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29 Random Bits of Trivia Stitched Together Into a Splendid Tapestry

There’s a song about a dream weaver, but there’s no song about a fact weaver?

29 Random Bits of Trivia Stitched Together Into a Splendid Tapestry

September 07, 2024

Call us biased, but we think this fact-woven tapestry belongs in the Met!

Not to oversell it, but you’re in for a real visual treat here. The facts are one thing. Like, you’ll get a lot out of their knowledge for sure. But paired with the vibrant imagery, well, that’s just a chef’s kiss.

But don’t take our word for it. Let your eyes see for themselves.

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

29

From 1948-58 a Florida man secretly stomped around a Florida beach at night in 30 pound, three-toed lead shoes to give the impression a 15-ft penguin was on the loose. The hoax wasn't revealed until 40 years later. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Peter Lassally produced Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. In his youth, he survived a concentration camp and went to grade school with Anne Frank. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Screech owls bring live Texas blind snakes into their nests. The small snakes eat insect larvae that would otherwise be parasites on newly-hatched owl chicks. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

26

The first movie to break a $100 million budget was True Lies. The Arnold Schwarzeneggar lead picture by James Cameron was the first film to reach a budget this size, in 1994. It went on to gross $378,882,411 worldwide. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Without controls, the International Space Station temperature would fluctuate 500 degrees. In direct sunlight, the space station would heat up to a whopping 250 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other side, the shade away from the sun would plunge the astronauts aboard the ISS to -250 degrees. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

The youngest soldier in WWII was 6-years-old. Russian Seryozha Aleshkov was orphaned by the war and taken in by a group of soldiers. Не was awarded for his intelligence after finding German spies hiding in a haystack. Не died in 1990, at the age of 54. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

A law in 1896 proposed motorists disassemble their cars when they come across livestock. As a way to outlaw cars without outlawing cars, the Pennsylvania law would require motorists who encountered livestock to stop their vehicle, disassemble it, hide the parts, and wait for the livestock to move. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

People with an extra cone cell in their eyes can see more colors. Tetrachromats, who are mostly women, have a 4th type of cone cell in addition to the regular RGB cells. This cell enables them to distinguish up to 100 million colors. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

The 1982 remake of The Thing was such a failure, John Carpenter lost a multi-picture deal. John Carpenter's The Thing was a box office bomb, being called the Most-Hated Film of All Time by horror magazine Cinefantastique. Carpenter had a multi-picture deal dropped by Universal. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

The illegal sport of sheep fighting in Algeria determines which animal is slaughtered. There is no gambling involved in sheep fighting: the winner has its value increased, and the loser is sent to slaughter. The sheep are given fear inducing names, like Hitler, Ebola, and Lawyer. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

City birds use cigarette butts as pest control for their nests. Urban birds like finches and sparrows gather discarded cigarette butts to use in their nests. The nicotine in the cigarettes acts as a form of pest control that helps to keep parasites away. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

29 Random Bits of Trivia Stitched Together Into a Splendid Tapestry — Source

17

CRACKED.COM A company Has some dog befouled your front lawn? You no offers forensic longer need to live in DNA testing for ignorance! A company called PooPrints is dog poop. offering DNA testing to identify the dog whose owner is skirting their cleanup duties. The service is aimed at homeowners' associations and building management. — Source

16

15

Smart home devices are being used for domestic abuse. Even after they've been kicked out, abusive partners have been known to torment their victims by turning up thermostats, playing loud music, ringing doorbells, or spying on them through cameras. Blocking the abuser's access can be very hard, and as this technology is still new, laws have a long way to go to catch up with it. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Happy Birthday is in the public domain now thanks to a filmmaker. Jennifer Nelson was surprised that she had to pay $1,500 to license a song so old. Then she found that record company Warner/Chappell's copyright claim was shaky, and took them to court. The judge ruled that these people were indeed full of sh!t, so their lucrative hold on the song ended in 2016. GRACKED.COM — Source

13

A woman claimed that Frozen was a ripoff of her life story. There are no magic powers or talking snowmen in Isabella Tanikumi's memoir. Her book, however, does feature loving sisters, snow- covered mountains, and scenes under the moon, among other things. All these being apparently unique to her life, she sued Disney for $250 million. (Spoiler: She lost.) CRACKED.COM — Source

12

The Poison Squad helped spur the creation of the FDA. From 1902-1907, a group of 12 scientists regularly ate dangerous, common food additives that had previ- ously been untested, such as formaldehyde, and doc- umented how they reacted to them. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

11

Babies in Spain get their original sin removed by having people jump over them. The annual holiday El Cola- cho (Baby Jumping) in Spain features men dressed as dev- ils jumping over babies lying on mattresses. Pope Bene- dict XVI asked Spanish priests to distance them- selves from the holiday. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

10

Only one to two fatal stingray attacks are reported each year worldwide. When Steve Irwin was killed in a stingray at- tack in 2006, he was only the second re- ported fatality in Aus- tralia since 1945. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

9

NASA planned to have a manned mission to Mars in 1981 or 1983. NASA If funding had remained at 1969 Apollo mission levels, NASA planned to develop such elements as a lunar orbit station in 1978, and a lunar surface base in 1980. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

8

Keira Knightley's name is an accidental misspelling. Keira was meant to be named Kira, after the Russian ice skater, Kira Ivanova, but her mother misspelled the name when she went to register her. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

7

British politician John Stonehouse faked his death in November 1974, leaving a pile of clothes on a beach in Miami. It was presumed he had gone swimming and drowned. But Stonehouse was actually en route to Australia to set up a new life with his mistress and secretary, Sheila Buckley. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

6

Honey badgers get honey by making a stink so powerful that a hive full of bees will flee. Honey badgers emit smelly, suffocating se- cretions from its anal glands to fumigate hives, causing bees to flee and leave their hon- ey for easy pickings. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

5

There is a rare mental disease called the Rapunzel Syndrome. The disorder causes a patient to develop an irresistible urge to pull out their own hair, and sometimes eat it. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

4

Japanese high school curriculum usually leaves out the early 1900s to WWII. CRACKED.COM Only 19 of the book's 357 pages dealt with events be- tween 1931 and 1945, said Mariko Oi, who attended high school in Tokyo. There was also just one sentence on the atomic bombings of Hiroshi- ma and Nagasaki. — Source

3

As many as 20 networks rejected the Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things series. CRACKED.COM One executive said they need to make it a kids show or have an adult character (Jim Hopper) be the main protagonist instead. — Source

2

In 1861, Japan had an illustrated history of America. CRACKED.COM It depicted, among other things, John Adams stabbing a giant snake, and George Washington punching a Ti- ger. It's no more fantastical than what they teach us in school, to be fair. — Source

1

A Triad boss named Du Yuesheng was granted the rank of general in the Nationalist Chinese army. CRACKED.COM Не became head of the Opium Suppres- sion Bureau, which he used to seize opium to be sold by his own criminal organization. — Source

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