2012
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The 7 Most Terrifying Archaeological Discoveries
No professional position, aside from perhaps police officer and horny pizza delivery boy, is more frequently misrepresented in film than archaeologist. In movies, archaeologists are all dashing figures, risking life and limb in the pursuit of knowledge while arcane artifacts and ancient traps besiege their efforts. Or else they're perpetually opening sealed, cursed tombs and stumbling into the haunted caves of unspeakable evils in the name of science. But in reality, we all know archaeology is nothing like that. Obviously.
5 Gender Stereotypes That Used To Be the Exact Opposite
The hardest stereotypes to break are the ones that are so old as to go all the way back to hunter-gatherer days. After all, how can you argue with biology? Women carry the babies, men have the upper body strength to tackle gazelles. Nobody made that up out of thin air. But if society has taught us one thing, it's that it becomes way too easy to attach amendments to that bill, claiming that all sexual and gender stereotypes date back to the early days of human evolution.The 6 Most Popular Crime Fighting Tactics (That Don't Work)
It's hard for people to think rationally about crime. If five children die in a tornado, it's barely a headline, but if those same five kids die at the hand of a serial killer, it's a nationwide crisis, and mothers start attaching tracking devices to their daughters. When death comes at the hands of a fellow human being, the panic and rage get cranked up to 10. So it's hard to talk people out of laws that sound like they're tough on crime, because damn it, those criminals have to pay, and the people arguing on the other side are probably just a bunch of bleeding hearts anyway. Who cares if the statistics say ...
If you've been reading Cracked for a while, you probably already know that some scientists had pretty unorthodox methods of experimentation , and that some others were thought of as idiots in their time . But those are all just cases of misunderstood genius -- brilliant people doing crazy things in the service of the scientific method. What's harder to figure out are the famously brilliant scientists who went above and beyond to proudly wave two middle fingers in the face of reason. #5. Isaac Newton Everyone knows that Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists to ever live.
5 Great Scientists Who Believed Wildly Unscientific Things
Sometimes science has to be ruthless. If curing cancer means dropping a dozen frightened children into the jungle for some reason, then by God that's what you do. And if you aren't curing cancer, but are just curious about what children look like when abandoned in a jungle, well, you still do it. Why? Because science . Think we're joking?
The 6 Cruelest Science Experiments Ever (Were Done on Kids)
Popular Science is a pretty reputable publication. It's all right there in the name: This is strictly the most popular science around, folks. None of that weirdo, mascara-wearing fringe stuff allowed at this Science Prom, sonny. If there's going to be any speculation at all within these tomes, it will be a totally reasonable extrapolation of current emerging technologies that -- aw, hell, who are we kidding? The only difference between old-timey Popular Science and B-quality science fiction covers was a pair of heaving green breasts. Need proof?
6 Utterly Insane Innovations History Was SURE Were Coming
5 Hallmarks of Bad Parenting That Are Actually Good for Kids
Anyone who grew up in the '80s knows that parenting used to be a whole other ball of wax. Allergies were rare, kids roamed the suburbs in roving bicycle gangs and unsupervised adventures were around every corner. Kids who grew up in the '90s couldn't leave the house without a speech on stranger danger and an extra dose of Flintstones vitamins, just in case. But it turns out there are some things that lazy/negligent parents kind of got right. Like ... #5.In an era where our gadgets exceed the science fiction of just 20 years ago, it's amazing how many everyday annoyances have never gotten fixed. Nobody has invented tangle-proof wires, or smooth-pouring ketchup, or good-smelling bus passengers. You can't get too mad at science for not solving these problems. It's not like they haven't tried. It's just way more complicated than it sounds to fix things like ...
5 Scientific Explanations Behind Everyday Nuisances
We have all experienced zone-out moments when we know we totally should remember something that has apparently been deleted from our brain's hard drive against our will. That's because the human brain is a haphazard, messy machine that glitches at the slightest, strangest provocation . However, our old friend science has tracked down some of the completely random things that decide whether or not your memory will choose to function at that particular moment. Things like ... #5. Walking Through Doorways
5 Seemingly Random Factors That Control Your Memory
We don't have to tell you how amazing your brain is. Even if you're the dumbest guy on the block, your mind is spectacular. But there's a dark side to this complicated organ of brilliance, because when it goes wrong, things get weird .
The 5 Most Terrifying Ways Your Brain Can Turn on You
Zippered pants are considered formalwear down at the Cracked offices, so we're probably the last place to be giving you fashion advice. We don't know jack about stuff like "style" or "coordination" or "covering our genitals completely," so we'll leave that to the professionals -- all we know is that you should probably avoid wearing the following common clothing items that are physically damaging, or in some cases even trying to outright kill you. Unless they look really tits with that new jacket you just bought. #5.
5 Everyday Pieces of Clothing With Shocking Health Risks
Tell people that their diets or habits are making them fat or out of shape and they shrug -- we hear that crap every day. Tell them that their habits make them stupider and you're about to have a fight. We all know that our brain is a part of our body, but nobody likes to think of their intelligence as something that can get weak and flabby due to things that are out of our control. Science says otherwise. Studies have shown ... #5.
5 Things You Won't Believe Are Making You Dumber
5 Things You Didn’t Know Could Make You Smarter
We've depressed you already by revealing the things in your daily life that are making you dumber . The good news is that this works both ways -- there are lots of little, arbitrary things that can boost your brain power in ways you'd never expect. Like ... #5. What You're Wearing GettyThe 5 Scariest Things About Life as a Human Test Subject
Human medical test subject is in that category of jobs, along with sperm donor and medicinal pot grower , that kind of seem like free money. Sure, you can't get rich doing it, but it's there if you should ever need it. Take some pills, fill out some forms, maybe accidentally gain X-ray vision or something.Most "tips" for living longer are pretty obvious stuff: eat healthy, don't work too much, stay fit, go on lots of vacations, maybe don't be a popular rock musician aged 27. It turns out that not only are some of these popular beliefs full of shit, but the real longevity indicators are things you probably wouldn't guess in a hundred years, even if you managed to live that long. #7.