Trivia & Jokes

38 Random Bits of Trivia We Found in Our Grandmother’s Medicine Cabinet

Movies & TV

The ‘Despicable Me’ Franchise Bent Over Backwards to Show That the Minions Didn’t Assist Hitler

Science & History

Did Pirates Really Have So Many Missing Body Parts?

Movies & TV

‘The Simpsons’ Classic Rake Gag Was Created to Fill Extra Time

Movies & TV

20 Movies We Would Go Back in Time to Show People

44 Random Bits of Trivia Lovingly Crafted From a Slurry of Data

What started as a Tubby Custard-esque pink slime is now a tray of delicious, golden-brown nuggets of trivia

44 Random Bits of Trivia Lovingly Crafted From a Slurry of Data

July 01, 2024

Ken Jennings was so good at JEOPARDY! that he had to start lying.

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

44

Grover Cleveland's youngest sister was the acting US First Lady from 1885-1886. Rose Cleveland was a lesbian and had a rela- tionship with a wealthy widow named Evange- line Marrs Simpson, with explicitly erotic correspondence. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

43

The movie 'U-571' ended up being condemned in the British Parliament. The historical inaccuracies caused many controver- sies, including the fact that the Americans did not cap- ture the Enigma machine. The code had been broken years before they entered the war. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

42

'Dirty Dancing' (1987) was the first film to sell over 1 million copies for home video. It also produced 2 multi-platinum music al- bums and is responsible for boosting attendance in dance classes across America. As of 2005, the film was still selling a mil- lion DVDs per year. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

41

A mental patient named Adolf Wölfli took up drawing a 25,000 page book to calm himself. His work included a monu- mental and epic illustrated book of 45 volumes, 25,000 pages, 1,600 illus- trations, and 1,500 collag- es in which he narrated his own imaginary life story. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

40

Benito Mussolini's son was a respected Jazz musician. Romano Mussolini toured internationally with artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Helen Mer- rill and Chet Baker. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

39

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a party anthem for his friends about licking his butt. Mozart wrote the 6-Part Canon, Leck mich im Arsch, which loosely translates to Lick me in the Arse. Не also used to keep a journal detailing his farts. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

38

The Armed Forces of Colombia commissioned a pop song that secretly included a Morse code. The message was in- tended to be heard by their kidnapped mili- tary personnel, which said, 19 people res- cued, you're next. Don't lose hope. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

37

Some roads in Australia feature trivia games. The games help to coun- teract the risk of fatigue in these 'Fatigue Zones' to keep drivers alert and reduce crashes and fatali- ties on the long, feature- less roads. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

36

Every year, hundreds of fireballs erupt from the surface of the Mekong River in Thailand. Nobody knows what causes them. Locals believe a mythical ser- pent called Naga spits fire from the water. The event is known as 'Naga Fireballs.' CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

35

In the late 19th Century US it was fashionable for peoplè to form 13 Clubs. 3 They would demonstrate their lack of superstition by dining in groups of 13, walking under ladders, spilling salt at the table, etc. Several future US Pres- idents participated. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

34

Some baboons make birth control, with plums. Female baboons in the Nigerian rainforest make seasonal use of the Afri- can black plum to in- crease progesterone lev- els, which halts their re- productive cycles. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

33

Andy Kaufman demanded that his alter ego, Tony Clifton, have guest appearances on 'Taxi.' After showing up to set with 2 prostitutes, Clifton was fired. A week later, Andy showed up as if noth- ing had happened. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

32

Potato sprout,s can be dangerous. Sprouts that come out of old potatoes are poisonous and can cause an array of symptoms ranging from vomiting to ра- ralysis. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

31

Government agents mistook James Caan as an aspiring mobster during the production of The Godfather. During production, James Caan used to hang out with Carmine Persico, a.k.a. The Snake, who was a notorious Mafioso and later head of the Co- lombo crime family. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

