20 Dumb Trends We Would Prefer to Forget Ever Happened

Here’s What Gilda Radner and John Belushi Would Think of ‘SNL’ Today, Says Laraine Newman

23 of the Most Chaotic Good Things People Have Ever Witnessed

Monty Python’s Eric Idle Is 80 But Can’t Afford to Retire

The Medieval Jail Cell That Makes U.S. Prisons Seem Downright Swedish

45 Random Bits of Trivia That We Finally Won in A Highly Contentious Settlement

We weren’t about to let any other site walk away with these gems

45 Random Bits of Trivia That We Finally Won in A Highly Contentious Settlement

October 07, 2024

After three years in court, these facts are finally coming home with us!

Those other sites made decent cases, but in the end, Judge Ito made the right call. Not that Judge Ito. This was a totally different guy. What a coincidence though, huh?

Anyway, enough legal talk. We’re so over all that courtroom drama. So take a good look at them now, because after this, they’re going in the vault until they’re passed down to our favorite kid in our will!

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

45

Leonardo da Vinci's full name is Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci. CRACKED.COM Leonardo's last name isn't da Vinci. It just means from Vinci as in Vinci, Florence in Italy (where he's from). — Source

44

A study done in Florida in 1968 found that termites exposed to rock music ate wood faster. CRACKED COM The behavior would endan- ger the colony because the termites neglected the oth- er worker duties, including caring for and feeding oth- er colony members that cannot feed themselves. — Source

43

Viking men wore makeup. CRACKED.COM A Spanish Arab who vis- ited Hedeby around the year 1000 described how both men and women in the town wore make-up to look young- er and more attractive. — Source

42

Hippos can poop so much that they eliminate all the fish in their water supply. The sheer amount of river horse dookie creates a lay- er of ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and oth- er chemicals. The bacteria that digests the poop also consumes all the oxygen, choking out the fish. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

41

1-800-COLLECT owned the misspelling of AT&T's competing service. 5 jkl 4 ghi 6 mno 8 tuv 7 pqrs 9 wxyz CRACKED.COM AT&T launched 1-800-Opera- tor, but found that many peo- ple misspelled Operator with 'er' at the end. 1-800-COL- LECT owned 1-800-OPERAT- ER and had been taking their customers. — Source

40

Dishonorable mention in the SHKRELI AWARDS Physicians Premier ER for charging one of their doctors $11,000 for a test. COVID-19 After a Texas ER doctor got a COVID test in the facility where he worked, his insurance got a bill for $10,984. No, it wasn't some ultra-high-tech scan for individual

39

CHRIS HEMSWORTH WAS A SWIM TEAM JOCK IN A SOAP OPERA- He played a guy named, er, Kimberly in 171 episodes of Australia's Home and Away. His character

38

WEIRD WORLD In Atlanta, a woman had to pay an ER bill despite, uh, not going to the ER. Well, she was in the waiting room for a while, and then left after some time - apparently, that was enough for the hospital to charge her $700. CRACKED.COM — Source

37

Buddhist monks turn themselves into mummies by starving to death. CRACKED.COM The practice of Sokushinbutsu involves the monk following a strict starvation diet until ab- staining from eating altogether in order to lose as much body fat and moisture as possible. They would finally be locked in a tomb while still alive. — Source

36

It's possible for a child to be born with two biological fathers. CRACKED.COM There are two birth anom- alies - superfecundation (twins with separate fa- thers) and chimerism (ab- sorbed twins), that if com- bined, will create a single human with two biological fathers. — Source

35

THe DUDE IS A REAL DUDE. This is Jeff Dowd, friend of the Coen brothers. The Big Lebowsky Dude's personality, drink of choice, nickname, and even biography (some parts, anyway) are all borrowed from Dowd. AB CRACKED.COM — 8 Characters You Won't Believe Are Based on Real People

