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43 Legendary Bits of Trivia That Are Finally Ready to Tell Their Epic Tales

Gather ‘round, fact lovers. Let these regale you with randomness

43 Legendary Bits of Trivia That Are Finally Ready to Tell Their Epic Tales

January 17, 2025

We don’t know about you, but we’ve been waiting a long time for this. Today’s batch of randomness isn’t like any other. It’s a group of the most seasoned tidbits we have around the office. Like an esteemed and celebrated band that hasn’t performed live in decades, they’ve put aside their differences and are ready to tell tales that even the most die-hard fans will read for the first time.

We’re on the edge of our seat.

43

Australia

In Australia, there's a fire that started burning before the pyramids were built. A coal seam under the surface of Mount Wingen began smoldering 6,000 years ago, and hasn't stopped since. It's the world's oldest continuous coal fire. X NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

42

The First Openly Gay Teenager on TV

43 Legendary Bits of Trivia That Are Finally Ready to Tell Their Epic Tales

41

Rome

CRACKED CO COM Ancient Romans used the precursor of the modern wedding cake in marriage ceremonies. The groom would break the cake (made out of wheat

40

Beats by Dre

Beats by Dre headphones have a price markup of 4375%. CRACKED.COM Beats by Dre sell for $200-700, and experts estimate that the manufacturing cost of each headphone is as low as $16 per unit. — Huffington Post

39

Jeff Bridges

Iron Man JEFF BRIDGES took the role of Obadiah Stane because he admired both Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. -and because he got to shave his head. I looked at the comic book and said, 'Ooh! The guy's bald!'' — Source: E! Online

38

Robin Williams

AT A GLANCE ROBIN WILLIAMS He went to Julliard for college but got his stand-up start in a church basement After college, he went to a comedy workshop in the basement of a Lutheran church, which was his first time practicing stand-up. CRACKED.COM — Source: NPR

37

Escape Rooms

In January 2019, 5 teenagers died after a fire in an escape room in Poland. CRACKED.COM Poland's interior minister then ordered fire safety in- spections at more than 1,000 escape room loca- tions across the country, which previously did not officially require them. — Source

36

Neil Armstrong

We don't know what Neil Armstrong took to the moon. His record for his personal property kit has never been made public. During his moon trip, he took an unscheduled visit to Little West crater, off-camera. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: NBC News

35

Flavor Flav

CRACKED FLAVOR FLAV Flavor Flav, the rapper from the group Public Enemy, was spending a lot of money on crack cocaine when he was at the peak of his drug problem. Не was spending around $2,600 every day. These days, we know him from Flavor of Love. BER 23 D NY — Insider

34

Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson texted Jacob Busch to tell him they were breaking up. It happened not long after the 2020 holidays - they weren't together during that time, but talked constantly, and then she went quiet for a while and dumped him by text. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

the Secret of NIMH

One of the voices in The Secret of NIMH is a ten-year-old Wil Wheaton. He plays Martin, one of Jonathan's kids. CRACKED.COM — Source: DenOfGeek

32

AfterMASH

AfterMASH AFTERMASH It's a smash- and look who's helping Potter & Klinger make love not war CRACKED M'A'S'H was SO unfathomably popular that about five seconds after it ended, there was a sequel show starring anyone who still wanted more money. — Source: IMDB

31

Thanksgiving

IF IT EXISTED, THE FIRST THANKSGIVING MORE LIKELY CONSISTED OF SEAL THAN TURKEY. CRACKED.COM Seal, eels and lobster were more commonly eaten by the Wampanoag tribes than Turkey. In addition, in the next century or so following the first Thanksgiving, the holiday was most likely celebrated in December. — Constitution Center / CNN

