On December 6, 1989, Marc Lepine entered a mechanical engineering class at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal with a legally obtained semi-automatic rifle. He ordered the men to leave, then shot the nine women in the room, killing six. He moved through the building for nearly twenty minutes, specifically targeting women, before killing himself. Fourteen women were killed and fourteen people were wounded. He claimed he was fighting feminism. The attack, the deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, prompted debate over the shooter's motives. It is now widely regarded as an anti-feminist attack on women and is commemorated each year as a national day of remembrance.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.