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30 Random Bits of Trivia That Are Like a Bento Box for Your Brain

August 29, 2024

Three Mile Island is a lie! (It’s less than three miles long.)

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The Children's Television Act required kids'TV to serve the educational and informational needs of children. CRACKED.COM This is why many 90s cartoons had a shoehorned educational message for kids added to the story. — Source

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Harley Quinn was an invention of the Batman Animated Series. CRACKED.COM Her first appearance was in the episode Joker's Favor and what originally was intended as a minor character evolved into the iconic figure that she is today. — Source

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In the 70's and 80's, dead acidic lakes were fairly common in the US, Europe and Canada because of acid rain. CRACKED COM The acidity in lakes killed all microbes and aquatic life, resulting in crystal clear water that allowed the lake bottom to be visible. — Source

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Coca Cola was invented by a Confederate vet who developed a morphine addiction. GRAGKED.COM John Stith Pemberton started mixing different drug cocktails and eventually found a cocaine based variant he enjoyed quite well. — Source

25

Ccats are not nocturnal or diurnal, they are crepuscular: most active during dusk/dawn. CRACKED.COM They tend to lay low in the darker night-time and day-time hours, when other predators may be hanging about. — Source

24

It was dangerous to be alive in 1974: John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and the BTK Killer were all active. GRACKED.COM In the 1970s, the U.S. experienced a frightening uptick in the number of active serial killers. In that decade, there were 450 individual serial killers at work. — Source

23

Vincent van Gogh's younger brother, Theo, enabled him to devote himself to his painting. CRACKED.COM Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to produce the art he made during his life. Не also died 6 months after his brother's suicide and today they are buried next to each other. — Source

22

Captain Robert Campbell asked the Kaiser to visit his mother in England while he was a prisoner of in WW1. CRACKED.COM Surprisingly he was given permission, provided he returned to prison afterwards, which he did. — Source

21

While you can go any speed on the Autobahn when indicated by signs, the recommended speed is 130 km per hour. Bertin Mürnberg Deppendert Jamaning Garching -Mard DE 300 m GRACKED.COM If you are in an accident going 170 km per hour and it could have been avoided at the lesser speed, you will be automatically partially or fully faulted for the accident. — Source

20

Wendy's founder Dave Thomas was a mentee of Colonel Sanders. CRACKED.COM Thomas came up with the idea for the rotating bucket sign and having the Colonel appear on TV. Не later sold his stake in four of his franchises back to Sanders for $1.5 million to fund his restaurants. — Source

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There's a 3,200-year-old Egyptian tablet that records excuses for why people missed work. CRACKED.COM Some excuses include drinking with Khonsu, a bleeding daughter, drinking with their father, brewing beer, and wrapping the corpse of their mother. — Source

18

Alan Turing, the cryptographer, was also an Olympic-level runner. CRACKED.COM Не was responsible for breaking the Nazi Enigma code during World War II, and also developed a new field of biology out of his fascination with daisies. — Source

17

When one adventurer drove a Jeep Wrangler to the world record altitude of 6,646 m, he left a sign saying Jeep Parking Only. GRACKED COM The next record breakers, who had a Suzuki Samurai and climbed up to 6,688 m on the same volcano, removed that sign. — Source

16

Outback Steakhouse was founded in Tampa, FL by four Americans who had never visited Australia. OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE GRAGKED.COM They saw an opportunity to ride the wave of popularity of all things Australian following the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee. Their concept was American food and Australian fun. — Source

15

Three Mile Island is only 2 1/2 miles long. During a geological survey made by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1963, someone apparently believed the island was about 3 miles long. To be fair, they were close. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

14

You inhale about 700,000 of your own skin flakes each day. Every day an adult sheds about 50 million scales, many of which get washed down the drain, but estimates suggest you breathe in about 700,000 of your own flakes each day. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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The katydid bug hears through holes in its hind legs. X Katydids hear by using a structure called a tympanic organ, located on each foreleg. Males are the primary sound producers, as the females of many species are silent. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

11

Fine-grained volcanic ash can be found as an ingredient in some toothpastes. Volcanic ash has been used as an abrasive in the United States for about 50 years, used in soaps, polishing agents, and erasers. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

10

The model T only in black because the black paint available at the time was the fastest to dry. Ford The early 1909 models were red and gray, but in the middle of 1909 this gave way to a dark green. Dark green became midnight blue, which was finally replaced with black. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

9

Yahoo started out as Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web in 1994. Y It was essentially a list of websites organized by category that Yahoo founders Jerry Yang and David Filo put together in graduate school. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

8

Almost all varieties of breakfast cereals are made of grass. Oats, barley, corn and wheat are all different varieties of grass and are all descended from the same botanical species. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

7

Former U.S. President Franklin Pierce was arrested during his term. Pierce was arrested while in office for running over an old woman with his horse, but his case was dropped due to insufficient evidence in 1853. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

6

Approximately 115 tons of ocean salt spray enters the earth's atmosphere each second. This occurs via the process of bubble burst ejection and wave action, for example from strong wind or sea state turbulence. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

5

Among her townspeople, Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast' is the only citizen wearing the color blue. The creators purposely dressed her in this way to drive home the notion that Belle was different from everyone else. When she finally meets the Beast, he, too, is wearing blue. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

4

Americans spend about $440 million a year dressing their pets up for Halloween. In 2017, an estimated 16 percent of Americans planned to dress their pets in Halloween costumes, and that number is only growing. The most popular costume is a pumpkin. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

3

Clocks made before 1660 had only one hand-an hour hand. 9 7/ 8 5 N 3 9 10 8 7 6 IZ 5 4 2 3 à E F 12 ٩ 8 11 12 9 10 8 !! 7 KENSINGT 12 de 6 ك i في 4 شت 10 2 0.5 . 9 3 10 2 8 4 9 3 121 7 10 5 Until well into the eighteenth century tower clocks had only one hand, which showed the full hour or the quarter-hour. Life moved a lot slower back then. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

2

In Ancient Greece, if a woman watched even one Olympic event, she was executed. But women in ancient Greece held their own festival to honor the goddess Hera every five years. Only one athletic event was held - a short footrace. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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Sony

Sony had to recall a camera that could see through clothes in 1998. Canon The video cameras were equipped with infra-red technology that allowed users to take pictures in the dark, but when they were used in daylight they were able to see through certain clothes. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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