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That’ll show ‘em

30 Random Bits of Trivia to Scratch Into the Enamel of Your Brain Like the Side of Your Ex’s Pickup

August 15, 2024

Benjamin Franklin: our most buoyant founding father?

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30

A chameleon's tongue is twice as long as its body. CRACKED.COM For a human, this would be like having a tongue that measured 10 to 12 feet long. The chameleon's tongue isn't just long, it's also the fastest in the ani- mal kingdom. — Source

29

The Antarctic blackfin icefish has no scales, white blood, and transparent bones. GRACKED.COM Instead of red blood cells or hemoglobin pigments for transporting oxygen, oxygen simply diffuses into their cir- culating blood plasma from the frigid seawater thanks to the fish's enlarged gills and smooth skin. — Source

28

Phosphenes are the flashes of light you see when you rub your eyes. CRACKED.COM When you rub your eyes, the optic nerve translates this pres- sure into various imag- es. You see these pho- sphenes briefly after you open your eyes. — Source

27

The first television commercial in 1941 aired during a Dodgers game. BULOVA Ambassador 31 AUTOMATIC CRACKED.COM The ad, a silhouette of the continental United States, over which a watch face pops up and a voiceover says, Amer- ica runs on Bulova time, cost $9.

26

Great White sharks will avoid an area for a year if they spot a Killer Whale. CRACKED COM The sharks are so terrified of their only natural preda- tor that they'll vacate their preferred hunting ground and will not return for up to a year if they encounter one, even if it's just pass- ing by. — Source

25

A former NASA scientist who helped develop stealth bombers invented the Super Soaker. NERF Super TM Sooker CRACKED.COM Lonnie G.Johnson eventu- ally licensed his design to Larami Corporation, later acquired by Hasbro. Не made so much money that he was able to fund his own research and develop- ment company. — Source

24

More than 850 languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea. CRACKED.COM Many of the languages in the country are only spo- ken and understood by a few thousand people in the world. This makes Papua New Guinea one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. — Source

23

A deep-sea amphipod makes aluminum armor to protect itself. CRACKED.COM The small, shrimp-like ani- mal adapted to form a lay- er of aluminum hydroxide gel to cover its exoskele- ton, acting as a kind of pressure-resistant armor. It is also able to digest saw- dust. — Source

22

Benjamin Franklin was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. CRACKED.COM Franklin began swim- ming as a child in Bos- ton, which led to one of his first inventions: oval palettes worn on the hands so he could swim faster. — Source

21

Martian sunsets are blue, thanks to dust. CRACKED.COM Curiosity team scientist Mark Lemmon explained, The colors come from the fact that the very fine dust is the right size so that blue light penetrates the atmosphere slightly more efficiently. — Source

20

Where The Wild Things Are is only about monsters because the creator couldn't draw horses. CRACKED COM The book was originally going to be about a young boy who finds himself in a land filled with wild horses, inspired by the writer's childhood. Mau- rice Sendak took the 'wild things' and made them unique monsters instead. — Source

19

Tic Tac mints are named after the sound their container makes. REFRESHING LITTLE LIFTS tic tac fresh mint CRACKED.COM Before the rebrand, they were known only as Re- freshing Mints. In 1970, Ferrero was inspired by the tic and the tac sounds heard when you open and close the little plastic container. — Source

18

Peanuts can be used to make an explosive. CRACKED GOM When extracted, pea- nut oil can be turned into glycerol, which can then make nitro- glycerine, an unstable explosive substance used in dynamite. — Source

17

There's a floating reservoir of water in space that holds 140 trillion times all the water on Earth. CRACKED.COM NASA scientist Matt Brad- ford says that water is pervasive throughout the universe, and the reser- voir surrounding a black hole 12 billion light years away surely proves that. — Source

16

The word muscle comes from a Latin term meaning little mouse. CRACKED.COM Muscle is derived from the Latin term musculus, meaning little mouse, which is apparently what the ancient Ro- mans saw when they flexed their biceps. — Source

15

Kentucky has more barrels of bourbon than people. DO JEUT AZ IN N in 11. LD .... EY 1 - MARA AKE - NB SEAM - IMBEAN مصر I TAPAS NEW BLUE - Jow BEAM JIMBEA LACE HITTER IN BEAM - I BLACK Diseased / TEX IM BEAM JIM BEAN M - KINGDOM 1 MM 0 - MADALE City .. GRACKED.COM The 4.7 million barrels in the state's distilleries outnumber the 4.3 mil- lion people living in the area. Kentucky is the source of 95 percent of the world's bourbon.

