Bangable dudes in history

Slide show: A talk with blog founder Megan B. about the hottest guys in your history textbook

Published March 22, 2011 12:58PM (EDT)

We became obsessed with BangableDudesInHistory when someone pointed us toward the website of Megan B. Both funny and informative, BangableDudes has some of the hottest guys (and girls) of the last several centuries along with pie charts detailing why you should be into them.

We contacted Megan to find out what inspired her to come up with such a great idea, as well as to uncover just who her secret History Hottie was.

How did you come up with the concept of Bangable Dudes In History?

The blog was really a product of a digression of a tangent on my personal blog, in which I touted Alexander Hamilton for both his looks and support of big government. When a reader agreed with me, my brain went on another tangent and I decided to create a chart illustrating the exact reasons why he was hot. Mostly I wanted to highlight that he was a bastard and that I found this appealing. The separate blog shortly followed.

Is there one historically bangable dude that you'd like to meet?

Just meet? Really? I'd go with the obvious and say Sherman, because he was a Ginger and I imagine his brooding appearance masked some rather kinky interests.

I always found it so weird that Lincoln's would-be assassin Lewis Powell looks so much like a hot hipster. What do you think he'd be doing today if he were alive?

He'd probably be working at Trader Joe's for the health insurance, since he seemed prone to injury. And then maybe on the weekends he'd hang out with his friend John Wilkes Booth, who'd be an indie film actor that had zealous neighborhood pride and was ironically opposed to urban sprawl. Thusly the two would take an extreme stance on either free-range farming or gentrification and end up murdering someone in the city council. They'd probably blog, too.

What time period do you think had the most bangable dudes? Would you go back in time and live there?

The Civil War, for sure. I think it might have something to do with all that facial hair and the monochrome uniforms. Would I want to live back then? No. Because I would probably be working in a textile mill and be developing a respiratory disease, given my family's ethnicity and socioeconomic background. But if I could visit for a week or so, I'd be game. Just make sure to transport me to Gen. Sherman's bedchamber; I'd be massively pissed if someone messed up the calibrations and sent me to McClellan's.

  Would you ever consider adding the Marquis De Sade to your list? I always found him to be pretty hot, though I don't think I'd ever want to meet him.

Well, I have included some mass murderers, sexists and racists on the blog already, so now cannot be the time I start passing judgment. And Sade's sexual escapades would make for a pretty good pie chart.

Is this all a ploy to get teenagers into history? It is, isn't it?

Oh man, I wish! That'd be pretty sweet, to develop an entire curriculum around this concept. Note to self, when I have more time. I've received some emails from high-schoolers who've shared the blog with their AP history classes, and there seems to be a general sense of approval, which is awesome. If this must be my lasting legacy as an educator, so be it.

There are a lot of evil dictators and killers on this list. Are you into bad boys?

I never really thought about that. I wouldn't say that these attributes make them sexier, as some of them are "bad" because they were mass murderers, but I do like a bad boy myself. So maybe it's just my subconscious doing the picking.

Any other comments you'd like to add?

If you could help me spread the word that I am fully aware of Lord Byron's hotness and will be getting to him in due time, that would greatly be appreciated! I tire of emails accusing me of this negligence.


By Drew Grant

Drew Grant is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @videodrew.

MORE FROM Drew Grant


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