30

Risk of Death

The sentence doing/eating/ drinking___will increase the chance of cancer/heart attack/dying by__% often doesn't tell the whole story because it doesn't But show the initial risk. For example, on average colon cancer occurs in 4.5% of American males and eating bacon Anaa increases the chance by 18%. It doesn't mean that men who eat bacon on a regular basis have a 22.5% chance of getting cancer, it just means that the chance goes from 4.5% to 5.3% or an increase of 0.8 percentage point. CRACKED COM — Source: 23 Stats That Are Misleading B.S. (But Technically Correct)

29

The NFL

NFL referees get Super Bowl rings, too. CRACKED.COM Reffing the big game is the pinnacle for a refer- ее. The rings aren't as big as the ones the play- ers get, but they are still valuable pieces of jewel- ry. — Source

28

Video Games

ASTEROIDS Spacewar is just like Asteroids, only better- + and it came first. Spacewar was a two-player game where you could shoot the other player, there was a black hole in the middle of the screen, and the star field was based on actual star fields. Asteroids: 1979. Spacewar: 1962. CRACKED.COM — Source: 21 Games We Grew Up On (With Weird Backstories)

27

Octavio Dotel

Least Job Security MLB CRACKED.COM Octavio Dotel probably spent a lot of time in hotels -- he played for a new team in a new city, every single season of his 13-year career.

26

Phobias

Kyra Sedgwick has a big phobia of talking foods-as in, say, talking pizzas. Which means she often has to leave if food commercials on, and it even made her husband Kevin Bacon turn down an offer to play a talking Peanut M&M. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Celebs We Didn't Know Have Very Surprising Phobias

25

Diamonds

Deep beneath a Siberian impact crater, there are trillions of carats of diamonds. The Popigai crater, about 100 kilometers wide, lies above enough diamonds to supply all the world's diamond needs for the next three millennia. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

The Ozone Layer

Thanks to international efforts, the ozone layer is projected to recover to 1980 levels by 2040. It's expected to make a full recovery by 2066. CRACKED — Source

23

Grave Robbers

Resurrectionists were legally employed grave robbers who dug up bodies for anatomical research. CRACKED COM The public hated them and frequently attacked them. The profession came to an end when several people were murdered for ana- tomical research in the 19th century. — Source

22

Coco

Coco has a couple of nods to The Shining. When Dante wakes up, there's an axe behind him-- it's one of the axes from The Shining. And there's a red drum, too, which is an elaborate reference to Redrum. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Gulag

Gulag is actually an acronym. It means Glavnoye Upra- vleniye LAGerej, which translates to Main Ad- ministration of Corrective Labor Camps and Settle- ments. Gulag sounds a lot more menacing. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

20

Furbies

Furbies were banned from the Pentagon. Officials feared the toy would record classified information. CRACKED.COM — Source: Mental Floss

19

The Daily Show

Trevor Noah almost lost his Daily Show gig before it even began. After he was announced as Jon Stewart's replacement, Buzzfeed reporters dug up old Noah tweets poking fun at women and Jews. After Noah's half- hearted apology, Comedy Central stuck up for his right to make bad jokes. CRACKED.COM — The Guardian

18

Hackers

Data security firms just pay hackers off. You can't pay off hackers who encrypt your data with ransomware - that'd only encourage them. That's why some companies hire recovery services, even if it's more expensive. Plot twist: Often these services just pay the ransom and pocket the difference. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Dunkirk

The guy walking off into the sea in Dunkirk -well, that really happened. The man who did it in real life just dropped his equipment, told people he'd walk to England, and simply walked off into the waves. CRACKED.COM — Slate

16

Nuclear Nook

CRACKED NCE ENGLAND BUILT A COMPLETE UNDERGROUND CITY. In the 1950s, England constructed a subterranean metropolis capable of sheltering 4,000 essential government personnel in the event of a nuclear attack. The complex featured 60 miles of underground highways, a subterranean reservoir to supply fresh water, and a railway designed for the transportation of the Royal Family. This covert installation remained undisclosed to the public until 2004. — Jamie Wiseman/Associated/REX USA (via The Daily Beast)
The Daily Beast

