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Trendy facts come and go, but you’ll come and stay for these!

31 Traditional Bits of Trivia That Never Go Out of Style

March 20, 2024

Tracking down evergreen facts is a lot easier than you think. They’re brighter and livelier than their deciduous counterparts. Sure, fallen facts might be easier to put in your basket, but will they stand the test of time? They’re already mid-rot for chrissakes! We like to think long term, so these forever facts are definitely worth the pluck!

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31

WEIRD WORLD Because of the pandemic, you basically can't renounce US citizenship. EMBASSY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA US citizens living abroad have to do a 1-on-1 interview to renounce it, and those are suspended because of the pandemic, so thousands of people who want to give up their citizenship are stuck with it. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Fair Is Fair

WEIRD WORLD The government wants to tax bribe money and stolen goods, too. No, really - the IRS recently stated that you have to report any bribes you got, or anything you stole, as income. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

WEIRD WORLD In Spain, drug dealers tried to raffle off a Christmas basket for their clients. The basket included cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and some cured ham- but this attempt to provide their customers outstanding service was foiled by the police. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

In October 1958, MIT students measured the Massachusetts Avenue bridge using another student. His name was Oliver Smoot, and the bridge turned out to be 364.4 Smoots long (+/-1 ear). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Halle Berry spent 3-4 hours a day training dogs for John Wick: Chapter 3. It came after three hours of martial arts training and two hours of gun training. She didn't have to train dogs, but she did it just to be able to say she could. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Pulp Fiction wouldn't have gotten made without Danny DeVito. His production company Jersey Films bought the Pulp Fiction script from Tarantino. DeVito was the person who then shopped the script around, and eventually brought it to Miramax, which made the movie. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Dolphins can tell the difference between predators and (nearly identical) playmates. Bigg's killer whales snack on dolphins, while southern resident killer whales avoid red meat (including dolphins). They're so similar that they're considered the same species, but dolphins only play with the safe kind. Science isn't sure how they do it, but it might be down to the whales' calls. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

The East German secret police, the Stasi, took odor samples from interview subjects. GK Vornane Name Datum: 1/86 PKZ: Zeit: 100 Delikt: Reg.Nr.: Dienstateller They used special chairs that had a sterile cloth - the cloth would hold the odor, and they'd keep it in a glass jar. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

23

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Ralph Fiennes' nephew Hero Fiennes Tiffin played young Tom Riddle. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

22

In Malaysia, suicide attempts are punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail. This is because the Malaysian penal code was based on British law back when it still included holdover laws from the Middle Ages (in medieval times, suicide was a criminal offence because St. Augustine had declared it a sin). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

21

They had to push Jimmy Fallon's jeep in his Band of Brothers cameo. It was a real WWII jeep, and he was a pretty bad driver, so he couldn't make it move. Two guys ended up having to push the jeep forward at the right moment while Fallon pretended to drive. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

A deleted scene from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer explains why Cornelius licks his ax. After Rudolph guides Santa to the Island of Misfit Toys, Cornelius picks up his ax after throwing it in the air, then licks it and says Peppermint! What I've been searching for all my life! I've struck it rich. So he was just licking his ах to see if he'd finally found peppermint. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

19

In Victorian England, drunk homeless people would sleep on a rope. It was called a two-penny hangover, because you'd pay two pennies to spend the night hanging over a rope. At around 5 or 6 AM, you'd be woken up by falling onto the ground, as the rope would get cut (and you'd then get kicked out onto the street). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

18

CRACKED.COM Lightsaber combat is based on all forms of swordplay. Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard created the amazing lightsaber fights in the Star Wars prequels. Не basically came up with a new martial art by combining a ton of forms of sword fighting - and even things unrelated to swords, like tennis or tree-chopping. — Source

17

America had a (self-proclaimed) emperor. In 1859, San Francisco resident Joshua Abraham Norton decided the government was a sham and crowned himself Norton I, Emperor of the United States. No one ever obeyed his mandates, but he managed to get his profession listed as Emperor in the city directory (and became a tourist attraction). CRACKED.COM — Source

