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Facts to gush over

43 Random Bits of Trivia That Had the Decency to Ring Our Doorbell Instead of Sitting in Their Car Honking

October 28, 2024

We didn’t think that our parents’ approval meant much to us, but seeing the look on our dad’s face when these facts came to the door was kind of heartwarming. They’re kind, thoughtful facts that can look anyone in the eye and be honest about their intentions.

Once dad knew that they were here to teach us over 40 random facts and have us home by 10, he slipped a 20 in their pocket and wished us a good knowledge-filled night.

43

TENDER Friend HUNDRED are A AUS SUPER PGK S KB46 FEDERAL HENERVE NOTE KB 46279860I BOWL AD B2 TENSER KTS NATURAL TAKIS - Disney AJATE have 46 GRACKED.COM SONTE DO MA PAR the - The Census Bureau spent $2.5 million in 2010 on a Super Bowl ad with B-list celebs. The government kind of has better ways of reaching KB S people. This ad, say experts, targeted those who'd likely have answered the census anyway. 60 I — Source

42

George Clooney's first role on TV was playing a down-to-earth handyman in 1985 on the sitcom, The Facts of Life. CRACKED.COM Early on in his career, before ER turned him into a superstar, he was also seen on Roseanne and even The Golden Girls. — Source

41

THINGS YOU CAN DO CRACKED.COM WITH A BELLY BUTTON GET PAYBACK ACTRESS MARIETTE HARTLEY'S BELLY BUTTON WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BE SHOWN IN A 1966 EPISODE OF STAR TREK. Double Dip Gene Roddenberry got payback in his show Genesis II, when he gave her character two belly buttons, and showed both! — Source

40

Your liver has a superhuman ability to regrow. Donor Recipient The liver can grow back its full size even after 75% of it is removed. When you donate your liver, the donated part will grow back to full size in the host's body; yours will too. CRACKED.COM — 30 Medical Facts You'll Swear Are B.S. (But Aren't)

39

The New Gods first appeared in Jimmy Olsen's comic. Darkseid, Mister Miracle... The Fourth World cosmic beings that Jack Kirby created for DC Comics needed to be introduced to readers - and for some reason, that introduction happened on the pages of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. — More: 7 Times Comedians Crossed Over Into Comic Books

38

Military Grade

Military grade means the opposite of what you think it means. CRACKED.COM In the actual military, military grade is defined as meeting the bare-minimum requirements of durability, while also costing the least. — Source

37

One type of moth spreads pheromones using hairy appendages that shoot out from its backside. The Creatonotos gangis moth spreads its pheromones using enormous, inflatable appendages that unfurl from deep inside its abdomen called hair-pencils. CRACKED.COM — Australian Geographic

36

OnlyFans bribed Meta to tag their competitors as terrorists. OnlyFans GRAGKED.COM Adult performers who sold their content on rival plat- forms of OnlyFans had their Instagram and Facebook ac- counts tagged as containing terrorist content by Meta employees since 2018. — WIONews

35

CRACKED MCDONALD'S WAS COOL WITH EXPIRED MEAT! In 2014, reporters filmed an American-owned Shanghai factory changing the dates on expired meat before sending it to McDonald's and KFC locations in China. KFC dropped the supplier, but McDonald's kept using them. — Source

34

It looks like we're successfully saving the Saharan gazelle from extinction. A bunch of the gazelles was placed in a breeding program in Spain, which eventually produced thousands of new gazelles. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Your sushi isn't the fish you ordered. More often than not, that halibut isn't halibut and the red snapper isn't actually red snapper. Not even in hig

32

Hawaii is now the first US state where it's illegal to capture a shark. Shark fishing is now banned there, so catching sharks within state marine waters is now absolutely off-limits as of January 1, 2022. CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Positive Headlines To Remind Us Of The Good Happening Right Now

