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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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9 weirdest jobs held by celebrities before they became famous We all have to start somewhere, and sometimes that somewhere is Hike Master at an Indian burial ground.
Jamming with Elvis and toking with Dylan: what it was really like to tour with The Beatles Author and journalist Ivor Davis saw Beatlemania spread from coast to coast while on the road with The Fab Four in the mid 60s.
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.
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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.
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 man learned for those times, of mature age and in his youth had hazarded an attempt of singular temerity. He had by some contrivance fastened wings to his hands and feet so that, mistaking fable for true, he might fly like Daedalus, and, collecting the breeze on the summit of a tower, he flew for…
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The first documented vampire stalked his widow and was impervious to crosses In 1672 Jure Grando became the first real person to ever be described in history as a true vampire.
8 sweet little grandmas who committed serious crimes Grannies gone wild.
Cops share their creepiest paranormal encounters Cops have to deal with a lot of weird shit, and the paranormal—or what seems to be—is sometimes part of it.
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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.
We tend to look back at ancient technologies with an air of superiority, but there are more than a few historical inventions and artifacts that reach beyond our understanding. Some may be nothing more than legends, while others are well documented or even surviving as unexplained curios to this day. Stradivarius violins Antonio Stradivari lived from 1644 to 1737. He was an Italian luthier and craftsman who we know as the most significant and greatest artisan in instrument-making history. Somewhere around 500 of his violins survive to this day and sell for tens of millions of dollars for their acoustic properties. The exact techniques and materials used to make his…
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The dark origins of our favorite Disney stories The fairytales Disney based their classics on certainly weren't PG-13.
Conspiracy theory: Is Alex Jones an acid house producer? When will Alex Jones tell the American people the truth?
How to successfully disappear and start a new life Vital do's and don't for when it comes time to flee the sometimes unpleasant scene that is real life.
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10 spectacular Darwin Awards of the medieval age The Darwin Awards are annual and don't concern themselves with historical (ig)noble sacrifices. Let's correct that injustice.
The Darwin Awards were created in the 1980s to honor those individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect humanity’s gene pool. That is, they died in such an extraordinarily idiotic manner that their deaths actually significantly raised the quality of the DNA passed on to the next generation – as per Charles Darwin’s theories on natural selection. But the Darwin Awards are annual, only concerning themselves with candidates who have expired within the last year. This leaves a vast array of figures throughout history who have gone unrecognized for their (ig)noble sacrifice. This hardly seems fair. Of course, there’s a lot of history to cover, so in the interests…
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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.
7 ways to impress a girl after a one-night stand Wait—who the hell is that in bed next to you? Oh, yes. But what should you do now? Here are some tips.
Top 35 unforgettable moments in Star Trek history Moments across the entirety of Star Trek that we won't ever forget.
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10 great educational video games for history buffs Jokes about Battlefield's wokified WWI soldiers aside; for today's games, historical authenticity is a selling point. Learning has become fun.
You may have played those third-rate “edutainment” video games as a kid and developed a dislike for anything with the word educational in front of it. Educational video games for aspiring essay writers are often focused on reading comprehension (like Reader Rabbit) or simple math (like Number Munchers), and those games aren’t really that fun. The fare for adults is much better. Video games focused on history tend to involve deep strategic gameplay, and are even more enjoyable when you already have a little prior knowledge of the past (which we suppose you do). Many of them strive for historical authenticity – and of course it doesn’t hurt that it’s…
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10 cryptid monsters that turned out to be hoaxes A lot of these are silly as hell, too.
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Adorable facts about history’s greatest dictators Finally an excuse for those kawaii dictator memes.
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These ancient technologies were way ahead of their time Incredible artifact discoveries reveal many ancient cultures were capable of far more than previously thought.
People tend to think of ancient civilizations and their technologies as primitive, but while certainly not as impressive as our 2020 technology trends, it’s still incredible what they were able to do with the limited tools and resources available to them. Incredible artifact discoveries have shown that some of these cultures were way ahead of their time and capable of far more than previously thought. From ancient alarm clocks to an industrial revolution that almost happened thousands of years ago with the invention of steam power, here are 10 fascinating ancient technologies. The Lycurgus Cup, a 4th century Roman technicolor cup The beautiful Lycurgus Cup is a Roman glass cup…
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The case against over-involved fatherhood Replace helicopter parenting with a healthy amount of fear and respect.
