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40 Random Bits of Trivia to Gulp Into Your Head and Filter Through Your Brain Baleen

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40 Random Bits of Trivia to Gulp Into Your Head and Filter Through Your Brain Baleen

June 03, 2024

You slurp up a whole lot of data throughout the day. Just make sure you’re using your humongous brain tongue to shove out all the dumb content through your baleen, and consume only the good stuff.

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40

Game Boy

A conspiracy theory exists that says the creator of the Game Boy was murdered by the Yakuza. + SELECT START VIRTUALBOY. As the story goes, Nin- tendo's President Gun- pei Yokoi hired the Yakuza to murder Gun- pei Yokoi for the fail- ure of the Nintendo Virtual Boy. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

39

The most decorated WWI veteran from Texas was an undocumented Mexican immigrant. When the Army realized that Marcelino Serna was a Mexican national, he was offered a dis- charge. Serna, however, chose to stay with his new friends. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

38

Pet and feral cats kill more birds than buildings. Up to 1 billion birds are killed per year in collisions with buildings, but Mr. Whiskers the tabby puts all the high rises and sky- scrapers to shame with his hunting skills. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

37

Snooki

Purse makers sent Snooki their competitor's products. Various fashion houses engaged in preemptive product placement or unbranding, by sending the Jersey Shore star new purses from their competitors' collection. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

36

George Washington

George Washington's farewell party was a rager. According to the bar tab, the 55 attendees drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, 8 of whiskey, 22 of Porter, 8 of hard cider, 12 of beer, and 7 bowls of alcoholic punch. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

35

JFK

During the 1960 campaign, John F. Kennedy's opponents said he had Addison's disease. His doctors released a cleverly worded statement saying that he did not have Addison's disease caused by tuberculosis, and the matter was dropped. Не did have it, caused by a rare autoimmune disease. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

34

Nearly half of the world's twins are born in Africa. The small West Afri- can nation of Benin has the highest con- centration of twins in the world while Japan has the low- est rate of twins. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

33

The U.S. Air Force

Operation Christmas Drop is an air force training exercise running since 1952. The US Air Force drops presents and supplies in Micronesia, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. This is the longest running humanitarian air- lift in the world. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

32

Voltaire teamed up with a mathematician to exploit a loophole in the French lottery. The government shelled out massive prizes for the contest each month, but an error in calculation meant that the payouts were larg- er than the value of all the tickets in circulation. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

31

Samuel Caldwell was the first person in America to be arrested for selling marijuana. Не was arrested in 1937 for selling two joints and was sentenced to a $1000 fine and four years of hard la- bor. This happened in Den- ver, Colorado, one of the first US states to legalize marijuana. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

30

Eleven days before the 9/11 attacks, Marvel introduced a character named Jihad. Jihad is an extra-dimen- sional magic-wielder who seeks to conquer all other dimensions. Не kind of looks like if Shrek wished to become a Genie at the end of Aladdin. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

29

Simulating lightning strikes can lead to an increase in mushroom numbers, and size. By using a Small Popula- tion Lightning Generator that runs on AA batteries, Japanese researchers were able to wheel the device through the forest, admin- istering 50kV electric puls- es to the ground. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

28

Seven women are the direct ancestors of 95% of people with European origins. Nearly all European men and women were de- scended from just seven females who lived be- tween 10,000 and 45,000 years ago, referred to as The Seven Daughters of Eve. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

27

No Rubik's Cube is farther than 20 moves from being solved. Every solver of the Cube uses an algorithm, which is a sequence of steps for solving the Cube. Every position of Rubik's Cube can be solved in twenty moves or less. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

26

The NFL

The NFL was a non-profit organization until 2015. NFL - The League voluntarily gave up their non-profit stance, which enabled them to avoid paying tax- es, to gain an extra layer of secrecy about their inner financial workings. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

25

Daisy Ridley acted in an interactive CPR video before becoming famous. The star of the Star Wars sequels was featured in Lifesaver, a free, interac- tive course that gave com- puter users choices that af- fected the outcome of a re- alistic emergency situa- tion. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

24

A man in a homemade Spider-Man costume climbed the Sears Tower with suction cups. Alain Goodwin was arrested at the top after the sev- en-hour climb and was later charged with trespassing. Goodwin did the climb to call attention to shortcom- ings in high-rise rescue and firefighting techniques. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

23

Charles Dickens was born during a little Ice Ag,e. Although not a true Ice Age, the 16th to 19th cen- turies entered a cold peri- od, which explains why it snowed on the first of Dickens' 8 Christmases, hence the white Christ- mas tradition. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

22

21

Antarctica

Lake Don Juan in Antarctica never freezes. Despite temperatures as low as -58 degrees Fahr- enheit, the high salinity of the lake keeps the wa- ter liquid. It's actually the saltiest lake on the plan- et. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

