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45 Random Bits of Trivia That Are Each A Tiny Chapter in the Book of Knowledge

We’re making the book of knowledge a real page-turner. One fact at a time

45 Random Bits of Trivia That Are Each A Tiny Chapter in the Book of Knowledge

January 13, 2025

Any of you punk music fans will know that songs don’t need to be over three minutes long. Those disheveled punk rockers get their fast, punchy point across in like a minute and move on to the next song. It was quite inspiring. When we sat to write this novel of a list, we didn’t want each chapter to drag on. We wanted to bang out a zesty little nugget and then just keep it moving.

Plus, if we call this list a novel, you get to tell your friends that you read a whole book in a few short minutes!

45

Hedgehogs

A hedgehog's heart beats 250 times a minute on average. GRAGKED.COM When a hedgehog goes into hibernation, it will sometimes be mistaken for dead. Its body temperature will drop 20% or more and its heart rate will be as low as 20 beats per minute. — Nature

44

Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt stole his costume from Guardians of the Galaxy after filming wrapped up. He did so he could visit kids in the hospital in character-- he said If it was a big enough movie to where it would mean something to a kid who's sick in the hospital for Peter Quill or Star-Lord to come visit them, I'll do that. CRACKED.COM — Source: SyFy

43

Written Checks

CRACKED.COM PAY TO THE ORDER OF. BEAU VINE A check is only an instruction to a bank, therefore it can be written on anything. In the past people have written checks on such things as stone slabs, bananas and COWS. — Source

42

Iron Rings

Engineers in Canada receive an Iron Ring to remind them of a bridge disaster. CRACKED.COM The collapse of the Quebec Bridge in 1900 and the second collapse 16 years later was due to incorrect calculations involving iron. The ring reminds the wear- er to have humility. — SFU

41

Coin Stalls

IN AMERICA, PUBLIC BATHROOMS ARE FREE. In a lot of places in Europe you have to pay to use a public bathroom. It usually costs around $1 in change to gain access, so if you plan to visit, be sure to keep some change with you. CRACKED.COM — Source

40

Pearl Jam

A disturbed Pearl Jam fan rammed her car into singer Eddie Vedder's house. She was convinced Vedder raped her and was the father of her two sons (and also was Jesus), and she nearly killed herself by driving into one of his walls. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Guardian

39

Casablanca

CRACKED.COM Romantic? Yes. But Casablanca is also a masterpiece of World War II propaganda. Warner Brothers produced the film following a pro-war rubric outlined by the U.S. Department of War. The Department was hoping to shift the American public's stance against intervention in the escalating conflict in Europe. When will you realize that in this world, today, isolationism is no longer a practical policy? -Signor Ferrari, to American Rick Blaine

38

Dinosaurs

Gigantic dinosaurs look super heavy, but they were actually surprisingly light. 3-FINGERED HAND Some of them, anyway, including the largest ones - and it's all because they had really light bones, plus air sacs throughout their body. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

37

The PG-13 Rating

The first PG-13 rating 1984 CRACKED.COM Even though it clocked in at 134 acts of violence per hour (Guinness counted), Red Dawn was the first film to officially find itself between PG and R. — Source

36

Fleas

Dog fleas jump much higher than cat fleas. In one study, dog fleas jumped about 50% higher than cat fleas on average. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Surprising Facts About Your Pets

35

Ernest Hemingway

Euest rlHeunmqwy Ernest Hemingway was known for developing the Iceberg Theory, a story- telling technique in which the writer comes up with a detailed

34

Twins

CRACKED.COM Twins can have different fathers. On rare occasions, two eggs are released during the same ovulation cycle, which can be fertilized by different fathers. This is extremely unusual in humans, but it has been known to happen. — Source

33

Dr. Phil

Dr Phil used to be Oprah's legal consultant during a case. She liked him SO much she gave him a TV show.

