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40 Random Bits of Trivia We Fracked Out of the Bedrock of Knowledge

There’s facts in them thar hills

40 Random Bits of Trivia We Fracked Out of the Bedrock of Knowledge

August 06, 2024

Jimmy Carter: humble peanut farmer, president, ufologist.

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40

Two Virginia sisters sold a cornflake that was shaped like the state of Illinois for $1,350. GRACKED COM Monty Kerr, the owner of a trivia website from Austin, Texas, bought the cereal flake from eBay, explaining that he was starting a col- lection of pop culture and Americana items for a traveling museum. — Source

39

Children of identical twins are genetically siblings, not cousins. GRACKED.COM Cousins whose parents are identical twins share 25 percent of their DNA, instead of the usual 12.5 percent, making them ge- netically the equivalent of half-siblings. — Source

38

It would only take one hour to drive to space. CRACKED.COM If we had the vehicle to do so, driving straight up from the Earth's surface at a leisurely 60 MPH would end with us float- ing in outer space just an hour later. — Source

37

In 2005, one Powerball drawing had 110 second-place winners, instead of the usual 4 or 5. CRACKED.COM All of the winners attribut- ed their luck to a fortune cookie which just so hap- pened to correctly foretell five of the six winning numbers. Each winner took home between $100,000 and $500,000. — Source

36

Sunglasses were originally designed for Chinese judges to hide their facial expressions in court. CRACKED.COM Sunglasses were originally made out of smoky quartz in 12th century China, where they were used by judges to mask their emo- tions when they were ques- tioning witnesses. — Source

35

The Roosevelt hotel gave away a 7-night stay and spa treatment services to someone who stole a coffee pot. GRAGKED.COM The hotel was running a contest to see who could steal the most outrageous item from the premises. Leigh Guglielmo, thanks to the historic coffee pot she nicked, won the hotel package worth $15,000. — Source

34

You're more likely to get a computer virus from visiting religious sites than porn sites. CRACKED.COM Security firm Symantec found that the average number of security threats on religious sites was around 115, compared to adult content sites which carried around 25. — Source

33

In ancient Greece and Rome, doctors used spider webs to make bandages. CRACKED.COM Spider webs suppos- edly have natural anti- septic and anti-fungal properties, which can help keep wounds clean and prevent in- fection. — Source

32

McDonald's introduced drive-through service due to the military. McDonald's GRAGKED.COM Military rules forbade the sol- diers from wearing their mili- tary uniforms in public, so the Sierra Vista, Arizona restaurant cut a hole into a wall to allow members of the military to pick up their or- ders from their car. — Source

31

The name bonobo resulted from a misspelling. CRACKED COM Researchers reputedly first found the animals in the town of Bolobo, Zaire, in the '20s, but the name of the place was mis- spelled Bonobo on the shipping crate. — Source

30

There's a company that turns dead bodies into an ocean reef. GRACKED COM Eternal Reefs mixes the cremated remains of a person with con- crete, which is then encased in a reef ball that is dropped into the sea. — Source

29

The fuller the fridge, the more energy-efficient it is. CRACKED COM The more empty space in the fridge, the more cold air is displaced by warm air when you open the door, requiring the appli- ance to generate cool air to replace it. — Source

28

Jimmy Carter filed a report in 1973 for a UFO sighting four years prior. CRACKED.COM Carter, as well as 10 to 12 other people who wit- nessed the same event, described the object as 'very bright chang- ing colors and about the size of the moon.' — Source

27

Tea bricks were used as currency in some places until World War II. CRACKED.COM In Tibet, tea bricks were in such demand that swords, horses and other property were sometimes priced in a given num- ber of tea bricks. — Source

26

Nearly all the garlic consumed in the U.S. comes from Gilroy, California. CRACKED.COM The area grows around 90 percent of the garlic Americans eat, which is around 150 million pounds per year. — Source

25

All blue-eyed people are related to a mutant named The Founder. GRACKED.COM Danish researchers believe the identical gene sequence displayed in blue eyed indi- viduals comes from a single person called the found- er, whose genes mutated between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. — Source

24

The official color of the Golden Gate Bridge is International Orange. CRACKED.COM Architect Irving F. Morrow undertook color studies, which resulted in the unique color because it blended well with the near- by hills and contrasted with the ocean and sky. — Source

23

There were more 'immaculate innings' in 2017 than from 1929-1952. NEW YORK 34 CRACKED.COM An immaculate inning is when a baseball pitcher strikes out three batters with only nine pitches. 1929 to 1952 saw zero such innings, while there were 8 in 2017 alone. — Source

22

While swallowing, a frog's eyes retract down towards its esophagus. GRAGKED.COM Eye retraction may aid swallowing by helping to push food back to- ward the esophagus, but this hypothesis has never been tested. — Source

21

Pirates wore earrings because they thought it improved their eyesight. CRACKED.COM Some pirates were convinced that wearing an earring would improve or even cure bad eyesight, as they be- lieved that the precious met- als in an earring possessed magical healing powers. — Source

20

Shel Silverstein wrote a song for Johnny Cash. CRACKED.COM The author of 'The Giv- ing Tree' penned many songs performed by acts like Waylon Jen- nings and Loretta Lynn, including 'A Boy Named Sue' for Cash. — Source

