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36 Random Bits of Trivia to Spout Off During a Toast at Your Next Wedding or Wake

Today we raise our glass to all the fact lovers out there

36 Random Bits of Trivia to Spout Off During a Toast at Your Next Wedding or Wake

July 30, 2024

You know the old saying, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?” That’s us in a nutshell. We’ve been to countless weddings over the years, but we’ve always been a little too fact-focused to settle down ourselves. We think that we get invited to so many weddings because we always spout a few facts during our speeches.

So let’s toast the happy couple. May they always find happiness while spending four months of their lives waiting at red lights. Cheers!

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

36

The Earth might be kind of small, but it's more massive than you might think. The mass of the Earth is greater than the combined masses of the Moon, Mars, Venus, Pluto, and Mercury. CRACKED.COM — Source

35

In 1524, Spain created a settlement close to Jamestown's site. It failed a few years later, though - - long before Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement on the continent, was founded in 1602. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

In 1999, the Philippines blamed 50 tons of jellyfish for a massive blackout. Apparently, according to the authorities, the giant quantities of jellyfish got sucked into a power plant's seawater intake, so the entire plant failed. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Just like humans, koalas have thumbs - - that way, they can climb better. But, unlike humans, they have four thumbs -- two on each paw. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

The ВСЕ/СЕ dating system is about one thousand years old. It was created some 500 years after Year о, or the birth of Christ, and it only got accepted 500 years after that - so, as a relatively widely used system, it's about one millennium old. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Apparently, running on wheels is something rodents just love to do. Even wild rodents love it -- it turns out that wild mice that come across wheels out in nature happily run on them, just for the fun of it. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

29

Sugar was a key reason the slave trade kept going as long as it did. Sugary beverages were super popular in the 18th century, and harvesting and purifying sugar cane was done with slave labor. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

All the house interior scenes in Home Alone were actually shot in a gym. They just built the whole thing in a high school gym - apparently, using a real house wouldn't have provided enough space for a film to move around in properly. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Apple Seeds

CRACKED APPLE SEEDS ARE POISONOUS. Amygdalin is a compound found in apple seeds, and it is poisonous to humans. However, it would take around 40 apples to produce enough seeds for a fatal dose. — Source

26

CRACKED A POPPED CHAMPAGNE CORK CAN TRAVEL UP TO 50 MILES PER HOUR. The reason for this is that the pressure inside a bottle of champagne is around three times that of an average car tire. — Source

25

CRACKED THE OLDEST KNOWN DOOR IN EUROPE WAS UNEARTHED IN SWITZERLAND. Tree rings suggest the door was made in 3063 BCE - around the time of Stonehenge. — Source

24

CRACKED THE OLDEST KNOWN JOKE IS A FART JOKE. It was made in Sumeria around 1900 ВСЕ. — Source

23

CRACKED FIGS ARE BELIEVED TO BE THE OLDEST FRUIT CULTIVATED BY HUMANS. They were introduced to our agriculture systems over 11,000 years ago. — Source

22

CRACKED YOU HAVE ABOUT 100,000 HAIRS ON YOUR HEAD. Blonde people average the most amount of hair, while redheads average the least. — Source

21

CRACKED HINDUISM IS THE WORLD'S OLDEST SURVIVING RELIGION. It is over 4,000 years old, and is currently the third largest religion behind Christianity and Islam. — Source

20

CRACKED THE LARGEST ORGANISM IN THE WORLD IS A FUNGUS THAT COVERS OVER 2,200 ACRES. It is located in Oregon, and is anywhere from 2,400 to 8,650 years old. — Source

19

CRACKED THE WORLD'S FIRST NEWSPAPER ORIGINATED IN CHINA. It dates back to 740 CE. — Source

18

CRACKED THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM IS ON MARS. Olympus Mons is three times taller than Everest, and roughly the width of France. — Source

17

CRACKED YOU SPEND FOUR MONTHS OF YOUR LIFE WAITING AT RED LIGHTS. The average red light runs anywhere between 60 and 90 seconds. — Source

