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30 Random Bits of Trivia That Pass the Sniff Test

They’re technically past their expiration date, but that’s more of a suggestion anyway

30 Random Bits of Trivia That Pass the Sniff Test

July 23, 2024

Do you have any clue just how much Weird Al has sacrificed for you?

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30

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

29

Australia

The Australian Slouch Hat has one side of the brim turned upwards to aid rifle maneuvering. CRACKED.COM The intention of turning up the right side of the hat was to ensure it would not be caught during the drill move- ment of shoulder arms from order arms. — Source

28

The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs did more than just punch a hole in the Earth. CRACKED.COM After the impact, 70% of the world's forests burned, tsu- namis rose to a height of 300ft, and 25 trillion metric tons of debris was ejected into the atmosphere that re- duced sunlight by up to 90% for a decade. — Source

27

Oyster shells were repurposed in 1700s New York to build buildings. CRACKED COM Oysters in the 1700s were so overly abundant and popular in New York City that the discarded shells were repurposed into mortar paste to aid NY's building boom. — Source

26

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

25

Dishonored WWII Servicemen are buried in a hidden cemetery plot. VISITORS ROOM с A SERVICE AREA MUSEUM CHAPEL D 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

24

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

23

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

22

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

21

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

20

Over 100 workers died in a fire because the factory owners kept all the exit doors locked. MALKING BLUM CLOTHING SPECIALISTS 23525 HARRIC BRGS MENU CEOTAING ANIVERSA CLEAKS SULER 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

19

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

18

WWII

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

17

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

16

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

15

Most of Harambe's family was killed- by accident. GRACKED.COM Harambe's mother, only full brother, and two of his half siblings were killed when a tub of wet chlorine tablets left by a space heater created toxic fumes that blew into their enclo- sure. — Source

14

A 2.5mi stretch of a London Underground extension was converted to an electronics factory during WWII. - - صحيفة - J BAKER STRE CRACKED.COM The Plessey defence elec- tronics company built a secret factory in the new- ly constructed Under- ground tunnels after their factory in Ilford in Essex was heavily bombed. — Source

13

Two spectators committed suicide at the 1950 FIFA World Cup Final after their team lost. GRACKED.COM The Brazilian fans took their lives, re- portedly like many others in the country, after Brazil lost to Uruguay in an upset. — Source

12

It took Weird Al 30 years into his career to get a song in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. CRACKED.COM Al's first and only (so far) top 10 hit was 2006's 'White And Nerdy, off of Straight Outta Lyn- wood, which peaked at #9 on the Hot 100. — Source

11

Men disguised as maintenance workers rolled a bomb into a casino and demanded $3 million. HARVOUS CRACKED COM The men rolled the device covered in cloth labeled IBM to an empty office space on the second story of Harvey's Lake Tahoe ca- sino. The FBI was forced to detonate it after failing to defuse it. — Source

10

Rod Stewart hid behind his amplifiers during his first concert because of stage fright. GRAGKED.COM It took a shot of brandy to get him out. Decades later, he set the record for playing at the largest free rock concert in history, in front of 3.5 million peo- ple. — Source

9

Stephen Spielberg acquired the 'Shrek' rights in order to make a movie in the early '90s. CRACKED.COM Spielberg acquired the rights in 1991, planning to make it into a 2D animated movie star- ring Dan Akroyd as Shrek and Chris Rock as Donkey. — Source

8

The only woman to land on the Normandy beaches got there after hiding in a toilet. CRACKED.COM Martha Gellhorn was a journalist but her request to come along had been denied, so she stowed away in a toilet, and then disguised herself as a stretcher bearer. — Source

7

The photo of Einstein sticking his tongue out was due to his frustration with paparazzi. CRACKED.COM It achieved cult status mostly because Ein- stein himself asked for a cropped version, or- dered many prints and proceeded to send them to friends. — Source

6

It's illegal to disinherit your own children in France. CRACKED.COM This means a particu- lar share of the de- ceased's estate is le- gally required to be kept for their chil- dren. — Source

5

The Masai Tribe in Africa donated 14 cows to the United States after 9/11. CRACKED.COM 14 COWS from Africa were donated to the US after the 9/11 attacks. — Source

4

The opera song from 'The Fifth Element' was composed to be impossible to actually sing. CRACKED.COM When opera singer Inva Muls came for the part, she sang 85% of what thought was tech- nically impossible, the rest being assembled in the studio. — Source

3

The Animals broke up after being chased out of Japan by the Yakuza. CRACKED.COM While they toured in Japan in 1968, the band's manag- er was kidnapped by the tour promoters - who hap- pened to be Yakuza. After the manager escaped, the band fled and left all their gear behind. — Source

2

A two story family home in the Swiss countryside is actually a military installation. CRACKED GOM The Villa Rose is one of twelve fortresses, part of the 'Toblerone' line, that were built to protect Switzerland from invasion during WWII. — Source

1

Ray Liotta wasn't actually Italian. CRACKED.COM The actor, best known for his roles as an Ital- ian gangster, is actual- ly of Scottish origin. Не was adopted as an infant by an Italian couple. — Source

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