The Now-Illegal Investment Structure That Incentivized Cold-Blooded Murder

This Legendary Comedian Was Johnny Carson’s Least Favorite ‘Tonight Show’ Guest

44 Random Bits of Trivia to Wash Down the Other Random Bits of Trivia Stuck to the Roof of Your Brain

20 of the Most Unexplainable Events in History

24 Wild Things People Witnessed As Part of a Live Studio Audience

35 Random Bits of Trivia to Strap Into Your Skull Like Batman’s Utility Belt

Holy bits of trivia, Batman!

35 Random Bits of Trivia to Strap Into Your Skull Like Batman’s Utility Belt

March 29, 2024

You’ll never know when one of these clever tidbits will get you and your sidekick out of a jam!

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

35

The producer of 2007's The Man From Earth thanks people for illegally downloading it. CRACKED.COM After the movie was ille- gally shared via BitTorrent, Eric D. Wilkinson publicly thanked the file sharers because it lifted the pro- file of the film far beyond the financier's expecta- tions. — Source

34

In the Soviet Union, it was common for people to take their windshield wipers with them when they parked. CRACKED COM Otherwise there was a chance of them be- ing stolen because there were severe shortages of auto parts in the USSR. — Source

33

Mia Wallace from 'Pulp Fiction' is, technically, a Disney princess. CRACKED.COM Miramax was owned by Disney from 1993 to 2005, which means that the film was, in a way, a Dis- ney movie. — Source

32

Facts to Guide You

The experiment that ultimately became the basis for cochlear implants involves a cat hooked up to a phone. CRACKED.COM In 1929, Princeton re- searchers opened a cat's skull and connected its au- ditory nerve to a tele- phone. When one re- searcher spoke in the cat's ear, the other could hear it through the receiver. — Source

31

93% of Indians work in informal, off-the-books jobs, and get paid in cash. CRACKED.COM Most transactions en- tail personalized re- lationships rather than standardized forms of legal con- tract or corporate in- stitutions. — Source

30

A doctor in the South Pole biopsied and treated her own breast cancer. GRAGKED.COM In complete darkness, medical equipment had to be airdropped from mili- tary aircraft to Dr. Jerri Nielsen during the over- winter period when the crew is normally isolated from the outside world. — Source

29

Venus flytraps were once thought to have been brought to Earth by meteors. CRACKED.COM Venus flytraps were believed to be an alien species because they seemed to grow in places where meteor- ites were found. — Source

28

Booby Traps

Edward Briney booby-trapped his farmhouse which resulted in a burglar's legs being shot with a shotgun. CRACKED COM The burglar sued him and won. Later, when asked if he would do anything different, Ed- ward Briney stated I'd have aimed that gun a few feet higher. — Source

27

During the Great Famine, Ireland continued to export enormous quantities of food to England. GRACKED GOM This kept food prices far too high for the average Irish peasant to afford and was a major con- tributing factor in the large death toll from the famine. — Source

26

A condemned ship filled with animals sailed over Niagara Falls as part of a tourism stunt. CRACKED.COM In 1827, William Forsyth, an investor in the Falls, con- cocted the idea to draw in more tourism. The ship held Buffalo, bears, rac- coons, a dog, and a goose. 10,000 people watched it sail over the edge. — Source

25

A festival in Wisconsin is held to honor the Russian satellite, Sputnik. GRACKED.COM A piece of the first satel- lite in space, the Russian Sputnik, landed in Mani- towoc, Wisconsin upon re-entry and the towns- people created a festival in its honor. — Source

24

Ferdinand Magellan didn't actually circumnavigate the globe. CRACKED.COM Не was killed by a poi- soned arrow in the Philip- pines, and under the leadership of Juan Sebas- tian de Elcano, his expe- dition completed the trip without him. — Source

23

Weed smokers in the 1930s were called muggle-heads. CRACKED.COM Its leaves can be dried, ground and rolled into cig- arets , which are boot- legged under the name of 'muggles,' 'reefers,' or 'Mary Warners, according to a Time article from the period. — Source

22

The Pope in 1950 did not reject the theory of evolution. CRACKED.COM Pope Pius XII confirmed there was no conflict be- tween Christianity and the theory of evolution, and the Church supports the idea of theistic evo- lution. — Source

21

Star Trek's Captain Kirk was named after the explorer of the Pacific, Captain Cook. CRACKED.COM The title of the pilot epi- sode was an homage to one of Cook's diary en- tries: ambition leads me ... farther than any other man has been be- fore me. — Source

20

Hydrangea flowers are a naturally occurring pH indicator and can change color depending on soil. GRACKED COM In acid soils, chemical re- actions occur in the soil that turns the flowers blue. In alkaline soils, these reactions cannot occur causing the flowers to remain pink. — Source

19

There's a Korean TV show about a 400-year-old alien who falls in love with a human woman. CRACKED.COM The show, 'My Love From Another Star,' is a huge hit in Korea and elsewhere; Chi- nese fans were hospitalized for binging on the woman character's favorite food: fried chicken and beer. — Source

18

A NHL player refused to attend his own Hall of Fame ceremony because women weren't allowed. CRACKED.COM Ted Lindsay, one of the greatest players in NHL history, wouldn't show for the 1966 ceremony. The league changed the rules to allow women the fol- lowing year. — Source

