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31 Random Bits of Trivia We Found Stashed in a Shoebox in a Pensioner’s Attic

These classics are finally seeing the light of day

31 Random Bits of Trivia We Found Stashed in a Shoebox in a Pensioner’s Attic

June 11, 2024

These facts were obviously valued enough to be held onto. They could’ve been preserved a little better than the inside of an old shoebox, but we won’t fault anyone for that. We’re just happy that we found them, because stumbling upon a whole bunch of classic facts in one shot is just awesome.

Don’t get us wrong, these are worth the hustle, but picking up random facts one-by-one all day is just exhausting.

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31

Frogs are dying because of pregnancy tests. In the '50s and '60s, the African frog Xenopus laevis was used as a pregnancy test. They carry a fungus which they're resistant to, but other frogs aren't - - s so when people started to ship Xenopus around the world, the fungus began massacring other frogs. And it's still going. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford put a nod to his philosophy professor in The Last Crusade. When Indy says If it's truth you're looking for, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall, that's a reference to William Earl Tyree, Ford's old professor at Ripon College (where Ford majored in philosophy). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Africa is splitting into two continents. In a few million years, a chunk of its east side will tear off and a new ocean will pop up between the two parts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

In 2015, a cat in Florida rose from the grave. The cat got hit by a car and seemed to be dead, so it was buried. Five days, it showed up at a neighbor's house and begged for food -- it needed surgery, but it was alive and had somehow clawed its way out. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

A ghost palace has been under construction since 1985 near an English town. Hamilton Palace - bigger than Buckingham Palace - was being built for British multi-millionaire Nicholas van Hoogstraten, but it looks like it was abandoned and will never be completed. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

26

At one point, Phil Collins had probably the world's biggest private collection of Alamo relics. As a kid, he got hugely into the Disney show Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and started collecting Alamo stuff as an adult. In 2014, he donated his collection to the Alamo itself. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Nachos are probably popular thanks to a baseball announcer. To fill a silence during a 1978 game, announcer Frank Cosell started talking about the new snack he was served, nachos. Nachos entered his vocabulary, and he even using the word nacho to describe plays in the rest of the season. Не might be the person who made nachos more than just a Texas specialty. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Female swamp wallabies spend their entire adult lives pregnant. They have two uteruses, and they can begin a new pregnancy while they're already pregnant. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

23

The inventor of the weather forecast was driven to suicide by his critics. People insistently complained that Robert FitzRoy's forecasts of the weather - the first ever - were off by hours, which drove him into depression. Не retired from London to his country estate in 1865, and committed suicide not long after. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Brad Pitt took out a bit of his front teeth for Fight Club. Не went to the dentist to have his teeth chipped, so he could really look like a guy who fights all the time. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Mulan touches her hair a lot because her voice actress, Ming-Na Wen, does that. Disney animators noticed her doing that, and gave her character that habit. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Thanos creator Jim Starlin hated a Thanos homage in Avengers: Endgame. Thanos' weapon is shaped like a helicopter blade, which is a nod to the dinky Thanos helicopter that showed up in a kids' comic. Starlin tried to forget about that helicopter, so he says he'll never forgive that homage. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Creepy 'Yew' trees grow in graveyards and there is no antidote for their poison. CRACKED.COM Yew trees can live for more than 1000 years, are often found in graveyards, and have a long association with death; they're deadly poisonous to humans, with no known antidote. — Source

18

From 1860-1916, the British army required every soldier to have a mustache. GRAGKED.COM Command No. 1,695 of the King's Regulations read: The hair of the head will be kept short. The chin and the under lip will be shaved, but not the upper lip. If a soldier were to shave their mustache, he faced imprisonment. — Source

17

Handwriting lessons from the 13th century survived on a piece of birch. CRACKED.COM Onfim was a six or seven year old boy that lived in Russia during the 13th century who had written letters and drew pictures on birch bark. Onfim's notes describe life in Medieval times impartially and can be studied as social history. — Source

