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A little guilty pleasure for your brain

45 Random Bits of Trivia Dislodged From the Permafrost Thanks to Climate Change

December 17, 2024

We feel a little icky about these facts. Not because of their integrity or anything. They’re 100 percent true. We just came about them through slightly shady means, and we’re wrestling with that guilt now. We work so hard to find facts that it was just nice to have a few fall in our lap today. We know that melting ice caps are a serious issue, but if their warming innards happen to spill out some highly interesting facts, we have to snatch them up, right?

If they float out into the ocean, their knowledge might be lost forever!

45

Standby Power

Statistics That Change How You See the World - Appliances used to waste billions of dollars sucking electricity even when off. That’s no longer true. — Source

44

Wheaties

Microscopes BOOK GRACKED.COM Inspiring little scientists everywhere. In the 50s, Wheaties offered a 2-inch microscope with an adjustable focusing lens that magnified objects 6 times their normal size, and finally made me realize that they really don't make 'em like they used to. — Source

43

Car Theft

CAR THIEF FOILED BY LACK OF STICK- SHIFT SKILLS. R135 246 A guy in Chicago tried to steal someone's car, but he didn't know how to drive a manual transmission, and was quickly caught. CRACKED — Source

42

Smelly Armpits

A GENE MUTATION PREVENTS YOUR ARMPITS FROM SMELLING. Millions and millions of people have a special form of the gene ABCC11 which stops their armpits from smelling bad. Apparently, it's because they make less of an amino acid that's good for growth of specific bacteria. CRACKED — CGN089/Shutterstock
Smithsonian Magazine

41

Sunglasses

Sunglasses were originally designed for Chinese judges to hide their facial expressions in court. CRACKED.COM Sunglasses were originally made out of smoky quartz in 12th century China, where they were used by judges to mask their emo- tions when they were ques- tioning witnesses. — Source

40

The Eiffel Tower

As metal expands on heating, the Eiffel Tower is actually 15-17cm taller in the summer CRACKED.COM — Source

39

Selena Gomez

Russia told Selena Gomez that she couldn't get a visa to enter the country. ra ed Apparently, it was because of a new law that allowed authorities to refuse entry to pro-LGBT music artists. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Celebs We Didn’t Know Got Banned From Other Countries

38

Billions

The first non- binary character 2017 CRACKED COM Non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon's character on Billions, Taylor Mason, is a highly-intelligent go-getter. — Source

37

Rabbits

It's a rabbits biology, not so much its sexual proliclivity, that makes them multiply so quickly. CRACKED.COM A rabbit will be sexually ma- ture at around 5 months, and they can live for 10 years. They also only have a one month gestation period, and they can become preg- nant immediately after de- livering their litter. — Source

36

Parachute Trial Run

A tailor jumped to his death in 1912 trying out a homemade coat parachute. CRACKED.COM Franz Reichelt jumped off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while test- ing his invention, after telling the authorities he would first test it with a dummy. — Atlas Obscura

35

Malaria

The parasite which causes malaria in humans wears the membrane of a blood cell to go undetected. GRAGKED.COM Plasmodium Falciparum first infects the liver, de- veloping there for months without any symptoms. Then it in- fects red blood cells to wear as a disguise. — Source

34

Railroads

CRACKED COM Railroad companies helped fight segregation (for money). In 1890, civil rights activist Louis Martinet tried to pull a Rosa Parks long before Rosa Parks, to undermine segregation in trains - and railroad officials helped him, as enforcing segregation cost them extra money. But the whole thing backfired, resulting in the infamous separate but equal doctrine. — Source

33

Additives

CRACKED co Some manufacturers use pulp extenders to bulk up their tomato sauces and make them look shiny. The instant starch mimics tomato pulp texture, taste and mouthfeel when added to sauce. This allows manufacturers to save money and cut back on tomato paste by 25% while retaining visual appeal.

