15 Trivia Tidbits for Saturday, September 7, 2024

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39 Random Bits of Trivia We Found Stuffed in the Walls of the House We’re Flipping

Uncle Sam looks lonely. We can fix that

39 Random Bits of Trivia We Found Stuffed in the Walls of the House We’re Flipping

July 25, 2024

Honestly, it’s nice to know that Uncle Sam wasn't just a lonely patriotic freak his whole life. Everyone deserves companionship.

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An 11-year-old serial killer was released at age 23, and her whereabouts are kept secret. Mary Bell was sent to prison in her teens and escaped briefly, but was recaptured. After her re- lease at age 23, the high court granted her protec- tion and anonymity. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

37

Commercial radio call signs must be announced at the top of the hour by law. Most US commercial radio stations east of the Mississippi river start with the letter 'W' and west start with the letter 'K'. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

36

The Jacksonville Jaguars kept a tree stump and an ах in their locker room in 2003. END EACIN ROBINSON 10 74 The props inspired the team to keep chopping wood, which several players literally did, until punter Chris Hanson missed and hit his own leg with the ах. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

35

Honeybees in Asia ward off murder hornets by smearing poop at the entrance of their hives. When they gang up on a honeybee colo- ny, these giant hor- nets can wipe out thousands of bees in just a few hours. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

34

A wall of plaster vaginas was erected to display human variety. The Great Wall of Va- gina was made from casts of genitalia from anonymous women all over the world. The idea was to make the sexual nonsexual. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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Pork butts come from the pig's shoulder. The pork shoulders were named after the barrels they used to be kept in, which were called butts -which is also where the term buttload comes from. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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The king of Sri Lanka had his throne taken over by chiefs that kept killing each other. 1 of the 5 Tamil chiefs would take the throne and be slain by another, who would take the throne, and be slain by another, etc. Eventually the original king, Valagamba, killed the final chief and re- took his throne. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

31

The Unabomber listed his life sentences as awards of recognition. Ted Kaczynski listed his eight life sentences for his string of bomb- ings as awards of rec- ognition at his Har- vard University 50 year reunion. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

30

Mazda had to issue recalls after spiders caused their vehicles to catch on fire. The company recalled 42,000 Mazda6 sedans be- cause of a fire risk tied to yellow sac spiders in 2014, as well as 52,000 in the U.S. three years prior for the same issue. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

29

Uncle Sam was given a wife in the 1920s that had a radio show. Aunt Sammy was created by the US Dept of Agriculture as a radio show for farm wives, and would gossip about social activities & gardening. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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A restaurant at Wall Street operated on the honor system. - OF TARC Oi The Exchange Buffet ran successfully from 1885 to 1963 and oper- ated on the honor sys- tem, where customers would tally their own bills. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

27

A hummingbird's brain makes up more of its total weight than a human's. The hummingbird brain is 4.2% of its body weight, while the human brain is only 2% proportionally. They remember their mi- gration routes, and the yard and flowers they visit- ed the previous year. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

26

The Titanic's captain was indirectly responsible for the disaster. The Titanic's captain, Ed- ward Smith, was first the captain of the Olympic when it collided with a warship, the repairs of which delayed Titanic's maiden voyage that ended in catastrophe. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

25

The classic cartoon image of a beehive depicts an ancient, man made hive. The skep is a round domed shaped beehive made from clay or woven with straw, with an open bottom to al- low free movement of the bees. The hive was de- stroyed when it was time to collect the honey. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

24

The snowmobile was invented after a man couldn't get his son medical treatment in time. GUIDE Joseph Armand Bombar- dier invented the snow- mobile after his son died of appendicitis when a blizzard prevented him from getting him to a hospital in time. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

23

There is a type of chess where players can only see their own pieces. Kriegspiel players attempt to move on their turns, and the umpire declares their attempts 'legal' or 'illegal.' If the move is illegal, the player tries again; if it is le- gal, that move stands. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

22

Someone actually re-enacted Hanníbal's route through the alps with an elephant. A 1959 archeological ex- pedition successfully led former circus elephant Juno through Hannibal's route in the Alps from France into Italy after 10 days of travel. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

21

A man in India bit a snake back after it bit him, and both of them died. Parvat Gala Baria (70) was working in his farm when the snake bit him, and in a blind rage he picked the reptile up and put it in his mouth. Baria was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to the bite. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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An American gymnast competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics with a wooden leg. CRACKED.COM George Eyser won six med- als: 3 gold in long horse vault, 25 ft. rope climb, and parallel bars; two silver in the 4-event all-around and pommel horse, and one bronze medal in the hori- zontal bar. — Source

