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Let your brain savagely tear into these facts

32 Juicy Bits of Trivia to Chomp Into Like a Medieval Times Turkey Leg

August 06, 2024

Sometimes your brain just needs to let loose, ya know?

It’s perfectly fine consuming facts that are neatly plated at a fancy fact dinner party. But come on, you know the beast inside of it just wants to have at those facts! To just plow into them like a frat boy on a thick slice of ‘za at 3 a.m. Today’s the day. The classy folks aren’t looking.

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32

CRACKED THE SHORTEST WAR IN HISTORY LASTED 38 MINUTES. The war broke out on August 27, 1896, after Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini refused to step down as ruler of Zanzibar, despite Britain's demand. Не was quickly defeated. — Source

31

The World’s Tallest Man

CRACKED THE TALLEST PERSON IN RECORDED HISTORY WAS OVER 8 FEET TALL. Robert Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois, in 1918, and grew to a height of 8 feet 11.1 inches before his death at age 22. — Source

30

CRACKED THE LONGEST WEDDING VEIL WAS OVER FOUR MILES LONG. The veil, measuring exactly 22,843 feet and 2.11 inches long, was worn by Maria Paraskeva, a bride from Cyprus, on her wedding day in 2018. — Source

29

Colorado has a mile marker 419.99 on Interstate 70. CRACKED.COM Colorado Department of Transportation workers replaced the often stolen Mile 420 marker with this one after getting tired of replacing it. — Source

28

Iron Man had rocket powered roller blades at one time. CRACKED.COM In Tales of Suspense #45, jet-powered roller blades that popped out of his metal boots could allow Iron Man to reach speeds of 60 miles per hour. — Source

27

Horses

Horses can nap standing up thanks to special tendons. CRACKED.COM Sleeping on the ground leaves the horse vulnerable, so with the help of a special system of tendons and ligaments that lock the major joints in its legs, the horse can sleep for short periods while standing. — Source

26

The most successful pirate of all time was a woman. CRACKED.COM Ching Shih, a Chinese citizen born into poverty in 1785, took over her husband Zheng Yi's fleet after his death, commanding more than 1800 ships and 80,000 pirates at her peak. — Source

25

The world's oldest marathon runner was 101-years-old. NB ANS A adidas FLORA FLOR LEL G adidas CRACKED COM Fauja Singh ran the London Marathon in 7 hours 49 minutes. Не ran his first London marathon in 2000 and went on to compete in a further eight marathons. — Source

24

Australia

It is illegal to own a rabbit in Queensland, Australia, unless you're a magician. CRACKED.COM Due to ecological damage stemming from people buying and releasing rabbits, Queensland decided to ban anyone who couldn't pull one from a hat from owning one. — Source

23

Bite Force

The average human can generate up to 200 pounds of bite force. GRAGKED.COM We have the necessary force to easily bite off a finger, but our brains stop us from doing so. For reference, a Piranha has a bite force of 72, and a rottweiler has one of 335. — Source

22

Potatoes

The potato comes from a wild plant located in Peru. CRACKED.COM It was completely unknown to the rest of the world until Spain's conquest of the Americas in the 1600s. — Source

21

The Zapruder film cost the US government $16 million. CRACKED.COM The US government ended up paying the Zapruder family $16 million in 1999 for the official rights to the footage of JFK's assassination, as well as taking the original film from the family. — Source

20

Divorced people shower more. GRACKED.COM Those most likely to shower once a day or more include people with higher incomes, divorced people, and those that live in the South. — Source

19

The Amish sometimes use modern devices, like the computer. CRACKED.COM These computers are used solely for business, with many being used to help the Amish sell their products. — Source

18

Brain Freeze

Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia is the medical term for brain freeze. CRACKED COM The pain response to the cold sensation in your mouth is thanks to sensory neurons that ping the brain after a change in temperature. — Source

17

Paper money is not made from paper at all. 4118707E ITED THE STATES 11 E391127 THE UNITED STATES OPAMERICA OLLAH E3411270 5 and adidas e (30) S OPAMERICA E 34112707 E VENUTO 5 ستسمو 5 E30112707E E 34112707 E 5 Rpy EXIT F I I 5 ONE DOLLAR 1 5 5 E 34112707 C THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA a V E341127074 5 THE UNITED STATES y с 361127071 ONE DOLLAR & ONE DOLLAR a 34042 ستهام مل E34212707E 10 ATES OPAMERICA F 39132707 E / ONE DOL by Number 1 E 39112707 E 3 ONE DOLLAR XTI00 aNO E ONE DOLLAR I 9 INTED STATES THE UNITED S 5 & 5 و — Source