31

CRACKED THE SPANISH HABSBURGS The Spanish Habsburg dynasty, which had been in power for centuries, ended with the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700. This was caused by 16 generations of inbreeding, which had caused a lot of health issues and infertility in the royal family. — NatGeo / All That's Interesting

30

George Clooney is known for pranking his friends. And that one time he punked a whole town. In 2006 there were rumors that Brad Pitt and Angelina Joli

29

Poet T. S. Eliot wore green makeup, for some unknown reason. x GRACKED COM No one is sure why the poet dusted his face with green powder, though some guess he was just trying to look more interesting. 27% — The Guardian

28

43 Random Bits of Trivia That Had the Decency to Ring Our Doorbell Instead of Sitting in Their Car Honking — Source

27

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM THERE'S AN EPISODE OF MARRIED WITH CHILDREN THAT NEVER MADE ITTO AIR. It's called I'll See You In Court, and there was just too much sex - the Bundys went to a hotel to have sex, then found a sex tape of their neighbors there, then found out they too were filmed having sex. — Source

26

Mr. Rogers

Mr. Roger's Details Rogers' level of detail wasn't superfluous. He studied child development and worked closely with many academic researchers, includ

25

WEIRD WORLD In Oklahoma, a woman got thrown out of church for bringing cilantro. People thought it was marijuana so they kicked her out, despite her protests that it was just for her soup. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Keanu Reeves was in an awful movie because someone forged his signature. Keanu never signed up to play a serial killer in 2000's The Watcher but some friend signed up for him. Keanu couldn't prove that wasn't his signature on the contract, so he was forced to make a movie he wanted nothing to do with. — More: Keanu Reeves Was Forced Into Making His Worst Movie

23

Richard Dreyfuss caught a whiff of his own mortality. SILVER CITY POSEIDON A month after silver City came out, he said I want to do something else. I'll only live once, and I am 10 years out of the hospital or retirement home, and promptly retired. He came back

22

Every day, millions of people drink beer made from fermented bananas. the BAHA GLAS E - - I RAHA لل I I I I BAHAMA Alcoholic 350 ml Deverage Alchofic THan Beverage HALL - - - - = - ITUM - I Issued IN Investments Insurance M 2 ml - - - Bottles of urwagwa CRACKED.COM It's a super-popular traditional drink in East Africa, and there are many subtypes - the Rwandan urwagwa, the Ugandan tonto and waragi, etc. — Source: 29 Fascinating Facts About Booze

21

Roald Dahl Victim-Blamed Jews CRACKED.COM Meanwhile, Roald Dahl had a lot to say specifically about Jews, implying that their lack of generosity toward non-Jews naturally provoke ani- mosity and calling them submis- sive because he would have a go at taking one of the guards with me to the gas chambers. Yes, Roald Dahl and Mark Wahlberg have something in common. — New Statesman

20

THE OSCAR WINNER Lawrence of Arabia is the story of a British army officer who leads a revolt. REALITY THE Arab countries were SO revolted by the film

19

Steven Van Zandt

E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt is rarely seen on stage without his signature head bandana. The artist revealed that he adopted the look beca

18

There is one recorded case of men on horseback capturing a naval fleet. In the Battle of Texel in January 1795, a fleet of 14 Dutch ships was trapped in ice near Texel Island. The French heard of that and sent infantry, cavalry, and horse artillery forces to capture them. Apparently, there was no fighting - after a five-day standoff, the ships surrendered. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

17

BILL COSBY CRACKED.COM Mo Amer met comedy idol Cosby five weeks before seeing the disgraced stand-up performing a chess routine practically identical to his own. Cosby also admitted to the LA Times that he'd pilfered a line or two from George Carlin. — Source

16

Mikhail Gorbachev released an album of ballads. In 2009, 10 years after his wife died of leukemia, Gorbachev took the step of contributing to a cancer research charity by... uh, singing ballads and auctioning off the album. It fetched $164,940 from someone who (understandably) chose to remain anonymous. CRACKED.COM — More: Gorbachev Released An Album Of Ballads In 2009
Photo: RIA Novosti/Wiki Commons

