The Onion presents OUR DUMB CENTURY

The stuff that's fit to read on a Sunday morning, especially when it's election day for the European parliament.
This is a satirical book by the staff of the notorious parody newspaper "The Onion".
It is guaranteed to have you in stitches for as long as you can endure the uncontrollable laughter caused by
all these almost unbearably hilarious news items that cover the whole length of the glorious twentieth century,
as they would have been reported by the "best source of news in the great republic of the USA" had the satirical newspaper existed then!
Some if the most ingenious headlines:
February 19, 1915 [World War I]
600,000 killed in 4-inch advance on western front. Heroic soldiers pay ultimate price to make patch of mud safe for democracy.
December 6, 1933 [Stalinist regime]
Stalin announces five-year "Everybody dies" plan. 50 million Russians to perish by 1939.
December 10, 1936 [King Edward VIII's abdication]
Meaningless figurehead abdicates meaningless role.
July 4, 1936 [Nazi terror]
German Jews concerned about Hitler's "Kill all Jews" proposal.
June 8, 1944 [D Day]
Normandy invasion force crippled by nostalgia. Thousands of GIs die as they pause to reflect on momentous day.
February 21, 1956 [McCarthyist hysteria]
Ronald Reagan bravely turns in 78,342 Hollywood leftists.
August 16, 1966 [Vietnam War]
special offer: free pull-out draft card!
January 30, 1968 [Vietnam War death toll]
Johnson deploys 20,000 body bags to Vietnam
April, 8 1974
Amputee children of Cambodia award peace prize to Henry Kissinger
August 8, 1976 [Pol Pot regime]
Cambodia to switch to skull-based economy
March 28, 1989 [Tien An Men Square massacre]
Stirring symbol of human spirit difficult to lean out of tank treads
January 1, 2000 [millenarian prophesies]
Christian Right ascends to heaven

A real boon for anybody who is interested in American culture and
can appreciate the very distinct brand of humour
of this politically incorrect newspaper.

(Many thanks Michelle. As you can see I am still capable of handling old-fashioned print material!)


Scott Dikkers (1999). The Onion presents OUR DUMB CENTURY. 100 years of headlines from America's finest news source.
New York: Crown Publishers. [Random House]
ISBN 978-0-307-39357-9
First hardcover edition.