14

The goo that beavers excrete is sometimes used to enhance the flavor of vanilla. CASTOP CRACKED.COM Castoreum is secreted near the base of a beaver's tail when marking their territo- ry. Although now it's rare, processed forms of casto- reum have been used as food additives. — Source

13

You can learn the High Valyrian language from 'Game of Thrones' on Duolingo. GAME OF THRONES CRACKED.COM High Valyrian is the Latin-like language used in formal circum- stances by the fiction- al nobility of Essos and Westeros.

12

BIC's pen caps have a hole at the tip so they aren't a choking hazard. GRAGKED.COM The BIC pen company ex- plains on its website: All of our BIC caps comply with international safety standards that attempt to minimize the risk of chil- dren accidentally inhaling pen caps. — Source

11

Guinea pigs were once sacrificed wearing earrings and necklaces. CRACKED.COM Archaeologist Lidio Valdez discovered 100 of the sacrificial ro- dents in Peru, put there by the Incan people during the 16th century. — Source

10

The Twitter bird's official name Is Larry. GRAGKED.COM Larry the Bird is a trib- ute to basketball great Larry Bird, who played for Twitter co-founder Biz Stone's home team, the Boston Celt- ics. — Source

9

The U.S. government has to release a statement denying the existence of mermaids. GRAGKED.COM The Animal Planet mocku- mentary 'Mermaids: The New Evidence' aired in 2013 and fooled enough people that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration had to step in. — Source

8

A study found that men who are feeling stressed out prefer women with curvier figures. GRACKED.COM The study had one experi- mental group perform a stressful activity, while the other control group did not. Afterwards, the men in the experimental group rated women with higher BMIs as the most attractive. — Source

7

Germany uncovers 2,000 tons of unexploded bombs every year. CRACKED.COM During World War II, the Allied forces dropped over a total of 2.7 million tons of bombs on Germany. Due to certain defects in their delay timers, around 10 percent never exploded. — Source

6

Danes once bred a pig to look like the flag in the early 20th century. GRACKED.COM Those who resided in North Frisia under Prussian rule were not allowed to raise the Danish flag. The North Fri- sians bred the Danish Pro- test Pig to be red in color, with a large white stripe around its belly. — Source

5

A year on Pluto hasn't passed since its discovery in 1930. CRACKED.COM It takes 248 Earth-years for Pluto to complete one ro- tation of its own around the sun. This places Pluto's first birthday since its dis- covery on Monday, March 23, 2178. — Source

4

The legend of the Loch Ness Monster goes back nearly 1,500 years. GRACKED.COM Written in the year 565 A.D., the tale speaks of a water beast that at- tacked and killed the local people when they went in the river- now known in Scotland as the River Ness. — Source

3

For 100 years, maps showed an island off Australia that never existed. LAV Ree 1965 D'Entrocasteaux Reefs & OF Surprise I Petrie K 150 Breaks O 1515 1.00 Grand Passage 527 Sandy is Bampton French Furthert Cook dirette Cook the Brisard Velociat Reefs Reefs E 28 Avon 1: NET 19 DU 200 Belep 720 Chesterfield P&P the JYY story All A ©Nereus K G!Yande Balatuo? danamiun F.D.O Yandel. año s 200 O Reed Greund (net NET to Tark_2082 Tomosto Nehoue B. Bi N W Delloria IN Viller RCS a Minerva ShiDI (PD) Bellonash. من Соёноров Part Booby BY ©Fairway R 2028 SH 2962 =2

2

The Australian government banned the word mate for a day. CRACKED.COM In 2005, Australian Parlia- ment banned anyone on their staff from using the word mate while at work. Prime Minister John How- ard objected, claiming that mate was an important part of Australian culture. — Source

1

Pigs are constitutionally protected in Florida. CRACKED.COM First written in 1838, the Constitution of the state of Florida guarantees the right to privacy, the free- dom of speech, and the right of pregnant pigs to be free from cages. — Source

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