15

Heroin

Created with good intentions HEROIN In 1899, a German company made a new form of morphine that was easier to take as a cough medicine. They called it heroin and it quickly became popular, but by 1914, people were showing up at hospitals with addictions. CRACKED — dindumphoto/Shutterstock
Yale School of Medicine

14

Coffee does NOT dehydrate you. The reason you might see an increase in urination is because it's mostly water. It actually helps hydrate you and you can count it toward your water intake. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

After the 2011 earthquake, a Japanese Harley-Davison washed up on a Canadian beach 4,000 miles away. The bike was tracked down to Ikuo Yokoyama, a Jap

12

Son of Chuck Norris EE WAETSMAR Wolverine NORRIS VINL IDINC is a stuntman, stunt driver, and stock car driver with a long list of Hollywood credits in

11

Spain

CHOOSE SPAIN CHOOSE SPAIN CRACKED.COM A fine name for a Spanish import website, but either the url wasn't double-checked or the webmaster is a sad person. — Source: 12 Reasons These Businesses Have Ridiculous Names

10

The author writes a love note in her own book. MARGARET ATWOOD THE HANDMAID'S TALE CRACKED.COM In the novel The Handmaid's Tale, there's not a lot of non-sanctioned love going on in dystopian New England, which makes the appearance of М. loves G. 1972 carved into a desk that much more intriguing. The individuals behind the message aren't characters in the book, but rather the author Margaret Atwood and the man she married in 1972, Greame Gibson. — Source

9

BEHIND-THE-SCENES, FACTS THEY WRECKED A REAL LAMBORGHINI. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET For some reason, instead of using a replica, the production crew decided to use an actual 25th Anniversary Lamborghini Countach (one of only 658 ever produced) for scenes where Leonardo DiCaprio drives under the influence of drugs. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Vacant Houses

In the US, the number of vacant houses are six times greater than the number of homeless people. USA Europe Homeless 3.5 million 4.1 million people Vacant 18.5 million 11 million houses The ratio in Europe is less than half that. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Cringey Cameos The О.С. Chris Brown Brown appeared as a well-mannered A-student back in 2007, before becoming a synonym for violent, toxic masculinity. The stint lasted 3 episodes, but his legendary douchebaggery lives on. CRACKED.COM — Source: Clip on YouTube

6

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

5

7 people hold the keys to the internet. CRACKED.COM These seven digital keys, held by handpicked securi- ty experts, create a master key, which in turn controls one of the central security measures at the core of the web. — Source

4

43 Random Bits of Trivia That Had the Decency to Ring Our Doorbell Instead of Sitting in Their Car Honking — Read More: 21 Mistakes You're Making About Food You Eat

3

John Kruk

CRACKED JOHN KRUK: RETIRED MID-GAME, STILL A .300 HITTER. John Kruk was a great MLB hitter who famously retired in the middle of a game, watching the rest from his couch, and is now a color commentator for the Phillies. His retirement was a unique and humorous way to go out as a lifetime .300 hitter. — SportsCasting / Inquirer

2

CRACKED THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES IS ONLY 2.4 MILES. It can be crossed on foot during the winter months, when the Bering Strait freezes over. # - - - fice Noskan Kotsebue kotski 850+ Dezneva Diomede Shishmaref strov Uelen diBering Mys S ..I. avrentija Pe Wales Teller lngiaran Novoje Str. Caplino King 1. Nome Mys Caplina 30 No me - - Gamball and — Source

1

Media blunders 1932 WALTER DURANTY, PULITZER PRIZE WINNER STALIN AIN'T SO BAD In 1932, Duranty won the Pulitzer Prize for writing 13 articles about the Soviet Union under Stalin. Unfortunately, his coverage has been proven to be inaccurate because he downplayed Stalin's brutality and only used official sources. CRACKED — Wiki Commons
The New York Times Company

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