Daniel A. Gross

Many parodies of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich focus on getting laughs at the expense of reflection.

Along with the Nancy Drew series, almost all of the thrillers in the popular teenage franchise were produced by ghostwriters, thanks to a business model that proved to be prescient.

Groan-worthy innuendos in the style of Michael Scott came and went—that's what she said—but they taught important lessons about puns and parodies along the way.

PETA's bloody video-game parody is totally over the top, but the parallels between Pikachu and real-world animals aren't so easy to dismiss.