Timeline Of Book Bans In The U.S.

This week marks Banned Books Week, an annual effort promoted by the American Library Association to bring awareness to literary censorship. In recognition of the event, The Onion takes a look at the history of book bans in the United States.

1788: The forward-thinking founding fathers preemptively crack down on socialist subversion by banning The Communist Manifesto 60 years before its publication.

1891: The state of Missouri bans all books that could clue children in to the fact that Missouri pretty much sucks.

1920: James Joyce's Ulysses banned for graphic depictions of Irish people.

1942: L'Etranger is unabashedly published in French.

1989: Iowa Gov. Ruhollah Khomeini bans Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.

1996: Librarians are pressured to take Harry Potter books off the shelves due to the nation having a bad gut feeling about J.K. Rowling.

2005: Kama Sutra banned from the house following dad's back injury.

2011: Americans from all across the political spectrum agree that banning Fifty Shades Of Grey is fine.

2024: The New York Times releases The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century" to help streamline book-banning efforts.

2189: The AI Senate threatens to wipe the skull drive of anyone allegedly distributing ancient human knowledge archives.

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