The Onion: 20 Years Later
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The Onion: 20 Years Later
@onion20.substack.com
A weekly review by @jamesdasilva.bsky.social of The Onion from 20 years ago (print and web).

Sign up for the newsletter http://onion20.substack.com. Love The Onion but not affiliated.
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Wrapping up 2025 with 73 posts and 190,261 words written about The Onion’s work in 2005.

More importantly, I’ve shared thousands of Onion jokes, including hundreds that you can’t easily find online — or were never on the web.

Thanks to all of you who read, follow, like and share my work!
Welcome to 2006 in The Onion!

20 years ago in @TheOnion.com, Sean Penn was enraged because he couldn't register his name with Gmail.

Plus, jokes about the federal budget deficit, "Call of Duty," "The Most Dangerous Game," Brangelina and more.

onion20.substack.com/p/2006-the-o...
January 18, 2026 at 10:23 PM
20 years ago in The Onion, Sean Penn raged at Gmail.

Plus, the U.S. holds "going-out-of-business" sale and jokes about "Call of Duty," "The Most Dangerous Game," Brangelina and more. onion20.substack.com/p/2006-the-o... #theonion #satire
20 years ago in The Onion, Sean Penn raged against Gmail
Plus, the U.S. holds "going-out-of-business" sale and jokes about "Call of Duty," "The Most Dangerous Game," Brangelina and more.
onion20.substack.com
January 18, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Reviewing The Onion's website: Jan. 11-17, 2006.

Here's what The Onion published on its website from Jan. 11-17, 2006, including many sports jokes and a message from President George W. Bush. onion20.substack.com/p/reviewing-... #theonion #satire
Reviewing The Onion's website: Jan. 11-17, 2006
Here's what The Onion published on its website from Jan. 11-17, 2006, including many sports jokes and a message from President George W. Bush.
onion20.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:26 PM
20 years ago this week, @TheOnion.com was still on holiday vacation. So they published this review of 2005 in Sports. I’ve included a few images from this issue.

Plus, @avclub.com interviewed Fred Armisen.
January 13, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
DOJ Releases Jerome Powell Deepfake Nudes https://theonion.com/doj-releases-jerome-powell-deepfake-nudes/
January 12, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
What was 2006 like? I'm sharing 50 great jokes that @TheOnion.com published in 2006

Plus, I preview The Onion's redesigned print newspaper and reflect on how American politics, culture and life have changed over the past 20 years. #theonion

onion20.substack.com/p/preview-50...
January 11, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
One of my favorite things about my print subscription to @theonion.com is that they mail me a copy in a big white envelope & the only thing inside it is the paper.

No promo cards.
No free trial offers.
No bullshit.

Just the paper I pay for.

Big thanks @bencollins.bsky.social for keeping it real.
January 11, 2026 at 11:05 PM
What was 2006 like? I'm sharing 50 great jokes that @TheOnion.com published in 2006

Plus, I preview The Onion's redesigned print newspaper and reflect on how American politics, culture and life have changed over the past 20 years. #theonion

onion20.substack.com/p/preview-50...
January 11, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Preview: 50 great jokes The Onion published in 2006.

The Onion redesigns its print edition! Plus, 2006 kind of sucked? Let's explore what I'll be covering from a year where seemingly everything got worse. onion20.substack.com/p/preview-50... #theonion #satire
Preview: 50 great jokes The Onion published in 2006
The Onion redesigns its print edition! Plus, 2006 kind of sucked? Let's explore what I'll be covering from a year where seemingly everything got worse.
onion20.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 4:38 PM
I'm looking ahead at my coverage of The Onion from 2006, and this headline feels extremely relevant in today's AI era:
"Modern-Day John Henry Dies Trying To Out-Spreadsheet Excel 11.0"

theonion.com/modern-day-j...
Modern-Day John Henry Dies Trying To Out-Spreadsheet Excel 11.0
BALTIMORE—Office laborers across the nation are mourning the passing of Wallace Peters, 42, the mythic three-column accountant at Chesapeake & Ohio Consultants who pitted himself against Microsoft’s…
theonion.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Reviewing The Onion's website: Jan. 4-10, 2006.

Bush defends NSA wiretapping, plus jokes about veal, venison, Olympic skiers and Kwanzaa sales onion20.substack.com/p/revisiting... #theonion #satire
Reviewing The Onion's website: Jan. 4-10, 2006
Bush defends NSA wiretapping, plus jokes about veal, venison, Olympic skiers and Kwanzaa sales
onion20.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:25 PM
20 years ago today, @TheOnion.com published an issue of old stories under the banner “Re-Breaking News.”

Here are a few of the pages from that print issue. #theonion
January 4, 2026 at 7:23 PM
30 year ago this month, apropos of nothing:
“For a long time, we have said we don’t need another Viet-nam,” Clinton told a joint session of Congress. “But now, more than ever, America needs to be divided. We need another Vietnam.”

theonion.com/u-s-invades-...
U.S. Invades Vietnam
Clinton: ‘We need another Vietnam’
theonion.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
My favorite Onion headline of all time. Happy New Year. Keepit cozy!
January 1, 2026 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
This was not the question but I hear that’s what Bluesky is for! We get the physical copy of The Onion and I highly recommend. So subscribe! And here is my favorite Onion headline of all time.

theonion.com/just-take-it...
December 31, 2025 at 5:48 PM
20 years ago today, The Onion published a radio joke titled “Ketchup Not Fancy Enough For Local Man," cribbing off a 1997 article.

You can listen to the audio here or at the link.

onion20.substack.com/i/182979997/...
January 3, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
Wrapping up 2025 with 73 posts and 190,261 words written about The Onion’s work in 2005.

More importantly, I’ve shared thousands of Onion jokes, including hundreds that you can’t easily find online — or were never on the web.

Thanks to all of you who read, follow, like and share my work!
December 31, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
December 31, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
Lots of favorites this year… these two come to mind

theonion.com/state-depart...
January 1, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Reposted by The Onion: 20 Years Later
20 years ago, @TheOnion.com ended 2005 and ushered in 2006 by ... mostly going on vacation!

Check out jokes about Gene Wilder, omelets, ketchup and President Bush's terrifying 2006 predictions.
onion20.substack.com/p/the-onion-... #theonion
December 31, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Wrapping up 2025 with 73 posts and 190,261 words written about The Onion’s work in 2005.

More importantly, I’ve shared thousands of Onion jokes, including hundreds that you can’t easily find online — or were never on the web.

Thanks to all of you who read, follow, like and share my work!
December 31, 2025 at 10:23 PM
20 years ago, @TheOnion.com ended 2005 and ushered in 2006 by ... mostly going on vacation!

Check out jokes about Gene Wilder, omelets, ketchup and President Bush's terrifying 2006 predictions.
onion20.substack.com/p/the-onion-... #theonion
December 31, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The Onion's website ended 2005 by going on vacation.

The Onion published very few jokes between Christmas 2005 and New Year's 2006. But we get President Bush's preview of 2006, "a year of great terror and pain." onion20.substack.com/p/the-onion-... #theonion #satire
The Onion's website ended 2005 with a vacation
The Onion published very few jokes between Christmas 2005 and New Year's 2006. But we get President Bush's preview of 2006, "a year of great terror and pain."
onion20.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:37 PM