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30 Random Bits of Trivia You Can Piece Together Into One Gigantic Factoid

Facts are like the bricks in the knowledge castle

30 Random Bits of Trivia You Can Piece Together Into One Gigantic Factoid

September 28, 2024

Like Rome, your knowledge mound wasn’t built in a day. It’s taken quite a while to pile facts that high, but as big and impressive as it is, it’s far from complete — if you can ever actually call a knowledge mound “complete.” We’ve shoveled thousands of little truth bits onto your mound so far, and we’re totally comfortable with the idea that this is most likely a lifelong endeavor.

So, ya know what? Here’s another decent little shovelful right now…

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

30

John Leguizamo sadly sacrificed a lot to play Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Не had gotten the chance to play Tom Hanks' character's love interest in Philadelphia, but he refused the offer and decided to play Luigi instead. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

A Pink Floyd concert brought down the Venetian government. In 1989, Venice organized a free Pink Floyd concert. Predictably, the city was overrun. 200,000 fans left behind 300 tons of garbage, and since no porta- potties were provided, they went to the bathroom on historical monuments. The mayor and the entire city council resigned amid protests a few days later. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

A British aircraft carrier produces 540 tons of fresh water per day at sea. The HMS Queen Elizabeth uses a reverse osmosis system that filters salt molecules, creating enough fresh water each day to fill 12,000 bathtubs. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

There was a futuristic floating McDonald's on a barge in Canada way back in 1986. It was set up for the 1986 World Expo in Vancouver, and orders were brought out on a conveyor belt. But after the Expo, it was left to rot for years. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Michelin

Being a Michelin Guide Inspector means eating 275 inspection meals a year. AIC And that's just the minimum. Luckily, to compensate for the effects of that, Michelin has a plan -- they reimburse fitness membership fees. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

In 1957, a nuclear bomb in the desert exploded directly over six guys' heads. They were five Air Force officers and a cameraman, and apparently they all reached old age. One of them might even still be alive. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

One crane at the Smithsonian National Zoo has a human mate (kind of). They mate for life, and the crane Walnut has chosen zookeeper Chris Crowe - in 2004. She hasn't changed her mind since, apparently. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Scallions

Scallions and green onions are the same vegetable, with different names. But spring onions are different - their bulbs are much bigger than those of green onions, and those bulbs in fact kind of look like small onions. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

A fake aristocrat had himself appointed king. Boris Skossyreff was a small-time Russian swindler who claimed to be a Count. In the 1930s he moved to Andorra and proposed several reforms, including to be made king. Unsatisfied with the foreign rule, the Andorran Council voted him in almost unanimously. His reign was short-lived, as he was soon deported to Spain. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Several cities made it illegal to be disabled in public. essser Vice Clea BOU SATI TY ST CIG Back in the late 1800s, several major U.S. cities passed unsightyly beggar ordinances, later known simply as ugly laws. If you were found being disabled and/or deformed, you could be fined or thrown into a poorhouse. These laws weren't entirely repealed until the 1970s. GRACKED.COM — Source

20

Gritty superheroes were already sitcom material in the '90s. The '90s were the heyday of edgy heroes. Even back then it was so laughable that Bob Newhart had a sitcom about this. In 1992's Bob, Newhart played an old- school comic artist whose wholesome superhero gets a gritty reboot. Marvel released a tie-in comic to promote the show. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Jerry Seinfeld never unironically said What's the deal with ... ? on Seinfeld. No, not even in the pre-intro stand-up sets. It's apparently associated with him just because he said it in a 1992 SNL skit where he played a game show host. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

People are getting seriously hurt trying to cut avocados. Avocados aren't as good for you when you slice your damn hand wide open, now are they? People unfamiliar with the fruit have their knives bounce off the hard pit, resulting in nasty gashes that often require surgery. Doctors are calling this avocado hand, and say it's horrifyingly common. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

World of Warcraft is full of invisible slave bunnies. Many video games use invisible non- player characters to perform certain tasks, as it's easier to repurpose those than to write entirely new scripts. World of Warcraft is inhabited by over 1,000 invisible bunnies slaving away for your entertainment. Were you hit by a laser turret? A bunny did it. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Serial killers are dying out. Serial killers in TV and movies are as common as stray dogs, but in real life their numbers are steadily dropping. We have gone from 128 killers with three or more victims in 1987 to just 15 in 2015. Part of the reason is that police have gotten much better at catching them. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Seafood Poisoning

