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33 Cool Bits of Trivia to Crack Open With the Boys

Facts you can sip ‘round the campfire

33 Cool Bits of Trivia to Crack Open With the Boys

May 01, 2024

Had a rough day at the office? Did you just pull in the driveway and see all the things you still have to do ‘round the house? Like your neighbor probably says at least once a day, “It never ends, does it?”

Well, we’re here to tell you that it can end — for a little while at least. Let the grass grow. Let the laundry pile up. Pull up a chair in the garage, and crack open this cool, refreshing list of facts. You deserve it.

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

33

If you melted down the Statue of Liberty, the scrap value would be pretty low. It contains 31 tons of copper and 125 tons of steel, which would bring $227,610 (but that does make it the world's 3rd most expensive statue). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

32

A burger can contain the meat of many COWS - even dozens and dozens. It's very rare to get a burger with meat from just one cow, because that's way too expensive. And McD's burgers, say, have meat from over 100 cows. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Velociraptors probably. weren't actually cunning, cooperative pack hunters. It's a popular image in both pop culture and science, but some scientists now think they attacked the same prey but didn't cooperate much. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Back in the day, Jamaica used to be the base of operations for Jewish pirates. Today, if you go to Kingston's Hunts Bay Cemetery, you can find tombstones that have the skull and crossbones sign plus Hebrew text. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

29

In medieval England and Scotland, public insult battles were all the rage. It was called flyting, and it was basically the rap battle of its day - people would insult each other in all kinds of funny and clever ways. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

In the 1870s, people in a town in the West staged fake gunfights and robberies. It was basically a show for passengers who were coming to town on the new railroad - it might have all been a ploy to boost tourism. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Witches

It's possible that we got the stock image of the witch from medieval beer makers. Women beer makers wore pointy hats to stand out, made beer in cauldrons, and used broomstick-like signposts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

26

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

25

In January 2019, 5 teenagers died after a fire in an escape room in Poland. CRACKED.COM Poland's interior minister then ordered fire safety in- spections at more than 1,000 escape room loca- tions across the country, which previously did not officially require them. — Source

24

17th Century Fashion

During the 17th century, women's fashions with exposed breasts were common in society. CRACKED.COM Queens to common prostitutes particiapt- ed, and it emulated by all classes. An exposed ankle however was considered to be more risqué. — Source

23

The creators of Spam sued Jim Henson Productions for using the name Spa'am. CRACKED.COM The judge dismissed the suit for failure to prove damages from the pig character in Muppet Treasure Island, noting, one might think Hormel would welcome the association with a genuine source of pork. — Source

22

Having standard showtimes for films was not common until 1960. CRACKED.COM Previously most films would just play on a loop, and people could enter at any time. Hitchcock's Psy- cho required that people watch from the beginning to the end and made show- times more standard. — Source

21

The longest Cricket Test match was played over 12 days. CRACKED.COM The game was between England and South Africa in Durban in 1939. It was eventually abandoned, otherwise, the England team would have missed the boat back home. — Source

20

Pennsylvania is spelled 'Pensylvania' on the Liberty Bell. PHOTADA BY ORDER OF AND Pass AND Stom للدر CAD to CCIPIT GRACKED.COM This spelling was one of several acceptable spell- ings of the name at that time. The spelling also ар- pears on the US Constitu- tion, as well as the double N version we are used to. — Source

19

An earthquake profoundly shook the belief in a merciful God and the power of the church across Europe. CRACKED.COM In 1755, a massive earth- quake hit Lisbon, Portugal on a major Catholic holi- day, destroying the city's churches while sparing its brothels. Tens of thou- sands of worshipers were killed. — Source

18

A law was passed that required psychiatrists and psychologists to dress up as wizards in court proceedings. CRACKED.COM The 'Expert Wizard Amendment' in New Mexi- со (1995) was revealed to be satire before the vote, yet passed the New Mexico Senate unanimously. It was not signed into law. — Source

17

The term log book comes from determining the speed of a ship. GRAGKED.COM A log was put into water tied to a rope and they measured knots to see how far they traveled. A person who timed this procedure would then write down the ship's speed in a book. — Source