19

An active train track runs through a runway at Gisborne Airport in New Zealand. HEUR Welcome to Gisborne exy GRAGKED.COM According to the Gis- borne City Vintage Railway's website, it operates the only train in the Southern Hemisphere which crosses a runway. — Source

18

The largest contributor to the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was in an asylum. PAIUTO TheOxford English The English cionary Dictionary English Dictionary E Dictionary Dictionary Did SECOND SECOND SECOND EDITION SECOND EDITION SECOND SECOND EDITION EDITION EDITION EDITION : - VII VI VIII IV V III Lo Hat-Latervacuan Interval-Loain Follow-Harwed Dvandva-Follis Creel-Duzepere Cham-Creeky CRACKED.COM William Chester Minor devoted most of the remainder of his life to combing through his personal library to provide the dictionary with quotes that il- lustrated the way particular words were used. Не later cut his penis off. — Source

17

Complaints dropped by 88% after Rialto, California police were required to wear body cameras. POLICE PATROLMAN CRACKED.COM Use of force also dropped by 60%. The chief of police said, When you put a camera on a police officer, they tend to behave a little better, follow the rules a little better... — Source

16

Steve Carell owns the 158 year old Marshfield Hills General Store in Marshfield Massachusetts. O M CRACKED COM Carell and his wife, actress Nancy, grew up in Massa- chusetts. Nancy's sister mentioned that the histor- ic general store was up for sale, and Carell cinched a deal to purchase the busi- ness in 2008. — Source

15

A Bohemian general requested his skin be made into drums after his death. CRACKED.COM General Jan Zizka, or One-Eyed Zizka, was con- sidered one of the greatest military leaders of all time and never lost a battle. Не re- quested that war drums be made from his skin to lead his men even after his death. — Source

14

Some doves caught on fire during the 1988 Olympic flame lighting. CRACKED.COM Many of the doves released at the opening ceremony landed in the cauldron where the flame is lit, and did not fly away when the torch bearer approached. This was the last ceremony in which doves were released. — Source

13

Edgar Allan Poe married his first cousin. CRACKED.COM Poe married Virgina Clemm when he was 26 and she was 13. She died 11 years later, and Poe was often found in the winter sitting at her tomb almost frozen. — Source

12

The average male will produce enough sperm in his life to repopulate the Earth, 405 times. CRACKED.COM With 1,500 sperm cells pro- duced every second, if each one led to a viable birth, one man could reproduce the 7 billion Earth inhabitants hun- dreds of times over. A wom- an will only create 450 total eggs in her lifetime, however. — Source

11

It's not possible to actually read all the privacy policies we agree to. I ne fine print au .. - I print Read the fine print Read - 1 t...fine print...fine print...fi prove - the the fine print Read the fin table dos fine print Read the fine p would the follow by inform fine print Read the S Masts of the ad the fine prin HE will the GRAGKED.COM It would take 76 workdays to read every online priva- су policy we agree to in an average year. While not physically impossible, we don't think HR is going to — Source

10

All yeast leavened bread was once a type of sourdough. CRACKED.COM Before the 19th century, they didn't understand that it wasn't the yeast itself giving the bread the sour taste. With advancements in micro- scopes, they were able to produce strains of yeast without lactobacillus. — Source

9

A New Zealand man had to change his name to one with 99 characters after losing a bet. CRACKED.COM It took 5 years, but the NZ government finally ар- proved the change to Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Com- bined With Frostnova. — Source

8

Barack Obama earned the nickname O'bomber in high school. CRACKED.COM Obama played on his high school basketball team with a group of friends who gave him the nickname Barry O'bomber because of the long-range jump shots he loved taking. — Source

7

A U.S. constitutional amendment was proposed to rename the country The United States of Earth. CRACKED.COM House Representative Lu- cas Miller from Wisconsin proposed the alteration in 1893, reasoning it's possi- ble for the Republic to grow to the point where every country on the plan- et was part of it. — Source

6

Monowi, Nebraska is the only town in the US with an official population of one person. MONOWI 2 CRACKED.COM Rudy and Elsie Eiler were the only two residents of the town until 2004, when Rudy passed away. Now Elsie is the sole citizen of Monowi, acting as the mayor, even giving herself a liquor license to work as a bartender. — Source

5

A U.S. town had a 3-year-old mayor. CRACKED COM In the small town of Dorset, Minnesota, where a new mayor is picked every two years by drawing names out of a hat, a 3 year old named Robert Tufts was elected mayor in 2015. — Source

4

James Franco sold an invisible sculpture for $10,000. A USTIN FI LM FES TIVAL GRACKED.COM The non-visible artwork, which was purchased by an art collector, was billed as an endless tank of оху- gen. To be fair, nothing ranks high on the list of things we would want Franco to give us. — Source

3

The bowler hat was created as a safety helmet. GRAGKED.COM Designed by London hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, it was a riding helmet meant to protect rid- ers from branches and other obstacles. — Source

2

Walmart has a lower acceptance rate than Harvard. Walmart CRACKED.COM The Washington, D.C. store received more than 23,000 applications in 2013, but hired just 600 associates. That's a 2.6% acceptance rate - almost twice as se- lective as Harvard. — Source

1

Speed dating was invented by a rabbi. SPEED DATING CRACKED.COM Rabbi Yaacov Deyo brought together a handful of single men and women in 1998 for some matchmaking at a Peet's Coffee Bever- ly Hills, California. — Source

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