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Facts for a fresh start

31 Random Bits of Trivia That Are Like Bleach for Those Unsightly Dumb Spots in Your Brain

June 30, 2024

Quick, the facts are coming over. It’s time for a quick brain tidy, so they don’t think you’re a complete slob. Throw all the myths, misconceptions and dusty old half-truths in a closet, and give those little brain folds a wipe down. You better do it quickly before you the first fact arrives.

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31

The Pinkerton agency tried to sue the makers of Red Dead Redemption 2. Shortly after RDR2 came out, the historical detective agency sent Take-Two Interactive a cease-and-desist letter, demanding a slice of the profits for their appearance in the game (while complaining about being made out to be baddies). The suit was eventually dropped. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Friends was almost destroyed by Coca-Cola. For Friends second season, Coca-Cola spent $30 million to promote Diet Coke with the help of the hip twenty-somethings. The campaign was huge - so huge, in fact, that people got sick of seeing the characters everywhere, and rankings plummeted. (They got better, though.) let CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Jazz was considered a health hazard. In the 1920s and '30s, many communities banned jazz on the grounds that it was allegedly a threat to public health. Rulings were enacted blaming the music for all kinds of calamities, ranging from mental breakdowns to spontaneous miscarriages. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Rainforests aren't the Earth's lungs. There are many good reasons to protect rainforests, but oxygen just isn't one of them. When you tally up the entire ecosystem (animals included), forests actually consume more oxygen than they produce. Most of the oxygen you breathe comes from algae in the ocean, not trees. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Star Wars rips off French comics. If you're familiar with Moebius, or with Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières' Valérian and Laureline, you might have noticed that Star Wars borrows heavily from them. Mézières in particular claimed to be dazzled, jealous and angry about the whole thing. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

CRACKED.COM Keanu Reeves was in an awful movie because someone forged his signature. Keanu never signed up to play a serial killer in 2000's The Watcher - but some friend signed up for him. Keanu couldn't prove that wasn't his signature on the contract, so he was forced to make a movie he wanted nothing to do with. — Source

25

CRACKED.COM Spider-Man basically invented the Power Rangers. As you probably know, Spider-Man has a giant robot in the Japanese series from the 1970s. As it turns out, giant transforming robots were a new thing back then, and Spider-Man's success convinced Japan to try it in other shows - eventually leading to Power Rangers. — Source

24

Half of all sloths die while pooping. Sloths are permanently constipated - they only poop once a week, losing up to one-third of their body weight in each bowel movement. And for some reason they always do it on the ground, where predators can get to them. Up to half of all sloths are eaten while going to the bathroom. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

CRACKED RED IS THE FIRST COLOR A BABY CAN SEE. This development happens a few weeks after birth and by 5 months they can see the full spectrum of colors. — Source

22

CRACKED CRABS TASTE THROUGH THEIR FEET. Their taste buds are actually little hairs that live on their feet and pinchers. — Source

21

CRACKED TOMATOES ARE THE MOST CONSUMED FRUIT IN THE WORLD. They beat the next most consumed fruit, Bananas, by more than 65 million tonnes. — Source

20

CRACKED THE ROARS IN THE LION KING WERE ACTUALLY TIGERS. Turns out that lions' roars weren't loud enough to be used in the film. — Source

19

Walt Disney

CRACKED WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT IS AROUND THE SAME SIZE AS SAN FRANCISCO. At 43 square miles, that makes it twice the size of manhattan. — Source

18

CRACKED IT WOULD ONLY TAKE AN HOUR TO DRIVE TO SPACE IN A CAR. This assumes the car has the ability to drive straight upwards at 60 miles per hour. Using the same logic, it would take about 6 months to reach the moon. — Source

17

Dreams

CRACKED OLDER PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO DREAM IN BLACK AND WHITE. The leading theory behind this is that older people had less exposure to color television. As of 2008, 12 percent of people reported dreaming in black and white- in the 1940s that number was 75%. — Source

16

CRACKED SPIDER'S SILK IS 5 TIMES STRONGER THAN STEEL. It's also 1000 times thinner than human hair. — Source

15

CRACKED VATICAN CITY IS THE SMALLEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. The Pope's country, located in the middle of Italy, is 1/8 the size of New York City's Central Park. — Source

14

Beetles

CRACKED THERE ARE MORE SPECIES OF BEETLE THAN ANY OTHER ANIMAL. picture-alliancerdpark Thiem There are over 400,000 species of beetles- which, on their own, makes up a quarter of all species on earth. — Source

13

Shakespeare

CRACKED DREAMT IS THE ONLY ENGLISH WORD THAT ENDS WITH MT. The word was popularized as the past tense for dream by Shakespeare in the 14th century. — Source

12

CRACKED REGULAR SODA CANS SINK IN WATER WHILE DIET SODA FLOATS. Sprite cranberry ave This is due to the mass difference in aspartame versus sugar. — Source

11

CRACKED CRICKET CHIRPS CAN MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE. For fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and add 40 to get the temperature. — Source

10

CRACKED THE ONLY MAMMALS THAT CAN FLY ARE BATS. The confusingly named flying squirrels can actually only glide for short distances. — Source

9

CRACKED THE LARGEST GIZA PYRAMID WEIGHS AS MUCH AS 16 EMPIRE STATE BUILDINGS. It is also the only surviving wonder of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. — Source

8

Jesus is buried in Japan (or so some Japanese believe). According to local legend in the village of Shingo, Jesus (or Daitenky Taro Jurai) didn't die on the cross - he schlepped over to Japan instead, where he got married, had a bunch of kids, and died at the ripe age of 106. If you are ever in Shingo, you can visit his burial site. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

6

Weed boomed during lockdown. It isn't surprising that the marijuana business reached a record high (ahem) during a stressful time. States where pot is legal saw sales skyrocket in 2020. More people started growing their own weed as well, seeing as how they were home now (and had no money to buy any). CRACKED.COM — Source

5

CRACKED.COM Blackface is still a thing in the movie stunt industry. It would be unthinkable today for a male actor to put on a wig to portray a woman, or for a white person to play a black person in blackface - but it happens among stunt performers. Both wigging and painting down have been fought for decades, but are still common. — Source

4

DC created their own Robin rip-off (because of cookies). An anti-drug issue of Teen Titans sponsored by Keebler (yes, it was the '80s) was already fully drawn, when they realized that Robin was licensed to rival cookie company Nabisco. So they drew a new costume on Robin and turned him into a different character, the Protector. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

CRACKED.COM Pitbull has trademarked his yell. You know that EEEYOOO! that is Pitbull's trademark? It turns out it's his actual trademark-you are not allowed to use it. The rapper managed to get legal protection for his signature yell in 2019. — Source

2

Pet Massacre During World War II

CLOSED SUNDAYS NCDL UNWANTED ANIMALS Clinic HUMANELY DESTROYED more open SUPPORTED ever VO The Blitz resulted CO in a pet massacre. In 1939, with the war looming, the British government created a committee to advise pet owners - and their recommendation was, it really is the kindest to have them destroyed. With the threat of bombings and starvation, over 750,000 pets were put down. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Movie Terms

CRACKED.COM High-concept movie doesn't mean what you think it means. A movie isn't called high-concept because it's supposed to be deep or artsy (or because you have to be high to watch it). It just means that the premise is easily summarized, making for a concise, quick pitch. Jaws, for example, is shark terrorizes town. — Source

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