16

CRACKED THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES IS ONLY 2.4 MILES. It can be crossed on foot during the winter months, when the Bering Strait freezes over. # - - - fice Noskan Kotsebue kotski 850+ Dezneva Diomede Shishmaref strov Uelen diBering Mys S ..I. avrentija Pe Wales Teller lngiaran Novoje Str. Caplino King 1. Nome Mys Caplina 30 No me - - Gamball and — Source

15

CRACKED SALT WAS SO VALUABLE IN ANCIENT TIMES THAT IT WAS USED AS CURRENCY. The word salary comes from the Latin word salarium, which was the allowance of salt given to Roman soldiers as part of — Source

14

Snakes

CRACKED SNAKES CAN PREDICT EARTHQUAKES. If it's a big one, they can start behaving extremely erratically and smash their heads against walls. — Source

13

CRACKED THE OLDEST LIVING TREE IN THE WORLD IS IN CALIFORNIA. It is a pine named Methuselah, and is over 4,800 years old. — Source

12

There is a society in the UK called the Royal Bastards, and Queen Elízabeth II has been invited to join. CRACKED.COM Membership is open to in- dividuals who prove de- scent from an illegitimate child or grandchild of a king of England, Scotland, Wales, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom. — Source

11

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage has already bought his grave-a 9-foot pyramid in New Orleans. CRACKED.COM There is no name on the pyramid yet, but it is em- blazoned with the Latin maxim, Omnia Ab Uno, which translates to Every- thing From One, and it's covered in lipstick prints from fans. — Source

10

Anyone with a smartphone can change the colors on a 20 story light spire in Stockholm. CRACKED.COM Installed in 2006, the cre- ators of the rainbow-col- ored installation hope that the work can stand as a statement on the power of democracy and the power of the public. — Source

9

Only 20% of the corn grown in the US is meant for human consumption. CRACKED.COM About 40% of the corn grown in the USA is used for ethanol to add to fuel, and an- other 40% is used for livestock feed. — Source

8

Charles Vance Millar

Charles Vance Millar, a rich Canadian financier, made his will one giant practical joke. CRACKED.COM In it, he left three men who hated one another a joint lifetime tenancy in a villa, some protestant ministers $700,000 in Catholic beer stock, and anti-horse rac- ing advocates $25,000 in a Jockey club. — Source

7

A German man was cured of HIV after a bone marrow transplant. CRACKED.COM Timothy Ray Brown received the transplant from a donor whose gene mutation made him immune to HIV, which is speculated to be the result of natural selection during diseases similar to smallpox or Black Death. — Source

6

Ethiopia banned the export of teff in 2006, fearing food shortages. CRACKED.COM The staple crop of Ethiopia is a superfood, like quinoa. The export was banned when quinoa prices skyrock- eted in Bolivia, thanks to trends in western countries that increased demand. — Source

5

Reward Money

A kidnapped girl received the reward money for rescuing herself. CRACKED.COM 13-year-old Jayme Lynn Closs was abducted and held captive for 88 days un- til she escaped in 2019. Hor- mel, the parent company of the store where her parents worked, issued Hayme the $25,000 reward money. — Source

4

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter accidentally ruptured Neville Longbottom's eardrum. CRACKED.COM While filming Harry Pot- ter and the Order of the Phoenix, she accidental- ly perforated Matthew Lewis' eardrum when she stuck her wand into his ear canal. — Source

3

The 'XXX' on alcohol bottles in cartoons denotes how many times it was distilled. CRACKED.COM Moonshine alcohol jugs are typically marked with 'XXX' in cartoons because it needs to be distilled 3 times to reach nearly 100% pure alcohol. Each 'X' sig- nifies a distillation. — Source

2

John Tyler is the only US President to not be officially mourned in Washington DC. CRACKED.COM During the Civil War, for- mer President John Tyler became a Confederate and was elected to serve in the Confederate congress. Не was not mourned officially due to his being a Confed- erate supporter. — Source

1

Uranus and Neptune belong to a separate category of giant planets called Ice Giants. CRACKED.COM This is because less than 20% of their mass is made up of hydrogen and helium. True gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn are over 90% hydrogen and helium. — Source

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