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29 Random Trivia Tidbits Hiding in Plain Sight

Strolling past a house in Toronto will never be the same again

29 Random Trivia Tidbits Hiding in Plain Sight

September 10, 2024

We had no idea, but it turns out that cities hide a ton of unsightly things right in front of us. Those sneaky little devils. They had us strolling by murals and small brick houses for years without knowing what lies beneath.

Now we’re wondering if these are things that were better left unknown. Maybe ignorance truly is bliss sometimes. See for yourself and let us know. Satisfaction or regret?

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CRACKED Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors contains one of the art world's better-known but also super-rad Easter eggs - a mysterious diagonal blur on the floor is actually a giant skull that only becomes clear if you stand way off to the right. — Source

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CRACKED In his 1595 portrait of Bacchus, the god of wine, Caravaggio snuck in a minute self-portrait as a reflection in a carafe of wine. It took centuries for the miniature cameo to be spotted. — Source

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CRACKED THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY HAS A NSFW SECRET. It's a massive work of embroidery hundreds of feet long, so it's easy to miss the four human penises, a few balls, and tons of horse schlongs it contains, proving that even important historical documents aren't above a few naughty easter eggs. — Source

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CRACKED.COM Part of the University of Cambridge was built over a massive graveyard. Beneath the Old Divinity School at St. John's College lies one of the largest found burial grounds in all of Great Britain, with a staggering count of over 1,300 burials dating back to medieval times. A hospital stood opposite the graveyard, and used it to bury poor scholars and other wretched persons. — Source

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CRACKED.COM The Great Wall of China is actually a great cemetery. It is estimated around 400,000 construction workers had died building the Great Wall, and were just as easily buried in its foundation, which earned the deserved moniker longest cemetery on Earth. — Source

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Mt. Rushmore was designed by a white supremacist. Gutzon Borglum, the man that sculpted Mount Rushmore, was a racist who had ties to the Ku Klux Klan and was deeply involved in their politics. Не said things like, I would not trust an Indian, and referred to African Americans as a mongrel horde. CRACKED.COM — Source

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CRACKED.COM The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is the site of Toronto's first unsolved murder. Centuries ago, the keeper of the lighthouse vanished with nothing left of him but his blood stains on the lighthouse's wooden steps. It was rumored that he'd been brutally dismembered. A century after his disappearance, his remains were found scattered around the lighthouse grounds. — Source

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CRACKED.COM The River Thames is full of bodies. The most famous river in England has been nicknamed by The Guardian The Watery Grave. It has some 60 dead bodies pulled out of it every year, averaging at one body a week. — Source

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CRACKED.COM James Smithson is entombed in the Smithsonian. decre's la the shampry James fellow who died of Serve of Society the aget N yeon In a crypt just inside the north entrance of the Smithsonian Castle lies the relocated remains of the institute's founding father, James Smithson. Не was a chemist who enjoyed studying things like human tears and snake venom. — Source

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Blucifer

CRACKED.COM The Blue Mustang statue has tasted blood. Locals call him Blucifer. The red-eyed fierce-faced 9,000-pound sculpture at Denver International Airport actually killed its maker, Luis Jiménez, by falling on him and severing an artery in his leg. — Source

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29 Random Trivia Tidbits Hiding in Plain Sight — Source

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Many cathedrals have a cruciform plan; that is, if CRACKED.COM you see them from above (as God would), they look like a cross. Washington National Chartres Cathedral, Cathedral, USA France Peterborough Amiens Cathedral, Cathedral, UK France — Source

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OVERLORD'S MOVIE POSTERS CONTAINED EASTER EGGS TO FREE SCREENINGS INSTAGRAM.COM/INSIDETHELAB Overlord по - MIDEL SMITH - un When put through editing software, one of the posters revealed a link to a secret Instagram account that, in turn, had a video attached to one of its posts inviting the lucky founders of the clues to free screenings of the film. CRACKED.COM — Source

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Vlasic has a stork mascot because pregnant women supposedly crave pickles. TASTE Vlasic MG CRUNCH SINCE 190 KOSHER DILL JOU much WHOLES The secret to Vlasic's success was to sell their Polish pickles in glass jars. And a killer marketing campaign. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

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The Space Shuttle had a secret purpose: grabbing Soviet satellites out of orbit. The military designed it to capture them and return them to D.C. The — Source

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Manhole covers are round so that they cannot possibly fall through their own holes. Any shape other than a circle would be able to fit through in at least one way. CRACKED COM — Source

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Are a golf ball's dimples just there for aesthetics? Try aerodynamics! They actually create turbulence in the layer of air surrounding a ball in flight, reducing the drag behind the ball! ball direction airflow ball direction airflow Smooth ball Dimpled ball CRACKED COM — Source

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EVER WONDER IT'S TO HELP WHY BREWERS BLOCK OUT ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT CHOOSE BROWN- FROM THE SUN, COLORED GLASS WHICH CAN WHEN THEY LEAD TO A BEER BOTTLE THEIR SMELLING AND BEER? TASTING FOUL. GRAGKED.COM — Source

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Doorknobs are most commonly made out of brass. Which is good since FIGURE 1: KNOB brass has antimicrobial properties and will disinfect itself, getting rid of 99% of the germs in as little as two hours. DEAD GERMS MILLIONS OF THEM GRAGKED.COM — Source

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CRACKED ROOFS THAT COLLECT RAINWATER BERMUDA ROOFS are made of stone and have a stepped shape that helps collect rainwater and store it for later use. They're designed to be strong enough to withstand hurricane-force winds, keep homes cool, and last for centuries. — Source

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CAMOUFLAGED OIL DERRICKS IN L.A. The OIL RIGS scattered across L.A. are usually hidden so they don't stand out too much. For example, the Tower of Hope at Beverly Hills High School was covered with art to make it look like it was part of the scenery. CRACKED — Source

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CRACKED COLOR MARKINGS FOR UNDERGROUND UTILITIES There's a COLOR CODE to mark underground utilities. Red stands for electric power lines, orange for phone, alarm, or signal lines, yellow for natural gas, purple for reclaimed water, pink for survey markings, and white for excavation limits or routes. — Source

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CRACKED RAILROAD RAILS IN SKYSCRAPER FOUNDATIONS Chicago's MONADNOCK BUILDING is one of the most massive skyscrapers still standing. Its foundation is made up of steel railroad rails and concrete, which helps spread out the weight of the building and stops it from sinking into the marshy ground. — Source

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CRACKED HOLES THAT LET OWLS CATCH RODENTS IN BARNS For centuries, people have been creating holes in barns to INVITE BARN OWLS to live there and help get rid of pests. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and the owls. — Source

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Hidden Meanings

STAR BOLTS THAT KEEP THE BUILDING TOGETHER Metal stars on older brick buildings aren't just decorative. METAL STAR BOLTS are often used to help keep the walls connected to the floor and roof beams. This helps to make the building more stable and less likely to collapse. CRACKED — Source

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Toronto

Toronto hides city power transformers in fake houses. There are currently 90 hiding in plain sight. NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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