17

Doctors tried to treat fake wounds from a Goodfellas actor. CRACKED.COM While filming his death in 'Goodfellas,' Michael Im- perioli cut his hand on a glass and was taken to the ER where the doctors rushed to treat his fake bullet wounds. — Source

16

Hitler planned to rebuild Berlin after the war into a neo-roman cosmopolitan city. CRACKED.COM One state building, the Volkshalle was to be so massive, that it could rain inside during events due to the perspiration and breath from 150,000 ос- cupants. — Source

15

The duck-billed platypus has a gene mix of birds, reptiles, and mammals and genetically has 25 possible sexes. GRACKED.COM The Platypus is one of the few mammals that lay eggs. They lactate but have no nipples, hunt via electricity, and their ven- om has 80 different kinds of toxins. — Source

14

James Blunt sold his sister on eBay as a damsel in distress. GRACKED.COM James sold his sister Emily when she could not find a ride to a fu- neral. She ended up marrying the man who won the auction. — Source

13

There was a Rick Roll hidden in Silicon Valley. CRACKED.COM In Silicon Valley, Gilfoyle hacks a smart fridge and this code is displayed. In the code is the URL for the music video of Rick Ast- ley's Never Gonna Give you up on YouTube. — Source

12

Laos is the most heavily bombed nation in history. GRACKED.COM The US secretly dropped an average of 8 bombs a min- ute for 9 years during the Vietnam war. Almost $200 million was spent over the last 25 years to remove un- exploded ordnance. — Source

11

The Black Death was responsible for the beginning of the end of European Feudalism. CRACKED.COM As there were fewer work- ers, their lords were forced to pay higher wages. With higher wages, there were fewer restrictions on trav- el. Eventually, this would lead to a trade class/mid- dle class. — Source

10

Many of the scenes in Elf were filmed at an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Vancouver. CRACKED.COM In the '50s, Riverview Hospital was home to more than 4,000 ра- tients. The x Files, Super- natural, Saw, Deadpool 2, and many others have filmed scenes on the site. — Source

9

A three day riot at Oxford University over wine killed 93 people in 1335. CRACKED.COM Two Oxford students com- plained to the bartender of the Swindlestock Tavern about the quality of wine served, and the argument spiraled into a brawl that killed 30 townsfolk and 63 university members. — Source

8

Swallowing pills without water can make it take longer for them to work. SL NDd sd Magnet CRACKED.COM It also increases the chance of the pill to get stuck in your esophagus, and in worse scenarios make an ulcer in your esoph- agus mucosa. — Source

7

Consumer radar detectors can have a detector to detect radar detector detectors. FUZZBUSTER® 2000 Superhet electrolert.inc. GRAGKED.COM When drivers began using radar detectors, police forces began purchasing radar detector detectors, which led to manufacturers adding radar detector de- tector detector circuits to their devices. — Source

6

Palau, in Oceania, is the first country to require tourists to take an eco-pledge. CRACKED COM The government of Palau requires all tourists enter- ing to sign a pledge stamped on their passport promising to be environ- mentally conscious and tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully. — Source

5

Human's place on the food chain is a mere 2.2 on a 1-5 scale. CRACKED.COM Apex predators such as lions and great white sharks have a trophic level of 5. Hu- mans rank even with pigs and anchovies. — Source

4

In 2013, a California couple discovered a trove of gold coins in their backyard. C 99 ZEUG 20 TEROOUD LOE U366 viterland twitzer 1KILO ILO Fina Ga 1K Gold Fine 3 and date MERACH RIOD RODA OOL and 036530 LA ASERICA AEUSSIA CRACKED COM 40g vitze WITH Tucked away in eight buried cans were 1,427 rare mint-condition coins dating from 1847 to 1894. A rare coin expert who represents the finders appraised the U.S. coins at $11 million. — Source

3

The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin believes it was gifted stolen artifacts. GRACKED.COM In 2016, an anonymous donor sent two Bronze Age axes and two piec- es of rare Viking jewel- ry to the museum, which may have been illegally excavated. — Source

2

Airbags in 37 million vehicles had to be recalled by an auto parts manufacturer in 2008. CRACKED.COM Faulty inflators in Takata airbags ex- ploded and shot shrapnel-like materi- al at the vehicle's ос- cupants. — Source

1

Burning at the stake as a method of execution has been practiced since Babylonia and ancient Israel. CRACKED.COM Bags of gunpowder were sometimes tied around the victim's necks, or they were hanged with a metal chain, to shorten their suffering. — Source

Tags:

Visual

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

Movies & TV

‘South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone Are Closer to EGOT Status Than Meryl Streep

Movies & TV

This Etsy Seller Will Photoshop a Disdainful George Costanza Into Your Family Vacation Photos

Movies & TV

The 14 Earliest Animated TV Series Ever Aired

Movies & TV

‘Hot Ones’ Side-Steps Controversy by Crediting Animators for ‘Family Guy’ Crossover

Science & History

5 Famous Werewolves from History

Movies & TV

The Monty Python Catalog Has a New Streaming Home You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

VIRAL ON CRACKED

1

13 Major Movies Made By People Who Hated Working With Each Other

2

5 Important Skills That Are About To Die Forever

3

The 7 Most Horrifying Things Ever Discovered in a Human Body

4

This Is the ‘Family Guy’ Joke That Inspired Over 188,000 FCC Complaints

5

22 'Hilarious' Characters Who Actually Deserve Your Pity