Great piece, even above Cracked's ongoing rising standards. Cracked has become the web's Gold Standard for Trivia Lists, just as the Onion is for Satire. Especially surprising considering both its origin (a MAD Magazine clone) and its ownership (Demand Media). One of those sites that you have to show real willpower to avoid over-linking to. (Which reminds me, has anybody seen anything from the NYT since it built its paywall? Yawn.)

I loved Cracked magazine, especially its art design. Mad's printing process in the late 60s-early 70s had a smeary quality to it, while Cracked lines and colors were sharp (yet Cracked was using obviously cheaper paper stock). For some reason, this minor point impressed itself upon me and cemented in my mind that Cracked was the promising vanguard. The problem: Cracked had everything going for it except funny writing. Consistently mildly amusing, sometimes witty, occasionally outright funny. I still think Cracked had a greater influence on National Lampoon than Mad did.

Fascinating. All hail Cracked!