Our Dumb Century: The Onion Presents 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest News Source

by The Onion, Scott Dikkers (Editor), John Krewson (Section editor), Maria Schneider (Section editor), Robert Siegel (Section editor)

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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.

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14 reviews
If you've read "The Onion", you know what you are getting with "Our Dumb Century"; lots of laughs, as well as some satire that cuts so close to the bone it stops being funny.

Set out as headline stories from throughout the Twentieth Century, with satirical jabs at the eras they were covering, so we get a story from the early 1900s of rich people enjoying the spectacle of poor people dying, then the Titanic makes an appearance, as do wars and the pill. Highly recommended.
½
A brilliant collection of satirical news stories from 'The Onion', documenting in retrospect events of twentieth-century America. Cleverly written and very funny, this book will appeal to anyone who appreciates intelligent satire, but especially those with an interest in history, who can pick out the humorous revisions of historical detail.

The book can get a bit repetitive if read in large chunks, but it's a great item to have on your bookshelf to dip in and out of, and to share with those who have not yet discovered the joy of reading The Onion.
A typically humorous Onion look at the events of the 20th century. Most of it is spot on, but there are definitely some misses. The newspaper format works absolutely, as they have endeavored to change the look of the newspaper to match the newspapers of the era being spoofed.
Brilliant satire from the Onion. They manage to skewer the folly of those who let themselves be led too easily by the news, those who become too packaged and processed.
When I pick this book up, I can hardly put it down. There is so much packed into this book it is amazing. I don't think that I have read everything in it, even. Absolutely hilarious, esoteric and arcane humor references (one of the authors defended in an interview the fact that they had President McKinley jokes).

Truly an amazing piece of humor.
A great little book of what headlines would have looked like had the Onion been around for the last 100 years.
A brilliant parody of 100 years of newspaper publishing.

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Scott Dikkers is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.

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All Editions

Hanson, Todd (Contributor)
Harrod, Tim (Contributor)
Javerbaum, David (Contributor)
Kallberg, Ryan (Contributor)
Kolb, Carol (Contributor)
Loew, Mike (Contributor)
Luchs, Kurt (Contributor)
Shard, Randel (Contributor)
Streed, Rick (Contributor)
Szwergold, Jack (Contributor)
Thompson, Stephen (Copy editor)
Welyczko, Andrew (Designer)
Zweibel, T. Herman (Introduction)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Our Dumb Century: The Onion Presents 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest News Source
Original publication date
1999
Important events
Titanic sinking (1912); Scopes Monkey Trial (1925)
Related movies
The Onion Movie (2008 | IMDb)
First words
A NEW CENTURY DAWNS!
Quotations
Sears, Roebuck plead 'Not Guilty' to pornography charges
Scopes Defended by Super-Intelligent Chimpanzee-Man from Future
Henley, Frey Urge Nation to Take It Easy
Berlin Wall Destroyed In Doritos=Sponsored Super Bowl Halftime Spectacular
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Pill lady."
Original language
English

Classifications

Genre
Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
081Computer science, information & general worksAnthologies and QuotationsGeneral collections in American English
LCC
PN6231 .N6 .O95Language and LiteratureLiterature (General)Literature (General)Collections of general literatureWit and humor
BISAC

Statistics

Members
2,163
Popularity
9,353
Reviews
13
Rating
(4.19)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Audiobook
ISBNs
8
UPCs
2
ASINs
6