16

A fire destroyed the patent to the fire hydrant. GRACKED COM In 1836, a large fire destroyed the patent office in Washington, DC, destroying all US patent records up until that point, including Frederick Graff's patent of the fire hydrant. — Source

15

The Earth has more trees than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. CRACKED COM The 3 trillion trees on Earth eclipse the estimated number of stars in our galaxy, that range from 100 billion to 400 billion on the high end. — Source

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14

CRACKED THERE ARE NO LAWS IN ANTARCTICA. However, in 1959 The Treaty Of Antarctica declared that any crimes committed there were under the jurisdiction of the native country of the perpetrator. — Source

13

CRACKED THERE'S A GUY IN ENGLAND WHOSE ENTIRE JOB IS TO CATCH SWANS FOR THE KING. The Keeper of The Swans, which is actually now two jobs, has to catch a bunch of swans and present them to the king (and also check their health and stuff). It is a terrible and dangerous job because swans are territorial and capable of drowning grown men. — Source

12

CRACKED EXPLORERS USED TO DRIP COCAINE IN THEIR EYES TO COMBAT SNOW BLINDNESS. Modern hospitals will also do this occasionally, for pain relief purposes, not snow blindness purposes. — Source

11

Purple Hearts

CRACKED THE PURPLE HEARTS GIVEN OUT TODAY WERE MANUFACTURED DURING WORLD WAR II. They were originally manufactured for the invasion of Japan, which was expected to result in half a million casualties. The invasion never happened, so they had tons of leftover medals. — Source

10

Amy Sedaris

CRACKED AMY SEDARIS HAD INTERESTING INSPIRATION FOR JERRI'S LOOK ON STRANGERS WITH CANDY. She told the makeup department that she wanted to look like a professional golfer and the wardrobe department that she wanted to look like a woman who owned a snake. — Source

9

Los Angeles

CRACKED PALM TREES ARE NOT NATIVE TO LOS ANGELES. The famous ones we associate with LA were actually brought over from Spain in the 18th century for religious reasons. — Source

8

Improv

CRACKED STUDIES SHOW IMPROV IS GOOD FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. It's believed to be helpful because it raises one's tolerance for uncertainty. — Source

7

Parks and Rec

CRACKED ADAM SCOTT MET ROB LOWE MOMENTS BEFORE SHOOTING THEIR FIRST SCENE TOGETHER FOR PARKS AND REC. Both actors said it was pretty terrifying. — Source

6

CRACKED SPANISH EXPLORERS THOUGHT PLATINUM WAS UNRIPE GOLD. Instead of collecting the precious metal they just stumbled upon, they threw it back into the river to ripen. — Source

5

CRACKED LAWNS ARE REMNANTS OF WARTIME. Lords first installed lawns, large patches of cleared land, so they could see their enemies coming in clearly. — Source

4

CRACKED THE BEETLEJUICE PRODUCTION TEAM HAD TO SEARCH THROUGH POSTCARDS TO FIND THE PERFECT TOWN. Because there were no search engines at the time, the team essentially drove through Vermont looking at postcards in different bookstores. — Source

3

CRACKED A GUY WITH A FAMOUSLY LONG BEARD ALSO DIED FROM IT. In 16th century Austria, a politician was famous for his long beard - until a house fire broke out one night, and he tripped over the beard and broke his neck trying to get out. — Source

2

CRACKED MLK'S AUTOPSY REVEALED НЕ HAD THE HEART OF A 60-YEAR-OLD MAN. MLK was 39 at the time of his death. The state of his heart was probably due to stress. — Source

1

CRACKED AN EARLY 20TH CENTURY KING OF SPAIN HAD 70 PORNOGRAPHIC FILMS COMMISSIONED FOR HIMSELF. Only 3 have survived: The Confessor is about a priest having sex with his parishioners; Ladies' Office is about a doctor having sex with his patients; The Minister is about a woman offering sex to a priest if he will defend her husband. — Source

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