30

An American pepper trading ship was attacked off the Island of Sumatra in 1831. The village locals killed 3 and plundered the ship (named 'Friendship'). In re- italiation, Andrew Jackson sent a warship all the way back to Sumatra to destroy the village the attackers were from. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

29

There was one man that served in both the US and Soviet armies during World War 2. Joseph Beyrle took part in the D-Day landings, was cap- tured, escaped, and joined a Soviet tank battalion soon after. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

28

Taco John's owns the term Taco Tuesday. They have issued hun- dreds of cease and desist letters demanding com- panies stop holding Taco Tuesdays, which we feel goes against the spirit of the event. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

27

An Irish woman was accused of being a changeling and murdered by her husband. Bridget Cleary was mur- dered by her husband in 1895 after he stated that she had been abducted by fairies with a changeling left in her place. Не claimed to have slain only the changeling. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

26

The mayor of Chicago bulldozed the runway of a downtown airport in the middle of the night in 2003. Richard Daley illegally made the space to create a park. This stranded 16 planes on the ground and required an inbound flight to be divert- ed. The FAA fined the city $33,000, the maximum al- lowed at that time. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

25

The world pours more steel every hour than gold since the beginning of recorded history. 6666 SZO 92 JULLA SOGE Gold is so rare that every ounce that has ever been mined can fit into three Olympic swimming pools. However, there is enough gold in Earth's core to coat its entire surface to a depth of 1.5 feet. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

24

Unfortunately for some of the most overdone stand-up premises around, eggs do have a link to Easter. Adopted from Ukrainian pysanka, cracking the egg symbolizes both the opening of Jesus' tomb and rebirth. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Axis POWs during WWII were placed in a mansion bugged with listening devices. CRACKED.COM The British let Axis prison- ers live in luxury in Trent Park, while listening to their conversations. The program produced a lot of intel for the Allies, such as the location of a V2 rocket facility. — Source

22

Norse Paganism is the fastest growing and largest non-Christian religion in Iceland. CRACKED.COM In the year 1000, Christian- ity was adopted as the na- tional religion of Iceland by Alpingi, the Viking-age commonwealth parliament of Iceland. 1,000 years lat- er and Paganism is making a comeback. — Source

21

Ken Jennings won so many games of Jeopardy that he had to start fabricating anecdotes to tell. CRACKED.COM Superchampion and even- tual host Jennings won so many games during his ini- tial streak that he admitted to fabricating anecdotes just so that he would have something to chat about with Alex Trebek. — Source

20

The only uninterrupted audio recording of the 9/11 attack is from an undercover operation. CRACKED.COM The recording comes from an FBI informant that secretly wore a wire to breakfast with a city official suspected of brib- ery, meeting the suspect at the WTC Marriott. — Source

19

The oldest person to sign the Declaration of Independence was Benjamin Franklin, at 70 years old. Which is almost as cool as if he'd signed it one year earlier. Nice. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

It would be no exaggeration to call the disaster at Chernobyl power plant one of history's greatest whoopsies. It released 400 times more radioactive material into the atomsphere than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

The province of British Columbia in Canada is absolutely massive, covering about 365,000 square miles. In fact, the single province of British Columbia is larger than 85% of the countries in the world. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

The BMW 507 two-door convertible sold so poorly it almost bankrupted BMW entirely in 1959. BMW 507 Only around 250 were made, and today they fetch a pretty price. To the tune of over $2 million at auction. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The oldest known Homo Sapiens is over 30,000 years older than we thought. CRACKED.COM A total of eight sites in Africa have yielded possible early anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils from the late Middle Pleistocene, approxi- mately 350-130 thousand years ago. — Source

14

A thief escaped in America in 1770 and successfully convinced everyone she was royalty. GRACKED.COM Sarah Wilson was exiled to America and used items she previously bur- gled from the Queen as props to convince people she was Princess Susanna Caroline Matilda. — Source