32

Hallelujah

THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS ISN'T ABOUT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. It's about the Second Coming, and by extension, the end of the world. It's based on scriptures from the book of Revelation, which is the apocalyptic part of the Bible. CRACKED.COM Revelation 19615 — Source

31

Saturday Night Live

STEPHEN COLBERT BROKE UP A NORM MACDONALD FIGHT 1997 CRACKED ATE-NIGHT SOCCER GAMES WOULD BREAK OUT IN THE SNL HALLS. GUEST WRITER COLBERT WOULD JUMP IN, INCLUDING A GAME WHERE MACDONALD GOT INTO A HUGE FIGHT WITH INTERN WYATT CENAC. COLIN QUINN HELPED COLBERT PULL THE TWO COMICS APART. — CinemaBlend

30

Norway

In Norway, 99% of electricity production is from hydroelectric plants. CRACKED COM They plan to increase an- nual production by 15 ter- awatt-hours (12%) by 2020 and could double installed capacity if they build new cross-border links to ship the surplus electricity abroad. — Source

29

Lord Byron’s Bear

When Lord Byron went to Cambridge, he wanted to bring his dog. Не was told he couldn't. Apparently the rules of Trinity College specifically forbade dogs on campus. SO HE bouGHt a bEaR. Не brought the bear with him to Cambridge, because there were exactly no rules against bears. CRACKED.COM http://www.praxxis. CO ukicredebyron/menagerie.htm — Source: 21 Long-Game Revenge Schemes

28

Couples

Women are calmed by their boyfriend's or husband's scent. Researchers gave 96 women either a shirt with their partner's scent, a shirt with a stranger

27

Ancestry

Distant Cousins CRACKED.COM Bernie Sanders and his SNL impersonator Larry David discovered they are distant cousins on PBS's Finding Your Roots. — NBC News

26

Django Unchained

CRACKED.COM Django Unchained Will Smith turned down the lead role. Smith turned down Tarantino's offer to play Django because he couldn't connect with violence being the answer. We don't really need to finish the joke, do we? — Source

25

Rocky Rhodes

GRACKED THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES WAS DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE JUST 56 YEARS AFTER BEING BUILT. One of the ancient wonders of the world, the statue's ruins lay on the ground for over 800 years before they were finally melted down and sold as scrap metal. — Arthur Balitskii/Shutterstock
Britannica

24

Step Brothers

BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS WILL FERRELL'S FAKE TESTICLES COST A LOT OF MONEY. STEP BROTHERS The prosthetic testicles Ferrell's character slams on the drums cost a whopping $10,000. The comedian says he decided to keep the prop testicles and that he regularly brings them out during dinner parties. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Shedding Skin

YOU SHED HALF YOUR WEIGHT IN SKIN. Over the course of their life, the average person will shed around half their body weight in skin - that's about 77 pounds. CRACKED — Prostock-studio/Shutterstock
BBC Science Focus

22

Amphicoelias Fragillimus

Amphicoelias Fragillimus, possibly the largest dinosaur that ever existed, giving a modern elephant a piggy back ride. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Silicon Dioxide

SiO 2 Silicon dioxide is an agent used in many foodstuffs and drugs to prevent caking. It's found naturally in quartz, and in turn, on beaches and in deserts throughout the world. So yeah, it's basically sand. CRACKED.COM — Source: 19 Facts About Food We'd Bet Anything You Didn't Know

20

Fantasia 2000

Disney built a temporary theater just to show 'Fantasia/2000.' FANTASIA 2000 CRACKED.COM When the only IMAX theater in Central L.A. couldn't meet the demands of Disney to showcase the very first ani- mated IMAX movie, Fanta- sia/2000, Disney spent $4 million to build a theater to show it. — Source

19

The Flintstones

Celebrity Endorsements The Flintstones wanted you to smoke up. In 1961, the Modern Stone Age Family encouraged you to burn a few Winston cigarettes to relax while you watched their wacky primetime antics. Apparently they didn't have a pelican x-ray machine or a saber- tooth CT scan to inspect their lungs. CRACKED.COM — Source: Ad On YouTube

18

Moon Litter

There are 96 bags of human waste on the moon. They were left behind by the six Apollo Missions. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Fresh Produce

MYTH: FRESH PRODUCE IS HEALTHIER THAN CANNED OR FROZEN. FACT: PRESERVED FOODS HAVE moRe NUTRIENTS. Unless you're harvesting your fruit and vegetables from your own garden, that fresh produce has likely traveled over a distance before landing on your table. During that time, it has lost vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Freezing and canning stops that loss, because it locks the nutrients in. CRACKED.COM http://abcnews.go.com/Health/reasons-buy-frozen-fruits-veggies/story?id=20683879#1 — Source

