Author Archives: Contributor

I used to read Cosmo mag when I was a kid. All those raunchy pieces of sex advice sent my ignorant, virginal little brain into overdrive as I made a point of storing this undoubtedly useful and very practical information into the depths of my mind for safekeeping until the day I could actually use it. […]

If you want to look busy at work without actually doing anything, just look around. You’re sure to find handfuls of people doing just that. No, no, don’t bother looking at the other grunts like you. These people work their butts off day in and day out. They know they can just as easily be […]

What would you do if you found yourself with the power of an ancient mythological deity or monster? You might say you’d use your new-found gifts to make the world a better place, but history has shown us that it doesn’t always go down that way. In fact, the real gods and creatures of lore […]

Fear is a powerful emotion that can be both helpful and harmful, and it all depends on whether we choose to manage or merely respond to it. By understanding the nature of fear and its foibles, we can more effectively manage our emotions and ultimately live a more fulfilling life. Fear can be transmuted into […]

Many current health trends take their cues from times long gone by: the Paleo Diet, for example, prescribes meals that mimic the foodstuffs chomped on by our caveman ancestors. It works on the premise that humans are genetically adapted to best digest only the types of grub that would have been available to Stone Age […]

Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman first synthesized LSD on the 16th day into November, 1938 — but he didn’t think anything of it. Five years passed before he decided to reexamine the substance. He happened to absorb a small amount of the drug through his fingertips and later described the accidental trip as “an uninterrupted stream […]

Teenagers are known for pushing boundaries and experimenting with new experiences, especially when it comes to drugs and alcohol. Throughout the years, many stories have emerged about strange and unusual highs that young people can experience while under the influence. These stories often involve outlandish scenarios and bizarre side effects that seem too outrageous to […]

People can get fired for any number of reasons — for the way they look, the things they say, not “voluntarily” doing those lame social events, and approximately 1,692 other excuses. If you’ve ever been kicked to the curb you know the feeling of embarrassment and anger that can come with it. If you’ve never […]

You probably don’t enjoy going to the doctor (who does?), but seeking medical treatment today is worlds better than it was in the past. Can you imagine setting up an appointment about a persistent headache and the doctor prescribing an ice pick to your eye socket? Of course, as ridiculous as some of these treatments […]

It was always hard to define exactly what Tumblr was. You could write blogs on there, but it wasn’t really good for blogging. You could link up with other people like a social network, but it wasn’t really that either. It was — and is, I guess, although the latest news about the platform banning […]

Your white knuckles clutch onto a cold concrete ledge as you peer down at the ant-sized people scurrying about below you. You’re about to fall, but what if you knew it was all just a dream? Would you take a leap of faith, spread your arms wide, and soar over the city lights? What if […]

America’s legal system makes the Kardashians look like an institution of higher learning. Still, judges just aren’t allowed to say “take this idiot out back and beat him,” which is why the following defenses truly didn’t get justice. #7. Fake heart attack Keison Wilkins’ incredible defense during his 2008 shooting trial was based heavily on […]

Want to know what’s even better than a nice refreshing huff of DDT? Giving children uranium to play with to their heart’s desire. This may sound bizarre today, but in the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab science kit from the 1950s, it was a reality. Blame the uranium boom During the 1950s, the uranium boom […]

If one digs through the trenches of vintage advertisement, it doesn’t take long to realize that humans have always been obsessed with sexual adventure and orgasms. It turns out that women have really always been shoving things up their hoohas and rubbing things against themselves just like they do today. While many early sex products […]

If you’re into extreme sport athletes jumping off cliffs and high towers and what not, you can thank Eilmer (or sometimes known as Elmer) the Flying Monk. He was doing it way before parkour was cool, because Elmer lived in the 11th century. “Wherefore a certain Monk of our Monastery, by name Eilmer … was a […]

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 […]

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 […]

Not every product has to be useful or worthwhile to earn a ton of money. Sometimes, all you need is a really stupid idea and some great marketing to strike it rich. Below are 10 really terrible ideas that actually made a ton of money. Pet Rock Would you pay $4 for a rock that […]

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). A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue In the year 1785 there appeared in the bookstalls […]