Cracked Archive - History

The 5 Most Incredibly Badass Acts of Nonviolence

Blessed are the peacemakers, right?

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By Dustin Koski, Sam Jackson
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June 02, 2013

5 Ways Pirates Were Way More Modern Than You Realize

In some ways, pirates were bizarrely ahead of the societal curve. In fact, some of their viewpoints would be heartily endorsed by the campus newspaper of a liberal arts college.

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By David Reidy, Paige Turner
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May 30, 2013

5 Words You Use Every Day With Shockingly Dark Backstories

There are common words that you've probably used thousands of times in your life whose origins lay not in an inspired bard trying to expand the way we communicate, but in some dickholes messing with other people or just plain being nasty.

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By Augustus Johnson
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May 27, 2013

12 Early Uses of Electricity That Proves History Was F#@%ed

When mankind first figured out how this mysterious thing called electricity worked, everyone went a little crazy for a while there.

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By Salla Maaria
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May 25, 2013

6 People Saved by Literally the Last Person They Expected

When the time came to tell their rivals to eat shit, they instead turned around and said, 'Sure thing, buddy, let me help you with that.'

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By Robin O'Lachlan, Alex Hanton, Eric Yosomono
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May 23, 2013

The 5 Most Ridiculous Outfits Ever Worn Into Battle

If you're going into battle, you've got two wardrobe options: You can dress in something practical -- camouflage, body armor, boring shit like that -- or you can slap on a SpongeBob costume.

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By George Oduor
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May 20, 2013

5 Famous Historical Events You Won't Believe Happened Twice

If we just hadn't forgotten about all of these lesser-known, yet way crazier versions of huge news stories, maybe we could have avoided some of the tragedy.

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By Steve Shapiro
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May 10, 2013

5 Reasons Cinco de Mayo Is the Most American Holiday

Hooray for Cinco de Mayo, the day America celebrates Mexico's victory over France!

By Brendan McGinley
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May 04, 2013

5 Horrifying Ways the Universe Has Repaid Good Deeds

Sometimes karma just decides to take a holiday and leaves us to sort ourselves out.

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By Xavier Jackson
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April 25, 2013

5 Ridiculous Myths Everyone Believes About the Wild West

There were never quick-draw artists who could shoot a six gun out of your hand with another six gun. But the basics were true, right? Well ... not exactly.

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By J. Wisniewski, Kevin Nakamura
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April 24, 2013

5 Insane True Stories That Prove Humans Can Survive Anything

There is no shortage of extraordinary tales of human endurance out there just waiting to be made into Oscar-baiting movie scripts.

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By Jacopo della Quercia , Ricardo Rivera
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April 20, 2013

6 Sacred Icons of American Culture That Aren't Even American

No matter what metaphor you use to describe the United States' heterogeneous origins, there are nonetheless those facets of American culture that are widely regarded as uniquely (and sacredly) American. Well, guess what? They came from everywhere else.

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