16

Veggies

Huge examples of normally small things A record- breaking parsnip A Brit grew an incredibly long parsnip at the UK National Giant Vegetable Championships in 2017. It was a world-record 21 feet and 5.87 inches long, and it's the longest in the world so far. CRACKED — Source

15

Wardrobe

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS Nearly all the wardrobe was found at THRIFT STORES VITE CRACKED.COM With a crazy-low budget, wardrobe was largely DIY. Napoleon's signature moon boots were twenty years old and borrowed from Jerusha Hess's Uncle Wally. His glasses were a thrift-store find and the prescription played havoc with Heder's eyes. — KUTV

14

Movie Locations

SCARFACE BE CRACKED.COM After being run out of Miami for the movie's negative portrayal of Cubans, the shoot continued in LA. In the Freedom Town scene, Manny walks under that distinct V where the I-110 and I-10 intersect near Santa Monica. — Source: Curbed

13

Movie Makeup

OSCAR ISAAC COULD BARELY BREATHE AS APOCALYPSE. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Isaac would have to go into a cooling tent after each take in order to stay conscious while wearing the 40-pound suit. He couldn't even wipe the sweat from his face because it would ruin the makeup. — Rolling Stone

12

The Brain’s Math Center

MYTH8 some PEOPLE'S BRAINS ARE Just BETTER AT MATH. tapanf obol ustikely Y chi hn0 dAaw er Lihance they cramders est Lwhendle yows Lcols Ra not iadepe

11

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Fraser, born to Canadian parents, was the first American-born actor to receive the honor, and still doesn't have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

10

Spain

Babies in Spain get their original sin removed by having people jump over them. The annual holiday El Cola- cho (Baby Jumping) in Spain features men dressed as dev- ils jumping over babies lying on mattresses. Pope Bene- dict XVI asked Spanish priests to distance them- selves from the holiday. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — NatGeo / Unsplash

9

Happy Gilmore

BOB BARKER CAN REALLY FIGHT B GRAGKED.COM The Bob Barker and Happy fight was cool enough before realizing that Barker insisted on doing his own stunts. Не studied Tang Soo Do karate for decades and received a blackbelt under Chuck Norris. I trained with Chuck, Barker told Sandler. We trained every night. Не helps me with my punches and my kicks, but I have to win this fight. — Source: cheatsheet

8

Gambling

Gambling is a $40 billion dollar a year industry in the United States. 5 10 23 8 30 11 9E 13 27 9 34 LV S - GO - CRACKED.COM The revenue that is gener- ated from gambling is more than the revenue that comes from movies, cruise ships, recorded music, theme parks, and spectator sports combined. — Source

7

Wonder Woman 1984

The scenes with young Diana in Wonder Woman 1984 had little CGI. They only green-screened some fantastical elements, but it's really Lilly Aspell doing all the running, swimming, jumping, and climbing. CRACKED COM — Source

6

An Innocent Man

FATAL x ERROR A CONVICTED MAN WALKS FREE FOR 13 YEARS Because of a clerical error, a man in Missouri was sent to prison in 2014-13 years after his conviction. A judge released him nine months later, taking into account the time that had passed between his conviction and his arrest. CRACKED — Source

5

The Olsen Twins

Now You Know: 13 Facts That’ll Exert The Old Cerebellum
- Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen aren't identical twins. — Source: Cosmopolitan

4

Crying

CRACKED COM CRYING IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO SELF-SOOTHE. For just one example of its benefits, a good cry releases endogenous opioids, meaning we have h

3

Home Alone

Odd, Fascinating Trivia About Home Alone - The people who owned the house used for exterior shots kept living in it during — Source: Chicago Magazine

2

GEICO

You only know the GEICO gecko because of an actors' strike. In 1999, GEICO made a commercial with a gecko as a joke that'd help people with the pronun

1

Insanity Defenses

AN INSANITY DEFENSE IS RARELY USED (LET ALONE SUCCESSFULLY). Since Even though a lot of fictional murderers try to get declared not guilty for reason of insanity, this defense is invoked in less than 1% of all real cases (and only one third of those are about murder). Additionally, only about one in four insanity pleas are successful. CRACKED.COM — Morris Psychological Group

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