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Come on! One list of facts won’t kill ya!

45 Coercive Bits of Trivia That’ll Help Get Your Brain Out of Its Shell

December 31, 2024

Your brain can miss one night of video games to come hang with the facts, can’t it? It’d never admit it, but a night on the town with its old fact buddies is just what it needs. Think of all it’s missing out on! Random facts about history, science and entertainment want to wine it, dine it and bring it home with the biggest informational doggie bag it’s ever seen.

Their treat!

45

Crayola

CRAYOLA IS MAKING SURE ALL KIDS CAN DRAW THEMSELVES. SWORD GULUO (Crayolo. Crayola (Crayoln Crayola (Crayole (Crayole: ORDAD) lofe Crayoln yiokdD) Cra — Source: The Chicago Sun-Times

44

Mt. Everest

CRACKED DREAMS ACHIEVED, LIFE LOST: EVEREST JOURNEY ENDS IN TRAGEDY. A 28-year-old IT expert from the UK had been dreaming of climbing Mount Everest since he was a kid. Не finally made it to the top, but sadly, he passed away just a few hours later from exhaustion and blindness. — The Guardian

43

Plane Crashes

A teenager survived a plane crash still strapped to his seat after being ejected from the plane. TOP CRACKED COM In 1985, a 17-year old named George Lamson Jr. was ejected from Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 upon the crash, and landed up- right in his seat in the mid- dle of a street. Не was the only survivor. — Source

42

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Star Trek: Enterprise nearly killed Jeffrey Dean Morgan's career. His role involved heavy makeup and prosthetics and, as he explained, I was claustrophobic. I'd go home in tears ... I've never been on a set where I went home at night and just thought 'What am I doing? CRACKED.COM — Source

41

Death Day

You're more likely to die on your birthday. A study of over 3 million people found that men were more likely to die the week before their birthday and women the week after. CRACKED.COM — Source: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine

40

Phobias

Despite playing tough guys on-screen, Liam Neeson is actually a wimp when it comes to heights. He's not just afraid of standing in a tall building or

39

Linkin Park

CRACKED LINKIN PARK'S ONE MORE LIGHT Fans felt that they strayed too far from their heavy nu-metal style, and opted for more synths and pop sheen. Sadly, it was an unfortunate and unintentional swan song for late vocalist Chester Bennington, as he died months after the release. — What Culture / YouTube

38

Harriet the Tortoise

Harriet the tortoise was collected by both Charles Darwin and Steve Irwin. The 176-year-old tortoise was also one of the oldest animals at the time of her death in 2006. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — NBC

37

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

36

Leprosy

CRACKEDCON You're unlikely to get Hansen's disease (more commonly known as leprosy), because 95% of people are naturally immune to it. Howeuer, accord

35

The Goldbergs

Comedies ruined by bad behavior The Goldbergs Actor Jeff Garlin abruptly left after several complaints about his lewd language and unwarranted touching on set. Fans were upset that they superimposed his face on a body double for the final episodes, and the show went out on a really low note. CRACKED — Source

34

Ugly Eyeglasses

The U.S. military issued a pair of unfortunate-looking eye glasses nicknamed birth control glasses. The thick brown frames and shape were extremely unpopular and equated to birth control because of how unattractive they looked. The frames were retired in 2012. CRACKED.COM — Task and Purpose

33

Easter Eggs

EASTER EGGSTRA South Park The blink-and-youl--miss-il James Bond reference. EMERGENCY Schedule Doctor Konny Chumsky own Pottocco All Empk Colon SUBDING Vome must Rockon sugary furdman wa Bond No before S In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, there's a board in the doctor's ward with a schedule that features a Doctor No, and under his duties it states Kill Bond. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

The Grinch

The Grinch was made green for the TV special. But the sound wasn't sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn't be so! But it WAS merry! VERY! In the original book, he was black and white. CRACKED.COM — Vulture

