Cracked Archive - History

The 5 Most Insane Rescue Missions That Actually Worked
We know how it is in movies but sometimes in real life, every once in a while, the good guys pull off a rescue that would seem grossly implausible by Hollywood standards.
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- By Eric Yosomono
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453
The 5 Most Unintentionally Creepy Gifts Given to Presidents
What do you get the man who has everything? The answer to that question is usually something lame like a 'poem' or a 'song' or 'a heartfelt macaroni portrait.' But sometimes it's something awesome like 'furniture made from super-predators' or 'all the cheese.'
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- By Julien Blower
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465
5 Ridiculous Archaeological Frauds (That Fooled the World)
As enchanted as we are with the search for Holy Grail-esque treasures, every so often a discovery comes along that excites us so much that we forget to ask whether it might be bullshit.
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- By Josie Moore
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710
The 6 Worst Attempts at Damage Control in Political Scandals
Embattled politicians will either fess up and resign, or deny and fight charges levelled against them. Some politicians, however, choose a different course.
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- By Steve Keller
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458
The 5 Craziest War Stories (All Happened on the Same Ship)
When we say that this ship's service played out in exactly the way it would if it had been a hastily-scripted Adam Sandler comedy, we're not exaggerating.
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- By Xavier Jackson
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736
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7 Horrifying Historical Origins of Famous Corporate Logos
Nobody holds the copyright on ancient myths. So why make up a new name for your company when you can just call it Trojan? A word of advice, though. Before you go sticking a mythological figure on your logo, take a few minutes to look up its story. Otherwise you get some downright hilarious unintentional results.
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- By J.F. Sargent
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1521
5 Lost Photos That Could Have Changed History
There are amazing accomplishments, conspiracy theories and outlandish claims that are all supposedly out there waiting to be proven true ... if only we could find the pictures.
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- By Evan V. Symon
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1116
5 Famous People Who Succeeded Long After They Should've Quit
If you haven't found your calling by, say, age 30, it's pretty much hopeless, right? If you were going to make it, you'd have made it by now. Well ... maybe not.
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- By Simon Dufresne, Dyl Moore
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994
5 Mundane Objects That Saved Important Lives
We could play the 'What if?' game all day, but you don't need a killer imagination to see how little, insignificant details have changed everything.
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- By Evan V. Symon
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740
The 9 Most Badass Last Words Ever Uttered: Part 2
Hopefully history will remember us for our sick burns and ballsy braggadocio, even if it forgets everything else. It worked for these folks..
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- By Ian Cheesman, Dustin Koski
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1363
7 Bizarre Easter Eggs Hidden in Great Works of Art
We tend to think of classic art as being all dignified and serious, if perhaps a little stuffy. But that's only because we're not looking closely enough.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia
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813
The 6 Most Secretly Racist Classic Children's Books
It's easy for us to hide the bad things from our kids that appear in works today. Things get a little trickier when classics of children's literature suddenly let fly with the sort of out-of-the-blue casual racism usually reserved for old Southern men after a few too many drinks
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- By Juan Arteaga, John Champion
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2693
5 Screw-Ups on the Battlefield That Accidentally Won the War
Sometimes, even in war, a little stupidity can work to your advantage.
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- By Xavier Jackson, Douglas A. McDonnell
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793
5 Turncoats Who Changed the Tide of History
In the grand scale of things, not much changes when a single dude decides he'd rather be a Communist than an American, or vice versa. The balance of power is still basically the same, right? But every balance has a tipping point, and sometimes all it takes is one turncoat to change the course of history.
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- By Eric Yosomono, Douglas A. McDonnell
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592
8 Insane Similarities Between the Internet and Ancient Egypt
Nothing ever changes.
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- By Nick Dreyer
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334