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37 Random Bits of Trivia That Will Still Be True After the Heat Death of the Universe

If an unread fact falls in the forest, does it still contain knowledge?

37 Random Bits of Trivia That Will Still Be True After the Heat Death of the Universe

September 16, 2024

It’s an uncomfortable truth, but these facts will outlive you and everyone you love.

The oldest person on record lived to be 122 years old, so any fact from 123 years ago has definitely outlived everyone on Earth at the time. So take these in and enjoy them for as long as you can. The best you can do is pass them down to your descendants — like a knowledge-packed family heirloom of sorts.

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

37

Pencils never actually contained lead. CRACKED.COM The extremely pure and solid graphite that was discovered in 1500 was thought to be lead because chemistry was in its infancy. The words for pencil in German, Irish, Ara- bic, and others literally mean lead pen. — Source

36

The West Lake restaurant in the Hunan province of China serves 200 snakes a week. CRACKED COM With 300 chefs and enough space to seat 5,000 people, this is the largest Chinese restau- rant in the world. They also go through 700 chickens every week. — Source

35

The USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bomber shuts down when it detects an atomic blast. CRACKED COM Shutting down is the only way to avoid an electro- magnetic pulse that would fry its components. The aircraft counters lightning by protecting its electrical components from over-amperage. — Source

34

A Japanese man survived two atomic bombs and lived to be 93. CRACKED.COM Tsutomu Yamaguchi sur- vived the atomic blast at Hi- roshima, dragged himself to an air-raid shelter, and took a train to his job in Nagasa- ki, where he survived anoth- er atomic blast. — Source

33

In the sea between Australia and New Zealand, there's an island taller than it is wide. CRACKED.COM Ball's Pyramid is 562 me- ters (1,844 ft) high, while measuring 1,100 meters (3,609 ft) in length and only 300 meters (984 ft) across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world. — Source

32

There is a monument to General Benedict Arnold's injured foot in New York. CRACKED.COM The Boot Monument is the only war memorial in the U.S. that doesn't name its honoree because of Ar- nold's offenses, but it does commemorate his contri- butions to our victory over the British. — Source

31

The artificial sweetener saccharin was discovered accidentally by a researcher not washing his hands. qual equal same sweetener O calorie saccharin sweetener Sweet'N Low rition Facts ual ad - - A girl nerving WILDING calorie sweeten charine 2 equal DEDI Facts - - a - - sume sweltener as Low N.3MMS e calorie saccharin sweetener A saccharin MATE 0 calorie sweetener equal B a 8.7 by - F - e same swestener's Sweet'N Low equa arin saccharin EN Low DOC - - 45 Sweet'N Low - saccharin . - a equal IT E 1 CARCO equal - same sweetener - bee — Source

30

English is the only language that capitalizes the personal pronoun 'I.' T 1 T i CRACKED COM There were no rules for capitalization until the 1700s, but the lowercase 'i' was difficult to read, so the capitalization makes it more clear that it is intend- ed to stand out. — Source

29

A missionary was converted to Atheism while trying to convert an indigenous Brazilian tribe in the '70s. João mach Joao falon[que Joads se machueon João falon CRACKED.COM Daniel Everett learned to speak the unique language of the Pirahã tribe, rejected Christi- anity, lost his family, and lived with the tribe. — Source

28

A sperm whale's clicks are powerful enough to easily blow out a diver's eardrums or vibrate a diver to death. CRACKED.COM The only way to get near them is by freed- iving, because they tend to flee the noises generated by scuba equipment as well as subs and robots. — Source

27

The Allies during WWII initially only fired certain weapons over water, so the enemy couldn't get a hold of samples. MOLDED-IN ANTENNA CAP OSCILLATOR COIL PLASTIC NOSE OSCILLATOR-DETECT NNULAR FIRING AMPLIFIER THYRATRO CONDENSER BUNDLE GRAGKED.COM There was an embar- go on using the prox- imity fuzed shell, one of the most effective weapons in World War 2, over land until 1944. — Source

26

There's a reason why rubbing the area where you are hit makes it feel better. GRACKED.COM Nerves in the skin can feel stretch, temperature, pain, and pressure, but usually only one at a time. When you cut yourself and squeeze the cut finger hard, you feel the pressure but not the cut. — Source

25

Sir Isaac Newton erased his rival Robert Hooke from history. CRACKED.COM Despite pioneering the ex- perimental method and discovering many ele- ments of gravitational the- ory first, Hooke never got his due. Newton also lived 25 years longer, allowing him to edit history. — Source

24

St Jude's Hospital, which has treated thousands of children with cancer, is not religiously affiliated. ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL PARKY TOPELAS LUCA CRACKED COM As a starving actor, Danny Thomas had made a vow: If he found success, he would open a shrine dedicated to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. — Source

23

Liam Neeson's fiancée said she'd leave him if he took the role of James Bond. CRACKED.COM The Irish actor was heavily courted for the role in the mid 90s, but his then fian- cée and late wife Natasha Richardson told him she wouldn't marry him if he took the role. — Source

