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28 Bits of Trivia That Had a Bad Dream and Want to Know if They Can Pile into Your Bed

January 24, 2024

You can learn dozens of new, exciting facts right now, but you’ll just keep scrolling. That was our impression of thousands of spammy digital marketing pages that swear they can make you thousands of dollars a day. They might be drastically overselling their possibilities, but not us! We do have dozens of new, exciting facts ready to go right now! Don’t believe us? Scroll down like an inch for the first of many!

28

Coachella is owned by a right- wing billionaire. Like many of our hippest institutions, the Coachella Festival is owned by a rich old codger. In this case, it's 81-year- old oil mogul Philip Anschutz, who has thrown money at decidedly un-hippie causes like climate change denial and immigration panic, and has helped anti-LGBT politicians get elected. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Willy Wonka has a sequel partly set in outer space. In Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket, and Charlie's family ride a magic elevator to space, where they meet aliens-and that's the least bonkers thing that happens. It's an outrage that we never got a movie adaptation. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

More policing doesn't actually reduce crime. Ramping up arrests doesn't result in less crime, only in more (disproportionately black) people arrested for non-criminal behavior. Overpolicing is actually OLICE detrimental, as it leads to distrust, which worsens the relationship between communities and law enforcement. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Rich people don't create as many jobs as credited for. An awful amount of the jobs created go to pre-existing high-income earners. The jobs that do go to working-class people tend to be very precarious, unsustainable after initial funding runs out-and even in the case of success, job creation is offset by job destruction in the competition. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Tijuana Bibles were your grandad's Rule 34. There wasn't an internet in the 1930s, but that doesn't mean no one was drawing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck going at it with each other. Tijuana Bibles were small, crudely- printed NSFW comics, featuring cartoon characters, celebrities, politicians, and the like. MICKEY MOUSE AND DONALD CRACKED.COM RIVIL — Source

23

There's no such thing as human alpha males. Alpha and beta terminology was used for decades in primate studies, until unqualified people decided to apply a dumbed-down version of it to people. Shockingly, humans are more complicated than monkeys, and the idea that you can be alpha or beta is unsupported by science. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Sean Connery socked a gangster. While shooting a movie in the 1950s, Connery got very friendly with co-star Lana Turner, which annoyed Turner's boyfriend, a mobster called Johnny Stompanato. Stompanato showed up in the set to threaten Connery with a gun- which the future James Bond swatted out of his hand, before leveling the gangster with a right hook. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

The Batman Slapping Robin meme comes from a bonkers comic. The panel comes from a 1965 imaginary story where Bruce Wayne thinks his father was killed by Superman, and becomes Batman specifically to hunt him down. And he doesn't just slap Robin- he also wipes his memory. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

A Star Wars puppeteer was almost fired for pissing off Harrison Ford. According to puppeteer Tim Rose, he cracked a joke in the set of Return of the Jedi about Harrison Ford's demands-and Ford, overhearing the quip, demanded the insolent jokester to be fired. Luckily, Ford didn't know what Rose looked like, so he was allowed to stay. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

The body bag that Kyle Reese is put into in The Terminator is actually James Cameron's suit bag. The shot was filmed at the last minute, after a good chunk of the movie's low budget was spent, and the crew had to get resourceful. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

The Facehugger's innards in Alien were clams, oysters, seafood. Organic matter was the best option for alien innards back then, explained Ridley Scott, as prosthetics weren't good enough. The downside of organic matter is that it quickly starts to smell bad - so the crew had to shoot on a tight schedule. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

2009's Star Trek uses a Dyson Airblade as a high-tech Enterprise device. 2330 G d NSF dyson airblade The filmmakers pretty much just covered the branding and used it as-is. They even left the instruction icons on top of the machine. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

The blood in Psycho's shower scene is just off-the-shelf chocolate syrup. BOSCO F - - for - BOSCO & Mant Mortes Kan na - - TAIN BOSCO - منتج بنت منتج - - Date Supar Topar Free Free Your Chocolate Syrup Chocolate Syrep Chocolate Syrup The fake blood used at the time was very thin and didn't have the right color, so makeup artist Jack Barron looked for an alternative. Не found something that looked incredibly convincing in black and white: Bosco Chocolate Syrup. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The TIE Fighter scream is a blend of the sound of a car on wet ground and elephant noises. To create a laser sound effect, sound designer Ben Burtt mixed a slowed-down elephant's cry and the sound of a car driving on wet pavement. Не used that as a TIE Fighter engine effect placeholder once-and everybody loved TIE Fighter footage with it, so Burtt kept it like that. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

28 Bits of Trivia That Had a Bad Dream and Want to Know if They Can Pile into Your Bed — Source

13

Nearly every fifth U.S. president has died in office. 18.6% of all U.S. presidents before Donald Trump have died on the job. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Parasite has a nod to Pink Floyd. ANOTHER BRICK ANOTHER BRICK Mr. Park's company is called Another Brick -- because Pink Floyd was Bong Joon-ho's favorite band when he was in college. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

11

Target lets law enforcement agencies use its forensics lab (for free). Their lab is so advanced, it's one of only two dozen or so private labs accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

10

In January 2014, 90 farting COWS in Germany blew off the roof of their farm shed. They farted so much, the build-up of methane gas caused an explosion that damaged the roof of the shed they were kept in. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

9

The 1900 Olympic Games in Paris included a swimming obstacle race. Swimmers climbed a pole and jumped from it into the river Seine, then swam against the current until they reached a row of boats, climbed over them, and then ducked under another row. For some reason, this event was only held in 1900. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

8

For over a decade, a Canadian has been spending a month in Thailand every year just to care for stray dogs. Dominique Rousselle, a retired teacher in his 60s, feeds stray dogs, treats their infections, ticks, fleas, and other health problems, and takes them to the vet for major procedures. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

7

The bicycle was invented because of a famine that killed many horses. In 1816, climate abnormalities led to food shortages, and horses died or were slaughtered for meat - which created demand for a new way to get around. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

The International Latex Corporation's seamstresses made the Apollo 11 spacesuits. NICE That company, AKA Playtex, had specialized in latex girdles and bras, but decided to branch out into pressurized space suits, thinking it'd be profitable. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Textbooks are now about 1,000% more expensive than they were in the '70s. As a result, The College Board now tells students they should budget a total of $1,200 per year for course materials including books. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

M*A*S*H actor Wayne Rogers just waltzed off the show, because he could. When he decided to leave, the studio tried to sue him for breach of contract - but then found out he'd never signed a contract anyway. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Michael Jordan really did wear UNC practice shorts under his jersey during games. It's not just a random bit from Space Jam - apparently, concealing those shorts was why he started wearing baggy shorts in the Chicago Bulls. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

There's a woman who pretty much lived the story of 50 First Dates in real life. Michelle Philpots, from the UK, is stuck in 1994 and can't form new memories, so she has to relearn everything every day (and sometimes, even more often). CRACKED.COM — Source

1

The famous Nickelodeon slime is actually made up of delicious ingredients. It's a mix of oatmeal, applesauce, vanilla pudding, and green food coloring - so, although it looks vile, it'd be totally safe to eat. CRACKED.COM — Source

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