31

Canada’s Second Largest Tree

This is Big Lonely Doug, Canada's second largest tree, seen from a distance. And this is Big Lonely Doug with a person climbing it. CRACKED COM — 28 Eyebrow-Arching Size Comparisons

30

Video Games

A developer on Batman: Arkham Asylum spent two years on nothing but the titular character's cape. YOU ARE UNDER CLOSE SURVITILANCE - They had to create 700 different animations and sound effects for the cape. CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Video Game Features With Just Bonkers Backstories

29

World War I Carrier Pigeon

Carrier pigeon Cher Ami: Smithsonian-honored WWI hero. CRACKED.COM Cher Ami was a carrier pigeon employed by the US Army Signal Corps during WWI who became one of its greatest heroes after delivering an important message to save the Lost Battalion from enemy fire. Не received France's highest military honor for his bravery and is now preserved in the Smithsonian Museum of American History as a reminder of his self-sacrifice. — Source

28

New Girl

NEW GIRL Prince CRACKED.COM Prince agreed to the part under the condition that the Kardashians not make an appearance. A PA had to burn all evidence that they had been invited. — 22 Surprising Celebrity Appearances Everybody Forgets About

27

Gilda Radner

GILDA RADNER was the very first hire for Saturday Night Live. The actress was the first to be cast in SNL in 1975. She stayed for five years. GRACKED GOM — Source

26

Guns N’ Roses

Guns N' ROSES wanted a breakdown near the end of sweet Child o' Mine, but never got around to writing it. One time, when they got to that section, A

25

Billie Jean

CRACKED.COM Billie Jean almost got Michael Jackson killed. Jackson was so absorbed in the song, working on it in his head while driving, that he didn't notice his car was on fire. Someone on a bike had to point it out to him. — Source

24

WALL-E

CRACKED.COM WALI PIXAR MOVIES WALL-E WAS ONE OF PIXAR'S FIRST FILMS. A Bug's Life, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E were all conceived (in that order) during one Pixar lunch in 1994 - but it took until 2008 for the film to finally see the light of day. — Source: The Black List

23

Rabbitgate

CRACKED MARY TOFT In 1726, Mary Toft managed to fool a lot of people, including the King of England, into thinking she had given birth to a bunch of bunnies. She did this by shoving dead rabbits up her vagina and then having them taken out like she was delivering them. — The Paris Review

22

India

75% of the world's spices come from India. India produces 1.5 million metric tons of spice every year. The country with the second most spice production, Bangladesh, only produces 140,000 metric tons. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

21

Pringles

45 Coercive Bits of Trivia That’ll Help Get Your Brain Out of Its Shell — Source: Gizmodo

20

The Titanic

45 Coercive Bits of Trivia That’ll Help Get Your Brain Out of Its Shell — For details, read 6 Coincidences You Won't Believe Actually Happened

19

Space

CRACKED A WEIRD SPACE ROCK MOVING THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM In 2018, two astronomers from Harvard suggested that Oumuamua, the strange, cigar-shaped object that flew through our solar system, could be an alien probe from outer space. — Source

18

The Shining

The Shining Jack Torrance's axe is worth a pretty penny. Here's Johnny! is a thing you can do in your home... if you have enough money. The famous axe from The Shining was sold at auction, and then presumably hidden away in a mountain retreat for the next time someone goes mad. — More: 17 Movie Props Available For Ownership (Have Lots Of Money)

17

Crime Facts

WEIRD WORLD A guy driving a stolen car parked it at a space reserved for police cars in Tulsa. 712 6030-D2 Unsurprisingly for everyone involved, except the driver, he (along with a passenger) got arrested very quickly. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams

Celebrity tattoos HBO OT 07.08.09 Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams got matching tattoos on their arms reading 07.08.09, the date they were both cast on Game of Thrones. CRACKED.COM — Hello!