18

Brazilian prisoners get a chance to reduce their sentences by reading books. CRACKED.COM Prisoners can knock off four days for every approved book they read and write an essay on, for a total of 48 days a year. Approved books include various sci- ence, philosophy, and clas- sic literature novels. — Source

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Getting the wrong blood type in a transfusion could cause a feeling of impending doom. ГОЯЧА AB+ ICS a | RCS International في Rh Positive -Systeme Identicade I : DE 61267 1 When people who have Collection Date Germany 23 a SAMPLE 2/5/2000 one blood type receive Volunteer Donor blood from someone with Only Rx SHOLE BLOOD und ORTOPRECIPITATE REDUCED DVDED / - $ e 1 g I a different blood type, it - Y Author MINEC I may cause their immune system to react, called ABO incompatibility. CRACKED.COM — Source

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A microwave oven messed with the Parkes radio telescope for 17 years. Genuus Secure - - 895 - H - Sensor S - America COOK Keyu Warm GUARA San-Gin Last SAMY Weight Tea Service Mom CRACKED.COM Seoul - Panasonic Scientists spent 17 years try- ing to identify powerful but extremely short radio bursts that would appear at seem- ingly random intervals. They finally identified that the mi- crowave being prematurely opened was the cause. — Source

14

Pop Rocks, Tang, and Cool Whip were all invented by one person. R S CRACKED.COM Dr. William А. Mitchell was badly burned in a lab explo- sion as a young chemist working at the Agricultural Experiment Station, and went to work at General Foods after recovering at the start of World War II. — Source

13

Bats eat enough insects to save the US over $1 Billion a year in crop damage and pesticide. CRACKED.COM While many bats eat in- sects, others feed on nectar and provide criti- cal pollination for a vari- ety of plants like peach- es, cloves, bananas and agaves. — Source

12

The first phase of the Hundred Years' War was ended by a hail storm. CRACKED.COM Called Black Monday, a hail storm killed an estimated 1,000 English soldiers in Chartres, France in 1360. King Edward of England con- sidered it a sign from God and soon after he signed the Treaty of Bretigny. — Source

11

The American Psycho author accidentally Tweeted out a request for cocaine. CRACKED.COM In 2012, Bret Easton Ellis accidentally tweeted Come over at do bring coke now to his 350,000+ followers in- stead of sending a direct message. — Source

10

Sergei Krikalev has spent more time in space than any other human in history. GRAGKED.COM The Russian cosmonaut has been away from Earth for 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes. That is approximately 2.2 years, over the span of six spaceflights. — Source

9

Ants stretch and yawn when they wake up. CRACKED.COM Before they sleep they of- ten make themselves com- fortable by scooping smooth hollows in the soil. When they wake they stretch their six legs and open their mandibles wide. — Source

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The third founder of Apple, Ronald Wayne, left after less than two weeks. non Tour PUS Bus Just 11 days after helping found Apple, he sold his 10% stake in the company for $800, and within a year would receive another $1,500 to agree to forfeit all claims to the company when it was converted to a corporation. — Source

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Soccer was once a popular name for Football in Britain in the sport's earliest days. 16 10 CRACKED.COM It was named Association Foot- ball to distinguish it from the other forms of football, eventual- ly being called Assoccer for short, and then soccer. When the game spread to countries that already had a form of foot- ball, they used the soccer term. — Source

6

Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double was paralyzed practicing a stunt. CRACKED.COM David Holmes, Radcliffe's stunt double through the first six Harry Potter films, was paralyzed from the waist down during the sixth film while practicing a flying scene that includ- ed an explosion. — Source

5

Trimethylaminuria is a disorder that makes people reek of fish. CRACKED.COM TMAU is caused by the body being unable to convert trimethylamine to trimethyl- amine oxide, resulting in the stinky trimethylamine being excreted through the pores, breath and urine. — Source

4

Jamie Lee Curtis invented a type of diaper in 1987. CRACKED.COM Patent No. 4,753,647 is a disposable infant garment which takes the form of a di- aper including, on its outer side, a sealed, but openable, moisture-proof pocket which contains one or more clean-up wipers. — Source

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The original live action Dumbledore, Richard Harris, was a charting musician. CRACKED.COM Не had a hit single back in the 1960s with the song MacArthur Park, which managed to reach number four on the UK charts and number two on the Billboard Hot 100. — Source

2

The ancient Olympics always had a sacrifice for Zeus. CRACKED.COM The third day of the an- cient Olympic Games be- gan with a team of priests slaughtering 100 bulls. The thighs were burned, and the rest was served in the victory banquet. — Source

1

Jean-Paul Sartre declined his Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964. GRACKED GOM Не said, a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution. Не consistently declined all other such official hon- ors people tried to grant him over the years. — Source

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