Cracked Archive - History
Fire Poles Began As A Gag (But We're Still Using Them)
Fire poles aren't as fun as they seem (which is very).
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- By Tara Marie
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12 The British College Training A Bunch Badass 'Mary Poppins'
They've got skills in their back pocket ...
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- By Oona O'Brien
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- 12
The Cuban Spy Who Helped Thwart The U.S. Slave Trade
When Sanchez wasn’t successfully figuring out four out of every five illegal trading ships on route, he was writing anonymous op-eds threatening to destroy the slave trade and the officials involved.
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- By Zanandi Botes
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The Cannibalism Incident On The Road To The American Revolution
Charles Langlade, "The Father of Wisconsin," lived a rather R-rated life in the 1700s.
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- By Charles Smith
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Five Facts About Punch Dickins, The Ace Pilot Who Cheated Death Nonstop
Meet Punch Dickins, who explored the Canadian bush in his Fokker biplane. What?
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- By Alex Hanton
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New York Blew Up 1,000 Acres To Chase Away Birds (And Failed)
Operation Crow Extermination did not go as planned.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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History's Shortest War Lasted Only 38 Minutes
This conflict began as most bad events from the era did: imperialism.
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- By Ethan Tyrrell
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The Guy Who Hosted Woodstock Was As Far From A Hippie As You Can Get
Max Yasgur was a 49-year-old dairy farmer. He was a Republican who supported the Vietnam War.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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4 Famous Activists Who Did a Complete 180
Ideally, you grow and change throughout your life, but that hits harder for some rather than others.
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- By Amanda Mannen
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How The Potato Famine And The Great Depression Gave Birth To Haunted Houses, Trick Or Treating, And Halloween
The early days of modern Halloween were wild.
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- By Tara Marie
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The Last Time Suez Ships Got Stuck, They Were Trapped For Eight Years
That stuck ship from earlier in 2021 was nothing compared to this.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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The Dark History Of The Texas Rangers (Hollywood Leaves Out)
While state police forces exist throughout America, the Rangers are the oldest, the most mythologized, and the most messed up.
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- By Mark Hill
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- 26
When Nixon Resigned, Only His Dog Stopped Him Crying
The man started sobbing soon before giving his televised address. His makeup artist had to stop that.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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- 4
5 Times ExxonMobil Almost Took Over The World
It’s easy to make them out to be the bad guy today, but it could have been even worse.
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- By Justin McGown
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4 Famous Historical Firsts (That Weren't First At All)
It’s like God took a look at the event and went, “Eh, let's roll that back.”
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- By Tara Marie
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