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34 Bits of Trivia to Slam Dunk Into Your Skullhoop

Take ‘em to the house!

34 Bits of Trivia to Slam Dunk Into Your Skullhoop

March 22, 2024

Look, we’re not saying that you can’t lob one or two of these into your brain. As experts in fact consumption, we’re just saying that slam dunking them will help cement them in your brain for the long haul. That’s just sound neuroscience right there! So do what you want. All we can do is give our expert opinion. But don’t come crying to us when you can’t recite these at a moment’s notice.

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34

Angel's Trumpet is a plant that can induce strong auditory and visual hallucinations in humans. But I wouldn't try tripping on them, since they can also, well, paralyze your organs. Not so groovy. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

CRACKED.COM Napoleon used fake news to defeat an enemy. Napoleon was racing back home to reinforce his crumbling empire, a French newspaper said. This pleased Austrian tactician Karl Mack von Leiberich, who rode to rout whatever was left of Napoleon's forces. Except that the newspaper was a fake, planted by Napoleon's moles - Mack walked straight into a trap, and had to surrender his entire army. — Source

32

Terracotta Army

You can tell the rank of the sculpted warriors featured in China's Terracotta Army by their clothing. The lowest ranked warrior? The one wearing a terracotta t-shirt that says Fart Now Loading. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Open floor plans were supposed to make women's lives better. The woman, old-timey architects reasoned, couldn't be stuck in the kitchen if the kitchen was also the living and dining room. (The idea that it'd be тот in the kitchen wasn't questioned). Instead, it made the rest of the family inescapable, forcing women to multitask even harder. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

The elephant shrew, or jumping shrew is a tiny mammal with NBA-ready ups. Only a couple inches in size, they have a 36 leap, meaning they need to be taught to dunk IMMEDIATELY. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Fake butt-eyes protect COWS from predators. In Botswana, lions often kill cattle, which leads to farmers killing the lions. To protect both cats and cows, conservationists had the idea of painting eyes on the cattle's rumps, taking inspiration from the eye-like designs on butterflies and other animals that keep predators at bay. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

A lawyer dressed up as Tigger in court to prove a point. In 2004, a Walt Disney World guest accused a performer of groping her and her daughter. The guy's attorney said that the Tigger costume was too unwieldy for that, and put it on himself to prove it. The courtroom shenanigans worked, and the performer was acquitted. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

CRACKED.COM The early 20th century was more accepting of trans people than you think. While life for transgender people was never exactly easy, there were places 100 years ago where you could be out as trans. Berlin was a particularly accepting city in the 1920s. A lot of research in the field was done there, before the Nazis came marching in and burned it all. — Source

26

CRACKED SICKLE CELL ANEMIA PROVIDES SOME PROTECTION AGAINST MALARIA. This is due to sickle cell genetics being prominent in areas with high malaria rates. — Source

25

CRACKED THE LARGEST BOOK EVER PUBLISHED IS SIX FEET TALL. World Political This 2012 edition of the Klencke Atlas contains over 40 maps and weighs over 700 pounds. — Source

24

CRACKED THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES WAS DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE JUST 56 YEARS AFTER BEING BUILT. One of the ancient wonders of the world, the statue's ruins lay on the ground for over 800 years before they were finally melted down and sold as scrap metal. — Source

23

The Eiffel Tower

CRACKED THE EIFFEL TOWER WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE A TEMPORARY STRUCTURE. It was built for the 1889 World's Fair, and meant to be dismantled 20 years later. However, they kept it around to act as a radio tower after radio was invented in 1895. — Source

22

CRACKED THE LARGEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD IS THE RAFFLESIA ARNOLDII. Found in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, it can grow up to three feet in diameter and weigh up to 15 pounds. The flower has a strong odor, which is often compared to that of rotting meat. — Source

21

CRACKED THE COLDEST PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE IS THE BOOMERANG NEBULA. Located at about 5,000 light-years from Earth, its temperature is -458°F (-272°C), which is just one degree above absolute zero. — Source