15

Radioactivity

CRACKED POTTERY GLAZE USED TO CONTAIN URANIUM. From ancient times all the way through the '70s, attempting a Ghost could have really killed the mood (and also you). — Noah Chemicals / Soul Ceramics

14

Saddam Hussein

CRACKED.COM Saddam Hussein was once a recipient of the Key to Detroit. This was after making a $250,000 donation towards the Chaldean Sacred Heart Church. — 29 Seemingly Normal Cities With Disturbing Facts

13

Watchmen

Doctor Manhattan's body model died trying to outrun a train. Greg Plitt was an actor, fitness model, and all-around badass. Dr. Manhattan's CGI body f — More: 6 Catastrophic Punishments The Universe Unleashed On Arrogant People

12

Riptides

CRACKEDCOMT ESCAPE ESCAPE ERCADE ESCADE RIP CURRENT CURRENT CURRENT If you ever find yourself caught in a riptide, don't panic. Swim parallel to the s

11

Keto

Ketogenic diets are a viable treatment option for those that suffer epilepsy. CRACKED.COM Keto diets are a viable treatment option for epi- lepsy that has not re- sponded to multiple antie- pileptic drugs (refractory seizures). It is also under investigation for utility in Alzheimer's. — Cochrane Library

10

The Misfits

MARILYN MONROE shared a final film with CLARK GABLE THE MISFITS CRACKED.COM Gable had a massive heart attack two days after the film wrapped. Monroe overdosed 18 months later. The Misfits arguably featured Monroe's finest performance, earning her a Golden Globe. — Source

9

Ghostbusters

Ernie Hudson auditioned to play Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters cartoon, but didn't get cast. When he started reading, the director told him it was all wrong because Ernie Hudson didn't do it that way in the movie -- so Hudson said Well, wait a minute: I am Ernie Hudson! Then they told him he got it, but they later cast Arsenio Hall instead. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Chocolate

More yellowy white chocolate is actually of better quality than fully white chocolate. CRACKED.COM White chocolate is white because it doesn't contain cocoa solids. Instead, it is made from cocoa but- ter (the fatty part). — Source

7

Ant-Man

EASTER EGGSTRA MEANINGS AND REFERENCES ANT-MAN THE TRAILER EASTER EGG Director Peyton Reed revealed that the guitar riff in the trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp comes from a 1982 song by Adam and the Ants called Ants Invasion. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Graphic Novels

CRACKED.COM SANOMAN The Sandman popularized the graphic novel format. While not the first graphic novel, the story arcs edited as book-sized volumes sold so well that they became an industry-wide standard. — Source: JSTOR, CNET

5

Horse Burgers

CRACKED BURGERS IN IRELAND SUPERMARKETS CONTAINED HORSE MEAT. Horse meat was found in some burgers stocked by U.K. supermarket chains in Ireland in 2013, causing a wide-spread food contamination controversy. Asda withdrew products supplied by Newry- based Freeza Meats after two samples were found to be 80% horse. — SzatmariPhoto/Shutterstock, acceptphoto/Shutterstock
BBC

4

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson took a minute and a half to stand motionless during his Super Bowl performance. CRACKED.COM Super Bowl performers have a strict 12-minute time limit, but after exploding onto the stage, Jackson stood still, staring at the world for 90 seconds. — USA Today

3

The Javelin

An Olympic javelin thrower learned proper technique from Youtube. CRACKED.COM Kenyan javelin thrower Ju- lius Yego, who won the Olympic silver medal in Rio Olympics 2016, learned how to throw javelin prop- erly by watching YouTube videos when he couldn't find a trainer. — CNN

2

Ancient Greece

43 Legendary Bits of Trivia That Are Finally Ready to Tell Their Epic Tales — The Death of Heraclitus

1

Timelines

JAMAICA 0 Rio2o16 BOLT vears SINCE EARLY HUMANS FIRST APPEARED ON 400,000 EARTH, USAIN BOLT COULD HAVE SPRINTED TO PLUTO AND BACK 14 TIMES.

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