Cracked Archive - History

North Dakota Was (Sort Of) Not a State Until 2012
North Dakota historian John Rolczynski made it his mission to get this fixed.
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- By Ethan Tyrrell
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4
This Machine Killed Fascists: The Story of Delmer Berg
In 2016, John McCain wrote an op-ed titled "Salute to a Communist." This is the story of that communist.
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- By Steven Assarian
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11
One Man's Nose Protected The Subway From Gas (And Elephants)
James "Smelly" Kelly could sniff out any threat.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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3
Old-Timey Robbers Blinded Their Victim With Molasses
And their sticky feat turned into a legend.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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5
Genghis Khan Cooled the Planet (Via Mass Murder)
One part of Khan's history that gets glossed over is that he was one of the world's first (unintentional) green leaders.
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- By Tara Marie
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15
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4 Business Pioneers Who Changed The World For The Worse
The world would be a better place had these titans of industry opened bowling alleys instead.
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- By Dan Fritschie
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26
The Case For 'Jack the Ripper' Being 'Jill' All Along
Strange theory, but so was existing in Victorian England, and much of that could’ve been of service to a female Ripper.
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- By Oona O'Brien
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13
How Papua New Guinea Became Home To Over 850 Languages
There are 7,139 languages spoken in the world today, and an inordinate percentage of them are spoken in a single country.
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- By Ethan Tyrrell
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6
Exploring Our Weird Relationship With Magic
And not just the wizarding world...
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- By Oona O'Brien
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11
Before Alarm Clocks, Britain Had Knocker Uppers
Alarm clocks are for those rich folks, so you need a more affordable means of waking up. Enter the knocker uppers.
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- By Ethan Tyrrell
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5
'The Rachel' Cut On 'Friends' Went From Hair Envy To Hair Nightmare
Even Jennifer Aniston wasn’t even a fan of the hairdo ...
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- By Oona O'Brien
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8
A Trip Through The Tomato's Dark Ages (And On To Our Plates)
An entire evil mythos spread regarding the tomato.
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- By Ethan Tyrrell
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6
5 Ways Love And Dating In The Past Were Weird, Man
These practices highlight some of the ways that old-timey folks satisfied their libidinous urges.
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- By Ivan Farkas
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9
The Prime Minister's House Is A Memorial To Pollution
When they found it was covered in pollution, they decided they liked it that way.
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- By Ryan Menezes
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6
Operation Red Dog, Or 'The Time The KKK Tried To Take Over A Caribbean Island'
In 1981, nine men were arrested in New Orleans with enough weapons to conquer a small nation.
- Authors
- By Charles Smith
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11