12 Farm-Fresh Trivia Tidbits for Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Thanksgiving has never been so cheap!
Transitioning From Ropes to Clusters Increased Nerds Sales Tenfold
Nerds used to be extremely popular in and of themselves, but people eventually got sick of chewing on loose fish tank gravel. Market research indicated people liked Nerds Rope, but wanted something “cleaner.” They tested countless sizes and textures until they landed on the current recipe for Nerds Gummy Clusters, which took them from $40 million in 2018 to $500 million a few years later.
What Are the Most Lucrative Horror Villains?
A study of the 50 top-grossing horror movies between 1995 and 2024 found that cults made up 2 percent of bad guys, aliens 14 percent, monsters 20 percent, “one scary guy” 24 percent and ghosts/demons 40 percent.
A Menu of DIY Fleshlights
AskMen put together a guide to making your own single-use fleshlights at home, instead of shelling out 40 to 200 bucks for a permanent one. You can choose from the Cornstarch Fleshlight, Sock Fleshlight, Sponge Fleshlight, Condom and Towel Fleshlight and the Meat Fleshlight.
American Airlines Wants to Start Loudly Embarrassing the Worst Passengers
People who try to board before their group is called (or “gate lice” in industry parlance) will be met with a loud siren that will alert other passengers of their attempted transgressions.
George R.R. Martin Taps Into the Sexual Depths of British Brains
A survey that asked British folks what TV shows they most like to roleplay in the boudoir found Martin’s work in the top five twice. Brits get nice and randy pretending to be characters from House of the Dragon, Gladiator, Bridgerton, Game of Thrones and Fifty Shades of Grey. Even more baffling, “Professional Football” came in sixth place.
San Francisco Is Paying Hundreds of Millions to Kill the Floppy Disc
San Francisco’s Muni Metro is one of a few transportation services worldwide that still get along perfectly well using the humble floppy disc. But they’re paying $212 million to finally upgrade their technology to something “five generations ahead.” So like, a HitClip?
The $400,000 Cheese Heist
Thieves convinced celebrity chef Jamie Oliver that they represented a high-end supermarket, and had his company drop off 48,000 pounds of cheese at a warehouse “for inspection.” Once the mountain of dairy was in the warehouse, they packed it up and skipped town.
Jimmy John’s Is Going Gluten-Free
Jimmy John’s new Picklewich is taking gluten out of the equation entirely, substituting the bread for just a huge pickle.
Supermarkets Are Scrambling to Make Thanksgiving Cheaper
364 days of the year are dedicated to price gouging, but Thanksgiving is all about pretending they care about the consumer’s budget. Stores are offering ready-made Thanksgiving meals for cheaper than ever this year: Target’s selling a whole turkey and a bunch of sides for $20, Walmart’s meal is $45 and feeds four people and Aldi’s is $47 for 10 people.
Jason Segel’s Shrinky Dink Got Harrison Ford on Board ‘Shrinking’
When Ford was considering joining the show, he was told to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which famously features a full-frontal scene of Segel, to get a feel for his potential coworker. Ford liked the film, and texted the showrunner, “I’m in. BTW, good dick.”
The $500,000 Dime
An Ohio farming family bought a dime with a rare imperfection in 1978 for $18,200, and held onto it as a nest egg for all these decades. They just sold it at auction for $506,250.
The Legendary Norse ‘Well-Man’ Has Been Identified
The 12th century was a rough time for Norwegians, with multiple crews claiming the throne. One legend tells of a group of southron marauders storming a castle and throwing a dead body into a well to poison the drinking water, and indeed, a body was found in the bottom of a well in the 1930s. They finally ground down a tooth to test the DNA and found, to no one’s surprise, this was a blond-haired blue-eyed guy with modern-day relatives in the southern part of the country.
