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44 Random Bits of Trivia That Feel Like Stepping on a Rake of Knowledge

Face the facts

44 Random Bits of Trivia That Feel Like Stepping on a Rake of Knowledge

November 17, 2024

If you’ve ever seen The Simpsons episode “Cape Feare,” you’ll definitely remember the scene where Sideshow Bob steps on a ton of rakes and gets whacked in the face over and over again. It’s comedic gold. Sideshow Bob didn’t seem to enjoy it, but we’re sure he would have if every rake had a little fact on the handle.

We’ve been dreaming of that scenario for years, but we just realized that there’s nothing stopping us from making it happen. We buy a few dozen rakes, tape on the facts, go to town on our own faces and then return them all the next day. No pain, no gain!

44

World War II

In WWII, Finland went to a great deal of trouble to bring its dead home. Search expeditions were organized so dead soldiers could be taken to their home parishes and buried there, and only those remains that couldn't be identified were buried on the battlefield. CRACKED.COM — Source

43

Zootopia

In Zootopia, Kristen Bell voices Priscilla, the female sloth at the DMV. The crew wanted her for the role once they saw the viral Ellen clip about her love of sloths. She accepted their offer of a two-word sloth cameo in two to three minutes. CRACKED.COM — 12 Stealthy Celebrities Cameos In Films

42

Language

People in Montana and Wyoming spoke a language related to the Aztecs'. The languages spoken there are part of the Uto-Aztecan Linguistic Group, which includes languages in the western US and Mexico. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Indigenous Mexico

41

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando would often gaze to one side in scenes, giving him that iconic cool, detached look. He did it to read his lines.. They were written on a

40

Stephen Hawking

Sport Celebrities Stephen Hawking was a star coxswain on the University of Oxford's rowing team before contracting ALS. CRACKED.COM — Source

39

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey sent someone to the Playboy Mansion dressed as Tony Clifton. When Jim Carrey was invited to the Playboy Mansion while playing Kaufman in Man in the Moon, he wanted to go as Andy Kaufman's alter ego, Tony Clifton. Hugh Hefner ruined the joke by telling everyone the strange man in a wig and sunglasses would be Carrey, so Carrey sent a stand-in. CRACKED.COM — Source: 4 Legendary Pranks by Famous Comedians

38

Stroker & Hoop

Stroker & Hoop 2004-2005 C.AR.R. CRACKED COM This Starsky & Hutch animated parody featured two inept private investigators, lasting a total of 13 episodes.

37

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson made about $90 million for playing The Joker BATMAN (1989) Nicholson was the top pick to play the supervillain. His 1980s hefty fee started at $10 million, but he agreed to 'only' make $6 million for a percentage of the profits (including character merchandise). CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Batman Behind-The-Scenes Facts (From The Movies and Shows)

36

Trained Squirrels

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory has nut-sorting squirrels. Those are real, live, trained squirrels. It took months to train the squirrels to sort nu

35

The Molasses Disaster

BEWARE OF MOLASSES On January 15, 1919, a huge tank of molasses exploded in Boston's North End, sending out over two million gallons of the sticky stuff at a speed of up to 35 miles per hour. This disaster killed 21 people and injured 150 more. CRACKED — Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock
History

34

Pizza Sizes

An 18-inch pizza is more than twice as large as a 12-inch pizza. Four square feet more, to be precise. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — CalculateMe.com

33

QR Codes

QR Codes were inspired by the game of go. In go, the players know where the pieces are even if they're slightly off-position, and the same idea was applied to QR codes to make it more error-proof. CRACKED — Saran_Poroong/Shutterstock
IEEE Spectrum

32

Donuts

The first doughnut machine was made in 1920 to meet the demand following WW1. Adolph Levitt, a Jewish refugee who came to America fleeing czarist Russia, designed the ma- chine and began selling fried doughnuts from his Harlem bakery in New York City. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Envoy Global

31

The McLobster

The McLobster was a lobster meat hot dog. CRACKED.COM This abomination (which should have been called a Slobster Joe, first of all) had trouble gaining traction between the coasts because it's hard to ship lobster inland before it spoils. — YouTube

30

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro was very disappointed with a UFO. Del Toro claims he and a friend saw a UFO once - which he describes not as majestic or breathtaking, but as crappy. It was a flying saucer, he said, so cliched, with lights . It's so sad. You heard the man, aliens you need to up your design game! — More: 5 Celebrity Claims Of Bizarre Supernatural Encounters

29

John Cena

John Cena was in a bunch of early 2000s movies just to promote WWE. D ME Every second I was on one of those movie sets, I wanted to be back in WWE, he says of movies like 12 Rounds, Fred: The Movie, and Legendary. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

The Siege of Antwerp

One of the earliest weapons of mass destruction was used during the Siege of Antwerp in 1585. CRACKED.COM A Dutch explosive fire ship containing 4 tons of explo- sive rammed a fortified Spanish bridge, killing 800 Spaniards, causing a small tsunami, and vibrating windows 22 miles away. — Source

27

The Junkyard Windmill

A Malawi man built a working windmill from junkyard scraps. William Kamkwamba's windmill works SO well that his neighbors think it must run on witchcr — Source: Living On Earth

26

Rocky

CRACKED.COM The skating date in ROCKY was supposed to take place in a crowded ice rink. But the production ran out of money, and couldn't afford all the extras. So the scene was shot in an empty rink, leading to one of the franchise's most memorable moments. — Source

25

Bees

YOU'RE STROLLING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE WHEN SUDDENLY... GOOD HEAVENS! SO! MANY! BEES! DON'T FEAR! Bees are at their least aggressive when they're swarming, as they have no hive to protect. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

