Regarded as one of the most influential American journalists of the late 19th and early 20th century, Ambrose Bierce was the Civil War veteran who was best known for his stories of the American Civil War and for his satirical witticisms. Written over several decades "The Devil's Dictionary" is the ultimate collection of his lexicon of satirical definitions. Bierce's earliest known definition was first published in 1867. Over the next several decades...

Former SNL writer and The New Yorker staffer Patty Marx employs the weapon she wields best--not that weapon; Patty believes in gun control. Instead, she uses her sharp-edged humor to tackle the most difficult facet of aging: the mind's decline. From forgetting her brother-in-law's name while he was wearing a nametag to hanging up the phone to look for her phone, Marx confesses to her failures, and not only to make you feel better about yourself. In...

From comedian and writer (Parks and Recreation, Eastbound & Down) Harris Wittels comes a hysterical breakdown of boasts, brags, and self-adulation disguised as humble comments and complaints-based on his popular @humblebrag Twitter feed. Something immediately annoyed Harris Wittels about Twitter. All of a sudden it was acceptable to brag, so long as those brags were ever-so-thinly disguised as transparent humility, such as: "Just filed my taxes....

Military intelligence analyst and Harvard Law student Tyler Vigen illustrates the golden rule that "correlation does not equal causation" through hilarious graphs inspired by his viral website. Is there a correlation between Nic Cage films and swimming pool accidents? What about beef consumption and people getting struck by lightning? Absolutely not. But that hasn't stopped millions of people from going to tylervigen.com and asking, "Wait, what?"...

An adorable, cheerful, and quirky illustrated collection of 50 easy self-care practices that can be done in your undies. From bestselling author Ton Mak, Self-Care in Underwear is a cheerful collection of 50 easy self-care practices as demonstrated by one of her most popular Flabjack characters, No-Pants Pansy. Via cute, dip-in dip-out vignettes, Pansy—who loves spending time at home and can usually be found in her undies—presents all the happiness-inducing...

'How to Live in a Flat', if posed as a question, is worth asking today with so many articles on tiny flats with hugely inflated price tags in the newspapers. Flat-dwellers were faced with very similar problems in 1936. During 1932 and 1933 Heath Robinson had drawn a series of cartoons for 'The Sketch' entitled 'Flat Life', which depicted various gadgets designed to make the most of the limited space available in the contemporary flat. It was this...

The first poem I remember writing was school work at the age of ten, about King Canute. The teacher, I think, felt like the King, unable to hold back the tide. The stanzas, like waves, kept coming. Later, English was my main subject in which I got a Degree. However, I chose to teach juniors rather than English at a higher level, perhaps fearing frustration? If anyone asked me the question they asked Mr. Chipping, I would have answered as he did Hundreds...

'What readers ask nowadays in a book is that it should improve, instruct, and elevate. This book wouldn't elevate a cow... All I can suggest is that, when you get tired of reading "the best hundred books", you may take this up for half an hour. It will be a change.' A book of essays and observations by one of the finest humorists of all time, Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow has remained a classic since it was first, published in the late nineteenth...

In this wonderful parody from 1940, W.C. Fields announces his candidacy for America's highest office. He offers sound advice on a number of topics in classic Fields-style humor in his attempt to win votes. "Campaign resolutions are no better than New Year's resolutions," he writes. "They are thrown together hastily at the last minute, with never a thought as to how they may be gracefully broken. Now, I am a candidate with years of experience breaking...