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13 Little-Known, Yet Fiercely Raging Controversies

The Transfermium Wars are a real scientific debate, not a sci-fi literary saga.

13 Little-Known, Yet Fiercely Raging Controversies

August 02, 2023

Ah, the raging controversies of our time! From the great debates of the past to the little-known disputes of today, it seems as if there is always something to argue about. We here at Cracked have compiled a list of 13 of the most fiercely contested issues of our time, from the map shown in the new "Barbie" movie to the debate over whether college athletes should be considered employees of the school. We hope that this list will help to shed light on these issues and spark further discussion. So, without further ado, let the debates begin!

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13

Barbie's map stirs international controversy.

CRACKED WORLA MAP ASia Africa Augusta BARBIE'S SOUTH CHINA SEA MAP The new Barbie movie has caused a lot of debate because of a map shown in which it apparently represents China's claims of territory in the South China Sea. — Variety

12

Flushed away morality?

CRACKED PSYCHO'S TOILET FLUSH SCENE Psycho was the first movie to make a toilet flush in one scene a key part of the story. It caused a lot of trouble because it went against the Hays Code, which was a strict set of rules that controlled what could be shown in movies from 1934 onwards. — Collider

11

The Naming Debate.

CRACKED 257 THE TRANSFERMIUM WARS This sounds like something from a space opera, but it was a big argument between the Berkeley Lab in California and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia about what to call the elements after fermium (element 100). — Science History

10

Girl Power?

CRACKED GIRLS PLAYING DIDGERIDOOS A lot of Aboriginal academics are upset about The Daring Book for Girls including a didgeridoo lesson for girls. The didgeridoo is traditionally only played by men and traditional belief holds that, if girls touch it, it could make them infertile. — ABC / Didjeridoo Dojo

9

Decades of bickering.

CRACKED THE K2 ASCENT DISPUTE The argument between three dudes over who was the first to climb the mountain K2 in 1954 raged for decades. It wasn't until 2004 that the whole thing was settled in court. — SMH / Climbing

8

Cultural faux pas.

CRACKED THE MONTREAL CUTLERY CONTROVERSY In 2006, a school in Montreal caused an uproar when they disciplined a Filipino student for using a fork and spoon to eat instead of a fork and knife. His mom argued that that's how they eat there, and the Philippines embassy weighed in on her side. — CBC / Youtube

7

Endless debate.

CRACKED THE GREAT STIRRUP CONTROVERSY For over 80 years, academics argued about where feudalism came from and how the stirrup was involved in the development of mounted shock warfare and how that, in turn, influenced feudalism. This debate started in 1887 and lasted until 1970. — Medievalists / Valley Vet

6

NASA said "no" to nude pics.

CRACKED THE SOUNDS EARTH - PLANIYTARTH THE GOLDEN RECORD NUDITY CONTROVERSY The Voyager probe's Golden Record originally had a picture of people's unmentionables on it, which caused a lot of fuss. NASA didn't want a photo of a man and a pregnant woman without clothes, so they nixed that. — Smithsonian Magazine

5

A divisive topic.

CRACKED THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE DISPUTE The U.S. and Canada are in a big argument about who owns the Northwest Passage, a route of water from the Atlantic Ocean to the Beaufort Sea. The U.S. has always thought of it as an international waterway, but Canada says it's part of them. — LA Times / Brown Political Review

4

NASA astronauts: 1, Congress: 0.

CRACKED THE CORNED BEEF CONTROVERSY In 1965, two NASA astronauts snuck a corned beef sandwich onto their space mission, which caused a huge stir in Congress. The mission was to test special space food, and Congress thought they were ignoring that food. — Gizmodo / All Recipes

3

Gift-gate: Ford Fumbles.

CRACKED EPL GERALD FORD'S DIGITAL WATCH In 1974, during the Watergate Scandal, President Ford caused a stir when he was seen wearing an expensive digital watch (very high-tech then) that was worth more than the legal limit of gifts a President could receive. It nearly ended his presidency. — WRKR / Nat Geo

2

Athletes: Employees or Not?

CRACKED AHS AHS AHSI AHS A HS AHS HS THE COLLEGE ATHLETE LABOR UNION CONTROVERSY For decades, people have been debating whether college athletes should be seen as employees of the school and be allowed to join labor unions. A 2020 ruling that said athletes on scholarships are effectively employees reignited the whole thing. — NY Times

1

Trying to make genes more palatable.

CRACKED THE GENE NAMING CONTROVERSY In the mid-2000s, there was pushback against weird gene names, like sonic hedgehog and mothers against decapentaplegia, arguing they're not fit for medical use (imagine a doctor talking to you about your sonic hedgehog mutation). — NY Times / Variety

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