32

Blackberry

In 2010, Blackberry hired actresses to flirt with men in bars. The goal was to hand the guy her Blackberry and have him enter his number. CRACKED.COM

31

28 Days Later

Ryan Gosling was offered the role of Jim in 28 Days Later. The starring role was initially written for and offered to Ewan McGregor, who turned it down. Gosling was the second choice, but declined due to scheduling conflicts. Irish actor Cillian Murphy was relatively unknown back then, but ended up crushing the part. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Lord Byron

Lord Byron's dorm room loophole: 1805 CRACKED COM The acclaimed poet tried to bring his dog to Trinity College with him, but was told it was against t — 7 'Eccentric' Geniuses Who Were Clearly Just Insane

29

Richard Nixon

KNOW NIXON'S FAMOUS I AM NOT A CROOK SPEECH? HE WAS ON DISNEY PROPERTY. The iconic line that would forever be cemented as the go-to cue for every ha

28

South Park

UNITED NATIONS In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, the flag display outside the United Nations includes the Jolly Roger and an LGBT Pride flag. CRA

27

Kill Bill

45 Random Bits of Trivia Dislodged From the Permafrost Thanks to Climate Change

26

Kitchen Confidential

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM FOX CANCELLED KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL AFTER JUST ONE SEASON. OLITA O It was based on Anthony Bourdain's book on the same name, but it didn't take a lot more than the name - there were a couple of nods to the book, but it mostly evolved into its own thing. — Source

25

Sexsomnia

People with sexsomnia perform sexual acts while asleep. It's like sleepwalking but, well, horny. People who suffer from it might, say, masturbate or thrust their hips during sleep - and in the morning, they'll have no idea they did that. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Praying Mantis Goggles

Scientists built tiny 3D goggles for praying mantises. This mantis isn't just fashionable with its slick little goggles-it's a boon to science. Mantises are the only known invertebrates with 3D vision, and can accurately strike moving prey even when the image beamed to each eye (via the goggles) is different. This mantis-vision research could help future worker robots navigate the world. Or more effectively murder enemies of the hive mind. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Baywatch

The majority of Baywatch fans were female. UARD TN 65% of its fans were women between the ages of 18 and 34. Focus groups revealed that women liked th

22

Fish

The Antarctic blackfin icefish has no scales, white blood, and transparent bones. GRACKED.COM Instead of red blood cells or hemoglobin pigments for transporting oxygen, oxygen simply diffuses into their cir- culating blood plasma from the frigid seawater thanks to the fish's enlarged gills and smooth skin. — Source

21

Model Trains

The World's Coolest Train Set VECTORR Max Schlienger's Vectorr Flight Rail isn't just a fancy backyard train set; he hopes it'll be the future of travel. The 1:6 scale model doesn't need a conventional motor. It uses air pressure to achieve up to 30 mph. A to-scale commuter version could hit 180 mph without the inconveniences of a noisy, polluting engine. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Vanilla

Vanilla Ice was the sixth- fastest jet skier in the world. This was in the '90s, after his lce, lce Baby fame had died down. He attained his rank qu — Source: 6 Surprising Talents Celebrities Are Hiding From The World

19

Jaws

CRACKEDcO THE SHARK FROM JAWS BECAME A JUNKYARD SIGN. After the animatronic shark used in the movie started to deteriorate in the 90s, Universal sold

18

Lord of the Rings

45 Random Bits of Trivia Dislodged From the Permafrost Thanks to Climate Change — Source

17

Cats

A hissing cat is an angry cat, right? Not quite. Hissing is meant to terrify you. A cat's hiss is intended to mimic a deadly snake attack, from the hi

16

Pumbaa

Pumbaa was the first Disney character to fart on screen. Before The Lion King, no other Disney character audibly farted on a film. (That said, we have no idea which characters silently farted in previous movies. Smart money is on Tinker Bell.) CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The Fugitive

The Fugitive's tunnels are Chicago's freight network. The city dug these underground passages at the start of the 20th century for a phone system that was never built. In 1992, a leak sprung. and the Chicago River dumped 250 million gallons of water into the tunnels Various basements flooded as a result, and the water rose into the streets. CRACKED.COM — Source: 21 Famous Movie Locations With Killer Back Stories

