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These facts are a little rough around the edges

40 Random Bits of Trivia to Polish Up in Your Cerebral Rock Tumbler

November 05, 2024

We hope that your brain is up for a little project. Some brains are like that. They see some slightly schlubby facts and think, “I can change them.” Maybe it’s right. Maybe it can mold these facts into whatever it wants. It won’t be able to change their truths because, deep down, they’ll always be true. But it can at least dress them up nice for family functions and finally get them to pick up after themselves.

40

Bitcoin

The first thing ever bought with Bitcoin was Papa John's pizza. Every May 22, cryptophiles celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day, the anniversary of the first ever crypto transaction. On that date in 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz plunked down 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas from Papa John's. Не could get a lot more pizza with that today, but Hanyecz has no regrets. CRACKED.COM — Source

39

The Terminator

40 Random Bits of Trivia to Polish Up in Your Cerebral Rock Tumbler — Source

38

Blushing

WHY DO WE BLUSH? We all feel our cheeks redden and warm when we're embarrassed, but we have no idea why. Neither do scientists though. Ray Crozier, a

37

British Spies

40 Random Bits of Trivia to Polish Up in Your Cerebral Rock Tumbler — Source: 16 Ridiculous Gadgets Used By IRL James Bonds

36

Mounties

Mounties were created to fend off dumb Americans. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were created in part as a response to the shenanigans of Americans trading illegal whiskey along the border between the two countries CRACKED.COM — Source

35

House Spirits

NEVER PHYSICALLY GREET SOMEONE OVER A THRESHOLD In Russian folklore, the house spirit resides in the doorway of a dwelling, and shaking hands or kissing in the spirit's space will result in super bad luck. CRACKED.COM — The Moscow Times

34

FernGully: The Last Rainforest

CLIMATE CHANGE MOVIES FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST BATTY KODA WAS CREATED FOR ROBIN WILLIAMS. Batty was supposed to have around eight minutes of screen time, but Williams provided 14 hours of improv, so it was tripled. Williams also stood his ground when Disney tried to force him out of the movie and only do Aladdin. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

33

Money

BANQUE DU ZAIRE VINGY MICLE ZAIRES 0 0 0 0 17-1991 Nyultill When dictator Joseph Mobutu was overthrown, Zaire's government cut his face off the currency until they could design and print new notes. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

32

Dramamine

Dramamine wasn't intended as a pill for motion sickness. In the 1940s, Compound 1694 was being looked into as an allergy medicine - but then a volunteer for the experimental treatment reported that she didn't feel sick as usual on the streetcar. This steered research into a new direction, resulting in the yellow pill. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Superman

40 Random Bits of Trivia to Polish Up in Your Cerebral Rock Tumbler — Source: Aruma

30

The Man Without a Heart

Craig Lewis from Texas lived for5 weeks without a heart. Doctors had developeda a continuoust flow device that would allow the blood to circulate with

29

Robert Downey Jr.

As soon as Robert Downey Jr. met Hugh Grant on the set of Restoration, he hated him. RDJ wanted to kill him on sight for no reason, leaving Grant so hurt. After over 20 years, RDJ offered to bury the hatchet. CRACKED.COM — Source: 34 Celebs You Had No Idea Were In Bitter Feuds

28

Queen Elizabeth

A man who worked for Queen Elizabeth in the 1600s went into self-imposed exile after he farted in front of her. Cuz Daughter of Rouces ler in Coms Ita and died 24 of June JG CRACKED.COM Edward de Vere left England for 7 years. When he return,ed, the Queen greeted him by saying My Lord, I had forgotten the Fart. — Brief lives

27

Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel MISTEL THE LUXU OF HOLLE Garfunkel felt that Simon's solo single True or False was a betrayal. They were hyper-competitive and envious of each other. Manager Mort Lewis said that Paul thought the audience viewed Art as the star, and Art felt inferior since Paul wrote the music. CRACKED — Source

26

The Challenger

The team searching for the Challenger's wreckage found cocaine worth millions. Experts spent nine weeks scanning 420 square miles of ocean with sonar.

25

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller got the idea for Tropic Thunder while he was working on Empire of the Sun. A number of his castmates were getting roles in war movies, and they'd compare the work to boot camp. It inspired Stiller to wonder what would actually happen to actors in a war zone. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Google

Google provides the US government a higher resolution version of Google Maps. CRACKED.COM GeoEye-1 is the satellite that provides Google with imag- ery for Google Maps. At the time of its launch, GeoEye-1 was the world's highest reso- lution commercial Earth-im- aging satellite. — Source

23

The Moon

You are ever-so-slightly lighter when the moon is directly above. CRACKED.COM The moon pulls you upwards slightly, due to its gravity. Although it is basically imperceivable, and not a recommended method of weight loss, you do weigh less with the moon right overhead. — Sid Martin

22

McDonald’s

The Filet-O-Fish was created in 1962 for Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent. CRACKED.COM According to McDonald's, a quarter of all its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches for the year are sold during Lent. — Source

21

J.J. Abrams

There's an important detail JJ Abrams would change in The Force Awakens. When Rey and Chewie come back after Han's death, Abrams says Chewie shouldn't have just walked past Leia (who embraced Rey). CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Apple Cider

