On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down

If reading history doesn’t make you want to swear like a mom with a red-wine hangover walking barefoot through a LEGO-filled living room, then you’re not reading the right history. This is the hilarious, sweary, and irreverent guide to world history you never knew you needed.

Nazis are bad. The worst kind of bad. There are no very fine people among them. If you disagree, you won’t like this book.


Still here? Cool. You are about to receive a history education unlike anything you’ve previously experienced, with 366 profanity-filled tales of triumph and terror, science and stupidity, courage and cowardice. “Sweary Historian” James Fell provides insightful analysis of sh!t that went down during both ancient and modern times, and everything in between. Behold!

• In 1927, actress Mae West was sent to jail for “corrupting the morals of youth” with her first Broadway play, titled Sex. She served the time and followed up with a play about homosexuality.
• In 1419, church reformers in Prague, vexed over their leader having been burned at the stake, defenestrated city leaders from a high window. They died, because those kinds of Czechs don’t bounce.
• If you were in the province of Shaanxi in China on January 23, 1556, then it sucked to be you. It wasn’t the biggest earthquake ever, but it was for the deadliest day in history.
• In 362 BCE a battle between Greek city states debilitated both sides, making the region ripe for conquering by Phillip of Macedon—aka Alex the Great’s dad—spelling the end of Greek democracy.
• In 1343, the husband of noblewoman Jeanne de Clisson was unjustly executed by the king of France. Furious, Jeanne became a pirate, selling all her possessions to fund a fleet and exact revenge.
• During World War II, three Dutch teens used their beauty to lure Nazis into the forest with the promise of a good time, then out came the guns and BLAM! They sent them off to Nazi hell.

In this uproarious and informative tour covering all areas and eras of history, Fell reveals a past replete with deeds both noble and despicable. Some were motivated by greed, others generosity. Many dedicated themselves to the art of killing, while others focused their efforts on curing. There have been grave mistakes, and moments of greatness. Across the ages, over 100 billion humans have lived and died, and that is why . . . Sh!t happens. Every day.