You Might Be a Zombie, and Other Bad News

While I would generally avoid anything with “zombie” in the title, I’m also one who would get my hands on anything having to do with Cracked.com, a site of great wit, humor and surprising educational value. Having You Might Be a Zombie, and Other Bad News in my possession is like having a pocketful of trivia and hilarity whenever I may go.

You Might Be a Zombie, and Other Bad News is a compilation of humor articles written for Cracked.com by writers of various professions. Not only does it take readers on a whirling roller coaster of little-known trivia, mind-blowing science and enthralling government conspiracies; it also calls bullshit on widely-believed fallacies that the powers that be want you to believe.

You know a book is going to be laugh-out-loud funny when the opening page says, “For refusing to collapse into an earth-devouring black hole under the force of its own staggering density, we dedicate this book to Theodore Roosevelt’s left testicle.” And that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book.

In the history category, we have “The Four Most Badass Presidents of All Time” (Roosevelt, not surprisingly, is number one), “The Five Most Ridiculous Lies You Were Taught in History Class” and “The Ten Most Insane Medical Practices in History,” and that’s just the beginning. Mythology lovers will enjoy articles such as “Four Mythological Beasts That Actually Exist” and “The Gruesome Origins of Five Popular Fairy Tales.” Science geeks will love “Six Insane Things Science Might Do With Your Cadaver” and “Five Ways Your Brain is Messing With Your Head.” In short, there’s something there for everyone.

Many writers of Cracked.com are keen on revealing little-known truths behind common misconceptions, and fans of the TV show Mythbusters will enjoy the bubble-bursting social commentary of articles such as “Five Big Inventors Who Stole Their Big Idea” and “The Five Most Frequently Quoted Bullshit Statistics.” Other writers shine light on social injustice with articles such as “The Awful Truth Behind Five Items on Your Grocery List,” which lists out food items produced through slave labor and animal cruelty; and “Five Great Women Buried by Their Boobs,” a list of women who went unrecognized for their great accomplishments due to their gender.

All the best writers of Cracked.com have mastered the art of handling their subject matter in a humorous, sardonic and engaging way, and the result is education made fun. Whether you’re looking for a good laugh or a brush-up on your trivia, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.