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40 Lab-Grown Bits of Trivia That Have Almost the Same Taste and Texture As the Real Thing

June 30, 2024

Sometimes you don’t have to be fast to win the Olympics, you just have to be smart.

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40

The first Zildjian cymbals were created in 1618. Avedis Zildjian CRACKED.COM Avedis Zildjian was an alche- mist who was looking for a way to turn base metal into gold. Не made an alloy of tin, copper, and silver into a sheet of metal, which could make musical sounds with- out shattering. — Source

39

Nashville is referred to as the Athens of the South because of its public schools. GRACKED.COM It was the first American southern city to establish a public school system in the 1850s, and the nickname has nothing to do with its full-size replica of the Par- thenon. — Source

38

The Solenopsis daguerrei ant will take over a fire ant colony by impersonating their queen. GRACKED.COM The workers raise the im- postor's children, which then fly off to infest more colonies. These ants are being considered as a via- ble biological deterrent to control the spread of fire ants. — Source

37

A dentist named Edgar Parker legally changed his first name to Painless. GRAGKED.COM Не changed his name when he was accused of break- ing a false advertising law by claiming that his den- tistry was truly painless. The ADA called him a menace to the dignity of the profession. — Source

36

The Rabbit scene in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' is based on a carving in the Notre Dame Cathedral. CRACKED.COM The Notre Dame de Paris features a carving of a knight fleeing from a rab- bit, which illustrates cow- ardice, and is appropri- ately titled, The Allego- ry of Cowardice. — Source

35

ESPN launched a sport centered phone called Mobile ESPN in 2005. ESPI CRACKED.COM It cost $300 for the phone itself, and between $65 and $225 per month for content. Steve Jobs called it, The dumbest f*cking idea I have ever heard. It failed miserably. — Source

34

An FBI agent became friends with the ex-KGB agent he was monitoring. DEPARTMENT FEDERAL BUREAU FIDELITY BRAVERY OF OF INTEGRITY INVESTIGATION JUSTICE CRACKED.COM Former KGB agent Jack Barsky lived in the US and the FBI monitored him for three years from the house next door. Не later became close friends with the FBI agent, who is now godfa- ther to Barsky's child. — Source

33

Adrenaline addicts in France can pay to be kidnapped. CRACKED.COM In these kidnap packages, they are bundled away, bound and gagged, and kept incarcerated for four hours. Clients have no idea when the kidnappers will strike in order to maximize the surprise. — Source

32

Roberto Goizueta was the first person to become a billionaire by being an employee first and not a company founder. GRAGKED.COM The former CEO of Coca-Cola transformed the once-floun- dering soda maker into one of the world's richest corporate franchises. Не died from lung cancer, and had spent the last two weeks of his life working from his hospital room. — Source

31

A man attempted to board a cruise ship by bungee jumping off a bridge as it sailed below. CRACKED.COM William Dean Sullivan suf- fered minor head injuries when he bounced off the ship's tennis court, volley- ball net, and a deck railing before being left dangling in mid-air as the ship sailed away. — Source

30

Motor Oil

Used motor oil was sprayed onto dirt roads in Times Beach, Missouri to curb a dust problem. CRACKED.COM The motor oil had been mixed with an- other chemical called dioxin, leading to one of the largest environ- mental disasters in U.S history. — Source

29

People instinctively start to burrow in the final stages of hypothermia. CRACKED COM Humans exhibit two strange behaviors at this time; para- doxical undressing, despite being dangerously close to death, and a completely au- tonomous, instinctual bur- rowing behavior. — Source

28

Mental Disorders

There is a disorder where a person is under the delusion they are a cow. CRACKED.COM A person suffering from bo- anthropy usually has dreams that take over as full-blown delusion. King Nebuchad- nezzar, according to the Book of Daniel, was said to be driven from men and did eat grass as oxen. — Source

27

There is only one person alive who knows how to spin yarn from clam saliva. GRACKED.COM Sea silk is a highly prized unique material made from Mediterranean clams. Chi- ara Vigo of Italy is the last person that can process the raw material, made from the solidified saliva of large clams. — Source

26

Trash and dirty laundry from the ISS is put into a nonreusable spacecraft and burned in our atmosphere. CRACKED.COM Supplies are sent to the ISS via unmanned Progress ships, which are only good for a one-way trip. These ships are then loaded up with garbage and un- docked, so they burn up over the Pacific Ocean. — Source

25

The protein that gives cats extra toes is named Sonic Hedgehog. CRACKED COM Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) is a signaling protein normally made by cells on just the pinky side of the develop- ing foot. As the toes form, their number and identity depend on their exposure to SHH protein. — Source

24

The clearest lake in the world is the Blue Lake located in Nelson, New Zealand. GRACKED COM Visibility in the lake is up to 80 meters meaning the water is considered almost as optically clear as dis- tilled water. — Source

23

World War II

A Chinese-American pilot was chased with a pitchfork in Kansas during WWII. CRAGKED.COM Hazel Ying-Lee had to make an emergency landing in a field. A near- by farmer chased her screaming to his neigh- bors that the Japanese were invading. — Source

22

Revolvers

In 1938, a revolver-camera was invented to take a picture when the trigger was pulled. 26913 GRACKED.COM There's no evidence that this gun was actually put to use other than for trial photo shoots and practice runs. The only known sur- viving photos come from the 'Nationaal Archief of the Netherlands.' — Source