16

Listerine used to be sold as a cure for gonorrhea. STERINE STERINE LISTERNE LUSTERING СИЛЬНОЕ CORPAHREY до 42% ДОСЕМ БЕЛИЗНУ ЗУБОВ sonce КРЕПКИС КУБЫ до 94% - - MINI LISTERINE LISTERINE LISTERINE LISTERINE EXPERT EXPERT EXPERT СИЛЬНЫЕ ЗУБЫ ЗАЩИТА ДЕСЕН БЕЛИЗНА ЗУБОВ ЗДОРОВЫЕ ДЕСНЫ ЗАЩИТА от KAPHECA - - - - - - -- - 1 - 1 - with - Фториа AM Уничтожает боктерии - - 1 зарепления: хубина - - - - Освежает UNIVERSITY - Hote 50 - Book - БЕЗ СПЫРТА - Novo MATE 250мле CRACKED COM In the early 20th Century, a surgical antiseptic was distilled and sold — Source

15

The Chippewa thought a weasel could make use of its small size to overcome a Wendigo. CRACKED.COM The North American tribe of Chippewa believed a weasel could kill the dreaded Wendigo by rushing up its anus. This method of dispatching a strong foe was sadly not used in Avengers: Endgame, despite Ant-Man being RIGHT THERE. — Source

14

A serial killer was on, and won, an episode of The Dating Game. WG THENG GAME БАМ DAY CRACKED.COM In the midst of a three-year killing spree, serial killer Rodney Alcala was featured as a contestant on The Dating Game and was picked by the bachelorette. She never followed up on the date because she found him creepy. — Source

13

The creators of Rocky and Bullwinkle were turned away from the White House at gunpoint. Score : 269 CAUTION BIOHASARO F CRACKED.COM They started a campaign to get Moosylvania recognition as a state, and arrived at the White House and demanded to see President Kennedy. They would later learn that they arrived during the Cuban Missile Crisis. — Source

12

The fastest growing city in human history sex-centupled its population in 37 years. CRACKED.COM In 1980, Shenzhen in China had a population of 30,000. In 2017, that had sex-centupled to nearly 20 million. It is believed to be the fastest growing city in human history. — Source

11

The darkest planet ever discovered absorbs nearly all of the light that touches it. CRACKED.COM Our Milky Way is home to the darkest planet ever discovered, a distant, Jupiter-sized gas giant named TrES-2b. It reflects less than 1% of the sunlight falling on it, making it blacker than coal or any planet or moon in our solar system. — Source

10

The last working horse in the US Navy died in 1968 and was buried with full honors. His name was Dexter, and 400 sailors, officers and others attended his funeral - with, again, full military honors. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

A Komodo dragon attacked a guy in his office - it had been hiding under his desk. Не was an Indonesian park ranger, and a cleaner had left the door to his office open - so a dragon seized the opportunity. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

One guy single-handedly repopulated a butterfly species in San Fran. He's cultivated lots of the pipevine plants that are the butterflies' only food soure, which has apparently been key to his success. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Rolls-Royce created a car that was so quiet, it made drivers actually sick. Apparently, the people who had designed the 2nd-gen Rolls-Royce Ghost to be totally quiet were so successful that the result was unnatural and disconcerting - so they had to put some noise back in. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

The kudzu plant, which was spread to fight erosion, can grow one foot a day. Which is a big part of the reason why it's a pest, and why it outcompetes nearly all other plant life in the area, including grown trees. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

The Egyptians were basically known as the class clown of the Ancient world. They had such a strong reputation for cracking jokes all the time, Romans banned Egyptian lawyers from courts because their jokes disrupted the work of the court. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Neil Armstrong had a tiny piece of the 1903 Wright Flyer with him on the moon. Specifically, it was a scrap of fabric from the flyer's wing and a small chunk of its propeller, and Armstrong kept them in his suit pocket as he stepped on the moon. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

London

In 1381, English peasants revolted against the lords and sacked London. The revolt was led by a guy named Wat Tyler, and the mob beheaded the chancellor and treasurer and took over the Tower of London. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

A man named Daniel Kish went blind at 13, and taught himself to see with sound. Specifically, he uses echolocation, roughly the same method bats use - he clicks his tongue, and the echoes he hears tell him about the environment he's in. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

In Ireland, there's a monument older than Stonehenge and just as amazing. It's called Newgrange and, every year on December 21, a chamber in the structure is illuminated for 17 minutes. CRACKED.COM — Source

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