15

The Mimic Octopus

The mimic octopus can instantly transform itself to look like other animals. These octopuses can mimic several animals in rapid succession (most animals can only mimic one other species). They contort their bodies in different ways, and can even mirror behavior. CRACKED COM — Source: 15 Animals With Envy-Inducing Biology

14

The Ig Nobel Prize

The satirical Ig Nobel prize was awarded to research on how people turn doorknobs. CRACKED.COM The group of Japanese re- searchers won for their analysis of how people use their fingers to turn a knob. This is the 16th straight year that Japa- nese researchers have won an Ig Nobel Prize. — NHK

13

A Christmas Story

CRACKED.COM The leg lamp in A CHRISTMAS STORY was inspired by soda. DRINK NEHI Author Jean Shepherd got the idea for the wonderfully tacky lamp NEW GOLD from an ad for Nehi Soda that featured female legs. (Nehi still QUALITY BEVERAGES exists today - it's called RC Cola.) — Source

12

Bad Predictions

Tired: gold. Wired: steel. THOMAS EDISON CRACKED.COM Edison was convinced we were on the verge of dispensing precious metals like a Taco Bell soda fountain. And what would we do with the power of alchemy? Devalue gold and turn all our furniture into cold, hard steel. — Source: 15 Impossibly Silly Predictions (Made By Serious People)

11

Rabies

Rabies is easily prevented with a vaccine that can be administered before or shortly after exposure. However, once symptoms appear, it's basically a death sentence. Less than 20 people have survived rabies. Ever. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Art

Nazis seized art from people for multiple reasons S - Jewish owners, or an aesthetic and vibe that seemed against Aryan ideals. Either way, the efforts to return it all later arguably did a lot for public art education. CRACKED — Source

9

Monks

Buddhist monks can't be touched by women. If they are, accidentally or not, they need to go back to the temple and cleanse themselves by performing ri

8

Underground Music

CRACKED AUTOTUNE WAS USED FOR SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING. Energy companies used it to look for oil, but when its inventor applied it to music, he struck a different kind of gold (specifically, Cher). — Thought Co

7

New Parents

Couples lose about 750 combined hours of sleep the first year of parenthood. GRACKED.COM A parent loses around 109 minutes of sleep every night with a newborn, resulting in around 750 hours of lost sleep between two parents in the first year alone. — Source: Healthline

6

Toy Story

Toy Story Billy Crystal turned down Buzz Lightyear. Crystal said it was the only regret I have... of something I passed on. When Pixar approached him for Monsters Inc., he jumped at the chance. LASER LIGHTYEAR brask CRACKED.COM — Source

5

The Peabody Award

CRACKED.COM KEY& PEELE THE SHOW WON A PEABODY AWARD. For their creative team's inspired satirical riffs on our racially divided and racially conjoined culture, the comedy program received a Peabody in 2013. — Source: The Peabody Awards

4

Jacob Miller

For details, read 5 People Who Survived Completely Unsurvivable Situations

3

Original Brewers

The original beer brewers were women. In the ancient world brewing beer was one of the only jobs available to women. However by the 18th century new technologies allowed breweries to become profitable- leading men to push women out of the industry. CRACKED.COM — Source: Wine Enthusiast

2

What About Bob?

BILL MURRAY TOOK TO BEING SLOHASINDS-3HL-ONIH39 HIS ANNOYING CHARACTER IN WHAT ABOUT BOB? A LITTLE TOO WELL. CRACKED.COM Murray went method with his character Bob Wiley in the film, seeking out ways to anger co-star Richard Dreyfuss, in- cluding yelling that everyone hated him and merely tolerated his presence. Не also playfully shoved producer Laura Ziskin into a lake. — Source

1

The El-Dorado Topaz

The largest faceted gemstone in the world weighs 31,000 carats. CRACKED.COM The El-Dorado Topaz weighs 13.67 Ibs, but was 81 pounds when it was originally discovered in 1984 in mineral-rich Minas Gerais, Brazil, be- fore it was cut. — Internet Stones

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