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Pump your iron, gym rats. We’re just fine pumpin’ facts!

28 Random Bits of Trivia to Bench Press Into Your Brainpecs

May 02, 2024

Each fact isn’t too heavy to lift, but your back might feel it if you stack them high. So take it easy with this list right here, okay? Ask a friend to spot you if you start reading too many. There’s no shame in that. Why, just gathering these this morning took a lot out of us.

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28

In 1956, Thomas Patrick stole a plane in New Jersey and landed it in front of a New York City bar. TRUCK RENTAL Two years later, he repeated the feat after a patron didn't believe the original story. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Tokyo Drift couldn't secure certain permits but filmed scenes anyway. REGARO Universal Studios hired a fall guy to go to jail instead of the director. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

26

When asked to be in a 2012 Olympic sketch with Daniel Craig as James Bond, Queen Elizabeth agreed immediately. Her only condition was to choose her line, which was, Good evening, Mr. Bond. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

25

A man who worked for Queen Elizabeth in the 1600s went into self-imposed exile after he farted in front of her. Cuz DaughRo ofRouces ler in GomeShi and died 2/H & of Junest CRACKED.COM Edward de Vere left England for 7 years. When he return,ed, the Queen greeted him by saying My Lord, I had forgotten the Fart. — Source

24

Russian cosmonauts urinate on the right rear wheel of the transfer bus before liftoff. CRACKED COM The ritual began in 1961 because the spacesuits didn't have a fly. Female cosmonauts are ex- cused, but some dash a cup of their own urine in solidarity. — Source

23

U.S. Congress brings up Hitler 7.7 times per month. CRACKED.COM Republicans bring up the dictator more than their colleagues, by a ratio of about 57-42 percent. Hitler mentions reached a peak in October 2003, with 93 mentions of both parties combined. — Source

22

One of the first advocates for human rights was a 16th-century Spanish priest. GRAGKED.COM Bartolomé de las Casas, af- ter witnessing the atroci- ties of the Spanish against the indigenous peoples, came to oppose their abuses. Не would go on to spend 50 years actively fighting slavery. — Source

21

An American socialist ran for president while in prison in 1920. CRACKED.COM In 1918, Eugene Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison for criticizing the government's p,articipation in World War 1. Не managed to get 3.4% of the popular vote while behind bars. — Source

20

A French man impersonated an American family's lost son for 3 and a half months. GRACKED.COM Frédéric Bourdin imper- sonated American Nicho- las Barclay from San An- tonio, Texas, who disap- peared in 1994 at age 13. Bourdin was caught and deported back to France. — Source

19

A deaf friend helped Charlie Chaplin pantomime techniques. CRACKED.COM Chaplin asked his friend Granville Redmond to help him develop the tech- niques Chaplin later used in his silent films. Chaplin even gave Redmond a stu- dio on the movie lot for his paintings. — Source

18

A Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by Black Friday shoppers in 2008. Walmart CRACKED.COM While other employees at- tempted to help him, the shoppers were unconcerned with the victim's fate and refused to halt their stam- pede, complaining that they were not willing to wait in the cold any longer. — Source

17

The character Kenny on 'South Park' is based on a real childhood friend of Trey Parker. CRACKED.COM Kenny was the poorest kid in town, wore a large parka that muffled his voice and would frequently skip school, inspiring the run- ning joke that he died by classmates. — Source

16

The first person captured on camera giving a middle finger was a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher. CRACKED.COM In 1886, an image was captured of Charles Old Hoss Radbourn flipping off a member of the New York Giants in a team photo. — Source

15

The sale of psychedelic mushroom spores is legal since they don't yet contain psilocybin. CRACKED.COM Most drug laws prohibit psilocybin rather than the mushroom itself, and psilo- cybin, the active com- pound in psychedelic mushrooms, is found only in the mushroom's cap and stem and not in its spores. — Source

14

The erupting lava in the 'Revenge of the Sith' Mustafar battle wasn't computer generated. CRACKED.COM In the 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,' the images of the volcanic eruption on Mustafar is real footage of Mt. Etna in Italy, which was erupting at the time of production. — Source