Seafood poisoning could be transmitted sexually. Ciguatera is the most common form of poisoning from eating fish - and it could be transmitted through sex (with a person, not a fish). Two cases were documented in 1989 where doctors suspect husbands passed the toxin to their wives through the semen. Ciguatera symptoms include muscle pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

30 Random Bits of Trivia You Can Piece Together Into One Gigantic Factoid — Source

13

Meyer Lansky's gang were the real-life Inglourious Basterds. Being a mobster, Lansky disliked judges. But being Jewish, he hated Nazis even more. So when in 1936 a judge asked him to bust Nazi rallies in New York City, he and his boys were happy to oblige. They would infiltrate the meetings and barge in. With iron bars and baseball bats. CRACKED.COM — Source

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12

Florida Man

A Florida man disappeared into a sinkhole that formed under his house. CRACKED COM In 2013, a man in Florida ran to his brother's bedroom af- ter hearing him scream only to find the entire room and his brother being swallowed by a sinkhole. They were never able to find the body of his brother. — Source

11

The first superhero, Superman, owes a lot to a character that debuted 5 years before him. CRACKED.COM 'Doc Savage' was a pulp fiction Superhero known as 'The Man of Bronze,' and had a 'Fortress of Solitude' in the Arctic. Не was known as a Su- per Man, and his name was Clark. — Source

10

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan

A dog is credited as the writer of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. CRACKED.COM Screenwriter Robert Towne hated the finished movie so much that he pulled his name off the film and cred- ited his dog as the writer. The dog, Р.Н. Vazak, ended up with an Oscar nomina- tion. — Source

9

Robert Redford was too hot for the lead role in 1967's The Graduate. CRACKED.COM Redford badly wanted the role but was rejected by di- rector Mike Nicholls because he didn't think Redford could play a loser. 'Let's put it this way, Nicholls reportedly said, Have you ever struck out with a girl? — Source

8

The Ivy League

A teen managed to get an Ivy League education, in multiple universities, for free. CRACKED.COM A teenager named Guil- laume Dumas snuck into Ivy League schools over 4 years, gaining free education from Yale, Brown, Stanford and many others. — Source

7

Apple wanted to make the iPhone back in the '80s. CRACKED.COM The first design of the iPhone was made back as far as 1983, which looks more like the iPad, but with an actual phone attached. — Source

6

World War II

Nazis partially succeeded in counterfeiting the British pound to cause hyperinflation. CRACKED.COM Using a German concen- tration camp, they man- ufactured 132 million GBP, which is the equiv- alent of 6-7 billion mod- ern-day pounds. — Source

5

Hong Kong

An AI controls Hong Kong's subway system. CRACKED.COM Hong Kong has one of the world's most effi- cient subway systems with a 99.9% on-time rate and the entire sys- tem is managed via Arti- ficial Intelligence. — Source

4

Human error led to one of the worst engineering disasters in US history. GRACKED COM The chief engineer took sole re- sponsibility for the St. Francis Dam collapse in 1928, testify- ing, If there was an error in hu- man judgment, I was the hu- man. Over 400 people were killed when the dam failed in the middle of the night. — Source

3

The secretive '7 Society' at the University of Virginia is so mysterious, members are only revealed after their deaths. MCCONNELL UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. 1910 A MEMBER OF THE SEVEN SOCIETY 7 CRACKED.COM Members receive a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a 7 placed at the gravesite, and the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the seventh dissonant chord when it is seven past the hour. — Source

2

Herbs and spices can be different parts of the same plant. CRACKED GOM Herbs come from the leaf of a plant, while spices come from other parts such as roots, bark, and seeds. So cilantro is an herb (coriander leaf) while coriander is a spice (cori- ander seed). — Source

1

A type of shrimp only found in one pond was obliterated by land development. UNTER STARBUCKS COFFEE ON CRACKED.COM The Florida fairy shrimp was discovered in 1952 to be a unique species of fairy shrimp specific to a single pond in Gainesville, Florida. When re- searchers returned to that pond in 2011, they realized it had been filled in for development. — Source

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