14

Bananas

Scientists have discovered that bananas are slightly radioactive. They determined that, to prevent a harmful radiation dose, should CRac you never eat

13

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons used to be released into the air. CRACKED COM Starting in 1927, the large balloons that replaced live ZOO animals used to just be let go at the end of each parade. — Source: 15 Travel Sized Facts That Are Perfect For On-The-Go

12

Mexico

Think Superman's Fortress of Solitude is pure fantasy? Check out the Cueva de las Cristales, in Mexico. It's located in the Naica Mine of Chihuahua, Mexico, and contains some of the largest selenite crystals in the world. And not only does the cave make human beings look tiny, it can also make them dead. It's wet and hot-up to 136 degrees Fahrenheit. GRAGKED.COM http://ngm.nationalgeographic com/2008/11/crystal-giants/shea-text/s — Source: 22 Ridiculous Places Right Here On Earth

11

Antioxidants

CRACKED.COM cherry Can UP de California Pasas Pasas OF SOURCE FROM NATURAL Artioxidant & DARK CHOCOLATE FAT late ROANDS 28% CHOCOLATE SLEADING HERSHEY'S Low Fat NATURAL FLAVANOL ANTIOXIDANT vaalia digestive MILK Helps CHOCOLATE antioxidants goii & 2x175g Many products claim to have antioxidants, giving you the illusion that they are healthy. Most of these products have very small amounts of antioxidants, which won't give you any benefits anyway. In fact, 7Up was sued for marketing their Cherry 7Up as a health drink with this label in 2012. — Source: 23 Lies Disguised As Product Labels

10

Hall & Oates

Rich Girl by Hall & Oates The song was originally written about a guy who was a fast food heir and was Hall's girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, but the gender flip sounded BETTER. CRACKED.COM — Source: Billboard's Number One Hits

9

David Tennant

David Tennant's birth name was David McDonald but there was already a David McDonald in the actors' union he was joining SO he had to change it. He fl

8

Chinatown

1974's Chinatown was an inspiration for the Robert Pattinson Batman movie. The movie was inspired by 70s, street-grounded stories in general, but Chinatown was a key one, said director Matt Reeves. CRACKED.COM — Source: Vanity Fair

7

Railroads

45 Random Bits of Trivia Dislodged From the Permafrost Thanks to Climate Change — 14 Mesmerizing Machines That Run The World Behind The Scenes

6

The Universe

The Brane & The Bulk Physicists Steinhardt & Turok feel the Big Bang theory fails to explain certain things. They imagine our entire universe as one three dimensional sheet (or brane) moving through a four dimensional background called the bulk. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Paper Airplanes

Paper airplanes have existed for thousands of years. The Chinese have been folding paper into flying shapes for the last 2,000 years. Of course, they didn't call them airplanes- those were more like simple origami birds. Paper planes as we know them today date back to the Civil War, when they were called paper darts. GRACKED.COM — Source

4

Titanic

The water in Titanic contains traces of actors' pee. If you're shooting a James Cameron film, get ready to hold it in, because he doesn't believe in bathroom breaks. While filming Titanic, many extras just let it go in the water (also Kate Winslet, reportedly). CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Randy Quaid

Fallen Celebrities Then vs. Now RANDY QUAID is an Oscar- nominated actor. НЕ THEN WENT FULL MAGA, and started supporting networks too extreme RIN even for Fox News. And this without even mentioning his star whacker conspiracy theory about movie star assassins he claims killed Heath Ledger. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Mithridates

Mithridates was executed by scaphism. The soldier was punished by his king by allegedly trapping him between two boats, feeding and covering him with milk and honey, and waiting for him to be devoured by insects. Не stayed alive for 17 days. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a price-gouging businessman. When he wasn't revolutionizing English literature, the Bard liked to keep himself busy by buying huge stocks of grain, which he'd then sell at inflated prices. Не was eventually prosecuted for tax evasion and hoarding food during a time of shortage. CRACKED.COM — Source

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