20

Russian Rivers

Russia bombed their Sukhona River in winter to break up the ice. CRACKED COM The ice dams that form in the harsh winters can cause the river to overflow, endangering 4,500 people living nearby. Two Su-34 Fullback tactical bomb- ers were ordered to bomb the dam every hour. — Source

19

A B-52 bomber can have its engine kickstarted with explosive cartridges. CRACKED.COM The explosives can be in- serted into the bomber's engines to get them up and running more quickly if needed. The cart start reduces takeoff time from about an hour down to ten minutes. — Source

18

Pretty Woman

The original ending of Pretty Woman was much darker. CRACKED COM Originally titled 3,000, the movie ended with Julia Rob- erts' character being tossed out of a limo into a dirty alley and thrown $3,000 in cash. The screenplay changed when Disney took over pro- duction. — Source

17

The underbelly membrane of lobsters is as tough as industrial rubber. CRACKED.COM It is the toughest material of all natural hydrogels, includ- ing collagen, animal skins, and natural rubber. The membrane is about as strong as the rubber used to make car tires, garden hoses, and conveyor belts. — Source

16

Battleship

Russian officers played the game Battleship before WWI. CRACKED.COM The game dates back to the turn of the 20th cen- tury, where it was played with just paper and pen. A version using plastic pegs wasn't created until 1967. — Source

15

Iceland is split between the Eurasian and North American plate. CRACKED.COM Although Iceland is considered political- ly as part of Europe, it is geographically North American and European at the same time. — Source

14

The Hulk

Not even Stan Lee knew how the Hulk's pants stay on. CRACKED.COM Lee liked to work science into all of his stories, but the Hulk's miraculous inde- structible pants were the only time he never had a clue how the exact science behind it worked. — Source

13

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen was offered the leading role of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. CRACKED.COM McQueen declined since he couldn't cry on cue. Steven Spiel- berg offered to remove the scene but McQueen said it was the best part of the film. — Source

12

Finnish people receive a top hat and a sword when completing their doctoral degrees. CRACKED.COM The sword comes with a scabbard, a black or golden scab- bard holder and the golden emblem of the University. — Source

11

A drunk person shot a hole in the Alaskan oil pipeline. 562 CRACKED.COM Clean up involved digging ditches and holes to cap- ture the oil, which was be- ing vacuumed into trucks. Daniel Carson Lewis had to pay for the $17 million cleanups and received 16 years in jail. — Source

10

Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper launched his journalist career by forging a press pass. CRACKED.COM After college, Cooper forged a pass and gained entrance to Myanmar to meet with students fight- ing the Burmese govern- ment. Не ultimately sold his home-made news seg- ments to Channel One. — Source

9

Eminem

Eminem sued iTunes for deductions on digital download royalties. CRACKED.COM In the early days of iTunes, Universal Music Group deducted artist's iTunes royalties for costs such as packaging and breakages on digital downloads. — Source

8

No one noticed Chile misspelled their own name on their 50 peso coins. CRACKED.COM Chile printed a number of 50 peso coins in 2008 that misspelled the name of their country as Chiie. No one noticed until 2009, at which point the director of the Mint lost his job. — Source

7

6

Roly Polies help decompose metal in the soil. GRACKED COM They are capable of taking in heavy metals such as copper, zinc, lead, and cadmium and crystallize these into spherical deposits in the midgut. — Source

5

Birds living in cities perform a type of avian rap that their rural counterparts don't. CRACKED.COM City birds also sing at a higher pitch and will try out different song types. Experts say city birds have adapted to counter back- ground noise and increase their chances of finding a mate. — Source

4

Peter Pan is the only UK copyright that has been extended in perpetuity. CRACKED COM This means Great Or- mond Street Hospital can receive royalties forever. This has earned it the name The Copyright which never grows up. — Source

3

Fireworks are totally illegal in Florida but are sold to ordinary people in huge quantities. CRACKED.COM Hundreds of stores across the state sell to anyone who signs a waiver saying they are for agricultural use to scare birds away from crops. — Source

2

Bank Robberies

America's First Bank Robbery was nearly the perfect crime. DAY GRACKED COM $162,821 ($3.8 million to- day) had been taken from vaults of the Bank of Penn- sylvania in 1798. The cul- prit Isaac Davis was caught because he deposited the money back into the same bank. — Source

1

Butt plugs were sold as a cure for insanity. CRACKED.COM Dr. Young, of Dr. Young's Ide- al Rectal Dilators, wrote claiming that at least three-fourths of all the howling maniacs of the world were curable in a few weeks' time by the applica- tion of orificial methods. — Source

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