Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Most Powerful Sex Symbols Of All-Time

greek statue
naked man statue

The moment Marlon Brando took off his shirt in one of the early scenes of A Streetcar Named Desire, a sex symbol was born.

Brando is only one of a long list of icons whose improbable good looks have pegged them as legendary and timeless sex symbols.

It's arguably easier than ever for people, celebrities or not, to come onto the scene as sex symbols thanks to social media.

But how well we'll remember these self-promoted, arguably manufactured people remains to be seen, while we continue to be dazzled and entranced by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch, Sean Connery, James Dean, and others decades, in some cases even centuries, after they came on the scene.


Redditor Improv92 was curious to hear who people considered the most powerful sex symbol of all time, leading them to ask:
"Living or dead, who do you think has been the most powerful sex symbol the world has ever seen?"

The One Responsible For Starting It All

"Sigmund Freud's mother."- dreamwarrior22

Top Of The Liszt

"Franz Liszt, a 19th century Hungarian classical pianist and composer."

"Everything you've heard about obsessed fans of rockstars like Elvis or The Beatles was happening to perhaps an even greater degree a century earlier."

"People's obsession with him was so intense and so widespread that it was called Lisztomania and it was considered a genuine mental disorder."

"They threw underwear on the stage, they fainted just seeing him, they collected any scrap of anything he touched (some even wore his cigar butts as jewelry), and his shows caused full on riots."

"Both men and women were obsessed, common people as well as royalty, truly everyone."

"I remember hearing something about him playing for a Catholic mass at a cathedral in Rome, and got kicked out for making the nuns too horny."- paraworldblue

He Could Resist Anything, Except Temptation...

"How has no one said Oscar Wilde yet?"

"His grave was literally covered in lipstick kiss marks until they had to protect it."- LanceAlgoriddim

Age Could Not Wither Her

"Well, it's been about two thousand years and we're still talking about Cleopatra and her lovers, so I'm enclined to give her that."- emissaryofwinds

Eternal Beauty

"I’m going to say whom ever inspired those Paleolithic Venus figurines."- Tricky-Engineering59

Extinction Be Damned!

"The turtle who single-handedly brought his species out of endangerment by having a f*ckton of sex."- abitsussy

Marine Life Swimming GIF by Nature on PBSGiphy

Nothing Is Sexier Thank Kindness

"Paul Newman because of 'all profits to charity', $600 million so far."- tracyinge

Sexy, Or Sexist?

"Victor Hugo."

"Supposedly all the brothels in Paris closed on the day of his funeral."

"The prostitutes attended by the hundreds and draped their privates with black cloths as a sign of mourning."

"His sexy exploits include:"

"Having sex 83 times in the 4 months before he died at age 83."

"Having sex with over 200 women in 2 years."

"It was not unusual for him to have 3-4 different lovers in a day."

"For seven years he had a mistress he kept secret from his wife and a second mistress he kept secret from his first mistress."

"Had sex 9 times with his wife on their wedding night."

"She got pregnant 5 times in 8 years."

"He was married to his wife for 48 years til her death."

"Both had lovers outside the marriage."

"One of his mistresses was his unpaid 'secretary' and traveled with him for 50 years."

"He seduced his son's lover."

"His son said he didn't blame her for it."- heimdahl81

Victor Hugo Pamela Chougne GIFGiphy

The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships

"Helen of Troy."- destro23

They Always Love The Drummer...

"Roger Taylor in Queen's 'I want to break free' video."- vickinga

LOL

"Medusa, she makes me so hard."- r4jman

Snakes Medusa GIF by PBS Digital StudiosGiphy

Everyone Could Just Eat Her Right Up...

"The green m&m."- Plenty-Row4359

No Matter What Name He Was Using...

"Prince."

"He will steal your girl, then steal her clothes, then steal someone else's girl in your girl's clothes."- LeChefK_Tang

Sexiness is in the eye of the beholder.

Though, anyone who doesn't think Paul Newman was the sexiest man that ever lived may need to get their eyes checked...

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

The Underwhelming 'Snack Box' That Was Served At The Oscars Is Getting Dragged Hard
@instyle/TikTok

The Underwhelming 'Snack Box' That Was Served At The Oscars Is Getting Dragged Hard

As much as there was already to talk about the 98th Oscars celebration, one detail from the night has viewers especially intrigued: the snack boxes that were made available to the attendees, hidden under their seats.

The minimal contents were reminiscent of the small servings at the Critics Choice Awards, only including a few simple snacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Unique and unusual LEGO collection in the toy aisle at the Target store in Queens, New York City.
Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Redditor Opens New Lego Set Only For It To Be Filled With Pasta—And It's A Scam That's More Common Than You Think

A Redditor thought they had scored a brand-new Lego set online, until the box revealed something far stranger than missing pieces.

Early on Tuesday, Redditor u/Bernardowss posted a photo showing labeled Lego bags sitting beside a Star Wars cruiser box filled with raw pasta. In the image, there are five bags of noodles total—and not a single brick in sight.

Keep ReadingShow less
A split screen of a man confronting a woman on an airplane, and the same woman being escorted off by security
@jcmack03/TikTok

Woman Has Full Meltdown When Airport Security Escorts Her Off Plane For Watching Videos Without Headphones

Traveling by plane can be stressful, what with checking in, going through security, and getting a spot in the overhead bin for your luggage.

Then there is the unpredictability of who will be sitting next to you on your flight. Many people's hearts drop when they see they will be sitting next to a baby or an infant, who is bound to make noise during the trip.

Keep ReadingShow less
Katherine Heigl
Manny Hernandez/Getty Images

Katherine Heigl Addresses Backlash From Fans After Attending Pet Charity Event At Mar-A-Lago

Katherine Heigl's career has been ridden with scandal ever since allegations about her conduct on the set of Grey's Anatomy back in the 2000s.

But in later years she had amassed a great deal of goodwill by owning up to her behavior and also speaking openly about the often sexist ways the scandal was talked about at the time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Denver Airport Sparks Debate After Asking For Financial Support For Unpaid TSA Agents Amid Partial Shutdown
Annabelle Gordon/AFP via Getty Images

Denver Airport Sparks Debate After Asking For Financial Support For Unpaid TSA Agents Amid Partial Shutdown

Denver International Airport (DEN) is asking travelers to donate grocery and gas gift cards to help Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents who are working without pay during the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that began in mid February.

The shutdown stems from the 2026 DHS budget appropriation still being unapproved by Congress and the expiration of their continuing resolution authority (CRA) which funded their operations until it lapsed. This weekend, TSA workers missed their first full paycheck.

Keep ReadingShow less