12 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia We Stole From the Self-Checkout Aisle

35 Creative and Highly Satisfying Acts of Revenge

21 Artists Who Got Their Very Specific Rocks Off On-Screen

40 Random Bits of Trivia About the Universe You’ll Be Glad to Know Before Your Next Trip to Space

5 Celebrities Whose Last Days Were Deeply Painful

35 Stormy Bits of Trivia That Will Flood Your Brain With A Torrential Downpour of Knowledge

Better get your brain a snorkel

35 Stormy Bits of Trivia That Will Flood Your Brain With A Torrential Downpour of Knowledge

January 20, 2025

Flood warning! Your brain has about five minutes to get to higher ground before these facts come pouring in. You might think that your brain can get any higher than it already is, but you’d be wrong. If you’ll let us, we can split the top of your skull open and place your brain on of your head like an expertly presented lobster tail.

It’s either that or let it drown in this fact flood, so hurry up and make your choice. The facts are coming!

35

Neckties

Neckties were originally worn by Croatian mercenaries. During the Thirty Years' War, in the 1600s, France hired Croatian mercenaries who wore cravats as a kind of neck armor. After the war, French noblemen took a fancy to these scarves, which were then further adopted by the English, and progressively evolved into the strangling symbol of office drudgery. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

34

The Hangover Part II

A stuntman suffered critical brain damage while making The Hangover Part II. HANGOVER THE PART II When he leaned out of a taxi's window, Australian stuntman Scott McLean suddenly got hit by another vehicle. CRACKED.COM — Source: Variety

33

Happy New Year

AULD LANG SYNE BECAME THE HAPPY NEW YEAR SONG THANKS TO GUY LOMBARDO AND HIS BAND, THE ROYAL CANADIANS. LOMBARDO, MR. NEW YEAR'S EVE, PLAYED THE S

32

Dunkirk

Michael Caine is actually in Dunkirk, but he never shows up on-screen. He's the voice that gives out instructions, via radio, to Tom Hardy's and Jack Lowden's pilots near the start of the movie. CRACKED.COM — Vulture

31

Rita Hayworth

ACTORS WERE TURNED INTO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. Were you, say, a Latina named Margarita Cansino? Well, it sucked for you! Hollywood would use hair dye and electrolysis to transform you into all-American white girl Rita Hayworth. Such things were pretty much standard procedure. — More: 5 Horrifying Ways Old Hollywood Was A Living Hell

30

Little Miss Sunshine

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE THE MOVIE WAS INSPIRED BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (BUT NOT IN A GOOD WAY). Screenwriter Michael Arndt read an article about Schwarzenegger telling high school students, If there's one thing ... that I hate, it's losers. Arndt hated that mindset, and wrote a movie about that. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Now-You-Know Movie Facts To Thwart Our Enemies

29

Tokyo Drift

Tokyo Drift couldn't secure certain permits but filmed scenes anyway. REGARO Universal Studios hired a fall guy to go to jail instead of the director. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson pushed an edible cosmetics line in the mid-'00s. It was called Dessert Beauty, and apparently it was controversial for making hyper-sexualized ads for kids. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

American Express

The coveted American Express Centurian black card costs a minumum of $10,000 a year. AMERICAN EXPRESSe 3749 7.1008 ECEH INCE 85 RICHY MCJERKFACE AMEX

26

NASA

NASA sent two spiders into space in the 1970's. It took the spiders a cou- ple days to figure it out, but they eventually end- ed up making webs that were finer and more com- plex than their earth counterparts. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

25

Maryland Restaurant

A restaurant in Maryland stayed open even after a customer died in the women's bathroom. CRACKED.COM Jasper's didn't close when the situation unfolded and continued to seat custom- ers. A curtain was put up around the women's re- stroom, and the men's room was converted into a unisex restroom. — NBC / Unsplash

24

Syphillis

Throughout history, syphillis went by many names in different countries, and it was mostly named after those countries' enemies. For example, the Fren

23

Stan Lee

Stan Lee was initially worried that blind people would take offense to the character Daredevil. CRACKED.COM Lee was worried about how far he exaggerated the way a blind person's other senses are enhanced, until he received letters telling him that blind peo- ple greatly enjoyed having the comics read to them. — Source

22

Watchmen

In the Watchmen TV show, a book on the sheriff's desk is a big Easter egg. UNDER THE HOOD He's reading Under the Hood-that's Nite Owl's autobiography, bits of which show up at the end of the original comic book's chapters. CRACKED.COM — Vulture

21

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: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

20

Illegal Shipping

WEIRD WORLD One recycling company sent things like dog poop and used diapers to China. Slip ULTRA Slip ULTRA Mit After it was discovered that they'd illegally shipped 1,300 tons of household waste, they got a hefty fine. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves has a private foundation that helps children's hospitals and cancer research. After his sister's diagnosis of leukemia, Reeves has done c

18

Arby’s

Arby's bought Dunkin for $11.3 billion ROAST Roast Beef Sandwich IS DELICIOUS Arby's Several years prior, Arby's bought Buffalo Wild Wings for $2.9 billion. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: AP News

17

Lewis Millett

LEWIS MILLETT DESERTED THE AIR FORCE TO JOIN THE CANADIAN ARMY. THEN HE CAME BACK LIKE AN ACTION HERO. In 1940, Col. Millett decided the U.S. was taki

16

Drug Smugglers

Colombian drug smugglers built submarines in the jungle. Capable of transporting $400 million+ worth of drugs, they were nearly undetectable. Prior to 2006 the coastguard called these Bigfoot thinking their existence was only a rumor. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

15

The Starry Night

CRACKED The Starry Night was painted the same year Nintendo was founded H CARD CO B Van Gogh painted his most famous painting in 1889, the same year Fusajiro Yamauchi started producing playing cards under the Nintendo name.

