Cracked Archive - History
The Bonkers Life of Griffith J. Griffith, California's Wildest Tycoon
It involved a mining empire, ostriches, attempted murder, and a handful of legal precedents.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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0 From Poop Plugs to Pills: The History of Birth Control
Considering how long people have been shoving stuff into or over their junk in an effort to prevent pregnancy, birth control is still pretty dumb, but it could be a lot worse.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Cultural Phenomena That Were Just Marketing Ploys
Even some of the most basic facts of life and institutions we hold most sacred can be traced back to some guy who wanted to sell us something.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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The Mongols' Secret Weapon: Alcoholic Horse Milk
Forget a sugary powdered pre-workout, slam a mug of horse juice.
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- By Eli Yudin
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How Star Trek's Jeri Ryan's Divorce Got Obama Elected
The butterfly effect in action right here.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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15 Events in the Shady History of Coca-Cola
The history of Coca-Cola is even more fraught than you’d expect for a product based on cocaine.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Notorious Cults That Amazingly Still Exist
Sometimes, neither death nor HBO can keep a cult down.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Funniest Ways Serial Killers Were Caught
If you get away with it long enough to earn the title, you’re probably smart enough to evade capture indefinitely.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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The Epic Death Of The Mad King Of Lake Michigan
Over the years, a surprising number of Americans have tried to set themselves up as kings and queens. James Strang, the Mad King of Lake Michigan, was more successful than most.
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- By Alex Hanton
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15 Bonkers Details of Hitler’s Wedding
On April 29, 1945, Eva Braun got what every little girl wants: to marry Hitler. Wait, no.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Literary Frauds Who Almost Got Away With It
As if those poor nerds don’t have enough to deal with.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Advertisements That Were (Rightfully) Banned
Sometimes, though, advertising crosses a line into “not fit for human consumption” territory.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Scariest Serial Killers You’ve Never Heard Of
It’s the ones you’ve never heard of that you have to watch out for -- some of whom are, in fact, out right now.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 Most Impressive Things Accomplished Under the Influence
For most of us, even getting out of bed in the morning is an act that requires the sort of intense focus not possible when you’re blitzed out of your mind, but that’s not how genius works.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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15 People From History Who Predicted Their Own Deaths
You know what they say about life’s only certainties: taxes, George R.R. Martin’s noncompletion of A Song of Ice and Fire, and death.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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