16

15

Pet allergies are not caused by the animal's fur. CRACKED.COM Pet allergies are caused by an allergic reaction to the animal's saliva. The allergens come from sali- va, urine, and dander, which then attach to the fur. — Source

14

The Icelandic city of Reykjavik had a ban on keeping dogs as pets for decades. CRACKED.COM In the 1880s, 20% percent of autopsies performed in Iceland revealed echino- coccosis, a type of tape- worm that can be passed from dogs to humans, causing blindness and se- vere complications. — Source

13

70% of elite distance running races have been won by Kenyans. MOROCCO ©TDK Selmoun I - 1 15 и ФТРК it KONY FOR Kipsin FOR Scinsk Chepko ETNORIA 16 STOK Bekele 4 F GRACKED.COM Specifically, Ken- yans from the Kalenjin communi- ty, who make up just 0.06% of the world's population. — Source

12

Dairy farmers in San Francisco sued to get almond milk relabelled as Nut Juice. CRACKED.COM The Federal District Court dismissed the suit, in 2013, as No reasonable consumer would mistake a product like soy milk or almond milk with dairy milk from a cow. — Source

11

The world's oldest university still in operation was created 1,160 years ago. GRACKED.COM The University of Al Quar- aouiyine in Morocco, founded by Muslim woman Fatima al-Fihri in 859 A.D., and became one of the leading spiritual and edu- cational centers of the Is- lamic Golden Age. — Source

10

It was Nicholas Cage's idea to eat real cockroaches while filming Vampire's Kiss (1988). CRACKED.COM The script had called for Cage's character to suck a raw egg, but he felt that was too tame. Cage de- cided on cockroaches be- cause they are the thing he hates the most. — Source

9

Your brain/eyes will generate a light show if kept in darkness for long periods of time. GRACKED.COM The phenomenon, known as the Prisoner's Cinema, is reported by prisoners confined to dark cells and by others kept in dark- ness such as truck drivers and pilots. — Source

8

Pepperoni is an American invention. CRACKED.COM It's similar to the spicy sa- lamis of southern Italy, but it also has elements char- acteristic of German sau- sages (smokiness, beef content, and fine grind). In Italian, peperoni just means bell peppers. — Source

7

People were shoved out of airplanes during Argentina's dictatorship. CRACKED.COM Opponents to the regime were drugged, flown out over the Atlantic, and pushed out of planes alive with weights attached to their feet so no bodies would be found as evidence. — Source

6

Locals in Cornwall, England created an imaginary beach to deal with overcrowded beaches. CRACKED COM Signposts were put up all over the county leading to the 'Best Beach in Corn- wall,' Porthemmet beach, but the signs actually di- verted tourists in the ор- posite direction from any of the coasts. — Source

5

The Carter administration installed 32 solar panels on top of the White House in 1979. GRACKED.COM Carter said, In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, effi- cient energy. The Reagan administration immediately took them down in '86. — Source

4

The Earth is misaligned with its magnetic field over the South Atlantic. GRACKED.COM The South Atlantic Anomaly is a region of space where computers crash, astronauts lose part of their vision, and a space telescope was de- stroyed by a guidance com- puter fault. — Source

3

The Delicious Monster fruit will cause severe irritation until it is 100% ripe. CRACKED.COM The outer layer of Mon- stera Deliciosa has the presence of oxalic acid (rust cleaner) unless the fruit is ripe, at which point it's safe to eat and tastes like a mix of pineapple, ba- nana, and coconut. — Source

2

Isla Fisher almost drowned while filming 'Now You See Me.' CRACKED COM Fisher was running out of air while filming the piranha tank scene and tried to swim to the top for air, but her handcuffs got snagged. The crew thought it was part of the scene, which called for her to panic. — Source

1

The FBI made up a production company to expose McDonald's Monopoly winners. PEEL HERE PEEL HERE $ $ ©2008 McDonald's CRACKED.COM The FBI went undercover to interview supposed win- ners for TV ads using the name Shamrock Produc- tions, and they drove a van with the byline Cause you're just lucky printed on the side. — Source

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