34

THE MOVIE: Birdman WHAT YOU Thinly-veiled biography of THINK IT Michael Keaton. MEANS: WHAT IT Biography of the director. MEANS: Specifically, it's ab — Source: Rolling Stone

33

Samuel Wright recorded his lines for The Little Mermaid from the floor. He's pretty tall, and he wanted to get into the mindset of Sebastian, who's ab — Source: Nambucca Guardian

32

An 18th-century Spanish statue of Jesus had a time capsule stuffed up its a*s. In 2017, restorers fouNd a hatch on the statue's back with two notes ab

31

In Japan, blood type matters more than astrological sign. 1398 ASDC HD A B A AB ! : were the AB I : i The ! I 211 RANGO SOL adidas adidas The theory of Ketsuekigata states that different blood types correlate to different personalities. Ketsuekigata is so popular in Japan that there are even dating sites that will match you based on blood type. CRACKED.COM — Source: Tofugo

30

(m+n) ab b2 (a+b)2 37.9% of Americans a a 7C n/n (ab) ab over 24 have a b) n bachelor's degree II 222) si 20 X + This is up from 30.4% XL in 2011. X ما 3<- A 14.3% of those have a x graduate or professional degree. 2 2 P C D=b2-L y, = y+b CRACKED.COM — Source

29

#mOo The B4tg0 2as @ab/rm mcnealt proprietor of a restaurant in Kochi, India installede an outside refrigerator that is open 24/7 and stocked with lef

28

In Jurassic Park, Dr. Hammond is naive, but welHintentioned. But he was originally a mad scientist. In a deleted scene, Dr. Grant confronts Hammond ab

27

Forgotten sitcoms LANDING THE BAILEYS OF BALBOA 1964-1965 CF 2122 AW This show tried to jump on the Gilligan bandwagon with only a charter boat at a marina instead of a full island, while also having to compete with Peyton Place. Silly show, nobody can compete with Peyton Place, even if you feature a baby Clint Howard. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Alec Baldwin lost his mind when airline staff asked him to quit playing Words With Friends on his phone. TI 14:08 U DL SAMSUNG 215 IL 235 5 EN - Happy DROID - . G TL E CI с A R - - ن Onzoz M . - - POURS - HARDO - . 1 . WH с 6 O AW - M BOT by . NO GED WOP - / с - DOUEE PLAY After the surliest and puffiest Baldwin brother boarded an American Airlines flight, he refused to turn off his cell phone after multiple requests by the — Source

25

3M began as a mining company 333 201 Alway Minnesota Mining S Abanufacturing Company, PHIP per Creck BEAS a - Ford с - Charact Out оли Ministering Company handfulle for - Freeke of the & - helpful properly - TEAR White you doged يوم - offer they $1.00 3M, formerly known as Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, started with mining highly-valuable corundum for making abrasives. However, they got anorthosite, which was poorly-suited for their purpose. 3M 3M 3M They instead went on to KITO AM KIE AW KITO AT AW Wetordry Wetordry™ Wetordry™ dry make their own sandpaper 3000 3000 0 — Source

24

The Buffy episode Hush had almost no dialogue. How do S get my JOSS WHEDON LEFT IT OUT TO SPITE HIS CRITICS. Whedon's detractors felt that dialogue was his only redeeming skill, so Whedon decided to prove them wrong. Hush is almost completely silent from beginning to end, which Whedon accomplished by having demons take away people's voices. The episode wound up earning an Emmy and a huge cult following. GRACKED.COM https:/www businessinsider.com aw/buffy-episode-hush-was-a-masterpiece-2014-7 — Source

23

Jain Cosmology Aw, science and religion make nice again. The ancient Indian religion, Jainism, believes that matter, space, time, and principles of motion have always existed since it's impossible to create matter out of nothing. A belief shared by the law of conservation of energy. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Aw, don’t be sad, baby. Come here.

