THE TOP TEN

Top 10 scares
Y2K: A computer bug suggesting a theory that all computers would crash at the end of the 20th century.

Anthrax scare: In 2001, letters with anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices in the US.

Global Warming: An increase in the Earth's temperature is the most debated topic in the last 30 years.

The Fear of 1984: Published in 1949, this dystopian novel concluded that life would intimate fiction.

Facebook and the CIA: A theory links the networking site to CIA and the US defence department.

Cellphones and Cancer: A Californian physician sued his phone company for giving him a tumour in 2002.

Trans Fat: Started in the US in 2006, banning trans fat became a worldwide movement eventually.

Doomsday 2012: According to the Mayan calendar, December 2012 is said to be the end of the world.

Recession: In 2008, stock markets and financial institutions all around the world collapsed.

Swine Flu: Hundreds of cases were reported in Mexico in 2009. Nations reviewed their health care policies.


Top 10 frauds

Harshad Mehta Scam: Arise was engineered in the stock exchanges in the Rs 600-crore scam in 1992.

Ramar Pillai: Claimed to have invented herbal fuel, which was actually kerosene laced water in 1996.

Fodder Scam: Exposed the nexus between bureaucrats, businessmen and politicians in Bihar in 1996.

Chandraswami: The self-styled godman is accused of cheating Lakhubhai Pathak of $100,000 in 1996.

Abdul Karim Telgi Scam: A fake stamp racket involving Rs 23,000 crore was busted in 1999.

Petrol Pump Scam: Kickbacks meant 297 outlets allotted by the NDA were cancelled by the apex court in 2002.

Kavya Vishwanathan: Was branded a literary fraud for her book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life.

Cash for Questions: A 2005 sting operation showed ministers accepting cash to ask questions in Parliament.

Satyam Fraud: Pegged at Rs 14,000 crore, the fraud shook up corporate India last year.

Madhu Koda Scam: The former Jharkhand CM's money laundering ventures worth Rs 4,000 crore are being probed.


Top 10 global achievements

World Cup: The victory in 1983 brought attention to India and the sport among non-cricket playing nations.

Hotmail: Sabeer Bhatia created history when he created a web-based email system in 1996.

Nuclear Tests: India made it to the top news across the world for its nuclear tests in 1998.

Mother Teresa: She came to India at the age of 18 and founded the Missionaries of Charity.

Amartya Sen was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for his contribution to welfare economics in 1998.

M.F.Husain: He consistently raised the price of art works in India and was a big draw globally.

Tata-Corus Deal: The takeover of the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker in 2006 made Tata the 5th largest steel group.

Abhinav Bindra: The sharp shooter from Mohali put India on the global map with a gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Chandrayaan: India's first unmanned lunar probe brought its space programme global accolades in 2008.

Slumdog Millionaire: With three Oscars to two bonafide Indian citizens, it captured the attention of the world.


Top 10 conspiracy theories

Sanjay Gandhi's Death (1980): The Congress and Opposition suspected the other was responsible.

Pavagada Wolves (1983): Congress and Janata Party blamed each other as wolves carried off children.

Air India Bombing (1985): Some Khalistan separatists suspected Indian intelligence had engineered it.

Parveen Babi (1992): She believed Amitabh Bachchan ran the underworld. Was suffering from schizophrenia.

Plague from NATO Lab (1994): "Imperialistic forces" were widely suspected to be behind the Surat plague.

KFC(1996): The Karnataka Raita Sangha believed that KFC used genetically modified chicken with two heads.

T.A. Majeed (1997): Majeed feared that the allopathic lobby was out to kill him for developing a "cure" for AIDS.

Iodised Salt (2004): The Swadeshi Jagran Manch alleged it was a tool of MNCs to expose Indians to diseases.

Colgate (2004): Some RSS members claimed that the company channelled its profits to Christian missionaries.

Veerappan (2004): There is a rumour in the villages near Sathyamangalam Hills, Tamil Nadu, that he is still alive.


Top 10 disasters

Tangshan quake: China's mining city was devastated in 1976 with 6.55 lakh people dead.

African drought: Twenty nations hit from 1981-84; 20,000 people starved to death each month.

Armenian Earthquake: Spitak was destroyed, all its residents died. Over 1 lakh died in Leninakan.

Bangladesh Floods: The 1991 floods disrupted the lives of millions, killing 1.4 lakh people.

Gujarat Earthquake: Killed 20,000 people, injured 1.67 lakh in 2001 and destroyed nearly 4 lakh homes.

Indian Ocean Tsunami: Hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand in 2004, killing 2.75 lakh people.

Kashmir Earthquake: Centred in PoK and NWFP. Killed 80,000, including 1,400 in J&K in 2005.

Hurricane Katrina: In 2005, 1,836 people were killed in the US, mostly in New Orleans, which was the worst-hit.

Sichuan Earthquake: Nearly 70,000 died and 3,74,176 were hurt in 2008 in China. Still missing: 18,222 people.

Sumatra Earthquake: Hit southern Indonesia in 2009; 1,115 dead, 1,214 hurt, lakhs of houses damaged.


Top 10 innovations

EVMs: Electronic voting machines changed the way people vote in the world's largest democracy.

Telemedicine: ISRO's rural satellite programme enabled healthcare reach remote Indian villages.

IT: With annual exports of over $50 billion, the outsourcing boom has made India a software powerhouse.

Tata Nano: The game in car manufacturing is changed forever by the world'smost affordable car.

Mobile ECGs: Portable,battery-operated cardiograph machineshave reduced the costof an ECG.

Manual Cow-milking Machines: The low-cost home-made machine is a steal for the 250 million Indian cattle.

Jugaad: The locally improvised rural transport vehicle runs on irrigation pumpsets used by farmers.

Simputers: These simple computers running on open hardware are bridging the digital divide in India.

Low-cost Sanitary Napkins: A Tamil Nadu entrepreneur's innovation rolls out 1,000 pieces, at Rs 2 a piece.

Artificial Weather Stations: They are satellite-linked weather monitoring and data sharing systems.