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Medieval gambling: high stakes games in the Middle Ages The folly of many, and suppressed whenever authorities felt the gentry were impoverishing themselves. It nevertheless flourished.
Just like today, people in the Middle Ages (5th to 15th century) liked to play games to pass the time. And where there’s games, there’s gambling. Gambling in the middle ages was of course a lot different from pointing your browser at King Casino and clicking yourself to victory on Jumanji video slot, but no matter what time period you’re from, backing games up with stakes will get your adrenaline pumping that much faster and our ancestors would have experienced the same thrill we do. Despite pushback from the church and law enforcement, gambling was an unrelenting force for people in all levels of society. Here are our top 10…
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6 incredibly stupid cons that actually worked You are being hunted by polish priests and need to pay the CIA $160k to protect you. These are the cons that make Nigerian 419 scammers look like Ocean's Eleven.
Meet the “Virtuous Pedophile” network protected by Twitter The "Minor-Attracted Persons" movement is led by a Canadian doctor who demands a "P" in "LGBT," and Twitter is accommodating them.
6 mental ways to have sex like an ancient Roman Age-old inspiration to put chariots of fire in your loins and give your erection a new direction.
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The most badass Latin phrases Latin's utility has long since faded, but there's still something inherently awesome about it.
There’s something delightfully pretentious about Latin. It is, despite what the classics majors will tell you, a very dead language. And yet its use alludes to an era that many in the West naturally revere — the Bronze Age. These days, Latin is, more often than not, relegated to legal terms or mottos. These have an air of permanence about them. And while Latin’s utility has long since faded, there’s still something inherently awesome about uttering a phrase in Latin. Here are some of our favorites. Ad astra per aspera “A rough road leads to the stars” Apollo 1 was the US first real disaster in the space program. Three…
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Inspiration from the 7 most stubborn people in history You think your kids are stubborn? You have no idea how bad it gets.
10 spectacular Darwin Awards of the medieval age The Darwin Awards are annual and don't concern themselves with historical (ig)noble sacrifices. Let's correct that injustice.
12 conspiracy theories about the Columbine High School massacre From the ridiculous to the thought-provoking: a roundup of Columbine conspiracy theories and weird odds 'n ends.
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A brief history of toilets Going to the bathroom used to be a lot weirder. And in some countries, it still is.
The next time you take a seat on your own private porcelain throne: be grateful. You have privacy, toilet paper, and the streets don’t reek of feces. Toilets have come a long way from their dirty, breezy, communal origins. Poop like an Egyptian The earliest humans in hunter-gatherer society would have just gone au naturale out in the woods. But once cities started becoming a thing, the elite needed to figure out a way to keep all that human waste out of their way. The ancient Egyptians were among the first to appoint designated pooping spots for the wealthy. They even concocted some of the world’s first toilet seats—these little…
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11 short story collections that need to be in every bookshelf Ah, short stories — the lazy man’s novel. But so much harder to pull off.
20 badass facts about about pirates Arrrr, did you know?
The penny-pinching bible: 500 frugal tips guaranteed to save a fortune Twitter's frugality guru presents ingenious life hacks that will set you on track to possibly retire in the future.
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10 reasons Valentine’s Day is evil Just show this to your significant other and maybe you won’t have to buy them anything.
Love is in the air and your paycheck is about to finance an evening of disappointment. Why, it must be Valentine’s Day! Just in case you’ve secretly been loathing the whole enterprise, don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Just show this to your significant other, and when they stop crying, maybe you won’t have to buy them anything. Dark origins: Lupercalia What would a holiday about love and relationships be without shadowy origins involving beating women into submission? Yes, those ancient Romans certainly had a way with sex and violence. Basically Lupercalia was a big naked pastoral festival that lasted from Feb 13-15, where everyone got trashed and banged. The…
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The movie villains who were actually the good guys Villains from throughout cinematic history who, on further examination, were definitely actually the good guys.
The 10 most evil fictional organizations Agglomerations of wretched villainy poised to completely destroy the civilization we hold dear.
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.
