“Imagine books and music and movies being filtered and homogenized. Certified. Approved for consumption. People will be happy to give up most of their culture for the assurance that the tiny bit that comes through is safe and clean. White noise.” —Chuck Palahniuk
See the list -> Alternative Reel
One of the many languages that had spiced up the English language is Indian. In fact, some of these Indian words have become so much part of the language that it is quite easy for us to forget their Indian origin.
See the list -> Writinghood, tips by: ILoveLists (thanks!)
Our heads sometimes need a little help and that calls for a hat. Looking for the top ten hats required a sense of style, a sense of history and sense of popularity. While most of the hats on the list aren’t in fashion today, they are all unmistakable in their design.
See the list -> toptenz, via: Interesting Pile
Memorial Day is more than just a three-day weekend and a chance to get the year’s first sunburn. Here’s a handy 10-pack of facts to give the holiday some perspective.
See the list -> mental_floss, via: sweatshop
Historians tell us there was a time before the internet and, while we of course don’t believe them, we thought it might be interesting to see what websites would look like in this strange, awful time before the internet. We asked you to Photoshop some of them, and the winning entry is below. But first, the runners-up:
From political organizations to college frats, these groups require their members to conceal their activities — and sometimes even their identities — from the public. Go behind closed doors as we examine the world’s top 10 secret societies.
See the list -> AskMen
Over the course of human history, a small sect of men have defied “conventional wisdom,” living life on their own terms, with booze on their breath and good times always on the horizon. We refer to these men as gentlemen, and we raise our mid-afternoon highballs in honor of these courageous characters.
See the list -> Foggy Monocle, via: The Bachelor Guy
But while most of us spent our childhoods staring at cartoons over bowls of sugary breakfast cereal, some kids were more focused on things like composing symphonies, performing surgery or getting nominated for the Nobel Prize. Here are some child prodigies who, to put it mildly, make us look like worthless turds.
See the list -> Cracked
From the most prolific countries in the world, unique, memorable and with a lot of history behind, these are the twelve picks that will help you decide if humans are as good at honoring peace, as they did with wars.
See the list -> WebUrbanist
Throughout history, quotes of famous people are often misrepresented. […] This is a list of ten of the most well known quotes that are, in fact, misquotes.
See the list -> The List Universe
Have you ever wondered where the government stores its most precious documents and artifacts, or where they process top secret information and carry out military attacks on the enemy? This is a list of 15 of the most secret and secure facilities on the planet.
Check it out: ProTraveller, tips by: Andy B (thanks!)
Some of the most fascinating man-made structures on earth are the massive auditoriums that were once used for theatrical performances, music shows, as well for more sinister purposes such as violent wild animal shows and gladiatorial contests.
Check it out: ProTraveller, tips by: Andy B (thanks!)
Mourning is a strange thing, and different cultures deal with it in vastly different ways. […] So, given your lack of a “culturally normative response” to these pictures, dear reader, we advise the faint of heart among you to click elsewhere.
Check it out: mental_floss
Every country has its own Bigfoot. Some are terrifying, some are awesome, and some are just plain ridiculous. We’ve found the seven creatures that manage to be all three.
Check it out: Cracked
Propaganda Design & Aesthetics. One of the great aesthetic legacies of the Soviet Union is the great wealth of magnificent propaganda posters it left behind. In this post, I present some personal favorites.
Check it out: Crestock
A small handful of great individuals are not content to get their names in the footnotes of history and then quietly expire. […] These are five historical figures who died deaths that would make sure their names were written just a little bit bigger in the history books.
Check it out: Cracked
Director Roland Emmerich is usually a stickler for realism (see: sending a computer virus via Macintosh to aliens in Independence Day). So we hate to inform him that woolly mammoths were not, in fact, used to build pyramids. Heck, woolly mammoths weren’t even found in the desert.
Check it out: Retro Forward Go!
Evolution isn’t perfect. Just as the Kennedy family can produce a Ted, some noble species go down the wrong genetic path and what used to be the Tyrannosaurus Rex can wind up as a modern chicken. Here are six kickass creatures that evolution apparently decided were just too awesome to exist and then, to add insult to injury, evolved them into the crappiest replacements possible.
Check it out: Cracked
A lot of the English language seems to have been developed as some kind of elaborate practical joke. It’s full of little sayings and idioms that on their face make no sense at all, and if traced back to their origins are downright horrifying. Right or wrong, these 10 sayings have some of the strangest (and most unsettling) histories:
Check it out: Cracked
High school was hard enough, what with all the video games and boobies to distract us from our homework. What makes it even harder is having to unlearn all of the stuff they taught us in elementary school that turned out to be utter bullshit. To this day you can even hear some adults repeating these “amazing” historical tales that, years ago, somebody just pulled out of their ass…
Check it out: Cracked