Apple cider is called cider, but pear cider is actually just called perry. Well, it's the name of one type of pear cider - made from pears that grow on trees so tall you can't climb them, you have to wait for the pears to fall off. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Olympic Anti-Sex Beds

Best/Worst things to come out of lockdown Olympics TOKYO2023 Though it may not have affected what we saw on- screen that much, you can bet the anti-sex cardboard beds that affected the Olympic consextants. CRACKED.COM — Forbes

18

Star Wars

The Phantom Menace even CGI'd Natalie Portman. She limped in some scenes because she had hurt her ankle, so the VFX team had to give her CGI legs in them. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Movie (And Other Cool Stuff) Now-You-Know Facts

17

The One-Legged Evil Clown

In 1925, a one-legged clown escaped prison and was never found. Не was convicted in 1912 in Chicago, for the murder of an heiress, and was sentenced to life in prison. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Facial Hair

FACIAL HAIR TRENDS MAY BE GUIDED BY EVOLUTION In the mating game those in pursuit of a potential mate are often attracted to a rare trait. I For insta

15

John Lennon

WHEN JOHN LENNON SAID WE'RE MORE POPULAR THAN JESUS. CRACKED Dubbed the Beatles Boycott, his offhand remark led to protests, album burnings, death threats, and since they feared for their safety, it effectively ended their touring career. What hasn't been said about Jesus since then? Lookin' at you, South Park. — Source

14

The American Flag

The US Flag has stringent regulations on its display and appearance, and that continues in the Internet Age. The colors of the flag, Old Glory Red and Old Glory Blue, even have official hex codes: #B31942 and #0A3161. CRACKED.COM — Source: American Legion

13

Penicillin

Howard Florey led a team of scientists to produce penicillin, the first antibiotic that could be used to treat serious infectious diseases. Thanks to his work developing Alexander Fleming's discovery, millions of lives have been saved. CRACKED — Julian Smith/Wiki Commons
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

12

Mark Ruffalo

CRACKED.COM Who killed Mark Ruffalo's brother? When Scott Ruffalo died in 2008, police said he had been playing Russian roulette-until they found out that someone else had shot him. Two people were with him at the time, one of them a rich Saudi heiress. But if anyone knew anything, they kept their mouths well shut. — Source

11

Egypt

For a while, in ancient Egypt, iron was more valuable than gold itself. For centuries, Egyptians had no technology for smelting iron, so they got iron from meteorites - and it was very, very rare. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton lost the Nuclear Launch Codes. Не didn't just leave them in his other pants. They were missing for months. UP Mawis CRACKED.COM Bill-Clinton-lost-val e-nuclear-codes.html — Source: 22 Facts That Shatter Your Image of American Presidents

9

Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys are the best selling boy band in history Sorry, NSYNC fans but by the numbers, BSB wins fair and square, with over 100 million albums sold. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Sydney Morning Herald

8

Email

The ability to get work mail anywhere should boost productivity. But actually, it does the opposite. The 24/7 workplace sounds great on paper: Even wh

7

Hook

HOOK Glenn 2 Close CRACKED.COM She plays the nervous pirate who was forced into the Boo Box and introduced a generation to claustrophobia. — 22 Surprising Celebrity Appearances Everybody Forgets About

6

Color of Night

erotic thrillers 1994 color of night Before The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis already played a shrink in this easily mocked trash can. A colleague of his kills himself, and Willis comes off from the incident unable to see the color red, because of Freudian nonsense, we guess. Не then takes over his friends' therapy group, by which we mean he bones his way through the female patients. CRACKED.COM — Trailer on YouTube

5

Fender

The inventor of Fender guitars didn't know how to play them. CRACKED.COM Despite designing the Telecaster and Strato- caster, and inventing the solid-body electric bass guitar, Lawrence Leoni- das Leo Fender was an engineer, not a musician. — Source

4

World War I

Villages in Britain that suffered no casualties during WWI were called Thankful Villages. 31 of these villages, also known as Blessed Villages, exist in England, having all men who left to serve in the war return home. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Guardian

3

Working Overtime

Working overtime is great, because of all the extra money. It's also a lot of extra deadly. That's not hyperbole. People who work 11-hour days run a 67 percent higher risk of heart disease than their full-time counterparts. The cause, according to the American Journal of Epidemiology, is a combination of stress, raised blood pressure, and unhealthy diets caused by spending mealtimes at the office eating takeout and grazing from the vending machines. http://www.forbes. com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/09/1 2/why- CRACKED.COM working-more-than-8-hours-a-day-can-kill-you/#2d6681526509 — Source

2

China

China forced people to smoke. In 2009, authorities in the Chinese province of Hubei had an idea to boost the economy: Pressuring public servants to ta — More: China Made Its Citizens Smoke 10 Million Cigarettes

1

Jordan Peele

CRACKED.COM Jordan Peele quit acting because of The Emoji Movie. Being offered the role of the Poop Emoji gave Peele serious pause-and it got worse when Sir Patrick Stewart snatched the shitty part before Peele could make any decision. His reaction was, F*ck this, and has stuck to working mostly behind the cameras since. — Source

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