16

CRACKED.COM Most of those gross cooking videos trace back to one guy. The revolting viral videos of people making food come from Rick Lax, a street magician who realized those did better on social media than card tricks. We're just trying to put smiles on your faces, he says (probably very aware that the reaction is quite the opposite). — Source

15

CRACKED.COM Kevin Costner got mad because people didn't get to see his penis. De 1999's For Love of the Game included a shot of Costner's untouchables, even though it was supposed to be a PG-13 film. After test audiences giggled at the scene, it was just cut - which pissed Costner off. It just flies in the face of who I am, he said. That's easy for him to say - that was the only thing flying in his face. — Source

14

Leslie Coffelt saved President Truman's life e-after being shot to death. Puerto Rican nationalists shot Officer Leslie W. Coffelt, in an attempt to assassinate Truman. Coffelt died-but not before crawling out of his guard booth and killing the guy who shot him. (The guy's partner had already been stopped by the Secret Service.) CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had to use fake Walkmans. The first GotG movie turned the vintage players into hot items, raising their price into the thousands. This became a problem when a few were needed for the sequel. So instead of using the genuine things, the prop team built non-functioning replicas. SONY aLAMAN CRACKED.COM — Source

12

The Founding Fathers thought that independence was a mistake. The aristocratic Founding Fathers saw regular Americans as vile ignoramuses, and had zero faith in the people's ability to govern themselves. Independence, however, was left as the only option when attempts to patch things up with King George III fell through. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

CRACKED.COM The classic circus music was written as a heroic theme. The goofy tune was created by respected Czech composer Julius Fučík as an epic military march (titled Entrance of the Gladiators). Then a reworking by a Canadian arranger started being used for clowns, and no one took it seriously ever again. — Source

10

WEIRD WORLD In Poland, they caught murderer because, uh, he wasn't wearing a mask. He'd been on the run for 20 years, and they finally nabbed him when he got stopped by police for not wearing a mask in a shop (which is mandatory in Poland). CRACKED.COM — Source

9

WEIRD WORLD The ice was SO cold for an NHL outdoor game, they had to heat it. m SONY STAAL 18 BP Bo 30 : uso FOMEZ 19 They planned to use two inline heaters for the first time, one at the refrigeration truck and another in the outfield, they said. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

WEIRD WORLD One woman bit another one during a fight about disciplining their dogs. This happened in Germany, and their dogs were apparently just standing nearby and calmly looked on at the two, according to the police. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

WEIRD WORLD The Taliban made a boo-boo and accidentally funded their own opposition. Somehow, they wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan - and the embassy doesn't want to give it back. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

WEIRD WORLD 80 people swarmed into a Nordstrom in California, swiped stuff, then left. NORDSTROM It was basically a flash mob robbery - they showed up, took whatever they could, then got into their cars and left. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

WEIRD WORLD A bank robber got caught when he tried to deposit the money into his account. - - STANLEY VELKOMMEN TIL | Nordea BOLIGLAN? AVTAL MOTE PA NORDEA.NO ONCR And not just in any way - he tried to do it using the ATM just outside the bank he'd robbed. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

WEIRD WORLD Eric Clapton sued a 55-year-old German widow-and, yes, he actually won. What was the suit over? Selling a bootleg CD for $11 on eBay. CRACKED.GOM — Source

3

WEIRD WORLD A server in Arkansas was fired over a $4,400 tip given by a group of execs. They specifically gave the tip to her and another server who took care of them - but the boss told her she had to share. They took back the tip, and later gave it to her outside the restaurant - and she got fired. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Crows

WEIRD WORLD In Oregon, a friendly but sweary crow ingratiated himself with a whole school. The crow just showed up at the school one day and kind of became an unofficial mascot - but the whole thing ended with state police being called in. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

WEIRD WORLD Singapore is turning to cockroaches as a measure to save human lives. Apparently, the plan is to augment them and turn them into cyborg bugs that can find humans in disaster sites. CRACKED.GOM — Source

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