14

Killer Turnip

In 1881, an English MP named Sir William Payne-Gallwey died after falling on a turnip. CRACKED.COM Payne-Gallwey died at the age of 74, as a result of severe internal injuries sustained after falling upon a turnip while out shooting in the parish of Bagby. — Source

13

William Herschel

The discoverer of Uranus thought that THE SUN WAS INHABITED. When William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, he may or may not have im — Source: Wired

12

George Michael

George Michael's philanthropic contributions were generous and personal. He was involved in a wide variety of organizations including famine relief, A

11

The Pyramids

THE PYRAMIDS WEREN'T BUILT BY SLAVES Researchers believe they were built by a rotating labor force, organized more like a feudal system. CRACKED.COM — Source: Harvard

10

Qatar World Cup Streams

CRACKED SOCCER FANS SCAMMED WITH BOGUS FIFA 23 STREAMS. Thousands of people were tricked into watching pixelated replays from the soccer video game FIFA 23 instead of pirated streams of the World Cup in Qatar. The illegal streaming sites linked to YouTube channels with Vietnamese commentary, which added to viewers' belief that it was an actual stream. — AS

9

The Woman Who Saved 7,700 Children

CRACKED AUSTRIAN WOMAN SAVES 7,700 KIDS DURING WORLD WAR -II-NO BIG DEAL. During World War II, Diana Budisavljević worked hard to rescue 7,700 children from concentration camps and other dangerous places. Ahem, Hollywood? — Wiki Commons
BBC

8

World War II

The most decorated American unit in WWII was almost exclusively a Japanese-American infantry regiment. CRACKED.COM The 442nd Regiment re- ceived more than 18,000 awards, including 9,500 Pur- ple Hearts, 5,200 Bronze Star Medals, 588 Silver Stars, 52 Distinguished Service Cross- es, and 7 Distinguished Unit Citations. — Source

7

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman WWW NELG T CRACKED Hackman's had a prolific second career as a novelist. He took his last (non-Vo) role in 2006, and finally said in 2008 I haven't held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I'm not going to act any longer. — Source: Reuters

6

Aladdin’s Magic Carpet

That magic carpet was wildly fast. Giza to Athens on a flying carpet: 697 miles in 10 seconds Magic Carpet Speed: 250,920 miles per hour CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Underwater

15 Early Drafts For Horror Movies That Are Totally Bonkers - The Cthulhu monster in Underwater almost looked like a less creepy, fish version of the P — Source: Bloody Disgusting

4

Key West

The original Spanish name for Key West was pretty grisly -- Bone Island. When European sailors first showed up, they noticed lots of human bones in plain sight (it was a ceremonial act). That name, Cayo de Guesas, became Key West. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Mating Rituals

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM DISCARD YOUR PENIS Both sea slug partners have both a penis and vagina, and all are used in mating. Sea slugs have spines on their penises that may help remove rival's sperm from their mate's vagina. 20 minutes after sex, they discard their penis to ensure it's not contaminated with rival sperm and grow a new one the next day. — Source

2

Female Artists

Blue pigment found in the tooth of a medieval skeleton shows women were artists During the Middle Ages, women, not just monks, may have painted illuminated manuscripts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

1

George Washington

GEORGE WASHINGTON ALMOST JOINED THE BRITISH NAVY. When he was 14, he would have signed up for the British Army, except his mother wanted him to stay and work on the farm. CRACKED.COM — Source

Tags:

Visual

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

Science & History

38 Random Bits of Comic Book Trivia We Shook Out of Some Middle-Aged Man's Ponytail at Comic-Con

Trivia & Jokes

35 of the Weirdest Things People Did As Kids

Movies & TV

Why a Shockingly Dark Muppet Show Was Pulled From the Airwaves

Movies & TV

Weekend Update Went Completely Off the Rails Last Night

Movies & TV

21 of the Most Hilarious Foreign Titles of Famous Movies

Movies & TV

40 Sticky Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia We Hid Under Our Cap to Help With Our Four-Seam Fastball

VIRAL ON CRACKED

1

34 Trivia Tidbits About Unbelievable Statistics

2

35 Creative and Highly Satisfying Acts of Revenge

3

21 Classic TV Shows That Left Important Unanswered Questions

4

21 Artists Who Got Their Very Specific Rocks Off On-Screen

5

Celeb Meltdowns That Went Supernova