Cracked Archive - History

5 Screw-Ups on the Battlefield That Accidentally Won the War
Sometimes, even in war, a little stupidity can work to your advantage.
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- By Xavier Jackson, Douglas A. McDonnell
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793
5 Turncoats Who Changed the Tide of History
In the grand scale of things, not much changes when a single dude decides he'd rather be a Communist than an American, or vice versa. The balance of power is still basically the same, right? But every balance has a tipping point, and sometimes all it takes is one turncoat to change the course of history.
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- By Eric Yosomono, Douglas A. McDonnell
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592
8 Insane Similarities Between the Internet and Ancient Egypt
Nothing ever changes.
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- By Nick Dreyer
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334
5 Soldiers Who Kicked Ass In the Face of Death (and Logic)
It's generally accepted that while reckless charges into danger make for great action movie scenes, they aren't good battle strategy. These men disagreed.
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- By Eric Yosomono
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552
5 Insane Celebrity Product Endorsements by Historic Figures
Selling out is an age-old tradition, and some icons from your history books were doing it long before musicians and athletes perfected the art.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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408
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The 5 Most Mind-Blowing Acts of Battlefield Mercy in History
Mercy isn't a part of any army's strategy. And yet, inspiring stories of mercy on the battlefield do turn up all through history. In the most inhumane settings, sometimes a little humanity shines through.
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- By Xavier Jackson, Douglas A. McDonnell
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848
6 Terrifying Real Speeches That Were Thankfully Never Given
Just because we didn't hear speeches for when the whole country was going to shit doesn't mean they were never written ...
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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812
5 Scientific Advances That Should Have Changed Everything
Sometimes it's bad luck, or shady business dealings, or the fact that the world just plain isn't ready. But one way or another, we've lost world-changing innovations for, in hindsight, ridiculous reasons.
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- By Dustin Koski, Adam Koski
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1035
5 Backup Plans That Would Have Changed Modern History
These five plans remained in the back pockets of various world leaders that, had they been used, would have changed the world, and possibly the language this article was written in.
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- By Evan V. Symon
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993
5 Real Murderers More Terrifying Than Any Horror Movie
There is no goofier Hollywood invention than the Flamboyant Killer. Real killers are, of course, much stranger.
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- By E. Reid Ross
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1245
6 Absurd Pirate Myths Everyone Believes (Thanks to Movies)
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- By Eric Yosomono, Drew Miller
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868
5 Real Princesses Too Badass for Disney Movies
History is full of royal women who kicked all kinds of ass. None of them fit for a Disney movie.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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635
5 Rulers Whose Idiot Siblings Nearly Screwed the World
No comedy would be complete without the Wacky Screwup Brother, the Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover-type who is there to throw a wrench in everything with some sort of stupid scheme (also see: Gob Bluth from Arrested Development). It's not so funny in real life.
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- By Evan V. Symon
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670
6 Inspiring Tales of Friendship in the Middle of Brutal Wars
You should probably bookmark this article for the next time you're in a bad mood.
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- By John Champion
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834
The 5 Most Badass Teams of Famous People To Ever Join Forces
The results of these team-ups were usually insane, if not world-changing.
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- By Juan Arteaga, Jacopo della Quercia
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579