Dumb History

A treasury of historical hilarity from the New York Times-bestselling coauthor of America’s Dumbest Criminals! Why exactly is Paul Revere revered when it was Samuel Prescott who made the famous ride? Was the lightbulb really Thomas Edison’s bright idea? Bestselling author and former Saturday Night Live writer Leland Gregory employs his masterful wit to expose historical myths, faux “facts,” strange events, and tales of human stupidity throughout history. You’ll learn that: * Magellan didn’t actually make it around the world * As a member of Parliament, Isaac Newton spoke only once, and it wasn’t exactly a statement of political brilliance for the ages * On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the U.S., thus starting the Spanish-American War—and then the U.S. declared war the very next day, but not wanting to be outdone, had the date on the declaration changed from April 25 to April 21 With these and many more stories, Leland Gregory once again highlights the funny side of history.

A book that proves idiocy is as old as time Think civilization has deteriorated and that people these days are dumber than ever? Dumb History proves that we didn’t invent stupidity in the 21st century. You’ll find facts from throughout the ages about everyone from Cleopatra and Napoleon to Elvis Presley and even NASA scientists. Consider this: • In 820 C.E., Emperor Hsien Tsung’s herbalist presented him with an anti-aging elixir—it killed him • In 1849, Brooklyn inventor Walter Hunt invented and patented the safety pin and then sold all the rights to his invention for $400. By the time he died penniless, the United States was producing an estimated five billion safety pins annually • In 1967, voters in the town of Picoaza, Ecuador, elected a brand of foot powder as their new mayor It’s a wonder we’ve survived as long as we have.

The staff of The Onion presents a satirical collection of mock headlines and news stories, including an account of the Pentagon's development of an A-bomb-resistant desk for schoolchildren.

" ... a hilarious collection of the stupid things that people do, divided up into topics."--- back cover.

New York Times Bestseller: Welcome to the land of the free, the home of the brave—and, apparently, the dumb, bizarre, and gullible . . . Did you know that . . . *John Tyler was on his knees playing marbles when he was informed that Benjamin Harrison had died and he was now president of the United States *For reasons still unknown, Texas congressman Thomas Lindsay Blanton, a Presbyterian Sunday school teacher and prohibitionist, inserted dirty words into the Congressional Record in 1921—for which his colleagues officially censured him by a vote of 293-0 *Two US presidents were indentured servants—and one of them ran away and wound up with a $10 reward posted for his capture From Columbus to George W. Bush, the bestselling coauthor of America’s Dumbest Criminals leads us through the many mythconceptions of our nation’s history in this lively book, exposing lots of entertaining moments of idiocy and inanity along the time line.

TV is never short of bad ideas, as demonstrated in a guide to one hundred of television's most memorable blunders and bloopers, arranged in a count-down format and including information on each incident that seeks to answer the question of "Why did this happen?" Original.

The Onion has quickly become the world's most popular humor publication, misinforming half a million readers a week with one-of-a-kind social satire both in print (on newsstands nationwide) and online from its remote office in Madison, Wisconsin. Witness the march of history as Editor-in-Chief Scott Dikkers and The Onion's award-winning writing staff present the twentieth century like you've never seen it before.