Mr. Jay insulted - then groped - a contestant on America's Next Top Model. THE URR WAR In The Girl Who Gets A Boob Job, one exercise points out the girls' physical flaws. After Jay picks one girl apart in front of everyone, he asks to squeeze her butt, so she uncomfortably walks over and lets him. CRACKED — Source / The List

21

Reach: born to fly.

CRACKED A C-17 EVACUATION PLANE An Afghan baby was born on an American military plane while it was evacuating and they named the baby Reach, after the plane's call sign. 446TH AW . — Good Morning America

20

Sandwich Artists

CRACKED AT DUNKIN DONUTS, ONLY SENIOR EMPLOYEES CAN MAKE SANDWICHES. Cold POSITIVE ENERGY COOO DRINK COFF POSITIS DRINK ENERGY BE DRINK 18.600 COFFEE COFF WES LOPELO BE BE DUNKIN AVESOME AW SEUP You also have to wear socks at all times while working there. — 5 Silly Rules for Important Jobs / Zippia

19

Urban Dictionary: Now in court.

CRACKED AW ADAPTING TO NEW TECH RELYING ON URBAN DICTIONARY In recent years, Urban Dictionary has been used in a lot of court cases to explain slang words and phrases that regular dictionaries don't have. This is, of course, because traditional dictionaries don't usually keep up with the way people talk. UR ban DICTIONARY — Urban Dictionary
The New York Times

18

Government rewards criminals, kind of.

AW ADAPTING TO NEW TECH GIVING BACK SEIZED DRUG MONEY In Sweden, the government gave back over €1.3 million in Bitcoin to three drug dealers. It seized their ВТС, but valued them in Swedish Krona at that point, and Bitcoin price skyrocketed soon after - so very little of their BTC had to be sold. NEKUR B the CRACKED — Andreanicolini/Shutterstock
Euronews

17

Cryptocurrency users: Brace yourselves.

AW ADAPTING TO NEW TECH FIGURING OUT WHO OWNS CRYPTO ON DEAD EXCHANGES Courts in the U.S. are now looking into who owns the crypto assets that are in accounts that have been frozen at bankrupt digital asset exchanges. This could have a big impact on how customers are protected when it comes to cryptocurrency. FT CRACKED — Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock
Reuters

16

Along with, er, Colombia?

CRACKED ChatGPT AW ADAPTING TO NEW TECH CHATGPT JUDGING CASES A judge in Colombia caused a stir by using ChatGPT to decide if an autistic child's insurance should cover all of their medical expenses. This sparked a debate about using Al in court, with some (some!) of the judge's colleagues voicing their disapproval. — CKA/Shutterstock
The Guardian

15

Aw, but their characters are synonymous with besties!

CRACKED PENNY MARSHALL & CINDY WILLIAMS The Laverne & Shirley characters may have been besties, but Williams was unhappy with the network's choices for her character, and jealous of Marshall's popularity. She left the show, the ratings plummeted, and their relationship was non-existent for quite a while. — Nicki Swift / People / The Guardian

14

Paris Hilton

Japan once banned Paris Hilton from coming into the country at all. FO EAL CHA AW She'd just gotten arrested for possession of cocaine a month earlier in the US, which meant Japan closed its doors to her. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Celebs We Didn’t Know Got Banned From Other Countries

13

Joss Whedon is a third-generation TV writer

CRACKED.COM NEPOTISM BABIES Al AW Joss Whedon The Work: Buffy, Firefly, Avengers, Dollhouse, feminist backlash, the bad Justice League Dad Tom Whedon's Work: Alice, The Golden Girls Granddad John Whedon's Work: The Donna Reed Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show — Source: Us Weekly

12

Cute Wil Planet Discovered

Aw, scientists discover a baby planet E b CRACKED.COM Scientists recently found possibly the youngest planet that we know of. The little bundle of joy is estimated to be a few times bigger than Jupiter. Happy disovery day, li'l 2M0437b. — Source: CBS News

