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The power of 9s—and other marketing tricks that make you spend more We like to think we're smart about estimating value, but the reality isn't so pretty.
Most of us are senseless lemmings at the mercy of marketers and psychologists who are far, far smarter than we will ever be. It’s hard to think otherwise after reading William Poundstone‘s Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) – a delightful dissection of the tricks, tools and tactics behind the way we haggle over salaries, buy houses, and eat out at posh restaurants. (The same concepts can apply to how we value illegal goods and services, from prostitutes to purple haze.) “We don’t have an inner sense telling us what things are really worth,” Poundstone told us. “Instead, we rely on advertised prices…
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10 freaky animals with real super powers Many superheroes are based on things found in nature—for a reason.
Colonial Americans were pretty much always drunk The American Revolution was built on a foundation of booze, led by tavern addicted Founding Fathers who could drink any frat boy under the table.
11 unintentionally funny local TV commercials Whether it’s poor acting or ridiculous dialogue, local commercials are sometimes so bad they are unintentionally hilarious.
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The world’s oldest jokes reveal we’ve always laughed at the same things The world's oldest known joke is from 1900 BC Sumeria and it's a fart joke.
The delivery and format of jokes may be subject to fashion, but the ancients laughed at the same things we do today. Don’t believe me? Just check out this list of the world’s oldest jokes. Credit for some of it goes to Wolverhampton University, who in 2008 had a team of researchers scour old manuscripts and even stone tablets for the world’s oldest jokes. “Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles,” said Dr Paul McDonald, senior lecturer at the university. “What they all share however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of…
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8 world records in the field of penis achievement Get ready to question your manhood.
The strange things that women’s mags claim turn men on While searching the internet for tips and tricks on how to pick up women that have incurred massive head trauma, we stumbled upon an article from Glamour.com.
15 terrible students who became wildly successful The report card doesn't matter much in the real world.
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Love and sex in Georgian England, according to this vulgar 1785 dictionary Grose's dirty dictionary published in 1785 gives us a peek into sex and the seedy underworld of England's Georgian age.
This article originally appeared in the Spring edition of the vintage EROS magazine, which was published in four 1962 issues and ceased to be when its editor Ralph Ginzburg was charged with three counts of obscenity (convicted in 1963). Browse our vintage tag to read more articles from times long past. A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue In the year 1785 there appeared in the bookstalls of London the first edition of a scholarly work that has come to be regarded as one of the most valuable studies ever made upon the English language. The book was entitled A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, and it defined the…
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The Dos and Don’ts of finding a date in a public bathroom (+5 other everyday places) Caitlin explains the right and wrong ways to meet women where you normally aren't supposed or expected to.
The Christmas party that stopped a world war They defied the orders of their superiors, laid down their rifles, and celebrated Christmas with the enemy in No Man's Land.
8 insane Tumblr moments that went down in history Tumblr was a hotbed of weirdos and insanity. Let's look at the stuff that made even its own userbase go WTF.
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The bizarre science experiments that revolutionized sex From 17th century corpse fondling to the tragic experiment that created modern gender theory—and all kinds of weirdness in between.
Stoned out students usually get all the credit for sexual revolutions, but a lot of progress in the field of recreational whoopie-making has actually come thanks to the efforts of your boring old scientist. We have compiled key scientific developments in how we understand sex – none of which would make a decent porno. Physical exertion and fear transformed into sexual desire AKA “science discovers one of the most potent dating tips of all time.” In the 1970s, Dr. Arthur Aron set up an unusual experiment involving an attractive woman and the Capilano Suspension Bridge dangling over the Capilano river in British Columbia. He had the woman ask men who…
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r/InstagramReality is the best subreddit for all the wrong reasons Looking like an IG model isn't easy, and many choose to cheat. And they really, really suck at it.
How guys sabotage themselves on dating apps, according to this panel of porn stars The do's and dont's of Tinder, according to the kinds of people who have sex on camera for money.
10 ridiculously creepy child preachers Ten of the creepiest child preachers currently being groomed to lead congregations in years to come. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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The catchy genius of the ‘nonsense song’ It's easy to dismiss nonsense songs as silly and dumb, but they have a rich history and channel the very lifeblood of rock'n'roll.
In 1958, Frank Sinatra famously described rock’n’roll lyrics as “imbecilic reiteration… written for the most part by cretinous goons.” He didn’t name names, but you can bet that he was thinking about the rash of nonsensical hits that year, from Yakety Yak to Splish Splash to Bimbombey. Though nonsense songs had been around for centuries – from rum dum diddles in Renaissance ballads to scoodly-wops in the Swing Era – they really started sh-booming in the ’50s and ’60s. Even Sinatra gave in with his Rat Pack hit Ring-A-Ding-Ding. Watch this video on YouTube Sometimes the nonsense was code for sexual antics. Other times it described a new dance step.…
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The quest to put our sleeping brain to work New study suggesting we can do basic processing and, perhaps, even math in our sleep, is a big step forward.
Does Trump have a time machine? Tesla's stolen research, and some freaky coincidences. Here's my theory.
The best of ’80s action movie power ballads If they aren't about love, they at least feature giant choruses that'll have you pumping away in the gym at 254% efficiency.
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In a podcasting world, will we listen to porn? With podcasting taking over everything, is the fapper of tomorrow going to listen, rather than watch, porn?
