J.R.R. Tolkien told his tales of elves and hobbits to both his sons. So where did all this inspiration come from? From close to home and very far away, indeed.

Christman Genipperteinga was a German man of questionable fact who reportedly killed an unthinkable number of people before he was brought to justice.

The Menendez brothers' defense was led by skilled attorney Leslie Abramson, who argued that years of abuse by their parents led to the murders.

In Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1980s, was a time now known as the ice cream truck wars. That doesn't mean ice cream vendors throwing cold treats at one another.

Even some of Hollywood's best directors have been subjected to the latter after churning out movies that still tick off fans to this day.