11

RALPH COULD'VE BEEN A ONE-HORNED MONSTER. Wreck-It Ralph ON a Time H aw Ralph drastically changed appearances several times during early production. Everyone's favorite bad' guy started off as a horned monster, then became a caveman, before finally morphing into his iconic look. CRACKED.COM — Gizmodo

10

45 Random Bits of Trivia That We Finally Won in A Highly Contentious Settlement — Greendale 'website'

9

Argentine Tegus have a unique defense mechanism, which is scaring predators by running on two feet. I imagine the predators' thought process goes a little something like: Aw hell no I did not sign up for this CRACKED.COM — Source: EverythingReptiles

8

Law getting weird, indeed.

AW ADAPTING ITO NEW TECH RECOGNIZING EMOJI AS DEFAMATORY SPEECH In Australia, the court decided in Burrows V Houda that using a zipper- face emoji in a particular situation amounted to saying something defamatory. This was the first case of its kind in Australia and, uh, it says a lot about the law getting weird. CRACKED — Yefym Turkin/Shutterstock
Technology & Marketing Law Blog

7

<astonished face emoji>

CRACKED AW ADAPTING TO NEW TECH CONVICTING BASED ON... EMOJI? In Israel, a court case used an emoji-filled text message as proof that someone had agreed to rent an apartment, and they had to pay $2,200 for it even though they never moved in. — Fusionstudio/Shutterstock
Mashable

6

Edward T 00 Dawkins Aw CRACKEDCON When this pro biker crashed and ripped a patch of skin off his shoulder, a reporter asked him where it hurt. I'm fr — Source: Sky Sports

5

Robot judges: Estonia leads the way.

CRACKED AW ADAPTING TO NEW TECH AI JUDGING CASES Estonia is planning to use a form of artificial intelligence to make decisions in some small court cases. This will be the first time a country has given a robot the power to decide legal matters. — Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock
Wired

4

Director Dan Gilroy did not intend for NIGHTCRAWLER to be a movie about a psychopath who would do anything for a buck. Gilroy wanted people to come aw

3

Aw, George and Steven are just so cute.

CRACKED WE CAN SEE E.T.'S PALS IN STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE. George Lucas confirmed that 3 members of the Galactic Senate are members of the same species as Е.Т. This returned the favor, since Spielberg included a Yoda costume in E.T. — Fandom

2

Matt Groening portrayed himself as a trigger-happy drunk in his first Simpsons appearance. REC LI'G IN HELL THE SMPIOs AW 0D GROENING Yes, The Simpso

1

Aw, my stash got raided!

CRACKED ACORN-HOARDING WOODPECKERS. Nick's Extreme Pest Control in Santa Rosa cracked open a homeowner's wall, and 700 lbs of acorns completely filled the room. — NPR / Audubon

Tags:

Visual

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

Science & History

5 Unassuming Cities That Secretly Control the World

Movies & TV

40 Random Bits of TV and Movie Trivia to Download Into Your Brain, ‘Matrix’-Style, Between Kung Fu Lessons

Science & History

5 Things We Should By No Means Be Teaching Animals

Movies & TV

‘Seinfeld’ Plots You Didn’t Know Were Ripped from 1990s Headlines

Movies & TV

14 Cutting-Edge Advancements in CGI That You Can Now Do on Your Phone From the Toilet

Movies & TV

Seven Sitcoms That Got Seriously Retooled After Season One

VIRAL ON CRACKED

1

15 Scientific Reasons Humans Are The Weirdest Of All Animals

2

Seven Sitcoms That Got Seriously Retooled After Season One

3

29 Dramatic School Events That Caused Chaos for the Faculty

4

40 Myths and Mistruths Whispered Into Humanity’s Ear by Apate, the Greek Goddess of Deceit

5

25 'Unsolved' Mysteries (That Have Totally Been Solved)