20

CRACKED NEW YORK HAS A LARGER POPULATION THAN ICELAND. New York City has a population of around 8.5 million - while Iceland has a population under 400,000. — Source

19

CRACKED THE FIRST TV REMOTE CONTROL WAS CALLED THE LAZY BONES. It was invented in 1950 and was connected to the TV by a wire. It used a flashlight-like device to turn the TV on and off, change channels, and adjust the volume. — Source

18

CRACKED SHARKS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN 400 MILLION YEARS. That means they predate dinosaurs by more than 200 million years. — Source

17

CRACKED THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY HAS A TRADITION OF NOT EATING SHELLFISH. This is because shellfish was considered to be too risky to eat in the past, as it spoiled easily and could cause food poisoning. — Source

16

CRACKED THE OLDEST KNOWN WINE CELLAR IS 3,700 YEARS OLD. It was discovered in 2007 in the ruins of a Cannanite palace in Israel. The cellar contained 40 jars, each capable of holding 50 liters of wine. — Source

15

CRACKED TREES CAN TALK WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH A NETWORK OF UNDERGROUND FUNGI. These fungi, called mycorrhizae, help trees share nutrients and can even transmit warning signals about insect attacks. — Source

14

CRACKED IN SPACE, THERE IS NO UP OR DOWN. Because there is no gravity to define a direction, astronauts often use the position of the sun, Earth, or other celestial objects as a reference point. — Source

13

CRACKED THE TROJAN HORSE WAS NOT ACTUALLY MENTIONED BY HOMER IN THE ILIAD. The story of the Trojan Horse was likely added later by other writers. — Source

12

Astronauts always have to sleep near air vents to get rid of carbon dioxide. Otherwise, the carbon dioxide they exhale during sleep could just gather around their head in a gigantic bubble - so every sleep station has an air vent. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

They honored an Egyptian actor with tributes in the Sahara Desert. There are tributes to actor Samir Lama scattered throughout the Sahara, in the Lama-Monod Pass, which he helped discover. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

The UK has a Chemical Landmarks Scheme that highlights chemists' contributions. The landmarks are located at sites where people or teams contributed in some way to health, wealth, or quality of life through chemistry. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Iranian Viper

There's an Iranian viper that's equipped with a fake spider at the end of its tail. The structure resembles a spider but it's actually a lure to attract birds - when scientists first saw it, they thought it was an abnormal growth. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

At the South Pole, you can see a dramatic green rim on the sun during sunset. The sun sets once every six months, and for about 5 hours during that sunset, you can see a unique fringe of green around the sun itself. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

In France, they use teddy bears to introduce medicine to young children. They bring kindergarten kids to hospitals and show a patient's journey through the system by having a teddy play the role of a patient. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Adam Driver almost actually punched a hole in the wall for Marriage Story. Не hit so hard during one take of the climactic argument scene that he nearly made a hole in the real wall (behind the fake prop wall). CRACKED.COM — Source

5

The seventh Mission Impossible movie involved two rented cruise ships. One of them was used as a gigantic docked hotel for the Norway shoot (that involved 200 international and 200 Norwegian workers). CRACKED.COM — Source

4

The Elf fight between Buddy and the department store Santa was hard to film. L C ح E O M E A N TA The art department worked hard to get the set dressing just right, and re-doing it was not an option - so they had to get it right on the first take. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Plan 9 From Outer Space was actually financed by a Baptist church. The legendarily schlocky 50s sci-fi movie was an attempt by the Baptist Church of Beverly Hills to make money to fund religious movies. It failed. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

The village of Juzcar, in Spain, was painted blue purely because of The Smurfs. The paint job was a marketing stunt for the movie, but it generated a massive boost to tourism, so locals voted to keep the blue paint. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Gene Roddenberry's original idea for Star Trek II involved JFK's death. To restore the right timeline after a time travel mishap, Spock would have to shoot JFK- so he'd end up being the assassin who fired from the grassy knoll. CRACKED.COM — Source

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