13

Rabies increases its transmission by making the sufferer afraid of drinking water. GRACKED COM Hydrophobia makes the victim unable to swallow the frothy saliva forming in their mouth, which is in- fected heavily with the live virus that can then be transmitted by biting. — Source

12

'A Clockwork Orange' was written over a period of three weeks. CRACKED.COM Anthony Burgess was mis- diagnosed with brain can- cer and given a year to live. Не decided to spend that year writing five nov- els to provide for his wife after his death. Ironically, he outlived her. — Source

11

Oasis issued concert refunds they hoped fans wouldn't cash. CRACKED.COM After having technical dif- ficulties at a large gig, the band issued refund checks with their branding, hop- ing that fans would keep them as collectibles in- stead of cashing them in. It worked. — Source

10

Denver cops used smell-oscopes to find weed smokers. CRACKED.COM Even though recreational marijuana was legal by 2013, there was still an ordinance against polluting the air with too much smoke. The Nasal Ranger Field Olfactometer used purified air to filter out less-offensive odors. — Source

9

A long lasting tampon released in 1975 caused an epidemic of Toxic Shock Syndrome. CRACKED.COM The P&G 'Rely' Tampon was super-absorbent and long-lasting, promising to even absorb the worry. This led to women leaving them in too long, making them the perfect environ- ment to culture bacteria. — Source

8

Huskies need to train to be better distance runners. CRACKED.COM While the average pet hus- ky can run between 10 to 20 miles a day, a well-con- ditioned race husky can run for 11 hours straight for 125 miles. They can repeat this distance for up to 10 days in a row. — Source

7

Rosalind Franklin is the unsung hero of DNA research. CRACKED.COM Her X-ray Crystallography allowed her colleagues Watson and Crick to асси- rately characterize the double helix. Many believe she should've shared in their Nobel prize. — Source

6

Don't Let These Facts Out Of Your Sight!

A former NFL player did more time for bad checks than murder. THE FACE OF THIS DOCUM NT HAS A NHE CHEESE BACKGROUND ON WHITE PAPERAND A VOID PANTOGRAPH WITH A BLUE SECURITY STRIP th CENTER WELLS FARGO BANK NA WELLS FARGO HOME EQUITY CASHIER'S CHECK 11-24/1210(8) 11001 NORTH BLACK CANYON HIGHWAY AZ adidas No. 0150482880 Date: 08/02/06 WELLS FARGO BANK Loan #: 20053097100155 For: 490397919 JOSE TRINIDAD AND DOREEN E LARA $12,000.42 Pay $ 12,000dols 42cts !! Broth Exactly - Twelve Thousand dollars and 42 cents Void if over $12,000.42 PAY ORDER OF nine GRAGKED.COM 20150LA 2880g C121000PLAC 4861 507788 Robert — Source

5

We embody associations we have with particular clothes. GRACKED CON People scored higher in a mental agility test while wearing a lab coat that they believed was a doc- tor's coat. The effect was not there when they be- lieved the same white coat was a painter's coat. — Source

4

Foo Fighters

David Grohl was the only band member of Foo Fighters when recording the first album. CRACKED.COM Не wrote and recorded all vocal, guitar, bass, and drum tracks himself. Many know Grohl as a frontman, but he actually played per- cussion in a small indie band before Foo Fighters, called Nirvana. — Source

3

The NBA Jam arcade game outgrossed 'Jurassic Park' in 1993. CRACKED COM SHOT NBA Jam was America's highest-grossing arcade game of 1993. Individual ma- chines at the time were earn- ing up to $2400 per week, and the game grossed over $1 billion the first year. — Source

2

Severed hands became a currency during the Belgian colonization of Congo. CRACKED.COM Colonizers demanded sev- ered hands as punishment for failing to fulfill rubber collection quotas, but the quotas were unrealistic. Soldiers were paid bonus- es based on how many hands they collected. — Source

1

20th Century Fox was convinced that 'Star Wars' was going to be a flop. CRACKED.COM They agreed to George Lu- cas' proposition to forgo an additional $500,000 di- recting fee in return to keep licensing and mer- chandising rights of the movie for himself, which made him a billionaire. — Source

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