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Dedicated "Controversy" Sections
Jerry Lee Lewis
Twenty-two-year-old American singer-songwriter Jerry Lewis marries thirteen-year-old Myra Gale Brown.
United States Academic Decathlon
Before the 1995 Illinois state competition, Steinmetz High School students obtain copies of the tests and memorize the answers, beating out returning champs Whitney Young Magnet High School
HGTV
HGTV representatives admit that most scenes on House Hunters are recreations of prior events and often, home purchase is made prior to filming.
Cracker Barrel
In 1991, the company calls for the dismissal of all employees who do not possess "normal heterosexual values."
Nash Grier
Teen Vine celebrity uses a series of homophobic and racists slurs in his seven-second videos mostly consumed by teenage girls.
SK-II
Japanese beauty brand is found to contain heavy metals causing dermatitis and eczema in its high-end skin products.
"Sailor Mouth" episode of SpongeBob SquarePants
Episode of SpongeBob SquarePants featuring swear words censored by dolphin noises meant to parody TV censorship catches the attention of the Parents Television Council
Bonsai Kitten
Satire website offers instructions on how to grow a kitten in a jar, drawing the ire of animal rights groups.
Reiki
Psychologists accuse the pseudoscience of Reiki (and the practitioners who manipulate a "universal energy" with their hands) of preying on people already in vulnerable situations.
Orange Man
British schoolchildren slap each other, exclaiming, "You've been Tango'd" mimicking an orange soft drink commercial.
Constitution of Arkansas
Constitution of Arkansas disqualifies Atheists from holding office or testifying as witnesses in the state.
Mount Rushmore
The United States seizes Lakota land to carve the face of four presidents into the mountain.
Joe Camel
Journal finds that by age 6, as many children are able to associate "Joe Camel" with cigarettes as they are "Mickey Mouse" with Disney Channel.
Phoenix University
The for-profit online university draws criticism for preying on people of color, women, veterans, and "socially isolated individuals"
Bratz
National Labor Committee discovers that laborers in China receive $0.515 an hour for making Bratz Dolls.
Full Articles
Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy
Conservative radio host and fathers' rights activist Glenn Sacks attempts to take shirt behemoth David and Goliath down for a misandrist tee shirt for teens.
Montreal-Philippines Cutlery controversy
Elementary school in Montreal punishes a Canadian boy from a Filipino family for using a fork to push his food onto a spoon.
Bill Clinton haircut controversy
Bill Clinton's stylist grounds flights on several runways at LAX while giving POTUS a haircut aboard Air Force One.
Gina Grant college admissions controversy
Harvard grants early admission to high school senior Gina Grant, only to revoke it after discovering she had left the fact that she murdered her mother out of her college app.
2010 Duke University faux sex thesis controversy
Duke Senior Karen Owen's forty-two slide PowerPoint presentation about the people she'd slept with leaks across the Internet.
Jamyi Witch hiring controversy
Wisconsin's Republican state representatives oppose a Wiccan reverend hired as a chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institute.
Dungeons & Dragons controversies
Critics of the role playing game claim myriad psychological effects on players, including schizophrenia and inability to distinguish reality from fantasy.
Claire Carusillo lives in a bedroom in New York City. Follow @clocarus for an open discussion of books, bread, and eyebrows.