Cracked Archive - History

5 Insane Prison Escapes You Won't Believe Actually Worked
In real life, most prison escapes aren't the result of mind-blowingly complex schemes, but a combination of dumb luck, indifferent guards, and unintentional hilarity.
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- By Rich Solomon
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461
6 Ridiculous Myths About the Middle Ages Everyone Believes
Ridiculous Myths About the Middle Ages Everyone Believes
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- By Steve Kolenberg
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2866
5 Insane 'What If' Scenarios That Almost Changed Everything
For every terrible tragedy history has handed us, there is an infinitely long list of disasters that we narrowly missed.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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1583
5 Reasons George Washington Was Either Lucky or a Wizard
The first real president of the United States was a Highlander. He thwarted death, fell into the presidency, and succeeded only by the most fortuitous of flukes.
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- By W. Stinnett
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860
11 Old War Photographs You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped
When you start sifting through rare photos of secret projects and behind-the-scenes shenanigans that didn't make into the history books, you get lots of pictures that just look downright fake.
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- By Eric Yosomono
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840
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The 5 Most Hilariously Insane Rulers of All Time
Don't get us wrong -- we're sure it was a nightmare for everyone involved. But it does make for hilarious stories down the line.
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- By Kyle Stevens
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1080
The 6 Most Aggressively Badass Things Done by Pacifists
There's a special kind of badass out there: The kind that overcomes horrific violence with nothing but willpower, skill, bravery, and (to be totally fair) a somewhat stupid disregard for personal safety.
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- By J.F. Sargent, Dustin Koski
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860
The 6 Most Embarrassing War Stories of All Time
Here are a few instances of people stepping onstage in the military theater and splitting their pants in front of everyone.
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- By Richy Craven, Xavier Jackson, Dustin Koski
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765
6 Mind-Blowing Archeological Discoveries Destroyed by Idiocy
Here are some of the worst reasons that priceless artifacts have ever been destroyed.
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- By C. Coville
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1130
The 5 Most Mind-Blowing Military Operations Ever Kept Secret
You say the five craziest stories we've ever heard -- stories about shadow governments, sci-fi ice fortresses and nuclear obliteration -- are all from the Cold War? OK, we're listening ... for now.
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- By Curren Mcdowell
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686
6 People Whose Names Took on Regrettable Meanings
Imagine having your name turned into a common word that will still be in use hundreds of years after your death. Cool, huh? Yeah, no -- not really.
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- By Eric Yosomono, Josh Hrala
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882
5 Modern Horror Scenes Ripped Out of History Books
It turns out that many iconic horror movie moments that you thought came out of the imaginations of Hollywood writers can also be found in the pages of history, hundreds or even thousands of years before it made sense for anyone to come up with them.
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- By Maxwell Yezpitelok, M. Asher Cantrell
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696
6 Real Murderers Who Put Horror Movie Villains to Shame
Just in case you were considering sleeping easy this Halloween, or ever again, we're pleased to let you know that there are plenty of killers out there who would be right at home in anything John Carpenter could pull out of his ass.
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- By E. Reid Ross, Bernard Smith
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1193
The 5 Creepiest Stories in the History of War
Just don't ever ask Grandpa if he brought back any souvenirs from the Pacific.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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1627
15 Mind-Blowing Old-Timey Photos You Won't Believe Are Real
People of the past are daring us to make sense of them, and once again, we've risen boldly to the challenge.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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907