Cracked Archive - History

5 Country Names That Are Stupid When You Know the Backstory
Some of the origins behind the names of countries are downright ridiculous.
- Authors
- By Ruy Platt
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681
5 'Eccentric' Historical Figures Who Were Clearly Just Crazy
There's a fine line between 'eccentric duke' and 'poop-smeared psychopath,' and the following folks skipped gaily across that line.
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- By Claire Gordon
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495
The 94 Most Badass Soldiers Who Ever Lived
- Authors
- By Cracked Writers
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329
6 Mind-Blowing Old-Timey Uses of 'Modern' Slang
Sometimes a term that sounds like it was made up by Ke$ha on the fly turns out to have a rich history in the English language much older than we ever knew.
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- By Brenna Crotty
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422
5 Bullshit 'Facts' Everyone Believes About WWII
Any popular historical subject tends to resemble a pit of truth at the center of an overripe bullshit fruit.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia , J. Wisniewski
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2136
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7 Insane R-Rated Trends You Never Noticed in Famous Art
Humanity has always possessed a knack for mindlessly repeating weird themes in all aspects of life, up to and very much including classic art. The only difference is that their themes were somehow even stranger.
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- By Carmen Burana
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364
9 Famous Thinkers Who Were Total Hypocrites
We're not saying these people are all liars or that their books should be tossed in the garbage. It's just interesting to see how the human mind works.
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- By Cornelius Heyer, Sammy Trujillo, Sam Jackson
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1598
5 Slapstick Failures by Modern Military Commanders
More often than you'd think, circumstances conspire to put the fate of the world into the hands of people you wouldn't trust with a Risk board.
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- By Jacopo della Quercia , Alex Hanton, Xavier Jackson, Kyle Stevens
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370
5 Scenes From History That Everyone Pictures Incorrectly
Almost everything you think about those old wars is completely wrong.
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- By J. Wisniewski
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808
6 Hilarious Old-Timey Versions of Modern Vices
The next time someone gives you crap for doing one of the following, dig out the fuzzy black-and-white photos of their grandfathers doing the same.
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- By Raoni Lacerda, Adam Wears, Dyl Moore, Michael Dawson
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360
5 Insane Supervillain Schemes by Real Governments
Occasionally the government will put forth a plot so insane that even the most hardened Bond villain would ask them if everything is all right at home
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- By Alex Hanton, Evan V. Symon
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441
5 Two-Man Teams Who Took on Whole Armies (And Won)
As awful as war is, it has a way of bonding people. We'd imagine that goes double for these guys, who found themselves having to pretty much fight battles themselves.
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- By Xavier Jackson, Jorden Weir
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334
5 B.S. Renaissance Myths You Learned in History Class
Some of what you think you know is wrong, some of it is misconstrued, and most of it just left your head completely the minute 8th grade history ended.
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- By J. Wisniewski
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639
6 Badass 'Modern' Weapons (Are Way Older Than You Think)
It turns out that a lot of the stuff that defines the modern battlefield has been around in some form for a lot longer than we think, thanks to murderous geniuses who were decades or centuries ahead of their time.
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- By Adam Wears, Xavier Jackson, Steve Shapiro
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378
5 Ridiculous Alternate Versions of Prehistoric Animals
Sometimes the experts get things wrong, giving us a view of the past that more closely resembles the fever dreams of a Muppet designer than actual animals.
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- By Teddem Yee
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407