21

A concert was held 303 meters below sea level in 2006. CRACKED.COM In 2006, Katie Melua gave a concert at 303 meters below sea level in one of the legs of the Troll A oil rig, earning a Guinness re- cord for deepest under- water concert. — Source

20

The Minnesota Vikings are the only NFL team to have an actual human as their mascot. your 71 - - 69 5 McKINNON 65 89 19 14 21 CRACKED.COM His name is Ragnar. The actor, Hub Meeds, asked to become the mascot after being ac- cidentally let onto the field by security during Super Bowl IV. — Source

19

Bataan Death March

American and Filipino soldiers walked the Bataan Death March during WWII. CRACKED.COM The Japanese made the soldiers march 60 miles, with little to no food or water, while subjected to physical abuse. Thousands of soldiers died. — Source

18

An Australian speed skater won gold by playing it safe at the 2002 Winter Olympics. CRACKED.COM Knowing he was the slowest competitor, speed skater Steven Bradbury cruised behind and simply avoided group crashes in both the semifinal and final. — Source

17

North and South Dakota are different states because they couldn't agree on where the capital should be. GRACKED COM After controversy over the lo- cation of a capital, the Dako- ta Territory was split in two and divided in 1889. Later that year, North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union as the 39th and 40th states. — Source

16

The last murder in Liechtenstein was in 2014. CRACKED COM The average citizen doesn't even lock their door because of the significantly low crime rate. 300 Swiss and Austrian police were drafted in 2004 to assist in the event that the country was victorious over England in the Euro Cup. — Source

15

Settlements of 20 to 46 thousand inhabitants were established in 4000 В.С. CRACKED.COM The Tripolye culture, cen- tered around the modern Moldova in Eastern Europe, built the largest settle- ments in the world at that time. Cities of this size only reappeared in Meso- potamia a Millennium later. — Source

14

It takes the average woman 4.6 times longer to get bored of shopping than a man. GRACKED.COM A study has shown that an average male gets bored on a shop- ping trip after just 26 minutes while an aver- age woman tires after around two hours. — Source

13

The Amazon River was named after the warrior women of Greek legend. CRACKED COM The first European to ex- plore the Amazon, in 1541, Conquistador Francisco de Orellana was defeated by a few tribes of women, thus naming it after the fa- mous Amazons. — Source

12

Abraham Lincoln's son was present at or nearby during the assassinations of three U.S presidents. CRACKED.COM After the third assassi- nation, President Wil- liam McKinley's, Rob- ert Todd Lincoln vowed to never accept another presidential invite. — Source

11

The American mafia was involved in CIA attempts to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. CRACKED.COM The CIA supplied six poison pills to mob leaders Sam Giancana and Santo Trafficante, Jr., who were unsuc- cessful in placing Cas- tro's food. — Source

10

NJ is the only state where a casino cannot throw out blackjack players from counting cards. CRACKED.COM Despite it being common practice for casinos to ban card counters, a 1979 New Jersey Supreme Court decision banned all Atlantic City casinos from doing so. — Source

9

The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man-made structure on Earth for 3,871 years. GRAGKED COM The pyramid was eventually outdone when the Lincoln Cathedral in England was finished in 1311. Egypt's руг- amids were the tallest structures on the planet for nearly 4,000 years. — Source

8

There was a pallet tower designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument in California. CRACKED.COM The Tower of Wooden Pallets was a structure of discarded wooden pallets built by Dan- iel Van Meter located in Sher- man Oaks, California. It is now replaced by an apart- ment building. — Source

7

There is a genetic reason some people don't like broccoli. CRACKED COM There is a gene called TAS2R38 and it partic- ularly determines how much you like certain vegetables like Brus- sels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli. — Source

6

Archer

The country album made for fictional character Cheryl on 'Archer' reached #68 on iTunes. CRACKED.COM Bored with the show, the creator wrote a Country music career for Cheryl in season 5 and went so far as to re- cord a full country al- bum named Cherlene. — Source

5

Hot Fuzz

The 'Hot Fuzz' character Simon Skinner was written for a Timothy Dalton type before he signed on. WORLD CRACKED.COM Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright wrote the character before thinking to ask Dal- ton himself to be in the film. To their surprise, Dal- ton had loved Shaun of the Dead and signed on for the role. — Source

4

There's an old school chain letter in an episode of 'Black Mirror! CRACKED.COM In Black Mirror's Playtest episode, there's a contract which says If you have paused to read this, you will die unless you forward it onto five people within a 28 day period. — Source

3

A massive solar flare in 2012 barely missed earth, by mere days. CRACKED.COM Had it hit, the power grid would likely have failed, causing unprecedented devastation. Scientists re- cently determined that it was of similar magnitude as the 1859 Carrington Event. — Source

2

40,000 tons of apples are stored under the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. CRACKED.COM The cool, dark conditions of the network of aban- doned mines running throughout the Dolomites just right for storing fresh produce as they act like a huge chiller. — Source

1

Global Volatility

Volatility of the world is measured in the World Peace and Stability Index. CNN NEWSROOM LIVE CRACKED.COM It is calculated as the num- ber of times CNN repeats a tape. Zero indicates a tur- bulent world with a lot of disturbing events going on in various parts. Canada is doing great, America not so much. — Source

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