22

It is a myth that you should fully discharge your cell phone/laptop batteries before charging. 14:32 onsdag 5 februari CRACKED.COM It's a holdover from the Ni-Cad chemistry era and its memory effect, but lithium-ion batteries are at their healthiest when you use very little and charge very often. — Source

21

The bodies of Benito Mussolini and his mistress were hung from an Esso gas station. CRACKED.COM After being shot, kicked, and spat upon, the bod- ies were hung from the gas station rooftop with meat hooks and then stoned by civilians from below. — Source

20

In 1881, an English MP named Sir William Payne-Gallwey died after falling on a turnip. CRACKED.COM Payne-Gallwey died at the age of 74, as a result of severe internal injuries sustained after falling upon a turnip while out shooting in the parish of Bagby. — Source

19

Frustrated with the government's monopoly on TV, the Dutch built an artificial island in the '60s to transmit uncensored TV. CRACKED.COM Eventually, the Neth- erlands legally ex- panded its maritime claim and the mili- tary raided the island by air. — Source

18

The skin of all human beings is covered in stripes. CRACKED.COM They are cellular relics of our development from a single cell to a fully formed human called Blaschko's Lines, and they cover the body from head to toe. — Source

17

Cancer treatment Dynamic Phototherapy has the side effect of giving humans a slight level of night vision. CRACKED.COM The retina of the ра- tients undergoing this treatment gains the ability to process light at wavelengths higher than the visible light spectrum. — Source

16

Most of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of commercial fishing debris. CRACKED.COM Fishing nets account for 46 percent of the trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, with the majority of the rest composed of ropes, oyster spacers, eel traps, crates, and baskets. — Source

15

Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra can cause a person to see everything tinted with blue. Pfizar GRAGKED.COM This is referred to as Су- anopsia and is caused by the sildenafil present in erectile dysfunction medication, which can sensitize retinal rod cells. — Source

14

New Zealand was put up for auction on eBay. GRACKED COM An Australian man in 2006 put the country up for sale for just $0.01 AUD, and bids got all the way up to $3,000 before eBay put a stop to it. — Source

13

A pig was executed in France for leading to the death of a child in the middle ages. CRACKED COM The young pig attacked a three-month-old in the French village of Fonte- nay-aux-Roses in 1386, who died after surgery complica- tions. The pig stood trial and was publicly executed. — Source

12

Quaker Oats was sued by a woman who thought Cap'N'Crunch had real berries. CRACKED.COM Jeanine Sugawara felt tricked that the Crunch Berries cereal didn't have a single real berry, so she sued Quaker Oats on the grounds of false advertis- ing. The case was quickly dismissed. — Source

11

Roald Dahl was a super sexy spy for the Brits. CRACKED.COM The 'Charlie and the Choc- olate Factory' author gath- ered intelligence for the British Security Coordina- tion during World War II, using his charm to seduce congresswomen, actresses, and oil heiresses'. — Source

10

The idea of using lines in roadways to create lanes was inspired by a milk wagon. CRACKED.COM Edward Hines in 1911 came up with the idea, consid- ered the most important single traffic safety de- vice, when he saw the dotted drippings from a leaking milk wagon. — Source

9

Wealthy Russians hire fake ambulances to speed through traffic. 03 CRACKED.COM С827АУ The ambulance-taxis are equipped with plush interiors and are being rented our to VIP commuters too good to sit in traffic like the rest of us. — Source

8

Buried treasure may be hidden in Bedford County, Virginia. CRACKED.COM Of the three texts known as the Beale Ci- phers has been cracked, revealing the possible location of $43 million in gold, sil- ver, and jewels. — Source

7

A wallet from 1972 was returned to a plane crash survivor. X I ONE KOREA LAKE Mo cta - Wood Secretary of State take CHIC il Class THE JOCC DRIVERSE PRODUTO en was and CRACKED.COM All but 16 passengers died in a plane crash in the An- des in 1972. Hiker Ricardo Peña found the wallet of one survivor, a Uruguayan rugby player, and returned it to him after tracking him down. — Source

6

A Virginian park ranger was struck by lightning seven times. CRACKED.COM Between 1942 and 1977, Roy Cleveland Sullivan was struck by lightning on 7 different occasions, earn- ing him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records and the nickname Human Lighting Rod. — Source

5

Incan people tied knots in rope to keep records. GRAGKED.COM Called quipu, the types of knots and their loca- tion relative to the top of the cord would modi- fy the meaning of the apparatus. — Source

4

One popular way to see if someone was a witch was actually to weigh them. Witches were so light that they could float on water, the belief went, so suspects would get weighed. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

3

The infamous John Henry Doc Holliday was an actual doctor (of dentistry). Way before he was in the shootout at the OK Corral, he'd gotten a dentistry degree and started running a practice that turned out to be successful. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Signs saying Ye aren't supposed to be pronounced with a why sound. No 42 YE OLDE LONDON No 42 The letter Ye is supposed to be pronounced th, so the proper pronunciation of Ye in, say, Ye Olde is just the. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

1

When pirates caught a. merchant vessel, some of its crew joined the pirates. That was relatively common, anyway, and the reason was simple: the conditions aboard merchant (and military) ships were terrible. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

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