13

Animation code from Frozen was used to solve a 63 year old, erm, 'cold' case. CRACKED.COM The Dyatlov Pass incident left nine Russian hikers dead in 1959. Engineers recently relied on animation codes in Frozen to prove a long- standing theory that an ava- lanche resulted in the deaths of the nine hikers. — Source

12

Over 100 workers died in a fire because the factory owners kept all the exit doors locked. MARRICA BLUM CLOTHING SPECIALISTS 2352 HARRY BRGS MENS CEOTHING A NEVERS CLEARS SUITE GRAGKED.COM The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 killed 146 garment workers, all because the owners kept the doors locked to pre- vent theft and unauthorized breaks. The owners made about $400 per worker from the in- surance payout. — Source

11

Almost half of Alaska's population is located in a single city: Anchorage, Alaska. Prices And if it ever starts to get overcrowded, well, the good news is: they've got plenty of space to spread out. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Many today think of the xylophone as the instrument of grade-school music class and dancing skeletons. But it was a very popular instrument in ragtime music... which is now mostly played by ice cream trucks. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

The Ancient Greeks believed that the scent of thyme gave those who smelled it courage. ЭФФЕКТИВНАЯ COBPEMIE VISA I how - - - - The greek word thumos means bravery, and it's from this word that thyme got its name. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Because of their highly sensitive skin, salamanders are used by scientists to estimate pollution severity. Salamander population levels can provide a good idea of the general health of an environment. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

A 13th century judge was skinned alive for taking a bribe and passing an unfair sentence. CRACKED COM The flesh of Sisamnes was made into leather and draped over the chair in which the next judge would sit - his son, Otanes. This reminded every judge that would sit in the chair of their judicial duties. — Source

6

Dishonored WWII Servicemen are buried in a hidden cemetery plot. VISITORS ROOM с A SERVICE AREA MUSEUM CEAPEL D II GRAGKED.COM 94 US WWII Servicemen executed by the US Mili- tary are buried in Plot E of the Oise Aisne American Cemetery in France. Hedg- es hide it from view, no US flag is permitted to fly over it. — Source

5

The first batteries ever created could be over 2,000 years old. 14cm GRAGKED.COM In 1938 twelve jars with copper cylinders and iron rods were found in Iraq. The jars when combined with grape juice produce approximately 1 volt of electricity. — Source

4

The topic of the first ever radio communication on board an aircraft in flight was a cat. GRAGKED.COM In 1910, Kiddo the cat snuck on board an airship, and ended up traveling with the ship during its entire 71-hour journey. Kiddo was adopted by the daughter of one of the airmen. — Source

3

In olympic gymnastics, women are required to have music for their floor routines, while it's banned for men. Which means outdated gender norms are the reason we can't watch guys doing flips to Smash Mouth. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Completed in 1884, the Washington Monument remains the world's tallest obelisk today. Though part of that may be due to a massive decline in people's interest in building large obelisks. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

You're likely aware of his baseball legacy, but did you know Jackie Robinson co-founded a bank? Addes Freedom National Bank was founded in 1964, and continued operations until the recession of 1990. CRACKED.COM — Source

Tags:

Visual

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

Science & History

Here’s What Revolutionary War Soldiers Were Eating on July 4, 1776

Movies & TV

Kristen Wiig Was Neck-and-Neck With Kailtin Olson for the Part of Dee on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

Movies & TV

30 Random Bits of Nostalgic Trivia That Have Aged Like a Fine Ecto Cooler

Science & History

9 Deeply Disgusting Casseroles

Science & History

4 Tricks Victims Used to Fool Their Captors

Movies & TV

The Passage From Paul Shaffer’s Book We’re Pretty Sure He Wants Back

VIRAL ON CRACKED

1

13 Prices We Didn't Know We Wanted To Know

2

22 Bizarre, Real Demands Made By Celebrities Behind-The-Scenes

3

32 of the Funniest Tweets from Tuesday, July 2, 2024

4

21 Powerful People Who Said Totally Dumb Things

5

35 Trivia Tidbits About Fast Food