24

Shoe Size

SHOE STORIES CRACKED.COM MOST PEOPLE'S FEET ARE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE. WITH AN IDENTICAL PAIR OF SHOES, ONE FOOT WILL USUALLY FEEL A LITTLE LESS COMFORTABLE THAN THAN THE OTHER. — Source

23

Gladiator

GLADIATOR At the beginning of Gladiator, Maximus is wounded fighting off his captors. He's bleeding from the arm when he sets off riding from Germania

22

Robin Williams

44 Random Bits of Trivia That Feel Like Stepping on a Rake of Knowledge

21

Uranium

CRACKED HIGH SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES IN NEW ZEALAND CAN POSSESS UP TO ONE POUND OF URANIUM. The Atomic Energy Act of 1945 allows them to do this for educational purposes. 2068 — Source

20

The Poodle Moth

44 Random Bits of Trivia That Feel Like Stepping on a Rake of Knowledge — Source: The Atlantic

19

French-Style Salads

A recipe published in a magazine in 1936 pranked readers for decades. CRACKED.COM George Rector published a recipe, that he called a green salad in the French style. This involved smearing your salad bowl with garlic, and never washing it. People ate salad this way for decades before catching on. — Food History Almanac

18

A Train Derailer

There is a device used to intentionally derail trains that enter into unauthorized areas. STO AT WO MEN The derailer works by, you guessed it, derailing the equipment as it rolls over or through it. In these situa- tions, there is a risk of great- er damage to equipment, in- jury or death if equipment is allowed to proceed. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Maintenance of Way Cyclopedia / Wikipedia

17

West Side Story

CRACKED.COM Chris Evans Не was rejected for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Evans lobbied for a role when he heard about the film's production. Sadly, he was turned down because he was too old to be a teenage gang member, and not old enough to play Officer Krupke. — Source: Eighties Kids

16

Wolf Actors

Some of the wolves that show up in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping were direwolves in Game of Thrones. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Toilet Paper Usage

Americans use 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper each Year. That's 1/5 of all the TP in the world, even though the U.S. makes up only 4% of the global population. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Clams

When two hermaphrodite clams mate, they can choose who will take on the male or female role. GRACKED.COM Male clams produce sperm and release it into the water, which gets drawn into the fe- male bivalve through her siphons, and fertil- ization occurs. — EcoSpark

13

Marc Maron

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM MARC MARON SAYS YOU SHOULDN'T BOTHER WITH ANY KIND OF EDUCATION. Well, for comedy, anyway - - he says that you just have to do it. There's no schooling; the's no anything. Find a place where you can get on stage and do it. — Source

12

Ambergris

VALUABLE WHALE PUKE CRACKED.COM One lucky 3rd grader picked up what he thought was a rock, but turned out to be a chunk of whale vomit worth $65,000. This natural excrement used by sperm whales as a digestive aid, called ambergris, is soft and foul smelling at first but hardens after years of floating in the ocean like a golden turd. — Source: BBC

11

Sonic Statue

There is a mysterious, human-sized statue of Sonic The Hedgehog sitting in the woods. The Sega World Kadoma theme park in Takao, Japan closed in 2005, and the park auctioned off whatever people could carry away. A homeowner named Mr. Kadeo bought the statue to serve as a landmark guiding visitors to his house from the road. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

First Ladies

A White House tradition requires the current first lady to have some tea with the incoming first lady. She also needs to give her successor a tour of the White House. GRACKED.COM — Source

9

City Life

City life may be driving you nuts. Even LOOKING at cities may be bad for you. Studies show you're weaker mentally after walking through city streets v — For details, read 5 Things You Won't Believe Are Making You Dumber

8

Dinosaurs

Long-necked dinosaurs probably didn't eat foliage from treetops, actually. Turns out, their neck and shoulder anatomy is more suited to moving from side to side and covering a wide area than to extending upward. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Animal House

Illegal filmmaking Piano thievery on Be National Lampoon's Animal House. The production brought the Delta Tau brothers up to the University of Oregon five days before shooting to bond. They hit up a real frat party that involved hard drugs and a massive brawl, and they stole a piano. CRACKED — Source

6

Predator

Predator (1987) The Predator's blood is a mixture of K-Y Jelly and glow stick fluid. The same effect is still used in the sequels.

5

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II raised infants without any interaction. CRACKED.COM Не wanted to determine if there was a natural language imparted by God. His experiments proved unsuccessful be- cause all the children raised this way died. — Fordham U

4

Talking Fast

Ifyoucallinthenextftiveminutes yougetaspecialbonus... Talking fast gives an appearance of competence. The stereotype of the fast-talkings salesman e

3

Thanksgiving

Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving since the Pilgrim days, right? Wrong. All of the traditional foods and pageantry we associate with Thanksgiving

2

Aspirin

Giving aspirin to children and teens during and after a viral infection like the flu is dangerous. GOOD 62 SEX 623 429 БЕНТ COYSS L429 un كمر L429 L42 (429 6201 L423 L429 apoop 09 ang L425 БЕРТ 62V7 FROM ж appa woo supply L42 enou N + meun 24 e AMANDO 1 RT - - PM SCN - - masses It causes Reye's (R- SZA CRACKED.COM eye) syndrome which is a rare but serious condition that causes swelling in the liver and brain. — Mayo Clinic

1

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise broke his ankle on a take in Mission: Impossible 6 and kept filming. During a stunt, he accidentally hit a wall with his foot and immediately knew he broke it, but he really didn't want to do it again so he carried on. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Independent

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