Joe Rogan invites b-list celebrities for his episodes of light pseudointellectual banter – and famously talked his way into a $100 million deal with Spotify. People were shocked – it’s just a man talking into a mic! But it makes sense. Podcasting has become a hugely lucrative business because that’s the entertainment and education format we’ve settled on in a busy and hyperstimulated world. We’re still in the midst of this podcasting transformation, so it’s fun to speculate about what comes next. For instance, consider porn (the porn industry is now worth a whopping $97 billion globally). With podcasting taking over everything, will porn be next to submit? Is the…
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20 Sex Ed questions that prove kids are stupider than ever Either that or they've started teaching Sex Ed to toddlers.
Bored of regular dreams? Here’s the science on consciously manipulating them with ‘lucid dreaming’ Becoming consciously aware of and able to control your dreams isn't a myth—it just takes some training.
The missing person stories that still haunt us (top 10) Millions of people have gone missing without a trace, but some missing persons cases are so alluring that they still attract attention decades on.
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The joys of a celebrity meltdown caught on tape (top 15) The public spectacle feeds a schadenfreudian tulpa that will one day smash the beast 666 and release the pizza kids.
There is nothing like a good celebrity meltdown to remind us that Hollyweirdos are people just like us, and not much like the Disneyfied PC golems constructed by their teams of branding professionals. Every second of drain-circling mental derangement caught on tape nevertheless feeds our communal tulpa made of pure schadenfreude that will one day smash the beast 666 and release those poor pizza kids. South Park had different, but almost as satisfactory, ideas in their famous Hollywood sacrifice episode: Watch this video on YouTube So we have collected the best of celebrity meltdowns caught on tape and listed them here for your edification. If you’re at work wearing headphones,…
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10 heartbreaking stories about dementia that make you appreciate our old people Fairy tales, confusion, and living hell.
How to throw a punch (all 5 styles) There are many skills that every man should possess, but the most important one will always be how to punch someone.
8 reasons young men should date MILFs, according to Ben Franklin Ben was famously experienced in amorous affairs. In this 1745 letter he tells young men why they should pick older women for their lovers.
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Trust no one—not even yourself Ever wonder what happens to a cult when its doomsday prediction fails? Or why certain people fail upwards? And what's this got to do with you?
It is December 20th, 1954. There are 16 people sitting in a small house on the outskirts of Chicago. The majority of them are waiting for the clock to strike midnight, because that’s when they expect the arrival of Sananda, the alien from the planet Clarion coming to rescue them before a giant flood kills every living thing on the planet. Some of them are not expecting Sananda, however. Social psychologist Leon Festinger and two research assistants are in the crowd to study what happens when prophecy fails, and they’re logging the apocalyptic event into their notebooks on a minute to minute basis. Let’s read Festinger’s notes as we transition…
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20 Sex Ed questions that prove kids are stupider than ever Either that or they've started teaching Sex Ed to toddlers.
From super glue to the Slinky: the odd stories behind 15 accidental inventions Necessity is the mother of invention, but this list proves that sometimes the best inventions are created by accident …or maybe fate?
A guide to the worst superhero movies in history, according to RT ratings These make Batman v. Superman look like The Godfather.
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The best of ’80s action movie power ballads If they aren't about love, they at least feature giant choruses that'll have you pumping away in the gym at 254% efficiency.
Have you noticed how nearly every action movie of the ’80s combined high body counts and tough guy quipping with some of the most romantic, uplifting soft rock ever put to record? Beefcake stars fire machine guns with one hand and ram faces on giant meathooks with the other, and then all this intestine-ripping action suddenly explodes into a reverb-heavy slice of John Parr crooning about how he’s going to have “no more lonely nights” because his girl “hits the right spot.” If these power ballads aren’t going on about love, and warming your heart quicker than a microwave, it’s at least got a giant chorus that’ll have you pumping…
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The incredible technologies and inventions now lost to history Some may be nothing more than legends, while others are well documented or even surviving as unexplained curios to this day.
Eilmer of Malmesbury: the flying monk of medieval England The first known serious flight attempt in world history occurred about a thousand years before the Wright brothers, in an English abbey.
10 ridiculously creepy child preachers Ten of the creepiest child preachers currently being groomed to lead congregations in years to come. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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15 embarrassing “before they were famous” commercials From phone sex to bathroom products: vintage TV commercials featuring some of today’s biggest A-list celebrities.
“Before They Were Famous” posts are generally ten a penny. But we’re not interested in the “Oh look, Brad Pitt was still better looking than us even during those awkward teenage years” or “Wow, young Russell Brand has got a MASSIVE head!” photos. No, we’re after the commercial break’s equivalent of embarrassing family photos, which juxtaposition with later fame and manicured branding create a delicious effect. Evangeline Lilly for Live Links (phone sex) Before she was a Lost star, Evangeline Lilly was on G4TV. And before that, she was the model for this ad for some kind of phone sex thing. It’s even got that cheesy porn music. Oh my.…
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10 surprising movies you didn’t know were actually Westerns We challenged the movies to a duel and confirmed it: they may not look the part, but they are Westerns.
11 TV and movie products that crossed over to reality We rate 11 movie products (and a couple from TV) that crossed over to reality and became things you can buy.
Hollywood blockbusters with glaring historical inaccuracies Hollywood has a knack for embellishing the truth, especially when the movie comes with the label "based on a true story."
