really shouldn’t since it’s the bacteria used in the production of yoghurt and cheese. This little bug not only makes delicious food; it also plays a big part in assisting with the digestion of lactose itself.

Beyond the human body, bacteria is found in virtually every ecosystem, inhabiting even environments that are completely unliveable for humans. From soil and water, to the deepest depths of the sea, to hot springs, and even in radioactive wastelands and arctic ice; you’re going to find some sort of bacteria, and chances are it’s going to be thriving.

Take a look around your living space right now and you’re sure to find some obvious examples, with the prime surfaces being your kitchen countertops, your computer keyboard, or the screen on your phone. An estimate says that there are around 3,295 bacteria per square inch on your toilet seat, but any surface that is more regularly touched, such as a keyboard, probably has many thousands of times more. Again, don’t worry, the majority are harmless.

You can also look in your toilet or shower, and if you spot signs of a black slime where water meets air, congratulations, you’ve found a biofilm, or a colony of bacteria plus mold and fungus. You can also detect widespread bacteria with your nose if you’ve forgotten to take out the garbage, or every time you pass by a waste treatment facility. That garbage odour you’re familiar with is a byproduct of the bacteria in garbage, rather than the garbage itself. Some of the common garbage dwelling bacteria will sound familiar: E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Staphylococcus. These are the ones that aren’t harmless, by the way, and even if you’re not familiar with their names, you probably are familiar with the often poorly defined ‘food poisoning.’

As a sidenote, some bacteria breed at a truly astonishing rate, able to go from 2 to several million in a single 24-hour period. This does depend on the doubling rate of the bacteria, but the real point here is good luck trying to come up with an even remotely accurate estimate of the total bacteria on the entire planet.

Getting back to the original fact: that all the bacteria stacked end to end would stretch 10 billion lightyears. It obviously depends on your estimation of total bacteria on planet Earth, but instead of arguing about numbers, let’s just say that even the low estimates would create a strand that wraps a few hundred times around the Milky Way galaxy. I think we can all agree that this is unfathomable and more than a little unnerving, and leave it at that.

Speaking of bacteria, we can also all agree that antibiotics are one of the greatest discoveries in history, dramatically increasing life expectancy across the board. But did you know that:

Life Expectancy Is Declining For The First Time In 30 Years

As much as the average quality of life has increased in the last century, a staggering reality is that for the first time in 30 years, the life expectancy of the average person, worldwide, has declined. For a bit of context, life expectancy in the early 1900s was around 47, in the 50s it was 68, and in 2019 it had risen to as high as 79 in some parts of the world.

Taking global life expectancy into account, this trend of rising numbers came to a grinding halt in 2020. From its peak, life expectancy dropped by 1.6, with the most cited numbers coming from the United States. In the US, life expectancy fell to 77 from 79 in 2020, and then fell again in 2021 to 76.

To be clear, life expectancy varies widely based on a number of factors, including current age, sex, race, ethnicity and region of the world. Within those base factors, additional variables include access to health care, living environment, and working conditions. Which is to say: the life expectancy of someone working in a hazardous environment obviously isn’t going to be the same as a librarian.

But even taking those variables into account, life expectancy has been steadily climbing, with the 1950s recognised as the point where an upward trend accelerated into the modern era. That climb officially came to a halt for the first time, and this is not something that should be taken lightly.

The information comes from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which published an updated report in 2024. According to the organisation, the reason for the decline, which kicked off in 2020, probably won’t surprise you: the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings were that an estimated 15.9 million died that would otherwise have survived, and the result was an across-the-board decline in health statistics. The good news, according to the IHME, is that the pandemic didn’t reverse previous progress that had been achieved, namely a notable decline in the global mortality rate of children younger than 5.

With all of this being said, the report indicated that all-cause mortality rates increased by 21.9% in males over 15, and saw an equally alarming increase of 16.6% in females over 15. The increase was recorded as mortality rates that exceed 150 per 100,000, with the highest increases in Bulgaria and Lesotho overall, followed by Central America and the Caribbean. In contrast, the countries that experienced a much lower than anticipated increase in mortality rates included Mongolia, New Zealand, Japan, Iceland, Barbados, and Taiwan.

In particular, the decline in life expectancy of the average Latin American, and residents in the Caribbean, dropped by 3.7, while in Asia and Oceania it dropped by just 0.3.

Looking at the situation in more detail, the massive increase in mortality rates wasn’t just due to the pandemic itself. It’s reported, but not confirmed, that global healthcare systems were so clogged at the time of the pandemic that it had a knock-on effect, meaning that medical care was delayed where it otherwise would not have been. There are additional contributing factors, such as an increase in the suicide rate, and the ongoing opioid crisis in the US.

This is a much broader topic, and there is still debate as to other potential causes. The bottom line is that life expectancy is decreasing, and we won’t know if there has been a recovery until additional reports have been published.

Many consider declining life expectancy as one of the major challenges in the world, and it certainly is. But there is another crisis incoming that is barely even acknowledged:

Global Population Is On The Verge Of Collapse

This one is a bit controversial depending on how you approach it, given the broad perception that the world is dealing with an overpopulation problem. Overpopulation may well be a problem, but that’s an issue we’ll save for a different time. For the moment let’s focus on a lesser discussed or acknowledged fact, which is that if trends continue the way they are, humanity is in for a population crash before the end of the 21st century.

This isn’t to say that the human race will end up extinct; that seems extremely unlikely short of a serious disaster. Rather, the incoming problem is that the age ratio of the existing population will be so lopsided that the global economy, and society as it exists right now, will no longer be able to function.

Let’s once again first get a little context: at the time of the industrial revolution population increase was slow, less than 1% a year, but began to increase substantially for the first time due to advancements in agriculture. By the 1800s the increase escalated to a peak of around 2% annually, which began to level at between 1962 and 1968. Contrary to what you may have heard, the percent has actually been declining year on year since then, slowing to 0.9% by 2023. In regards to overall numbers, the increase in population was 93 million in 1990, but reduced overall to 70.4 million in 2023.

If this trend continues, the growth rate will reach 0 in the next 50 to 100 years, after which overall numbers will officially start to decline. This has already happened in Japan, where the population is decreasing at a rate of 0.5% a year, and in China where it’s declining at 0.2% a year. Similarly, across Europe it’s all but certain that population decrease will be as high as 0.3% per year by 2050.

So, what exactly is happening, and why would this be a serious problem? First and foremost, it’s clear that the fertility rate of the global population has undergone an abrupt change since the 60s. In 1963 the average fertility rate was around 5.3, but that number has dropped dramatically to 2.2 in 2023. In order for a population to be maintained, the minimum fertility rate must be 2.2, relating to women of childbearing age. If the fertility rate falls below this, the overall numbers start to decline.

What we’re looking at is a phenomenon referred to as Demographic Transition, and on the surface it seems to be a positive development. The shift is by no means precise, and is subject to differences depending on culture and various other factors, but the nutshell version is that as technology, education and economic development increase, birth rates decrease and life expectancy increases. Yes, we’re aware of the entry just before this; the pandemic was a special circumstance.

In South Korea, in 1970, a million babies were born. In 2023, just 230,000 babies were born, with the decline so severe that it’s reported that over 100 day care centres were transformed into nursing homes, and that strollers for dogs outsold those intended for babies.

In other words, we’re looking at a population that is becoming extremely top heavy, and when you overlay this on a diagram of a healthy economy, it simply isn’t compatible. The previous labour force is nearing retirement age, or has already retired, while the upcoming labour force has not been sufficiently rejuvenated. Inevitably the economy will no longer be able to support itself, and society will collapse soon after.

It’s estimated that by 2050 the labour force in the entirety of South Korea will be two thirds of what it is today, which equates to a country falling into an irreversible collapse. By 2100, it’s estimated that overall productivity in Japan, South Korea and China could reduce by as much as 38%, 58% and 54% respectively.

Overall, predictions are that global population will peak in 2080 at 10.3 billion, after which the total will have decreased by around 100,000 in 2100. Most alarming of all is that this incoming crisis isn’t widely acknowledged or even discussed, not nearly as much as it should be.

In regards to solutions, there are some being thrown around, but they all more or less boil down to one thing: the next generation of labour force picking up the slack. Various governments and businesses are suggesting a raising of the retirement age, encouraging migration, and increasing productivity via technology or a hyper-focus on specialised education.

Whether these are solutions that mitigate the problem remains to be seen, but of course it won’t be us that deals with the consequences, but rather our children. Here’s to this being one of the crises that we find solutions to before things really get out of hand.

Key Takeaways

• The United States has the highest number of serial killers, with estimates ranging from 25 to 50 active serial killers currently.
• There are at least six nuclear weapons that are currently unaccounted for, with several incidents of lost nukes occurring since the 1950s.
• Global life expectancy declined for the first time in 30 years, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The global population is projected to peak in 2080 and then begin to decline, posing significant economic challenges.
• Bacteria are ubiquitous and abundant, with estimates suggesting that stacking all bacteria end-to-end would stretch for 10 billion light-years.

Sources

• Original Side Projects video: 5 Most Disturbing Facts About the World.
• Hero image source by Christianhatley527 / openverse, cc0.

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